Setting up the Lumix S5 for stills photography

I've had a couple of forays out with my new Panasonic Lumix S5 and have gradually been setting it up for my shooting style.

The S5 has 3 custom dials (although you can set up to 13 shooting styles since C3 has slots for 10 different variations), and I have programmed all 3. I don't usually use Custom modes (in fact I don't think I ever have), but since this was a brand-new camera, and the option was there, I thought 'why not'?

Waterways. Lumix S5 with 20-60mm. F/8 @ 1/2sec, ISO 100

There are certain settings I change on all cameras as soon as I get them. First things first - the autofocus confirmation 'beep' gets turned off! Then the file format is set to RAW (I seldom bother with RAW+Jpeg), and the control dial is set to 'A' (aperture priority). I'm shooting a lot in M (manual) now too, but for casual shooting I stick with 'A'.

Then it's a matter of tweaking the rest of the buttons and dials to work how I like them to. And fortunately, with most of todays cameras, there isn't a dial or a button that can't be reprogrammed! I do, however, try to keep it as simple as possible and I don't go changing all the buttons functions.

The Lumix S5 is a great camera to reprogramme, since it allows you to name each custom setting with something that makes sense to you (and not just CS1, CS2 etc). I have called CS1 'General Photography' and CS2 'Landscape Tripod'. Pretty self-explanatory, don't you think!? The CS3 setting (with 10 extra slots for different variations) I've kept for 'fun' at the moment, and have programmed some black and white settings. In this post I'll just concentrate on the CS1 and CS2 settings - the two I will use most often.

Old Mine Site. Lumix S5 with 20-60mm. F/11 @ 1/15thsec, ISO 100

For both CS1 and CS2, I have them set up in Aperture Priority, to start with an aperture of f/8 and an ISO of 100. Because I'm working in A mode, the front dial is set to choose the aperture, the back dial is set to change the exposure compensation, and the real control wheel is set to change ISO. When (and if) I switch to M mode (manual), the exposure compensation rear wheel changes to controlling shutter speed. So with the two top control wheels, and the rear control dial, I have the exposure triangle instantly accessible.

Also, and very importantly, I have 'Constant Preview' set to ON! This is set to OFF by default (don't ask me why), and means that if you're changing the exposure you won't see the effect in real-time in the viewfinder! If you want to see what is happening when you change exposure values, make sure 'Constant Preview' is set to ON.

You will also need to enable the histogram to appear in the viewfinder as well - which is also OFF by default!? The great thing about the histogram in the S5 is that you can place it wherever you choose within the frame (I have it bottom right). Very cool.

The level gauge in the viewfinder is on by default. I find it somewhat annoying so turn it off. This is easy to do by simply hitting the 'back arrow' button on the camera body - which will toggle between the level gauge being on or off when in live view.

For the CS1 'General Photography' setting, I have picture mode on 'Normal'. This gives me a fairly good indication of how the RAW file is going to look. For my CS2 'Landscape Tripod' setting, I have the picture mode set to Landscape. This gives me punchier colours and helps me visualise what my final, processed image might look like.

In CS1 I have single autofocus area (centre) and single shot mode activated. For CS2 I have the self-timer automatically set for 2 seconds, and I have the Image Stabilisation turned OFF (it's turned ON for my CS1 general photography setting). In CS2 Landscape Tripod mode, I also have the 'touch to focus' screen activated (it's turned OFF in CS1).

The Blue Men. Lumix S5 with 20-60mm. F/8 @ 1/80th, ISO 6400

I hope that's not too confusing? Basically in Landscape Tripod mode I have IS OFF (because the camera is on a tripod), 2 second self timer, and touch to focus activated.

As mentioned earlier, you can 'tweak' the camera to your heart's content. But the more you fiddle and change, the more you need to remember what you changed it too! So I try to keep the fiddling to a minimum - just changing the parameters that make sense for what I'm trying to achieve with my images.

Of course none of this relates to video - this is purely a stills-centric setup. As much as the S5 is a film-making beast, I will never use the video. Video is there because we demand it (apparently). I'd be more than happy if it wasn't included, but there you are. That's progress I guess.

There are other settings I could mention, but really they come down to personal preference. You can, for instance, change the direction of the dials as they relate to moving the settings, tell the camera what to do for both card slots, set up auto ISO, control AF magnification, change photo gridlines, focus peaking colours - the list goes on, and is practically endless. 

Which is why I have only changed a few parameters so far, and I live with them for a while. Then, when I'm out in the field actually taking photos and I think - "I wish I could change/add this...", that's when I know I need to dig back into the menu and add this functionality to my custom settings.

So the custom mode settings are used somewhat fluidly, and can be changed or added to over time. But I think I'm fairly set now with my C1 'General Shooting' and C2 'Landscape Tripod' custom modes.

If you haven't set up the custom modes on your camera before then give them a try. They speed-up the shooting process considerably. Just make sure you can remember what you re-programmed all those buttons and dials to do!

Alas dear Fuji, I knew you well.

It's been a while since I posted on nzdigital (about three months), but I haven't been quiet during that time - anything but. I've been posting, instead, on my 'other' blog; The Fuji X-Files. It made sense, since I had invested heavily into the Fuji mirrorless system with the X-E2, and had a Fuji-centric blog waiting and ready to go.

And I enjoyed the Fujifilm X-E2, I really did. Well, at least I thought I did - until recently. Let me explain...

Lake Kaniere. Sony a99 with Minolta 17-35mm. f11 @ 1/80th, ISO 200.

A few weeks ago I decided to film a video for my Youtube channel, comparing images taken with a full frame, APS-C and micro four thirds camera. I just happened to have all three sensor sizes together at one time, and thought it might make for an interesting video? And it certainly was interesting, and enlightening, but not quite in the way I had envisaged it would be. 

I went into the 'experiment' with a fairly clear idea of what I thought the outcome would be (not very scientific, I know), since I've shot on all three sensors over the years and know that they can all perform fantastically. All can produce clean, clear and sharp (more on that soon) images - at least at the sizes I need to print or display my work at. I took all the images at the same focal length, with the same effective aperture, and all in RAW so I could get the very best out of each sensor.

The three cameras I tested were the 24MP full frame Sony a99, my 16MP Fujifilm APS-C X-E2, and my son's Olympus OM-D E-M5 16MP micro four thirds. Above is the edited RAW images, with a 100% crop from the extreme left edge of the frame, from each camera. The full frame 24MP image has the edge in sharpness and clarity - of course it does. But having said that, the Olympus E-M5 micro four thirds image gives an impressive performance - with the very cheap 14-45mm kit lens no less - and isn't that far behind. But what shocked, surprised, and upset me, was how poor the Fujifilm X-E2 result was! It might not be quite as obvious from the images here on the web, but compared to the Sony and Olympus, the X-E2's 100% crop from the left edge is horrible! Soft, mushy and just plain horrible! Bugger 😞

On closer inspection, it looks as if the Fujinon XC16-50mm kit lens that I've been using has a slightly de-focused left side of the image, since the right side edge was indeed sharper. So chalk that up to a lens issue and move on. Whew!

Things will surely get better if we look at the central portion of the image - all shot at an f11 effective aperture, all on a tripod. Well, hang on there Bucky. Not so fast. Once again, it might be hard to tell from these web images, but - once again, the Sony and Olympus look very sharp, while the Fujifilm X-E2... not so much.

This time the result is not so much blurry, as just every so slightly 'mushy'? Detail just isn't as distinct and 'crisp' on the Fuji as in the Sony and Olympus images. On-screen, they all look fine. Sharp and clear enough. But pixel-peep at 100% and the Fujifilm X-trans sensor is definitely more 'mushy' in rendering detail. If I was being kind (hey, I'm trying), I'd say it produces a more 'painterly' image - maybe more filmic, than the other two? Great if that's the look you're going for.

Now normally I'm not a pixel-peeper. Really, I'm not. And I'm also not someone who has to have the 'cleanest' image possible with zero noise/grain present. In fact, with the Fujifilm cameras, I'm actually purposefully going the other way and introducing grain into the image. I like the fact that they can produce very film-looking images straight out of camera - when I want that look. But I'm also not the first to have noticed a general 'softness' with Fuji RAW files that aren't there with other systems.

This image softness has mostly been attributed to Adobe Lightroom's handling of the Fujifilm RAF files (yes, I'm using Lightroom). It's a common, and oft discussed issue, with a couple of work-arounds.

First, third-party plug-ins can take over the RAW development engine inside of Lightroom to process the RAF files. This is the 'fix' preferred by those who wish to stay within the Adobe ecosystem.

Second, ditch Lightroom all together and move to Capture One for processing RAF files in the future. Capture One has worked closely with Fujifilm, and are known to have a much superior RAW processing engine for RAF files than Lightroom. People have reported much sharper images processing in Capture One than Lightroom. So fortunately, there is a fix.

Having said all that, I'm not laying the blame only at the foot of Adobe. I have to at least consider that the lens has something (a lot) to do with IQ and sharpness. I've been shooting the X-E2 mostly in jpeg, and letting the camera process the image. If you do this, then a lot of the inherent lens issues will be 'minimised' by the processing software. So that what you get out of camera should be fairly sharp, corrected images. Not so with RAW. The RAF's are unadulterated data - warts and all - and it seems that maybe the XC16-50mm has quite a few warts?

So, having established this, I made two decisions immediately. One - get a new lens, and two - start processing RAF files in Capture One.

And that's exactly what I did. I purchased the 23mm f2 prime (35mm equivalent fov) and downloaded Capture One Pro for Fujifilm (which just happened to be on special). Problem solved - right?

Well actually, no. On the lens front, I'm sure that I am getting sharper results with the 23mm prime than I was with the XC16-5mm kit lens. No doubt. It's a lovely little lens, and a joy to use.

But, when I went back and re-processed the RAF file in Capture One, I got the exact same result as I had when I used Lightroom. The Fuji file still looked 'painterly' rather than crisp and sharp. Bugger (again) 😢

After that, it was a bit like one of those inkblot tests. Once I had seen it, I couldn't 'un' see it. I started going through my back catalog of images and looking at photos at 100% (I really am NOT a pixel peeper!). If I clicked on an image at random, then I could almost always tell if it had come from the Fuji because of the painterly pixel structure. If I clicked on an image, enlarged it, and thought "great, that looks better" then it was invariably from another camera sensor (usually a Nikon). And once I started playing the 'spot the Fuji fuzziness" game, then that was really the beginning of the end for me and Fuji.

Motukiekie Beach. Fujifilm X-E2 with Fujinon XC16-50mm

I've had a lot of fun using the Fujifilm X-E2, and made a lot of amazing images with it. It's been another piece of my mirrorless journey puzzle, and shown me that I can get along with smaller cameras. But it's also been a bit of a struggle, I'm not gonna lie. The X-Trans sensor is a unique beast, and many struggle to tame it satisfactorily. It's especially difficult if you're an otherwise satisfied Lightroom user. 

Shooting jpegs and using images SOOC (straight out of camera) is a serious option to consider with Fujifilm - their film profiles are really that good. And boy, have I had a lot of fun (and wasted a lot of time) with custom film profiles. The combinations are almost endless. Which again, unfortunately, presents something of a problem. I've programmed, changed, and reprogrammed the custom film settings on the X-E2 dozens of times - tweaking, reshooting, tweaking and reshooting again - only to end up changing them all later anyway. They are fun, but for me they've also been time-wasters, and something else for me to obsess about with my photography (me, obsessive? never!?).

So I've decided - for better or worse - to move on from Fujifilm (what a shock). I've used it for about a year now, which is fairly good going for me and a camera system historically 😕 I haven't really been a one-camera-one-system guy for years now. Variety is, as they say, the spice of life.

There is, however, one love that I have returned to time after time. And I think she is calling me again... 

I'm pretty sure I was using a Nikon before I switched to Olympus, and I know I was using a Nikon D300 before switching to the Fujifilm X-E2. My first digital 'love' was the Nikon D70, tearing me away from my 20 year affair with Canon. Nikon has been the stable home in my system-swapping career, and I hear her calling me again... 

I've also thoroughly documented my struggle (love and hate relationship) with 'going' mirrorless, since I'm still convinced (as are many) that mirorrless is the future of photography. But... having grown up using SLR style cameras, the DSLR has a strong emotional, and physical, attachment to me. As soon as I pick up a solid, hefty, magnesium alloy DLSR body, it feels like coming home. They just feel so 'right'. So wonderfully good in the hand. And try as I might - and I have tried - mirrorless cameras, with all their bells and whistles, just do not feel as good to hold and use. This is a hugely underrated part of enjoying photography. How does the camera 'feel' in you hands. Does it make you want to pick it up and use it for long periods of time? For me, Nikon's just do.

Of course all of this would be moot if money was no object. It would, of course, present a whole new raft of problems - but if money was no object, then I would definitely be buying a mirrorless camera. But not a tiny wee thing like a Fujifilm XT30 or Olympus E-M10III - something solid like an Olympus EM1x or Fujifilm XT4 with grip attached. Actually, what I think I would do is wait for the new Nikon Z9. I think that's going to be a stellar camera for Nikon. But alas, I haven't won lotto (that I'm aware of anyway), so budget is, as always, a major factor.

I'm going to Christchurch this weekend (as I write this). I've sold my Fuji gear already, have a few other bits and pieces to sell, and with the money I am going to buy another camera and lens(s). I don't know exactly what I will get, but at the moment I'm thinking it will be a Nikon DLSR. Something like the D7000 pictured above. Or maybe, if my budget can stretch and I can be convinced that its sensor is clean, a full-frame Nikon D600? It will all depend on what the store has in its secondhand department at the time.

Then again, there's a very nice black and silver Olympus OM-D E-M1 for sale as well. And, as we all know, the future is mirrorless! 

My Fuji X-E1 Setup

I know I've only had the X-E1 for a few weeks, but I spent the first few days setting up the camera for how 'I' like to shoot - and thought it might be helpful to outline my process. Standard caveats apply: this is 'my' shooting style etc, etc... and your style and mileage may vary.

I'll go over most of the basic settings I'm using to take my images - but what I'm not going to cover in this post are my film simulation recipes. I'm going to leave them for their own individual posts.

That said, what attracted me to the Fuji system other than the retro styling, was the promise of using film simulation modes. I still shoot film occasionally, and although I get that the Fuji film simulations are just that - simulations of the analogue process - the ability to set Astia or Velvia on a Fuji camera is very enticing. And from all that I've seen and read on-line, the jpegs straight out of the camera with these film simulations baked in are exceptional. But that's another topic for another time (spoiler alert - they are exceptional).

First things first, I'm an aperture priority shooter 99% of the time. So the shutter dial is set to 'A' and the ISO is generally set to the lowest I can get away with - or I set it to auto as well and let the camera take care of it within a certain range. I have found the low-light performance of this x-trans sensor to be excellent, so my 'auto' range for ISO is 200 to 6400, with a 1/125th shutter speed value. To facilitate a quick ISO change, I've programmed the Function (Fn) button to bring up the ISO menu so it can be changed quickly.

Since the 16-50mm kit lens doesn't have an aperture ring, I control the aperture with the control dial on the back of the camera - and then dial in exposure compensation as I see fit. I'm constantly riding the exposure compensation wheel, placed very conveniently on the right side edge of the camera's top plate. Compensation range is 'only' + or - 2 stops, but I've found this to be enough of a range so far.

I'm also an old-school single central autofocus point and recompose kind of guy. A throw-back from growing up shooting with manual focus film cameras. Autofocus is central-point, single shot, and I use the main shutter button to lock both focus and exposure. I don't use back-button focusing with the E-X1 (although I do on my DSLR's).

Because I am using film simulation modes, I shoot in RAW + Jpeg Fine, so I can see the film simulation in the evf and lcd screen. I use the histogram to make sure I'm protecting my highlights, and if they are ok on the jpeg then they will be ok on the RAW file too. I also use the custom display option and have grid lines for composition, number of shots remaining, exposure compensation, shooting info (aperture/shutter speed/iso) and low battery indicator warning. That sounds like a lot, but it's fairly uncluttered and gives me all the info I need to make a perfect exposure and composition in the evf before taking the photo. Because of this, I have image display turned off. I don't need to see the image I've just taken for 2 seconds in the viewfinder after I've taken it! On the Olympus OM-D E-M5 MkII I used to flip the lcd screen around so the back of the camera was blank. I'd do the same with the X-E1 if it had a flippy screen (it doesn't).

A lot of the other settings are dictated by which film simulation recipe I happen to be using. Common to all is shooting in sRGB, since I'm shooting mainly for the web, or lab prints. I have the evf and lcd brightness set to normal (0), the electronic beep turned off, auto power off set for 5 minutes, and image ratio is set to 3:2.

And that's about it really. Pretty simple to set-up, operate, and shoot with. The 'Q' quick function button is fantastic for accessing any of the important settings you might like to change, or quickly dial in one of the seven custom film simulation recipes you can program into the camera (more on them in other posts).

Other items of note; I don't use the provided Fuji camera strap, opting instead for a Peak Design Wrist Strap system. It's a small, light camera and is easy to carry around one-handed most of the time.

I've also added a soft-touch shutter release that screws into the thread of the shutter button. It elevates the shutter slightly, making it more comfortable to use - and it looks cool 😉

I don't have an additional attachment for the X-E1 to bulk the grip out, but this is something that I would consider adding in the future. I don't have big hands, but I do like a lot of grip to hang on to. The standard grip really isn't much to write home about at all, so a little more purchase for the fingers would be helpful. I've also seen those metal thumb rests that you can get that attach to the hot shoe and give your thumb a better place to grip as well. This is also something that I might investigate in the future. I don't want to bulk the camera up too much - it's supposed to be a lightweight travel camera after all. But I also don't like feeling like I'm gripping a 'toy' camera for dear-life!

Having just said all that, I do find the X-E1 to be a very well thought-out camera to use. Button placement, and size, are generally excellent, and I wouldn't change much. I notice that on the X-E2 Fuji have left the same basic layout, but moved the 'Q' button away from the thumb and up to the top middle of the camera (where the 'view mode' button is on the X-E1). This is the wrong move in my opinion. The 'Q' button is in the perfect place on the X-E1. Why they moved it is beyond me (although I have to presume it was for good reason)?

One final word on the evf. It's a very hi-res 2.36 million dot finder, and as such is reasonably large, bright and clear. But it does have a little bit of a 'lag' when moving around, and it can take a second or more to refresh and 'kick-in' when you hold it up to your eye. Not a deal breaker for landscapes, but not ideal if you're chasing the kids around and wanting to capture moments quickly. If you're a fast-action style shooter, then the X-E1 probably isn't for you.

So far, I've loved using the X-E1. It has its quirks, no doubt. But what camera doesn't? What it also has, in spades, is fantastic IQ (image quality) from its 16MP x-trans sensor. The images that this little camera can produce are fantastic - sharp, detailed, with good dynamic range, and excellent low-light performance. Shouldn't that be the most important factor with any image-making tool?