Weekly photo, 22 February 2015
This morning i went to a river in Beauharnois where there is many Mallard Ducks that stays there all winter. I wanted to test an adapter that i bought last December but didn’t had a chance to try, it’s an adapter that let me use my Canon 400mm/5.6L on my Fuji X-E1, but i can only use it W/O. It was snowing, i like that atmosphere when photographing wildlife in winter. The Ducks didn’t let me very close so i photographed them farther away and made more of an habitat shot. The weather was not the best to test that combo but focus peaking helped nail the focus at this longer distance.
Taken at 1/100 sec. at f/5.6, ISO 1250, tripod.
Weekly photo, 11 January 2015
Didn’t had many occasion for photography this week but managed to get that one last Monday, it was -22°C before sunrise and -26°C with the windchill factor. I knew that along the Canal Soulange where there is those old wooden structures, the water froze on them and the surrounding vegetations.
Taken with my Fuji X-E1 and 18-55mm, tripod.
Weekly photo, 21 December 2014
This morning it was -15°C when i woke up, so i went on the shore of a river to photograph ice again before it melts in the coming days because it will be warmer and with rains on December 24th. As usual i got very close to the river, even fell on my butt in the cold water, by chance my winter pants are waterproof 🙂 I tried different angles and lenses, this is my favorite one and i converted it in B&W.
Taken with my Fuji X-E1 and Sigma 180mm/5.6 APO Macro at f/11, tripod.
Weekly photo, 13 December 2014
Not much time to shoot this week but got a photo on the shore of a Lake close to my work. Birds are staying later and later now, some even stay here that were flying South some years ago, warmer climate probably ?!?!
These are Great Blue Heron tracks in the snow and ice, i didn’t saw the bird unfortunately. I converted the photo in B&W and finally i like it better than the color version. Taken with my Fuji X-E1 and 18-55mm on a tripod.
Weekly photo, 06 December 2014
This week i was looking for leaves “On” or “In” the ice. One morning i was about to quit my search because i couldn’t found what i was looking for. Then i saw an Oak tree leaf that was partly frozen in the ice, i liked the dark and white pattern of the ice surrounding it.
Taken with my Fuji X-E1 and XF 18-55mm at 55mm, f/13, tripod.
Weekly photo, 30 November 2014
Yesterday, when i woke-up, it was -10°C and knew where i wanted to go to see if there was fresh ice along a river. As expected there was fresh ice on the rocks and moss in the river. I played with my camera in the water for 2 hours and got some nice photos, but this one is my favorite.
For this photo i was knee high in the river to set my tripod and get that angle. Taken with my Fuji X-E1 and XF 18-55mm at 39mm, 1/6 sec. at f/13, ISO 200, tripod.
Weekly photo, 22 November 2014
This week was not the most productive, i took some photos of ice and leaves but not what i was hoping for. I went to an Historical site near my home this morning, it was -5°C and very windy, windy days are difficult for photography unless you can take advantage of it. This site is on the shore of the St-Lawrence river, i was hoping to find some ice formations on the rocks in the rapids. There was some ice for sure but the best looking ice was farther from the shore in the river so i had to walk in the river to get there, i had to be careful not to slip on the icy rocks and on the mossy rocks that were in the water.
Since my tripod was set directly in the rapids and it was quite windy i pushed down on it during the exposure to prevent the vibrations from shaking my gear. Taken with my Fuji X-E1 and XF18-55mm at 55mm, ISO 250, 1/4 sec. at f/13, tripod.
Weekly photo, 16 November 2014
Finally we had some colder days this week, i was waiting anxiously for below 0°C temperatures for more opportunities, especially frozen waterholes and ponds. I like photographing leaves caught in ice, it’s a subject that you can find easily. This week photo was taken at a pond, what attracted me was the contrast between the pale leaves and dark water and ice. The 2 water drops were frozen on the leaves which added some interest.
Taken with my Fuji X-E1 and Sigma 180mm/5.6 APO Macro, at f/13, tripod.
Weekly photo, 09 November 2014
Taken with Fuji X-E1, Sigma 180mm/5.6 APO Macro, at around f/11, tripod.
Last Monday the temperature during the night dropped to -2°C, before going to work i stopped at a river to see if ice had formed on the vegetation and rocks. There wasn’t much ice on the rocks, not cold enough but on one rock there was some moss covered with ice. I used my 180mm Macro lens to get that close-up of the small moss, i like the color combination of the green moss and blue/purple water in the background.
Weekly photo, 02 November 2014
This week i found a new pond area which is along a dirt road along the highway close to my work. I’ve already went on that dirt road often but never walked the small trail that start somewhere along that road. I think i will certainly go next spring to photograph frogs, looks like a great habitat for Gray Tree Frog and Spring Peepers !
You’re lucky, you can’t smell the odor of rotten eggs that was in the air that morning, ponds often smell that.
Fuji X-E1 with XF 18-55mm, polarizer and tripod.
Weekly photo, 18 October 2014
I went to a small pond where i knew i could found some Green Frogs and sometimes Bullfrogs at this time of the year. In just a small part i found about 6 Green frogs and was able to get the portrait of this one posted here.
Fuji X-E1, Sigma 180mm/5.6 APO Macro, tripod.
Fuji XF 55-200mm, field review.
Telephoto zoom lenses are very popular because of their versatility and space saving compared to having several prime lenses to cover the same range. I’ve owned some of them in different mounts, so when i switched to Fuji i wanted to cover the maximum range with the minimum lenses. So i bought the 18-55mm and not long after i bought the XF 55-200mm because of it’s attributes (aperture ring, built quality and OIS) and IQ. Sure the XC 50-230mm is smaller and lighter but i wanted the better IQ and built of the XF 55-200mm.
I will be talking on how this lens performs in the field as a Nature photography telephoto lens, covering landscape, close-ups and some wildlife. Telephoto zoom lenses in that range are very useful in my photography, a big part of what i photograph is covered by the XF 55-200mm.
This was the first photo i took with the Fuji XF 55-200mm in the field. It was before sunrise and the grass on the right side of the frame was lit by the street lights. Lens set at 67mm, 85 seconds at f/10, ISO 200, tripod.
Here i isolated a part of a bigger waterfall with the lens set at 55mm and selected f/11 to obtain a long exposure to blur the water.
Handling
Currently i’m using it on my X-E1 and mostly on a tripod, i would say that this lens is the limit in size and weight that i would use on this camera, bigger than this lens and it would require an X-T1 with a grip (which i plan to buy eventually). One of the reason i went with Fuji is because they have designed their system like the old days with an aperture ring on the lenses and direct dials on their cameras. As already pointed often in reviews and by users the aperture ring can be accidentally knock off from the aperture you had selected, but i don’t think it’s too bad as i always check the info in the EVF or on LCD before shooting to see my settings. With some time now after using it in the field i’m used to the balance of the lens on my X-E1 and it’s not too bad after all, sure not the best combo but worth it.
The lens hood have some play when installed, i bought a JJC hood but it also have the same loose fit, so Fuji still have some work to do on the lens hood locking system. Another thing is the zoom ring that is not too smooth, it’s on the stiff side but i prefer that than having a zoom ring that is too easy to turn and having a lens that suffers from zoom creep …. i really hate zoom creep because i’m mostly a tripod shooter so i’m pointing the lens up or down quite often to get the compositions i want in my photography and i want a lens that keeps steady during the exposure. On the plus side about the Zoom ring, i really like it’s rubberized finish, easy to grip and to differentiate it with the focusing ring. I would have liked the focusing ring and aperture ring to be like the XF 14mm but i guess we can’t have it all !
IQ
The lens focuses relatively close at 1.1 meter which is about the same as the Pentax DA*50-135mm/2.8 and Canon 70-200mm/4 L that i was using before i switched to the Fuji X system. You can get some good “close-up” shots and still maintaining good IQ (see crop below), the lens also performs really well at normal and long distances, for a zoom this is very good indeed. Sure a good prime lens in the same range might resolve more details at wider apertures but the convenience of that zoom wins over ultimate sharpness. Up to now i like how the lens performs in terms of color rendering and sharpness. That lens have nothing to envy to other brands top quality lens, i’ve owned Pentax DA*50-135mm/2.8, Canon 70-200mm/4 L and Sony 70-300mm G Series Telephoto zoom lenses and the Fuji is as good as all of them.
XF 55-200mm at 200mm, f/11, ISO 200, polarizer, tripod, RAW.
Crop of the photo above after PP, not bad at all.
I was walking in an ATV trail after a rainy day and night when i found those Raccoon tracks , it was like walking in butter in that Clay soil ! Lens set at 105mm, ISO 200 at f/11, tripod, Polarizer.
Here is a Crop of the photo above, you can see the details in the leaves, so quite good even at f/11 and with a Polarizer.
This photo of a Chipmunk was taken from inside my house, i slowly opened my door just enough to pass the tip of the lens. It was a good test for OIS, sharpness at f/4.8 and Bokeh. Taken at 200mm, 1/28 sec. at f/4.8, ISO 640, handheld with OIS.
Here is a crop of the Chipmunk photo, not bad, i missed the focus on the eye just slightly.
The lens produce nice details of my younger girl’s face after a long day outside. This is a crop of the photo taken at 55mm at f/3.5, ISO 1000, handheld.
With Extension tubes
Well, when i bought it i was hoping to use my extension tubes with that lens to photograph Frogs when they are in the water and are difficult to get close. After using it on some occasions the results are not as good as i was thinking it would be. I tried the lens with my 2 extension tubes (with the 10mm or with both for a total of 26mm) to get closer focusing when photographing Frogs. The IQ in the center remains very good but even the in-focus areas in the borders and corners looks smeared, (see below the crop from the border of a photo of a frog) … btw the eye of the frog is perfectly sharp. I don’t know if it’s because the lens was designed to be close to the sensor are it doesn’t work well with extension tubes. I’ve never had such problems when using FF lenses with ext. tubes on my Pentax or Canon cameras, maybe it’s because it’s an APS-C lens or OIS and as the lens gets farther away from the sensor IQ of the corners suffers more ???
This adult Green Frog was hiding in the leaves in a shallow pond, as you can see it was in autumn. I used a 10mm extension tube, the lens was set at 190mm, at f/11, ISO 800, tripod. The Frog is sharp but because of the extension tube the borders and corners suffered and are not that sharp, they look smeared.
Here is a crop from the border that is in focus but looks smeared.
The next 2 photos of a small river near my home were taken on a cold morning (0°C), in fact it was our first time that we had frost on the ground during the month of September this year. It shows how useful is the XF 55-200mm for landscape photography because you can quickly change the composition, especially with fog it’s important to work rapidly because when the sun start to warm it up, the fog will quickly evaporate.
Taken at 55mm at f/11 on a tripod.
At 128mm, f/11, tripod.
Taken on a foggy autumn morning, it’s an Old Canal for boats that is now closed. I tried to keep the mood of the moment when i did my PP so i added some contrast but not too much. Taken at 86mm, f/9, ISO 200, tripod.
Same place as the shot above taken just the day after, nothing special but it was a good occasion to test lens flare, the lens did quite well and i would say that it is better than my Canon 70-200mm/4L was in those situations. Also taken at f/9.
This is the kind of photo i like to do, isolate a small part of the subject, the XF 55-200mm is a lens that is perfect for these shots. Taken at 200mm, 6.9 seconds, f/11, ISO 200, tripod, Polarizer.
To photograph those mushrooms growing on a dead tree my tripod was set at it’s maximum height and my lens zoomed to 200mm. I used an aperture of f/9.
Conclusion
For the price i paid (550$ Canadian in sale for a brand new one) i think it’s a great buy ! Fuji did an excellent job with that lens, a good compromise between IQ, size, weight and maximum aperture. It’s a lens that i really like and is doing very well in the field when i need some reach for my landscape photography but also “close-up” and some wildlife. I don’t know if i will switch to the new XF 50-140mm WR when it will be available because i think i would probably miss the gap between 140-200mm ….. i was missing that gap when i was shooting with my Pentax DA*50-135mm.
This lens might not be for everyone, some will find it too big and heavy for their taste or use, but for me it ticks most cases. I would recommend that lens to any Fuji users because it’s a versatile lens backed by a very good IQ and renders beautiful images.
This photo of the Rouge river taken on a cold foggy morning is one of the main reason i bought that lens, it’s to zoom-in to isolate part of the landscape. At 200mm, f/11, ISO 200, tripod.
The Rouge River, another beautiful autumn morning.
For some years now, i like to take a day off to drive the dirt road along the Rouge River in Grenville-sur-La-Rouge to photograph the colorful autumn display ! The night was cold (around 1 °C), clear and with calm winds, so everything was set for a good foggy morning over the river. I woke-up early since it’s a little more than an 1 hour drive from my home and arrived at least 45 minutes before sunrise.
For sure there was fog everywhere along the river and the surrounding mountains as well, great photo opportunities to come 🙂
The fog was very thick, at times i couldn’t see the shore on the other side of the river. Fuji X-E1, XF 55-200mm, tripod.
The light level was very low, i liked the trees hanging on the rocky shore. Fuji X-E1, XF 14mm, tripod.
Close-up of an Oak Tree seed amongst Cedar leaves and Pine needles in a rock crevice. Fuji X-E1, Tamron 90mm/2.8 Macro, tripod.
I always look on the ground for interesting subjects, i saw that there was a lot of Pine needles on the ground, so i looked around to find something and finally found those 2 Maple Tree leaves on needles in a shallow waterhole. Fuji X-E1, XF 55-200mm, tripod.
Along the road small rivers comes down from the mountains to finish in the Rouge river, i always stop at one of them for more intimate landscape of a river running in a forested area as well as some close-ups of leaves on rocks.
As you can see in the forest in the background, fog was also present in the forest. Fuji X-E1, XF 14mm, tripod, Polariser.
A vertical version of the same scene but this time i put a rock covered with leaves and Pine needles. Fuji X-E1, XF 14mm, Tripod, Polariser.
One of the thing i like to do in autumn is to explore the wet rocks in the river to find colorful fallen leaves. The rocks are very slippery, so you have to be careful while walking on them but it’s worth the risk. When setting a tripod in the flowing water you need to raise the ISO to get a faster shutter speed because the water causes vibration and your shots will be blurred. Fuji X-E1, XF 18-55mm, Tripod, Polariser.
Here the fog was very thick, i decided to do a B&W conversion since the color version looked almost B&W anyway. Fuji X-E1, XF 55-200mm, tripod.
As the sun got higher the atmosphere became warmer and the fog started to evaporate, from now on i had to shoot quickly before all the fog would dissipates.
The sun came out and the fog was quickly evaporating. Fuji X-E1, XF 55-200mm, tripod.
The fog is almost all gone, after i finished shooting those Aspen trees and got back to my truck it was completely gone. Fuji X-E1, XF 55-200mm, tripod.
After the Aspen photo i decided to head back to the small river in the forest to see if i could get some Macro and close-up shots of small subjects. There was many red Maple leaves fallen in a secondary shallow channel of the river, after some not so good photos i finally found a good composition.
I didn’t use my Polariser here because i wanted the fastest shutter speed and also keeping the reflections on the flowing water. Fuji X-E1, Tamron 90mm/2.8 Macro, Tripod.
My last composition of the day, 2 dead leaves on a rock with reflected yellow trees on the water in the background. I had some difficulties positioning myself and my tripod to get that one, water got into my knee high rubber boot ….. that water was so cold ! Canon 7D, 400mm/5.6L, a 20mm extension tube, tripod.
This was a fun and productive 5 hours photo session, i will go back for sure next autumn, i might go back in November when there is no snow but it’s cold enough that ice will have formed in the rivers making for new interesting subjects !
Weekly photo, 05 October 2014
I found this adult Green Frog in a shallow pond covered with autumn leaves, always good to photograph Frogs in different seasons.
Taken with Fuji X-E1, XF 55-200mm with a 10mm Extension tube, tripod.
Weekly photo, 21 September 2014
This week we had our first night with temperature at the freezing point (0°C), so in the morning there was some frost on the ground and fog in the fields near my house. I took that photo of a small river that is close to my home, i drive by that river everyday and i knew that on cold mornings fog is usually present over the river.
Fuji X-E1 with XF 55-200mm, tripod.
Weekly photo, 14 September 2014
Early this morning i went on a walk in a forested area near my home and found Mushrooms growing on a mossy part of the forest. I liked the sidelight on those 2 growing together.
Taken with my Fuji X-E1, Tamron 90mm Macro, tripod.
Weekly photo, 30 August 2014
This week is a long exposure photo of boats taken in Beauharnois before sunrise, the street lights were still “ON” so they put some light on the vegetations in the foreground.
Fuji X-E1 with XF 55-200mm on a Tripod exposure of 90 seconds.
Weekly photo, 23 August 2014
I was cutting the grass in my backyard when i saw a little fur ball running to hide himself under the cover of thick vegetation, it was a baby Cottontail Rabbit. I went inside to get my camera but when i was back the rabbit was not there anymore. I continued cutting my grass and suddenly 2 more little rabbit running again for cover, this time my camera was close and ready and i was able to capture the portrait of one of them. They were very small, around the size of my hand!
Taken with my Fuji X-E1 and 18-55mm lens.
Weekly photo, 27 July 2014
This week it’s an adult Gray Tree Frog that was hiding in a tree at the day camp of my older girls. I found it just beside the entrance, i even removed some weeds in front of the Frog to have a better view.
Taken with Fuji X-E1 and Vivitar 100mm/3.5 Macro, tripod.
My 1st Street Photography experience !
I’ve been a Nature photographer for the last 26 years but i’ve always liked what Street photographers were producing, especially in B&W. I recently bought a Fuji X-E1 because i wanted something smaller, it’s a camera that reminds me of the old rangefinder cameras often used by street photographers in the past. So i was tempted to try street photography, so i took my X-E1 with my 27mm and 18-55mm and headed for a town near my home with a boardwalk along a river where big boats are anchored. There is also a lot of restaurant and stores are all side by side so i was hoping for some interesting occasions.
I started with the 18-55mm because of the OIS which was useful around sunrise, i thought that i would use the 27mm when the light would be sufficient but i stayed with the 18-55mm because of it’s versatility …. maybe next time i will bring only the 27mm to force me to use it. It was difficult, it’s not easy to photograph peoples in the street and found that i didn’t had much time to compose/focus and set the aperture needed for the shot. Also i found it not easy getting close to peoples and take their photos, i will need more practice to find confidence at getting closer to peoples.
I liked the experience, it was fun and challenging to try a new photographic discipline, i will certainly continue to do it when i have time to get better at it.
Here are some of the photos i took this morning, all taken in RAW and converted to B&W in Silkypix and PS Element 12.
One of the first shot i took this morning.
Looking for glass bottles in the recycling bins.
Time to clean, kids had done drawings last night.
Waiting at the toilet cabinet.
This worker was taking a break while talking to a boat owner.
A beautiful and relaxing place to read the daily newspaper.
Weekly photo, 29 June 2014
This week it’s not a Frog shot that i’m posting 😉
I captured those Boats at sunrise, i liked the tranquility of the scene even if it’s not the most spectacular sunrise i’ve seen.
Taken with my Fuji X-E1, 18-55mm, tripod, some cropping on the foreground to cut distracting vegetation.
Weekly photo, 22 Jun 2014
This week it’s a photo of a Green Frog in a dark waterhole taken with a 14mm lens.
Taken handheld with my Fuji X-E1 and XF14mm.
National Geographic “Earth Explorer series” Holster bag 2342.
When i bought my Fuji X-E1 with the 18-55mm and 27mm i needed a smaller camera bag to carry that the camera would fit with one of my 2 lenses with accessories like a spare battery and SD cards. I wanted a camera bag that didn’t look like the regular camera bags, at first i wanted a waist bag but changed my mind and decided to go for a small shoulder bag style. I had two brands in mind, Billingham and National Geographic bags because of their look and materials.
Here is the link to the USA site, that bag was not available in Canada even if the others from the series are available, so i had to bought it in USA:
http://www.geographicbags.us/holster-small-for-mirrorless-camera-and-2-lenses
Here is the main site without the prices, but all the collections are there, some interesting products:
http://www.geographicbags.com/?loc_off=1
After some research on the web and thinking i finally ordered the National Geographic “Earth Explorer series” Holster 2342 bag. The material and look reminds me of the old backpacks that my grandfather was using while going hunting and fishing. The size was just about perfect to carry my Fuji X-E1 kit without ending taking too much gear, the bigger the bag you use you will always end up filling it and it’s finally heavier than you wanted it to be in the first place. If i need more gear i will use my Lowepro Inverse 100 AW waist bag which can holds a little more gear.
My goal was also to just enjoy using my kit like the old days of Manual focus cameras, old style bag, old style camera with my old manual cable release that i was using with my Pentax K1000 when i started photography. You might think that i’m crazy to put that much thought for just a camera bag but i wanted to have a different kind of experience when shooting with my X-E1 compared to when i’m using my Canon DSLR kit which is more of a plastic, modern feel and heavy to carry in the field.
Here is a short video i made with the bag and my Fuji X-E1 + 27mm:
http://s47.photobucket.com/user/leopold44/media/MVI_7419_zps87144440.mp4.html
I tried my X-E1 + 18-55mm, it fits with the lens pointing down, i had to remove the divider in the bag though, it’s the biggest and longest lens it will fit. So it’s best to use it with smaller lenses like the 27mm, especially if you want to bring a filter, spare batteries and SD cards. For just my X-E1 + 27mm it’s perfect, i was able to fit a Polarizer, SD cards, a spare battery and even fit it with my QR plate for my big Ballhead. It would be a great bag for the Pentax Q series cameras, you can certainly fit the camera with a lens attached and still be able to bring 1 or 2 lenses ! I was able to fit my Pentax K-01 body only, i’m sure it would also fit with either the DA40mm XS, DA40mm Ltd or even the DA21mm Ltd attached.
In the field the bag work really well, it’s comfortable since it’s small and the camera in it is small and lightweight as well. The camera is easily accessible when you need to get it out as well as the accessories in the front pocket. I like the zipper and flap that closes the bag, it’s a double protection. The material looks very tough, there will be no problem using that bag in the field for many years to come. The padding looks not as thick as the ones in my bigger camera bags from Lowepro and ThinkTank but since the cameras that fits in it are small and lightweight it’s probably more than enough to protect them. There is a rain cover available for the Earth Explorer series, i might buy it eventually if i see that i need more protection against the rain.
So this is my first impressions after a short time of using this bag, will certainly do an update later this year to see how it survive in the field.
Weekly photo, 08 June 2014
Frog season is great, we had good periods of rain, the water level in the small ponds is still high and there is a lot of Mosquitoes as well. This week i tried a more artistic rendering of this Green Frog.
Taken with Fuji X-E1 and 18-55mm, handheld with OIS activated.
steevemarcoux2 