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Guzzi Jim

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  1. Like
    Guzzi Jim got a reaction from terrapin44 in User review of useful lenses plus advice sought   
    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. Like
    Guzzi Jim reacted to Nero in Thailand travel, which lenses to take   
    One thing that I have noticed that I think your experience backs up is that when traveling I almost always take the 55-200mm instead of the 56mm (or 50mm for some people). For the space and weight it takes up, the 55-200 is much more versatile and in a pinch it can be used as a perfectly serviceable portrait lens even though the bokeh isn't as good as the 56mm.
  3. Like
    Guzzi Jim got a reaction from peripheral visionary in User review of useful lenses plus advice sought   
    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
  4. Like
    Guzzi Jim got a reaction from Mike G in X-pro 2 with Nikkor 105 AI f2.5 Peacock Butterfly   
    Taken with my X-pro 2 with manual nikkor 105mm F2.5
  5. Like
    Guzzi Jim reacted to NorthernXposure in landscapes with fuji x   
    Hi, I'm relatively new to the Fuji X System having shot with a Nikon D200 and then more recently a Nikon D610. However, I recently bought an XE2 with the 18-55mm and 10-24mm lenses for travelling and have been trying the Fuji out for some landscape work. This is one of the Forth Bridge at sunrise - shot in RAW and processed with Adobe Lightroom and finished in Perfect Effects:
     
    Forth Bridge by David Queenan, on Flickr
  6. Like
    Guzzi Jim reacted to milandro in London Under Siege   
    Mala Tempora Currunt 
     
     
     
    It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.
  7. Like
    Guzzi Jim reacted to frankinfuji in London Under Siege   
    I fear it is now only the age of foolishness and the season of darkness.
     
    Nice image, but I worry about the ominous clouds on the horizons of London and Paris.
     
    "Without religion, we'd have good people doing good things, and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion." Stephen Weinburg
  8. Like
    Guzzi Jim reacted to Sebastian_Warneke in 10 Days Iceland   
    Hello everybody!
     
    I would like to show you some of my first landscape photos with the X-T2 from my trip to Iceland some weeks ago.
    Before I changed to a mirrorless system camera I had a Canon EOS 6D before. I have to say going back to APS-C was a hard decision for me, I've never had any problems with the image quality of the 6D even Canon build not the best sensors at the moment, but as a travel camera and in some other situations I wasn't that happy anymore with it. I used parallel to it an X100T which I loved, but I needed a system with interchangable lenses. I had so much fun with the little Fuji and read so many positive reviews about the newer X-Trans III sensor that I decided to sell the Canon and all my lenses to buy an X-T2.
    With my, at the moment, four primes and the great body I had never so much fun before while photographing.
    Iceland was a great test for the system and I'm looking forward to the next holidays with it.
     
    But now enough words and time for some photos of the trip (most with my girlfriend on it) - hope you like it!
     

    Skaftafellsjökull #1 / Iceland by Sebastian Warneke
     

    Búðakirkja / Iceland by Sebastian Warneke
     

    Diamond Beach / Iceland by Sebastian Warneke
     

    Selfoss / Iceland by Sebastian Warneke
     

    Thakgil / Iceland by Sebastian Warneke
     

    Thakgil #2 / Iceland by Sebastian Warneke
     

    Brunnhorn / Iceland by Sebastian Warneke
     

    Stokksnes / Iceland by Sebastian Warneke
  9. Like
    Guzzi Jim reacted to Wiredin in User review of useful lenses plus advice sought   
    Back in 2015 I sold the farm. I had an XT1/grip, the pair of 2.8 zooms, 56mm f1.2, and 35mm f2.0. I decided to keep my D810 kit for my wedding business.
     
    Fast forward to this summer. I've taken less weddings than I have in year (total of 9 this year) because the weight is killing me, and banks wanted reliable income so I got a dayjob as well. I am a strobist by nature and this was a key reason for keeping the D810 kit. With the XT2 and Profoto collectively curing 90% of my concerns with Fuji I have started to rebuild my fuji kit.
     
    I just shot an entire 12 hour wedding with nothing but my XT2, 35mm f2.0, 50mm f2.0. I'm adding the 90mm f2.0 this weekend.
     
    Do I miss the 56? Yes, a lot. the 50mm is very nice, focuses closer than expected, is very sharp, and delivers on all accounts. But it does not have as much subject separation as I would like. The Bokeh is not as creamy. I will eventually get the 56mm again, but for now the 50mm f2.0 is perfectly fine. It's compact, sharp, focuses fast... it's great! I was originally going to exchange it for the 56, but I've decided to go get the 90mm instead.
     
     
    I think if I was building a travel kit I would go for the trio of f2.0 WR lenses (23/35/50) and be good. If the kit lens came up on the cheap I'd grab it too as it is also a very nice lens. 
  10. Like
    Guzzi Jim reacted to Larry Bolch in User review of useful lenses plus advice sought   
    If you are comfortable with the two zooms, as BobJ says, you are pretty much covered for everything. I would recommend the addition of either the 23mm or 35mm f/1.4 for indoors and night photography. Considering how well the camera handles high-ISO ratings, being able to shoot wide open or just a stop or two down will open up a whole new and fascinating world. I have not shot with the 23mm, but use the 35mm constantly in low light. With an ISO6400, you get a decent shutter speed and the quality of the content more than makes up for the small amount of noise.
  11. Like
    Guzzi Jim reacted to BobJ in User review of useful lenses plus advice sought   
    I would recommend the 18-55 and the 55-200. They will cover all of the focal lenghts you are using and then some. The 55-200 is a sharp lens. There is nothing to stop you using a zoom in the same way as a prime. If you feel the need to zoom around too much apply some electrical tape!
  12. Like
    Guzzi Jim reacted to 2.0 in 35mm f/2 vs. 23mm f/1.4?   
    I am sorry for my very late update in this thread. I did get the 35mm WR!! BTW i have now the almost full Fuji lens lineup.. I have; 23mm, 35mm WR, 56mm, 50-140mm, 100-400mm WR & TC 1,4x WR I did get rid of my Nikon gear, so now i'm a Fuji shooter..  
  13. Like
    Guzzi Jim reacted to Carlos C in Thailand travel, which lenses to take   
    I would take the 18 f2 or buy the cheap Samyang 12 f2 (you'll need wide mainly for interiors and temples) and 35 f2 or 50 f2. The X100T is always a very handy small camera that covers 23mm, acts as a backup camera just in case and don't have to switch lenses all the time. That tele 50-230 could be useful sometimes.
    I've been in Thailand 7 years ago on honeymoon for about 2 weeks late October and got some rain showers but not much to worry about - 1 week in Bangkok, North (Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Mae Sae) and other week on South. By then I was a Canon user and took 3 zooms - Wide, normal and tele and a small pocketable Panasonic LX-3 just for some videos.
    Nowadays with my Fuji gear I would take the X-Pro 2, 16 f1.4, 35 f2 and a X100F. Probably I'd buy a tele like yours, is useful for some wildlife and some shots of people praying that you don't want to disturb keeping a comfortable distance. Have a nice trip, it's a great country to visit with very nice people.
  14. Like
    Guzzi Jim got a reaction from Curiojo in Thailand travel, which lenses to take   
    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.
  15. Like
    Guzzi Jim reacted to johant in User review of useful lenses plus advice sought   
    When I am convinced that I need something new, I take out my "old" X-Pro1 with the 18mm or 35mm, and go for a walk (or go visit some event). That usually cures the urge.
     
    Last vacation, I only had my X100T with me (in France). I had a great time.
     
    If I personally would want to have "everything" covered, I would take a 18-55 with me (which I do not have anymore). I have a 18-135 because I bought it as a kit with the X-T1, but I seldom use that. Too heavy and large, and too many optical compromises. The X-T1 is my least used camera anyway (and an example of when I wrongly convinced myself that I needed something new).
     
    I don't think it really matters which lens(es) you take to Thailand, as long as you limit yourself to two or three. Each focal length gives you unique opportunities to see.
  16. Like
    Guzzi Jim reacted to Warwick in Thailand travel, which lenses to take   
    I've had the 50mm f2 for about a week. I used to have the 56mm f1.2 but I hardly ever used it because it was so bulky. I couldn't just casually slip it on my camera and carry it around 'just in case'. And it felt conspicuous when I was trying to take pictures of my family in daily life. Then I read a couple of posts on Kevin Mullins's blog about how he's using the 50 in conjunction with the 23mm f2 as a 2-lens documentary photography kit, and I bought the lens. I'm really impressed with it - it's got me using longer focal lengths again. Before that I was shooting mainly with the 23mm and the 18mm
     
     
    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
  17. Like
    Guzzi Jim got a reaction from frankinfuji in Thailand travel, which lenses to take   
    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.
  18. Like
    Guzzi Jim reacted to Warwick in Thailand travel, which lenses to take   
    I'd go for two small, fast-focussing lenses - the 23mm f2 and the new 50mm f2. The weather resistance is great too, if you want to capture a tropical downpour.There's not much you can't capture with those two lenses - unless you're in lots of very tight spaces, when you might also want the little 18mm f2. Even with all 3 lenses you'd hardly notice you're carrying them.
     
     
    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
  19. Like
    Guzzi Jim reacted to ozytripper in Thailand travel, which lenses to take   
    Not sure what you are interested in photographing in Thailand. Some of the temples will require an ultra wide angle lens to shoot inside
    I suggest the Xpro2 with the 18-55 plus a long lens if you want to travel light
    I normally bring more lenses when i travel anywhere - from 10-22, 18-55 (or 18-135mm) and 50-140mm
  20. Like
    Guzzi Jim reacted to Nero in Thailand travel, which lenses to take   
    All I can do is give you what I would bring if I were in your position because I have never been to Thailand myself. I prefer to use primes. When I travel, my bag starts with 2 primes, then I'll add a zoom. I would probably bring the 23mm, one of the 35mm lenses (I prefer the f/1.4, but both are good), and the 18-55mm. The X100T is a great camera, but with my personal shooting style I generally don't subscribe to the "bring the X100 instead of the 23mm" line of thinking. 23mm is probably my most used focal length and I would rather bring both the lens and the X100T. If I want to be less conspicuous, use the X100T when necessary. But I would never want to be caught without that focal length on my interchangeable lens camera. I think the 23 and 35mm focal lengths nicely cover the range of subjects that you can expect, based on what friends and relatives who have been to Thailand have shown me.
  21. Like
    Guzzi Jim reacted to Hermelin in Thailand travel, which lenses to take   
    18-55 f/2.8 -4 for when the light is good
    35 f/1.4 for when the light is less good
  22. Like
    Guzzi Jim reacted to frankinfuji in Thailand travel, which lenses to take   
    I live in Thailand, and don't have a water-resistant body, and my X-E2 and C-M1 have survived use thoughout several monsoons by using simple rain protection. (and my next body will probably be WR). A good, waterproof over the shoulder bag is useful, and don't carry too much stuff because of the heat and to make it easier using very crowded public transport. You are goung at the end of the monsoon season, so rain will not be too common anyway.
     
    Theft is not a huge risk, but theft of camera bags by motorcycle theives does happen in tourist and business areas, hence the over-shoulder bag worn diagonally.
     
    There's a lot to photograph here, but with the exception of in the national parks, most of it is close range (tuk tuks, busy markets, people, monkeys, families on motocycles, more people, temples.... and everything is on the move, so I wouldn't bother with the old non-autofocus, long lenses.
     
    Backgrounds to shots will be messy (untidy buildings, street signs, endless tangles of overhead wires), so a wide aperture to blur backgrounds will be handy.
     
    My most used lens is my 20mm f2.8, long enough to capture what I want without being too 'in your face' and just wide enough aperture for some subject isolation. I use the 35 f1.4 and 60 f2,4 when I want a bit more isolation or a longer lens, and the 1.4 for night shots.
     
    - Most things happen at night in Bangkok.
     
    It's the tropics, so light is overhead and harsh, and the 'golden hour' last 15 minutes. But there's lots of shade, and the locals never sit in tbe sun, so don't worry about excess light.
     
    Have fun, smile a lot, never get angry with people, carry a copy of your passport and don't rent a motorcycle!
  23. Like
    Guzzi Jim reacted to milandro in Thailand travel, which lenses to take   
    http://www.fuji-x-forum.com/topic/2021-which-lenses-should-i-take-to-thailand/
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