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Tag Archives: Fujifilm X100

And then there was One

25 Dec

121224-081956_sun rise

Start of another day

When I wrote my last article I had four different cameras in the house, and they all worked.  I had gotten them for use in different situations and I started thinking about how I would choose which camera to take and use depending on where I went or what I was photographing.  It was then that I seriously realized that I had a lot of duplicative capability and that I was going a lot less.

After sweating through some buyer’s remorse about my last acquisition, the Olympus E-PL5 and its’ kit lens along with the Panasonic 20 mm f/1.7 lens, I decided to return them.  The quality of the K-5 images was better than that of the E-PL5, while the E-PL5 was smaller with only slightly poorer ergonomics; but, do I really need both?  I finally decided that they were too similar and that I don’t need both.  Having a smaller camera was not going to increase my productivity.

Thinking some more about the future, I decided to reduce down to one camera and then see if I need another.  I have said for a long time that I thought that I would prefer to have one camera that I knew well, and I decided now is the time.  I sold my Canon S95 pocket camera along with my Fuji X100 (gulp).  I now only have one camera in the house, my oldest, the most versatile, now discontinued, Pentax K-5.  Since it was my best general purpose camera in terms of ergonomics, usability, and image quality, I decided to use it for everything … whatever that is.  And that is the root of my problem.  What am I going to be taking pictures of?  I have no single preferred style or type of photography so I will just use the K-5 and direct my energies towards developing my vision, rather than researching and getting different cameras in hopes that another camera will open up opportunities.

All of this just goes to show that I seem to have lost my way when it comes to photography.  Those who have followed my blog will recognize that I have wondered around a circle and arrived back to almost where I was years ago … at least camera wise.  I hope that this turning away from camera worship will help me to find my way in photography.  I hope to learn, and find, what it is I prefer to photograph.  I hope to simplify my photography and concentrate on deciding what I wish to achieve, and then build from there.    Maybe if I eliminate all the chaff and dust I will find the kernel and then I can plant it and let it grow.   I would like to find my muse and then feed it and nurture it before I decide what my next camera will be.

 
3 Comments

Posted by on December 25, 2012 in Homewood at Plum Creek, Photography

 

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Will I get the Olympus E-PL5 and Return to Micro 4/3 System?

16 Dec

Years ago I had different Olympus PEN cameras and liked them very much when traveling.  I managed to own, at one time or the other, the Olympus E-P1, the E-PL2, and then the E-P3 camera.  I found that the PEN cameras were lightweight, small, and worked well with prime lenses when traveling in Ireland and Tunisia, but I eventually replaced them to increase the quality of my images.  I decided that the image quality (IQ) of the micro 4/3 system just wasn’t what I desired, especially at higher ISOs, so I replaced my Olympus E-P3 with a Fuji X100.

This year, Olympus came out with a new version of the PEN series, the E-PL5.  It has the same Sony sensor and processor that they use in the more expensive OM-D E-M5 camera.  That new 16 MP sensor has shown in reviews to have far better IQ than the older 12 MP sensors that were in my previous PEN cameras.  Based on the reported quality of that sensor, I decided to try an Olympus PEN camera again. The question:  “Is it now good enough to replace my Fuji X100 and my Canon S95 cameras?”  According to the literature, the IQ of the E-PL5 is almost as good as the X100 and the camera is smaller and lighter and has a wide choice of good lenses available for it.  The E-PL5 is larger but has far superior IQ than my Canon S95, and thus the E-PL5 fits nicely in between the two cameras that I have.  My Canon S95 is a very small pocket camera but I have stopped carrying it due to its’ relatively poor IQ.

If warranted, my intentions would be to use the E-PL5, mostly with the Panasonic 20 mm lens, as my jacket pocket camera and when I want a more discreet camera than my Pentax K-5.  I would miss the hybrid viewfinder of the X100 but the tilt-able LCD of the E-PL5 would probably compensate for it.  It also has the advantage of being able to use it to take pictures down low to the ground.  I have a very stiff back and can’t bend down low like I use to so I expect this to be a very useful feature.  The E-PL5 would also enable me to take occasional movies for insertion into my video shows.  I also imagine that I would use the E-PL5 when traveling, especially when flying when I keep the weight as light as possible.

In order to check it out, I ordered the E-PL5 with the 14 – 42 mm zoom lens.  I doubted that the kit lens would be useable from my perspective but since they include it for only $50 more than the body alone I got it.  So far I have only used the E-PL5 with the 14 – 42 mm zoom lens and I don’t like the lens.  It is a little too large for my use (carry in a jacket pocket), is too slow for low light photography, and is not sharp enough to allow for significant cropping.  The pictures at the top illustrate the limits of sharpness and low light capabilities for an optimum aperture and zoom for the lens.  These pictures were all taken hand-held with no flash at the 20 mm zoom range, ISO = 5000, f/4.0, and 1/25 or 1/40 sec.  I was surprised at the low noise levels at this high of an ISO … they cleaned up reasonably well using LR4 on the raw files of such a small sensor.  This shows that the sensor and processor of this latest PEN camera are far superior to the earlier ones.  My biggest complaint is the lack of sharpness at all zoom ranges, and this is due to the lens.  I have the Panasonic 20 mm lens on order and I’ll let you know how the E-PL5 performs with it when I get it.  There are newer and better lenses available for the micro 4/3 system but they are more expensive and larger.

I love my Fuji X100 and it would be a difficult decision to sell it if I decide to keep the E-PL5.  I definitely wouldn’t sell it if I didn’t have the Pentax K-5.  While I have had problems in the past carrying the weight of the K-5 with heavy lenses, I am managing it now and I have enjoyed its excellent IQ and other features.  My K-5 will remain as my go-to, preferred camera when its’ quality and features are desired and I can handle the weight and size.

Basically I am still a conflicted photographer.  I enjoy photography but find that I really have no particular style or preferred subject.  If I did, my camera of choice would be an easier decision.  I have always believed that having and using just one camera would be preferable for me.  Since I don’t have a particular preference in type of photography, and since I have had various physical limitations that have changed over the years, I have tried different cameras with the hope of finding “the one” for me.  What I have found is that there doesn’t seem to be “one camera”; therefore, I’m hoping to use the K-5 as my preferred camera and something like the E-PL5 as my discreet carry with me camera when among people.

I believe that my camera capabilities exceed my capabilities and that I need to focus more on getting out and about and taking pictures.  I still need to practice and try more things and I’m hoping that having the small E-PL5 with a prime lens on it in my jacket pocket or a small bag will enable me to do that.  Some may think that I have taken two steps forward and then one back with this latest choice of camera, but I’m going for more portability with a more discreet choice as part of my plan to be a better opportunistic photographer.  As Ming Thein would say, I’m going more for sufficiency than quality.

 
2 Comments

Posted by on December 16, 2012 in Homewood at Plum Creek, Photography

 

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Which Comes First … Camera or Image?

20 Nov

On the Edge

Generally we find what kind of pictures we like to make and then buy cameras and lenses that best fit our interests, but what if we reverse this process?

The above picture was taken with a 50 mm (effective 75 mm) prime lens on my Pentax K-5.  I have used this combination a lot lately.  For most of the summer I walked around with my 55 – 300 mm lens on my K-5, but not lately.  It hasn’t been because I don’t like the 55 – 300 mm lens.  I actually like it a lot, particularly the focal lengths.  The problem has been the weight and size of the camera-lens combination.

Those who have followed my website for a while know that I replaced my first K-5 and lenses with several micro 4/3 cameras and lenses to reduce the size and weight … and then went back to the K-5 because of the ergonomics and image quality.  Now I’m revisiting the situation.  No, I am not going back to micro 4/3 cameras.   I’m trying a different solution.  I have used a prime lens, the Pentax 50 mm on the K-5.  Since I miss having the long zoom capability, I have done a lot of zoom-cropping.  I can’t recover the same capability but cropping helps.  The above picture was taken while out walking with the 50 mm lens.  I had to do some heavy cropping to get the above image.

I also have a Fujifilm X-100 camera which has a fixed 35 mm (effective) lens.  This is a nice small camera that I love and have used mostly for indoor work or for when I want a small camera under my jacket just in case an image pops up.

The above is an introduction to my current issue.  Do I end up making pictures based upon cameras and lenses I prefer to carry, or do I make other changes?  This issue is of particular interest to those of us aging photographers.  If our physical or economic conditions change, how should we adapt?  Can we change the style and type of pictures we make based on other limitations?

There is a classic recommendation that one should shoot with one prime lens to improve his or her photography.  One of the ideas behind this is that if you shoot long enough with a single focal length you learn to visualize the image before you put the camera up to your eye.  You improve your ability to see and recognize images suitable for your camera and whichever prime lens you have chosen.  I have tried this, and while it’s probably true, it isn’t easy to change, especially if you have been mostly using zoom lenses.  I’m not there yet, but I’m getting there; but, I still do a lot of cropping since most of my shots are wider than the final composition as displayed in my web site.

The primary issue for me is whether I really can make this change.  Will I be able to give up shots of wildlife and other scenes taken with a 300 mm lens?  Can I change the type of pictures I take so that they are more suitable to be made with a smaller and lighter system … maybe just with the X-100 with its’ 35 mm (e) lens?  If the answer is yes I can change my photography, and I enjoy the change, I will then put off thinking about another lens or camera until I really need to replace one that I have, or until after I make major changes in my photography and decide I need something different.

Before I make this change, or try to make it, I need to find other things to photograph.  New subjects are difficult for me to find.  I still haven’t been able to find a ready supply of images, that I can and want to make, close at hand.  The answer depends upon what is available to shoot as well as my interest in the subject and the appropriate style of photography.  I probably picked the wrong time of the year to try this experiment.  Everything is dark and dreary.  It’s like no color exists anymore.  The leaves have turned and blown away and all the flowers have died and departed.  The only color that exists is the occasional lovely sunrise.

It looks like it is going to be a long cold winter with little opportunity to practice photography so don’t be surprised if my pictures become farther apart, less interesting, and fewer in number.

 
1 Comment

Posted by on November 20, 2012 in Photography

 

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Aging Photographer Issues … Back & Knees

14 Nov

Four years ago I was starting to have a lot of trouble walking and was using a cane or walking stick, but after a few rounds of physical therapy I recovered enough to stop using then.  Unfortunately, it didn’t last long.  I started having even more major problems walking until I couldn’t walk, even with the aid of a cane for more than a very short distance.  That episode ended after I had lumbar fusion surgery two years ago.  Fortunately the surgery was quite successful and I now walk pretty well as long as I don’t stand or walk too long.  I still have stenosis and other problems at other locations in my back, so I still use a cane or walking stick now and then, especially if I know I will be going far or out for a longer time.

Many older people with arthritis or other back problems walk with the aid of a cane or walking stick, but for photographers this is a problem.  If you are holding a cane in one hand, that only leaves you one hand to hold a camera.  The picture above shows how I deal with this problem.  I have attached a nylon cord to my walking sticks and canes as shown above.  I put the loop around my wrist and tighten it so that I can let go of the cane without it falling to the ground while I then use the hand to steady my camera.  I carry my cameras on straps either around my neck or across my body while walking and using the cane or walking stick, but I need two hands to adjust and hold the camera steady while taking pictures.

The knob on the top of my walking stick screws off so that I can use it as a monopod when necessary with my smaller camera.  Getting smaller cameras is also something that older photographers find advantageous.  With my back I find that using a lighter camera enables me to walk further and photograph more.  I have a Pentax K-5 which along with a long zoom lens at times has been too much for me to carry.  To lighten my load, I bought a Fujifilm X100.  With its’ fixed effective 35 mm lens it is light but still has excellent image quality and fits nicely on a monopod, but I rarely need to do that.  I’ll probably have more to say about other suitable cameras in a later article.

I first got interested in using a smaller high quality camera from an article “On the Trail With the Leica M9” in a web article on Luminous Landscape.  Please click on it and read it.  It is an excellent example of what can be achieved.  My main problem is that I can’t afford a Leica M9 camera so I substituted the X100 for it.  I also went for a less expensive combined walking stick – monopod.  For my uses they work just fine.  In addition, as the article explains, I only use a camera bag to transport my cameras and lenses and I put extra batteries, cards, and lenses, if necessary, in a jacket or vest pocket

For those who don’t wish to go light with their equipment as I have done, they might want to try using a jogging stroller to carry their gear.  Don’t laugh, read this article.  Buying one second-hand would give you a very sturdy way to quickly move your gear down the walk.  It would be similar to a walker with wheels but capable of carrying more at a faster pace.  If you use a wheelchair, you can mount your camera on the chair.  One such device for doing this is shown here.

 
3 Comments

Posted by on November 14, 2012 in Photography

 

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Winter Sunrises

09 Nov

The only things I really enjoy about cold weather are the sunrises.  The sunrises of fall and winter are much better than in the summer.  Generally this is due to the colder air and ice particles in the clouds.  You can read more about the seasonal differences by clicking here.  For those of you who aren’t aware of my labeling system, I usually rename my pictures by the date and time (year month day – hour min. sec.), and thus you can check on when I took the picture.  Just click on the picture to see when it was taken.  You can also then click on the size at the top, usually 2000 x something, to see the picture in a larger size.

 
1 Comment

Posted by on November 9, 2012 in Hanover PA, Photography

 

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Reflections

07 Nov

The above picture is full of reflections.  You can see my arm and the Fujifilm X100, the reflections of the bottles, the reflections of the building outside across the way, and the reflections from various light sources on the bottles.  My first thought when I realized this after downloading it to my computer was that it was indicative of my way of life … always reflecting on my photography … which camera … what I should/could photograph … how should I process it … etc.

Today I’m thinking more about the issue of what to photograph as well as why make the picture.  For me, photography has been like therapy.  I have liked to take and process photographs; but I have a fundamental conflict.  Photography has almost always meant going someplace to take pictures but I’m not traveling much anymore.  Travel and photography have been almost synonymous.  I’m thinking that I need to get out and about more if I wish to make more pictures, but I also need to decide why and what I want to photograph.

I’m also reflecting on what to write about.  That might be a little easier.  Most recommend you write about what you know … hmmm, that also applies to photography.  I’m thinking about writing more about the effects of aging on photographers … how it affects what they photograph as well as their choice in cameras, techniques, etc.; but I’m not sure of how to reflect that in my pictures or if I even want to reflect it.

Now, if only I can decide on what I hope to achieve with my pictures and what to take pictures of.

 
2 Comments

Posted by on November 7, 2012 in My Musings, Photography

 

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Lifestyle Photography

05 Nov

Most of the blogs or web sites associated with lifestyle photography seem to be oriented toward younger folks and their children.  Looking at a few of them got me to thinking that it would be an appropriate description of what my blog has turned into with one major difference … mine isn’t about the young folks.

My first blog, which is no longer public, was about my thoughts relative to the future.  It was about future scenarios for all aspects of life from economics to war to simplicity to religion … and it was controversial.   I finally got to a point in life where I decided it wasn’t worth debating the future, and that what would be would be.

My second web site “Everchanging Perspective”, the one you are reading, started out primarily as a travel photography site with occasional less confrontational musings about the future.  As I aged, had various problems, and quit traveling as much, it evolved into its’ present form.  While I have tried different forms and styles of photography, it now seems that my challenge is to make pictures from what I see all about without traveling far.  I rarely ever go someplace anymore with the specific goal of taking pictures.  My perspective has changed to mostly finding pictures of interest from among the more common everyday things that I see as I walk around my neighborhood here at Homewood at Plum Creek.  For you who haven’t tried such photography, believe me when I say that it is a challenge.  Try walking around the same paths, roads, and buildings day after day while trying to find new scenes or objects or new ways to photograph the same.

The pictures displayed today were taken in the Community Center while I was running an errand.  I used them to practice making some B&W images.  The areas are very colorful but I thought that the colors distracted from the images.  In addition, the areas presented a challenge from the high contrast lighting; but I was pleased that the Fujifilm X100 performed quite well along with some tweaking with LR4 since I wanted to tone down the brightly lit areas.  All things considered, I thought that the tones in the pictures were pleasing.

 
4 Comments

Posted by on November 5, 2012 in Homewood at Plum Creek, Photography

 

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Pictures from Blackwater Falls State Park in WV

30 Oct

When I was at Blackwater Falls State Park last week, most of the leaves were already down so I didn’t take many pictures.  The following are a few random pictures that I took within the park.  All of these were taken with my Fuji X-100 in raw format and developed with LR4.

 
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Posted by on October 30, 2012 in Photography, West Virginia

 

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Fuji X-100, a High Quality, All-purpose Camera in Western Maryland

28 Oct

I recently made a quick trip to WV and back.  The following pictures were all taken at Sideling Hill Rest Stop in MD on I68 while I was on the way to WV.  It had rained hard but it let-up just as I got to this rest stop where it was still sprinkling. The following pictures were taken in raw format and then developed with Adobe Lightroom 4. I didn’t plan on taking many pictures since I wasn’t going to have much time but I tossed in the Fujifilm X-100 just in case … and I’m glad I did.  The X-100 is quite a camera.  I had mainly been using it to take pictures inside of buildings where it had always performed superbly, but I hadn’t used it much for landscapes.  (See how it performed inside the Gettysburg museum by clicking here.)  In addition I had recently been shooting with my Pentax K-5 with a 50 mm (effective 75 mm) prime lens and I didn’t know how I was going to adjust back to an effective 35 mm focal length.  Well, the answer is that the X-100 does very well and I had no trouble. I am finding that the X-100 comes closest to being the camera with the best IQ and the most appropriate all-around effective 35 mm fixed lens camera that I have ever seen and used.  In my opinion you can’t find another camera that performs so well as a travel camera for its cost.  It is small, light-weight, discreet, silent, does well in low light, and has excellent image quality.  I’ll show you a few more pictures from the trip at a later date.

 
3 Comments

Posted by on October 28, 2012 in Photography, Travel

 

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Advantages of a Prime Lens

19 Oct

I have mentioned earlier about the advantages of prime lenses while traveling overseas but I will reinforce it in this article.  I find that all the same advantages apply even while walking around town or on country lanes or on the paths here in Homewood at Plum Creek.  Having a prime lens on the camera reduces the weight and bulk of the camera-lens combination and increases the quality of the images.  This is due to the design advantages for a prime lens.  They use less glass and don’t have the built-in zoom mechanism thus enabling the designers to better optimize the image quality (IQ) while keeping the weight and size smaller.  But, I need to remind you that to take advantage of this you need the higher number of pixels in late-model cameras, and if you are taking it to the extreme, you need to view the pictures on your computer or projection device and not make large prints.

I took the following picture on my Pentax K-5 which with 16 mp gave me a picture of 4928 x 3264 pixels.  The picture was taken with a prime 50 mm lens (effective 75mm) at ISO = 100, f/5.6, and 1/1000 sec.

Assume for the purpose of this article that I was curious about what was at the base of the trees.  Since I didn’t have a zoom lens on the camera, I couldn’t zoom in closer, and since the farmer was working right close to me I didn’t want to tramp across his field.  My alternative was to crop-zoom the picture on my computer after I had down-loaded the picture.  The following picture is a 1018 x 674 crop of the above picture.  As you can see it really makes a difference and I went from an area of 16.08 mp to 0.686 mp … quite a reduction with very little, if any, perceived reduction in IQ.  You can click on the pictures to see them larger, but they have still been reduced for display in this blog.

And there are other benefits.  The 50 mm lens is an f 1.8 lens and my 55 – 300 mm lens is an f 5.8 at the far zoom range so I achieve a significant increase in low light level capability with the prime lens.  In addition, the 50 mm weighs 122 grams and the 55 – 300 weighs 440 grams … and the 50 mm lens only protrudes about 1.6 inches in front of the camera while at 300 mm that lens protrudes about 7 to 7.75 inches.  Which would you prefer to carry … or have pointed at you if you were on the receiving end?

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t always use a prime lens.  I enjoy the ability to compose my shot with a zoom lens.  I can also crop zoom pictures taken with my long zoom lens even at 300 mm, but the quality isn’t as good.  If I’m walking where it is likely that I will see wildlife, I prefer to have a much longer lens than the 50 mm, but lately I have had back problems and have been almost exclusively using my prime lenses to reduce the weight of my camera-lens combos.  I either use my Fuji X100 with its effective 35 mm lens or my Pentax K-5 with the 50 mm (effective 75 mm) prime lens.  I’ll also mention that it has occurred to me that if I get a new camera with even more pixels, and/or a larger sensor, and a prime lens, that I might even do better. … maybe the new Sony RX1 ?

But don’t forget that I am talking about viewing the pictures on a computer monitor.  If you were to print the picture at 240 px per inch, the resulting size of the print would only be roughly 4.25 inches by 2.8 inches.  I don’t print my pictures but even I would be concerned about the small size of the picture in some cases.  For example, the newer tablets and monitors have much higher resolution.  There may come a time in the future that you would find the above picture too small.  That is one reason that I have generally limited my pictures on this blog to a minimum of 2000 px long on the widest side … and I may increase that in light of the latest Mac Reticular screens.

If you are interested in using prime lenses to reduce the weight and bulk of your system, I urge you to read about  street photographers since they tend to use primes lenses.  You might wish to first read my article about the similarities of street and travel photography by clicking here.  I would also encourage you to check out other articles on the web.  A recent good summary of street (urban travel) photography can be found by clicking here.

 
1 Comment

Posted by on October 19, 2012 in Photography, Travel

 

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