Black and White

Lately I have been experimenting a little with Silver Efex Pro. I'm amazed about the possibility this software offers. Reminds me a lot of the "good old days" in the darkroom... .

to be continued...

Wildlife - sort of...

Having written so much about technical issues lately, I thought I'd show you some pictures for once.

This is only a small selection of older images of animals I took partly in the wild, some in zoos.

The pictures were taken either with a Canon EOS 1 DS Mk II or with the Panasonic Lumix GH2. 

Enjoy!

And finally a collage of pictures I took of local kingfishers. I spent nearly an entire summer in a hideout to get some nice shots of those very shy birds...

to be continued...

Olympus Pen F Zuiko 40mm/1.4

Altough I'm very happy with the 18-55mm Zoom on my X Pro 1 I decided to try out a manual focus lens.

I got hold of an old Pen F lens, the Zuiko 40mm 1.4, which is supposed to be a perfect match for the Fuji X cameras. This because those lenses made for the old Olympus Pen F cameras were designed to cover a half format negative of 18x24mm which is nearly the same size as the APS-C Sensor on Fuji X cameras. Other than with lenses designed for full format cameras you use the area of the lens that was made to fill  - more or less - exactly the sensor size.

The Zuiko 40mm 1.4 is a neat little lens of great quality. Of course it's completely made of metal.

Due to the nature of the lens designed for a 18x24 negative size, the adapters used to mount them on modern digital cameras are very short compared to those made for "ordinary" manual focus lenses. Therefore the lens doesn't get so much bigger when adapted to your digital camera.

The lens even came with its original lens hood which is hard to find nowadays. All was in absolutely mint condition, no scratches, fungus or oily aperture blades. Just a tiny little microscopic dust inside, but that is normal for a 40 year old lens.

Finally, I think it looks good mounted on my X Pro 1. Not too big and not too tiny. Focussing goes smoothly but you need small fingers to move the aperture ring... .

As for the image quality: honestly, I can't say too much about it yet. I have only made a few test shots in my backyard with different apertures and I found it to be sharp even wide open.

But there is one thing. It has been over 15 years since I last used manual focus lenses and meanwhile I'm a little "spoiled" by autofocus. So it took me some effort to get the focus right, even in magnification mode of the X Pro 1. So I think I will mainly use this lens in combination with a tripod and right angle finder to do static shots such as macro or architectual/interior.

To be honest, as nice as it is, I'm not sure yet, if I will keep it. I'll play around with it for a while and the decide.

to be continued...

New Gadgets!

Got me some new gadgets for my X Pro 1...

1.)  DIY Silk camera strap

Having seen the really great looking silk camera strap made by a well known manufacturer of stylish accessories made me wanting to have one of those. But when I found out how much they cost, I changed my mind and decided to try to make one myself.

So I was doing some research on the internet to find out where to find silk cord  in 8mm diameter. And I quickly got lucky and found a vendor in Greece where I ordered 1 Meter (apx. 1 Yard) of it.

After it arrived I took some pieces of leather from an old leather coat and cut them into two correct sized pieces. Not being a tailor it took me quite some hours to do the handstiching with ordinary sewing tools.

Anyway, I'm more than happy with the result. The silk cord might not be of the same quality of that for the $140.00 strap, but it looks good, is sturdy enough while still soft and flexible and for a mere $10.00 for the material well worth it... :-)

 2.)  HG X Pro 1 Grip

I was offered a used original hand grip and decided to give it a go. Indeed, the camera has better ergonomics with it and it doesn't spoil the looks of the camera either.

I was a little afraid that the combination wouldn't fit in my case, but it did. Great!

3.) Alternative lens hood for the 18-55mm 2.8-4.0

Athough the original lens shade for the 18-55mm is great, I wanted something more compact for everyday use. In a Fuji X user group I found a post that recommended a metall screw-in Lens hood that would fit the bill.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find one here in Germany so I had to order it from the US. It took a while to arrive, but the wait was well worth it. It totally fits the lens both in functionality an in looks. There is no vignetting at 18mm and the original lens cap also fits.

4.) Nikon DR-3 Right angle finder

As most of you probably already know, finder accessories from the old Nikon FE and FM cameras (with 19mm diameter) also fit the X Pro 1.

So I got me one - they are readily available on ebay for a descent price - and must say, that it was a good buy. It helps a lot when focussing from a lower angle, e.g. from a tripod and also makes manual focussing a lot easier. The built-in diopter adjustment is also a big pro for me as my eyes are not getting better with age... ;-)

to be continued...

Perfect!

Lately I seem to be lucky in terms of camera cases.

Today, I found the perfect little everready case for my Fuji X100.

I was looking for the perfect case for  quite a while. Since I either carry my camera together with other gear in a big bag or just take it with me without other equipment, I wanted something as small as possible just to protect it when either lying in the car or in a backpack, etc. 

Most socalled "small" carrying cases like Crumplers, Tenba, etc. are way too big for my taste, mainly due to the thick padding. And the original everready cases are usually too stiff, don't work with an attached lens shade or are simply too ugly in my opinion... .

So coincidently I found out that the old Leica CL had almost the same dimensions as the X100, being only a few milimeters shorter. So I figured, a used original CL case would probably be streched a little due to it being used.

And I was right! I ordered a used one and the camera fits perfectly in it. Unfortunately not with the lens hood attached, but put on top of the lens upside down it fits and doesn't even move when the case is closed.

The case is made of genuine raw hide and is very soft - just as I like it. The part of it where it covers the lens is reinforced with a piece of thick leather protecting the lens well enough.

And last but not least I think it looks quite classy, worthy the also classy looking X100 :-)

You can usually pick one of these up for $20.00 to $25.00 on ebay.

to be continued...

Bargain...

Went to a local camera store today and found the perfect case for my X Pro 1 with the 18-55mm :-)

It was lying in a bin filled with reduced and used assesories. I didn't have my camera with me, but for 3.99 Euros (about $5.00) I didn't think much and bought it.

And what shall I say? It fits perfectly :-)  

It's made of genuine leather, nicely padded and lined with soft fabrik inside.

The camera fits tightly and the case is just long enought so I can leave the lens hood on.

The ideal protection to carry my X Pro from A to B or just toss it in a backpack or other bag.

Unfortunately, I doubt that you will find another one of those cases easily... I'm sure it's 15 to 20 years old (made by Kaiser, if that helps...).

to be continued...

  

HDR

Sometimes I like to experiment with HDR.

I know, not everyone likes those exagerated pictures, but so what... ;-)

All pictures were taken with the Fuji X100 (my everyday camera...) and all were taken handheld using the cameras auto-bracket mode.

to be continued...

 Lost place...

I recently visited a nearby abandoned maintanance facility of the local railway. A great place for some unusual architectural shots.

All images were taken with the Fuji X Pro 1 and XF 18-55mm/2.8-4.0 lens. Most pictures were shot in RAW using auto bracket mode, meaning 3 exposures with -1, 0, +1 EV. The pictures were then developed using Photomatix Pro in Exposure Blending mode, some of them additionally tone mapped.

 

  

And finally one processed in HDR. Even though it's not to everyones liking, I sometimes enjoy exagerating images that way if I feel that they are suitable...

to be continued...