Boxed

I needed to say goodbye. We'd just finished dinner, the kids were playing a game before bedtime... I slipped outside for a few minutes, just to give it one last run, to say farewell to a dear friend. Nothing earth shattering, nothing destined to grace the walls of galleries... Just a few incidental frames to remember it by.

I should've had the camera on loan for two weeks, tops; It stayed with me for two months. I'm very grateful to Billy and Michael at Fujifilm Canada for allowing me this time with the X100S — But now, finally, it has to go back. A waybill is coming and the box is ready, waiting.

Obviously, this is a temporary loss and I'll be purchasing one of my own as soon as possible... But not now. Life does that to you sometimes. Choices need to be made, however heartbreaking.

Here's a link to everything I've written about or shot with the camera since last March. Below are some remaining images I took in the past week as well as those last few frames.

Safe travels little one.
Safe travels.

An Exhibition | MassArt Auction 2013.

I'm slightly overwhelmed as we make our way through the gallery. The work here is outstanding, everyone smiling, friendly... But I'm not used to this; the social rhythms, the conventions, the banter. I'm only intimate with shadows, with scenes stolen from the darkness of hidden corners. We move to the live auction hall upstairs and I watch the people roam, slowly, methodically. Something here reminds me of Antonioni's Blow Up but I'm not sure why. 

Perhaps it's the quiet elegance of an alternate universe.

Fujinon 55-200mm Zoom | Pre-Production Unit

At some point Fuji is going to disappoint me. They'll have to let me down, I just know they will. Everything follows this basic, unforgiving law of averages right? But at the risk of coming off as some sort of fanboi, that day hasn't come and I’m again forced to swoon over an upcoming X-series product: the Fujinon XF 55–200mm F3.5–4.8 R LM OIS.

This lens isn’t out yet but Fujifilm Canada sent me a pre-production unit to test — with all the caveats this involves. A telephoto is the one thing I’ve been missing most on this system so I was eager to try it out. I had to install a new firmware version in order for the camera to recognize it but everything went without a hitch. I was warned by Billy (Luong, of the Fuji Guys) that there were still improvements being made (the zoom itself is way too stiff but this won’t be in the final version), and Tokyo has put an embargo on any full size images until everything has been ironed out. But I’ll tell you this: if this is the level of image quality in the pre-production unit… Man, we’re in for a serious treat. The contrast, sharpness and highlight rendition is right up there with the 35mm f/1.4. My initial feeling is that it even surpasses it. The OIS feels like a Steady-Cam; Manual focussing follows in the footsteps of the 14mm and 18–55mm and keeps me eating my own words about fly by wire. And when mounted on my X-Pro1 the entire kit feels like it’s at least half the weight of my old Nikon 70–200 2.8 on its own.

I can’t wait to shoot portraits with this lens but for now, a few images from my backyard (moments after the lens got here and a few after dinner) just to give you an idea of what it looks like wide open — which of course will vary based on focal length. Make sure you hover over the lightbox images to get the exif data.

One more detail: minimum focussing distance seems to be a little over 3 feet, a bit more on the long end. Enabling macro mode on the camera doesn’t seem to do anything.

First steps — More to come.

The Living Colour | + a few tidbits.

Alright, one last post for the week...
I've been playing around with more intense colours lately, turning to the internal Velvia simulation on both the X100S and X-Pro1. I do it in very specific circumstances as I tend to favour slightly more muted tones but it's fun when the light is right, as it was in some of the images at the end of this post.

Now, about those few tidbits:

• If you haven't done so already check out Paul Pride's new KAGE COLLECTIVE essay entitled SPRAY. Wonderful images coupled to a great story. And in the midst of all this X100S hoopla (of which I'm guilty as charged) a good reminder of the X100's ability to hold its own.

• Speaking of the X100S: firmware update 1.0.2 is out. The official fix is minor but my buddy Rob Boyer swears it cured his AF problems. I'm seeing the same great performance but perhaps there's something to it in specific cases. Certainly can't hurt to update; Fuji's track record on firmware is pretty stellar in my book.

• Tony Bridge has a great first look at the upcoming Fujinon 55-200mm F3.5-4.8 R LM OIS zoom lens. I've been eagerly anticipating this lens and it looks like another winner. 

• If you're interested in my inner workings (!) or, more importantly, care for a sneak peek at what may be an upcoming Kage Collective essay, check out my interview on VSCO Journal. And just to reiterate: those animals are happy, most of them roam free and this farm is NOT an assembly line operation owned by an evil conglomerate. So easy to spew nonsense these days... 

• Another great X100S review, this time from UK photographer Kevin Mullins. Beautiful work as always.

Living Colour images below. Have a great weekend guys :)

Brilliant Performer | The Fujinon XF 18-55mm Zoom.

I’ll put my cards on the table right away: I’ve developed a slightly tumultuous relationship with zooms. They’re very useful tools but I’ve come to realize they also tend to drive me into what I’d call visual laziness.

When I decided to jump to the X system as my one and only kit, I also embraced the fact that I’d be shooting with nothing but primes. In fact much of that decision was coloured by my experience with the X100’s fixed focal length and the way it affected my shooting reflexes. Not that this was anything new: I used Nikon primes as well. But committing to a single focal length for extended periods of time wasn’t something I’d really done before.

When I shoot a prime I need to move — Obviously; I need to walk in order to alter my distance to the subject; and while I walk my brain works, and when my brain works it notices its surroundings and finds details or angles I often would’ve overlooked otherwise. But with a zoom… No matter how much I try, it’s always much too easy to fall back to those old reflexes. Twist in, twist out.

Maybe if we stopped calling them zooms in the first place. That word doesn’t do justice to what’s going on optically. Maybe instead we could describe them as multi-focal lenses. There’s definitely something pretty fantastic about having the equivalent of 8 primes on a single lens… IF you use it as such. IF you understand how to use each individual focal length in the right context, and how each one changes the entire aspect of an image way beyond making things look nearer or closer. Compression, distortion, spatial perception. Of course you can also use it to get a closer shot of that mountain way out there; but perhaps if you actually GO to the mountain, something amazing will happen along the way.

Right, so where was I? Ah yes: no zooms for me.
Huh…

1/60 sec at f/4, ISO 800 | 44mm.

1/600 sec at f/3.2, ISO 1000 | 28.9mm.

ENTER THE “KIT”

I had seen several images taken with the Fujinon XF 18–55mm lens already and had come away rather impressed. London fashion photographer Michelle George for one; Damien Lovegrove ’s work as well. And I also knew this would be a very useful lens to have in my kit. What I didn’t expect was to fall in love with it. It’s just outstanding.

First off: the build is fantastic. Everything about it is smooth, sturdy and slick. I adore my XF 35mm lens, it’s one of the best lenses I’ve ever used; but compared to this one and to the 14mm, I have to admit it feels very 1.0. Optically it performs beautifully, but Fuji seem to have refined the builds significantly with their second crop of lenses: they have more heft, they feel less plasticky and the entire mechanism is much more polished. Even their auto-focus sound is less jarring. Speaking of which…

GET YOUR MOTOR RUNNING…

I thought the zoom Fuji had sent me was broken. I honestly did. I was in the studio when I mounted the lens to the camera for the first time; I tried the AF at 18mm, about three feet away: no sound. None of the usual in/out focussing motion I’d become accustomed to with the 35mm. No bzzz…grrr as it searched. So I took it off, mounted it again. But this time I zoomed to 55mm and focused further away… It did work; but it was dead silent. This lens uses a new linear motor which completely transforms the AF experience. Much faster and much, much smoother.

All Fuji lenses so far have offered outstanding optical quality and this one is no exception: as most reviewers have stated, this is not your standard kit lens. At all. Yes, it has a variable aperture, something I never thought I’d ever purchase again. But in all other aspects this is a pro level lens as far as I’m concerned. Do I wish it was f/2.8 all the way though? Yes, I most definitely do. But I’ve psyched myself into thinking of it as f/4 with a 2.8 bonus at 18mm, which is pretty much where that aperture is confined to. For strobe lighting it isn’t at all a problem as I’ll rarely go below f/4 anyway. If I do I’m going for something else entirely and probably hovering more around f/1.4 on the 35mm.

Now, in natural light this will obviously become more important. But thankfully the OIS system (image stabilization) works extremely well. When you couple this with the X-Pro1 or X-E1’s high ISO performance you end up with a very capable solution. I’ll still reach for faster glass if I can but it’s not a deal breaker. My only gripe is not being able to set the aperture by looking down at the lens, something I’ve become accustomed to with the X cameras; but then adaptation is always the name of the game.

1/220 sec at f/3.2, ISO 2500 | 30mm.

1/40 sec at f/4, ISO 1600 | 55mm.

1/60 sec at f/4, ISO 1250 | 55mm.

OVF TRICKS

Fuji could’ve said: it’s a zoom lens, use the EVF; and it would’ve been perfectly acceptable. But although you’ll definitely want to use that EVF for any mission critical framing, they’ve actually implemented a surprising OVF solution. When you hold the viewfinder selector for a few seconds, it magnifies the view around the frame lines instead of switching you to the EVF. You’re still in the optical viewfinder but no longer framing with what can be a ridiculously small rectangle in the middle of the window. An icon appears in the display in case you should forget you’re using the magnified view. Hold the switch again to return to normal. Great idea. What’s more: this view won’t reset on its own and will remain until you manually switch it off; so you can go to the EVF and back or turn off the camera without having to wait those sometimes precious few seconds again.

SOLD?

Absolutely. As surprised as I am to say this, it’s a no brainer. Until we get the extremely anticipated 56mm f/1.2 — yes, it’s now 1.2!!!!! — This will be my 85ish equivalent. It’s a great lens to have in my arsenal, especially for studio work.

If you’re looking for an all around travel zoom lens, this will certainly do the job and then some. Personally, I still prefer something smaller and less visible and the X100S remains the ultimate travel solution for me. As I said earlier, I like committing to a single focal length and forcing my brain to make the most out of it.

But I love what Fuji has done with this lens. And it certainly bodes well for the upcoming XF 55–200mm. More random images below. For all posts and essays featuring this lens click here.

Later…

P.S You know what I’d like? A zoom lens on which I could lock the focal lengths. Lock that barrel down. I know, it's weird… Not going to happen but I’d love that.