First photo with the X-Pro2

I've had my new Fuji X-Pro2 for a couple of days, but haven't had much time to play with it yet. I did carry it around as I ran some chores, which is when I grabbed the shot of the Flatiron Building with some winter storm clouds passing overhead.

At first glance I am impressed with the increased resolution and high ISO capabilities of the new 24mp sensor. The thumb joystick is fantastic but is going to take some getting used to. Old habits die hard and I am so used to working with the control buttons on my X-T1, which I had reprogrammed to move the focus point. Now I keep inadvertently hitting the menu options with the new control buttons.

Was this the final gasp of winter? Photographed yesterday with my new Fuji X-Pro2 and 16-55mm f/2.8 lens. 

Fuji 100-400mm lens, a first look

Lens focal lengths have specific characteristics that make them suitable for particular tasks and compositions. Super-teles compress space onto a flat plane teasing us to create abstractions of juxtaposed forms. I love working with super-teles for this reason, although their extremely narrow field of view can sometimes be limiting for daily shooting.

I have been photographing with the new Fuji 100-400mm zoom for a couple of weeks in preparation for an extensive, hands-on review. Before completing my tests, I want to see how the lens handles with the higher resolution X-Pro2. In the interim, I thought I'd pass along a few recent examples I took with the lens, both by itself and coupled with the Fuji 1.4x teleconverter.   Below are a few examples I took of the city at sunset last night.

The lens is incredibly sharp, even into the edges and corners, with very little loss of quality from the added extender. It is a large lens, but not as large as you might typically expect from such a long focal length so that it is hand-holdable during the day when the light is bright enough for short exposures. The low light photos here were all taken on a tripod.

The Verazanno Bridge in the background is over ten miles away, and the near building facade on the right is only a few blocks from where I took this photo compressing all the space in between into a flat composition that meshes all the forms into one, flat composition. This is the sort of composition I love about super-teles. 

Ocean views with the Fuji X system

Finally back on line!  When I wrote my last post, I mentioned that I might be out of internet range for awhile. Turned out to be true. I had no connection at all for the past week. I never think about how internet-dependent the world has become until I have to do without it.

I arrived home late last night, unpacked, downloaded my images onto the computer, and passed out. This morning I began to look over some of what I had done, and decided to put up at least a few images to break the radio silence.

I was shooting mostly with the Fuji X-T1 and 16-55mm lens. I was also testing out the new Fuji 100-400 lens for a later review. I played around a bit with another image softening technique by simply adding a couple of fog filters.  Below are a few of the initial results. Much more to come later.

The sun coming up behind me reflects off the distant clouds. This image and the one at the bottom were taken with the Fuji 16-55mm lens. 

Distant clouds at sunset taken with the Fuji 100-400mm zoom. 

Early morning full moon sets over the ocean. A fog filter was used in all of these shots, with the softening effect toned down as I increased the image contrast later in Photoshop.  

Putting it all together

A few days ago I posted a portrait of this model in a mini review of the Fuji 16-55mm zoom. The purpose of taking the photos, however, was to combine them with other images and create dreamlike images. Here is one I just did using a sunset forest photo as the background.

I will be travelling to warmer climes for the next week. Hopefully, I will be still able to upload to the blog. If not, I will try to post as soon as an internet connection becomes available.   

Passing rain storm in the city

We had a warm front move through New York this past week leaving considerable rain and very fast moving clouds as it dissipated just after sunset. I was fortunate enough to have a good vantage point for the sunset and all of lower Manhattan and the Hudson River.

Normally I would shoot a subject like this by making several passes with a camera. With the clouds moving so rapidly, however, the scene was changing significantly with every frame I took. So I decided to take the photo in one shot. For this I chose the high, 36mp, Nikon D810 camera, figuring this would provide me with the largest sharp image in one take.

As I mentioned, the scene was changing rapidly, so I ended up with several different interpretations of the event:

First a black and white shot with a deep, dramatic sky that opened up to light the Hudson River.

Second was a vertical color shot with crisp, eerie light falling on the Flatiron Building with the World Trade Center and lower Manhattan behind it. For this image, rain water was still shiny in the streets,and the shutter speed was fast enough to stop most of the action from pedestrian and automobile traffic.

Last was a night time shot of the city. Normally, by the time this shot would be taken the sky would be black. Instead there was a red glow on the clouds and blue cast to the sky, all while the city lights were bright enough to record.

Fuji's 16-55mm lens - a zoom lens that works like a a prime

I tested Fuji's 16-55mm f/2.8 zoom when it first came out, and wrote a review of it where I praised the versatility of its design for myriad uses, and noted that it was one of the few zooms I know where the optics are as good as a prime lens. What I hadn't done was pick one up for myself, pretty much because I would use if for lifestyle and I already had most of the faster aperture Fuji primes and this zoom would be redundant. With the advent of the new Fuji X-Pro2, however, I see myself needing a zoom with superior optics to match the upgraded IQ of its new 24mp sensor. Fuji's latest rebate offers tempted me to pick up the zoom this week.

This is the XF 16-55mm f/2.8 lens on my X-Pro1. Kind of gives me an idea of what it's going to look at on my new X-Pro2 when it arrives.

 A 16-55mm (24-83mm equivalent) focal length is a very versatile zoom lens that has been the staple of photographers ever since zooms became available. What adds to the versatility of this lens is its exceptional optics that, even wide open, can match the quality of most prime lenses. For me this extends the usage range of this lens. It is no longer just a convenient do-everything lens for walking around, With image quality this good coupled to a fairly fast f/2.8 fixed aperture the lens serves well for portraits, landscape photography, even still life -- subject areas where I would only use the best optics.

Racked all the way out to 55mm, this makes a fine portrait lens of exceptional quality. 

The 16-55mm zoom can focus in quite close. With the added versatility of being able to change from wide angle to normal focal lengths you can pick a perspective look that works with a close-up subject, and the sharpness of the lens insures superb IQ, all of which makes it useful for shooting stills. 

I originally thought this lens was too bulky to carry around on a regular basis. Turns out it is about the same size an weight as the 18-135mm lens I normally use as a carry-around, and I'm finding it quite comfortable to use.

The only missing feature is lack of a vibration control mechanism. On a focal length range of this size I don't mind not having this. Perhaps that is because I'm used to using a Nikon 24-70mm zoom for years without any VR.

Fuji is offering a substantial $200 rebate on this lens through April 2nd. That brings the cost down to $999 from $1199 so, for anyone interested, now is a good time to consider picking one up.

Fuji XF 16-55mm (save $200): BHphoto  Amazon  Adorama

Fuji offers incredible rebates on X cameras and lenses!

Fuji has announced instant rebates on X-cameras and XF-lenses  -- Savings up to $300.  The rebates will last through April 2nd. If you were ever thinking about adding lenses to your X-system or picking up an extra body, now may be the time to do it. Take a look at some of the savings:

X-Series Cameras:

X-T1 black body (save $300): BHphoto  Amazon
X-T1 graphite (save $300): BHphoto  Amazon
X-T1 + 18-135 (save $300): BHphoto  Amazon
X-T1 + 18-55 (save $300) BHphoto  Amazon

X-T10 black body (save $150): BHphoto  Amazon
X-T10 silver body (save $150): BHphoto  Amazon
X-T10 + 18-55 (save $150): BHphoto  Amazon
X-T10 + 16-50 (save $150): BHphoto  Amazon

X100T black body (save $200):  BHphoto  Amazon
X100T silver body (save $200):  BHphoto  Amazon


Prime XF Lenses:

XF 14mm (save $200): BHphoto  Amazon
XF 16mm (save $200): BHphoto  Amazon
XF 23mm (save $200): BHphoto  Amazon
XF 56mm (save $200): BHphoto  Amazon
XF 60mm (save $200): BHphoto  Amazon
XF 90mm (save $200): BHphoto  Amazon


Zooms:

XF 10-24mm (save $200): BHphoto    Amazon
XF 16-55mm (save $200): BHphoto  Amazon
XF 18-135mm (save $200): BHphoto  Amazon
XF 18-55mm (save $200): BHphoto    Amazon
XF 50-140mm (save $200): BHphoto  Amazon