The Fuji X100s Testing Continues
(Computer situation is not allowing me to upload images sorry see images here)

Hey there, thanks for taking time visit today. I have been testing the FujiFilm x100s for three days now and this camera is great but it has a few quirks. First off this thing eats batteries like no other. The good news is the batteries are cheap compared to a standard DSLR battery. I think the problem is the LCD and the EFV (electronic viewfinder) switch back and forth taking turns being on. There are several display modes that you can choose from, but one of the digital displays are always on, and this drains the battery. Also there is a standard and performance mode, in the performance mode this camera drinks power. Lastly the in camera metering system is constantly adjusting the aperture to read light (even in AV mode). The aperture movement in the x100s is known as aperture dancing, not only does it drain power, it can affect the time it takes to make a picture. Remember every camera has quirks and you have to learn to work around them.

Since the X100s was the only camera I brought with me on vacation. Also the fact I received it directly from FujiFilm the day before I left for vacation means I only have the single battery. I got about three hours of use before it was dead. I made 355 Raw+Jpeg images in high performance mode. The session started during our morning trip to the beach then on the San Diego Zoo before the batteries pooped out (about three hours). The batteries can be had from Fuji film for $59.00 or you can get aftermarket for $6-$10 bucks. These batteries do not have an information chip in them so they are way less than my Canon LP-E6′s. I think I am going to buy three extras so I am never run out of power again. I plan to keep one in the camera, two in my card wallet (they are tiny) and one on the charger (advice via David Hobby).

One last thing about the camera/battery issues. The fact that it drinks lots of power isn’t really a problem. What is a problem is when the low battery indicator shows up. You will be shooting and you’ll see a red low batt warning, it will have three bars on it, then all of a sudden the camera goes dead. I think this is something that Fuji should address via firmware.

I am very glad to own this camera. If you do your part, this camera will make some amazingly sharp images. Also the way it renders Depth of Field is wonderful. I find myself shooting manual focus which is amazing. There are manual three focus assist modes. I prefer the split prism, and sometimes the focus peaking. I do believe the focus peaking should not be a white overlay, it should be red. Another thing I love about this camera are the film modes. I have always loved Velvia film and this camera does a wonderful job when in the Velvia film mode.

So far it’s been a lot of fun working with this new tool. I am really loving the files it creates, they are basically noiseless images, and are super sharp. Below are just a few of the images I was able to make. Thanks for taking time to visit today. Sincerely, Thomas Shue

The first day with the Fuji x100s

Hi guys, I want to thank you for taking time to visit my blog today. Today’s post is hopefully going to be a short one. As you may already know I’m on vacation but I still want to make a post and am trying to do so with meager means.

I got on the road early and it was a long trip, but I was able to take the Fuji out and put it through its paces. First off the camera is super tiny and I have these big hands, so I am fumbling around a little bit with trying to set up and use the buttons. This camera doesn’t operate like a standard DSLR and everything about it is completely new to me.

Today was basically a trial by fire. I did the to the manual little bit and I have looked at a few online tutorials however with that said this camera is not an easy camera to learn. Working with in optical viewfinder in the bright Sun is a real tough thing to do. The the camera has several options and combinations of view finder, optical viewfinder and electronic viewfinder as well as the LCD. In the bright sun, it makes an extremely challenging task to judge exposure, so you absolutely must trust the histogram. For without it, you are doomed.

The next challenge was and still is knowing exactly when the frame is captured. There seems to be a slight delay from when you press the shutter and the actual image is captured by the sensor. Capturing the decisive moment was not so decisive for me today.

I can say when I am lucky enoght to do my part, this camera makes an incredible image. I have zero doubt that the reason I am having difficulty with just picking up the camera and making keppers is nothing more then a standard ESO problem (ESO=equipment superior to operator).

The timing delay thing is a problem that I wish I could easily figure out. I get focus lock on half press, then fully press to capture the image thinking all is fine, but the image is blurry and is not in the same spot I composed it. This means I moved the camera before it had made the capture. I am thinking to myself, the movement must be parallax error adjustment, but why the motion blur. A 35mm lens at 1/500th should never have motion blur, but I sure do. So I believe there is somthing I am just missing here.

The manual is hundreds of miles away so I am on my own. I love this camera so far, it has been a challege, one that I have no plans to back down from. I am completely confident this camera will be with me until it breaks from too much use.

Sorry I do not have any images for you today. I have no internet acess for my laptop, so I typed this post on my EVO 4G LTE. Tomorrow I will have access so everything will return to normal, kind of. Rememer I am on Vacation. Take care and have a great day, Sincerely, Thomas Shue

With The Fuji X100S, My Mirrorless Adventure Starts Today

Well the time has come for me to put the FujiFilm X100s to the test and welcome it to my photographic tool kit. First off I want to say these darn cameras are impossible to get. I was lucky enough to get my hands on one after 20 emails or so to a friend who is high up enough to get things done at FujiFilm directly. I hope all my pestering didn’t do any harm, but I have to say, so far it was all worth it.

This post is not a review, it’s a post to show how huge of an impact using a mirrorless camera like this has on the size of your overall kit. First off this camera has a fixed lens and it’s super tiny. The camera has a leaf shutter lens and can sync with off camera flash at 1/4000 and does so with very little light loss. Try that with most DSLR’s, it equals fail. Also the speedlights become small studio strobes because of the negligible light loss at these extreme shutter speeds. Most of all what I love about this camera is the size of the lighting kit that can be used to support this camera. I have set up a two light kit with a stand, a 43″ softbox (the orb), two pocketwizards, a justin clamp, two speedlights a tripod, gels and batteries. The entire kit fits in a single tripod bag. Anyone that knows me, this is a super tiny kit because I always drag a huge kit around. Heck, my back is super excited about it.

The X100-s is a rangefinder so it means there is a viewfinder but it’s on the side of the camera. This means when you shoot, if you’re right eye dominant you can stay engaged with your surroundings as well as your subject. The reason is because your face is not covered up my a huge camera. Also the small size of this camera means I will always be able to have a professional camera in my pocket. I did steal an idea from David Hobby. What he did was put black Gaff tape on most of the body and put on a scratched up lens hood (mine’s on order) to make the camera look like an old dog. All of the flashy logos, and big lenses say steal me. My new X100S looks like an old pair of shoes. When my five-year old daughter saw it today, she asked me where did I get that old camera. That black Gaff tape really does the trick, what a great idea, thanks David.

My vacation starts in the morning, I am going back to Cali, Cali, Cali… at least I think so Anyway, like I said, I plan to put the new camera to the test. I have been doing lots of homework on this camera for the past month or so. Even with all the time invested in learning, this camera is not an easy one to just pick up and start using. It’s going to take some time, and at least all of you will get to come along for the ride as I learn a brand new camera system. The good thing is, you might find out if a mirrorless system is something you might want to consider.

I made a video showing you the new kit. I hope you find it interesting, I also hope you have a great day. Sincerely, Thomas Shue

Old Zuiko Glass Is Incredible On A DSLR

Hey folks, today I want you to share with you a little hidden treasure in the lens world. It’s the Olympus OM E. Zuiko Auto-T f3.5 135mm manual focus lens. First I want to start off by saying Olympus has been making some of the best lenses that have ever been made in the history of lenses. Olympus has been making a line of glass called Zuiko for decades and I have been using it since I got my first OM body (the OM2). As a matter of fact, I would still be shooting exclusively Olympus if they weren’t consistently late to the party when it comes to pro DLSR camera bodies and features, but thats another blog post entirely. On a side note, in mirrorless tech Olympus are at the top of the food chain, and the Zuiko glass is leading the way.

Zuiko glass is super sharp, and renders colors perfectly. Even the Zuiko kit lenses offered on today are superior to many professional lenses. My favorite DSLR lens of all time is a Zuiko Lens, it’s the 35-100 f2 Soory I am straying off topic, I love Olymous, I just wish they had a pro DLSR body with the features that I want. So let’s back the OM 135mm f3.5

I was digging through one of my old Olympus 35mm film kits (an OM 10) and saw sitting there in it’s case the OM E. Zuiko Auto-T f3.5 135mm. Two things are true about this lens, a 135mm lens on a full frame sensor (or a 35mm film camera) is a magical focal length. 135mm is considered to be a portrait lens focal length, but I use it for everything. Now, one of the great things about owning a Canon camera is the fact you can buy lens adapters cheap on eBay. I picked up an OM to EOS adapter for $10 bucks a while back but I have not used it with the 135mm. Boy am I so glad I did today, this lens is incredibly sharp, even when shot wide open (at f3.5). This lens has 8 aperture blades so the bokeh is super sweet. Also this 135mm Zuiko lenses really makes the subject pop off of the screen by rendering it almost 3D. The lens is 100% all metal construction and had a built-in metal lens hood. The best thing about this sleeper of a lens is the fact you can pick one up on eBay for between $35-$75 dollars.

One of the last great features of this lens is the focus throw, it’s super long. A long throw for focusing is a huge plus when trying to manual focus. It’s easy to roll past the optimal focus point if the throw is too short, and is a prime reasons modern DLSR lenses aren’t great at manual focusing. Modern DLSR lenses need to have a short throw so they can be fast during Auto Focus. Long throw is what you want of you ever find yourself pulling focus for video or manual focusing.

So that’s it, it’s fun to collect old manual focus glass, there are so many hidden gems today but you just can’t go wrong with a Zuiko lens. Check out the video below to see why I am so excited to share this sleeper of a lens. Thanks for taking time to visit today. Sincerely, Thomas Shue

Advanced Photoshop, Rendering Shallow Depth Of Field with Lens Blur

The Image above was shot at F11

The Image above was realistically rendered soft in post

I ran across a depth of field video post from Aaron Nace at Phlearn. Aaron is a master at Photoshop and the topic he was teaching reminded me of things I do in the 3D motion graphics world.

Todays post is an advanced topic for most and is one where I show you how to build a displacement map in Photoshop. I show you how use the map to create a Realistic Shallow Depth of Field Image . Displacement maps are used to create a graphic relief reference points to simulate 3D in a 2D space. Once the map is created, software can apply the maps to filters that use the reference information to properly place whatever effect an artist is trying to generate. In our case, we build a map to properly place lens blur in order to sell a fake. The fake being an image that was shot with really shallow depth of field, through the use of a fast lens. Basically I am going to show you how to change a picture that was shot at f11 and make it look like it was shot at f2.8. You can go as soft as you like, just be careful or it looks fake.

I can’t really write a post on how it’s done, so if you are interested in this kind thing you will have to spend the next 13 minutes watching the video posted below. I do feel these kind of skills are valuable to have. You just never know when you might want to deal with a distracting element or make a nice soft looking portrait. Also this can be extremely helpful if you can’t afford a really fast portrait lens. The term fake it until you make it comes to mind. The trick is to not overdo it so it looks real, not Photoshopped.

Thanks for taking time to visit today. I hope you are having a great day. Sincerely, Thomas Shue