Naddan28

Taken with the 50-140mm F2.8:
Swan portrait by naddan28, on Flickr

A few night shots from a recent trip to San Fransisco:
 
The Bay Bridge by naddan28, on Flickr
 
Cable cars at night by naddan28, on Flickr
 
Crookidest light trails by naddan28, on Flickr
 
Lombard light trails by naddan28, on Flickr

Sunset at Reculver Towers in Kent, a local ruin.
 
Towers 1 by naddan28, on Flickr

Quick tripod shot in my wife's home town (Canterbury, England).  Never taken any long exposure stuff there before, but will definitely go back! Shot with a XT1 and 14mm F2.8.
 
Westgate towers and Stour by naddan28, on Flickr

A few night shots from a recent trip to San Fransisco:
 
The Bay Bridge by naddan28, on Flickr
 
Cable cars at night by naddan28, on Flickr
 
Crookidest light trails by naddan28, on Flickr
 
Lombard light trails by naddan28, on Flickr

A few night shots from a recent trip to San Fransisco:
 
The Bay Bridge by naddan28, on Flickr
 
Cable cars at night by naddan28, on Flickr
 
Crookidest light trails by naddan28, on Flickr
 
Lombard light trails by naddan28, on Flickr

XF 14mm, mounted on a tripod:
Surrey Hills sunset by naddan28, on Flickr

Looking at these survey results, it makes you wonder why Fuji don't think a remade 35mm F1.4 or better, with WR and the latest focusing won't sell!?  Perhaps it's part of a strategy to shift customers onto the GFX.

If you're happy with the 18-55mm and only want the 16-55mm for this trip then I'd say either rent it or skip it. If you're worried about WR then why not consider the new 23mm f2? Much cheaper, faster and an intro to primes, assuming the 18-55mm is your only lens?

Yep. It’s kind of taken me by surprise in all honesty. I think the biggest challenge now will be the rest of my kit and whether it gets a look in etc. I looked at the T2 long & hard, but decided it didn’t “feel right” so passed on it.  
Looking forward to seeing what an X100F heavy year does to my photography & views on gear!

Hi
 
I’m sure loads of you already know this but... the X100F is one hell of an upgrade on the X100S! I’d been on the fence for so long regarding an upgrade, as I’ve got an XT1 and thought it would be a better choice to upgrade etc but one Friday I was at the airport for a city break and saw an X100F for £1130 and decided to bite the bullet.
 
Over the past 12 months my photography has languished and despite having a love/hate relationship with my X100S it’s been my go to camera for sheer convenience over the past 2yrs, with the last 12m it providing 90% of all my best images.
 
Yes the new sensor and simulations are nice but what’s completely blown me away is the ergonomics. The new battery, improved AF and focus joystick has absolutely transformed a camera (X100S) from a difficult, love/hate relationship to head over heels romance! Those small changes were something I’d not even really considered when reading reviews/weighing up decisions, so I thought I’d share a quick post to help any other X100S owners out there, thinking and wondering about whether an X100F is worth it.

$111 for 7 days on lensrentals.com, I suggest you shop around a bit!

here come the rain ...
 

vor dem Regen ... by Enzio Harpaintner, auf Flickr

Two boxes (a3 size) on a book case, lenses and cameras in one, everything else (filters, batteries etc) in the other with bags stacked down the side of a book case. I sometimes leave my x100s on the study desk in our extension, in case I want easy access when we have guests.

Sunsetting over the ruins of the West Pier at Brighton:
West Pier Sunset by naddan28, on Flickr
 
Captured on an X-T1 and 14mm F2.8 with the aid of Hitech's 5 stop and 0.9 reverse grad filters.

Amateurs, professionals it does not matter. Prime or zoom
 
They all use the best lens they have available at the time.
 
For an organised event it is a non issue as you have time to set up with anything you require
 
If the situation is variable (or a new or unfamiliar location) a professional level (red badge) zoom is an option the 50-140 would be my ultimate choice if i was working in photo journalism , I'd probably also carry a 2nd body with a 23mm or 35mm lens as well.
 
however this is sort of irrelevant as The OP asked if the 18-55 will do the job he requires, the answer is still yes.
 
If a follow up question is what Prime should i invest it next, it would depend on what you want to do and what find you can't do with the XF18-55.
 
if you find you can not get the shallow depth of field (background out of focus) you want for portraits buy a fast lens 35mm F/1.4, or the 56mm F/1.2 (or move the subject as close as you can to the camera and the background as far away as possible and shoot at 55mm F/4 on your current lens)
 
If you can't get everything in the frame buy a wider lens
 
If you find indoors you are pushing the iso higher than you'd like to correctly expose (leading to noise/grain) by a fast lens (a 1.2/1.4 etc) or probably cheaper to buy a flash
 
regards
 
Andrew 

I'm lucky enough to own two lens kits a prime setup (14, 35 & 56) and zoom setup (16-55 & 50-140). My personal experiences when travelling are essentially as follows...
 
When travelling with my wife and being touristy the 16-55mm is perfect. Yes it's a bit heavy, but the IQ is great and the range means I don't need to take any other lenses or worry about changing lenses. It's WR sealed too which is a bonus. I used this virtually exclusively (little bit of 50-140mm but we'll get to that) on a trip to San Fran and Yosemite and another trip to Amsterdam. The 50-140mm, whilst it's a great lens i find it a bit heavy and normally lives in a hotel safe and is used for specific locations, often for shooting Panos.
 
When I've got more time and have time to shoot on my own, the light prime set up in a Billingham bag works great. I used this set up in Rome and recently in Morocco and didn't miss the zooms to much, apart from when taking a tour in Marrakesh which meant I was limited on lens change opportunities and therefore lost some shots.
 
The one lens I'm tempted to get, which would really add to a travel kit i think is the 90mm f2. I've used it a bit and really enjoyed it and as a stand in for the 50-140mm would be great for travel. I think a 16-55mm & 90mm would be a super versatile travel kit for everything apart from treks. For treks, you'd want to throw in the 50-140mm instead in my opinion, and maybe the 100-400mm if it's wildlife images you're after.

The Fuji x series was built on good ergonomics, IQ and colour/jpeg rendition supported by great glass. Given the standard length f2 lenses didn't come along for years I can't see how they "made" the system. If you're going to pin that on a single product, it's probably the XT1.
 
Whilst I agree the 33mm f1 is probably too much, a series of fast focusing sub f2, WR primes is hardly niche, even more so a 50mm standard equivalent one. I can't actually think of a single serious lens mount that doesn't have a premium sub f2 50mm equivalent. The 35mm f1.4 produces a great image but try shooting a child indoors...I'd rather manual focus. It makes no sense to have inferior focusing, weather seal lacking, fast glass at a price premium to the f2 range.
 
If Sony had (or does) designed an FE mount camera that had the ergonomic and build qualities of a Fuji X, I suspect you'd see a lot of reluctant Fuji users jumping ship. Something nobody really wants.

Just some shots taken during Christmas vacation in Portugal's SW coast.
 
Regards.
 

 

Couple from Amsterdam:
 
Bikes and Canals by naddan28, on Flickr
 
Seven Bridges at Dusk by naddan28, on Flickr
 
Boats, bridges and canals by naddan28, on Flickr

I have given up hope of white Christmas here in Tallinn...
 
Sweet Kiss @Tallinn, Estonia by Hendrik Osula, on Flickr
 
Finding the Way @Tallinn, Estonia by Hendrik Osula, on Flickr
 
Down the Stairs @Tallinn, Estonia by Hendrik Osula, on Flickr
 
All shot with X-T2 + 23/1,4 and edited on iPad.

Here are a couple of night landscapes taken with the Samyang 12mm f/2
 
A Sky Full of Stars by Yoan Mitov, on Flickr
 
No Lifeguard On Duty by Yoan Mitov, on Flickr

A couple of weeks back, I was lucky enough to spend 10 days in Morocco on holiday with my wife.  Whilst we covered three destinations (Marakesh, the Atlas Mountains and Essaouria) it was mainly  in Essaouira where I had some free time to wonder and take some shots.  Having spent some time before hand debating kit selection with forum members I decided to take just an XT1 with either 14mm, 35mm (F1.4) or 56mm.  It wasn't a photography holiday so I didn't go crazy but I had a couple of afternoon's to shoot so grabbed what I could! 
 
Essaouria's famous fishing boats (taken with 56mm):
DSCF0600.jpg by naddan28, on Flickr
 
Boats by naddan28, on Flickr
Essaouira has famous small blue fishing boats which are in the habour.  Apparently they are painted blue as the fisherman believed it wouldn't scare away the fish.
 
Essaouria's walls and back alleys
Moroccan alleyway by naddan28, on Flickr
 
Mother and son by naddan28, on Flickr
 
DSCF0140.jpg by naddan28, on Flickr
 
Essaouira walls by naddan28, on Flickr
Essaouira is a UNESCO world heritage site due to it's famous walls.  The town is very much a relaxed, seaside, slower paced Marrakesh.
 
The people of Essouaria
Essaouira Walls by naddan28, on Flickr
 
Walls pose by naddan28, on Flickr
 
DSCF0848.jpg by naddan28, on Flickr
Like other Morrocan's the residents of Essaouira are not big fans of being photographed, so I tried to respect this and took a couple of distant shots of specific scenes.
 
Thanks for reading such a long post.  I really would recommend Morroco (and Essaouira in particular) as a destination to go, its a wonderful place.  As for the photos, feel free to share your thoughts and critique!

Couple from Amsterdam:
 
Bikes and Canals by naddan28, on Flickr
 
Seven Bridges at Dusk by naddan28, on Flickr
 
Boats, bridges and canals by naddan28, on Flickr

Todays Super Moon in Tallinn.
 
Huge Moon @Tallinn, Estonia by Hendrik Osula, on Flickr
 
X-T2 + 50-140/2,8