The Fuji X Files

As well as delving into the technical aspects of shooting with the X10,  I also want this blog to be a visual feast. Photography is, after all, about the images we take (isn't it?). "The Duke" 250th @ f7 Above is an example of the kind of image I can make when I always have the camera with me. Part of the reasoning behind switching from a full DLSR kit, to a compact like the X10, is so that I would actually carry the camera with me more often, and be ready for a photographic opportunity that I would normally pass by. This is an example of just that kind of shot. It's a building I pass almost every day on my way to work, and I knew that around noon on a sunny day there would be some interesting shadows move cross the side of the building. Plus it's a really cool colour and I knew it would make a great photo. "Keep Calm" 320th @ f5.6 And this is an image I shot today, during my lunch break at work. I saw this all morning, literally outside my...

As a wedding/portrait photographer, I spend a lot of time shooting at wide open apertures. My favorite two lenses for the APS-C digital cameras are the 50mm f1.8 and the 85mm f1.8 - generally shot either wide open or at around f2.8. Even with a 'fast' lens that goes from f2 to f2.8, I know that the Fuji X10 isn't going to give me the creamy smooth 'bokeh' I'm used to from my prime lenses on the D90. But can it get close? I took my ever-patient model/daughter Emily out to the Brunner Mine Site to test the X10's portrait abilities. Bokeh at 112mm @ f2.8 ISO 100 To help the Fuji X10 focus, I switched to 'Face Detection' and checked the lcd on the back for the first few minutes just to make sure the focus was tracking on Emily's face correctly. It was, so I then switched to my normal 'info' mode on the lcd and let the camera do all the work. With the camera at f2.8, zoomed all the way out to 112mm, the resulting 'bokeh' ca...

I suspect, like a lot of X10 shooters, I am not alone in having already shot with its 'bigger' brother - the Fuji X100. It has, after all, been out for a couple of years now, and is (not surprisingly) a very popular camera for those looking for a solid performer in a retro compact(ish) body. I had the opportunity to shoot with one about 6 months ago - albeit very briefly - just long enough to enjoy the experience and spark my interest in actually owning my own Fuji compact camera. Just not the X100. And why not? Fuji X100 shot in jpeg, Velvia film simulation I'm not going to beat around the bush - it's the lens. No, there's nothing wrong with the lens - it's a beautiful, sharp, fast 35mm optic. But for me, that's just the problem. It's only a fixed 35mm optic. And I'm not a fixed 35mm kind of guy. When Fuji first talked about the X100, they set up a website to get customer feedback (yeah, I know, on a camera they hadn't even released ye...

Weekends are busy around the Lorimer household, with chores, gardens and lawns to keep up with. We've had an amazingly long, dry, hot summer here in New Zealand, and the warm weather continues - but I've been itching to get out with the Fuji X10 and have a 'play'.  I finally got my chance late yesterday (Sunday) afternoon, so I headed to a local mining site to start to get to grips with my new camera. Brunner was the site of a major mining disaster on the Coast last century, and is well worth the visit. Lots of old relics and cool industrial objects to photograph. What I really wanted to test at the start was the X10's sharpness as a landscape camera, because I'd taken a few quick photos earlier and had been slightly disappointed with the results. The whole middle section seemed slightly 'unsharp' to me, surprisingly given that is where the focus point should be at its sharpest? So first off, a few landscape shots.... The new bridge at the Brunner ...