Fuji X100T - initial impression

Image courtesy of ©Fujifilm

I had the opportunity to use the Fuji X100T this weekend.   Thought that I would share my initial thoughts with you all.

Went down to the local camera store (Midwest Photo Exchange) and gave the X100T a good walk through.

For those that have read my previous article where I compared the X100s, X-T1, and the Oly OMD - you'll know why I picked the m43 camera over the Fuji.   The main issue was performance speed of the cameras and the auto focus.

The first thing I checked was the AF performance,  and Fuji had definitely made improvements here.  The lighting conditions were the same as the tests in the previous article.   However,  this time the Fuji had now of the back and forth shuffle that the X100s exhibited. The AF speed was still not as fast as the m43 camera,  but it was confident and sure.

In the hand,  the X100T felt solidly built.   The materials feel top notch and it felt right in my hand.  

Another great improvement is having the clicky, 1/3 f-stops directly on the aperture ring.  The grip on the aperture ring and the manual focus ring feel better as well and seemed easier to find and manipulate without having to look at it.  The rings had a feel almost like an old Nikon manual focus lens.   Just enough resistance to make precise adjustments without you feeling like you are fighting it.

The rear buttons on the case feel far better then previous iterations of the X100 series cameras,  too.

I did like the view finder as well.   I'm still liking the performance of the OMD EVF more,  but the Fuji EVF is excellent as well.  The obvious benefit of the Fuji is the OVF for those who like that. It also has improved with tons more info and customization.

My big take away is this question; why could Fuji  not have done this from the get go?   Had they done this camera with this implementation of the hardware feature and AF, they would have a ton more market share.  Let's not Monday morning quarter back it though, it is what it is.

Bottom line,  the X100T appears to be the best and most solid implementation in the series.   If you don't already have an X100, definitely get this one.  If you have the X100s, there might not be enough there for you to want to spend the money on the upgrade. Coming from the X100 might be a different story,  as the improvements are a lot more noticeable.

Again, with any camera purchase, generally a 2-3 generation time frame gives the camera manufacturer time to get larger improvements. That would apply here too when going from X100 --> X100T.

Lighting: Ambient Versus Flash

The most critical component of any photo is light. Without it,  you have no picture.

Today,  let's take a journey through my approach to how I light my subjects and scenes.

I'm sure most of you have heard the story about the infamous W. Eugene Smith being asked a question about lighting at a seminar.  The  question from the audience was,  "what light is the best light?"
Smith answered, "Why,  available light, of course!"  There was a pause and from the crowd some muttered rumblings.  Then, Smith continued with,  "By that I mean any damn light that is available!"

I believe that to be true as well.   I don't hold someone who shoots ambient only any higher or lower on the skill level as someone who uses off camera flash.   I judge a photographer by the end product they deliver.

Out of necessity,  most of us start out in photography with very little money.   Cameras and lenses are expensive and after that money is spent,  there is generally very little left for anything else.   So, the first thing we learn, is how to harness the power of ambient lighting. That is followed very shortly by using constant light sources in the shooting environment.

And why not?   It is cheap and the majority of the time it looks decent because it is what our eyes are used to seeing.  Problem?   You generally have little to no control over it.  Also,  it has a tendency to look "average" because it is what everyone else is used to seeing.

How do we make it stand out from the pack?  Figure out different ways of shaping that light.   For example, you can get reflectors to use as fill light sources.   You can use diffusion material to cut down on the harsh midday sun.   Reflector kits generally have a diffuser as part of the unit,  white bed sheets can also be employed. 

There is even a quote from Joe McNally that I remember, and that is, "If you want something to look interesting, don't light all of it."  Sometimes less is more and, the attention to the image can be directed by what is lit and what is not.  By our very nature, we tend to look at the brightest or shiniest part of an image first.

Don't forget that environmental elements can be used as well.   Open shade is a good place to be. There are some small structures that provide for good diffusion of sunlight.   Windows in a home or building, glass arboretums are also a nice option.

After we've cut our teeth on ambient light,  we start seeing all these great portraits with this sculpted light,  well controlled and contrasty and we think to ourselves, "self...I want to create pictures like that!"  We have no clue where to start.   You look at the price of flash units and studio strobes and think that it is impossible,  can't be afforded and then think about giving up on the idea.  

Then you decide you'll check the internet and find some more info on the subject.   You stumble across some place like Strobist and you are renewed!   You start buying flashes,  triggers,  light modifiers,  stands. ... you go a little crazy and buy a bunch of stuff that you don't know how to use, when to use it or control it.   You stick with it though, and after a while you get the hang of it.  

AND YOU LIGHT THE HELL OUT OF EVERYTHING.

You go through a mode where you think that everything looks better bathed in light from every angle.   And you love it for a while,  but then it stops being fun and taking images becomes a chore,  seting up 3 or 4 lights,  lighting subjects and backgrounds,  getting the ratios right,  the ambient just right.

Out of nowhere it hits you.   Shooting purely ambient or purely flash doesn't always have to be the case.   You've backed yourself into an unnecessary and arbitrary corner.

The basic point is this - shoot the best way that makes sense for your environment and subject.  That means it can be flash,  ambient or,  dare we say it...a combination of the two together.

How do we decide?   Finally,  we've reached the meat and potatoes of the article.   Let's talk about my decision making process.

The majority of the time,  I go through this iteration when I am shooting portraits. 

One:  Scope out the shooting environment and find where is the best light.   Can I shoot ambient here? 

Two: Take an ambient light reading to see what light I'm dealing with.   I take a test shot on auto and see what the camera tells me.  If you have a light meter and prefer that method,  do it to it.

Three: What do I want to do with the background?   Is it too distracting and do I want to shut it down, or is it an integral part of the shot and I want it in the image?

Four:  Determine if my subject is going to be over/under exposed in comparison to the background elements.

Five: What kind of mood am I looking for in this shot. This will determine the user of light mods and such.

Once I have all this figured out,  I can determine in my head if I should add in lights and reflectors,  shoot straight ambient and what I'll need to shoot the type of shot I want.

For those gear obsessed,  let's get into that here for a moment.   After that, will do a walk through of sample images and how they were lit and with what.

Truth be told, if I can shoot with the ambient light, I will, as it can be much easier to get your shots without having to setup lights for each situation.

If the ambient light is not cooperating or I'd rather relight the whole scene or parts of it to get the look I want - out come the flashes. 

Most of the time, though I'm shooting combinations of ambient and flash.

Strobes - for portability,  I've got 4 Nikon speed light units.   The older SB are great because they offer good manual settings and have the ability to be TTL controlled.   More on that later.   They have good power levels and decent recycle times.   For studio or more intensive work,  I picked up 2 Alien Bees, the B400 units, with a Vagabond mini battery pack.   Great for when you need near instant recycle times and more power than you small flash units.   If you need the ultimate in a studio unit for a great price,  consider looking at the Einstein units.  Good price for the power and control you get.

Triggers: When I knew I needed radio triggers,  I wanted Pocket Wizard reliability,  but not the price.   I found that in the Radio Popper branded triggers.   Remember above I mentioned having TTL capability in the old nikon SB units.   With an add on device called an RPCube, the Radio Popper JrX Studio units can remotely control the power of the flashes from the transmitter.  It uses the quench pin to control the power signal on the flash unit.

Light Mods:  I've been through them all and these are the ones I use 99% of the time.   Shoot through umbrella,  umbrella softbox, Lumiquest softboxes, grids.  These generally cover all of my lighting control needs.

Light Stands:  I've a bunch of the standard light stands plus one c-stand with a 40 inch boom arm.

This is a one light portrait in studio, one Alien Bee with an umbrella box camera left and a white reflector to camera right.  The light source is very close so as to add a softer light.  I picked this light mod because I wanted more contrast in the light transition from one side of the image to the other.  A regular shoot through umbrella would have spilled way more light into the room than I wanted.  Control here was accomplished by allowing the light to only come through the front of the umbrella. 

This is the same light setup as above,  but with a shoot through umbrella.   You can see that the light is more wrapping because the spill is registered more.  I picked this sort of modifier because I wanted a more lit,  high key feel to the image.

This is from a child portrait shoot. This is an example of using the ambient light in combination with open shade and a reflector(camera left).  Now, if the light on the image left side was too intense, we could have used a subtractor(black card) to knock down some of the reflected light.

Another example of ambient sun light, open shade and a reflector.

Straight ambient.   The light was so good that day,  when it works,  use it! 

This is a more complicated shot.   I liked the ambient light on everything but the couple(their faces were too dark).   I exposed the scene for the ambient,  then used a Nikon speed light to camera left with a 1/4 grid to pop light onto the faces.

A cloudy day gave us a perfect diffuser for this ambient only shot. 

This is a portrait of a local parks and recreation director.   I wanted to show one of the fields that his department maintains,  but the only time available was during a very hot intense sunlit day.   I exposed for the ambient background and used a Lumiquest LTP softbox to camera right to illuminate the subject,  balancing the light sources.

C-stand coupled with a gridded speed light above and slightly in front of the camera here gives us this interesting light.   I used this to show the textures of the camera body.   You can see the effects of the grid on the fabric the camera is sitting on.  Notice how it looks like a spotlight, but instead of an abrupt end of the light into the dark, you get a bit of a softer transition.

My Approach To Street Photography

Street photography is one of those genres that is highly debated.  Some want to put it up on a high pedestal and proclaim it restricted to a highly curated set of parameters, while others want it to be anything that is taken out in the streets.

Nikon D700, 1/125, f/7.1, ISO 320 @ 28mm

I, for one, am not a big fan of strict labels for this kind of thing.  For me, street photography is about capturing the essence of a place or location that tells a story and gets you to feel what it is like, or what the people there are like.

These are fleeting moments that could change in a matter of minutes or over years.

I'd like to share some of my thoughts about my approach to street photography.  We'll cover the other photographers that influence my perceptions, how I go about shooting subjects and we'll talk about how I shoot from gear to camera settings.

Nikon D700, 1/800, f/4.5, ISO 500 @ 28mm

Major Influences
I take a lot of influences for shooting from various photographers.   This list encompass the top three, but by no means are the only ones.

 One of my all time favorite photographers is Jay Maisel.  He is a commercial and street photographer based out of NYC.  I agree with a lot of his philosophies regarding shooting.   KelbyOne has a three video series that are actual walk along shooting sessions with Jay, 2 in NYC and one in the streets of Paris.  Well worth at least a monthly subscription.

Nikon Df, 1/500, f/4, ISO 100 @ 50mm

Fan Ho is a street photographer that shows a lot of work from Hong Kong.  The work I appreciate the most from him is his 1970's/1980's images.  His work shows what is possible if you learn the area you are shooting in and have patience to allow a scene to develop.  It is not all about run and gun.  Sometimes you have to wait for the scene to work itself out.  Just do a web search and there is a lot of his work out there for you to discover.

Nikon Df, 1/500, f/4, ISO 100 @ 50mm

Of course, if you said who is the most famous street photographer the majority of people are going to say Henri Cartier-Bresson.  I do in fact like his images and from his work, I appreciate the inclusion of environmental components long with the expressions of the people he captured.

Nikon D700, 1/400, f/5.6, ISO 800 @ 260mm

Shooting Philosophy
What draws me to street photography is the "realness" of it.  By that, I mean that I like to capture the majority of my street photography images without the subject caring that I am there.   That is not the same as being covert about it.   I don't sneak or skulk about trying to get images of people or situations without them knowing about it.

Olympus EM5, 1/50, f/1.8, ISO 2000 @ 17mm

I always have my camera out in plain site on my Black Rapid strap.   I want everyone to know that I am out there taking pictures.  I feel this puts people at ease.  They are also more apt to tell you up front if they don't want to be photographed and you'll avoid some angry people later on down the road.  While we are on the subject of angry people, there is an old saying, "go out to make pictures, not friends".  While this might seem confrontational, it really is not.  What it means is go out and make pictures, do what you set out to do.  It's OK if you make friends along the way, but that should not be the goal.

Olympus EM5, 1/1600, f/7.1, ISO 200 @ 19mm

99% of the time, if people see you taking their picture, they are going to be indifferent about it.  There are those 1% that might be curious about what you are doing or are not happy about it.  There are very few situations where your personal safety or the safety of the group you are in is worth a confrontation.  If deleting the image, buying someone a beer or backing off will defuse the situation, it is best to do so.

As with most things in life, you want to be out shooting street photography with confidence.  Go out there and shoot like you have a purpose and a mission.  If it looks like you are there for a reason, most people will not question what you are doing.  If you show a hesitance or try and sneak pictures then people might get the perception that you are up to no good.  Don't give them a reason to doubt you or think that you have a nefarious agenda.

Fuji X-E1, 1/50, f/4, ISO 1600 @ 35mm

Subject matter is something very personal and different for a lot of people.  I like and practice a philosophy I heard articulated by Jay Maisel, which is "go out open and empty".  This means going out not necessarily with a subject or objective in mind.  Instead, I go out with a vision to find something that interests me and maybe I have not seen before I captured before.
I think that this type of philosophy also drives my gear requirements.   A lot of time, the shot I want coalesces in front of you and you have but seconds from the time you realize what is about to happen till the time to capture the image.

I don't stage shots either, I capture whatever happens.    Don't get me wrong, I'm not against setting up a shot - it is just not what I prefer to do.  I have been known to request portraits if I think a person is interesting and want to approach them.  Again, as above, ask politely and be honest about what you are wanting to do.  Most people would be happy to oblige you in your request, other times they will say no.  Remember to respect the person and their space.  You never know, you could run into that person in the future and they could grant you a portrait of them at that time.

Gear
Just about any camera can be used for street photography - but the caveat to that is this - it depends on how you shoot.
I'm going to speak only to how I shoot street and the capabilities that I require for me.  This is my personal preference and how I have the most success and pleasure.

Fuji X-E1, 1/50, f/2, ISO 800 @ 35mm

The most important factors for me in a street camera is fast operation and auto focus capability.
When talking about fast operation, I mean that the camera can be turned on or awoke from sleep mode and be ready to shoot by the time the camera gets from its resting position on the sling strap to my eye.  One of the things that turned me away from the Fuji X series of cameras was the amount of time it would take and reliability of turning on and waking from sleep those cameras.  I had an X-E1 and there was a lot to love about that camera.  Operation speed left me wanting and I lost quite a few opportunities for great shots because the camera took too long to either turn on or wake from sleep.

One question you might be thinking, why not leave the camera on all the time?  Short answer, battery life.  With the early Fuji X cameras, battery life as not stellar, so I thought that turning off during a shooting lull would help.  Not really.  Allowing the camera to go to sleep was almost worse sometimes as I often had situations where the camera would not wake on half press or would take up to 2 to 3 seconds at times to show an image in the viewfinder.

Olympus EM5, 1/100, f/5, ISO 2000 @ 100mm

Auto focus speed and accuracy is also another top requirement.  I am not one to zone focus and will only prefocus when I have to, and sometimes prefocusing is not an option.  This is another area where the Fuji X failed me on several occasions.  I had issues with the focus speed and at times the hunting from the CDAF system would not lock on fast enough.
I will say, though that the Fuji X cameras are improving every iteration and the X-E2, X-T1 cameras are leaps and bounds better than the X-E1.

I'm even experimenting with some zone focusing techniques with a Fuji X100.  You never know - I may be a convert some day.  :D

Nikon Df, 1/1600, f/4, ISO 400 @ 90mm

Right now, my weapons of choice for street shooting are 2 sets of kit.

The first being the Nikon Df with a set of three primes - Nikon 24/2.8, 50/1.8D, and a Tamron 90/2.8.
The Nikon Df is an extremely misunderstood camera and I invite anyone to really dig into getting to know it.  There is a lot there and a whole lot more to love than to hate once you give it a chance.  The Nikon Df is the smallest FX camera that Nikon makes.  Partnered with some good primes and you have yourself a really great street shooting rig.  The AF performance is great and you have a lot of control of DOF with the FX size sensor.  Not to mention that you have the dynamic range and picture controls of the flagship Nikon D4 on the inside and you can see the appeal.  Being a DSLR, the camera wakes from sleep or from powered off almost instantly.

Olympus EM5, 1/500, f/5.7, ISO 200 @ 156mm

The second kit was actually a surprise to me.  I went in to the camera store one day to look to possibly pick up a Fuji X-T1 or an X100s, but ended up walking out with an Olympus OMD EM5.   I, like a lot of people, was running on old information from the very first micro four thirds cameras.  Yes, the sensor is smaller and you have all the differences in the shooting experience that come with it.   However, Olympus has done something special with the OMD series.  The wake from sleep and power on times are greatly improved over what I saw from Fuji and my past experiences with the X-E1.  The AF performance is phenomenal as well, at least for the single servo AF.   It is as fast if not faster than some of the DSLRs out there.  I experience minimal hunting.  I partner this camera body with a killer set of fast prime lenses an you have a very capable kit.  My favorites are the Olympus 17/1.8 and 45/1.8

Settings
Settings are probably more of interest to people than my gear selection.  Let's talk about what settings I use and in which situations.  These discussions will not be specific to the gear I've listed above.  They are more to the situation you would be shooting in.

Focus mode is AF-S.  Single point, lock it in, get the shot.  Every now and again, I might throw it into continuous AF, but that is very rare.

Nikon D50, 1/80, f/5.6, ISO 200 @ 60mm

WB is set to auto, unless I know I am going into a situation where the color cast is something I know will be extreme, then I will set it manually.

RAW or JPG?  Majority of the time, I'm shooting JPG.  The JPG engines in modern cameras are actually pretty great, considering.  I will shift over to RAW if there is a scene that I know I will need to do some extensive post processing on.

Olympus EM5, 1/80, f/2.2, ISO 800

In normal, everyday "good" lighting I'm shooting in aperture priority mode.  I do this because I want to have control over the depth of field of the shot.  I then let the camera do the rest of the heavy lifting.  In order to do this, you'll need to be in sync with your cameras metering system and know how it will see a scene.  You might need to use exposure compensation or switch to manual if you run into a situation like extreme back lighting or the scenes dynamic range is more than your camera is capable of handling.
For ISO, I'm shooting in auto ISO, keeping the base as slow as possible (low being ISO 50 to 200, depending on your camera).  I keep the minimum shutter speed around 1/60 and the maximum ISO between 3200 and 6400 (again depending on gear).

Shooting during the day is a pretty standard affair, if you think about it, exposure wise, it is going to be a pretty decent light to run in.  The good thing about the auto ISO in this situation is going to be those times when you might step inside or need to shoot in the shadows, it can compensate for you without you needing to sacrifice your aperture setting.

Olympus EM5, 1/640, f/2.8, ISO 100

Where things can get interesting is when we are wanting to shoot either dusk/dawn times or at night.   Most metro areas are decently lit considering, but the light sources can trick even the best of metering systems sometimes.  You also have the fact that the metering systems want to go for an 18% gray as the normal exposure - this can make the scene more exposed than you probably want.

The best way, I have found for me, to control all of this is to shoot in manual.   I shoot with as wide an aperture as I possibly can and still have a sufficiently large DOF, keep the shutter speed fast enough that I can still hand hold the shot for a sharp image and a clean enough ISO for a pleasing exposure.   A lot of these exposures average out to be something along the lines of f/4, ISO 1600 and 1/60 shutter speed.

Olympus EM5, 1/1000, f/5.6, ISO 200 @ 150mm

For the setup, you can either put the camera in aperture priority mode and take some test shots, riding the exposure compensation until you see what you like - then set manual accordingly.  When doing this test, try and find a scene that looks like a typical one that yo will be shooting.  This will give you a good ballpark to run from.
If you have been shooting for a while, you might be able to get to where you need to be from manual from a few test shots.  However you do it is completely up to you and no way is wrong, just different.

Nikon D700, 1/250, f/4.5, ISO 400 @ 85mm

If you find that you need to shoot at slower shutter speeds (lets say less than 1/60), and don't want to bring a tripod along you have options.  Some cameras/lenses have image stabilization.  Don't be afraid to use it.  Just remember that image stabilizers help reduce camera shake from you holding the camera and it has no affect on freezing action.  Shutter speed will control that.
Another technique is to use poles or street signs to stabilize yourself.

I hope that you found this post helpful.  While I don't expect anyone to adopt what I do in total, there may be times when some of these techniques I use might come in handy or help someone get a step into doing street photography for themselves.

Shooting With The Olympus 75-300mm f/4.8-6.7 II

Have had the opportunity to check out and shoot with the Olympus 75-300 f/4.8-6.7 II lens.

This particular copy was obtained used and was shot without a lens hood.  I shot it as I normally would shoot on any other day, any other assignment or any other outing.  I do this because I want to see if the cameras or lenses fit my shooting style.  I also post processed these images as I would any other images I share because for me, it is about the deliverable at the end of the day.  Images straight out of camera mean very little to me in the grand scheme of things.

1/320, f/8, ISO 320 @ 300mm

Why this lens?  I look at it this way.  I can optically get out to a field of view of 600mm and with the 2x digital teleconverter, I can reach out to an astounding effective FOV of 1200mm!!

1/640, f/4.8, ISO 200 @ 75mm

In order to get this kind of reach on an FX sensor size body, the cost would be a whole lot more at the current market rates.  Below I will share some images from this lens at various focal lengths and one using the 2x digital teleconverter.

1/320, f/6.1, ISO 250 @ 200mm

Right to the point - this is a great lens, but not exceptional.  It is wonderful to use right up to about 280mm(560mm FOV) at which point I noticed that it did soften up a bit.

1/800, f/5.1, ISO 200 @ 100mm

It did hunt for focus from time to time, but only at the long end of the zoom range.  It also did miss focus once or twice, but I'm not sure if that was the gears issue or mine - I was hand holding all the shots, so it is possible that the missed focus was due to user error on my part.
The 75-300 is also a relatively fast focuser (not 45/1.8 level - but respectable) and silent because it is classed as MSC (movie and stills compatible).

1/320, f/6.7, ISO 800 @ 300mm

The zoom ring is nice, smooth and precise.  It will get you where you want to be.

The manual focus ring is adequate and useful at times, especially when shooting in the zoo conditions found in our sample images.  Shooting through fences or dirty glass can cause the AF system to focus on the foreground elements and not your subject behind them.

1/800, f/6.7, ISO 200 @ 281mm

The bokeh quality is not one I would call top notch, but respectable.  I do see some jitteryness in the out of focus areas.  I will also state that I've seem way worse.  If you bow to the alter of the bokeh gods - you'll most likely hate this lens...however, you need to also understand that there are really not a lot of options for this zoom or focal length on m43.  The other options being the Panasonic 100-300mm, which optically is indistinguishable from the Olympus.  The Panasonic is also a bit bigger because it uses in lens IS and is a 1/3 stop faster.

1/200, f/6.7, ISO 1000 @ 300mm w/ 2x digital teleconverter

While the aperture is really slow, optically this lens delivers more than what you pay for it - much like the Olympus 40-150 does.  Given the current used prices, you can get yourself an adequate 600mm shooter(optical) or 1200mm (2x digiteleconverter) for under $1000.  Not bad, actually.

All images taken, handheld, with an Olympus OMD EM5, IBIS enabled.  Post processing was done in Lightroom, and any black and white processing was aided with the onOne Perfect B&W plug-in.