Photoshoot met mijn eigen GFX
Afgelopen week heb ik de grootte stap gemaakt en mijn laatste Nikon D750 en glas ingeruild op een FujiFilm GFX. Al jaren wilde ik een Middenformaat camera en nu heb ik er eindelijk één.
Waarom Middenformaat
De reden dat ik graag een middenformaat camera wil is niet alleen de resolutie. Ja, de gfx heeft een 51,4 megapixel resolutie, maar eigenlijk boeit dat me niet zo. Het is vooral de look die je krijgt door de grotere sensor. Daardoor krijg je zo'n andere perceptie van scherpte diepte. Ook de kleur en het dynamische bereik zijn mooier. Het is de "Ik weet niet wat het is, maar het geeft iets wat anders is en ik vind het heel erg mooi".
Daarnaast is het ook een andere manier van werken, je schiet grotere bestanden en moet meer nadenken over je shot. Ondanks je met de FujiFilm GFX bijna kunt fotograferen als een DSLR camera, wil ik toch benadrukken dit niet te doen.
Electronic Viewfinder
De camera heeft een elektronische viewfinder en dat is aan het begin even wennen, maar als je het eenmaal gewend bent wil je niet anders. Als je met natuurlijk licht werkt geeft de EVF continu een "What you see, is what you get" beeld, je hoeft dus niet meer te gokken op de belichten of vertrouwen op de lichtmeter en juiste compensatie instelling. Als je flitst kan je instellen dat je steeds 0.5 of 2 seconden ziet wat je hebt geschoten, wat er voor zorgt dat je niet steeds je camera van je gezicht hoeft te halen om het beeld te bekijken. Wat uiteindelijk resulteert in minder foto's en directer naar het eindresultaat toe te kunnen werken. En als je snel moet werken is dat erg handig!
Objectieven
Momenteel heb ik alleen de 63mm 2.8 R WR, maar heb ook al de 120mm f4 en 110mm f2 kunnen testen. Eind van de zomer hoop ik de 110mm f2 R WR te kunnen toevoegen en eind van het jaar de 45mm. dan heb ik mijn hele set compleet. De 63mm is een erg prettig objectief om mee te starten maar voor portret is de 110mm ook erg gaaf.
Touchscreen Scherm
Op de achterkant zit een touch-screen kantel scherm. De eerste ervaringen zijn hier erg prettig mee, zeker met terug kijken van de beelden, dan werkt het bet zoals als op je tablet.
Video
Met de GFX kan je ook Full HD filmen op middenformaat sensor formaat. Ik ben erg benieuwd hoe dit gaat werken. Momenteel heb ik nog geen echte video geschoten met de GFX maar binnenkort meer.
Behind the scenes
Hier is even een korte video van de eerste shoot die ik met mijn eigen FujiFilm GFX gedaan heb in combinatie met de 63mm 2.8 R WR en de 110mm F2 R WR. De Video is gechoten met de FujiFilm X-T2 en 35mm 1.4 R. Voor de X-T2 heb ik de dag na de shoot de 10-24 binnen gehad. Dit wordt mijn vlog objectief. Deze heeft namelijk OIS en beter focussing. Het model is Freeke den Dulk Trouwens
Even kleine tip, zoals eerder gemeld loopt bij middenformaat het scherpte diepte anders. Dit zorgt ervoor dat je als je bijvoorbeeld met de 110mm F2 met close up portretten op 1 f2 echt een hele kleine scherpte diepte hebt. Dus met een 110mm op F4 heb je de beeldhoek van ene 85 maar scherpte diepte van 1,8. Verkijk je hier niet op!
Dit waren mijn eerste gedachten en review van de FujiFilm GFX, binnenkort ga ik hem verder testen en komen er meer vlogs en blogs. Volg dus mijn blog, youtube kanaal en instagram om op de hoogte te blijven!
Shooting U2 Without DSLR
I have been to the U2 concert in the Ziggo Dome last Tuesday. Since I had no accreditation I couldn't breng a DSLR or big camera, So I took my small and trusty Fuji X100. And I must say that little monster performed really well! I had a nice spot near the B-stage with only a 2 or 3 (large)people in front of my, So it was holding up the camera and hope for the best. And I must say it was almost a better spot then the spot that was for the press photographers.
I always work in manual mode during concerts. This because of the chancing light and the dark clothing. If I set it manual I know exactly how to set the exposure.
London Dance shoot with the XT-1
Recently I went to London for a business trip. I also did a photoshoot with two dancers. To keep my gear as light as possible I took the risk of only taking the Fuji X-T1 with the 35mm 1.4 and 65 1.2 lens, a Fuji X100 camera, a YoungNuo YN560II flash and Cactus v5 triggers.
The day of the shoot was the third day of my trip and unfortunately the charger of my X100 died, so I had only the X-T1 and the 35 1.4 and 56 1.2 lens left. For modifiers we bought a small Ezy-Box nock-off at the Calumet store in London.
Location Scouting
The second day of my trip we went location scouting. We found a couple of locations on a small walk from Convent Garden to the south bank. When we wanted to start shooting at the first location, the garden behind the church at Convent Garden, we got asked if we had a license and since we didn't knew, we got send away.
First Shots
The second location was a small alley near Trafalgar Square. It was a lovely ally for some portrait work and some warming up shots.
Trafalgar Square
If you are shooting in London you better show you are in London. So the second shooting location was on Trafalgar Square. This was a great location to shoot. The only big challenge was that I only had a 35mm (50m eqv) lens as widest angle. So to get everything in the shot like the high statue there was nothing left then getting really low, Like put your head on the pavement low.
Westminster Bridge
If there is one landmark screaming London, it is the Big Ben. So we went to Westminster bridge for the last photo's with the Big Ben on the background. It was pleasent to see how the Crowd reacted and just walked calmly past us.
The verdict about the X-T1
The Fuji X-T1 is a great camera. But not for things that move. 7 out of 10 shots the focus was wrong. This doesn't makes the Fuji X-T1 a bad camera, but for dance and action photography the X-T1 is not the camera. During the shoot I was wishing I brought my Nikon D800 or D610 with me. Although they are a lot heavier, the focus tracking is great.
For the portrait and street work the Fuji X-T1 one worked great. Currently I am in doubt about getting a wide angle 14 or 23 mm lens for the X-T1 for some more wide stuff or upgrading the X100 to a X100S or T. But they stay additional camera's for travel or when I need to go light. Also they are great for portrait and studio photography. But when the chips are down I rather go for the Nikons DSLR camera's.
Besides talking about camera's, trips to London are always fun. Also having the possibility to photograph two really nice ballerina's is always great! I had a great time and can't wait to go back again! Hopefully even later this year!
Why you don't need the most expensive fast Glass
Hi All,
There is something I wanted to share for a while, so here it is. I hear al lot of people always go, you need the most expensive glass and the fasted apertures, Get the Canon 50mm 1.2L for the smallest depth of field and so on. But there is a catch especially with portrait work. And that is what I am going to talk about.
I have for my Nikon kit one lens I do almost everything with. This is the Sigma 24-105 f4! Yes f-FOUR!!! Not 2.8. So most people say, they are bad for creating a Small Depth of Field. But they always forget there is always focal length and distance to subject in the equation. I made a small table:
Nikon D800/Sigma 24-105 Art @! 105mm 5.6
To make it a fair comparison I calculated everything with a 3 meter (30 feet) distance, with the most common used focal lengths. What you now can see is that with the Sigma 24-105 I can have a smaller Depth of Field at F4 than you can get with the 2.5x more expensive Canon 50mm 1.2L lens at 1.2.
This gives me also some extra advantages. I want to control my light, using strobes at 1.2 apertures is not really easy because a lot of studio strobes don't get that low and to kill the ambient light you have to start using ND filters. Also the compression for portraits at 105mm is beautifull. 50mm lenses are great for environmental portraits. But headshots are not flattering with 50m lenses. For people shooting portraits also take a look at an 85mm 1.8, you can get even smaller DOF with that than the 1.2
But whatever you do, never forget, a small DOF can be beautiful, but hell to focus. When people move maybe an inch it can make or break your shot. So a lot of time you even won't be shooting at maximum aperture, but more at f8 or f11. So you don't even need to buy the most expensive lenses to get great portraits.
Fuji !00 @ f2 with 1/1000
With Cropsensor camera's
The table above is calculated on 35mm/Full Frame camera's. Nowadays there are also a lot of great (mirrorless) crop sensor camera's like the Fuji's. The Fuji 56 1.2 is a killer portrait lens! And for the table, on 1.2 at 56mm you can get a 0,14 DOF! So don't come with the story you can't get a small DOF with a Crop Sensor camera!
With Medium Format
Or take a look at an old Hasselblad like the 500c/m with a 80mm 2.8. These baby's may be analogue, but still rock! I currently use to and love shooting with them and the quality and look is so great! For the table, at 2.8, 80mm you get an 0.38 DOF, so also small. And I can tell you, you will shoot the camera at f8 or f11 almost every time, because getting focus at f5.6 or lower is a challenge!
And with some nice film like Tri-X or Fuji Velvia, Scan them big (you can scan then up to 60mp eqv) and print them.
So I hope this helps you not to feel bad at not having the most expensive fast glass. You can do it with less. And yes the expensive lenses will be sharper and faster and all that. But it is still the photographer who seek the light, creates the composition and takes the pictures!
Street testing the Fuji X-T1 with a portrait sessions
Review of the X-T1 while doing a portrait shoot on the street of Amsterdam.
Last week I traded in my Fuji X-E1 with the 18-55 lens for a Fuji X-T1 body. I really like the concept of the Fuji camera's. Their compactness, weight and a good image quality. But the slowness with image writing of the X-Pro1 and X-E1 let me grab my Nikons faster for jobs then the Fuji's. So I thought to start getting rid of my Fuji gear and start to try Olympus. But after comparing the OM-D E-M5 and the X-T1, there started a feeling to give Fuji a last chance. The main reasons were that it felt more responsive then the X-pro1 and for me the biggest issue, being possible to view the pictures while it is still writing to the card. The large viewfinder is awesome! But also a great dust collector. Another reason was that I already have the Fuji 35 and 56 lenses and I really don't like the standard Olympus 12-50 lens which is the kit lens for the OM-D E-M5. Other pro's are all the controls you really need are on the body, So if you want you would never have to go into the menu's once you set up the camera.
The portraitshoot
Due to traffic/weather Issue a big shoot was cancelled, but when the weather cleared later that morning I really wanted to go out and test the camera. So I called a musician who wanted some new portrait shots and set up the shoot on the streets in Amsterdam.
For me the scary part was that I wanted to travel really light. But have everything I needed, so I took the X-T1 with the Fuji 56 1.2 and 35 1.4 lens and a X100 for the wide stuff. All lighting had to be done with available light.
Once on the location I took an hour with my assistant to scout the location and we found around 5 nice spots.
I met Efraim in the musicstore Hampe on the Spui. From there we started our session. In about 50 minutes we had all the shots we needed.
The results
Before I start discussing the results I would like to start with saying how much I was Impressed by the original X100 camera! It's still a great camera with good results!
I first started editing the photo's in Capture One Pro 8, but with these type of session somehow I feel Lightroom is faster for just basic editing and handeling the Fuji RAF files. So FYI almost all the photo's have had bass raw editing.
RAW vs. Jpeg
With the Fuji's I always shot in Raw and Jpeg mode. I liked the colours and feel of the Jpegs, but not for when I have to do some editing. In Lightroom 5 We got the possibility to add a profile to match the color/feel to the Raw files of the Fuji, But with my X-pro1 and X100 photo's these profiles where not good enough. Now with the X-T1 Raw files I must say the results are way closer. The raw files are a little bit more blueish, but the rest was pretty close! Below are a RAF file with profile and a jpeg
Dynamic Range and ISO
Something that I must give Fuji a lot of credit for is the Dynamic range. It is really great. I took some photo's staring directly into the sun and still there was enough detail left! Although I would wish Fuji could go natively to RAW ISO 100, the ISO range is great, Even add ISO3200 you get great files (which the Starbucks photos, ISO100 straight out of camera). The only thing I don't like is that the Raw images feel a little soft sometimes. But they have this Filmlike look. So when I need more sharpness I still prefer the Nikons/Olympus camera's. But I also have to say all these picture are between f1.2 and f4. So in the studio I have to really test this on higher Apertures with some flash added.
Final Thoughts
For what I have tested now the Fuji X-T1 is a great travel camera, and fuji is started to produce some really great camera's! I heaven't fully tested it yet but I think I will like this camera. Somehow I am still waiting and hoping for the Fuji X-pro2 to come out to decide if I will stay with Fuji. I love the Rangefinder style and the OVF, I was really missing that on the street and even made me a little longing back to the Leica M type 240 I tested some months ago (read the review HERE). So to be continued.....
What's in the camera bag part 1: The Fuji Kit
Hi all, As you might know I currently photograph with a Nikon (D800 and D610) kit, a fuji kit and a Analog kit. In the Up coming weeks I am planning to give you a view in my bags! This week the first Bag is the Think Tank Retrospective 7 with my Fuji camera gear.
Think Tank Retrospective 7 Bag
I must start to say that I love Think Tank bags. I have three off them and use them everyday with out any problems. The way they are layed out is really showing they are not only made for photographers, but also by photographers!
The first thing I like about the bags are that these bags are spacious. I have tried other bags, but the way the Think Tank camera bags are layed out is genius. It is easy for on the go and to get the gear you need fast. Also they are low profile. The retrospective series is also really low profile. The Retrospective series really look like regular "Hey, there is no expensive gear here" messenger bags.
The front flap has also a silent mode. You can flip up the velcro so you can open it up without any sound. Handy during weddings! The only downside is that the flap is lose.
The bags also have a high level of comfort. You can walk around with them for a long time without your shoulder is getting sour.
Now what's in it?
Well it's my Fuji gear bag, so I have all my Fuji gear in it. This is really my everyday with me, reportage/low profile kit.
Fuji Camera:
- Fuji X100: My first Fuji camera, and I love it, especially the leaf shutters which is so silent and great with flash!
- Fuji X-Pro1: This is my workhorse Fuji camera. I really like the whole range finger/Leica style
- Fuji X-E1: This is my back up for the X-pro1 and I use it a lot for the behind the scenes video.
Fuji Lenses:
- Fujinon 35mm 1.4: This is my main lens for the X-pro1. It is a 50mm equiv, and great street en reportage lens
- Fujinon 56mm 1.2: Great lens for portraits!
- Fujinon 18-55mm 2.8-4: This lens I mainly use with the X-E2 for video.
Other:
- YoungNuo YN-560: Great inexpensive flash!
- Cactus V5 Triggers: For remote triggering of the flash
- 2 chargers: For charging the batteries on the road
- Back-up batteries
- Extra SD-Cards
- Business Cards
- Blower: For cleaning the sensor
- iPad Mini (not pictured)
- Back-up charger for my Phone
Well that's what is in it! Next time I will take you through my Think Tank Airport Airstream bag with my Nikon kit!
Street Photography: Paris 2014
For a while I had the wish to practise some street photography. For me there are only a few city's to really do this, and number one on the list is Paris. So I went for four days to Paris!
The first day I went on the street with just my Nikon D610 with the Sigma 24-105 f4 lens. For quality this is a great. Something I noticed that a lot of people on the street where smoking.
The standard strap didn't work out to be easy to use. So i went out for the search for a new strap. The street north of the Bastile is a truth photographers heaven. I have never seen so many nice Photography shops together in one street! I soon found a Black Rapid Yeti which let's me combine the Nikon D610 and the Fuji X-Pro1 on both sides of my body.
The Second day I went out with the Nikon D610 and the Fuji X-Pro1. Although it is a great combination, after walking a day with it my shoulder got really bad. But the X-Pro1 with the 35mm 1.4 lens is a truth beauty for street photography. It is small and compact and let's you held in So for the thirt day I kept my D610 at home.
BUT!!! not after waking up at 6.30 to walk up the mountain of the Montmartre to photograph the Sacre Couer without many tourists in front of it. But it appears that when there are no tourists in front of it and there is light, there is a hole army of cleaning people in front of it. But I managed to get one good shot.
After some walking around in the streets with just the X-pro1, we took the boat on the seine. Giving some nice alternative views on Paris.
The last day we made our last walk around Paris. Now I was finally getting into getting better street photography shots. I really noticed it takes a lot of practice. Taking you time and slow down is really essentialy for some good street photography. Also find a stage and the players will com (quote from Jay Maisel) really works!
The last stop was at the Norte Dame. This was the place to work on a street photography project I am working on. It is about photographing photographers! Especially tourists!
After all it was a great trip and I have learned a lot about street photography. Am I now a street photographer? No! I just got my tose wet. But I can't wait for a next trip to go further and explore it more. I don't now if I will ever be a real street photographer, but I loved ding it.
DANCE PHOTOGRAPHY SESSION PART 4: Two Light Action shot
Welcome to the fourth and last part of the Dance Photography session serie. The first shoot where all one light shots, if you haven't read the you can read them here:
- Dance photography session Part 1: The headshots
- Dance photography session part 2: The group shot on the wall
- Dance photography session part 3: One light actionshot
The Two light set-up
Again I started with one Elinchrom Quadra RX with the A-Head on the B-port with the Elinchrom Rotalux 150 deep indirect octa as a modifier. The reason I used the B-Port was that it has a faster Flash duration to freeze the action better. Also notice in de diagram that the light is slightly behind the subject turned toward the subject away from the wall for a more dramatic look. The downside off this was that the wall was getting really dark and I lost everything of the surroundings. It was getting to dark. So I added a small bare YoungNuo YN-560II speed light on slave mode. It was just of a 1/64 to 1/128 setting. It was just there to give a little push of light on the background.
For the Camera I used the Fuji X-pro1 with the 35mm 1.4 lens. Settings: Iso 100, 1/125 at f5.6. Because of it was getting darker on the evening and the Fuji's aren't the fastest focussing camera's I used a little trick from the old days. I made a focus zone, I positioned somebody between the flashes, focussed on this target in manual focussing mode. After that I asked the dancer to keep the jump in this zone. Remember in the old days sporting photographers used this to get good focus, there was no AF to give the blame if you had out of focus photo's!
In to Post
As you can see in the screen capture the only post processing where a few simple adjustments in Lightroom 5, and I added a vignette using the radial filter.
I Hope you have enjoyed this series about dance photography. If you have any questions please mail me or put a comment down below!
DANCE PHOTOGRAPHY SESSION PART 3: One Light Action shot
This week the next part in the Dance photography series. If you didn't have read the firs two part you can read them here:
- Dance photography session Part 1: The headshots
- Dance photography session part 2: The group shot on the wall
The One-light Set up
The first shot was lightning wise very simple. I Just used one Elinchrom Quadra RX with the A-Head on the B-port with the Elinchrom Rotalux 150 deep indirect octa as a modifier. The reason I used the B-Port was that it had a faster Flash duration to freeze the action more.
For the Camera I used the Fuji X-pro1 with the 35mm 1.4 lens. Settings: Iso 100, 1/125 at f5.6.
The post Production
For the post production I used a little more Ferry Dusting
The first step I did was the Eyes, Duplication the Layer, set the blend mode to screen and add a black Layer mask. Then use the white paintbrush and paint it on the irises. Then use the opacity to pull it down so you won't get scary bright eyes!
The next step is painting in the light. This is a technique I learned from Dutch commercial photographer and Hasselblad master Hans van Ommeren. It starts with darken the pictures. To do this a little more controlled I used the curves. Hans normally uses the Levels adjustment layer. After you darkened the whole picture use a layer mask and use a brush on an opacity/flow of 20/20. Then paint back the light on the places you want it. This gives a really nice and moody look. Also it really helps you focusing on the subject.
The net step is smoothing the skin out a little bit. I just used the Inverse High pass skin technique for this.
To finish it I used a little bit of high pass sharpening with a soft light blend mode painted in on the places I wanted it.
DANCE PHOTOGRAPHY SESSION PART 2: The group shot on the wall
Hi and welcome to the second part of the Dance photography session. This serie is about a commercial dance photography shoot I did for Djenz Factory. If you didn't have read the first part about the Headshot, click here and read about it: DANCE PHOTOGRAPHY SESSION PART 1: THE HEADSHOTS.
The set-up
As you can see in the test production photo the whole set-up was just one light! The Elinchrom Rander RX Quadra, with an A-head in the A-port for the biggest blast of light. Everything was mounted on a C-Stand with three sandbags and my assistent holding it. It went up for the maximum height, and I didn't want to take any risk of it tipping over. The camera was the X-Pro1(ISO:200, 1/125th, f8) with the Fujinon 18-55 2.8 - 4 lens at 18mm.
Post-production
Because this was a group shot on a 16mp camera I kept the post production very simple. These shots are about the group, not about retouching every skin detail. And for doing that, there was not enough information to make the skin look better. So I just focused on getting the mood. So all I did were some basic Lightroom touches. Just some sharpening, highlight, shadows, and a vignette to focus the view on the group.
Shooting portrait and landscape
Remember always to also shoot and deliver a Portrait and a Landscape version of the photo. This way your client has the option to choose and have the highest quality for the way they want to use it.
Shooting a friend with a Fuji X-pro1
A while a go I was at the local sushi restaurant with a friend. I just had my Fuji X-pro1 and the 35mm 1.4 lens. So I fought it was a nice moment for some practicing and learning the camera and using it with natural light. Something I really like about the Fuji X-pro1 as a portrait camera is the size. So you don't have this "let me make a picture of you while I hold this bg ass camera in front of my face with a big lens while I stand on the other side of the room with loud clicks" effect.
Dance photography session Part 1: The headshots
In the upcoming blogs I am going to take you through the process of a dance photography shoot. A few weeks a go I got the call from Djenz Factor that they needed new promotional photo's for their new website. Having worked with them multiple times before I knew this was going to be fun! For location we have been to the area of the Lichtfabriek in Haarlem. Because that is where the new dance studio is going to be. We wanted to start with an outside session. It is in an old industrial area so it is really nice. The only thing that was looking to be a problem was the weather, but it was great weather that evening! We started with the head shots of the creative team
The Set up
For the Headshots I used a fairly basic setup. On the location we found this lovely brick wall to use as a background. For the lighting I used my Elinchrom Quadra set with A heads. The main light was in the A port with the 100 Rotalux octa soft box. I Also placed a second light on the background, that was in the B port with the Elinchrom 18cm reflector and grid, so it had a little bit of a natural vignette. To have a little bit of fill I used a silver reflector handheld by my assistant. For camera I was using the Fuji X-pro1 with the Fuji 56mm 1.2 lens. I was really happy to use it for the first time on a job. Setting were: raw+jpeg fine, F10, 1/125 ISO 100.
Going to Post
When I first opened the files in Lightroom I was really impressed by the jpegs of the camera. They where so good that I even have delivered some pure jpeg's to my clients. I also noticed that the Lightroom Fuji profiles are still of and not matching enough for my taste. For post I really have speeded up my workflow. In the past I was using Nik Color Efex pro a lot, but the loading time was getting to long for me. When I just have to do a few pictures it is no problem, but when you have to do around 50, it is too long. So I have started to create some actions to speed everything up.
I first started to remove some of the basic blemishes with the healing brush. After that I used the Inverse High pass skin softening action. Which is based on a technique I learned from Scott Kelby on KelbyOne. It gives a nice skin in just a few seconds. After the skin was done I wanted to make the eyes pop a little more. So I created another layer, set it to screen and hidden it with a layer mask. Than used a brush to reveal it on the eyes and used the opacity to make it look more natural. To add a little more contrast I made two level adjustments and painted them in the Layer masks. To finish it off used the High Pass filter to give it a little more sharpness on some areas.
Done
And that was all I did. If you have any questions post a reaction down below!
Dance photography with Fuji Camera's
Last week I did a dance photography sessions with the Fuji X-pro1 and X100. I Asked two dancers to model for the shoot, One is a classical ballerina and the other a break- and zouk dancer.
In studio
I started in the studio with just one light. I recently bough a Elinchrom Rotalux 150cm Deep Indirect Octa soft box on a white background. But it was to light for my taste so I changed to a light grey background just for some more moody feel.
For light I started with the Elinchrom RX one, But this was to weak to over power the ambient light in the studio in the 150 Deep octal, It is a big softbox!!! So i changed it to the Quadra. Because the ISO starts at 200 with the Fuji's and they have APS-C sensors, I didn't wanted to much light, for a smaller depth off field (f5.6 to f10/f11).
After some solo portraits and dance photo's it was time to put them together
I am starting to love my Fuji's more and more, The only things I really dislike is the waiting until all the photos are written to the card before you can watch them back. Because I was working with dancers this was getting anoying. They want to look them back fast so they can check if the position is right. Especially the feet. If you never have worked with dancers then it is good to know that, the light and emotion can be perfect an you go, "WHOOOO GREAT PHOTO JEEEEJJJ!!!!", but the feeds or hands are a few degree of..... It is not a good photo. Because people who know dance see it and you will get your butt kicked!
Also I would love to have the option to shoot ISO100 Raw. Just to be able to work with smaller aperture to get a smaller depth of field.
Going Outside
For the outside shots the Fuji X100 is still a killer. Because of the Leaf Shutter you can get a really fast X-sync to get a darker sky. I switched to the Elinchrom Maxilite because it has a higher output, so I didn't had to stress the battery off my power pack so much. I was working with the Elinchrom Ranger Quadra RX with an A-head on the B-port. This has 33% of the A port. So with the Elinchrom Maxispot I had enough light and stopping power to freeze the action! Also when I switched to the X-pro1.
Back to the Studio
After the rooftop shoot I wanted one other shot I saw in a Joe McNally Kebly training video. I just used a Single Quadra head in the B-port on full power in a Small Elinchrom Rotalux strip soft box. This was on a C-Stand at max hight, The dancer was slightly behind the head to feather the lighting.
Into The Dark Lightroom
Into lightroom I do just a little bit of FerryDusting on the imaging. I am not a big photoshopper. I want it to by stylized but still had to be real. So I did just a shapening, a bid of Pumping up the shadow, Drop the blackpoint. Opening in shadows, somehow adds some blue's in black, so especially with the studio shots I pulled down the blue saturation completely. Also some vignetting to finish it.
The Fuji's
Some say the Fuji's are not fast enough for shooting sports or action. But I think these pictures proof different! Getting your techniques down is the clue to good photo's, camera's are tools like a hammer is for a carpenter. And Photoshop and Lightroom is just the cream to finish of the dessert. Getting it good in camera with the light is the most important thing.
I Went Fuji
Ok it's official I went Fuji! After years of shooting Canon I have moved over! The reason, the arrogance of the people that represent Canon and I wanted a smaller and lighter kit. I already had the Fuji X100 last year and fell in love with it. Although it can be a pain in the ass camera sometimes, but when it works with you it's a superb camera.
My kit
My Current Fuji kit is:
- X-Pro1
- X-E1
- XF 35mm 1.4
- XF 18-55 2.8-4
- X100
Fuji X100
The X100 was my first Fuji X camera (my first digital compact camera's where also Fuji's like the S5600). I really love this camera. It has a fixed 23mm (35mm eqv.) f2 lens and I really love the small size and focal length. It is ideal for street and reportage photography. Also the leaf shutter gives you a really fast X-sync, and the 3 stops internal ND filter makes it a great camera!
Another downfall are the sticky blades. Luckily Fuji have a great service and after two weeks of missing the camera I got it back completly repaired and checked.
X-Pro1
I have been wanting this camera for a while, After seeing Zack Arias with it, and some work of other photographers I was like I also want that style. I also been doubting a long time of going to Olympus 4/3 camera's. I love the OM-D EM-5. But the X-pro1 is just a little bit more what I wanted. I wanted a small camera with great sensor and just a few buttons. The only ones I need are Shutter time, Aperture, Iso, Shutter release and a on/of switch. Just like the Analog camera's I like to use .
Also I love to play with a smaller Depth of field. Believe me I still would love to work with the Olympus OM-D EM 5, but for may hands the buttons are just a bit to small and wobbly and there is a little bit to much trickery in it. Also the people at Olympus are great, friendly and helpful and I can recommend the Olympus Camera's to anybody, but for my taste the Fuji Camera's where more fulfilling my needs.
The first real shoot with the Fuji X-Pro1 for me was with Daniel Lanois in the Carre theater in Amsterdam. I only had the 35mm lens for it. I loved how it focused. Also the EVF was nice to have. Being in a theater only being able to shoot availeble light it is a blast to have WYSIWYG fews of your photo's.
During a testshoot for a upcoming commercial shoot it had a few times where it wouldn't trigger my flash. This is something I halve to dig in to. During the day It worked fine in the studio. I don't know if it is the trigger or the camera yet, but it was annoying. Also I really hate i that first all the photo's have to by written to the card before you can really preview them. Notice that you get a 1.5 sec preview after you took the shot in de OVF/EVF.
The OVF is also once to have shooting in low light and on the street. It gives you a more few of also the surrounding. Also it gives you more eye contact with the model.
X-E1
The X-E1 I almost got for free! I wanted the XF-18-55 2.8-4 lens. The lens costs €699,- and as a kit with the X-E1 €749, so for €50,- I got the Fuji X-E1 with it. Firstly I bought it as a back up camera, but as it is almost the same as the X-Pro1 I use it as a co camera, mainly not to have switch lenses or use when I maxed at to buffer and have to keep shooting.
The 18-55 2.8-4 lens became my standard lens. As I am used to use the Canon 24-70 2.8, it is a great replacement. Much sharper, cheaper and lighter!
Video
The Fuji X-Pro1 and X-E1 also have video functions, and to be short, the box is checked for video. But actually it sucks, the quality is not that well. So if you want to do also a lot of video get an Olympus or Nikon!
DSLR Killer?
Are the Fuji's DSLR-killers? The be honest not quite yet. I would use the Fuji kit for any kind of job, but I still keep a DSLR on the side. My Canon gear is going out the door, but A Nikon D610 or D800 will come in for video and high-resolution work on which some more post/photoshoping has to be done. Also the teetering functions are nice to have with a client watching over your shoulder and with workshops/training sessions!
Wishlist
On my whilst is the 56 1.2 portrait lens and many trading in the 18-55 for the upcoming 18-135 for allround lens. Further camera-wise:
- Be able to look back pictures while the photo's are being written to the card!!
- Thetering options
- Shooting ISO100 with Raw Files
Adobe Lightroom ondersteund Fuji Profielen!
Vandaag is het een belangrijke dag voor de Fuji X serie gebruikers! Adobe Lightroom 5.4 ondersteund nu de belangrijkste kleurprofielen van Fuji X camera's. Dit houd kort gezegd in dat de RAW foto's er ook uitzien zoals je ze gefotografeerd hebt met het Fuji X Camera profiel. Dus ASTIA komt er uit te zien als ASTIA en VELVIA als VELVIA. Doordat het nu in RAW zit kun je de foto's als basis nemen en verder tweaken met hooglichten en dergelijke. Maar de basis is zoals het er alf film uitzag/ziet. Dit is een vooruitgang waar ik erg blij mee ben!
Voor de gene die ook met Fuji X camera's fotograferen. De functie zit onder het tabje Camera Calibratien bij profiles!
My second love: The Fuji X100
Het zal voor velen geen geheim zijn dat ik al een tijdje met de Fuji X100 Camera werk. Ik moet zeggen: "Deze camera begint echt mijn tweede liefde te worden". Deze camera is ongeveer aan mijn schouder vast genaaid, ik ga bijna nooit zonder deze camera de deur uit. Waar mijn Canon 5D MkII mijn echte werk camera is, is de Fuji X100 de camera die mee gaat als ik wil fotograferen. Als je nu denkt dat het een fun camera is, Nee, absoluut niet, ik gebruik hem wanneer ik maar even kan, ook bij commerciële opdrachten!
De Specificaties
Ik ben geen specificatiefetishist, voor mij moet een camera gewoon lekker werken. Maar om het verhaal toch compleet te maken alvast bij deze:
- Megapixels: 12.3 - Image sensor: 23.6mmx15.8mm CMOS - Opslag: SD(HC/XC) - Bestandsformaten: JPG, RAW. Film: H.265 (MOV) met stereo geluid - Lens opbouw: 6 groepen met 8 lenzen (1 aspherische lens) - Diafragma: f/2.0 - f/16 - Minimale scherpstel afstand: 80cm - ISO waardes: 100 tot 12800 - FPS: Tot 10 foto's in JPEG en 8 in RAW of RAW-JPG - Hotshoe: ja - LCD monitor: 2.8", TFT kleuren LCD monitor (100% dekking) - Video opname: 1280x720px (24 frames / sec) - HDMI-mini uitgang - Afmetingen: 126.5x74.4x53.9mm - Gewicht: 445 gram (met batterij en geheugenkaart)
Klassieker
De Fuji X100 is niet alleen door zijn look maar ook door zijn werking een klassieker. Vaak als ik met de camera ergens kom is de eerste vraag: "is dat een oude met rolletje?". Als ik uitleg dat het een digitale is wil iedereen gelijk meer weten. Zelfs een keer bij de Nikon Booth op de IBC beurs wilden de Nikon mensen meer weten over de camera!
De Sensor
Ondanks de camera "maar" een 12.3 megapixel sensor in een periode van een megapixelwetloop heeft. zijn het wel 12.3 hele goede megapixels! Het gebruik van het unieke patroon zorgt voor een uniek dynamisch bereik. In volle tegenzon kan je nog steeds details in de schaduwen houden. Zelfs een ⅓ crop (foto hieronder) blijft nog overeind op een grote afdruk (a4 formaat).
De Sluiter
Het volgende hoogstandje van de camera is de sluiter. De Fuji X100 heeft namelijk een centraalsluiter. Dit heeft twee grote voordelen. Aan de ene kant zorgt het voor een hoge X-sync, je kan de Fuji X100 tot een 1/4000e synchroniseren, doe dat maar eens met een DSLR! Zonder het gebruik van energie slurpende High Speed Sync te gebruiken! Je kan dus in de volle zon nog steeds met 1 flitser werken en het daglicht weg duwen.
Het andere grote voordeel van de centraalsluiter is dat hij super stil is. Je hoort hem bijna niet. Wat zorgt dat de camerasluiter niet afleid. Zoals bijvoorbeeld in een volle kerk.
Hoge Iso
Het bijzondere patroon van de Fuji X-Transsensor zorgt ook voor zeer hoge ISO-prestaties. Op hoge iso' rond de 3200/4000 werkt hij beter dan de Canon 5D MkII!
Kleur vs Zwart/Wit
Ondanks de kleuren van deze camera prachtig zijn. Vooral de Velvia en Astia, werk ik het liefst in het Zwart/Wit met deze camera. Vraag me niet waarom. Op de één of andere manier vraagt deze camera er gewoon om!
Tevens ben ik blij als Adobe komt met de update voor Lightroom waarbij de kleuren nog beter ondersteund worden in RAW modus. Hierna hoop ik ook meer de kleuren functies te gaan gebruiken.
Compact contact
De compactheid en de OVF zorgt ook voor meer contact met je onderwerp. Als je met de Fuji X100 iemand portretteert heb je niet een enorm gevaarte voor je gezicht. Door de OVF blijf je ook echt oogcontact houden. Dit maakt het portreteeren veel intiemer.
Aanrader?
Deze camera is één van de beste camera's die ik ooit gekocht heb. Ik zou iedere opdracht aandurven met alleen deze camera. Tevens heeft Fuji een voorzetlens aangekondigd waarmee de de 23 je een 50mm (35equiv) kan creëren. Wat de camera nog veelzijdiger maakt! Kortom als je deze camera nog niet hebt, koop hem als het even kan!
Dansers, en 5D mkII vs Fuji X100
Zondag ben ik met 4 dansers van Djenz Factor naar Amsterdam geweest voor een locatie shoot. Omdat we redelijk mobiel wilde blijven had ik mijn gear redelijk beperkt tot een Eastpak Snapper rugzak met daarin:
- Canon 5DmkII (nog steeds mijn werk paard)
- Fuji X100 (mijn nieuwe liefde)
- Canon 24-70L 2.8
- Canon 430 EX II
- Setje gels
- Honl Grid
- Cactus V5 tranceivers
Verder nog mijn 5-in-1 reflector en een statief tas met een statief en de Wescott 28" Apollo softbox. Deze softbox is nu de basis voor mobiel portretfotografie.
Java-eiland
Het leuke van het de omgeving van het Java-eiland vind ik dat het diverse plekken bevat waar je kan fotograferen. Op een paar meter afstand gaan de gebouwen van oud naar modern. Tevens is het er vaak erg rustig. Je kan er dus erg op je gemak werken.
Werken met dansers
Tijdens fotografie sessies vind ik het belangrijk om een goede leuke sfeer te houden. Er moet ook gelachen kunnen worden en soms wat foto's puur voor de lol. Daarnaast is het met dansers extra op te letten dat de dansers goed opgewarmd zijn ook niet over vermoeid raken. Dan maar even een pauze of iets anders dan een blessure.
Voor de gene die nu denkt van als je de belichting goed instelt is het toch zo klaar? Nou, met dansers komt er een extra factor bij. Als je hem afdrukt en alles klopt, belichting, feeling sfeer, etc. Maar bijvoorbeeld de voet staat dans technische niet 100% goed moet de foto toch opnieuw.
Canon 5D mkII vs Fuji X100
Video
Camera: Tim Kockx, Montage: F. Knijn