Michael Lesher 11/17/20 Michael Lesher 11/17/20

Tire Kicked

I have been kicking tires on the Fuji 50-140 f/2.8 for a few years now. I had considered a few other zooms, but since I generally prefer prime lenses, I was mostly interested in a zoom that claimed to achieve prime quality and was fast. Hence, I didn’t have too much motivation to do anything more than research. As I researched, however, nearly every review that I saw was reporting nothing but outstanding performance and speed. Still, I was a bit skeptical, but also - in the time of COVID - incredibly bored, so I kicked a tire and picked one up.

I'm pleased to confirm that the lens is FAST and with the recent firmware update to the X-T3 to address auto-focusing, the combination is incredibly fast in nearly every situation I've used it in. Additionally, the image quality is outstanding. I haven't done much pixel peeping, but when I nail the focus, the images it produces are tack sharp. I'm really looking forward to putting this lens through the paces.

Here are a some test shots from this week. Let me know what you think below.

Michael Lesher 2/17/16 Michael Lesher 2/17/16

GoPro, What?!?

Just because I am primarily a Fujifilm shooter doesn’t mean that I don’t love to experiment with other products. GoPro for example has consistently been offering cameras that have been interesting to me. They serve a niche, but within that spectrum they clearly seem to excel. Given that I love (and shoot) action sports, their products have been on my radar for years. I just needed an opportunity to branch out into the GoPro world. This Christmas, Christy gave me that opportunity by gifting me a GoPro Hero 4 Black.

Honestly, at first I was very excited, but a bit noncommittal about the camera. Not that it wasn’t awesome or that there was any lack of excitement on my part, but going from shooting my Fujifilm cameras in manual 99.9% of the time, the prospect of the GoPro camera operating in basically full auto all of the time wasn’t something that I had trust in. I like control. I like being able to learn the inner workings of a system and manage it to the fullest. Upon initial inspection, the “simplistic” system that GoPro provides did not make me feel that I had enough control. This past week, however, I had the opportunity to put the camera through it’s paces. Short story, I was partially right…but that doesn’t mean that it wasn’t incredibly fun.

Let’s get this out of the way - a GoPro might seem simple on the surface, but taking the time to learn the inner workings can be complex and well worth the effort. In my case, I was partially interested in the video opportunities that it presented, but I was really excited to have a wide angle, burst mode, waterproof camera. I spent some time brushing up on what I could do with it. Heading to Florida for break provided the perfect opportunity to work within that space and on day one I put the GoPro through the paces.

My primary test - water. Water is interesting to me, but tricky to photograph. Not that it is hard to photograph, but it is hard to come up with a compelling composition that is worth photographing. Thankfully, I have very active kids that can create scenarios that otherwise may not present themselves.

Here are the results of some burst mode photos.

GOPRO HERO 4 BLACK

As you can see, I didn’t limit myself to water. I am a firm believer that when an interesting perspective presents itself, the best camera in the world is the one you have in your hand. In this case, I was presented with a few other opportunities to try out the GoPro as a new option. Can you blame me?

You might ask, “what did you learn?” from these shots with the GoPro.

Short answer, I learned a lot. Not the least of which is that I won’t be switching to GoPro as a daily shooter, but as stated earlier this is a camera for a niche - and within that niche, it is awesome. One thing that was immediately obvious to me was that as a still camera, the GoPro changed my paradigm. For example, I generally set up for a shot and think a lot about how I want to compose it. I then think about the camera and set it up to support my vision, before shooting anything. With the GoPro, there was very little of that. If I could formulate the idea in my mind, get in position and I would just start shooting until the opportunity presented itself. For 20 usable images, I shot approximately 200 photos. That is a huge difference to how I generally shoot.

To that end, not being able to see what I was composing was a bit disconcerting at first. Clearly, the design of the GoPro in general is meant to serve size over compositional convenience, but once I got the hang of where the field of view was, it actually became relatively liberating. Before long, I was just pointing it at a scene and firing away with abandon (see previous “…shot approximately 200 photos…” statement). It was pretty carefree.

Definitively, within its niche, the GoPro is fantastic.

For action shots, I learned that it is hard to beat. With little to no effort on my part, it largely out performed my Canon 5D MKII or my X-T1 - again, for action shots. You could argue that it doesn’t shoot RAW or that you can’t change aperture, speed, etc., etc., etc. and you would be right. That isn't the set that it is trying to compete with though. This is truly a waterproof point and shoot camera and one that requires very little from the shooter. It is severely limited to it’s niche. I would be hard pressed to use it for much outside of the action genre, but I do feel a bit compelled to take it out next time I shoot a skateboarder, runner or cyclist to see if it can do better than my X-T1… you know, for fun! And ultimately, that is what I found the GoPro to be - dead simple fun.

Michael Lesher 1/15/16 Michael Lesher 1/15/16

All the wild horses

I have been using this Fuji X-T1 exclusively for the past few weeks and have been experimenting with a few different lenses (35mm f/2 is really awesome!), film presets (Classic Chrome is amazing!), etc. to get a feel for the camera's limitations and sweet spots. So far, I have found very little to not love.

With that in mind, this week I decided to branch out a bit further into the Fuji world and I picked up the Fuji XF 10-24mm f/4 lens. Given that I spend most of my time shooting landscapes, architecture or events that are wide in scope, I was very excited to play around in this focal range. As with all new gear, the first thing that I did was to head out in search of something to photograph.

Having read several reviews that were glowing, I had very high hopes, but even with great expectations, I was shocked with how much I loved this lens/camera combination - it may be my go-to set up for the foreseeable future. Here are a few photographs from that day with more to come I am sure.

FUJI X-T1 w/FUJI XF 10-24MM f/4 Lens

Michael Lesher 12/22/15 Michael Lesher 12/22/15

Doubling Down - Fuji X-T1

It has been a few years since I started playing around with Fuji X-Trans cameras. Up until I bought my X100s, I was a pretty solid "Canon Guy", but after seeing some of the images being shot with the - then new - X-Trans cameras, I had to see what all of the hype was about.

After purchasing the X100s, if you have been keeping score, I fell in love. The hype was real. It has been my daily, walking about camera for about 2 years now. Not only is it unbelievably more portable than my workhorse Canon 5D MKII, it also doesn't really sacrifice much in terms of image quality, which would have been a deal breaker. The downside is that it is a fixed 35mm equivalent, which is not a problem in-and-of itself, but there are times when you do want the flexibility to swap lenses, zoom, etc.

For the past few months, I have been keeping an eye on the X-T1 as an extension of what the X100s has provided me - portability with outstanding image quality. Where the X100s was limited by a fixed lens, however, the X-T1 can swap lenses, sacrifices nothing in terms of image quality, provides a much larger EVF and is weather resistant. What isn't to love?

Last week, I finally doubled down on Fuji and bought an X-T1. I had given some serious thought to purchasing a new Canon, but the X100s has convinced me that where Canon has been making incremental updates to their systems, Fuji is clearly future-focused and is providing new and innovative features - not to mention regular firmware updates to help get additional life out of aging hardware.

At this point, I would say that it is too soon to give a proper review, but I would argue that the X-T1 is an unbelievably nice camera that packs a serious punch in a small package. In fact, the end-to-end quality has been so good that I am considering it as a full-blown replacement for my full-frame Canon, which I would have nearly considered impossible.

I suppose that for now I would say that the X100s and the X-T1 "experiment" has been proving extremely positive. Look for more photos to come over the next few months, but for now, here are a few test shots from the past few days.

FUJI X100s & X-T1

Michael Lesher 9/24/14 Michael Lesher 9/24/14

Tap & Dye

Over the years I have tried all kinds of camera gear. My office is filled with bags, straps, filters, cases, lenses, etc. As with any passion I not only enjoy the primary aspect, shooting photos, but also the ancillary benefits such as playing around with new gear...

A year or so ago I came across a fantastic boutique that created handmade straps, Tap & Dye. I immediately purchased one of their LEGACY neck straps and loved the attention to detail, as well as overall quality. I felt that despite the somewhat steep cost I got my money's worth.

Today, I am happy to have received my second strap from Tap & Dye, which frankly is somehow even better than the first. This time I opted for a simple black wrist strap, accented in hand-stiched red thread. Every detail of this strap exudes quality.

If you ever have a need for a simple, hand crafted, and exceptionally detailed camera strap I couldn't recommend Tap & Dye more.