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I did a thing and decided to jump into photography. I've always enjoyed the science behind light and lenses, so it was a natural step. I didn't even consider looking at goon threads for advice since I mainly stick to the cycling stuff, so I was pleasantly surprised to see all the Fuji love. Looks like I made a decent choice: the X-T1 in silver with the 35mm f/2.. It was a bit spendy, but, as I learned with bikes, do it right the first time. I'm on the fence about the lens. I'm a beginner and mainly enjoy outdoor things like camping, backpacking, and touristing. Will this be fine or should I exchange it for the 23mm f/2? Also, if anyone has good advice that they wish they knew early on, I would love to hear it. In the meantime I'll just be reading this whole thread obsessively from start to finish.
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Mar 21, 2018 05:31
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| # ? Jun 8, 2024 18:01 |
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Biggus Duckus posted:I did a thing and decided to jump into photography. I've always enjoyed the science behind light and lenses, so it was a natural step. 'sup fellow cyclist (mountain biker here). Like bikes, photography does have a few cheap (relatively speaking) products that punch way above their weight but up to a certain point, you get what you pay for. My advice: enjoy your X-T1 and 35mm. That combo is pretty close to what's considered a "normal" focal length, meaning the images will more or less compare to what you see. Go shoot some pictures, have fun, then after some time decide: do you find yourself constantly wishing you could get photos of objects that are far away? Look for a longer lens. Are you disappointed that you can't get everything into your scenes? Check out wider lenses. Want both? Buy both. And keep researching and buying. Welcome to photography. As a cyclist you're already accustomed to opening up your wallet and this is no different. If you find yourself getting into birds/wildlife or sports, you're truly doomed. Edit: I wanted to add that like cycling, photography is very easy to get lost into technical aspects, min/max analysis paralysis, and Gear Acquisition Syndrome. But as always, the point of the gear is to actually use the gear. My advice stands: go out and use what you got and after a while you'll learn what gaps you need to fill. Rot fucked around with this message at 05:58 on Mar 21, 2018 |
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Mar 21, 2018 05:53
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Rot posted:Go shoot some pictures, have fun, then after some time decide: do you find yourself constantly wishing you could get photos of objects that are far away? Look for a longer lens. Are you disappointed that you can't get everything into your scenes? Check out wider lenses.  . (M43) Been using the Panny 20mm for a few months now, then got the Oly 45mm a few weeks ago, and bit the bullet on the Laowa 7.5mm today  . Technically can’t shoot that far with the 45, but I also have the cheapo 40-150 which does a decent job with enough light.quote:Edit: I wanted to add that like cycling, photography is very easy to get lost into technical aspects, min/max analysis paralysis, and Gear Acquisition Syndrome. But as always, the point of the gear is to actually use the gear. My advice stands: go out and use what you got and after a while you'll learn what gaps you need to fill.
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Mar 21, 2018 07:11
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japtor posted:Still not particularly good at swapping lenses quickly but eh, I’ll figure it out eventually. There are people who swap lenses slowly and then there are people who drop a lot of lenses.
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Mar 21, 2018 09:47
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Helen Highwater posted:There are people who swap lenses slowly and then there are people who drop a lot of lenses.
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Mar 21, 2018 10:05
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Helen Highwater posted:There are people who swap lenses slowly and then there are people who drop a lot of lenses. Best thing about tiny m43 lenses: single handed blind lens swaps. I don't know how I've managed to not break everything including my own body parts doing it (considering my monumental clumsiness), but man it feels slick doing it.
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Mar 21, 2018 14:27
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Finger Prince posted:Best thing about tiny m43 lenses: single handed blind lens swaps. I don't know how I've managed to not break everything including my own body parts doing it (considering my monumental clumsiness), but man it feels slick doing it. I'm not sure if it's the best thing about tiny m43 lenses, but it's definitely near the top of the list. The fact that I can fit my whole body + lenses setup in a single peak design field pouch is (for me) the best thing.
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Mar 21, 2018 14:56
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Yeah, these compact systems are great... until they suddenly evolve like a loving pokemon. What have I done?
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Mar 21, 2018 15:46
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Wikipedia Brown posted:
I dunno but what you should be doing is petting that dogge.
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Mar 22, 2018 00:44
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8th-snype posted:I dunno but what you should be doing is petting that dogge. Don't worry, she gets plenty of lovin'. https://www.flickr.com/photos/jd_cohen/albums/72157676390725555
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Mar 22, 2018 01:17
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Pibbles are the best dogs
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Mar 22, 2018 01:52
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I like Roz.
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Mar 22, 2018 03:18
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drat, Roz is good as hell
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Mar 22, 2018 11:38
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Wikipedia Brown posted:Yeah, these compact systems are great... until they suddenly evolve like a loving pokemon. What's that gadget on the RAM mount?
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Mar 22, 2018 12:32
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That's the Zoom H5 Handy Recorder. And thanks everyone for looking at my dog. She is indeed very good, at least under certain controlled circumstances.
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Mar 22, 2018 13:01
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Wikipedia Brown posted:Don't worry, she gets plenty of lovin'. https://www.flickr.com/photos/jd_cohen/albums/72157676390725555 That’s a good doggo.
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Mar 22, 2018 13:54
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Ignore my ramblings about wanting the A7 iii. It is a stupid idea as I love my Fuji and don't do enough video to deal with the Sony menu nightmare.
mAlfunkti0n fucked around with this message at 15:13 on Mar 22, 2018 |
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Mar 22, 2018 14:54
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same except I'm getting an a7iii anyway
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Mar 23, 2018 00:34
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Decided to rent an A7 ii and 16-36 f4 from a local shop ($60 with a return on Monday... love this place). Jeebus this thing is heavy. I do like it so far but the weight alone is already dragging it down. Still worth it to play around with a Sony as my only other experience with them is the rx100 mk iii.
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Mar 23, 2018 03:34
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The X-H1 is such a stupid deal compared to the A7III but I got one anyway  . I'm hoping the A7III convinces Fuji they need to step up their game and offer more for the $.
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Mar 23, 2018 03:40
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grahm posted:The X-H1 is such a stupid deal compared to the A7III but I got one anyway After looking at the Sony lineup I couldn't afford good lenses anyways. Fuji may not have fantastic video performance on the X-T2 but it's good enough for what I am doing and the photos are still my primary reason to have a camera. I looked at the X-H1 and while I like the e-ink display at the top and IBIS, I don't feel they are a "need" for me. Let's see what else Fuji releases.
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Mar 23, 2018 14:11
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mAlfunkti0n posted:After looking at the Sony lineup I couldn't afford good lenses anyways. Fuji may not have fantastic video performance on the X-T2 but it's good enough for what I am doing and the photos are still my primary reason to have a camera. I looked at the X-H1 and while I like the e-ink display at the top and IBIS, I don't feel they are a "need" for me. Let's see what else Fuji releases. To be honest I'm kinda bummed on the X-H1. I mean - I like the size, IBIS for my FD lenses, the display on top, and I don't mind the removal of the exposure comp dial (reminds me of my old 1D and it's button combos). Also, it'll be a great upgrade from my X-T1. But I can't help being a bit disappointed when I look what other brands offer in the same class, for the same or even less money. I'm going to wait out the summer, see what firmware updates do, and maybe hold on to see what the X-T3 announcement says.
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Mar 23, 2018 17:31
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Rot posted:But I can't help being a bit disappointed when I look what other brands offer in the same class, for the same or even less money. 
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Mar 23, 2018 19:27
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I'm thinking about that value proposition comparison. The X-H1 and a7iii are close to the same price. The X-T2 and other current Fuji cameras are cheaper, but so are some of the older Sony FF cameras. Fuji has much cheaper f2.8 zooms, compared to the GM series, but of course there are tradeoffs in other factors besides lens speed that put the GM stuff on FF cameras on top for sheer performance. Fuji has the great primes, but FE primes are competatively priced. The FE 85/1.8 costs about as much as the 56/1.2, for example. You could definitely squeeze into a Fuji kit with some good primes and a 2.8 zoom for less than an equivalent set from Sony, but accept an f/4 zoom on the Sony instead and you're looking at something much closer in price, but full frame. I think the Fuji cameras might be better-made and have better weather sealing. That's one place where you might get better value for Fuji hardware, but it's kind of an edge case and I'm not sure... maybe Sony's improved this since a few years ago. People hate the Sony menus, but I never minded them. What I do really like about Fuji is the out-of-camera color rendition and jpeg quality. I don't open Lightroom anymore unless I'm doing paid work; that's a quality of life improvement for me and one of the big reasons I went with Fuji, along with the physical controls, but that's all entirely a matter of taste. It seems like price of all photography poo poo has gone up in the last couple of years. It's not that full frame is suddenly more accessible, it's that everything else has gotten so drat expensive that lower-end FF stuff now seems reasonably priced, because it hasn't skyrocketed in the same way that MFT and APS stuff has. It's like every part of the camera is getting more expensive except the sensor.
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Mar 25, 2018 02:03
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SMERSH Mouth posted:I'm thinking about that value proposition comparison. The X-H1 and a7iii are close to the same price. The X-T2 and other current Fuji cameras are cheaper, but so are some of the older Sony FF cameras. Fuji has much cheaper f2.8 zooms, compared to the GM series, but of course there are tradeoffs in other factors besides lens speed that put the GM stuff on FF cameras on top for sheer performance. Renting this A7 ii has been good. I like the feel and honestly the menus are easy to work with. If I made a switch it would be later down the road to see how the A7 iii fares. I also think prime only would be the way to go for me, keeping the weight down would be key for me. Fuji stuff is still great for me for now.
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Mar 25, 2018 02:28
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SMERSH Mouth posted:It seems like price of all photography poo poo has gone up in the last couple of years. It's not that full frame is suddenly more accessible, it's that everything else has gotten so drat expensive that lower-end FF stuff now seems reasonably priced, because it hasn't skyrocketed in the same way that MFT and APS stuff has. It's like every part of the camera is getting more expensive except the sensor. I think that's also mainly because sales have been dropping overall hence they're trying to make up by selling at higher prices.
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Mar 26, 2018 03:22
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alkanphel posted:I think that's also mainly because sales have been dropping overall hence they're trying to make up by selling at higher prices.  . IMO camera equipment is returning to its natural market position of being for serious hobbyists and pros now that the "wants to take minimally adequate photos on the cheap" niche has been taken over by phones. Also, even previous generation cameras are now good enough for many purposes, so unless you have very specific camera needs there's no reason not to buy a lightly used last-gen model on ebay for half the price.
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Mar 26, 2018 08:23
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I CANNOT EJACULATE WITHOUT SEEING NATIVE AMERICANS BRUTALISED!
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suck my woke dick posted:
Yeah I can't see myself using anything other than my phone for casual/travel photos. Because I'm into photography, so I would have a camera too but if not I definitely wouldn't get one now. And I see more and more people thinking like me. Camera shops here that used to be crowded like hell even on weekdays now have more staff than customers on weekends! Huge change in just a few years.
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Mar 26, 2018 09:13
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alkanphel posted:Yeah I can't see myself using anything other than my phone for casual/travel photos. Because I'm into photography, so I would have a camera too but if not I definitely wouldn't get one now. And I see more and more people thinking like me. Camera shops here that used to be crowded like hell even on weekdays now have more staff than customers on weekends! Huge change in just a few years. We have a ProCam that opened here in Cincinnati and I love that they are there (cheap rentals, etc) but I don't know how they stay in business as there is never anyone there. There are things that I really love my iPhone for when shooting like the geotagging and automatic stories it creates. Still though, for anything I really want to print bigger than a 4x6 or 5x7 my Fuji comes out.
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Mar 26, 2018 13:37
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The 300mm f/4 + 1.4x teleconverter is the raddest combination BRW40744 by Ben Wilcox, on Flickr BRW30230 by Ben Wilcox, on Flickr BRW41151 by Ben Wilcox, on Flickr
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Mar 27, 2018 15:18
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So, year end bonus time and I don't want to spend it all in one place, so no changing camera systems. I'd like to get a lens for my GX85, but there are so many to choose from! When I remember to bring my camera, and remember to put a memory card in it, I find I use the 60mm macro almost all of the time. The 15mm summilux is lovely but also not particularly useful, and as I have found, can be somewhat compensated for by phone and/or panoramic mode. I love the 60mm, but it's pretty limited in usefulness as well, but since I still love macro shooting I'm definitely keeping it. So that brings me to the following: Panasonic 12-35mm f2.8 - gain a bit of functionality at the expense of some speed from the summilux. Enough to justify? Panaleica 12-60mm f2.8-4 - I keep eyeing this one up, but practically every review is "ehh don't bother", and at 60mm it's just a worse 60mm than I already have. Olympus 12-100mm f4 - big brute, but basically the same size as the panny 100-300mm which I used successfully on my old GX7. Also expensive and I wouldn't get all its benefits on the Panasonic body for the money. Panasonic 35-100mm f2.8 - good size, do I really need to go wide anymore? Plus I might be able to get a mk1 cheap enough to justify keeping the 15mm. Generally I prefer primes to zooms, despite the above, so maybe add a cool focal length I haven't used, like an Oly 75mm or (budget, lol) Nocticron?
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Mar 28, 2018 23:29
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What kind of camera flash are you guys using for your M43 cameras? My GH5 needs a good flash that I can use for corporate portraits and food photography.
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Mar 29, 2018 00:03
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The Oly 75mm f/1.8 is really fast and a great portrait lens. There are also now the f/1.2 primes, which aren't cheap but I have loved the 25mm
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Mar 29, 2018 00:16
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DJExile posted:The Oly 75mm f/1.8 is really fast and a great portrait lens. I've never really shot portraits, and don't see myself starting, but how about street candids (which I guess can technically be a kind of portraiture)? Is the reach enough to be unobtrusive, and on the flip side, is it too much to be useful in street markets, street scenes, etc where you physically can't back up any farther? I remember reading some glowing reviews of it.
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Mar 29, 2018 00:45
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Finger Prince posted:I've never really shot portraits, and don't see myself starting, but how about street candids (which I guess can technically be a kind of portraiture)? Is the reach enough to be unobtrusive, and on the flip side, is it too much to be useful in street markets, street scenes, etc where you physically can't back up any farther? I remember reading some glowing reviews of it. If I were you I'd get a 45 or 42.5mm for a more general-purpose and street-capable telephoto lens. The Oly 45mm is very small and unobtrusive. I have a Fuji system, but with just a 23/2 and the kit zoom right now I'm feeling the need for a fast 80mm-ish prime. I think it's a focal legnth that has some utility for landscapes and candids but is also good for set portraits. (After that, then I just need and ultra-tele and an ultrawide to 'complete' my kit. The 100-400 is the only game in Fuji land for me, as the 50-140 is too short for my purposes and the 200/2 is '2' much money and doesn't come with a 2X TC. For a wide, I'm still torn between the 14/2.8 and the 16/1.4. 14mm would be a better compliment to the 23, but the 16mm would be more useful in a wider range of situations..) DJExile posted:The 300mm f/4 + 1.4x teleconverter is the raddest combination The antelope picture was taken in the rain? Impressive that your shutter speed was slow enough to make the raindrops streaky but the camera was stable enough to get a crisp subject at a G-D 840mm equivalent focal length. Pics look great, but the shadows are a little green on my monitor. Fighting the reddish look of Oly's overcast daylight setting a little too hard in LR?
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Mar 29, 2018 01:18
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Finger Prince posted:I've never really shot portraits, and don't see myself starting, but how about street candids (which I guess can technically be a kind of portraiture)? Is the reach enough to be unobtrusive, and on the flip side, is it too much to be useful in street markets, street scenes, etc where you physically can't back up any farther? I remember reading some glowing reviews of it. If I'm in close proximity on the street i'd want something wider than 75mm, that's a LOT of reach on m4/3
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Mar 29, 2018 01:23
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SMERSH Mouth posted:If I were you I'd get a 45 or 42.5mm for a more general-purpose and street-capable telephoto lens. The Oly 45mm is very small and unobtrusive. DJExile posted:If I'm in close proximity on the street i'd want something wider than 75mm, that's a LOT of reach on m4/3 Some good points... Just browsing back through some of my Flickr photos and yeah I'm pretty happy with the reach the 60mm gives me, and don't see needing a whole lot more, and drat the 15mm does take some lovely pictures when it's on, but it's too wide for most things. So that narrows me down to something between the two being ideal. The 15 is plenty wide, either they Oly 45 or Panasonic 42.5 would be worth a shot, and cheap enough to keep the 15 for lovely evening/night and postcard scenes.
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Mar 29, 2018 01:58
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Finger Prince posted:Some good points... Just browsing back through some of my Flickr photos and yeah I'm pretty happy with the reach the 60mm gives me, and don't see needing a whole lot more, and drat the 15mm does take some lovely pictures when it's on, but it's too wide for most things. So that narrows me down to something between the two being ideal. The 15 is plenty wide, either they Oly 45 or Panasonic 42.5 would be worth a shot, and cheap enough to keep the 15 for lovely evening/night and postcard scenes. There's also the 25mm f/1.8 if you don't want to spend the money on the f/1.2
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Mar 29, 2018 02:09
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I carry only the 15mm 1.7 and the 42.5mm with my gx85. I seldom want for anything else. The 25mm 1.7 wasn't getting used so I leave that one with my wife so she has a fast prime for kid shots at home. 15 to 60mm is a pretty large gap, If you feel like the 15mm just isn't your jam then maybe sell it and pick up the Oly 25mm 1.2 PRO or the Leica 25mm 1.4? Personally I really like the 15mm, a lot. I pull out the 42.5mm when I need it but by default the 15mm stays on the camera. Also: the 42.5mm is going to do dual IS with the gx85, worth considering.
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Mar 29, 2018 03:47
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Yeah I’d suggest the 45/42.5 too, having gotten and played with my 45 a bunch recently, it’s got enough reach already that I’d think 75 would be way too long unless you were shooting from a decent distance, barring something like wanting tight headshots from afar. And as mentioned it’s small, which besides being a plus for you in terms of storage size and weight, can be a bit less intimidating for your subjects. Anyway on the other end of the spectrum, my Laowa 7.5mm 2.0 came in. Still haven’t entirely figured it out, but I feel like it’s the first time where I’ve felt like one of the higher end m43 camera sensors (20MP w/no lowpass filter) might help a bunch. Like it seems like there’s so much being captured...but the sensor (GX7, 16MP) can only resolve so much detail. In particular I think I have to be a lot more careful with ISO or else the grain can eat a lot of detail away (cause wider, stuff farther away/smaller, etc). Or maybe the focus peaking on my camera isn’t fine enough and I’m just focusing slightly off on the further objects. Hopefully I try out some (crappy lit neighborhood) night sky shots when the moon gets out of the way, cause that’s part of why I went for it over some other wide options. And if you want to shoot wide and close up, this thing can focus pretty dang close, like 2-3 inches.
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Mar 29, 2018 09:27
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