milandro

All my Fuji lenses, whether made in China or Japan, are excellent in every respect and without looking you couldn’t tell them apart. Quality Control is not a matter of nationality but a matter of company policy. Yamaha saxophone made in China are made to the same exact specification and quality control as the Yamaha saxophones made in Japan or Indonesia. The only difference is the labour cost which has an higher impact on cheaper models than more expensive ones.

Well we are just in time to say Chag Pesach Sameach!

you can find great lenses to be shot manually and giving you both sharpness where needed and “ bokeh” too Please, look at this portrait in this thread on adapted lenses and their rendering. post-106-0-96881500-1459148480.jpg http://www.fuji-x-forum.com/topic/2599-new-bokeh-monsters-or-classic-cheap-adapted-glass/?do=findComment&comment=24193 This portrait was taken with a X-E2 with an adapted 50mm 1.8 at 2.8. Personally I don’t find anything wrong with this lens used this way. Of course I wouldn’t use this lens always and for everything because it would be foolish to do so. I use a combination of X lenses , manual modern lenses, adapted classic lenses.

yes, you can also buy version 1 because the improvement of version II is mostly directed to other cameras with lager sensors.

yes, sorry

If you don’t have any XC lens, you cannot see this because the camera knows you have a switch on the lens. The camera senses the type of lens you have on, the IS option is not allowed, for example with manual lenses or adapters. When you mount a XF lens and you enter the menu the next screen is ( I am translating since my menu is in another language) continuos, single shot AND on/off

I have the same camera and the same firmware, I can only tell you that my camera does have this option , including off, with my XC 50-230. Unless something is broken in you lens ( or a contact is dirty) and it isn’t in mine, I don’t see how this would be different on both cameras. I can only tell you that if you don’t have to possibility to switch it off in menu 5 then there is something wrong with something but I am pretty sure that what I described is the correct way in which this is supposed to work, so does it with my camera and lens and is exactly what it says in the manual too because it has never been different.

I do play the saxophone as an amateur and few other related instruments. I have my own quintet and we play vocal ad instrumental Jazz standards. Don’t take offense, but long ago I decided not to share videos or mp3 files of my playing in public and keep this for myself or my close circles, as doing that brings to either undeserved compliments, simply because you did it, or vitriolic and venomous comments from the part of those who don’t like you for all kinds or unrelated reasons. However I would share another of my finds on line about a 3D printed implement to put your lens cap away when using your camera. 3D printing is still in tis infancy though and I would expect a lot more in the future.

This is another case of reading the manual or at least go through the menu. There is an option in the menu to switch IS (Image stabilization) off. The first option of Menu 5. This is automatically inactive if you use a lens without any stabilization. If you use a lens with stabilization but no external switch for it, you put it on off ( I have the 50-30 which requires me doing this this way). Otherwise you leave it always on and reach for the control on those lenses which offer it to you. Problem solved but really it is all there. Good Luck!

I have had 4 if I include also the Kipon tilt and Zhongyi Lens Turbo II. No issues, such as yours, with anyone. I currently use a K&F cOncept which I consider extremely well made. It is, at the very least, a branded Item but the price is only marginally higher than an unbranded one.

But since the 23mm f2 is around the corner and it will probably cost in the same region as the 35 f2 I would certainly recommend to buy the 18-55 first ( often thrown in in deals at a ridiculous price) and the consider buying any specialized prime at a second moment (or not).

sure... but one needs to persevere , this wasn’t a shot done on the fly... The only way to realistically have a go at taking a shot like that, is to create the conditions for which you know exactly where the kingfisher will dive, ...by placing bait fish. If you think that you see the fish perched on a tree and that you follow it in its dive getting this shot, you will be making many unsuccessful attempts before you get to the conclusion that you need to increase your chances. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2158633/Like-shooting-fish-barrel-How-photographer-coaxed-kingfisher-divebomb-food-like-missile-going-kill.html "Mr Petersburger from Hungary said he took the images during the nesting period and used bait to attract fish to a particular area of the stream." or.... http://www.nigelforrow.co.uk/close-up-kingfisher-with-fish . "Kingfishers are attracted to a suspended tank containing fish bait. A variety of interchangeable perches could be placed at different angles around the tank." Although not everyone agrees to the practice http://www.markdumbleton.com/blog/baiting-in-wildlife-photography/

The 18-55 is one of the best lenses that I have ever used and gives a run for its money to may other more expensive lenses. Unless you are affected by some need to show off a collection of expensive lenses I would most certainly recommend to give it a chance before dismissing it on account of a the aperture. All prime lenses with large openings are very big and heavy. Shooting all open with these lenses doesn’t fulfill so much a need for a shot in poor light ( since the very good results one gets at even 3200 ISO and above) but a need for separation from the subject on the foreground and the background. An effect which seems to dominate today’s image culture. Good luck!

The cameras have sensors with identical performance, but , the XE2 has the benefit of firmware updates which historically Fuji hasn’t done as much or at all to the X100 series. I am not sure what you mean by the extra stop of the X100... The 23mm on the X-E2 can be even the 1.4 which would be more light efficient than any X100 has been or would ever be. Soon , for the X series, there will be a new 23mm probably f2 and much smaller too.

well, it looks like the unusually cold, almost wintery temperatures, and the hail and wet snow have had the best of King’s day and in many cities, included Amsterdam, this has been a much smaller even that I can ever remember it has ben in the last 25 years. So, most probably the city won’t be as messy and dirty as it usually is after this huge event. Do bring warm clothes and something against rain. It is not raining all the time but we have very unpredictable and mostly cold weather for this season.

The digital picture quality of the two cameras is close to identical. But they are radically different cameras. The X100 series has non interchangeable lenses and an OVF (Optical viewfinder). Although you can buy some screw-on lenses to widen the field and lengthen the focal length of the moderate wide-angle which equips the camera, this is limited to two lenses only. This camera was made to look and feel like a retro camera equipped with the focal length (23mm) equivalent to a 35mm which was considered to be a reportage lens “ par excellence”. It would be possible to associate a X70 to a X100 and get a more wide-angle field but then you will be working with two very different cameras. The OVF looks certainly cool but are you a photographer who will use it? Some people who have used reflexes their all lives cannot get used to a viewfinder which doesn’t show the image as it will be captured from the film or the digital sensor. If you are such a photographer you know. If you’ve never used it I suggest you rent a camera like that and take it to a spin because it is by no means something that you will get used to if you are not that kind of person. I know someone who has now two cool cameras both equipped with the OVF but he uses only the EVF on a X100S and a XPro2. A lot of people cannot really work with the OVF. If you are buying it only for the looks it’s an expensive piece of useless glass. Another reason to make a distinction between the two cameras is the shutter. The shutter of the X100 series is a different animal and works in a different way with a flash. In the beginning of the X era it would have had the advantage of being quieter but now that you have electronic shutter on all the X camera with interchangeable lenses this difference is not as big as it might have been few years ago. The X-E2 ( S or otherwise, frankly speaking consider a secondhand XE2 since they almost identical) has the advantage of placing you in the position to use a huge panoply of lenses and accessories which you simply cannot use on the other camera. Besides Fuji has not updated the software of the cameras with fixed lenses as much or at all lately. Good luck with your choice.

It would much depend if you are into some compressed perspectives or not. One of the reasons that made me chose the cheap 50-230 was to buy a long focal zoom which could be of use when you need it without investing too much in terms of money, volume and weight for a focal which I don’t use all that much.

the “ zooming “ with your feet obviously only refers to taking more “ field” in the lens, but there are other reasons to use a wideangle that simply put more space on your film. Besides, once you’ve crosses the road and are with your back agains the furthest away building or laying on the pavement, in most cities you are still too close to take-in buildings in a satisfactory way. But to me, the use of a widangle converter on a zoom like the 18-55 can only lead to serious problems, including destroying the lens. Much better to buy a specialized lens. ( 10, 12, 14mm)

Well, unless you plan doing any serious portraits ( which is not what one does while on a a 4 day city trip, normally) I would leave the 35 and the 56 at home take the 14, 16-55 and 50-140. If you want to travel light yes, sure take only the 16-55. As for the night shots on the canals the bridges are equipped with outstanding rails and pillars ( some pillars are not as camera friendly as others) and you can certainly use you camera on a small and portable mini tripod. If the weather is going to be slightly different than it was yesterday and today ( we’ve dropped back into winter temperatures with hailstorms and wet snow yesterday ) a visit to the Keukenhof ( open for a few more days) would be mandatory and so it is the Zaanse Schans ( you can reach both by bus or train). Maybe you want to go to a trip to Marken and Volendam but you can also go to Edam en Monnickendam they are all very close to one another and not far from the city. You can get there by bus from Amsterdam. So you will have seen all the windmills that you need to see, an old village or two and the Dutch flowers. Remember the 27th of April is King’s day, when his mother was queen it used to be the 30th. Amsterdam will be very “ happy” starting from the night before, if you are into quite visit of cities you picked the wrong time, it won’t be possible to shoot canals that day or the night before! People are everywhere selling anything on the streets and partying all around. If the weather is nice is very glorious but it can be too much to some visitors. I also predict that the city will be rather dirty for a few days in the aftermath of all that it happens the 26-27. You have been warned! All the traditional tourist spots are nice. But again you will find that they will be rather untidy in the days after King’s day. Have fun. http://www.keukenhof.nl/nl/ http://www.dezaanseschans.nl

1) yes ? what are you talking about, you can use the camera in aperture priority and in manual, of course you can change the shutter speed! You cannot change the “ autofocus” because is not there... but you can move the focussing box anywhere ( which will be the part increased in size when you want to focus precisely). 3) I have very good experience with a “ dumb adapter” ( one with no other feature other than having one Fuji bayonet at the back and in my case a M42 at the front) cheap but very well made by K&F cOncept. I had bought one with no name even cheaper before, but this is very well made. I don’t see the point ( after owning this K&F) to buy a Novoflex, for example. I also have a an adapter/focal reducer, a lens turbo II made by the Chinese Zhongy. Very well made too. Much cheaper than the Speed Booster which, to me, isn’t worth the extra cost. Another adapter which I own is the tilt adapter made by Kipon. This is even TOO robust. It works in a slightly cumbersome way and it is rather heavy ( especially with the Helios 58 that I use it with) but I am alright with it and other alternatives are made worse than this or they are a lot more expensive.

Unless you have a camera with a fixed lens X-100T or X-70 I don’t think that buying a wideangle converter makes much sense on a camera fitted with the 18-55. On top of this, using an oversized lens to stay clear of vignetting, will put a lot of strain on both the filter mount and a the autofocus of the lens. You will probably wreck both, if not immediately at some time. I am sure that you will be better off, and by quite a bit, simply by buying a Samyang 12mm ( or other focal length but I own that and it is compact and of exceptional quality) or something like that. A secondhand one won’t cost you more than $250 and you will be very happy with the results, I can guarantee that. As for macro. You could go really cheap an put a lightweight close up filter on the 18-55 but you probably will be better off with a Raynox lens. If you search around this forum or elsewhere there are plenty of people shooting great macro pictures with the Raynox. However , if you should ever get into macro, buying a macro lens which you can use with an adapter can be very rewarding. You won’t pay a fortune ( and that includes the adapter) and you will have a second lens which can be also used (if the focal length is appropriate) for portraits. Another equally valid solution would be using automatic rings on your 18-55, not as fast as a Raynox though!

in the only possible way. You look into the evf or ovf and you focus the lens. You may use no focus aid or you use one of the several offered by Fuji. My preferrred method is to push on the “ focus assist” button of the X-T1 or the wheel of the X-E2 ( they have the same function if used this way in this context). This will enlarge the area selected (which normally with the autofocus lenses is the areas where the autofocus is set) and you can focus there. You may use other systems offered by the camera: Digital split image or Focus peak (they are in the menu and obviously in the manual). I prefer the simplest method described before. Some lenses that I use are not classic lenses but are nevertheless manual focus lenses ( 8mm and 12mm Samyang) do not really require any focus but you can try to focus them the same way.

that’s what I meant with eye sensor.

How do you think that people would have been taking photographs if the X Pro 2 would have never come? Was anyone prior to the introduction to this camera ever prevented from shooting great pictures with the X pro 1? I am postulating that any camera exceeds the talenst of most photographers and not the other way around. You will always be the greater limit not the camera. Don’t think or talk about photographing, do it.

Yes, this is the problem. I could make something to fit my X-E2 but it will keep the EVF on all the time at least with the X-Pro 2 you can toggle between OVF and EVF to prevent this draining the battery.