#fuji X100T

5 Senses of the Fuji X100T, Thanks for 2015 & wish y'all Happy 2016 !

Thanks Fuji for all the amazing images & all readers / followers of my Blog for your interest and constructive comments - you've made 2015 such a great year for me ! Right now I'd like to wish y'all a fantastic, happy & successful New Year - may all your (not only photographic ;-) dreams come true ! Dreams ... ? Hey, what's that gotta do with photography and are you interested to discover the 5 "Senses" of the Fuji X100T ? Please read on ...

Shadows of transition - g'bye 2015, hello 2016 !

Dreams are made of images which often fade away when we wake up. They relate to important experiences in our lives, so sometimes we aspire to capture these images for eternity. Just like in photography, where we try to capture in our images the atmosphere, experiences and feelings of a moment in time, allowing us to enjoy and revisit them later !

Replacing all of my DSLR gear with the Fujifilm X100T a year ago (when I started this blog) has truly helped me a to improve my ability to capture such fleeting moments. The restriction to one lens / one camera has boosted my photographic vision & creativity, see below to discover why:

Flower power

Fuji X100T - 5 "Senses", or Key Attributes for Success:

  1. PORTABLE: Due to the X100T's small size & weight I can easily always take my camera with me, so I rarely miss out photographic opportunities ! The X100T has become like an extension of my hand & eye (now try that with a 4-5 lbs DSLR / 70-200 mm zoom combo !)
  2. SIMPLE: Having just one fixed lens (35 mm FF equ.) has greatly improved my ability to pre-visualize a scene even before lifting the camera to my eye, as I'd internalized the lens's field of view (like seeing with the camera's eye). It also saves me the dilemma of deciding on which lens to use (no more time wasted changing lenses / juggling lens caps and the added bonus of not having to bother with sensor dust or cleaning)
  3. INTUITIVE: The X100T's traditional user interface (aperture ring on lens, speed and ISO dials on top) allows me to check / modify the settings at one glance (w/o having to lift the camera to my eye or needing to look at the LCD). No time lost before / during the shoot by fumbling with menu's and buttons !
  4. DISCRETE: I found that my X100T never had an intimidating effect on people, in fact subjects rarely even realized their picture was being taken. The absolutely silent operation of this camera also helps a lot: Try shoving a massive DSLR in between you and your subject - tends to disconnect you from your scene and the subsequent "bang" of the mirror finishes the job by destroying any remaining intimacy ...
  5. QUALITY: The images coming out of this camera (especially the JPEG's) are simply stunning: Exposure, contrast, sharpness, definition, dynamic range, texture, depth, bokeh, etc. ... Fuji's f2/23 mm asph. / X-Trans sensor combo rocks ! The in-camera RAW converter is an additional asset for mobile post processing (see my previous blog posts on this topic) !

A new cup to fill in 2016 !

Sure, image QUALITY is a super important attribute but I've listed it last, because IMO if i wouldn't have had the first four attributes i'd only get perfectly exposed, sharp images of ... an empty space !

In addition to  this the Fuji X100T seems to have an additional "sixth sense" (success attribute no. 6), kinda like a personality or soul:

EMOTIONAL: A quality hard to describe in words ... The X100T's rangefinder design links back to the traditions and origins of photography, focused on making images. Many modern cameras, however come across kinda more like digital computers, designed to "scan" a scene rather than capture emotions ;-)

A gate ... to the past or the future ?

Ok, so I realize this kinda turned out to be a review of the Fuji X100T, but I prefer to not call it that way as I've focused more on attributes (or "senses" ;-) of the camera which have been instrumental in revitalizing my photography and filling it with life ! I hope this article helps some of you to experiment and find exciting photography opportunities in 2016 - please share your experiences & views in the comments below or by sending me a message from my "about" page !

Many thanks for visiting and the very best wishes to y'all for 2016 !

Sincerely Yours,

Hendrik

I hope you enjoyed reading this post - If you like you can support me by sending me a small donation via PayPal.me/hendriximages ! Helps me run this site & keeps the information coming, many thanks in advance !

 

Gotta love The Square, improved mobile workflow

The square has a magic quality - serenely balanced, a frame in perfect symmetry, having four equal sides and four equal angles, allowing the observer's eye to focus on the essentials:

The Holy Walk - in The Square!

Originally this image was captured in my X100T's native rectangular aspect ratio, but I never liked the unimportant areas left and right of the main motif. Cropped to square it looks so much better! Ok now, what about this "improved workflow" and what's it gotta do with this square business? Before I go into that, here another example benefitting from the attention focusing effect of the square:

The order - also in The Square!

Image post processing is normally independent of how I later want to use the image. The intended final image use and size do however Influence the level of output sharpening, cropping, etc. So I modified my workflow to separate these "finishing touches" steps from the actual image post processing:

  1. First I perform all image post processing (exposure, contrast, levels/curves, shadow/hilight treatment, etc.) in Photogene4 on the imported JPEG. This saves the non destructive image adjustments as metadata which can be rolled back / modified at any time
  2. After finishing post processing I export the resulting image as a TIFF (by selecting the appropriate export settings in Photogene4) on my iPad and copy it to a previously created "edits" album on my iPad (open 'Photos' App, go to 'All Photos' album, select latest saved TIFF image and 'Add To' the "edits" album)
  3. Back in Photogene4 I open the just saved TIFF from the "edits" folder and modify output size, output sharpening, cropping and adding my copyright logo, depending on the intended final image use (web, social media, blog, print, etc.). By pressing the 'original' icon I can revert to the post processed TIFF and change the output parameters. This way I can always keep a master image file (incl. post processing) in its dedicated "edits" album

Enjoying the late afternoon sun in Sardegna

Of course if you're planning to use a square output format it's wize to already apply the 1:1 aspect ratio to your camera's viewfinder so you can properly pre-visualize your image in camera!

Early Boat

With this closing image of tourists on the ferry looking forward to new experiences, I hope y'all enjoyed the read & found something which helps you in your photographic endeavors!

Please leave me a message below or send me an email from my "about" page if you've any questions, suggestions or ideas, many thanks for your visit here and wish y'all a great, fun and satisfying holiday season!

Best regards,

Hendrik

I hope you enjoyed reading this post - If you like you can support me by sending me a small donation via PayPal.me/hendriximages ! Helps me run this site & keeps the information coming, many thanks in advance !

Fuji X100T - Fly on the Wall!

In my DSLR days people resented me shoving that "Big Mean Photo Taking Machine" into their faces, but I felt it to be my god given right as photojournalist to do so! The resulting images however always came out kinda "staged", behavior & reality changed by my presence. Since I've downsized to my Fuji X100 I can feel much more like the proverbial "Fly on the Wall", unobtrusive, fast, silent! Please read on, if you're interested how!

Holy walk in Bologna

With a fixed lens camera I don't anymore waste time fussing over focal lengths & secure speed by zone focusing (letting the camera adjust auto ISO). This allowed me to capture above image in the spur of the moment!

The order

Also had only seconds to capture this one, of the friendly lady engaged in avid discussion with the waiter - no need to manipulate the scene or ask people to stage anything!

Enjoying the sun

This guy was enjoying the evening sun in Sardegna, when the other guy on the right suddenly appeared! In these situations the Fuji X100T's optical viewfinder (OVF) helps to predict the decisive moment, as you can see what's happening outside the actual frame & evaluate when the picture elements will come together harmoniously

Early boat

With this image of passengers wondering what the horizon will bring I close shop for today & hope y'all liked this post! All images were post processed on my iPad, using my mobile workflow described in previous posts. Please let me know your thoughts by leaving a comment below, or sending me a message via my "about" page! Many thanks for looking by & my best wishes,

kind regards,

Hendrik

I hope you enjoyed reading this post - If you like you can support me by sending me a small donation via PayPal.me/hendriximages ! Helps me run this site & keeps the information coming, many thanks in advance !