No. 3 in the Fujifilm x Millican series, following a number of award-winning X-series photographers for a day in the Lake District, England. This time, award-winning documentary photographer Derek Clark works with local rock climber, Al Wilson – capturing his experience as he boulders on the famous Bowderstone in the Borrowdale Valley.
X-series users from across the globe share their finest images and the stories behind them
Get your work in eXhibition
Would you like to see your images on these pages? If you’re an X-series user, we’d love to see your shots. Email your images, along with details of the story behind them and some information about you and your photography to: gallery@fujifilmxmagazine.eu
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Spencer Bentley – CITY LIFELINE
“I had the great X-E1 and the beautiful 35mm F1.4 R lens first but after a few months I wanted something with even more portability and the ability to expand my interest in high-speed photography. So I bought the X100S. My gamble has been paying dividends ever since.
“One of my favourite places to photograph is the Washington DC underground metro rail. It’s the lifeline of the city. This photo was when I was experimenting with the camera’s low-light capabilities. I increased the ISO sensitivity to 3200, to get an evenly exposed photo while maintaining a shutter speed fast enough to stop the motion of the train and reduce camera shake.”
Camera: X100S Lens: 23mm fixed Exposure: 1/80sec at F8, ISO 3200
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Nick Palliser – The Munchies
“I am a professional photographer and teacher, and I use the Fuji X system for more than 90% of my work.
“This image is from my latest series, The Munchies, taken with the X-Pro1 and 35mm F1.4 R. I doubt I would have captured them so well with any other system.
“The series explores the diversity of late night independent takeaway establishments and their patrons. I chose a very structured way to compose them, taking cues from Edward Hopper and Arne Svenson. I am planning to expand on the series and possibly produce a book.”
Camera: X-Pro1 Lens: XF35mm F1.4 R Exposure: 1/100sec at F1.4, ISO 3200
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Stephen Ip – NEWPORT BEACH Pier
“I am a landscape and travel photographer based in Southern California, USA. I have been shooting exclusively with the X-series cameras since March 2012. I currently use the X-Pro1 with the 14mm and 35mm lenses along with the X100S.
“This long exposure image is from a personal project I am working on to photograph the piers along the California coast.”
CAMERA: X-Pro1 LENS: XF35mm F1.4 R EXPOSURE: 110secs at F16, ISO 200
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Kjetil Iversen – My home town: Bodo
“I love my Fujifilm X100. This shot is from my home town, Bodo, in northern Norway. I made it with my fantastic X100 and the wide-conversion lens. I mainly use the X100 for family shots, but it really is a versatile tool.
“This photo was shot in Raw and developed on my computer. The X100 Raw files are fantastic!”
Camera: X100 with wide-conversion lens Exposure: 13secs at F8, ISO 200
X-series users from across the globe share their finest images and the stories behind them
Get your work in eXhibition
Would you like to see your images on these pages? If you’re an X-series user, we’d love to see your shots. Email your images, along with details of the story behind them and some information about you and your photography to: gallery@fujifilmxmagazine.eu
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Chris Saddler – Night-time Vegas
“I’m so glad I took the plunge and bought an X-series camera. The images are stellar and the high ISO capability amazes me. This aerial shot was taken at ISO 2000. I took it in Raw and made minor adjustments in Adobe Camera Raw.”
Camera: X-E2 Lens: XF18-55mm Exposure: 1/10sec at F5.6, ISO 2000
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Jorge Miño – The look of love
“I was walking in Madrid looking for black & white urban images when I saw this impressive pub. I realised that this girl was looking at her boyfriend with big open eyes so I composed the image and took three shots. The pub is really impressive, but I value much more her way of looking at her boyfriend – to my eyes it says she’s completely in love.”
Camera: X-Pro1 Lens: 35mm Exposure: 1/50sec at F1.4, ISO 800
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Peter Fauland – EPFL Rolex Learning Center, Lausanne
“I run a studio and photography school in Berlin, Germany. Recently I documented the construction of the EPFL Rolex Learning Center in Lausanne, Switzerland. Returning to Lausanne, I was thrilled to visit the Center again, this time with my X-series cameras.
“For around a year I’ve been using these mirrorless cameras and the FUJINON lenses because of their outstanding image quality, especially in low-light situations, the simplicity of operation and the much smaller size and weight compared with my old camera kit.”
Camera: X-Pro1 Lens: Zeiss Touit F2.8 12mm Exposure: 6.3secs at F11, ISO 250
As a Fujifilm X-series fan you’ll already know that good things come in small packages, but the XQ1 takes that concept at least a couple of steps further. Significantly smaller and lighter than the X20, the XQ1 puts top quality picture taking in the palm of your hand. Quite literally.
Available in black and silver finishes, it’s one of those cameras that you simply can’t justify leaving at home. It’s been a constant companion for the last three weeks I’ve had it to review, largely by virtue of the fact that regardless of where I’ve been going it’s been small and light enough to come along too. Out walking the dog? Easy, it fits in a coat pocket. In town for a night out? No problem, it fits in my wife’s handbag. It even found its way into a tiny backpack when I was out mountain biking last weekend. Despite its proportions and weight, it gives the feeling of reassuring solidity with a build quality that can take the knocks. Kid gloves not required.
Taken on XQ1
In line with the X-series brand, the XQ1 mixes timeless styling with the latest technology, plus throws in a few neat design touches for good measure. The most obvious of these is the Control Wheel that sits around the 4x zoom lens. Pressing the E-Fn button on the back of the camera allows you to assign a function to the Control Wheel for fast access while shooting. I chose to use it for quick ISO sensitivity changes, but users can also change other functions including exposure compensation, white-balance and zoom control.
Taken on XQ1
Once you’ve taken images, they can instantly be shared to a smartphone or tablet thanks to the XQ1’s built-in Wi-Fi functionality. All that’s required from the receiving device is the free Fujifilm Camera App. An additional Wi-Fi offering comes in the shape of PC AutoSave, which uses a Wi-Fi network to automatically connect camera to PC for wireless image back up.
Alongside the technological and design touches, the XQ1 is a powerhouse when it comes to image capture. It boasts a ⅔-inch 12-megapixel sensor that uses X-Trans technology to deliver impressively sharp results. The zoom lens (which offers a 25-100mm equivalent range) also has a maximum aperture setting of F1.8 at the wide- angle setting to offer added versatility in low-light conditions and helps create attractive out of focus effects.
Taken on XQ1
If you’re capturing still images, I’d urge you to try out the many built-in filter effects, 360° Motion Panorama mode, Film Simulation modes and the extremely handy Pro Low Light, Multiple Exposure and Pro Focus functions. If video is more your thing, the XQ1 offers Full HD video capture as well as a frame rate of 150 frames-per-second for slow motion effects. The latter is both great fun and seriously addictive!
In use, the XQ1 delivers a very accomplished performance. Picture quality is impressive, autofocus fast, metering assured and battery life surprisingly long. I’ll be sorry to see the camera go back to Fujifilm, it has quickly become a close companion wherever I go.
Here are some sample images taken at varying ISO values. Click on them to see them larger
A classic camera in a classic location – see why the X-E1 and the French capital make the perfect combination
“I love the beauty and elegance in Paris: the architecture, the open spaces and the people. But it’s the small details that I like as much as the famous monuments and chateaux.”
Alastair documents Paris with a Fujifilm X-E1, which he started using last year.
“I chose the X-E1 after hours of research into mirrorless cameras. I was using a DSLR and a bridge camera previously but I haven’t touched either since getting the Fujifilm. It’s been a pleasure to use.”
13th Arrondissement
Lens: XF18-55mm F2.8-4 R LM OIS Exposure: 1/300sec at F5.6, ISO 800
This is the ground floor of a nine-storey apartment block in the 13th Arrondissement. It’s due to be demolished, but before that happens 102 street artists were given full access to do as they wished with both the interior and exterior. This was one of my first shots of the exterior of the building. I liked the combination of the three elements to the picture and the X-E1 does a great job of capturing vibrant colours. I queued for over five hours to get this shot, but it was worth it. To be surrounded by artistic creations on floors, walls and ceilings was stunning.
Métro
Lens: XF18-55mm F2.8-4 R LM OIS Exposure: 1/4sec at F8, ISO 1600
I don’t often have my camera out on the Métro as thefts are not unknown. The stations make fascinating subjects for photography though. I wanted to experiment with capturing the moving train as it pulled into the station, and I like the effect of being able to see through the train windows to the opposite platform. I can’t remember whether I intended to include the woman looking along the length of the train. I’ll claim it as good composition, but it may have been luck. The exposure is 1/4sec and it’s hand-held so I don’t know what kind of magical trickery Fujifilm have managed to incorporate into their image stabilisation. But it works!
T-Rex
Lens: XF18-55mm F2.8-4 R LM OIS Exposure: 1/1900sec at F13, ISO 200
This seven-metre, metal Tyrannosaurus Rex sculpture overlooks the Seine on the platform of the Bateaux-Mouches boating company. I’d walked past it plenty of times before but on this occasion the sky was more dramatic and the sun was offering the chance of backlighting the dinosaur. Initially I had the sculpture in silhouette but the Fujifilm RAW files give so much flexibility for changing the exposure and I prefer being able to see the amazing details in the chrome finish.
Monmartre
Lens: XF18-55mm F2.8-4 R LM OIS Exposure: 1/450sec at F4, ISO 200
Sometimes you just notice a scene and know immediately that it will make a good image. The X-E1 is great for this as you can shoot really quickly. This is in Montmartre, and I noticed the woman taking a few photos. As well as her striking red coat, I like her stance as she leans against the wall. Hopefully my photograph makes you want to know what she’s pointing her camera at, but I’ll leave that to your imagination.
City view from Sacré-Cœur
Lens: XF18-55mm F2.8-4 R LM OIS Exposure: 1/45sec at F22, ISO 1600
I really enjoy watching other residents and visitors enjoying Paris. This is the view over the city from Sacré Cœur. I took a few shots of this couple but this is my favourite, and the only one that’s pigeon-free. I like the idea of sharing the view with them. Initially I converted it to black & white since none of the colours are particularly important to the shot. Then I tried just removing some of the colour saturation so that the colours are more subtle without being distracting, and this was the end result.
The Louvre at dusk
Lens: XF18-55mm F2.8-4 R LM OIS Exposure: 20secs at F16, ISO 200
It was a clear afternoon so I decided to head to the Louvre for dusk. With the X-E1 on a small tripod, I set the ISO to 200, switched off the stabilisation on the lens and choose the aperture. The X-E1 does a great job of exposing accurately so I’m usually happy to leave the shutter speed on automatic. All my photos are shot in RAW (although the X-E1 JPEGs are also excellent), with conversion and post-processing in Lightroom 5. My processing is usually minimal; this shot was cropped slightly to better fill the frame, with some minor exposure adjustments and a light vignette applied.
Fujifilm’s XF23mm has been hugely anticipated by X-series users, and after testing the optic, it’s easy to see why. With an effective focal length of 35mm, this is a ‘go anywhere, do anything’ lens. Suitable for street photography, landscapes and even portraits.
X-Pro1 – XF23mm – ISO 1600 F/2.5 – 1/640
What most users will do when they unbox the lens, is flick the aperture ring straight to F1.4. I can’t blame them, the larger F-number gives beautiful bokeh, and amazing images, as well as the confidence to work in low light, without the worry of camera shake and blurry images. With most lenses that sport a fast aperture of F1.4 it feels like you’re attaching a dumb-bell to your camera. However, the XF23mm only weighs 300g, making it more than manageable on the X-Pro1 that I used here.
X-Pro1 – XF23mm – ISO 400 F/1.4 – 1/850
The aperture ring takes you through from F1.4 to the minimum aperture of F16. Instead of the typical AF/MF switch, the XF23mm features a push/pull ring that switches between manual and autofocus. There are also distance and depth-of-field scales on the barrel.
When using wider optics like this, there are usually two main areas of concern – barrel distortion and vignetting. However, the XF23mm aces both categories with virtually no distortion and vignetting is handled extremely well – even at F1.4.
X-Pro1 – XF23mm – ISO 800 F/1.4 – 1/2400
The quick, sharp focusing that this lens offers is down to the internal focusing (IF) technology, which delivers speedy and discreet autofocus – let’s face it, you don’t want the lens to be buzzing away as you try to find focus during a candid street photography situation. Because of this internal focusing, the front of the lens doesn’t rotate. This benefits landscape photographers who use graduated filters.
X-Pro1 – XF23mm – ISO 500 F/8 – 1/60
When it comes to results, the XF23mm really delivers. The lens is sharpest at F8 and when I say sharp, I mean razor sharp – professional photographers looking to invest in a lens of this type will not be let down by the results.
Excellent build-quality, simple ease-of-use and results to die for; what more could you ask for?
