Time to reacquaint myself with the terrors and pleasures of colour transparency films or at least some of the excellent digital simulations of them by companies like DxO, after using colour negative film simulations for some time now.
Until Kodak killed off Kodachrome 64 it was my default colour transparency film for documentary photography and then I replaced it with Fujifilm’s Velvia 50 followed by Velvia 100.
Colour negative films loomed low as none of my clients wanted prints and good colour labs and printers were hard to come by, and now I’m often finding that I prefer colour negative simulations for documentary photographs featuring people.
Then, we began experiencing mid-winter days with strange light, odd weather and narrow beams of sunlight through puffy or misty clouds so I thought I’d see what some snapshots made recently would look like with simulated Fujifilm Velvia 100.
Will we see daylong cloudless blue skies and laser beam sunlight again sometime soon?
B&H Affiliate Link – Click here to research and purchase or pre-order your choice of cameras, lenses and accessories for stills photography and video production whatever your genre and subject matter.
DxO – website – PhotoLab, FilmPack, ViewPoint, PureRAW, Nik Collection – Our #1 choice in raw image processing and editing software.
FastRawViewer – website – “Is your RAW converter slow while building 1:1 previews or culling RAW files? Use FastRawViewer – a great time-saver and an ideal RAW workflow helper.”
This past week has been stressful, challenging and packed with things we’d rather not be doing so it’s delayed us in processing the raw files from Fujifilm Australia’s ‘Discover Fujifilm’ Video Workshop at Fujifilm House of Photography in Sydney last Saturday the 25th of March 2023.
Our apologies!
Given this free workshop was about videography we somewhat subconsciously shot it more like a short movie than an even shorter photoessay hence more images than usual.
Presenter Stephen Pierce did an excellent job of introducing those of us new to hybrid camera video and those of us more experienced in this two-hour seminar and shared some insights unique to his many years as a globe-trotting photographer and videographer.
Image Creation
We made these photographs with our trusty Fujifilm X-Pro2 digital rangefinder camera and two older Fujifilm lenses, a Fujinon XF 14mm f/2.8 R and a Fujinon XF 14mm f/2.8 R.
Neither of these lenses are rated by Fujifilm as getting the best results for its new generation 40 megapixel sensors in camera including the X-T5 and X-H2 and we have yet to try them out on an X-H2.
Their image quality is perfectly fine on the 24 megapixel sensor in the X-Pro2 and should be equally good on the 26 megapixel X-H2S.
We love using both lenses not the least for their excellent manual clutch focusing rings that we wish were also on all other Fujifilm prime and zoom lenses in the way that Olympus saw fit to add manual clutch focus to all its M.Zuiko Pro lenses.
We’ve been astounded at how well DxO supports Fujifilm X-Trans raw files especially with the recent addition of DeepPRIME XD.
DxO profiles thousands of combinations of sensors, cameras and lenses and these profiles are called down by its software to refine how images made with them render so even images from old cameras and lenses look excellent.
We note that the late, great photographer of the Vietnam War, Tim Page, relied on a two-lens combination in his latter years comprising a 21mm lens and a 35mm lens on his 35mm sensor-equipped Leica M Series cameras.
The equivalent in Fujifilm APS-C terms is 14mm and 23mm.
Image Processing
We processed these images in our default raw processing and editing software collection comprising DxO PhotoLab Elite, DxO FilmPack Elite and DxO ViewPoint.
We chose the Kodak Portra 400 colour negative film simulation and our new default demosaicing and denoising setting of DeepPRIME XD.
Small JPEGs like these benefit from DeepPRIME XD and full-size JPEGs and TIFFs even more so.
We can’t recommend DxO’s software too highly and encourage you to try them out by downloading trial versions right now.
Even if you currently prefer other raw file and image processing and editing software then we suggest trying out the new DxO PureRAW 3 to first process your raw files then open the exported files in your current favourite software.
The difference can be stark.
We usually choose Fujifilm Astia as our default film simulation as we almost always used colour transparency aka colour reversal films during the analog era but for these images we thought we’d give Kodak Portra 400 a go.
Becoming used to a new film simulation can take time as does learning how get the best out of it.
Both film simulations, like the films upon which they’re based, are designed for portraits and photographs where people are a prime part of the picture, but they render skin tones in slightly different ways.
We chose to push the look of these images a little more toward that of prints on Kodak photographic paper than we would normally, a look remembered from jobs decades ago where we processed and printed colour and monochrome films and prints.
Before we even open DxO PhotoLab Elite we do our selects, rejects and tagging in FastRawViewer which exports an .XMP file alongside to import into PhotoLab to transmit our labels and ratings.
We still yearn for the long discontinued Apple Aperture software that we loved so much but the combination of FastRawViewer plus DxO software works well.
Gearing up for video? Consider Fujifilm X Series & third-party hardware & accessories.
Irix has released its affordable but top-class cinema prime lenses in Fujifilm X-Mount versions in focal lengths from 11mm through to 150mm. Image courtesy of Irix.
Fujinon XF 18-120mm f/4.0 LM PZ WR stills + video zoom lens with lens hood. Image courtesy of Fujifilm Global.
Rotolight Neo 3 three LED light kit. Image courtesy of Rotolight.
Fujifilm Tripod Grip TG-BT1 with Bluetooth. Image courtesy of B&H.
RØDE DeadCat VMP+ artificial fur wind shield for RØDE VideoMic Pro+. Image courtesy of RØDE Microphones.
SmallRig Cage for FUJIFILM X-S10 Camera 3087. Image courtesy of SmallRig.
RØDE NTH-100 Professional Over-Ear Headphones. Image courtesy of RØDE Microphones.
Tascam CA-XLR2d-F XLR Microphone Adapter for Fujifilm cameras mounted on Fujifilm X-S10. Image courtesy of Tascam.
Rotolight NEO 3 On-Camera RGBWW LED Light Ultimate Bundle. Image courtesy of B&H.
Fujifilm Tripod Grip TG-BT1 with Bluetooth. Image courtesy of B&H.
RØDE VideoMic GO II with included Foam Windshield and SM8-R Shockmount. Image courtesy of RØDE Microphones.
Fujifilm Fujinon XF 18-55mm f/2.8-4.0 R LM OIS kit zoom lens. Image courtesy of B&H.
RØDE VideoMic Pro. Image courtesy of RØDE Microphones.
SmallRig Multifunctional Cage for FUJIFILM X-H2S with FT-XH / VG-XH Battery Grip 3933. Image courtesy of SmallRig.
Fujinon XF 14mm f/2.8 R ultra wideangle prime lens. Image courtesy of Fujifilm Australia.
Fujifilm X-H2. Image courtesy of Fujifilm Global.
Wooden Camera FUJIFILM X-H2S Unified Accessory Pro Kit (V-Mount). Image courtesy of B&H.
Fujifilm VG-XT4 Vertical Battery Grip for Fujifilm X-T4 camera. Image courtesy of B&H.
Links
B&H Affiliate Link – click here to research and purchase or pre-order your choice of cameras, lenses and accessories for stills photography and video production whatever your genre and subject matter.
DxO – website – PhotoLab, FilmPack, ViewPoint, PureRAW, Nik Collection – Our number 1 choice in raw image processing and editing software.
FastRawViewer – website – “FastRawViewer opens RAW files extremely quickly and renders them on-the-fly, instead of just displaying embedded JPEGs. It allows a photographer to see the RAW exactly as a converter will “see” it, without any delays or waiting time, guaranteeing the possibility to sort and cull RAW images lightning fast and based on the quality of the RAW itself, not JPEG previews.”
I attended the Fujifilm House of Photography Photowalk and it was so good to be back in the streets of Sydney after so long away.
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic – sorry folks, it isn’t over yet and the infections and deaths keep coming – has kept us here in the suburbs living in our cosy little house amongst the giant French chateaus and Hamptons-style block-filling MacMansions with their automatic gates, security cameras and guard dogs.
This first Fujifilm Sydney event was a welcome respite from the ′burbs and it presented the opportunity to try out a Fujifilm X-H2 with Fujinon XF 8-16mm f/2.8 R LM WR Red Badge wide-angle zoom, one of Fujifilm’s most impressive lenses for stills photography.
Fujinon XF 18-120mm f/4.0 LM PZ WR stills + video zoom lens on Fujifilm X-H2S. Image courtesy of Fujifilm Global.
The 8-16mm was a little redundant as I was carrying our Fujifilm X-Pro2 digital rangefinder camera with Fujinon XF 50mm f/2.0 R WR attached to it and XF 14mm f/2.8 R with its excellent manual clutch focus mechanism that should be on every lens.
I’d been hoping to try out the more action photography and video-oriented Fujifilm X-H2S with Fujinon XF 18-120mm f/4.0 LM PZ WR to get a feel for how the combination works for video but they were unavailable so I’ll have to go in and try them out another time.
Photographer Stephen Pierce ran the Photowalk and did a great job, leading the group from the Fujifilm House of Photography on Park Street down George Street, to Martin Place then through Hyde Park and back to Park Street.
The X-H2’s (& X-T5’s) 40 megapixel sensor: pros and cons
Fujifilm X-H2 with VG-XH vertical battery grip and Fujinon XF 16-55mm f/2.8 R LM WR zoom lens. Image courtesy of Fujifilm Global.
Our production computers are in need of upgrading and our current iMac is challenged by its age in GPU-heavy tasks like processing raw files and rendering video.
The X-H2’s 40 megapixel X-Trans raw files weigh in at almost double their 40 megapixels number at around 87.5 megabytes and after exporting average images from DxO PhotoLab Elite the TIFF files can weigh from 200 through to 250 megabytes.
Work sessions comprising editing, processing and exporting raw files of 20 through to 26 megapixels in weight can be taxing and 40 megapixels raw files take their toll.
We’ll need to upgrade to latest generation Apple M2, M2 Pro or M2 Max system-on-a-chip aka SoC computers to reduce the strain and gain a speedy and efficient workflow.
As to which one precisely, we’ll have to seek some advice from the experts at the city’s Apple store in George Street.
Apple MacBook Pro & Mac Mini with M2 Pro & M2 Max System on Chip aka SoC
Photoshop on Apple MacBook Pro with M2 Pro and M2 Max, released January 2023. Image courtesy of Apple.
Final Cut Pro on Apple Mac Mini with M2 Pro and M2 Max, released January 2023. Image courtesy of Apple.
Apple ProRes edited on Final Cut Pro on Apple Mac Mini with M2 Pro and M2 Max, released January 2023. Image courtesy of Apple.
Right now though the question will be whether the X-H2’s 40 megapixels raw files provide enough extra information, enough extra detail in photographs to reward our poor little iMac’s processing strain.
The larger files may not be justified when considering most of what we do in stills photography – create images of people doing things in available light or more often available darkness – but will they add extra detail for cityscapes?
Quite likely, but is a Fujifilm GFX 100 megapixel camera a better choice for that and similar genres?
Only further try outs will tell, and then there’s the X-H2’s 160 megapixel pixel shift multi shot mode for more detail than that offered by a 100 megapixel sensor.
We have yet to try out Fujifilm’s large format GFX cameras and lenses so have no current basis for comparison.
Either way, more powerful computers are called for and it’s good to see Apple future-proofing current generation computers with its M2 generation SoCs.
The Fujinon XF 8-16mm f/2.8 R LM WR
Fujifilm X-H2S with Fujinon XF 8-16mm f/2.8 R LM WR Red Badge wide-angle zoom lens. Image courtesy of Fujifilm Global.
I’ve observed in the past that large and heavy lenses like the XF 8-16mm need to be counterbalanced by cameras with good built-in grips and often with vertical battery grips attached.
VBGs add more weight but they also increased safety and security as well as balance and I have no problem with that in cameras that are far from the largest I’ve ever used in the hand.
The 8-16mm doesn’t have provision for attaching screw-in UV or protection filters and while some companies have come up with innovative ways of attaching filter holders to lenses like the 8-16mm with their protruding convex front elements, I’d feel safer attaching a lightweight matte box even for stills.
That option will be cheaper than investing in a whole new set of large diameter screw-in filters and many matte boxes come with the benefit of flags that can swung into place to better shade the lens direct sunlight and skylight.
That aside, the 8-16mm does an excellent job handling the sun in photographs as we learned when photographing buildings with the sun directly above them several years ago pre-COVID.
Video makes greater demands for filtration than stills photography does and on days like these where the ultra-violet is as high as it has ever been you’ll need to consider adding more filters than ever before.
Breakthrough Photography makes our preferred brand of filters partly due to the heavily knurled brass traction frame of their circular screw-in filters as well as the sheer quality of the company’s products and service.
Is the X-H2 plus 8-16mm or X-Pro2 plus 14mm the better choice for urban documentary?
Fujifilm X-E3 rangefinder-style camera with Fujinon XF 14mm f/2.8 R super wide-angle lens.
I love the discipline of choosing one lens and one camera for my own walkabouts in the city as a way of quickly forcing my eye and mind into the zone by visualizing the frame relating to the lens floating as I walk, darting hither and yon as I see.
It’s like the bright line in the X-Pro2’s optical viewfinder has jumped out of the camera and into the world.
I’ve used rangefinder cameras for years, from 4″x5″ through 120 roll film down to 35mm or what the marketing men so absurdly refer to as “full frame” nowadays.
All those formats, even 8″x10″ which I used far too little due to the cost of film, processing and printing, are full frame except if cropped when printing.
There’s a fundamental difference, a rarely mentioned advantage, in using rangefinder camera optical viewfinders: they allow you to see everything in focus all at once and not just the thing upon which the lens is focused.
Fujifilm X-Pro2 Advanced Hybrid Viewfinder with OVF, EVF and ERF
The Fujifilm X-Pro2 camera’s Advanced Hybrid Multi Viewfinder is key to how I get the best out of it. Depicted, the X-Pro2’s finder window with ERF-in-OVF viewing mode selected.
Fujifilm X-Pro2 Advanced Multi Hybrid Viewfinder OVF plus EVF and ERF design and engineering. Image courtesy of Fujifilm Global.
Fujifilm X-Pro2 Advanced Multi Hybrid Viewfinder OVF plus EVF and ERF design and engineering. Image courtesy of Fujifilm Global.
The OVF’s plane of focus is infinite and stretches from the front of the lens through to as far as the eye can see.
To illustrate this and its benefit, look at the fourth and fifth photographs from the top, shot inside the Fujifilm House of Photography.
In picture four I lined up the image of the Fujinon XF 18-120mm f/4.0 LM PZ WR on the vertical LCD screen with the back of the man on the left so the lens just barely touched him despite being a couple of metres behind him.
In picture five I lined up the nose of the man on the left with the patch of white a couple metres behind him so his face was better separated, same as I lined up his hands against the second man’s shorts.
I do this all the time when using a rangefinder camera’s OVF and it’s fun to place close-up elements against other elements mid-space and deep space, the more the merrier.
It communicates the feeling of being a moving object surrounded in deep space by other objects always in independent motion.
OVFs versus EVFs
Fujifilm X-H2 User Manual in HTML, SHOOTING SETTING (Still Photography), Sports Finder Mode with crop of 1.29x. A 14mm lens becomes an 18mm lens in effect.
It’s much easier doing this with OVFs but while it’s possible to do it with electronic viewfinder cameras, by guessing where moving objects will be when the shutter is released, my hit rate with an OVF is greater than with an EVF.
Judging from the photographs above, the Fujifilm’s fast refreshing EVF has helped me do a pretty good job of aligning near with far while anticipating where figures left and right will be when the exposure is made.
The EVF’s default refresh rate is 120 frames per second but I chose 240 fps to better follow rapidly moving people.
High performance mode remands more battery power but the X-H2’s larger battery size than the X-H1 meant low battery draw and it would be better again with a vertical battery grip attached.
The X-Pro2 doesn’t have a 14mm bright line as it’s widest is for 18mm, but I use the OVF’s dual magnification function so the whole view through the OVF corresponds with the 14mm’s field of view, a deep space window on the world.
I use OVF and EVF cameras for all forms of documentary photography but prefer OVFs when photographing the urban scene and would select an 18mm lens as my default with a 14mm as my superwide backup.
Fujifilm doesn’t offer an 18mm Fujicron, a lens that doesn’t occlude the OVF’s lower right corner, and I wish the company would as it’s a perfect companion lens for the X-Pro series and would be a sensible evolution of the company’s original Fujinon XF 18mm f/2.0 R.
Another solution I need to explore for achieving optimum alignment of object in-camera is Fujifilm’s Sports Finder Mode.
With its 1.29x crop, a Fujinon XF 14mm f/2.8 R lens becomes an 18mm lens and that’s not bad considering my default focal length for documentary photography and video is 28mm in 35mm sensor terms, or 18mm in APS-C and Super 35.
The 18mm focal length’s width and rendering of near to far best creates the feeling of being right there in the centre of the action while not exaggerating perspective so much that it draws viewers’ attention to the perspective effect to detriment of the image’s content and story.
I discovered the many joys of 28mm equivalence with Leica M System cameras and lenses soon after taking up documentary photography.
The one outstanding question about Sports Finder Mode is whether it will provide a workable approximation to the OVF’s deep focus.
What if Fujifilm’s compact lenses were more like Leica’s Summicron-M, Elmarit-M, Elmar, Super-Elmar-M & Telyt primes in size & shape?
Fuji Rumors reader Pablo shared some mock-ups of lenses he’d like to see in Fujifilm’s “Fujicron” range that are well-suited to X-Pron cameras as well as the X-T5, X-Snn series and other, smaller non-flagship cameras.
Leica Elmarit-M 21mm f/2.8 Aspheric super wide-angle lens. Discontinued but may be available secondhand. Image courtesy of B&H.
Leica Super-Elmar-M 21mm f/3.4 Aspheric. Image courtesy of B&H.
Leica Elmarit-M 21mm f/2.8, E39 filter version, Made in Canada, prototype. Image courtesy of Breguet Camera, Hong Kong.
Leica Elmarit-M 28mm f/2.8 manual prime lens for Leica M-Series. This was my automatic go-to lens for documentary photography and photojournalism. Photograph courtesy of Japan Camera Hunter.
Leica Elmarit-M 28mm f/2.8 Aspheric prime lens for Leica M-System cameras, for me the archetypal discrete 28mm documentary and photojournalism lens. Image courtesy of Leica.
Leica Summicron-M 50mm f/2.0. Image courtesy of Leica Camera.
Leica Apo-Summicron-M 75mm f/2.0 Aspheric. Image courtesy of Leica Camera.
Leica Macro-Elmar-M 90mm f/4.0, collapsed, for use alone or with Leica Macro-Adapter-M for up to 1:2 macrophotography. Image courtesy of Leica Camera.
Leica Macro-Adapter-M. Image courtesy of Leica Camera.
Leica Apo-Telyt-M 135mm f/3.4. Image courtesy of B&H.
Mock-up by Pablo of Fujifilm Fujinon XF 23mm f/2.0 R WR Mark II “Fujicron” prime lens on right, Fujinon XF 23mm f/2.0 R WR on left. Image courtesy of Pablo and Fuji Rumors.
Mock-up by Pablo of Fujifilm Fujinon XF 23mm f/2.0 R WR Mark II “Fujicron” prime lens. Image courtesy of Pablo and Fuji Rumors.
Mock-up by Pablo of Fujifilm Fujinon XF 70mm f/2.0 R LM WR “Fujicron” prime lens. Image courtesy of Pablo and Fuji Rumors.
I’ve published my list of “Fujicron” compact prime lenses that I’d like to see Fujifilm upgrade or newly create, but the jury is still out on prime lenses suitable for video.
A surprising number of Fujifilm camera owners, especially videographers, agree with my assertion that Fujifilm’s abandonment of the manual clutch focus ring on its Fujinon XF14mm f/2.8 R, XF 16mm f/1.4 R WR and XF 23mm f/1.4 R was a mistake.
I did a quick and dirty test at an event last night to remind myself of how fast and accurate manual clutch focusing aka MCF is especially in available darkness, with my Fujinon XF 23mm f/1.4 R.
One feature I really want to see Fujifilm adopt from Panasonic is the option to set monochrome live view with focusing peaking enabled.
Last night I set the camera’s film simulation to monochrome, the focus aid to red focus peaking, and tried focusing with the LCD screen, the EVF and the OVF with ERF at lower right.
Each option performed quickly and accurately, more than justifying MCF in all lenses that are large enough to accomodate it and making a good case for keeping both our MCF lenses even if other versions of those focal lengths appear as the XF 23mm f/1.4 R LM WR already has.
I learned about the joys of MCF with Olympus M.Zuiko lenses when I took a detour away from Fujifilm into Micro Four Thirds video as a volunteer for a human rights charity and I still have our M43 cameras and lenses despite loving Fujifilm’s X-Pro series, their APS-C/Super 35 and colour science.
Leica M11 with Leica Summicron-M 35mm f/2.0 Aspheric and Fujifilm X-Pro2 with Fujinon XF 23mm f/2.0 R WR. Fujinon lenses contain motors and electronics whereas Leica M lenses do not. Image courtesy of Compact Camera Meter.
How does the X-H2 and XF 8-16mm combination feel in the hand?
It’s pretty good considering I wasn’t using a vertical battery grip and that better balance of lens with camera can be attributed to the X-H2’s size, shape and the experience was leaps and bounds ahead of using the same lens on un-gripped X-T series cameras.
Fujifilm X-H2S with redesigned pistol grip. Screenshot, video courtesy of Fujifilm Japan.
Fujifilm X-H2S with Fujifilm VG-XH Vertical Battery Grip. Screenshot, video courtesy of Fujifilm Japan.
Battery compartment. Fujifilm X-H2S with Fujifilm VG-XH Vertical Battery Grip. Screenshot, video courtesy of Fujifilm Japan.
Fujifilm Fujinon XF 10-24mm f/4.0 R OIS WR wide-angle zoom lens. Image courtesy of Fujifilm Australia.
It’s a shame that Fujifilm is not offering a vertical battery grip for the X-T5, first time for any X-Tn camera, but is there an assumption that X-T5 users will prefer lighter and less costly lenses?
If so then the more appropriate wide-angle zoom lens for the X-T5 would be the Fujinon XF 10-24mm f/4.0 R OIS WR with 2 millimetres less on the wide end but 8 millimetres more on the long end, making it more of a general-purpose walk-around wide lens than the 8-16mm.
In 35mm sensor equivalence terms, that’s 12mm to 24mm for the 8-16mm zoom and 15mm to 36mm for the 10-24mm zoom.
Although I prefer carrying one or two rangefinder cameras with three prime lenses for most documentary photography projects, one camera with a just the right zoom lens and enough focal lengths in it to cover any event is an ideal I have yet to achieve.
I’m hoping that one of Fujifilm’s X-H2 or X-H2S cameras with vertical battery grip, or even the coming X-Pro4 with metal hand grip and in EVF mode, might provide a useful platform for a Fujinon XF 18-120mm f/4.0 LM PZ WR zoom lens so long as I also have the Fujinon XF 14mm f/2.8 R or, perhaps, the coming Fujinon XF 8mm f/3.5 R WR though that focal length may be a bit too wide for some purposes.
Now to see if I can try out the 18-120mm f/4.0 on either of Fujifilm’s flagship cameras but preferably the X-H2S for the sake of its video capabilities!
Fujinon XF 8mm f/3.5 and XF 30mm f/2.8 Macro prime lenses. Fujifilm X Summit Omiya 2022, May 31 2022.
What is documentary photography?
Another Photowalk attendee asked “what is documentary photography, I’ve never heard of that” when I told him what form of photography I mostly do these days.
He appeared to have genuinely not come across the term and I suppose that’s reasonable enough given the low profile documentary photography has in Australia compared to other places in the world.
More Sydney Fujifilm House of Photography events are coming
Photowalk tutor Stephen Pierce informed us that there will be more events coming to the Sydney Fujifilm House of Photography, for free as in today’s as well as fee-paying.
Best way to keep informed in advance is to get on to a mailing list but we’re not sure of exactly how is the best way – we’ve been on a Fujifilm Australia mailing list for some years now and we don’t have a direct email address for them or the Fujifilm House of Photography.
Following Fujifilm Australia at Eventbrite may be your best bet.
Meantime, it may be possible to get some time with Fujifilm cameras and lenses at the Fujifilm House of Photography:
“STEP INTO THE STUDIO
Put the Fujifilm X Series and GFX System products to the test at Fujifilm House of Photography’s in-store studio. Featuring a full set-up, with lights on boom stands, display stands and a tripod, allowing you to try out our cameras and lenses.”
I haven’t seen inside the studio yet.
Before visiting the House or booking time in the studio it may be wise to read through the manuals for the cameras and lenses in which you’re interested.
That’s an especially good idea if participating in a Photowalk or other hands-on event.
The Fujifilm X-H2S User Manual: Custom Settings, Reset & Initialize
The menu options in the current generation of Fujifilm cameras are even more than ever and the X-H2 and X-H2S in particular offer the ability to tailor them through the cameras’ custom settings.
Alternatively, reset or initialize the camera or set P for Program mode when making photographs.
I didn’t do any of those three things and I should have, but there was limited time in-store before the Photowalk began.
Working it out as you go along in the street is not ideal!
Postscript: DxO PhotoLab 6.4 with DeepPRIME XD full-size JPEG at 90% quality & 13.5MB versus 2048px-wide JPEG at 80% quality
After these photographs were made and this article was written in January 2023 DxO released version 6.4 of DxO PhotoLab Elite with support for Fujifilm X-Trans raw files in its DeepPRIME XD denoising and demosaicing functionality in March 2023.
I won’t be reprocessing all the photographs above anytime soon so I chose my favourite of the day to see what the combination of 40 megapixel X-Trans raw files and DeepPRIME XD can do.
This image isn’t to be taken as fully representative as I didn’t have time to work my way through the camera’s menu to choose optimum settings for these sort of photographs.
If I’d had time I would have set a higher ISO and a different autofocus setting to maximize detail and shutter speed.
I do like contrasting motion with stillness by choosing slower shutter speeds in scenes like this on cameras with good in-body image stabilization aka IBIS, however, and that has occurred with the mother and child walking into the gap between the man making a selfie of himself with his friends in front of the fountain.
Apologies for the 13.5MB file but that’s what you get with so much detail and such a large raw file!
Image Notes
These photographs documenting the Fujifilm House of Photography event were made with our own Fujifilm X-Pro2 digital rangefinder camera with Fujinon XF 14mm f/2.8 R and XF 50mm f/2.0 R WR prime lenses and a kindly loaned Fujifilm X-H2 digital SLR-style camera with Fujinon XF 8-16mm f/2.8 R LM WR Red Badge super wide-angle zoom lens.
The Fujifilm X-Trans raw files were processed to proof quality, not finished quality, in DxO PhotoLab Elite and its plug-ins, DxO FilmPack Elite and DxO ViewPoint, using the skintone-friendly Fujifilm Astia film simulation.
Links
B&H Affiliate Link – click here to research and purchase or pre-order your choice of cameras, lenses and accessories for stills photography and video production whatever your genre and subject matter.
It’s that strange period between Christmas and New Years’s Day when the streets are quiet and the cafés are mostly closed for the week or for the whole coming month but as always I have a camera and a couple of lenses in my camera bag ready for anything that might make an insightful photograph or two.
Many of the locals insist that the COVID-19 pandemic is all over now and yet some of them will share tales about how friends and relatives recently died from it while others are suffering with Long COVID and medical treatments that sound like little more than snake oil and quackery.
Given one of us has genetic variations making her vulnerable to infection, we need to be especially careful to keep our distance from locals who refuse to wear masks or stay more than a meter and a half away from us so my default lens on the Fujifilm X-Pro2 has become the Fujinon XF 50mm f/2.0 R WR “Fujicron” equivalent to 75mm in the 35mm sensor format.
I’m still processing my Fujifilm X-Trans raw files in DxO PhotoLab Elite 6 with DxO FilmPack Elite and DxO ViewPoint and my default film simulation for colour photographs continues to be Fujifilm Astia due to its subtle and accurate recording of a range of skin colours.
Before COVID-19 my default focal length was equivalent to 28mm in 35mm but since keeping our distance became necessary to avoid infection we’ve been carrying longer and longer lenses.
Telephoto lenses are not always perfect for urban and social documentary work, though, as they’re better suited for picking out details and small interactions rather than the frieze-like images that I much prefer making as they show broader interactions within context and relate them to the wider world.
That’s where wide-angle is best as in the lower of the three images above but I’m persevering with the XF 50mm f/2.0 R WR as the first two images show.
In the years before the pandemic I was lucky enough to borrow some of Fujifilm’s wider prime and zoom lenses like the Fujinon XF 14mm f/2.8 R with its excellent manual clutch focus, the XF 10-24mm f/4.0 R OIS and the Red Badge XF 8-16mm f/2.8 R LM WR.
While the first two of those work well on almost any Fujifilm X-mount camera, I’d be reluctant to use the beautiful, big and heavy XF 8-16mm f/2.8 R LM WR on anything other than a vertical battery mount-equipped X-T4, X-H2 or X-H2S.
Fujinon XF 8mm f/3.5 and XF 30mm f/2.8 Macro prime lenses. Fujifilm X Summit Omiya 2022, May 31 2022.
Balance as well as size and weight can be issues to consider when choosing lenses for X-Pro series cameras as well as the recently-released X-T5 given the latter does not have the option of a vertical battery grip so I’d recommend the smaller, lighter zooms or sticking mostly with primes.
Currently I’m carrying the XF 14mm f/2.8 and XF 50mm f/2.0 and badly miss my XF 27mm f/2.8’s perfect normal focal length but not the lens’ noisy and slow focusing mechanism that suddenly failed to work at all one day.
The XF 30mm f/2.8 R LM WR might make a good slightly longer perfect normal lens to fit in between 14mm and 50mm but there are days when I so wish Fujifilm had come up with XF 18mm f/2.0 and XF 27mm f/2.8 Fujicron primes instead of the current 18mm f/1.4 Fujilux and 27mm f/2.8 pancake lens even if the latter has gained some minor improvements.
Image credits
The header image at the top of this article was made by Carmel D. Morris.
Links
B&H Affiliate Link – click here to research and purchase or pre-order your choice of cameras, lenses and accessories for stills photography and video production whatever your genre and subject matter.
We have been working on ‘The Robert Krasker Project’ which is about “one of the giants of feature film cinematography”, the late Australian Director of Photography Robert Krasker.
We’ll be back to usual publishing here soon, very soon.
But meanwhile, here are some snapshots at the local café where COVID-19 first came to Australia via a member of staff who returned from a vacation with her family in Wuhan.
The café is closing for renovations this weekend and by all accounts it may take a very long time given the usual local government processes before, during and after such major works.
We may be without one very needed service like this one for several years if not forever.
All the local cafés are often packed inside and on the pavement and one less means even more of that.
Meanwhile even more real estate agents are moving in.
“Released within months of each other, at similar prices, the Panasonic GH6 and Fujifilm X-H2S are some of the most compelling mirrorless cameras available for video shooters. Jordan Drake takes you through the strengths and weaknesses of these outstanding cameras..”
Commentary
Jordan Drake’s side-by-side comparison review of the two most promising “movie+stills” hybrid mirrorless cameras of 2022 is compelling watching and the information he presents of their differences and similarities is well done.
We’ve been asking Fujifilm to learn some lessons from Panasonic’s Lumix Micro Four Thirds cameras for many years now and it looks like they may have been doing exactly that, boosting the X-H2S’ IBIS, autofocus and video production capabilities well beyond those of its predecessors.
Panasonic, however, seems to have ditched the stills side of the “movie+stills” equation so the GH6 should be considered as a strictly video-oriented hybrid.
Perhaps Panasonic wants its S-Series 35mm sensor-equipped cameras to be first choice for stills photography instead of its M43 cameras now given there are no signs of stills-oriented successors to the G9 and GX8.
Fujifilm X-H2S: recommended core kit
Fujifilm X-H2S with Fujinon XF 18-120mm f/4.0 R LM PZ WR stills + video zoom lens. Image courtesy of Fujifilm Global.
Fujifilm X-H2S with VG-XH vertical battery grip and Fujinon XF 16-80mm f/4.0 R OIS WR zoom lens Image courtesy of Fujifilm Global.
Fujinon XF 14mm f/2.8 R ultra wideangle prime lens. Image courtesy of Fujifilm Australia.
Fujinon XF 18mm f/1.4 R LM WR “Fujilux” prime lens. Image courtesy of Fujifilm Australia.
Fujinon XF 23mm f/1.4 R LM WR “Fujilux” prime lens. Image courtesy of Fujifilm Australia.
Fujinon XF 33mm f/1.4 R LM WR “Fujilux” prime lens. Image courtesy of Fujifilm Australia.
Tascam CA-XLR2d-F XLR Microphone Adapter for Fujifilm cameras. Image courtesy of Tascam.
The X-H2S is a viable choice for videography and photography in a way that the GH6 is not, though Fujifilm’s camera will benefit from video functionality firmware updates.
We love that the X-H2S has an optional vertical battery grip, extending video recording time with extra power and making photography easier with extra security and safety when handholding.
Super 35 has been the default format for film and television production for decades now and Super 35 4K digital video looks great.
APS-C has proven its effectiveness as a stills format when shot as Fujifilm’s X-Trans raw files and processed in current generation raw image processing software.
We have no hesitation in recommending the X-H2S for documentary stills and moviemaking but have some reservations about Fujifilm’s apparent foot-dragging on prime and zoom lenses equally adept at both.
More prime and zoom lenses for stills and movies please Fujifilm
The coming Fujinon XF 18-120mm f/4.0 LM PZ WR “movie+stills” zoom lens is an exciting development as is the collaboration between Fujifilm’s cinema lens and stills lens designers and engineers that gave birth to it.
This meeting of minds needs to be the default for all future X-Series and GFX-Series lenses as both formats develop better video capabilities.
Right now we would base a versatile documentary stills and video camera kit around the X-H2S, its VG-XH vertical battery grip and the Tascam CA-XLR2d-F XLR for maximum audio capability.
We are intrigued by the XF 18-120mm f/4.0 zoom but are waiting for its release this month and the hands-on reviews that should be appearing soon.
It needs a companion super-wideangle lens for establishing shots and we love the XF 14mm f/2.8 R for the purpose given its manual clutch focusing ring.
The Fujinon XF 8mm f/3.5 “compact prime” aka “Fujicron” lens appearing sometime in 2023 may be a possible wide-end alternative though it remains to be seen how suitable it will be for video as well as stills.
Documentary video and stills kits need at least one fast prime lens equally suitable for both and Fujifilm’s current prime lens choices remain a worry.
Are the current three “Fujilux” lenses best for video?
The current “Fujilux” “Ultra-fast prime” trio consisting of the XF 18mm f/1.4 R LM WR, XF 23mm f/1.4 R LM WR and XF 33mm f/1.4 R LM WR should have been the product of close collaboration between Fujifilm cinema and stills designers and engineers.
But they’re not and so their manual focusing and focus-pulling functionality are compromised to the point where it may be better to consider adapted manual-only cinema prime lenses such as Meike’s Super 35 series or Laowa’s Nanomorph anamorphic primes.
Assist tools are another weakness in the X-H2S’ video capabilities due to Fujifilm’s lack of Panasonic’s long history of making cinema cameras and camcorders.
Both camera systems need better video assist: EL Zone System
Right now Fujifilm users must rely on histograms and zebras and make do without Panasonic’s vector scopes and waveforms but there’s one video assist tool neither currently have and that both should develop for future firmware: the EL Zone System developed by cinematographer Edward Lachman ASC and based on Ansel Adam’s Zone System for photography.
Lachman came up with the EL Zone System for the cinema cameras he uses as Director of Photography for feature films but surely the system can be applied to hybrid mirrorless cameras too.
The EL Zone System has the potential to replace histograms, vector scopes, waveforms and zebras altogether for many users and especially documentary moviemakers.
Panasonic Lumix GH6: recommended core kit
Panasonic Lumix GH6 with Panasonic Leica DG Summilux 9mm f/1.7 Aspheric ultra-wideangle lens. Image courtesy of B&H.
Panasonic Leica DG Vario-Summilux 10-25mm f/1.7 Aspheric ultra-wide to standard normal zoom lens. Image courtesy of Panasonic Australia.
Panasonic Leica DG Vario-Summilux 25-50mm f/1.7 Aspheric standard to short telephoto zoom lens. Image courtesy of Panasonic Australia.
Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 8-25mm f/4.0 Pro. Image courtesy of OM Digital Solutions.
Panasonic DMW-XLR1 Microphone Adapter for Panasonic Lumix G and S-Series cameras. Image courtesy of Panasonic Australia.
The GH6 is the first GH-series camera not to have an optional vertical battery grip after being available for previous GH cameras as well as the G9 and other G-series cameras including the G85.
That absence signalled to me that the GH6 is not intended to be a photography camera and that’s been confirmed by some reviewers disappointed by the GH6’s stills capability going backwards from that of the GH5 series cameras.
We still love our older Panasonic Lumix M43 cameras for photography but only after setting the lowest possible ISO and using them for unique features like the GX8’s tilting electronic viewfinder.
We also choose our Lumix cameras when needing features all too rare or non-existent in Fujifilm’s prime and zoom lenses: manual clutch focus aka MCF.
Until Panasonic released the Leica DG Vario-Summilux 10-25mm f/1.7 Aspheric and Leica DG Vario-Summilux 25-50mm f/1.7 Aspheric with their MCF and “box of primes” quality, we always recommended Olympus M.Zuiko Pro prime and zoom lenses for documentary photography and video requiring manual focus and focus pulling.
Nowadays, given OM Digital Solutions has begun releasing non-MCF lenses such as the OM System M.Zuiko Digital ED 20mm f/1.4 Pro, we’re a little more wary of recommending all the brand’s lenses.
In parting…
Fujifilm’s X-H2S and Panasonic’s Lumix GH6 are worthy of consideration for video production but they must both be considered in relation to their encompassing system of lenses and accessories.
Given the pros and cons for each, if we had unlimited funds then we’d have both along with the rest of the core kit recommendations above.
As self-funded independents, though, every dollar must be stretched to the limit and so we choose Fujifilm’s X-H2s for being equally useful for cinematography and photography.
The one big problem right now with that is the lack of enough “movie+stills” lenses and that’s something Fujifilm needs to get on top of immediately and with some sense of urgency.
In the meantime we’ll be catching up on developments in affordable third-party manual focus cinema lens brands such as DZOFilm, Irix, Laowa, Meike and more.
Rather than hoping too much for a comprehensive solution from Fujifilm any time soon, perhaps we should be considering Arri PL-mount cinema prime lenses with PL-to-X adapters as well as Fujifilm’s own MKX X-mount cinema zooms.
Standardizing on PL-mount cinema lenses for video opens up the possibility of using adapted lenses on Fujifilm’s G-mount GFX100 series cameras.
Links
B&H Affiliate Link – click here to help us with costs for creating this website and its contents by pre-ordering and purchasing items from B&H.
“A selection of the photojournalism of Tim Page, who covered the Vietnam war extensively. He was wounded several times while capturing his powerful images and was the inspiration for Dennis Hopper’s character in Apocalypse Now. Returning regularly to Vietnam and Cambodia in the years after the war, Page eventually moved to Australia. He has died of liver cancer, aged 78.”
Dennis Hopper in ‘Apocalypse Now’. Tim Page was reportedly the role model for this character and Dennis Hopper’s performance.
Commentary
Leitz Leica Super-Angulon 21mm f/4.0 ultra-wideangle lens, made from 1958 to 1963. Best for analog film M-Mount cameras. Image found on ebay.
Leitz Leica Super-Angulon 21mm f/4.0 ultra-wideangle lens, made from 1958 to 1963. Best for analog film M-Mount cameras. Image found on ebay.
Leitz Leica Super-Angulon 21mm f/4.0 ultra-wideangle lens, made from 1958 to 1963. Best for analog film M-Mount cameras. Image found on ebay.
I never met the late British-Australian photojournalist and war photographer Tim Page but learned one really big thing from his photographs of the wars in Indochina, the emotional and informational power of the 21mm lens for immersive photojournalism and documentary photography.
I couldn’t afford my own Leica 21mm Super-Angulon f/4.0 lens when I was relying on my secondhand Leica M-4P cameras and Leica M-Series lenses for magazine and newspaper work, but always had it in the back of my mind to obtain a copy when I could find a decent secondhand example.
That never occurred but now that we’ve replaced our Leicas with Fujifilm cameras, the 21mm-equivalent Fujinon XF 14mm f/2.8 R with its lovely manual clutch focusing mechanism has become our favourite lens and we carry it and a couple of other Fujinon XF lenses every day.
Our recommended core photojournalism kit
The nature of contemporary photojournalism demands equal facility in cinematography and photography so we recommend covering both with two different but complementary types of cameras, digital rangefinder and SLR-style, each for its unique strengths.
Photojournalism is most effective with wide lenses but longer lenses are essential when you can’t be in the centre of the action as well as for portraiture, and the coming new hybrid zoom looks very promising despite its slower maximum aperture.
Fujifilm Fujinon XF 18mm f/1.4 R LM WR with Fujifilm LH-XF18 Lens Hood on Fujifilm X-Pro3. Image courtesy of Fujifilm Australia.
Fujinon XF 18-120mm f/4.0 LM PZ WR stills + video zoom lens on Fujifilm X-T4. Image courtesy of Fujifilm Global.
Fujifilm X-H2S with Fujinon XF 16-55mm f/2.8 R LM WR Red Badge standard zoom lens. Image courtesy of Fujifilm Global.
Fujifilm X-H2S with VG-XH vertical battery grip and Fujinon XF 16-80mm f/4.0 R OIS WR zoom lens Image courtesy of Fujifilm Global.
Fujifilm Wide Eyecup EC-XH W. Image courtesy of B&H.
Fujinon XF 14mm f/2.8 R ultra wideangle prime lens. Image courtesy of Fujifilm Australia.
Fujinon XF 18mm f/1.4 R LM WR “Fujilux” prime lens. Image courtesy of Fujifilm Australia.
Tascam CA-XLR2d-F XLR Microphone Adapter for Fujifilm cameras. Image courtesy of Tascam.
Tim Page was often photographed wearing a Leica M2 with 21mm Super-Angulon f/4.0 and its external optical viewfinder mounted in its hotshoe alongside a Nikon F and one of a selection of longer Nikkor lenses.
War photography with the aim of depicting how disgusting war is, is best done right in the centre of the action, and there’s no better way of doing that than with an ultra-wideangle lens to show everything from the main protagonists in the centre through to their context in full detail.
Paraphrasing the one piece of advice I received as a 15 year old part-time newspaper photographer, “set f/5.6 and be there”.
Fujifilm is currently upgrading its fast aperture prime lenses with the Fujinon XF 18mm f/1.4 R LM WR, XF 23mm f/1.4 R LM WR and XF 33mm f/1.4 R LM WR and the first of those is our choice in a fast lens for documentary stills and photojournalism, as our default lens for daily carrying.
However, Fujifilm has taken a major misstep in not making these “Fujilux” f/1.4 lenses equally useful for cinematography as they are, partially, for photography.
Fujifilm, OM Digital & Panasonic: manual clutch focus is great for cinematography & photography
Fujinon XF 23mm f/1.4 R “Fujilux” prime lens with manual clutch focus. Image courtesy of Fujifilm Australia.
Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 8-25mm f/4.0 Pro. Image courtesy of OM Digital Solutions.
Panasonic Leica DG Vario-Summilux 10-25mm f/1.7 Aspheric ultra-wide to standard normal zoom lens. Image courtesy of Panasonic Australia.
The manual clutch focusing capability of the Fujinon XF 14mm f/2.8 R, XF 16mm f/2.8 R and 23mm f/1.4 R should have been designed into the “Fujilux” trio and in an even better form.
We rely on fast and accurate manual focusing for stills almost as much as for video and urge Fujifilm to up its game with “movies+stills” prime and zoom lenses as worthy companions to its amazing new camera generation starting with the X-H2S, then the X-H2, the X-Pro4, the X-T5 and onwards.
We’ve owned and have used manual clutch focus lenses made by Fujifilm, Olympus (now OM Digital) and Panasonic and no matter how good autofocus is on the relevant cameras, manual focusing remains essential for accuracy and effective focus pulling.
Look out for the clown shoe effect
Getting used to any new lens takes time and every focal length has its peculiarities, its pros and cons, strengths and weaknesses.
That’s why some feature film cinematographers say that it takes up to a year to “break in” a new cinema lens.
The same principle applies to ultra-wideangle lenses like the 21mm-equivalent Fujinon XF 14mm f/2.8 R and even wider Fujinon primes and zooms like the coming XF 8mm f/3.5 and the current XF 8-16mm f/2.8 R LM WR and XF 10-24mm f/4.0 R OIS WR.
Unnaturally elongated feet pointing towards image corners may add a dash of comic relief to an image but if your intent is serious then choose to release the shutter when those feet have pointed in another direction.
Our Photo Galleries pages contain images made with ultra-wideangle and super-wideangle lenses and for the most part we’ve avoided the clown feet effect except where we want to draw special attention to an object at the corners or edges of the frame.
B&H Affiliate Link – FUJIFILM X-H2S Mirrorless Camera – First to deliver on the longtime promise of the hybrid APS-C/Super 35 flagship “stills+movies” concept and reportedly excellent for both. We look forward to the coming X-H2 as a high resolution flagship camera for commercial projects and magazine portraiture par excellence.
B&H Affiliate Link – FUJIFILM X-Pro3 Mirrorless Camera – We hope that the X-Pro4 will combine the best of the X-Pro2 with the best of the X-H2S and X-H2 to become the default OVF/EVF digital rangefinder camera for documentary photographers and photojournalists.
B&H Affiliate Link – FUJIFILM XF 14mm f/2.8 R Lens – Fujifilm’s 21mm-equivalent lens for its X-Mount cameras. Add an Haoge LH-X13B aluminium lens hood for extra protection.
B&H Affiliate Link – FUJIFILM XF 18mm f/1.4 R LM WR Lens – The most useful of the three “Fujilux” fast aperture lenses for photojournalism, but its manual focusing for video needs a great deal to be desired. Future “Fujilux” lenses must be equally usable for cinematography and photography.
B&H Affiliate Link – FUJIFILM XF 18-120mm f/4 LM PZ WR Lens – A quick test of this lens showed it to be a promising “stills+movies” hybrid with the DNA of Fujifilm’s famous Fujinon broadcast and cinema zoom lenses.
B&H Affiliate Link – Leica Super-Elmar-M 21mm f/3.4 ASPH. Lens – This and the Elmarit-M 28mm lens makes a fine pair for photojournalism and despite only 7mm between them, there is plenty of creative and expressive difference between 21mm and 28mm.
Amazon.com.au – Tim Page: Nam Contact Hardcover – 29 December 2022 – “Renowned for his color images of the Vietnam War, British photographer Tim Page (born 1944) has now delved deep into his black-and-white archives of the conflict for the first time. Nam Contact harks back to an era when 36 frames on a roll of film had to tell the story of a particular action. Edited with Stephen Dupont, this book is Page’s intricate look at his contact sheets and single images from those sheets, as well as the chronicle and notes of his diaries made about all he experienced during this intense period. It also contains letters from some of the most noted journalists of the time and further ephemera from what became known as the “first media war” and the first and last war without media censorship.”
Asia Times – A camera’s story of a lost wartime friend – “Renowned photographer Tim Page reflects on his colleague Sean Flynn nearly 48 years after his still unresolved disappearance on the Cambodia-Vietnam border.”
Josef Lebovic Gallery – Tim Page 21 – “1965-1998/2014. Collection of 21 colour digital prints from negative-based images, printed on Fujiflex paper, in presentation case, each titled, dated, signed and editioned 4/21 in ink in lower margin, 23 x 35.5cm (approx. each). Images cover Tim Page’s career and “pivotal moments” commencing with the Vietnam War, and his travels to Asia, Europe and Cuba. All were taken on his Leica camera with a 21mm lens.”
Ken Rockwell – LEICA 21mm f/3.4 ASPH SUPER-ELMAR-M (2011-) – “The LEICA SUPER-ELMAR-M 21mm f/3.4 ASPH is LEICA’s best ultrawide lens ever made at any price. It is ultrasharp at every aperture, has negligible distortion, is small, light and takes common 46mm filters, and for the first time since 1958’s SUPER-ANGULON 21mm f/4, has a proper 9-bladed diaphragm for superior 18-pointed sunstars!”
Ken Rockwell – LEICA 28mm f/2.8 ASPH, ELMARIT-M (2006-today) – “It’s the smallest M lens LEICA has ever made. It’s their first 28mm which doesn’t get in the way of the viewfinder. It uses standard 39mm filters, which are the same size as LEICA’s other compact lenses. Other 28mm lenses are bigger, and therefore block the lower right portion of your viewfinder!” – I had an earlier, non-aspheric, Leica Elmarit-M 28mm f/2.8 during the analog era and it was my default photojournalism lens despite intruding into the viewfinder. This is even better.
World Socialist Web Site – Veteran photojournalist Tim Page discusses his “21” exhibition – “Tim Page: Way back in 1965, when I had some ready cash after my first big photographic spread in Life magazine, I decided to go with Leica. All my mentors and guiding lights—people like [English photojournalist] Larry Burrows and others—used Leicas. I also decided to go with a 21mm lens, which provides a 90-degree angle of vision. It became my prime lens.”
“Fujifilm completely revamped the ergonomics of the X-H2s compared to the tactile style of the previous X-Series flagship cameras. Say goodbye to the ISO and Shutter Speed dials you are used to and say hello to 7 Custom Settings…
Whether you like it or not, now that the usual dials are gone you need to take the time to set-up your Custom Settings the way that suits your shooting style if you don’t want to have to delve into the menus every time you photograph/film something different!
Problem: Fujifilm does not explain anywhere in the user manual how to do that…
Don’t worry, I got you covered! This might be a longer tutorial than what the Youtube algrorithm likes to see, but I go through various settings both in Picture mode and Video mode to cover all sorts of topics. So strap in and make sure you invest in these early steps to get the most out of your camera.”
Fujifilm X-H2S for video production. Image courtesy of Fujifilm Global.
Fujifilm X-H2S with Fujinon XF 18-120mm f/4.0 R LM PZ WR stills + video zoom lens. Image courtesy of Fujifilm Global.
Fujifilm X-H2S with VG-XH vertical battery grip and Fujinon XF 16-80mm f/4.0 R OIS WR zoom lens Image courtesy of Fujifilm Global.
Fujifilm X-H2S with VG-XH vertical battery grip and Fujinon XF 16-80mm f/4.0 R OIS WR zoom lens Image courtesy of Fujifilm Global.
Fujifilm X-H2S with VG-XH vertical battery grip and Fujinon XF 16-80mm f/4.0 R OIS WR zoom lens Image courtesy of Fujifilm Global.
The control interface. Tascam CA-XLR2d-F XLR Microphone Adapter for Fujifilm cameras. Image courtesy of Tascam.
SmallRig Multifunctional Cage for FUJIFILM X-H2S with FT-XH / VG-XH Battery Grip 3933 and accessories. Image courtesy of SmallRig.
SmallRig Multifunctional Cage for FUJIFILM X-H2S with FT-XH / VG-XH Battery Grip 3933. Image courtesy of SmallRig.
SmallRig Multifunctional Cage for FUJIFILM X-H2S with FT-XH / VG-XH Battery Grip 3933. Image courtesy of SmallRig.
Commentary
One of the most sensible things I have ever done after obtaining a new hybrid camera and continue to do is consult an expert on how to set it up for stills and video by searching YouTube for the most in-depth tutorial on the subject.
This is a good one and what more needs to be said?
Links
B&H Affiliate Link – click here to help us with costs for creating this website and its contents by pre-ordering and purchasing items from B&H.
DxO – DxO PhotoLab, DxO FilmPack, DxO ViewPoint, DxO PureRAW² and Nik Collection – the first two is an excellent raw processing pairing for documentary and photojournalism work while DxO PureRAW² offers a great raw processing first step for those relying on other companies’ image processing software.
Leeming LUT Pro – “Leeming LUT Pro™ is the world’s first unified, corrective Look Up Table ( LUT ) system for supported cameras, designed to maximise dynamic range, fix skin tones, remove unwanted colour casts and provide an accurate Rec.709 starting point for further creative colour grading.”
SmallRig Affiliate Link – click here to help us with costs for creating this website and its contents by pre-ordering and purchasing from SmallRig.
We’ve been cautious in venturing out for so long now given the weather, the pandemic, the locals’ apparent lack of interest in taking precautions against infection and the ever-rising COVID-19 death rates and crippling Long COVID infections.
But today we needed to get out even for a short time so dropped into the only local café that offers a smattering of vegan food.
Australian cafés, restaurants, shops and shopping centers are under-heated and cold, almost as cold as outdoors and most around here are open to the outdoors with none having heated air curtains as in Europe.
While photographing I was thinking about how the work of the late, great Paula Rego has informed my use of gestures and expressions in documentary photography.
Image Notes
Photographed with Fujifilm X-Pro2 and Fujinon XF 14mm f/2.8 R then processed with DxO PhotoLab and DxO FilmPack.
If we had a Fujifilm X-H2S with in-body image stabilization then we would have taken that instead of the non-IBIS X-Pro2 to enable setting a much lower ISO than 3200 alongside a lower shutter speed.
I’m hoping that the someday-coming Fujifilm X-Pro4 will at least have IBIS all the better to photograph in available light and available gloom.
Links
B&H Affiliate Link – click here to help us with costs for creating this website and its contents by pre-ordering and purchasing items from B&H.
DxO – DxO PhotoLab, DxO FilmPack, DxO ViewPoint, DxO PureRAW² and Nik Collection – the first two is an excellent raw processing pairing for documentary and photojournalism work while DxO PureRAW² offers a great raw processing first step for those relying on other companies’ image processing software.
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