Lake Mahinapua with the Nikon D300

I've been using the Fuji X-E2 (and  X-E1) a lot lately (see the last few posts) and really enjoying it. Much to my surprise, it's fast becoming my camera of choice for all my photography. So where does that leave my Nikon D300 DSLR?

White Heron at Mahinapua. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 17-80mm f3.5/4.5. f/8 @ 1/10th, ISO 800

I'm not sure, to be honest. I've talked many times on this blog about my love for DSLR's, even though I've tried my best to switch completely to mirrorless. I managed it for a while when I was using all Olympus micro four thirds gear, but the pull of a solid DLSR has always been to hard for me to resist. The Olympus gear gave way to a Canon 50D recently, which then quickly changed to the Nikon D300. I have always enjoyed using the Nikon D300, and still do. It's a beautifully designed camera that always inspires confidence whenever I use it. But since I've 'discovered' the Fujifilm X-series cameras, it's sat in a camera bag unloved, and I've almost literally had to force myself to shoot with it.

Lake Mahinapua with a D300. f/11 @ 6 secs, ISO 200. ND64 Filter + Cokin ND Soft Grad

This weekend past (as I write this), I decided to give the D300 some 'love', and take it out on a sunrise landscape shoot. Even then, with the decision made and my camera bag packed the night before, I almost changed my mind in the morning.

I know many people harp on about this, and I hate to be one of them, but the main reason I almost changed my mind was because of the weight. With the camera body, lens, vertical grip and various accessories (tripod, filters, spare batteries etc), I definitely need a reasonable sized backpack to carry it all around in. Because of this, I find myself justifying what I do and don't bring along with me. I decided, for example, to leave my 70-210mm home rather than carry it around all morning and not use it. It was going to be a landscape shoot after all. Big mistake!

The first image of this blog - White Heron at Mahinapua - was the scene that greeted me as I arrived, pre-sunrise, at Lake Mahinapua. Boy, could I have used that 70-210mm lens that I decided not to carry with me!

I'm not a 10 pound weakling whose incapable of carrying around hefty camera gear, but I am 51 and not 21 anymore. So the less weight I have to carry with me, the better. And that's just all there is to it. The Fujifilm X-E2, with 16-50mm lens (and 50-230mm that I will probably get eventually) is much smaller and lighter, and fits in a much smaller bag, so I'll be more likely to carry it all with me on every shoot. And just as importantly, I won't be sacrificing anything in terms of image quality.

Mahinapua Jetty Monochrome. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 16-50mm f3.5/4.5. f/11 @ 4 secs, ISO 200. ND64 filter + ND Grad

But I digress (slightly). This post isn't about the X-E2, it's about the Nikon D300. And as I've already mentioned, it's a lovely camera to use and a joy to shoot with. So back to the landscape shoot...

Unfortunately, sunrise on this particular morning was very disappointing, since it was hidden behind cloud cover. So it was on to plan 'B'. And on a dull, grey morning with a large body of water and no colour, what's a landscape photographer's plan 'B' mostly consist of? That's right people - long exposure monochrome images!

I screwed on a 64ND filter to the front of the lens - blocking 6 stops of light from entering the camera - giving me an exposure range of around 3 to 6 seconds at f11. Surprisingly, I could still make out an image through the optical viewfinder, and as long as I manually placed the focus point of the camera over an area of high contrast, it had no trouble auto focusing.

Mahinapua Jetty among the Reeds. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 17-80mm f3.5/4.5. f/11 @ 4 secs, ISO 200

Because I had already decided that the images would translate well into black and white, I decided to shoot RAW + Jpeg, and set the camera to monochrome. This way, I could see the final monochrome jpeg when I reviewed the image on the lcd screen, but still had the RAW file if I changed my mind and actually wanted them in colour. As you can see from the image above, I did decide that the colour version also worked.

Since the exposures were so long, I also set the camera to shoot with a 2 second delay. This is very easy to do on the D300 - just a flick of the drive mode switch on the top of the camera. I could have used a remote release cable instead, but I find that the 2 second timer delay is just as effective, and you don't need to set up any extra cables.

Moody Mahinapua monochrome. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 18-70mm f3.5/4.5. f/11 @ 1/6th sec, ISO 200

Despite the lack-luster sunrise, I came away from Lake Mahinapua with a few images that I was happy with. The D300 performed flawlessly - no complaints whatsoever. We are spoiled for choice when it comes to cameras, for all levels and budgets. Now that digital has been 'mainstream' for over 15 years, there are a plethora of great cameras to choose from. And since digital technology devalues so quickly (unfortunately), cameras that were expensive 'state-of-the-art' cameras only five or six years ago, can now be had very cheaply. That's a huge 'win' for anyone getting into photography who doesn't have a lot of money to spend - or even for someone like me who is a very seasoned photographer who doesn't want to (or need to) spend big dollars on the latest and greatest.

Will I keep the D300 and continue to use it? Considering how little I paid for it, then yes, I may very well keep it so that I can scratch that DLSR itch every now and then? But I already know that it's not going to be my 'main' shooter. That honor (is it really an honor?) now belongs to the Fujifilm X-E2.

Landscape photos with the Fujifilm X-E2

I've fallen in love with the Fujifilm X cameras! Having recently purchased a used X-E1 to get a 'taste' of the system (to replace my Pen E-P3 as my mirrorless travel camera), I'm now gorging myself on all the x-trans Fujifilm goodness I can handle!

Motukeikei Beach, West Coast. Fujifilm X-E2 with Fujinon 16-50mm. f8 @ 1/140th, ISO 800.
(RAF file processed in Lightroom)

I'm definitely in the 'honeymoon' phase, willing to overlook any faults that the system may have (surely not), to focus instead on all the amazing positives. Of which, I believe, there are many.

As I said earlier, and wrote about recently here, the Fujifilm X-E1 is my 'toe in the water'. I've used it on a couple of landscape outings so far, and have been so amazed and impressed by the images it produces, that I've gone and got an X-E2! They are so cheap (relatively speaking) body-only, that I just couldn't say no - and to be honest, I was also curious to see how the E2 improved on the E1.

Motukeikei Beach low tide. Fuji X-E2 with Fujinon 16-50mm. f5.6 @ 1/20th, ISO 800

So is the X-E2 an improvement on the X-E1? Yes - and No. What's that supposed to mean? Let me try to explain...

In terms of technology upgrades, the X-E2 is an improvement over the X-E1 - as to be expected. It has a bigger, clearer (higher resolution) rear lcd screen, much faster write-times (much faster), a 'better' autofocus system, more exposure compensation latitude (+/-3 compared to the X-E1's +/-2), a less laggy evf, wifi capability, and a few more customisable function dials than the X-E1. So all-in-all, it feels like a newer, more responsive, camera. And as I've said already, so it should.

Motukeikei Beach Sunset. X-E2 with 16-50mm. f/11 @ 1/2sec, ISO 200

BUT - (here it comes), in terms of IQ (image quality), the two cameras are as close to identical as to make the differences irrelevant. Yes, the X-E2 is 14bit RAW where the X-E1 is 12bit. But the difference in real-world terms is negligible. The sensor is exactly the same in terms of megapixels (16MP), although as mentioned, processing speed has been greatly improved with the x-trans II sensor on the X-E2. It would have been nice to get a resolution bump from the 1 to the 2, but it was not to be. Not that I'm complaining about the 16MP x-trans sensor in either camera - far from it. Both are outstanding.

I have read that the x-trans II sensor has an 'issue' with waxy looking skin tones shooting at high ISO's (1600+), whereas the original x-trans sensor doesn't. But I could count the times on one hand where I've shot portraits above ISO 1600, so I don't see it as being an issue for me.

Motukeikei Sunset 2. Fujifilm X-E2 with 16-50mm. f/11 @ 2 secs, ISO 200

One thing that does bug me about the X-E2, is the movement of the 'Q' button away from the thumb area and up to the middle-back of the camera. Aaarrgghhh!!! The X-E1 placement makes way better sense to me, and obviously to others as well - since Fuji reverted back to the original position of the 'Q' button on the X-E3! It's not a deal breaker, and something that I'm sure I'll get used to. But it's annoying nonetheless. All the other buttons are identical - if not a little smaller to accommodate the larger lcd screen - and as mentioned previously, more programmable. The only function button I've actually changed on the X-E2, again so that it's more in-line with the X-E1, is the wifi button. I've programmed this to be the ISO selector instead. If I want to engage wifi, I'm quite happy to go into the menu system to do it.

Motukeikei Beach tow tide 2. Fujifilm X-E2 with Fujinon 16-50mm. f/11 @ 1/8th sec, ISO 800.

So apart from a few software upgrades and an annoying button switch, the X-E2 is alarmingly similar to the X-E1. It's a year older, faster and more 'refined' maybe, but the image output from the two cameras is so similar as to be basically identical. I can't justifying keeping both (I don't think), so which one will go?

Surprisingly, it's not been an easy decision. My heart says keep the X-E1 and embrace its beautiful first gen x-trans sensor - while my head says keep the newer X-E2 to enjoy its hardware and software refinements. IQ is, as I've said, a non-issue for me.

I 'think' I've decided to keep the X-E2. For a couple of reasons. First - for its wifi capability. It might not be a feature I'll use a lot, but it is handy to have, and I can see it being useful in certain scenarios. It sucks battery juice like there's no tomorrow, but I have a heap of spare batteries, so should be fine.

Second - for its intervalometer capabilities - which is really only a software upgrade, but something they haven't added to the X-E1. Time lapse photography wasn't on my radar until relatively recently, but I've been doing a few of late and really enjoying it. So having a camera with a built in intervalometer is a bonus for me.

And that's ultimately what it boils down to. Some software/processing upgrades that makes the X-E2 a 'newer' feeling camera - surprise, surprise. I will be sad to see the X-E1 go, but I really don't need two X-E bodies.

My sexy X-E2 pimped out with thumb grip and leather case

As you can see from the photos above, image quality with the X-E2 isn't an issue (certainly not for landscapes). Its 16MP x-trans II sensor produces gorgeous files, with plenty of dynamic range, and a lot of flexibility in post from the RAF (Fuji's RAW) file. And surprisingly (for me at least), even though it's a smallish camera, the ergonomics are actually pretty good. With the Fujinon XC 16-50mm 'kit' lens attached (more on that in a future post), a Lensmate thumb grip attached, and leather case adding a little bulk, the XE-2 is very comfortable in the hand. And hey, let's not deny it, it looks damn sexy!

I said right at the start of this post that I've fallen in love with the Fuji X system - and I have. So much so, that what began as a 'trial' to find an occasional use travel camera, has turned into a serious contender for becoming the only camera that I own!

I have also very recently invested in the Nikon system again (a D300), but I am already trying to sell this on. When I do, the Fuji X-E2, and a Fuji XT-1 that is also a recent purchase (more on that soon as well), will be my only digital cameras. And whereas having something small like the Olympus Pen E-P3 as my only camera would have freaked me out, contemplating an X-E2 being my only digital camera for everything has me actually very excited! Bring it on!

My X-E1 Film Simulation Recipe C2: Acros

I'm seriously loving using the Fujifilm system - especially the custom film simulations. In this post I'd like to outline my C2 custom setting recipe - my version of Fuji Acros.

Lake Mahinapua Jetty. Fuji X-E1. f/5.6 @ 1/350th, ISO 200. C2: "Acros" Jpeg

Fuji Acros just happens to be my favourite black and white film. It's a beautiful, tonal, fine-grained film, that I shoot in my film cameras whenever I can. I was gutted when Fuji discontinued it in 2017, and then elated when they said they would be bringing it back in 2019!

They have also introduced an Acros film simulation into their latest digital cameras - but only in the latest with the third generation processor. It doesn't look like it can, or will, be released in earlier camera models, since the Acros 'special sauce' requires the latest processor to work. Darn!

So what is a guy to do? Hey, I know... why not make my own 'Acros' film simulation recipe? What a great idea! And so, I did...

C2: Acros Film Simulation Recipe for X-E1
ISO 200 (will change when appropriate)
Dynamic Range: 100
White Balance: Auto
Noise Reduction: -1
Image Size: Large 3:2
Image Quality: Raw + Jpg fine
Film simulation base: Monochrome + Y
Highlight Tone: 0
Shadow Tone: +1
Colour: 0
Sharpness: +1

As you can see from the settings, it's based on the monochrome plus yellow filter, preserves the highlights, and increases the shadows. This gives a reasonably strong black and white image with a little 'pop' - especially with the slightly increased sharpening. This will be my 'general' black and white setting, hence its pride of place in the C2 setting.

Lake Mahinapua. Fuji X-E1 with Fujinon 16-50mm. f/5.6 @ 1/550th, ISO 200. C2: "Acros" Jpeg

As I mentioned in my previous post about my C1: Classic Chrome film recipe, the jpegs straight out of camera have plenty of latitude for 'tweaking' in post-processing. Not as much as the RAW file obviously - but enough to get the final image to where I want it to be with a little clarity and dehaze applied.

Lake Weed. Fuxi X-E1 with Fujinon 16-50mm. f/5.6 @ 1/80th, ISO 200. C2: "Acros" film simulation

I like a rich black and white image, and the Acros film simulation can certainly deliver this. I was told way back in my b&w film darkroom development days that a print should have 'black blacks and white whites". And, of course, a full tonal range in-between. When I judge black and white images at camera club level, one of the biggest mistakes I see with peoples' monochrome images is that they are too flat and lack contrast.

Actually, this goes for a lot of colour images as well. It seems that in this day and age of Photoshop and Lightroom, photographers seem to make liberal use of the shadow and highlight sliders so that all the tones in an image are 'evened' out. We shouldn't be afraid of deep blacks and bright whites in our images - especially with monochrome.

Swimmers Beach, Lake Mahinapua. Fuji X-E1 with Fujinon 16-50mm. f/8 @ 1/300th, ISO 200.
C2: 'Acros' film simulation recipe

Is it exactly like Fuji's Acros film simulation in the X-E3? Of course not. Is it close? I honestly don't know - and won't know until I get an X-E3 to play with (anybody...).

But does it replicate the look and feel of shooting Acros on film for me? Yes, it does. And that's enough for me. As mentioned earlier, it will be my 'go-to' B&W film simulation recipe - for portraits and landscapes - unless I want something even more contrasty for landscapes (and I sometimes do).

One day I may have a Fujifilm camera that can shoot with the official Acros film simulation. Until then, this one will do just fine...

My X-E1 Film Simulation Recipe C1: Classic Chrome

Since getting my Fujifilm X-E1 recently, I've spent a bit of time exploring and setting up my own film simulation recipes.

As an old film shooter, who enjoys using film from time to time, the lure of using a digital camera that you can set to 'Velvia' is very enticing. Even though we all know that it's still only a digital file - right?! And what's even more enticing - to me at least - is having the ability to create your own film 'looks' (up to seven in the X-E1) and access them very quickly.

So that's what I've been spending a good deal of time doing with my 'new' X-E1. Creating custom film simulation recipes and inputting them into the camera. I thought I'd share all seven of them over the next few months, as I get out and create images using the different profiles. And so I may as well start at the beginning - with 'C1' - a simulation that I have called "Classic Chrome".

Lake Brunner Jetty, Moana. Fujifilm X-E1 with Fujinon 16-50mm. f/10 @ 1/60th, ISO 200. (16mm - 27mm equivalent)

Unedited Jpeg from camera with C1 Classic Chrome film recipe applied

If you are a Fuji X-T3, X-E3 or other later model camera owner, using the newest x-trans III sensor and processing engine, then you'll be lucky enough to have a 'Classic Chrome' film simulation built in to the camera itself. For many Fuji shooters, the Classic Chrome film simulation, as supplied by Fuji, is their go-to colour film simulation.

Unfortunately, if you have an older x-trans sensor, with an older processing unit, then your camera won't support Fuji's classic chrome simulation as standard. You'll have to 'create' your own as best you can. That's what I've tried to do with my 'C1' setting on the X-E1 - create a 'Classic Chrome' look for the older, first generation x-trans sensor.

To be fair (and totally up-front), I haven't just plucked these settings out of thin air. There are plenty of sites on the interweb that have these 'recipes' available. All I've done is taken a few of them, applied them as a starting point, and 'tweaked' them where I've seen fit.

Lake Brunner Jetty under Mt. Te Kinga. Fuji X-E1 with Fujinon 16-50mm. f/11 @ 1/6th, ISO 200. 

(23mm - 35mm equivalent). C1 - Classic Chrome jpeg

So what settings do I apply to get a 'Classic Chrome' film simulation on the X-E1? These are the settings that I use:

ISO 200 (will change when appropriate)

Dynamic Range: Auto

White Balance: Auto

Noise Reduction: -2

Image Size: Large 3:2

Image Quality: Raw + Jpg fine

Film simulation base: Astia Soft

Highlight Tone: +1

Shadow Tone: -2

Colour: +1

Sharpness: -1

This will be my 'go to' colour setting, which is why I have it programmed into my first slot. As you can see from the unedited jpeg of the first image above, it gives a reasonably punchy, yet true-to-life rendering of the scene, based off of Fuji's own Astia film simulation. All the settings are fairly self-explanatory; highlights are boosted and shadows reduced for that classic 'S' curve look - colour is increased a touch, and sharpness reduced a touch. Even with the sharpness set to -1 (-2 is the maximum), the resulting images are plenty sharp enough. I'm finding that I'm having to do very little - if any - sharpening in post with the Fuji files from the X-E1 - jpeg or RAW.

Tour Boat, Lake Brunner. Fuji X-E1 with Fujinon 16-50mm. f/11 @ 1/125th, ISO 200. (24mm - 36mm equivalent).

C1 - Classic Chrome jpeg

All of the images in this post are jpegs, shot with the Classic Chrome simulation. Having said that, they are not all shown here 'straight out of camera'. I've still done some post-processing to the final images. This has, however, been minimal, and really only slight tweaking to get the image to fit my style. All have had a slight clarity and dehaze boost (around 15 to 20) and maybe a little highlight/shadow fix depending on the lighting conditions for each scene. Some have even had a slight 'de-saturation' applied because I thought that the blues were a bit too overdone (see image below). But again, this varied from scene to scene.

Waiting for Summer. Fuxi X-E1 with Fujinon 16-50mm. f/8 @ 1/280th, ISO 400. (17mm - 25mm equivalent).

C1 - Classic Chrome jpeg

What I can say, from someone who has been a RAW-only shooter since using his first digital camera, is that the Jpeg files from the x-trans sensor still have a decent amount of latitude in them for post-processing. I appreciate that the look is 'baked' into the file, but even settings like the White Balance in the first two images of this post were able to be warmed up in the jpeg file for a more pleasing final result. As long as the jpeg is in the ball-park exposure-wise, detail and information can still be pulled out of the highlights and shadows in Lightroom. Of course I wouldn't want to recover a jpeg image that was horribly wrong. But given that you can 'see' your exposure and white balance in the evf before taking the image, you shouldn't be horribly off to begin with.

Aotearoa - Land of the Long White Cloud. Fuji X-E1 with Fujinon 16-50mm. f/8 @ 1/125, ISO 200.

(22mm - 33mm equivalent). C1 - Classic Chrome

The Fuji X-E1 is really the first camera that I've ever defaulted to shooting RAW + Jpeg files in - simply because I want to make use of the film simulations. Olympus had a similar thing with their cameras and the different Art Filters, but I found that most of those were of very limited use. Their Grainy B&W art filter was my favourite, and I did shoot with this filter from time to time, but it was a little (actually a lot) overdone, and I would quickly default back to shooting RAW only.

With Fujifilm's ability to programme your own film simulation recipes - to dial in your own 'look' - I'm now actually excited to shoot jpegs. If I can get the look that I'm after 90% there in-camera, and then simply adjust the clarity and dehaze in Lightroom as required, my post-processing time will be halved overnight. And if I find, over time, that I'm adding a fairly standard amount of these settings to every image, then I may just set up an import preset and get there 99% of the time without having to do any post-processing at all! And if I do change my mind later on, then there's always the RAW file as a back-up.

Lake Brunner, Moana. Fuji X-E1 with Fujinon 16-50mm. f/8 @ 1/240th, ISO 200. (36mm - 53mm equivalent).

C1 - Classic Chrome

Thinking of the jpeg as the 'original' and the RAW file as the 'back-up' is a huge mind-shift for me, and possibly a bridge-to-far for some RAW diehards? But looking at the images above - all jpegs - and comparing them to the RAW files for the same image, the jpeg is exactly how I would have processed the RAW file anyway - so why bother!?

As mentioned at the beginning of this post, 'Classic Chrome' will be my go-to custom colour film simulation recipe - especially for landscapes, which is 90% of what I shoot. Next time, I'll have a look at my go-to black and white film recipe - my version of another Fuji classic, Acros.

Using the Fujifilm X-E1 as a Landscape camera

Last weekend (as I write this) promised beautiful sunny weather, so I was very keen to get out and use the Fuji X-E1. I decided to head to one of my favourite spots to shoot - Lake Brunner at Moana. I'm glad I did.

Early morning at Lake Brunner Jetty. Fujifilm X-E1 with Fujinon 16-50mm. f/10 @ 1/6th sec, ISO 200. Cokin ND

It was a beautiful - picture perfect morning, and I was very excited to be out with a new camera, creating a new vlog for my Youtube channel. You can see the vlog about the morning here.

In my limited time shooting with the X-E1, I've been super impressed with the 16MP x-trans sensor. I want a lightweight travel camera that I will also be happy to use for more 'serious' photography should the need arise. From what I can tell so far from using the X-E1 briefly on a couple of trips, this could very well be the answer to my prayers.

I set up for the image above with the X-E1 on a tripod, and used a couple of Cokin ND filters in a 'P' square filter holder. Even though it's a fairly small camera, the larger 'P' filters didn't look out of place on the front of the 16-50mm kit lens. And the final result? Absolutely gorgeous!

Tour Boat, Lake Brunner. f/8 @ 1/125th, ISO 250. Custom film simulation (Acros)

One of the exciting things I enjoy when using the Fujifilm system are the film simulations. Especially the 'custom' film simulation settings where you can create your own. I am going to write separate articles on a few of my custom film recipes in future blog posts, but above is an example of one of them. It's a black and white recipe I've called 'Acros' (after my favourite  Fuji b&w film stock). The later Fujifilm cameras (the X-E3 and X-T3) with the third gen x-trans sensor actually have an Acros b&w film simulation already supplied by Fujifilm. The first generation cameras don't. So I've made my own. I have no idea if it comes close to replicating Fujifilm's own Acros film mode - but it looks good to me! 😃

Boats in the Bay. Fujifilm X-E1 with Fujinon 16-50mm. f/8 @ 1/125th, ISO 250

When the morning brightened and some of the mist cleared, I took the camera off of the tripod and moved around taking images hand-held. The range-finder style X-E1 cries out to be used hand-held - especially with the lightweight Fujinon 16-50mm 'kit' lens attached. The combination is super versatile, and hardly weighs anything at all. There's just enough heft to know that you're carrying something, and to create a stable platform to shoot from. This is also helped by using the evf up to the eye, providing another point of contact for stability. This is something I dearly missed on the Olympus Pen E-P3 that lacked an evf (electronic viewfinder).

Some people moan about electronic viewfinders, but I love them. The X-E1 has a very high resolution 2.36 million dot evf which is very clear and bright, although it can be a little slow to refresh when first placed up to the eye. It's not bad, it's just not instant. Other's have complained that the focus point pixilates when locking on focus before taking a shot, but if it does, it hasn't bothered me. I don't think it's as 'quick' as the 2.36 million dot evf's in the Olympus OM-D EM5II or OM-D E-M1, but it's also not horrible either.

Lake of the Long White Cloud. Fuji X-E1 with Fujinon 16-50mm. f/8 @ 1/160, ISO 200.

At the end of the day (metaphorically - not literally speaking), what really matters with any system, is the image quality (IQ). And this, I'm happy to report, the Fuji X-E1 has in spades! The APS-C sized x-trans sensor is absolutely amazing, and produces drop dead gorgeous files - both RAW and Jpeg. The sensor is configured differently from the standard 'bayer-pattern' type sensor (just Google it), so it doesn't require an anti-aliasing filter. Hence, the files are super sharp, super clear, and drop dead gorgeous (did I mention that already?). Even the RAW files are bright, clear and punchy - not drab and dull like those from other systems.

Lake Brunner, Moana. Fuji X-E1 with Fujinon 16-50mm. f/8 @ 1/300th, ISO 200

It may be small, it may be lightweight, and it may look like an old 1970s range-finder - but the X-E1 punches way above its weight with its final image output. I'm seriously impressed with this little camera - not only as a travel companion, but actually as a possible replacement for my full-time landscape shooter! Seriously - it's that good.

I've 'waited' a long time to try out the Fujifilm system. Using the X-E1 has got me scratching my head and wondering why the heck it's taken me so long! Hindsight is a wonderful thing...

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?

Quick landscapes with the Fuji X-E1

Chances to venture out and get some hands-on time with my Fuji X-E1 have been slim since I got it a few weeks back - but I had a chance to take a few quick grab shots with it on a recent trip to Westport.

Coastal Spray. Fujifilm X-E1 with Fujinon 16-50mm. f/11 @ 1/480th. ISO 800

I did the same trip recently with the Nikon D300, and took almost exactly the same image as the one above - from exactly the same spot (see here). I actually like the above shot more, although that has less to do with the cameras and more to do with the lighting on the day.

I'm very pleased, and impressed, with the Fujifilm's X-Trans sensor and its ability to capture a large dynamic range within the one image. In the photo above I exposed to retain detail in the bright clouds, but it meant that the rocks in the foreground were very dark. Once I got the RAW file into Lightroom and started to increase the shadow slider, I was amazed at the amount of detail and colour that the file exhibited. At ISO 800 it's pretty clean too. Noise is well handled for such an underexposed area. All-in-all a great result and I'm impressed. It looks like the APS-C sensor is definitely giving me the IQ boost I was hoping for over and above the Pen E-P3's micro four thirds sensor.

Westport Tiphead Beach. Fujifilm X-E1 with Fujinon 16-50mm. f/11 @ 1/1250th. ISO 400

Here is another 'grab' shot that has a fairly large dynamic range (I was shooting in the middle of the day). Once again, the X-Trans sensor's RAW data has delivered, with detail retained in the highlights and plenty of recoverable shadow information. Sharpening is about right with the X-Trans sensor as well, since it doesn't use an anti-aliasing filter. So far I'm finding that I don't need to apply any sharpening in post to the Fuji files.

Carter's Beach, Westport. Fujifilm X-E1 with Fujinon 16-50mm. f/11 @ 1/1200th. ISO 400

The clouds were spectacular on this trip, and the X-E1 has managed to capture them in all their puffy glory! These literally are just grab shots, but I'm very happy with all of them. I have done a little work in post - some clarity, dehaze and shadow/highlight tweaking - but it's all fairly minimal work that I would expect to have to do with any RAW image.

Carter's Beach Driftwood. Fujifilm X-E1 with Fujinon 16-50mm. f/11 @ 1/420th, ISO 400 (B&W conversion in LR)

So overall, I'm very happy with the quality of images I'm getting from the little X-E1. It's a lot of fun to use and IQ from even the cheap 16-50mm kit lens is very good. It does have a couple of 'quirks' that I'm learning to live with, but these are minor gripes.

For one, the histogram in the evf goes away once the shutter button is pressed halfway and the exposure is 'locked' on. I guess Fuji figure that you've spent time getting the exposure correct, so you don't need to see the histogram once the shutter button is half-pressed? I'd still like to see it in the viewfinder all the time - even the locked value.

I would also like to see 'blinkies' in the evf as well, prior to taking the image. The histogram helps, but it doesn't have very clear sides to the graph, which makes it difficult to judge clipping. The X-E1 does show blinkies, but only after the fact, during image preview. Blinkies visible in the evf in real-time would be super helpful.

But these really are minor gripes. For a small, lightweight, take anywhere camera system with excellent IQ, the Fujifilm X-E1 is darn near perfect! Add some great film simulations and it's even perfecter! From what I've seen out of the images thus far, I'd be more than happy to take the Fujifilm X-E1 on a serious travel holiday as my only camera. OMG! Have I finally, after all these years, found my 'ideal' travel camera!?