Black Pearl

One of the most amazing places I have visited in France and you've captured it superbly.

Took a wander around Whitburn Village and then along to Sunderland with my new X-T1 and lenses - really enjoying exploring with the Samyang 12mm... Ps. Milandro - I started my SLR photography with a Konica Autoreflex A which was shutter priority and manual. I recall it went off with one hell clatter and that the 50mm lens was fantastically sharp.

Not quite the same but the EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM is an outstanding lens with next to perfect resolution figures across the image frame. I do agree that they protect their higher end cameras by not fully supporting those who use the APSC bodies and I'll also add I'm not a Canon fan - I've lost sympathy with Nikon too which I've used for 30+ years for the same reason hence the switch to Fuji. I honestly don't understand the reasoning behind the Big Two and their refusal to see there is a future without a mirror. We'll see how things pan out but we live in interesting times and I love to be shooting at the leading edge of what is possible and not what we are given.

I've got the 35/1.4 and love it to bits but I'm seriously considering the f2 for the WR. When the weather is inclement it would make a great companion to the X-T1 making it possible to just sling over your shoulder and not worry about it getting wet. I do this all the time with my Pentax WR gear and its a hard habit to break.

One of the reason I switched to the Fuji X-T1 was the reputation of their home grown X-Trans sensor - which from initial testing seems to be well founded. It was this one thing that had put me off my Nikon D300s, I loved the camera don't get me wrong but I couldn't live with the output any longer. Below is a jpeg from the camera and a raw file I processed in ACR. The head room is huge with lots of recoverable highlight detail while lifting the shadows does very little to damage the file - preaching to the converted I realise but I have to say I'm hugely impressed. This was taken with the Samyang 12mm f2 which I've applied a little correction to as the verticals were converging dramatically - my fault for pointing a super-wide upwards. Haven't corrected for actual distortions though as it seems good and straight right from the off. Plenty of detail too which baring in mind what is being asked of a £250 lens is remarkable.

I'll second that superb advice!

Couple from this morning - X-T1 + 55-200mm

It would be close with only the difference between the way a 56mm and 85mm renders an image. If you take in the perceived DoF between the two systems you want one stop larger aperture on the crop system to get as narrow a depth of field or one stop smaller on a full frame system to achieve as much DoF.

From the instruction manual: Pictures taken with [sCREEN SET-UP] > [AUTOROTATE PB] are automatically displayed in the correct orientation during playback.

Sort of... A full frame lens throws a circle out the back onto the sensor with a diameter of around a 43mm. On a 35mm camera or a digital camera with a sensor the same size (referred to as Full Frame) you will be using all of that circle - see below - with a cropped sensor you simply use a smaller part of the circle. As you can see from the diagram below a FF lens produces a circle large enough for a FF sensor as well as working fine with smaller sensors which just crop off the edges - a lens designed for a cropped sensor produces a smaller circle that isn't large enough to cover the larger FF sensor. What you can also see is the subject - the mountains in this case - are always the same size as the focal length of the lenses in question are the same. The ONLY thing you change is the field of view due to how big (how much crop) the sensor is. You are not increasing the focal length of the lens by putting it on a crop camera and regardless of which camera you put it on a lens will ALWAYS be the focal length printed on the barrel - same goes for the aperture, it will always be the one you select.

I kept a few random lenses when I recently switched over to Fuji so ordered an adapter to start giving them a go. The smc PENTAX-F 50mm f1.7 which I've had from a film camera way back has wonderfully old fashioned hexagonal aperture blades which give a strong shape to out of focus spectral highlights which in the right shot I absolutely love - tried it today but as its flinging it down with rain I couldn't do much but know it works, know its easy to focus and the X-T1 operated perfectly in Aperture Priory mode making exposure a cinch. From the same lens but taken previously with a K30:

Not quite as you aren't increasing the focal length by putting a lens on a crop body you are simply altering the field of view recorded. If it says its a 35mm f1.8 lens on the barrel then its a 35mm f1.8 lens regardless of what camera you put it on.

An f stop is an f stop is an f stop - well in photographic exposure terms it is where the infinitesimally small differences in light transmission due to the glass don't matter in the same way they do in the movie world where they have lenses marked in t stops which are corrected a little further. Essentially the person you're quoting is wrong, or at least is interpreting things the wrong way. It is very easy to test if you have a Nikon and a few lenses. Put a FX lens on a Nikon FX body and take a shot at (for example) f2.8 then swap it out for a DX lens and set that to f2.8 - the exposure will be the same. You can actually use some DX lenses on FX bodies and get a full frame exposed. The AF-S 35mm f1.8 G DX can just about do this once its stopped down a little and many zooms do the same as you alter the focal length- the Sigma 10-20mm from memory is full frame from about 16mm. I think what the person in the quoted article is misunderstanding is the apparent difference in depth of field between the two systems for a given aperture. If you stood in one spot with a FX body and a 85mm f1.4 and took a picture at f1.4 then did the same with a crop sensor camera using a 56mm f1.2 set to f1.4 you would get about one stop extra depth of field - the exposure would be the same. By opening the 56mm up to f1.2 you would then get a picture with a similar DoF to the 85mm.

We're at crossed interpretations. The front of the 60mm extends out from the main body of the lens as it focuses closer - around 2cm by the look of it. With your method of mounting the hood it too will move 2cm closer to the subject you are shooting. At very close distances (when you have extension tubes on) the shooting distance is only around 10cm so your hood will be 2cm closer to the subject than if it were mounted to the main body. In this shooting situation the OEM method would be advantageous as you would have more room between the from=nt of the hood and the subject to allow for lighting.

A little blunt - but let me try and explain my question: There are two generally two quoted measurement for how close the camera/lens needs to be to the subject you are shooting before it (the 60mm macro in this case) will achieve maximum magnification - 1:2 or with tubes 1:1 and greater. The first is the film/sensor plane to the subject. This never changes as both are fixed so it won't matter where the hood is mounted. The second is from the front of the lens to the subject. Here there will be a difference between the OEM hood method of mounting and yours as the 60mm isn't an internal focus design. As you have mounted the hood to the part of the lens that extends the hood will move with it and get physically closer to the subject. By default (1:2) that is a very usable 26 or so millimetres, with tubes it gets down to around 10mm. At these distances the OEM hood will have the advantage as it will stay back (for want of a better description) whereas your method will see it getting ever closer to the subject and possible encroaching upon light hitting it. As I said I don't have my extension tubes yet so can't test it in the real world but I have experience with other camera systems where the hood can become a limiting factor.

With a pair of extension tubes on to give you 1:1 what is the minimum focus distance - I'm waiting for my cash-back to buy some so can't check yet. I ask as with the OEM hood the working distance (front of the hood to the subject) will stay the same - with your solution the working distance will get shorter meaning you could run into lighting issues.

The lens hood on the Fuji 60mm macro works exactly the same as the one on my Nikon 60mm f2.8 D Micro. The reason it is deep is the lens isn't an internal focus design so needs to be this deep to be effective when cranked out to 1:2. The only way to get round this would be to make it an internal focus design but even then if you look at other brands the hoods tend to be very deep on all macro lenses.

Find me a brand that has a consistent lens range.........

There are so many outstanding MF lenses on the used market that I can't see the need for Fuji to invest in making new ones that would have a limited appeal. Adapters are so low in cost you can spend many happy hours trawling used sites, old style photo stores who still deal in used equipment and even charity shops and car boot sales for interesting old glass then fit it to the front of your X for a few £$. I've only had my X-T1 a few days but when the Nikon F and Pentax K adapters turn up I know I'm going to enjoy breathing new life into the old lenses that have lay around gathering dust just as much as I am with the new AF Fuji's.

First day with my X-T1 system and its raining - still took the camera bag out when I walked the dog down the beach and managed a couple of shots between heavy showers. Both shot with the 55-200mm which seems to perform well. The AF is quick, the OIS is superb and its sharp enough wide open to convince me its going to be a versatile lens.

The other side being 30+ years of Nikon SLR's and DSLR's. I've just traded my entire Nikon outfit along with a smaller Pentax outfit in for a Fuji X-T1 + 18-55mm kit. I also added a 55-200mm, a 35mm f1.4, a 60mm f2.4 macro and a Samyang 12mm f2 along with batteries and a new UHS-II card. Its taken me a good while to make the switch and no I don't do things by half so this is it - I'm part of the X crowd from now on. I have done so for various reasons; I'm not impressed with any of the current Nikon bodies, I am fed up of lugging heavy gear around, nice primes (some zooms for that matter) from Nikon cost a small fortune and I have no desire to chase pixels as I feel for me more is not always better. Over the last few weeks (months really) I have been looking at various options. I did think about updating my elderly but still fantastic Nikon D300s to a D7200, I also fancied replacing the K30 with a Pentax K3 II. Nothing about the D7200 excited me and I know I'd miss the pro body while the K3 II didn't solve the size issue and I'd have to buy a few Pentax lenses which I'm not convinced are always that good. Right from the X100 launching I had a inkling that I'd end up with a X System as I grew up with dials and I'm a tactile sort of guy. Its not the retro look that does it (though it does appeal) its the simplicity of looking at a camera that may even be switched off and still being able to see what is set. My history - I worked at Jessops for 24 years until its collapse in 2013 so I have owned, used, played with and generally mucked about with just about any camera, lens or accessory you can imagine. I started photography as a very young child using my dad's Nikkormat, his black & white darkroom and have never looked back. I've never made a living from photography but I have done some commercial jobs over the years and I do have a photographic degree - I could probably still wield a monorail and take a stab at working out the exposure increase due to bellow extension if push came to shove. I'm a shoot everything photographer without any real speciality. I live on the North East coast of the UK so you will see a lot of seascapes and landscapes but expect anything I see to be shot at. I am also a massive iPhoneography fan shooting with my phone every day - yes I have installed the Fuji app - and I try to use it in the same way I would a 'proper' camera. I have a tripod adapter and camera apps that give Exposure/WB//Focus, I even remotely trigger it to reduce camera shake. The integration between the X-T1 and the iPhone was a factor in its choice. Anyway enough about me for now - I only got the gear today and it has poured with rain all afternoon so haven't had a chance to get out with it. Did have a play in the conservatory and have already fallen head over heel in love with the 35mm - I can see it becoming my regular companion on my daily dog walks along the beach. One shot to get me started: BP