photography

There are 67 posts filed in photography (this is page 1 of 9).

Fuji announces the X-T3

Chris Welch, writing for The Verge:

Fujifilm has just announced the $1,500 X-T3, which is the latest addition to the company’s X Series lineup of APS-C mirrorless cameras. It’s the follow-up to 2016’s X-T2, a beloved camera — among Fujifilm shooters, anyway — that’s grown more powerful and capable over time thanks to a bevy of firmware updates. The X-T2 of today is an entirely different beast than when I first tested it. Its autofocus, video capabilities, and subject tracking have all been extensively fine-tuned. But having hit the ceiling for what it can get out of the X-T2, Fujifilm has decided that now’s the time for new hardware

The Fuji X-T2 is probably my favorite stills camera of all time. It’s light, powerful, and produces amazing images.

I doubt I’ll buy the X-T3 at launch because the improvements are so incremental. But once this puppy drops in price in a year or two, I’ll definitely be picking one up. If you are just dipping your toe into mirrorless cameras, I have no reservations about recommending pretty much anything in Fuji’s lineup.

Photographing my first courthouse wedding

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I appreciated the chance to photograph my brother-in-law’s wedding recently. It was my first time photographing a courthouse wedding and it also encouraged me to think through the best ways to generate a large volume of images from a compressed time period.

One thing that was useful was I was able to move freely throughout the courtroom, which allowed me to get some interesting angles of the couple and of the ceremony that wouldn’t have been possible otherwise. But the critical decision I made was really to try and capture the couple in between locations. I told them to hold hands, walk slowly, and enjoy each other’s company. Those ended up being the shots that were the best of the day.

These photos were taken with my Canon 5D Mark III (AKA Old Faithful) and a 70-200mm f/2.8 lens. I also used a Sony A6500 with a 16mm f/1.4 for a few select wide angle shots.

The Verge’s review of the Fuji X-T20

Vlad Savov has written a review of the Fuji X-T20 for The Verge that captures what I love about Fuji’s camera system.

It’s tough for me to decouple the pleasure of shooting with the X-T20 from its eventual results. The process of capturing images with this camera is more satisfying than any other I’ve known (except maybe Fujifilm’s own X-Pro2, which I’ve only flirted with). Smartphones feel impersonal and, if I’m honest, kind of half-assed, like I don’t really care about the photo I’m taking. Full-fat DSLRs, on the other hand, would suggest that I care too much […]

Fujifilm’s mirrorless cameras are simply better. Our reviews of these cameras tend to devolve into emotional expositions about passion for the art of photography, but ultimately Fujifilm just wins on all the practical fronts that matter. The X-T20 has the best viewfinder, best ergonomics, and best image quality in its price class. The Fujinon XF lens ecosystem is unrivaled. If there’s any problem for this camera, it’s in convincing people that it’s worth trying — because I’m confident that once they do, they’ll fall in love with it just as I did.

I have been banging the Fuji drum for years now. The Fuji X-T2 (the X-T20’s bigger and older brother) has totally reinvigorated my love of photography. I try to bring it with me almost everywhere.

As for the X-T20, I’m not as big a fan of the smaller form factor cameras (I also own an X-T10 but I need the extra grip in order to enjoy holding it and shooting with it). But the image-quality-to-price ratio cannot be beat on this camera.

Golden Gardens.

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Re-creating a scene from ‘Goodfellas’ with a $2,000 camera 

TheCameraStoreTV is one of my favorite YouTube channels. They offer in-depth reviews of cameras, delivered with an affable tone and an air of fun.

One series they’ve been doing is “Wooden Niccolls” in which their main host, Chris Niccolls, tries to re-create famous scenes from movies, but using the consumer-grade cameras that they have access to. For their latest entry, they tried re-making a scene from Goodfellas using the upcoming Panasonic GH5:

These videos are very amusing, and the final results are impressive. It seems like it truly is possible to get pretty close to the look of a scene from a classic film, so long as you have the right lighting setup. However, this is also true of a lot of other high-end mirrorless and DSLR cameras these days. I would’ve appreciated a closer look at exactly how much you can push GH5 footage in post, or what flexibility you have with GH5 footage in non-studio conditions. That being said, the ungraded GH5 log footage they show in the video looks fantastic.

I used to own a Panasonic GH4 and while I enjoyed shooting with it, I eventually sold it because I just didn’t find the Micro 4/3rds format (and the Panasonic lenses I used with it) delivered on the sharpness, bokeh, and separation that I was looking for in my images and videos. Moreover, the low-light performance was just not comparable to competitors. I’ve recently fallen in love with the Fuji X-T2, which is a camera I take with me almost everywhere.

That being said, the GH5 looks really formidable in its video specs, and since Canon doesn’t seem to really care about the mirrorless/DSLR video revolution, I might check it out just to see what’s possible.

Fujifilm launches the X100F and the X-T20

Dan Seifert, for The Verge:

The fixed-lens X100F (“F” stands for “fourth,” as it’s the fourth X100 series camera, in case you were wondering) carries over many of the features of its predecessor, including the clever and innovative three-mode hybrid electronic and optical viewfinder. It maintains the 23mm f/2 lens and basic overall design from the earlier X100 cameras, but gains the integrated shutter speed and ISO dial and rear joystick from the X-Pro2. Fujifilm says it also redesigned the controls of the X100F to all be accessible from the right side, to better enable one-handed shooting with the camera. […]

The interchangeable lens X-T20 replaces the excellent X-T10 from 2015 and provides the same image quality as the more expensive X-series cameras while costing under $1,000. It, too, has the new 24-megapixel X-Trans III CMOS sensor and X-Processor Pro and has the new autofocus system used in the X100F, plus new continuous autofocusing settings. The X-T20 can also shoot video in 4K resolution, up from the 1080p output of its predecessor.

The Fujifilm X-T2 is one of my favorite cameras of all time. If I didn’t already own one, then the X-T20 — which looks like it’ll be a smaller version of the X-T2 — would certainly be something I’d want for my camera bag.

The Camera Store TV (one of my favorite YouTube channels) has a really great rundown of these devices:

As for the Fuji X100F, it succeeds another one of my favorite cameras of all time. I may want to pick one up when it drops in price. PetaPixel has a great review of it.