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Bought a new camera ! or NCD
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Comments
Wisdom.
All the pros I've worked with have always said that technicals like bokeh are mostly irrelevant - they want reliable, sharp kit that does what they want it to and to be able to operate it easily. That just means picking whatever works best for you.
Some studio photographers have switched to m4/3. Doesn't mean it's better - more likely it's for the relative cost of a set up and the fact you don't need loads of background blur - just perspective distortion control (where a 50mm on full frame is a pretty bad tight headshot lens, it's great on m4/3 as you are further away for the same framing which won't stretch the nose out). A 50mm lens on a 6x7 camera is hilarious for tight headshot - huge nose, like shooting with a 24mm on full frame.
All about using what you love using.
when I was shooting weddings Canon 1dsmk2 was my main workhorse, the AF points on that camera are absolutely lightning fast and spot on every time, never bettered IMHO.. when out with my pop up studio it was Fuji S5 Pro that ruled but when I am out and about its Oly 4/3rds(not micro) as for me they are the best to hold and use.. its all about what fits for you, all cameras have a compromise its finding the one that suits you best..
I still have not delved into medium format but its something I am currently interested in.
Nil Satis Nisi Optimum
with the flashes, with the lack of len choices (not say what they have isn't good), with smaller battery, with smaller sensor, the boundary for a Fuji, is smaller.
i think it's one thing knowing it can take great images but quite another knowing I can do better...and my clients gets "lower" quality image, albeit still great, albeit they will never notice, because I want a lighter kit. I think that's selfish on my part. The only advantage the Fuji have is the weight. It lacks behind in pretty much all departments, the XT-2 doesn't have a touch screen for some reason as well.
saying that, I'll get one when they are cheap as a travel camera.
Try a Mamiya 67.
I sold mine last year, which was incredibly stupid. The biggest digital sensor is nearly the size of the smallest MF film planes (which are about 6x4.5) and they're in hideously expensive hassies iirc.
A mamiya RZ67 Pro ii gets you a biggish 6x7 plane, BEAUTIFUL, cheap as chips lenses, bellows focusing, electronic leaf shutter in the lenses (up to 1/800th iirc - don't quote me on that) and flash syncs right up if it's fast enough, so it's lighting a go-go. I tried it with a radio trigger on the hot shoe and bam
Re: 1DS. A chap I've assisted recently uses the new 1DX ii's (?). Holy COW they're fast. Fast firing, fast AF... We were at iso 6400, f/2, 1/100th at night in barely lit greenhouses, bouncing flash off anything (usually some poor sod's shirt) to illuminate the people. I'd barely touch the thing and three frames come off. Didn't miss focus, either.
Sheesh.
I, too, would like to see Japan. And Korea. And new Zealand. And Canada...
never mind...
There are some great deals on slightly older gear which is still (by my antediluvian standards) fantastic. I just picked up a NOS Nikon Coolpix A for less than £300, and they were £1k new. Quirky little bugger with a prime 28mm lens and amazing picture quality, a great pocketable travel and landscape camera.
Mate, have you tried the Fuji XT1 ? I'm leaning towards one of these...
@stickyfiddle ;
Which lens do you have with your ?
I have the 18mm, 35 f1.4, the 10-24 and the 18-135. I fancy the new 23 f2 as well to replace the 18. All the fuji lenses are great though - it's really just a question of what focal lengths you want.
I did have the 35 f2 for my Japan trip. It's another great lens, but the 1.4 is more magic somehow.
I tried one yesterday in a shop and just outside it, with latest firmware on both camera and lenses (56mm 1.2, 23mm f/2 wr).
Tl:Dr - loved it, with some small shortfalls.
Really good little camera. I checked out my shots from it and, although it lacks (a small amount, mind!) compared to my d7200, if you don't get good images it isn't the camera's fault. It actually exceeded my expectations in many ways and I was already expecting great things. It also has a smaller, but in my opinion, better lens line up than crop sensor dslr's where you use full frame lenses and compromise.
AF tracking was a bit naff, but good enough for me - not for sports, or kids maybe (but then this was with a fast short tele - may be much better with a slower zoom! The 23mm was better) but general shooting is fine. Low light autofocus wasn't too bad, although it wasn't a shade on the d7200 - again, a camera that's known for its impressive autofocus and ability to see in the dark (same as d750). In fact, with the 23mm I think the autofocus was among the fastest I've seen - comparing to the micro 4/3 cameras I've tried recently, which are blisteringly fast. The 56mm 1.2 was slower - still nippy, about the same as my 85mm 1.4 sigma (which is apparently slower than the very fast nikon 85mm 1.8g).
Of note, however, was autofocus accuracy. If the xt1 says it's focused, it is FOCUSED. Putting the point over an eye with the 56mm 1.2 got a very sharp eye at 1.2, every time. The guy in the shop said I'd have to try it to believe it. For comparison, using a 50mm 1.4 or 85mm 1.4 on the nikon had similar image quality but the accuracy of the af at such fine depth of field was lower, even if it got there quicker. For me, this is a huge improvement - I'm often shooting bursts of 3-6 shots for portraits if I'm not stopped down (which I'm usually not). The fuji, when it got focus, really got focus - it puts an end to bursts for posed portraits, which is amazing.
Apparently the xt2 and xpro2 are even better - if that's the case, they can't be far from the slr cameras.
My testing (in good and poor light) yesterday led to me seriously considering switching up for the much lighter set up. There are some things that bother me (for instance, flash sync speed is slower, the viewfinder sometimes lagged giving me a second of blank screen and the battery life isn't amazing, but good enough for me and there are even wedding photographers using these).
I compared to my other main consideration, a Sony a7ii. The Sony was beautiful and the images were great, with the same incredibly accurate but slower autofocus as the fuji. It was actually a bit slower autofocus than the fuji, and hunted a lot more in low light, which surprised me. It makes for an expensive set up for a Sony, an 85mm and a 35mm lens too, and size wise it's basically a dslr. The fuji comes in smaller, lighter and more affordable, although Sony has started releasing more affordable lenses.
However, and this is a big however...
Check how cheap you can pick up xe-2 cameras now. Same sensor, same insides (I think the xt1 gets weather sealing, a couple of buttons and a bigger viewfinder) but well under £300 used. If you don't need a battery grip, I'd probably consider that. The extra £140ish could go towards a lens, or a couple of batteries, or a pretty case, sd cards...
@Wazmeister at midnight on Sunday I was web browsing....not sure why but I googled Fuji X-T1 and saw one for sale from WEX used for £370, I jumped at it. It is basically £130 cheaper than the nearest one used, only snag is missing the flash (i never use it anyway) and the box. Has battery, charger, strap, manual body cap.
I got it yesterday and it's a great camera, £370 !!! It's the price of a Strymon pedal.
oh, I also picked up a 56/1.2 last week too, so basically in the space of about 6 weeks I got 2 bodies, 3 lenses...23WR, 35WR and the 56/1.2R
Things I like about the XT-1, it's little things like wifi transfer. I am going to shoot RAW + Jpeg, so I can post photo on the go to social media.
It is small, smaller than even the X-Pro 1. In fact, I find it too short, and bought a half case to make it slightly taller because it is so short my little finger isn't griping the camera which means only my middle and index finger are holding it with index finger hovering over the shutter.
UHS-II card is fast. very fast.
Things I dislike. The diopter, there is no markings on it at all. To find neutral i had to click it all the way to one end, count it all the way until it hits the other end and then click it back half way...
Which it has a screw thread on the shutter so I can add a soft button.
Tripod mount is too close to batter door, which means if you need to change batter with the plate on, you need to take the plate off first.
Appreciate all your thoughts and feedback folks.
I did try the Olympus Pen F, but it just felt a little too small and cramped in my hands... I'll see if I can try a XT1/2 for size later on.
I do like the feel of a chunky camera.