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Guzzi Jim

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Guzzi Jim last won the day on January 27 2018

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  1. Here's some feedback on my trip, late I know but hopefully might help someone :-) The X-pro2 performed without fault, with fairly high humidity and around 28-30 deg C. I did have to change lenses quite a bit but still no issues. The 18mm f2 was soo needed for the Grand Palace in Bangkok and for some temple internals, the 23 just didnt cut it, too narrow for these situations. The 16mm would be even better but I don't own one.....yet The 23mm f2 was my most used length looking at the metadata in lightroom, I had 35mm 'days' but often had to step too far back to get it all in for the busier places, however I did get some nice candid portraits of street vendors etc with this lens. I should have taken the 35 1.4 instead tho, I found when I wanted to use the 35 a bit nicer bokeh would have helped. A fairly big surprise to me was the 50mmf2, I hardly wanted to use it, and when I did I was disappointed at the lack of subject separation with the busy backgrounds pretty much anywhere. One benefit is that I now know there probably isnt a place in my collection for this lens. On Koh Chang island and in Chiang Mai the 50-230 was used quite a bit with some lovely images. The weekend we landed in Chiang Mai was the annual festival for the end on the rainy season, long distance candid or even posed shots were great, hundreds of people in national dress from various regions of northern Thailand.... spectacular The Nissin flash got used once or twice to illuminate my wife's face with sunset background shots but to be honest I dont really liked the results. Maybe a diffuser of some sort would have been handy. We liked Chiang Mai so much that we leave again very soon for another 2 weeks there. Slightly different camera bag this time, oh and on that the Billingham Hadley Pro was a great travel bag but found it a wee bit big for walking around the streets so gonna take my small hadley with me in the case. I have since bought the 55-200 at a great price in Edinburgh airport so thats coming this trip. One thing I did notice, and I suppose it applies to a lot of vacations but there was a distinct difference between what I wanted to carry daytime and nightime. So that has 'tuned' my bag also for this trip. So this trip will be X-pro2 with Fuji handgrip 18-55 and 55-200 zooms (I did miss the ability to frame a shot quickly without using my feet, there is so much happening at a fast rate there) 18mm f2 35mm f1.4 X100T I take my pixi tripod and smaller EF-X20 flash, just in case I have a small photo shoot set up with someone this trip so will take my 56mm f1.2 mainly for that occasion So soon on ebay will be a 35 f2, 50 f2 and a 50-230 all hardly used, they just don't suit my shooting style Thanks for reading, please leave your comments
  2. Here's some feedback on my trip, late I know but hopefully might help someone :-) The X-pro2 performed without fault, with fairly high humidity and around 28-30 deg C. I did have to change lenses quite a bit but still no issues. The 18mm f2 was soo needed for the Grand Palace in Bangkok and for some temple internals, the 23 just didnt cut it, too narrow for these situations. The 16mm would be even better but I don't own one.....yet The 23mm f2 was my most used length looking at the metadata in lightroom, I had 35mm 'days' but often had to step too far back to get it all in for the busier places, however I did get some nice candid portraits of street vendors etc with this lens. I should have taken the 35 1.4 instead tho, I found when I wanted to use the 35 a bit nicer bokeh would have helped. A fairly big surprise to me was the 50mmf2, I hardly wanted to use it, and when I did I was disappointed at the lack of subject separation with the busy backgrounds pretty much anywhere. One benefit is that I now know there probably isnt a place in my collection for this lens. On Koh Chang island and in Chiang Mai the 50-230 was used quite a bit with some lovely images. The weekend we landed in Chiang Mai was the annual festival for the end on the rainy season, long distance candid or even posed shots were great, hundreds of people in national dress from various regions of northern Thailand.... spectacular The Nissin flash got used once or twice to illuminate my wife's face with sunset background shots but to be honest I dont really liked the results. Maybe a diffuser of some sort would have been handy. We liked Chiang Mai so much that we leave again very soon for another 2 weeks there. Slightly different camera bag this time, oh and on that the Billingham Hadley Pro was a great travel bag but found it a wee bit big for walking around the streets so gonna take my small hadley with me in the case. I have since bought the 55-200 at a great price in Edinburgh airport so thats coming this trip. One thing I did notice, and I suppose it applies to a lot of vacations but there was a distinct difference between what I wanted to carry daytime and nightime. So that has 'tuned' my bag also for this trip. So this trip will be X-pro2 with Fuji handgrip 18-55 and 55-200 zooms (I did miss the ability to frame a shot quickly without using my feet, there is so much happening at a fast rate there) 18mm f2 35mm f1.4 X100T I take my pixi tripod and smaller EF-X20 flash, just in case I have a small photo shoot set up with someone this trip so will take my 56mm f1.2 mainly for that occasion So soon on ebay will be a 35 f2, 50 f2 and a 50-230 all hardly used, they just don't suit my shooting style Thanks for reading, please leave your comments
  3. Taken with my X-pro 2 with manual nikkor 105mm F2.5
  4. Thanks for all your input, your time is appreciated!! I leave soon for Thailand and have decided on the following kit. As I enjoy using primes more the only Zoom I will take is the 50-230 because I cant zoom there with my feet. My bag:- Billingham Hadley Pro X-Pro 2 18mm f2 for tight spots, temples etc and waterfalls with my ND1000 23mm f2 general walk around (my favourite FL) 35 f2 or maybe f1.4 for low light. This will also feed into my decision of which one to sell. I dont use them very often so one must go. 50mm f2 Just bought it but like 'getting in' that wee bit more, I intend using this lens a lot 50-230mm zoom for wildlife parks and other occasions I want to take candid moments without intrusion Pixi tripod Nissin i40 for fill essentially. I have had the firmware upgrade for HSS TTL I'll feed back my findings Cheers Again, thanks for your help
  5. Thanks for all your input, your time is appreciated!! I leave soon for Thailand and have decided on the following kit. As I enjoy using primes more the only Zoom I will take is the 50-230 because I cant zoom there with my feet. My bag:- Billingham Hadley Pro X-Pro 2 18mm f2 for tight spots, temples etc and waterfalls with my ND1000 23mm f2 general walk around (my favourite FL) 35 f2 or maybe f1.4 for low light. This will also feed into my decision of which one to sell. I dont use them very often so one must go. 50mm f2 Just bought it but like 'getting in' that wee bit more, I intend using this lens a lot 50-230mm zoom for wildlife parks and other occasions I want to take candid moments without intrusion Pixi tripod Nissin i40 for fill essentially. I have had the firmware upgrade for HSS TTL I'll feed back my findings Cheers Again, thanks for your help
  6. Thanks for the good advice. It's looking like the 23 f2, 50 f2 and the 55-230, I've just bought the latter 2. The 35 might sneak in but I doubt it would get much use, might even sell it as for me I feel the 23mm is more versatile the 35 often feels a bit tight when out and about busy places. The pixies may pack the 18 as it is so light and it the only lens I have a 10 stop ND for... Cheers
  7. I went and bought the 50mm f2 and the 50-230mm so my choice is now easier. 23 f2, 35 f2, 50 f2 and the 50-230 for getting out into the wildlife parks. The 35f2 may stay at home tho btu I need to spend more time with it comparing it to the 35 1.4 which might take it's place. I would like to take the 18 f2 but where do I draw the line? Decisions, decisions......
  8. I am at a juncture that I believe many of you are, or have been, at. Every now and again I find myself 'lost in tech' and need to ground my self again to improve my photography and focus on the things that really matter, not f stops, focal lengths, micro-contrast but photography; painting with light. I currently have a handful of fuji lenses, need to sell some and probably need to buy some to achieve something I believe will be better...maybe not. As we all know, but don't always admit to, the most important piece of gear we own is the 12 inches behind the camera. My best photos ever taken were on equipment seriously lacking in 'currentless' So, to get to the crunch.... I want a selection of gear to capture my life events, in decent quality, to help others capture theirs through small photo shoots and to record beautiful places I have experienced. Could be the bar, the theatre, the wonders of the world or my garden.. it's all available. I'll ignore my collection of film camera's for the minute and focus on Fuji X-series, why were here... I have read reviews on all the lenses currently available and have decided on setting out my stage as buying the best I can afford without spending a fortune, I work in a normal job!! I started out with an X100 and used it alongside my Canon 20D, and then 5DII full frame with some nice glass. I have now sold all Canon gear (apart from 430EXII speedlight) and ended up with X-Pro2 and X100T. The X-pro2 is an amazing camera, my excuses diminish shooting with it. I can split the rest of this blurb into 2 sections - my advice and my outstanding queries Anything I say is purely user based. I dont really pixel peep, check for distortion levels and far corner sharpness when I dont look there..I want to see a nice looking capture of a nice thing, end. Some focal lengths are definitely more suitable to the success of what you set out to achieve, nothing more, nothing less. I personally, and it's personal, like to capture, street, scenic, people images with a smattering of wildlife thrown in, so have based my lens selections on it...apart from a couple of them that came my way. The widest I own is the 18mm, a fairly dis-respected lens, I love it, small discreet and nearly all my scenic stuff shot thought it. At f8 with a ND10 filter I have captured some beautiful images, well at least I like them.. I have the 27mm pancake bought as part of the X-pro1 promotion but have only used it for a handful of shots. I think its the lack of aperture ring on this FL that puts me off, a big reason for coming to Fuji was the lovely manual ring....more later on a lens I have bought today that hasn't!! It has a great deal of sharpness but the f2.8 on this FL doesn't give a lot of scope of creating a nice background blur. It is however a great lens for setting at f5.6 or f8, zone focussing and just clicking away. Its quite liberating not thinking about the camera The X100T following on from my X100 confirmed to me the usefulness of the more that useful FOV but I still went ahead and bought the 23mm f2 even though I already had it!! I convinced myself that I could leave my X100 at home and still have the FL when it suited me?? Kinda works as it does give me a smaller 'foot print' The 23 f2 on the X-pro2 is sharper and better contrast than the X100T at f2 but comes with baggage, the X100T is where it's at. Difficult to explain but feels so good. I have an olympus 35SP and a Rollie 35S that yields similar feelings. On the 35mm front I own the f1.4 and the f2, the 1.4 came first on a instinctual ebay purchase one boozy night, I do like it but wanted the f2 so WEX helped me out. The form factor of the f2 is nice on the x-pro and the images are sharp and colourful, strangely almost too much. The 1.4 seems more 'natural', there is a very high chance I will sell the f2 as the subject matter I shoot doesn't demand the faster focus etc I bought the 18-55 second hand, still have it but cant get excited. It allows flexibility and saves me moving my feet, but pics are only recording whats there, difficult to add artistic impression. I might use it for Thailand to record my holiday but will need some nice primes to capture it beautifully. Now onto the the longer focal lengths...this is where it gets difficult for me. I bought the 56mm f1.2 as I needed a fast, short tele for a wedding, what a lens!!! I love it. The rendition whether optically perfect or not, is amazing. Once you get used to the razor thin DOF and the huge aperture/shutter speed selection the images it gathers are outstanding, it's 1.2 so I want to use it at 1.2. It is bulky but coming from a DSLR/Medium format film background it's insignificant. I'll ask a question later on the 50mm f2 I bought the XC 50-230mm today after much research and the reluctance to spend such a lot of money on the 55-200mm for something I only occasionally use. I'm going to Thailand later this year and doing a bit of nature park stuff. Hopefully it will help me yield decent images of creepy crawly, furry, jumpy things. The most fun I have just now with longer FL's is the veritable Nikkor 105 f2.5 and the Zeiss 135mm f3.5. Both the lenses on the X-pro2 are amazing, they take some practice but with the focus peaking and EVF the results can be superb. If fact my favourite butterfly photo was through the Nikkor, the smooth rendition and colour reproduction is to be lusted over. Hopefully the 50-230 wont make me sell them.. Onto my request for help This week I went camping to a beautiful location, The Island of Mull on the west coast of Scotland. I was changing lenses way too often, lovely scenery with the 18 or 23 then the Zeiss 135 for the Golden Eagles. In the towns the pace was pretty slow so I managed to get some lovely shots of Tobermory harbour with the 23mm. I do wish I had the 50mm f2 at times though for detail capture around the town. I want to go prepared for Thailand with the right kit, I felt stressed on Mull getting the right gear together which did impact on my holiday, in Thailand i would like stress free so what do I take? The 18-55/50-230 plus a fast short sounds the best combo, what do you think? I have asked this forum on this before but without my experiences, please excuse me. If you want me to share some pictures captured with the above lenses let me know Please let me know your thoughts Cheers
  9. Thanks Warwick. I've been following Kevin for a while now, he's a great inspiration to me and have adopted some of his techniques. My claim to fame is that Kevin passed on some lovely comments about a slideshow I uploaded doing a storybook candid wedding as a second shooter, mainly black and white with plenty detail shots of the beautiful Culross Abbey in Fife. The X100T proved it's worth along with the 56mm on my X-pro2. I'm gonna have to look at the 50mm now..... I'm also looking at a 50-230mm as a cheap, light longer zoom for the wildlife bit in Thailand, should be fast enough for Thai light....I think. I've read some good posts on it, especially from milandro :-)
  10. Thank you for all the great advice, much appreciated. We are going for 2 weeks, one on Koh Chang and one in Chaing Mai, so a fairly wide subject choice. I would expect Koh Chang to be mostly scenic/beach and exploration type shots and Chaing Mai, street, temples etc with a bid of wildlife sanctuary thrown in. I have the smaller Billingham Hadley and thats my limit of gear so the suggestions of 2-3 lenses is bang on, I might take the little EF-X20 flash. The old glass is now not on the list, quite right frankinfuji so all will be fuji glass. My fav at the minute is the 23, 35 f2 or f1.4 and 18-55. Warwick, do you have the 50mm f2, i have the 56 f1.2 and love it. But dont want to take it to Thailand, its precious.
  11. Thanks Milandro, some good tips there. A lot of WR recommendations so that goes into the melting pot. I really get the point of hot and sweaty should influence the choice, I live in Scotland so that concept is totally alien to me.... My X100 ticks most boxes apart from reach, not as sharp as the x-pro2 with the 23 f2 WR but plenty good enough, the inbuild 3 stop ND filter may be handy?? I would like the 16mm but Ive got a holiday to pay for, my 18 aint too bad at f8 or so. Has anyone had to deal with the light levels, ND filter? What reduction level? Many thanks
  12. Hi fellow Fuji users. Have any of you been to Thailand? I'm going late October and trying to decide on what camera and lenses to take. I have an X-pro2 and X100T, my lens choice is 18mm f2 23mm f2 27mm pancake f2.8 35mm f2 35mm f1.4 56mm f1.2 18-55 zoom WLC for X100 I also love using old nice glass takumar 55 f1.7 Ziess 135mm f3.5 Nikkor 105mm f2.5 Having never been to Thailand before I dont know the light and a bit concerned about too much light for wide apature's. Part of me says take the X100T with a polarising filter and be done with it. Less to worry about, get stolen/lost. The wildlife looks great though so a longer reach would be good Please help. Many thanks Jim
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