In June last year I did a blog on the pulling power of the then current line up of Fujinon XF lenses from 10mm up to 200mm.
Since then Fujifilm have added a 1.4x converter and the XF100-400mm f4.5/5.6 to the line up. With just four zooms and a 1.4x converter the pulling power of the Fujinon line up is now 10mm to 560mm or 15mm to 840mm in full frame terms, which is more than enough for most photographers needs.
The 1.4x converter fits on the two longest lenses taking them to 70-196mm and 140-560mm respectively but with the loss of one stop on each – f4 across the full range of the 50-140mm and f8 at 560mm.
It is difficult to visualise in your head the zoom range so I fitted each lens in turn to the X-T1, which was fitted to a Manfrotto tripod, and shot the same scene, the lighthouse at Barns Ness near Dunbar.
Here are the shots starting at 10mm and ending with 560mm.
These images were used in the #5YearsofXSeries event on the 15th of Jan 2016, to see the video, click HERE
As you can see the quality of the XF lenses is the same throughout the zoom range and the reach of the Fujinon lenses available for the X-Series now has been extended so you stand further away and still fill the frame with your subject.
The new XF100-400mm is perfect for sport and wildlife and is also useful for landscapes. You can read my review of the new Fujinon superzoom HERE.
Olympic gold medallist & enthusiast photographer Pete Reed explains why he has moved from a D-SLR to a Fujifilm mirrorless system to capture his important memories, and more recently he has been using the FUJIFILM X70 camera – find out what he thinks about it in this video..
What better way to celebrate 5 years of Fujifilm X series than by hosting our own event at our head office in Tokyo?! I was lucky enough to be here so I’m sharing the experience with you.
The event started at 13:30 local time, while most (but not all) of you were probably tucked up fast asleep. We had a countdown that had been running on our X-Pro1 website for the last ten days.
Mr Nakajima explaining our company’s strategy since the decline of film sales
At 13:30 sharp [3m 9s], Fujifilm President Shigehiro Nakajima gave an introduction speech about how our company has evolved in recent years. Film sales peaked in the year 2000 and since then has quickly declined. We took our core competencies and technologies and the diversified our business to ensure survival of the company. At the heart of our company is, and always will be, photography. This is why the X series is so important to us.
Mr Takahashi makes a great case for using a smaller, lighter system
Afterwards, the top man in the whole Optical Division, Mr Takahashi, [13m 21s] took to the stage to explain in more detail about the last 5 years of X series. He explained the key benefits of using our APS-C system, including image quality, operability, and portability. He thanked all of the Fujifilm X users across the world, with a special nod to the Official X-Photographers, for not only using our products, but for helping us design future products. It has been the constant feedback that has enabled us to make these products we all love so much.
Toshi explained and demonstrated the advantages of the Hybrid Viewfinder. We all know that an EVF is great because it shows you the image you are going to get, including your exposure settings and any other Film Simulation or White Balance options you have changed. But in a world where EVF refresh rates and LCD resolution seem to make Optical Viewfinders redundant, why on earth would an OVF be required anymore? Toshi explained how having a Rangefinder style OVF allows you to see what is going on outside the frame. This is something that cannot be done on a D-SLR, nor by using an EVF.
Fujifilm X-Pro2 – the first and only Interchangeable Cameras with both OVF and EVF
Also, two ‘problems’ still exist with using an OVF: “Parallax”, where the angle of the Viewfinder is slightly different from that of the lens making it hard to know precisely where the edge of the frame will be, and Manual Focus is virtually impossible because changing the focus ring doesn’t affect the OVF on a rangefinder. The X-Pro2 has overcome both of these problems by displaying a small LCD panel in the bottom of the frame. This can be used to either show the entire frame in a miniature form, or it can be used to zoom in to the focus point to allow manual focus while in OVF mode.
Using the ERF to manual focus while using the OVF to frame the shot (image by Wex Photographic)
The X-Pro2 contains the new X-Trans CMOS III – the third generation sensor, which at 24-megapixels, has 50% more resolution that our current. It contains technology that allows faster transfer allowing lower noise at higher ISO.
80 years of film development gives us the expertise to recreate skin tones and other colours with exceptional realism. Toshi also talked about the new Acros film simulation monochrome mode that features smoother gradation, deep blacks and beautiful textures
Acros tone curve, as demonstrated by X-Photographer Patrick La Roque’s son
Next up, Toshi invited Magnum and National Geographic photographer David Alan Harvey onto the stage to talk about how he has found the X-Pro2 since using a prototype for the last few months. Here is the short movie that was played just before he joined Toshi on stage
David’s approach to photography is nothing short of inspiring. David likes simplicity. He wants his camera to be as simple to use as possible, while achieving the quality he needs to do his work. He used the camera in full-auto mode most of the time, wanting to spend more time worrying about the content of the image than what shutter speed to use. This attitude towards photography is exactly what we are trying to get to when we made this camera. We want people to enjoy photography and in order to do this you need to not think about the camera, and instead think about your art.
Next up, Toshi introduced the new X-E2S camera. It’s basically a rangefinder brother for the X-T10. All of the technical features that made the DSLR-style X-T10 a more attractive camera have been matched, leaving the user to choose between the style of camera rather than the specifications.
If you want to be able to shoot with your right eye leaving your face fully exposed to engage with your subject, or you want the classic retro look of a rangefinder of days passed, the X-E2S will be for you. If you prefer the more modern look of a D-SLR, plus the advantage of having a tilting screen for shooting high or low angles more comfortably, the X-T10 will probably be your preference.
Either way, you now get to choose your camera based on who you are, rather than which one was better on paper. Current X-E2 users can also rejoice in the fact that the software enhancements in the X-E2S will be coming to the X-E2 via a FREE firmware update in the very near future.
“This new 100-400mm lens looks like it was worth waiting for” – DPReview
Toshi showed a series of images [1h 13m 20s] that were all shot on the same camera + tripod. They were of a lighthouse and the showed the view at 10mm, and varying focal lengths right up to the final one showing the XF100-400 lens at its maximum zoom, with the XF1.4X converter on it. This did a great job of demonstrating just house varied our lens line up has become in the 4 years since the introduction of the X-Pro1. He then explained which of Fujifilm’s core technologies [1h 14m 0s] went into the creation of our new “Super Telephoto” lens, the XF100-400mmF4.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR.
Jeff Carter, talking about his switch from D-SLR to Fujifilm X
Jeff has been a professional photographer for many years and he switched to Fujifilm on a recommendation of a peer. His chosen subjects to shoot vary massively from shooting at The 24 Hours of Le Mans race, to shooting landscapes near his home in Scotland. He’s been fully converted to the X system since 2014 and has most of the lenses in our lineup and finds a use for all of them. They went through a number of Jeff’s shots and discussed the lens lineup and direction and also his reasons for making his final switch and going full-Fujifilm X.
Toshi ended his interview with Jeff by talking about a product meeting Jeff had attended a few months ago. (You may or may not know that Fujifilm REALLY listen to their users for product feedback). He asked him if he remembered a particular request that Jeff had. This particular request was for a flashgun that could fire continuously and would also be weatherproof to suit his X-T1. Jeff confirmed that he remembered the request, to which Toshi then presented the next product…
The only product not due to be released in February is the EF-X500 flash. Similar to our lens roadmap updates, we wanted our users to know that we listen to their feedback and we are working on a hotshoe mount flashgun to compliment the X series.
It’ll have a low-profile design that is perfectly suited to X-Series cameras, and will support high-speed sync up to 1/8000 sec. (the same speed as the shutter in the new X-Pro2). It will also be weather and dust resistant, just like the X-T1 and X-Pro2 cameras.
The final product that was presented was the X70,. This camera is essentially an X100T + WCL-X100, in a tiny body. It doesn’t have a viewfinder, which is the reason it can afford to be so small, but it does have a tilting LCD screen to compose your shot with.
“Awesome little compact camera” – Fujifilm UK’s Theo Georghiades
The same sensor as the X100T, the same processor as the X100T and an amazingly high-quality lens made by Fujinon (like the X100T). Now you can have a camera in your pocket at all times that won’t sacrifice image quality at all. Coupled with a 180° tilting LCD that’s pretty handy for selfies, the X70 really is the ultimate travel camera for someone that really needs to travel light but wants great results still.
X-Photographer Pete Bridgwood talks about the new X-Pro2 and how it has helped him translate the emotional experience of a landscape into his finished prints.
Pete Bridgwood is a fine-art landscape photographer and writer from Nottingham in the UK. He started making photographs back in 1978 with black and white film and manual cameras, using wet-process in a traditional darkroom. This time spent in his youth, learning about the traditional process proved invaluable to Pete, but his workflow is now completely digital and he now uses X-Series cameras exclusively. “They facilitate communication for me in a way that’s impossible with any other type of camera and they rediscover this nostalgic feel for photography that was lost in the early digital years. Perhaps the greatest challenge in creative landscape photography comes from encapsulating the soul or spirit of the location and communicating that captured perception to the viewer of the final print. Fuji X-Series allow me to accomplish this emotive translation in a seamless way, and the X-Pro2 is the ultimate evolution of these amazing cameras”
If you would like to see more of Pete’s work, please click here.
The Interval Timer feature built into some of our X series* cameras can be an excellent tool to express your creativity.
It can be used to capture multiple images one after the other with the knowledge that you will simply pick your favourite image later on. Or the most likely the reason you would use this feature is to create a time-lapse movie like this little Lego guy doing a dance (rather badly I might add!), or perhaps a flower bud opening up, or even the sun setting behind the horizon – the possibilities are truly endless.
Example of time-lapse movie – The Robot Dance
In this tutorial I want to give you a basic idea of how to use the Interval Timer function to create timelapse movies. For in-depth advice on timelapse movie creation and some of the more detailed do’s and don’t’s I would strongly recommend searching ‘How do I get great timelapse results from my camera?‘ as there are so many good tutorials already out there.
The option for timelapse is found in the main menu of the X series cameras under the title ‘INTERVAL TIMER SHOOTING‘, choose this option with the menu/ok button.
From this, select the interval (the time between each shot) using the navigation buttons (up, down, left and right). Once you are happy with the intervals, you will need to choose how many shots you want in total – this is found under the title ‘NUMBER OF TIMES‘. To help with how many shots you want see the tip below:
TIP!In Europe and Canada we normally use 25fps (frames per second) also known as PAL for our movies. Below you can see examples of how many photographs you would need to take to achieve the required length of movie.
Examples for 25fps:
1 second of footage = 25 photographs
2 seconds of footage = 50 photographs
10 seconds of footage = 250 photographs
1 minute of footage = 1500 photographs
Another way to think of this is Video length = Number of pictures ÷ Frame rate
The last step is to choose when the camera actually starts taking pictures, this could be immediately, in which case you would select 0h 00m or for example 20 minutes time (0h 20m). When you are ready to shoot simply press the menu/ok button and this will start the timer.
At the end of the sequence of shots you will then need to put them into a movie making program such as Adobe Premiere Pro or similar to create the timelapse itself – for that part I’d recommend looking up a software specific tutorial, so if you use Premiere Pro try a search like ‘Create a timelapse video in Premiere Pro‘ in your favourite search engine.
TIP! I normally use YouTube for this part to see exactly what buttons the teacher is clicking / using to create the timelapse video – that should stop you getting lost along the way!
TIPS, TIPS, TIPS!
Use a tripod for best results
Here are some bonus tips to think about when creating a timelapse video:
Use a tripod –Otherwise your timelapse video will look like an earthquake is taking place!
Set the camera to 16:9 ratio – This will be the correct image ratio for a 1080p Full HD movie file, so you will not need to crop hundreds of images!
Plan ahead – If you are shooting a sunrise or sunset, know exactly where the sun is going to end up. Apps like The Photographer’s Ephemeris can really help you achieve this.
Think very carefully about composition – This kind of goes without saying, but I’m saying it anyway.. 😉 Take your time framing the shot, after all you are going to take hundreds of pictures of your landscape and it would be a real shame to get 300 images of the horizon all wonky!
Shoot Raw & Jpeg – Although Jpegs are preferable for many users, if the lighting changes dramatically whilst shooting you will find editing & correcting a RAW file much more flexible as it retains all the detail from an image rather than a compressed version.
Shoot manually – To ensure consistently good results always shoot fully manual – set the shutter speed, the aperture, ISO and focus yourself rather than allowing the camera to do this for you.
Below is an example of a timelapse movie shot on the X-T1 and played back at 25FPS. The movie consists of 150 shots.
To see the unknown, to make new discoveries – starting from the very first telescope, humankind’s intense curiosity to expand the visual field has led to various inventions. Radar that locates a distant object or sonar that can analyze what’s beneath the sea surface are inventions which let us see what’s normally hidden from view. Did you know there is also an invention that enables us to “see” an intentionally hidden secret, and only under certain conditions? Let’s take brand tags for example, an easy target of forgery. Fujifilm invented a special filter which helps to identify a fake product. The system is called FORGE GUARD™.
In June last year I did a blog on the pulling power of the then current line up of Fujinon XF lenses from 10mm up to 200mm.
Pete Bridgwood is a fine-art landscape photographer and writer from Nottingham in the UK. He started making photographs back in 1978 with black and white film and manual cameras, using wet-process in a traditional darkroom. This time spent in his youth, learning about the traditional process proved invaluable to Pete, but his workflow is now completely digital and he now uses X-Series cameras exclusively. “They facilitate communication for me in a way that’s impossible with any other type of camera and they rediscover this nostalgic feel for photography that was lost in the early digital years. Perhaps the greatest challenge in creative landscape photography comes from encapsulating the soul or spirit of the location and communicating that captured perception to the viewer of the final print. Fuji X-Series allow me to accomplish this emotive translation in a seamless way, and the X-Pro2 is the ultimate evolution of these amazing cameras”
To see the unknown, to make new discoveries – starting from the very first telescope, humankind’s intense curiosity to expand the visual field has led to various inventions. Radar that locates a distant object or sonar that can analyze what’s beneath the sea surface are inventions which let us see what’s normally hidden from view. Did you know there is also an invention that enables us to “see” an intentionally hidden secret, and only under certain conditions? Let’s take brand tags for example, an easy target of forgery. Fujifilm invented a special filter which helps to identify a fake product. The system is called FORGE GUARD™.