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Mike, I own the small twos you mention here and really love them they actually some of the best glass I have ever used. However, I just want to mention the handiest lens Fuji makes is the 18-135, at least my copy is very handy and incredibly sharp. Plus it is so useful for so many travel situations. When I travel, which is about every month, I take 3 Fuji lenses, the beautiful 16-55 f2.8; the 18-135 f 4.0- 22; and I take the little 35 f2. That combination works for most situations except large buildings. I also take the small flash that comes with the Fuji XT cameras. The weight is about 6 pounds. This is ideal since many flights I am on outside of the US, put a twenty pound limit on carry-on luggage. My take on the discussion. Have a good weekend, and keep shooting. Eric
A Practical Fujifilm Lens Kit
[TOP will be off tomorrow as usual. Have a great weekend! Hope the weather is decent wherever in the world you are. The weather's gorgeous here right now, just unbelievably outrageously gorgeous. The G9, the Attention Hound, and Yr Hmbl. Ed. all need a walk. —Mike the Ed.] - Longtime readers hav...
Mike, I happen to own both the Z6 and the XT 3 and like them both. It is hard to say which has the better image quality or better ergonomics, but I will say the Z 6 is a lot of fun to carry and shoot. So far the only two native lenses I own are the 14-30 f4 and the 24-70 f4, both are really good lenses. When I attempt to compare IQ between the Fuji and the Nikon I find it difficult because they are so similar. At least when I am looking at files in Lightroom, they look similar.
My main complaint about the Z is the XQD format. I consider myself a travel photographer more than anything else, and do not travel with a computer, just an I pad. It is much easier to transfer files to an I pad from the Fuji than the Z 6.
When I travel, I usually take two zooms, the telephoto, a 70-200 and the 24-70. With both cameras and zooms the carry weight is about the same. I also like to have a prime or two for low light performance.
I have all the f 2 primes for fuji, and only one for Nikon so currently my travel kit is Fuji. That could change in the future as the lens development of Nikon continues. The Z is a very good system and would encourage any of your readers to give it a try. I do like and respect both companies they both seem to be creating quality products that the market demands.
Which Would Win?
When my son was little—like, younger than five—I used to get a certain question a lot: "who would win?" He might have two armies of little plastic soldiers all set up, or be staging fights with two of his "guys" (action figures). Or sometimes the question would be more theoretical. Who would w...
Mike, I had to jump in here. I just came back from Florida, not saying where in Florida. But in this unnamed City, Mercedes are like Hondas where I live. More importantly, one sees lots of Bentleys and Rolls Royces. In my Opinion, know one buys a Rolls or a Bentley because they ride better or are more comfortable than an Audi or Mercedes, they buy them to make a statement, that they can own or lease that car. I always wonder what posses people to buy vehicles that cost well over 100k, when 30-40k vehicles provide equal or often better service and driving experience. Oh well its America and conspicuous consumption is still alive and well, at least in parts of Florida. BTW, I did read the story about Bruce in the Times. Actually made a comment in the comment section which said Cameras still matter, but Photographer matter more. He does great work and does it consistently. A great quality in a photographer. All the best Eric
When Ignorance Is Not Bliss (Annals of Automobilia) (OT)
This is off topic, but it's funny. Consider: The base model of Land Rover's top-of-the-line Range Rover SUV costs $89,500. The base model of Toyota's RAV4 SUV costs $24,500. However, the RAV4 comes standard with far more features than the 3.6X more expensive Range Rover. To get the features of t...
Mike, A great story and one I have been preaching to my kids for many years. I am the family photographer, and the only one in the family who believes in printing images. This is a topic that needs to be addressed, but sadly most folks under 60 will ignore it. I too will miss the photo department at my local Costco since that is where I send all the family pics for printing, and they do a decent job. BTW I liked that women. She nailed it. All the best. Eric
Print to Save
Don't press like. Don't press save. Press print. Print to save. Someone named Missy Mwac is being discussed recently (although, as a recovering alcoholic and a confessed WFPB fanatic, I can't see how someone who eats bacon and loves vodka could be your guide to anything, much less the murky wate...
Mike, I had to jump in here. I read the post about camera bags and thought that this will create a lot of comments. Everyone has there own preference as to bags. I happen to own two Billingham Bags, the Hadley pro and the Hadley Small. I have owned them for at least 5+ years, not sure exactly how long.? I use the larger one to carry my large Nikon FF gear when I travel, and the small one when I carry the Fuji travel cameras. I tend to think about how I am going to carry any gear that I buy before I but it. I make sure what ever I but fits in one of these two bags. I recently purchased the Nikon Z6 to replace my 4 year old D750. It actually fits in my Hadley small bag with room for a an extra lens. I may sell the larger bag after I sell the D750 and just hold on to the smaller bag. I will say both bags look as good as the day I purchased them. I simply clean each bag with dish soap after each trip. One of the things I learned from my travels is it is more important to travel light and small rather than worry about lots of gear and lenses. My favorite lens and camera is the Fuji Xt2 with the 18-135 plus one prime and the X100f. All this fits in the Hadley Small along with a small I pad. They just work. All the best Eric
Billingham Bags
I know, I know, what David Paterson said...in the last Featured Comment on the previous post...but I can't help one more comment about bags. And that is to point out that any time you get a lot of use out of something, you win. I circle back around to writing about Billingham (here's their websi...
Mike, Merry Christmas to you and a happy and healthy 2019.
Earthrise and Merry Christmas!
Fifty years ago today—50 years ago this morning, at a few minutes after 10:30 Central U.S. time—a former USAF fighter pilot named William A. (Bill) Anders, who is now 85 years old and lives in Anacortes, in the State of Washington on the West coast, took one of the indisputably great photographs...
Mike, I have and use this lens. It was one of the first lens purchases I made with my Fuji system. But there is always a but. I recently acquired the 18-135 super zoom, and I have to say it also is an excellent lens. I used to be a lens snob, trying to use only primes and high end glass. This lens changed me. It is terrific and almost lives on my camera. I recently went on a month long trip and took only this lens and the 35 f2 for low light situations. It was all I needed and came away with many beautiful images. Give it a try, you will be impressed. Eric
Fujifilm XF 55-200mm
If you'll excuse me, I wonder if I might pick the collective brain of the TOP Commentariat with a little question: Does anyone have and use the Fujifilm XF 55–200mm ƒ/3.5–4.8 R LM OIS lens? Just wondering what you think of it and how you feel about it. Does it serve? Do you like it? Thanks in ...
Mike, reading the book now. A little different topic but still very good. As always it is hard to put down. Recommend it to your readers. Eric
Number One (OT)
Quick kudos to friend o' TOP and frequent commenter John Camp, who writes novels under the pen name John Sandford: I clicked on the Best Seller list wondering if by chance I might find John on it, and what do you know, there he was, right in the coveted pole position. That's cool as can be. He...
Mike, I think you nailed it for me. I thought I would be an early adopter of the Z system. However after reading about the system and looking at pictures of the camera itself, I think I like my Fuji Xt2 even better. When I put those small primes on the front of the camera it is so much fun to shoot. Recently purchased the super zoom, 18-135 for the camera and it is a real surprise. It is sharp, light and hits all the buttons. Further it is a perfect travel lens. Plus the camera has two slots for simple and cheap SD cards. The cards are so inexpensive that I can save one of the two of them from my travels giving me even greater redundancy. As to balance, ergonomics and all that the camera is terrific. I will still keep my large FF Nikon for some work, but as I travel the world, I will be shooting a Fuji. All the best Eric
Goldilocks, Meet Fuji
Proportion, weight, feel, size: it's all a balance. When we were delving into the matter of flange distance in relation to lensmount diameter in relation to format the other day, it occurred to me that with all these opposing parameters, Fuji X still seems to me the ideally chosen balance. Fort...
Mike, for what it is worth I thought I would comment. I am a 30+ year Nikon user with a full set of F2.8 and F4 glass as well as a D750. I love the D750 and the 24-70 f2.8 lens. It is magic on the camera. I also shoot for travel an XT2 which is a great camera. I had originally thought that I could sell the Fuji and use the new Nikon mirrorless for my travels and keep the 750 for my serious work. After looking at the camera and lenses there is no way I can give up my beautiful gold ringed lenses for a small plastic kit lens. If the adaptor actually works well that may change my mind; however, I have become a fan of the two card slots especially the SD cards. I always use one of the cards with JPEGs which I keep and never clean off after a major trip. I can't see how Nikon can actually think that serious amateurs or professional shooters can get away with only one card. Anyway I am a no go on the Z at this point and will continue to use the Fuji and Nikon in parallel for my different photographic purposes. My two cents Eric
Okay, Okay, Okay, I'll Buy One
The Z7 on DPReview, a go-to site for breaking news about new cameras* I logged in to DPReview this morning along with the rest of the photo-enthusiast world to get the scoop on the new Nikons, and found not one, not two, not three...[fast forward zzzt zzzt zzzt]...but what appears to be sixteen...
Mike, great post. It is because of post's like this that I am happy to contribute every month. Keep up the good work. Eric
Baker's Dozen: Yellow
- "There is a sun, a light that for want of a better word I can only call yellow, pale sulphur yellow, pale golden citron. How lovely yellow is!" —Vincent Van Gogh - By Darren Livingston 1 By Jim Arthur 2 By Jeff Pressman 3 By Nicolas Vincent 4 By Keith Poole 5 By Marshall Smith 6 ...
Mike, I am feeling the same way APS-C Sensors. I recently re-processed pictures from 10 years ago, shot with a Nikon D300. I Used the most recent version of Adobe CC Lightroom. The images were really great. Clearly as good as anything to come out of my Nikon FF Camera.
As you know from my previous posts, I shoot both Fuji and Nikon. I really like the Fuji, but love my Nikon D 750. It is just too big for travel. I am currently looking at the Nikon D500. It is the same size as the D750 body, but the lenses are smaller and lighter.
I currently travel with the fuji, but if I had the D500, I could travel with that and sell both systems. Thanks for the review.
One unrelated comment about the Fuji System, the f2 primes are beautiful, and very easy to travel with. I own both the 23 and 35 and love them both. In fact if I did get the D 500 I would sell the big Fuji zooms, and keep the XT2, and the small zooms. Thanks for the post, there sure is a lot of hype about the Sony camera. One day I may try one myself. All the best.
Eric
Image Quality (My Updated Opinion) (Sony A7III)
Mike Johnston, Excusado, 2018. Like a lot of my pictures this one's a little photo-historical joke. The reference is to Edward Weston's Excusado, his famous faux-abstract exploration of form from 1925. (The title means "excused," slang for toilet.) Sony A7III. I've just updated my personal exp...
Mike, I am glad you are looking at the Sony camera but I have to tell that having used a fuji system for several years now, I have decided the time to unload my Nikon is rapidly approaching. With Fuji if I want to execise my Arms I can use a f 2.8 big lens or use one of the beautiful little f2 primes. Both provide terrific images. The big 16-55 is similar to the Sony the Fuji primes are much smaller, and a joy to shoot with. I think I have reached a point in my photography where the gear is not as important as my eye. Fuji just works, I initially purchased it based on your suggestion and reviews and now I am finally happy with my gear. Good luck with the review.
Sony A7 Mark III In Da House
The TP (theoretically perfect) or PoP (perfect on paper) Sony A7III arrived last evening! This is petty—I'm griping, and I admit that—but here are the first two things I noticed. No charger. It's one of those deals where you get a cable and a USB adapter for charging the battery in-camera. Gran...
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Dec 3, 2014
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