Fujifilm

Great New Firmware From Fujifilm, But The X-Pro2 Ain't Feelin' The Love

Fujifilm has released new firmware for the X-T2, X-Pro2, GFX and even (unexpectedly) the X100F. Unfortunately the X-Pro2 got a little short changed this time around and it ain't feeling the love! But hopefully the great peeps at Fuji will put this right soon. You can find the latest firmware and a full list of what's new from HERE. But here are a few of my favourites.

FRONT COMMAND DIAL ISO:

One great feature that's been added to the X-T2 is the ability to control ISO from the front dial. This one appeared first on the X100F and is really handy when you want to lock in aperture and shutter speed and use the ISO to make adjustments to exposure. I do a lot of jazz concert photography and I tend to have to shoot wide open and with the shutter speed at 1/125th (my preferred minimum SS). The ISO dial on the top of the X-T2 is great, but it means taking my left hand of the camera to make adjustments. The front command dial is easy to access and let's me keep both hands on the camera. This feature was not added to the X-Pro2.

REAR COMMAND DIAL BACK BUTTON FOCUS:

Another great one from the X100F that's been added to the X-T2 is the ability to press the rear command dial for back button focus. You can actually assign a variety of functions to the rear command dial switch. I find the AF/L button on the X-T2 a bit too far to the right, but I can't switch it with the AE/L button because I poke my thumb into my eye with that one (I'm a left eye shooter). So pressing the rear command dial to back button focus is a great option. Sadly though, this feature was not added to the X-Pro2.

OPTION OF 'ALL' ADDED TO AF MODE

This one was unexpected and a really welcome feature. By selecting 'All' in the AF Mode you can use any of the command dials to choose any of the AF Modes. We do this in the exact same way as we change the size of the focus point. Press the Focus Selector Lever (the joystick) to turn the focus point green. Now rotate either the front or rear command dial to increase the size of the focus point, which cycles like this:

  • 6 different sizes of single point
  • 3 different sizes of Zone
  • Wide Tracking (it then loops back to the smallest single point)

I have my AF Mode assigned to the bottom button of the D-Pad, but by using this new method, I could leave it AF Mode set to 'All' and free up that Fn button for something else. It's unexpected gems like this that make Fujifil so great, but guess what - this feature is not on the latest firmware for the X-Pro2.

CONCLUSION 

As far as I know, no other camera manufactures virtually give away new cameras through frequent firmware updates. That might seem like an exaggeration, but quite often it really does feel like a new camera. I'm looking forward to the X-Pro2 firmware engineer getting back from his holiday at Skegness and bringing all the latest features to the other flagship X-Series camera - the X-Pro2. 

One firmware request I do have for another camera in the lineup (even though it might be discontinued), is to fix a bug in the X70 firmware. When using the WCL, the manual focus scale disappears from the LCD, which is a problem when zone focusing.

Fujifilm X100F Review : Beauty And A Beast

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Based On A Pre-Production FUJI X100F

This review is based on a pre-production camera after two months of using it, but the production model probably won't be much different. I'm an official Fujifilm X-Photographer and I have owned each version of the X100, plus almost all of the other X-Series cameras. I shoot exclusively with the X-Series cameras and haven't used a DSLR is years. This review is based on that. The pictures of the camera on this post were shot by me (they are not the official promo shots). I used my X-Pro2 with the brilliant 35mm f2 lens and a single overhead umbrella. For the close shots, I used the smallest of the Fuji Macro Tubes (11).

DESIGN AND LAYOUT

Your opinion may differ from mine, but I think the X100F is the most beautiful camera I have seen in my entire life! It keeps the look of the original X100, but the lines are cleaner, sharper and the top plate now slopes from the upper to the lower level. This, more than any other camera, has that thing where you just want to pick it up and hold it in your hands.

The X100F now has a front command dial, A front fn button (on the OVF/EVF selector lever) and the focus assist light has been moved up to sit alongside the flash on the front of the top plate. My first thought when I unboxed it back in November was that it felt a little chunkier in my hands than my X100T, which is a good thing in my book.

The rear of the X100F has a similar button layout to the X-Pro2 so it's been so easy to shoot with both these cameras together without having to think too much. I do wish Fuji had put three buttons next to the viewfinder instead of two (the X-Pro2 has three). It would also be nice to use the Delete key as an Fn button while in playback mode (like on the X70) and even be able to use the Q button as an Fn button and have Q assignable to any of the Fn buttons. The best new feature on the back of the the F is the joystick. I'm so used to this now that I find it awkward when I use any of my older X-Series cameras. It's also great that this frees the D Pad up to be used as 4 fn buttons now (Drive + 3 more).

NEW FUNCTIONS

The X100F has been brought up to spec with the two flagship Fuji cameras, the X-Pro2 and the X-T2, which is pretty impressive in this much smaller camera. It has the same 24 megapixel sensor and processor, which seems to be the new standard in X-Series cameras and one I hope will find its way into the next version of the X70.

THE ISO DIAL

The ISO dial has been brough over from the X-Pro2, which some will like and some won't. I like it, but it could have benefited from having a shutter speed lock button (like on the X-Pro2) because it is easy to move the shutter speed dial by accident if you don't pull the dial up far enough. I didn't find this to be too much of a problem though. But thanks to the next feature, you don't even need to use the ISO Dial if you don't want to.

ISO COMMAND MODE

This is a big one that has been brought over from the X-T10. You can still use Auto ISO in the usual way, but if set to Command in the Buttons & Dials setup menu and the ISO Dial on the top plate is set to A, the front command dial becomes the ISO dial. This is ideal if you want to lock your aperture and shutter speed and have ISO as the only variable. We Need this feature in the X-Pro2 and X-T2. It would be nice to be able to lock this by pressing the front Command Dial switch.

C = 5 STOPS OF EV COMPENSATION

Like on the X-Pro2 and X-T2, the X100F has the letter C on the Exposure Compensation Dial which extends EV Comp to 5 stops. Simply select C and then use the front Command Dial to scroll through 5 stops in either direction.

So what happens if both ISO and EV Comp are set to be controlled by the front command dial? In this instance the front command dial switch is used to toggle between ISO and EV Comp.

DIGITAL ZOOM AND CONVERSION LENSES

Both of the currently available conversion lenses, the WCL-100 (28mm) and the TCL-X100 (50mm) work with the X100F, but at the time of writing this review there is a second version of both lenses on the horizon. I have no idea how they differ from the ones I have, because both of the original conversion lenses perform brilliantly.

These lenses have apertures of f2 wide open (just like the fixed lens) and there's no loss of light like you would get with a teleconverter. But if you don't want to carry extra lenses (having a single fixed lens is after all the beauty of this camera), the X100F inherits the Digital Zoom function from the X70. By twisting the focus ring (in auto focus mode) you have the option of 50mm, 70mm and the cameras standard 35mm field of view. This is not an optical zoom, but there is some sort of magical upscaling going on that keeps the quality high. I'd still rather use one of the conversion lenses, but the Digital Zoom can be really handy sometimes. The viewfinder displays either 50 or 70 in a small box at the upper side, which changes when you have the camera set to Tele Converter Lens (72mm & 100mm using the digital zoom) or Wide Converter Lens (41mm & 58mm).

It's worth mentioning here that the Digital Zoom feature won't work in RAW, so you have to set the camera to JPEG only or the focus ring does nothing. Another point would be that when the camera is set to Manual Focus Mode, the focus ring obviously won't be used for Digital Zoom. The feature will still work, but you will need to with to AF adjust Digital Zoom with the focus ring and then switch back to MF.

There are 4 Control Ring Settings (focus ring). STD or Standard (changes the default option according to the shooting mode), White Balance, Film Simulation and Digital Zoom. Standard and Digital Zoom pretty much do the latter, but it would be nice to have a fifth option of OFF. A workaround for this is obviously to shoot in RAW+JPEG so that the control ring does nothing.

BATTERY

The NP-95 battery from the previous three X100 models has been replaced by the same NP-W126 that the X-Pro, X-T and X-E series uses, which is a great thing if, like me, you tend to cary more than one X-Series camera with you. I haven't noticed much difference in the amount of shots I get out of a single battery, but I have been using the F on high performance. Check Fuji's specs for more info on battery life.

CONCLUSION

I hate to state the obvious, but the X100F is the best X100 camera so far. The X100F,  X-Pro2 and X-T2 have jumped so far ahead of all the other X-Series cameras that I'm now in the process of selling both my X-T1's and probably my X-E2, in favour of the X100F, X-Pro2 and X-T2. I'm not sure what the fate of my X100T will be yet.

If you own any of the X100 cameras, from the original to the S and the T, it is a no brainier. Buy the X100F (if you can afford to) and you will not be disappointed. F is for Fourth, but it could just as well be for Fast or even another F word :o)

I think the X100F is of close to perfection. Obviously we all have our own preferences to how we setup our cameras and Fuji have made their cameras super customisable, from the Q Menu to My Menu and lots of Fn Buttons. But if Fuji are reading this post, I would be doing them a miss service if I didn't mention a few firmware updates for the future that would make this camera out of this world.

MY WISH LIST FOR FUTURE FIRMWARE

  • Q Button as an assignable Fn button.
  • Delete button as an Fn button in shooting mode (like the X70).
  • Pressing the front command dial to lock ISO in Command Mode.
  • Ability to toggle ISO Auto & Command Mode on any of the Fn buttons (not just in the menu).
  • Ability to put ISO Auto & Command Mode in My Menu
  • The ability to disengage the Control Ring function.
  • Be able t use the front Fn button to toggle between digital zoom settings with each press 50 -70 -35 -50...
  • More options for assigning things to the front command dial (on all Fuji cameras).
  • Swap the functions of pressing the rear command dial and the joystick (i.e. put Focus Check on the joystick).

LAST WORD FROM ME

The X-Pro2 and the X-T2 are the dual flagship models, but I personally see the X100F as a 3rd flagship. The flagship of the compacts.

LINKS TO OTHER X100F POSTS

 

Fujifilm X100F As A Studio Portrait Camera

All pictures taken with a pre-production Fuji X100F

Most people might not think of the X100 series cameras as portrait or studio tools. For a start, the 35mm field of view is not the best focal length for portraits (unless you're aiming for environmental portraits of course). The small size of the camera can also be deceiving and not something that would come to mind for studio work. But as you will see in this post, the X100F is very capable in a variety of styles in photography. 

For this shoot with my daughter Janel, I used the TCL-X100 teleconverter lens to switch the X100F from 35mm to 50mm, which takes it into a more suitable focal length for portraits. Don't forget to set the camera to TCL mode in the menu. I have assigned it to an Fn button, but My Menu is a good place for it too. It's worth pointing out that at the time of writing this post, there are version 2 of the conversion lenses on the horizon. I don't know yet what the differences are from the original ones, but it might be something to keep in mind if you're thinking of buying the TCL (50mm) or the WCL (28mm).

I used a single Bowens Streamlite 530 daylight balanced fluorescent light with the diffuser sock attached and a Lastolight background. Hair and makeup was handled by my wife Fe and after shooting the first few pictures, Janel grabbed Fe's hat and started to pose with it. We then took a peace of black velvet from my lighting bag and wrapped it around her for a darker look. Janel has been my model all her life, so she just moves and poses without having to think about it. She's a natural!

I also used a Color Checker Passport to set a custom white ballance, but I still felt it was a little too warm. I shot RAW + JPEG, but everything you see here are the JPEG's. I used Single Point Auto Focus for the full shoot, but aperture, shutter speed and ISO were all set manually. 

When the original X100 was released with the fixed 23mm lens (35mm FF), some people complained that it was a disadvantage. I never subscribed to this point of view and felt that it was an advantage in some situations and that shooting with a single focal length can make you a better photographer. But there's no denying the two conversion lenses (28mm and 50mm) opened the X100 series up into a system and three times more capable.

The X100F is a real joy to use for shooting portraits. The quality is on a par with the X-Pro2 and X-T2, which means it's as good as any DSLR. I'd like to end this post with a couple of screenshots from Lightroom. What you see below is every picture taken on this shoot. The 13 black and whites you see were shot in camera with the Acros film simulation. There were a couple of shots where Janel moved and I missed focus, but other than that, each shot was usable. I'm looking forward to a lot more portraiture with the X100F.

UPDATE 28th Nov 2017

Jeremy asked in the comments about using the TCL-X100 with the X100F's Digital Zoom feature, which would take the focal length up to 100mm and producing a more natural shape to the face. Thisis indeed true, but at the cost of losing shallow depth of field. This wouldn't matter when shooting against a plain background at f8, but it would if you were shooting at f2.8 to produce a nice bokeh. Here's an example.

I used my feed to make sure Janel's head was roughly the same size in the frame

I used my feed to make sure Janel's head was roughly the same size in the frame

Fujifilm X100F: Tommy Smith - Return To The Mausoleum

I was honoured when the good people of Fujifilm asked me to be part of the Pre-Production testing of the new X100F camera. As a documentary photographer, I've been working on a long term Jazz project for the past 3+ years which has gained a bit of attention recently. It also seemed like a good subject for this X100F assignment, which I had to produce still photographs and a short film.

STEVEN HAWKES

Rather than bring someone up from the south all the way up to Scotland, I suggested to Fuji that I would make the video in partnership with my good friend Steven Hawkes. An interesting fact is that I met Steven because of the original X100. I had reviewed the X100 on my blog and posted many pictures and articles. So when Steven searched the internet looking for information on the camera before he bought one, he found my website. But instead of using the comments section or emailing me, he decided to use the phone. It turned out we were only a few miles from each other, so I asked if he would like to see the camera in the flesh and we met for a coffee. He did buy the X100 after that and we stayed in touch and became really good friends, meeting for coffee often and even going out shooting now and then.

Steven also has a health obsession for video and shoots corporate promo films, so he was the obvious choice when it came to shooting the X100F film.

TOMMY SMITH

Tommy is a jazz saxophonist, composer, band leader and educator. He is Head of Jazz at The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and has a list of accomplishments that defy his age. Without Tommy, my jazz project would probably never got off the ground. I was honoured to have been part of his recent composing and recording project with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, producing pictures for the CD and even on the front cover of Jazzwise magazine.

When I told Tommy that I wanted to make a film based around jazz for a pre-production camera, he planted the seed in my brain to use The Hamilton Mausoleum as the location. I had been thinking more about one of Tommy's gigs, but the Mausoleum was a terrific idea. Tommy has a connection with this iconic building as he recorded an album called 'Into Silence' many years before. The building has one of the longest reverbs in Europe and that made it the perfect place for a solo saxophone piece.

HAMILTON MAUSOLEUM

I contacted the extremely helpful folks at The Hamilton Mausoleum the next day and got things rolling. I wasn't sure if I could hire an iconic building like this, but I did and it didn't break the bank either. Even before there day of the hire, Steven and I would meet outside the Mausoleum and shoot all the external scenes that feature in the film. It was winter and frosty outside. We froze our asses of during these shoots, but it was Tommy who suffered the most for our art.

On the day of the shoot, the interior of the Mausoleum was colder than it was outside. I was like being in a fridge and Tommy wore a suit and a pair of leather shoes. I also play saxophone, so I can testify that when it's cold, a sax is not an instrument you want to be holding! Tommy's feet and hands must have been extremely painful for the two hours we kept him there, but he's a pro and didn't complain once.

EDITING THE FILM

Editing proved to be a difficult job. Unlike a regular video edit where you cut to a piece of music used in the background, Tommy played live, so what you see and what you here are from the same shoot. Editing to live music is filled with many problems. But I think Steven and I pulled it off and we're both happy with the results. But the most important people I hope are pleased with the film are of course Fuji and Tommy. Steven and I set out to make something a little different from the average promo film. We think we have, but the viewers will decide.

The 53mm Interview

Five more members of The Kage Collective have taken over the 53mm website this month with a host of interviews on how we use our Fuji 35/1.4 and 35/2 lenses (53mm in full frame terms). Kevin Mullins had already completed the interview previously, but this month Patrick La Roque, Bert Stefani, Robert Catto, Vincent Baldensperger and myself have tackled Iain Palmer's list of questions and I hope you find our answers quite diverse.

So make yourself a coffee, stick on some background music and have a Kagefest on us at www.fiftythreemm.com.

Fuji X-T1 & Bowens Streamlite 530 Portraits

I have around thirty head shots to do this week and I want to use a really simple 'one light' setup that I could see exactly what I was going to get straight off. I would normally use a multiple speedlight setup for this kind of location shoot, but space and time are tight. So I opted to use a single Bowens Streamlite 530 constant light. The Streamlite series use daylight balanced florissant bulbs, five of them in the case of the 530 or 3 in the Streamline 330. But I thought it would be a good idea to test the setup before the actual shoot as I will need to hit the ground running. would one Streamline be enough? So I enlisted my kids to model for my. That's why photographers have kids...right? I'm not sure what background I want to use, so I pulled out three of my favourites from Lastolite. I chose the Washington/Dakota, White/Grey and the Black Velvet. I shot all of the pictures below with an X-T1 and the 35mm f1.4. The Bowens Streamlite had all five bulbs switched on. I shot in JPEG with the following settings:

  • ISO: 400
  • Shutter Speed: 1/125th
  • Aperture: f2.8, f3.6 & f4
  • Film Simulation: Classic Chrome
  • Noise Reduction: -2
  • Sharpness: +2
  • Highlights: -1
  • Shadows: 0
  • Colour: +2
  • Dynamic Range: 200
  • White Ballance: Auto

All pictures received +10 Clarity and +10 Contrast in Lightroom, and a slight vignette was added to the ones shot against the plain grey background. To be honest, I could have used them straight out of camera, but it's ingrained in me that I have to do something to them. But it's great to be at a point with digital cameras like the Fuji system that we could actually use JPEG's straight out of the camera.

Kage Collective :: A New Direction

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Today, Friday 15th of January 2016, we launch a new direction for The Kage Collective website. Although there's always a lot going on in the backgroung everyday between the eight members, uploading content has been a bit sporadic and we haven't always produced as much as we hoped. So as a way change all that and to give us a kick up the backside and give our followers more quality content, more often, we have decided to take the website in a new direction. Today we launch our new monthly online magazine style format that will be updated on the 15th of each month and have a number of new essays, an interview, a review and a favourite shot of the month from each of us. This is new to us and it's possible that we may introduce more things in the coming months too. But don't hang around here, go see all that's new at Kage Collective by clicking HERE.

p.s. Don't forget that we have a free ebook called Under A Vagrant Sun that you can download from the Kage website or by clicking HERE.

Fujifilm XF 35mm F2 R WR Lens

What is the point of the 35mm f2? We already have the 35mm f1.4, one of the three original XF lenses that were released alongside the X-Pro1. Not only that, the 1.4 version is one of the best 50mm equivalent lenses produced. Ever! It's beautifully smooth but super sharp picture quality is truly stunning and even after the long list of first class lenses released over the last few years, the 35mm f1.4 is still one of my favourite Fuji lenses.

So what about the new 35mm f2 with it's tapered front end? Well it's not quite as good looking or bright as it's older brother, but this scrawny lad is quicker & less shifty. Lenses that taper in at the front end always look a little strange to me and I actually think this one looks better in silver (more like an old Leica lens). Don't get me wrong, it's a cool lens and feels a lot smaller than the f1.4 version. Where that tapper comes in handy is with the optical viewfinder of the X-Pr1 (and hopefully it's successor). If you press your eye right up to the viewfinder, you can barley see the lens just at the corner, but it's nowhere near the frame lines. The supplied plastic lens hood is very small and there's even an optional one that is more like the X100 hood.

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Performance wise this new 35/2 is way ahead of the older lens! Focusing is way quicker, smother and quieter. Focusing is also internal, so no front end popping in and out like your Granny doing the Hokey Cokie. Aperture ring is tight and is the way all Fuji lenses should be. In fact, if you shut your eyes you would swear you're cracking a safe. The focus ring is also tight and smooth and has just the right amount of travel IMO. It's a shame that the focus ring is continuous and doesn't stop at either end like the 16mm or 23mm does. It's also a real shame that it doesn't have the push/pull clutch focus ring like the 14, 16 and 23mm lenses have. Oh and as this is a great lens for street photography, a hyper focal distance guide at the front end of the lens would have been great. I would much rather the front of the lens were bigger if it meant we had those features of the wide angle lenses.

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So if I already own a 35mm f1.4, why would I buy the slightly slower f2? I have a few reasons. The first is that I think this will be a fantastic lens for street photography. The Aperture ring is tight enough that I can set it and be fairly sure it won't be knocked off. The focus ring is really smooth when using manual focus. Speed wise, I very rarely shoot street wide open, so there won't be a problem with this being an f2. The tapered front end is also even less threatening to people on the street.

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A close crop of my daughters eye from the previous image

A close crop of my daughters eye from the previous image

I tend to have one of two bags with me at all times. I have my small every day walking around and street photography bag and I have my working bag with two X-T1's and five or six lenses (I'll do a post on what's in each bag in the coming weeks). I like to have a 35mm lens in my walk around bag, but I constantly forget to put it in my working bag and only realise when I reach in there for it, and usually when I really need that focal length. No room to back up for the 56mm, so I end up shooting a portrait with the 23mm. Not ideal! But now I can keep a 35mm in each bag. Nice!

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So if you don't already own the f1.4 version, which 35mm should you buy? It's quite an easy answer really. If you don't need that extra stop of the f1.4 then the f2 is the one to buy. Apart from losing that one extra stop of light, the new 35mm f2 has everything going for it and that's coming from a guy that absolutely loves the original 35mm f1.4.

Fujifilm XF 90mm f2 Review

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I had instant gear lust when the 90mm was announced. A full frame equivalent to a 135mm f2 is probably the ultimate portrait lens for great compression and beautiful shallow depth of field. But as usual, in the space between gear announcements and actual release, my brain takes over and starts to through in a bit of sense to the mix. I already have a 16, 18, 23, 35, 56, 16-55, 18-55 and 50-140mm. Plus the two conversion lenses for the X100T. Do I really need another lens?

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But when I was asked recently to write some posts for Fuji's blog about my favourite lenses, I made the mistake of mentioning that I didn't own a 90mm and was on the fence about getting one. That was a bad idea, because Fuji then sent me a 90mm to try out.

My current lens lineup, which is almost all of the XF series minus the 14, 27, 56 APD, 10-24 and 18-135mm.
My current lens lineup, which is almost all of the XF series minus the 14, 27, 56 APD, 10-24 and 18-135mm.

I setup the shot above to show the difference in size between the 90mm and other lenses in the XF range. My lenses tend to live in different bags, so I was a little shocked to see them all together like this. I only owned five lenses when I shot Nikon, but as you can see from the picture above, I have a lot more Fuji glass. I have also owned the 14mm and 60mm, which I replaced with the 16mm and 56mm. I like my lenses to be as fast as possible and tend not to use anything slower than an f2.8 because I shoot a lot of things in low light.

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So, as I don't live on the Moon, I knew what the 90mm looked like and I knew it was sharp. To be honest though, I've shot with almost all of the XF lenses and every single one of them was sharper than any lens I've shot with from any other brand. Lets face it, Fujifilm make amazing cameras, but their lenses are on another level again! They set the bar high with the 35mm f1.4 back when they introduced the first of their compact system cameras, the X-Pro1, but have consistently, not just matched, but bettered that lens. That's no mean feat, because the 35/1.4 was and still is about the best full frame 50mm equivalent on the market.

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The obvious use for the 90mm would be for portraiture. If you're a traditional wedding photographer and love those shallow depth of field outdoor portraits, you will absolutely love this lens! I shot some studio portraits with it and loved the look and performance. The problem I had was that I didn't have enough room to back off from my subject, so I ended up with mostly head shots and to be honest shot most of the session with the 56mm f1.2. But if you have plenty of room in your studio or shoot a lot outside, then this could be the portrait lens for you.

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The Edinburgh Festival was in full swing when I received this test copy of the 90mm, so although a 135mm focal length is 100mm more than I would typically shoot street with, I gladly popped the 90 onto my X-E2 and jumped on a train to Edinburgh. I should say here that my perfect camera to use with the 90mm is the X-T1 with a battery grip, which is what I used for the portrait session. That setup is the perfect combination of grip and balance due to the physical length of the lens. But I realized recently while on a trip to Paris, that I don't like to shoot on the street with the DSLR shape of the X-T1 and much prefer the boxy rangefinder style of the X-Pro1 and X-E2. My favorite street camera is the X100T by a long way, but I would need a saw and a couple of screws to attach the 90mm to that :o)

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the 90mm was a blast to shoot on the street. It took a bit of getting used to everything being so close when I brought the camera up to my eye, but as the day went on I just enjoyed it more and more. Have a look at my street photography blog at 35mmStreet to see a lot more of these pictures from the Edinburgh Festival.

Another thing to note here is that these were all shot using the Classic Chrome Film Simulation. I love the way it renders colour in a desaturated Kodachrome look. I've been shooting Classic Chrome almost exclusively now for about three months and I love it! Post processing on these is minimal. A bit of Contras, a bit of Clarity and a Vignette now and again. But I have no problem using JPEG's straight out of camera too.

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The 90mm is such a great lens and certainly in the top three of the XF series. The 56mm is an amazing portrait lens, but the 90mm takes it to another level again, due to the compression of the longer focal length and the out of focus blur is even smother too. There were a couple of times where the subject moved outside my focus point and the lens felt as though it took a while to focus all the way in one direction and then back to where it locked on. This happened very little and to be fair, it focused wonderfully on subjects moving toward me. It nailed focus and faces were pin sharp, even at f2. It doesn't focus as well in really low light situations as the 16, 23, 56, 50-140 or even the 35mm. This surprised me a bit, considering it has the latest technology, including triple focusing motors. Although I'm talking extreme low light here, it is the only point that makes me hesitate about pulling the trigger on this lens and adding it to my kit.

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I've noticed that the latest lenses I have bought, (the 16mm & 16-55mm) have a stiffer aperture ring and I'm glad to say the 90mm does too. A lot of the other lenses aperture rings are a bit loose and easy to knock to another position without knowing. Even my 50-140mm f2.8 is rather loose. Build quality on the 90mm is exactly the same as the other XF primes, which is very nice. I must say that it's not the best looking Fuji lens, looking a little bland due to its longer length. I think the award for best looking lens would have to go to the 16 or 23mm, due to the clutch mechanism and slightly wider front end. Speaking of front end, the 90mm has a 62mm filter thread. It's a shame there are so many filter sizes between the XF lens lineup, but it wouldn't be possible to have them all the same with so much variation in lens sized due to physics.

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I had one of my regular jazz shoots the weekend before sending the 90mm back. This time round it featured US tenor saxophonist Benny Golson (remember him from the Tom Hanks movie 'The Terminal"?) The venue was dark and a challenging situation for any lens. I love the look I was getting. The shallow depth of field and the compression are great for music photography. It did hunt for focus a couple of times, but like I said, it was pretty dark.

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CONCLUSION

I'm a bit torn with the 90mm f2. Do I need it? No. Do I want it? Yes. Although it's not the best lens for focusing in low light situations (by low light, I mean dark), it is an amazing piece of class! It possibly produces the best looking pictures from any of the X Series lenses. Certainly the smoothest, creamiest in shallow depth of field terms. It does take up a lot of room in a camera bag and it's not a lens I would take to every shoot. But when the job calls for a 135mm focal length, the 90mm f2 is just an amazing piece of kit that delivers wonderful pictures every time. Maybe I don't need it because I already have the 50-140mm f2.8, but the 90mm is physically smaller and a little faster (aperture wise). I'll wait to see how much I miss it when it's gone back to Fuji, then decide if one will join my lineup.

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These Kings. These Subterraneans

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My good friend and Kage Collective accomplice Patrick La Roque never ceases to amaze. Can there be no end to this man's talents? Just where he finds the time, I don't know. But on top of everything else, he's only gone and produced an outstanding multimedia extravaganza called 'These Kings. These Subterraneans.'. Not only is this Patrick's second e-book (1 eye Roaming is HERE), but he's also wrote, recorded and performed an album of music to go with it. This isn't just a bit of music that's been thrown together to go with some pretty pictures. The album stands up on it's own with content and production that would sit well on any music store.

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But let's not forget, Patrick is a photographer and if you follow his work you will know he has a unique style and vision. He also has a gift when it comes to words. A modern day poet who starts where Jim Morrison left off with American Prayer, takes up the torch and runs. These Kings. These Subterraneans was born out of a difficult family situation that Patrick has been going through for a while and that's what makes this work so strong.

Click HERE to visit the dedicated page on Patrick's site where you can find out more and download the full multimedia content. Incidentally, this is the first project out under the new Kage Editions umbrella.

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