Adam Woodhouse

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A recent trip to Old Quebec City.
 
When using adapted lenses, I usually shoot with either Velvia or Acros + R film simulation.
 
Most of these shared are with my old Canon 24/2.8 or Minolta 58/1.4
 
Details here ->  http://adamwoodhouse.info/old-quebec-city-fuji-xt2-with-canon-242-8-scc-and-minolta-rokkor-581-4/

Cool lens I picked up. It's pretty big and heavy, but balances well on my X-T1.
It focuses to less than 6" allowing it to be both wide angle and macro.

Good luck if you do that.
 
After my 3rd Nikon full frame DSLR failed on me at weddings, I ditched all of that product line and went to Fuji.  Not because I was naive and thought Fuji would be problem free, just frustrated and time for a change.
 
My D3s (their flag ship for a short while) had 2 repairs at Nikon for a random locking up with ERR code on the top LCD.  After 2 repairs and almost $900 (Canadian) it still wasn't fixed and Nikon didn't know what the problem was.  The other 2 failed bodies (D700 and D610) both had different mechanical failures that each required approx $400 repair bills.
 
The grass isn't always greener on the other side.
 
Oh ... and a side note.  When I got the D610 I had an incident where video I recorded did not get written to the memory card.  I followed up with Nikon and they didn't know why that would happen.  I later discovered that if the batter got low, there was a chance video would look like it was recording to the memory card but it wasn't!  wtf    From that point on I always made sure when shooting video for wedding clients that the D610 had a battery with more than 50% power.  I was always worried that my video recording was in fact not recording after that.  But I never had that video issue again.

Montreal City.

Hey guys,
 
I thought I'd share with you a few pictures I did with the excellent Nikon AF-S 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 VR lens, mounted on my X-T1 with an adapter ring from K&F Concept. I went to Munich's beautiful zoo, Hellabrunn, to test this setup. That poor zoom lens is a survivor of the great Nikon purge that I did 2 years ago, when switching to Fujifilm... It slept in a cabinet ever since, and I rediscovered it by mistake, and decided to give it a try as I don't have any zoom for my X-T1.
 
The lens is quite big and heavy on the X-T1, and for those like me who abandoned their DSLR for the weight, it feels quite weird at the beginning! Of course, everything becomes manual, so no autofocus and unfortunately, no vibration reduction... This is where IBIS would prove useful!
 
Overall, I'm quite pleased with the results. The lens is sharp and I didn't notice any aberration or such. However, focusing is quite challenging, despite the very good manual focus mode on the X-T1. At the zoo, you want pictures of animals which can be quite far away, with a nice bokeh to isolate them from their background -- which can be made of fences or electric wires... And at 300mm and f/5.6, without autofocus, well, it's challenging to get sharp pictures! The monopod I took with me was essential to be stable.
 
Here are the pictures, hope you like them!
 
Konzy
 

 

 

Micro contrast has nothing to do with colour. A lens with high micro contrast can distinguish between increasingly small variations of tone at high frequencies. It is about resolution, which is not the same as sharpness. An image can look sharp but have low resolution. All lenses are optical compromises. A lens with high macro contrast and low micro contrast can appear sharp despite not being able to resolve fine detail. A lens built for high micro contrast can show fine detail but can produce dull and lifeless looking images. In practise a lens designer has to balance these two qualities together with many other lens characteristics. Leica and Minolta, who worked closely together for a while in the pre-af era, made low macro contrast lenses that could resolve fine detail and had a lovely subtle tonal reproduction. What the designers did was to boost the MTF figures at finer than 60 cycles at the expense of the 10-30 cycle range. A decade ago David Kilpatrick wrote a very illuminating article called "Historical Perspective on Minolta Lens Design Philosophy". I have a hard copy of this but I don't know if it can still be found online. In it he discusses some of this together with coating decisions made to help give contrast and colour consistency (lens colour was much more important in film days for obvious reasons).
 
Nowadays with exotic glasses, aspherical elements and design methods that were not available in the 70s and 80s, lenses can be made with less compromise but differences are still there. A couple of years ago I was lucky enough to attend a factory tour at Cooke optics in Leicester. Their hand built lenses are used for many feature films and TV dramas and are famed for the "Cooke Look". It's difficult to explain but involves smooth tonal transitions and beautiful bokeh. Interestingly they told me that they are able to design for the look in the design software. If you have to ask how much they cost you can't afford one! The TV companies mostly hire them. The feature film people have such big budgets that they are not a significant cost to them. Have a look at their website, it's quite interesting. www.cookeoptics.com

...
 

BMW 328 by Enzio Harpaintner, auf Flickr
 
XF 23/2.0 WR

Montreal City.

Montreal City.

Montreal City.

Montreal City.

If camera 1 has a problem but camera 2 does not, then that helps to ensure it is a camera problem.
 
I'd recommend re-applying latest firmware to camera that has the problem.  That may kick it in the butt.  And as per usual 'good practice', format the cards in the camera.
 
I'd think that should latest firmware re-installed plus formatting cards in the camera and still have problem ... Fuji support may be needed to get it working correctly.

Snowy Owl captured in central Ontario, Canada in the middle of the winter.
 
 

The Pentax Asahi Takumar 55mm f1.8 and Konica Hexanon 57mm f1.4 have a lot of discussion around them on the web and its all good.
 
I have the Takumar 55/1.8
 
You can read about my experience with this lens and see some sample images at my site -> http://adamwoodhousephotography.ca/vintage-gear/pentax-asahi-55mm-f1-8/

XT1 + 50-140/2.8
 

Optical and mechanical quality of the 90mm are near-perfect. And the 90 has a certain magical quality about it that's very addictive and hard to define. The 90 is optimal for headshots and outdoor portraits. But it's less flexible and is less practical to use; you'll need to adapt to it. Indoors you may bump into walls and outdoors you'll need to walk a lot more whilst composing the shot compared to shorter focal lengths. For indoor and low-light use the 56 is better and for flexibility the 50-140 zoom would be the better choice. However, the 90 is easier to focus with then the 56. And compared to the zoom it's rendering is better suited for portraiture; I find the zoom a bit bland compared to the 90. Also the 90 is much smaller, lighter and cheaper then the zoom.
 
For low light use the 56 is king. And the zoom has such incredible OIS that it easily beats the 90. For the 90 I usually use 1/250th or faster. With the zoom I can go as low as 1/15th, or with subject movement about 1/80th.
 
One other reason that people trade in their 90mm besides practicality and flexibility could be the rattling sound that it makes while it's off camera, or while the camera is switched off. This is by design and not a defect. It has to do with the autofocus motor which uses magnets. The magnets are not activated when they have no power, thus the rattling sound of the lens interior. Just don't worry about it, it will be fine. No, really! :-)
 
Personally I've sold my 56 and kept the 90. The 90 better complements my other two lenses (16-55 and 23f1.4).
 
One last word of advice: The 90 definitely is not a telephoto for photographing birds or other small animals. For that I find that even the 100-400 with the 1.4 teleconverter can occasionally be a bit short.

Hi
 
 I had the chance to cover another White Water event last weekend. 
 
This is my second year covering the Neilson River Race, one of the most bad-ass and intense annual kayak race in Quebec.
It is a pure time trial with each team of two kayakers racing a 3km class IV+V section with 6 major rapids, each team has one lap to enter their fastest time.
This river flow in a steep gorge and the only two land access are at the starting point, the Big Eyes Rapid, and at the ending rapid, the Double Drop (Class VI) which offer the best view on the action.
 
All shots were taken from almost the exact same spot where I was able to follow the paddlers as they approach the top of the rapid all the way down to the bottom where most of them were underwater and had to do a eskimo roll to right them self back up.
As the old saying goes: location, location, location....
 
Keeping in mind that the air is filled with mist and water droplets and that every part of the boats and paddlers are covered with running water, I'm quite happy with the IQ and AF of my T2.
 
Shot with a X-T2 + XF50-140mm + VB grip combo, on Boost, AFC with zone AF (3x3 grid), drive on CH (11 fps), AFC custom setting at 2 (follow), Raw.
PP in LR 6.9 + Irident's X-Transformer + Nik's Suite.
 
The Flickr Album (75 pics): https://flic.kr/s/aHskV5URMR
 
So from top to bottom, the Approach....
 
Neilson River Race 2017 #74 by Gilles Baribeau, on Flickr
 
Neilson River Race 2017 #40 by Gilles Baribeau, on Flickr
 
.... The First Drop...
 
Neilson River Race 2017 #25 by Gilles Baribeau, on Flickr
 
Neilson River Race 2017 #65 by Gilles Baribeau, on Flickr
 
...In the Froth...
 
Neilson River Race 2017 #13 by Gilles Baribeau, on Flickr
 
Neilson River Race 2017 #29 by Gilles Baribeau, on Flickr
 
....And the Recovery....
 
Neilson River Race 2017 #62 by Gilles Baribeau, on Flickr
 
Neilson River Race 2017 #23 by Gilles Baribeau, on Flickr
 
 
 
 

This weekend I shot both football and basketball. Some shots from my X-T2:
 
FC Nõmme Kalju vs FC Levadia Tallinn @Hiiu Stadium, Tallinn, Estonia by Hendrik Osula, on Flickr
 
X-T2 + 10-24/4
 
FC Nõmme Kalju vs FC Levadia Tallinn @Hiiu Stadium, Tallinn, Estonia by Hendrik Osula, on Flickr
 
X-T2 + 50-140/2,8
 
BC Kalev Cramo vs Rapla Avis @Saku Suurhall, Tallinn, Estonia by Hendrik Osula, on Flickr
 
X-T2 + Samyang 12mm F2
 
BC Kalev Cramo vs Rapla Avis @Saku Suurhall, Tallinn, Estonia by Hendrik Osula, on Flickr
 
X-T2 + Samyang 12mm F2
 
BC Kalev Cramo vs Rapla Avis @Saku Suurhall, Tallinn, Estonia by Hendrik Osula, on Flickr
 
X-T2 + 50/2
 
BC Kalev Cramo vs Rapla Avis @Saku Suurhall, Tallinn, Estonia by Hendrik Osula, on Flickr
 
X-T2 + Samyang 12mm F2
 
BC Kalev Cramo vs Rapla Avis @Saku Suurhall, Tallinn, Estonia by Hendrik Osula, on Flickr
 
X-T2 + Samyang 12mm F2

The children's mini play castle (part of Boldt Castle property located at the 1000 Islands (in the St. Lawrence between USA and Canada)).

The children's mini play castle (part of Boldt Castle property located at the 1000 Islands (in the St. Lawrence between USA and Canada)).

X-E2 + 23f2

Yes, It is summer in Madrid, hot days but happy days. I decided to walk around last weekend and I took some cool picture that I am sharing with you below. Hope you will enjoy them!
 
Thanks!
 
Come check out my site here: www.josecarpin.com
 
XT-2 + XF16mm f1.4
 
Madrid walkers: Street photography B&W by Jose  Carpin, en Flickr
 
XT-2 + XF35mm f1.4
 
Madrid walkers: Street photography B&W by Jose  Carpin, en Flickr
 
XT-2 + XF16mm f1.4
 
Madrid walkers: Street photography B&W by Jose  Carpin, en Flickr
 
XT-2 + XF16mm f1.4
 
Madrid walkers: Street photography B&W by Jose  Carpin, en Flickr
 
XT-2 + XF16mm f1.4
 
Madrid walkers: Street photography B&W by Jose  Carpin, en Flickr
 
XT-2 + XF16mm f1.4
 
Madrid walkers: Street photography B&W by Jose  Carpin, en Flickr