1:1 aspect ratio. Fuji 50Sii. Voigtlander 58mm f1.4 (nikon mount/adapted).
Handsome male model; a stranger passing by.... naw. just me... Acros with G filter.
Loving the Jpegs...
Don't know about you but when I first get my hands on a very new to me camera there's a bit of fussing around, shopping and adapting that goes on. A process of getting a feel for the camera and the lenses and then deciding what's needed in the short term to really make the camera useful and ready to work the way you'd like it to.
My first move is usually to buy a couple extra batteries but the camera came with three. There are buckets of fast, big SD cards sitting around the studio so, again, not a priority.
The 50mm f3.5 lens is very nice and the adapted 58mm f1.4 Voigtlander lens is interesting and full of personality but I really wanted something just a bit longer. And a bit wider.
Almost everyone who has chimed in to comment on their experiences with this camera system has advised me to acquire the 35-70mm f4.5-5.6 Fuji zoom lens. Especially now while it's offered new for $500. The retail price is $1,000. When used in conjunction with the square format the lens is just long enough to make good portraits. And, when used in 4:3, it's just wide enough to do fun urban architecture shots.
I ordered one from B&H and it should be here sometime mid-week. I can't wait to try it out. The only fault that gets mentioned about the "kit" lens is the slow speed of its maximum aperture. But outside during this Summer in Texas? Not an issue. Inside the studio for portraits? Also not an issue.
The camera is really nice. I'm happy with everything it does now that I've figured out how to magnify a frame when previewing -- while using a (non-Fuji) manual focusing lens. Once I learned that, and how to shoot without a Fuji lens attached, I starting feeling more and more at home with the whole kit.
I'm resisting getting the lens I'd really like. That would be the 110mm f2.0 Fuji lens. It's kinda pricey at $2200 (on sale - new) but coming from Leica World it actually seems like a bargain. I think I'll spend some time with the current inventory until I feel a strong, pressing need for the ultimate portrait lens and then see where we are.
There are some older, 35mm legacy lenses still kicking around that I'd like to try first. Like the Carl Zeiss 135mm f2.0 APO Sonnar ZF.2 lens. Which on the full frame of the 50Sii would be the equivalent angle of view as a 106mm on a 24x36mm sensor. Now, that would make for a really nice portrait lens...
I am also interested to find out how well the two Zeiss M series lenses (28mm and 35mm) I recently got work on this camera. Oh, and the Voigtlander 40mm f2.0 Ultron (nikon F mount); since I have already acquired the needed lens adapter....
Most prospective buyers who talk about wanting to use these cameras with some of their Nikon, Canon or Pentax lenses, designed for the 35mm format, seem to worry about whether or not the lenses will show a hard, mechanical vignette, and even if the lenses will fully cover the 33x44mm sensor. I have fewer concerns since I keep coming back to the idea of using the camera as a square format machine. Still, it's nice to know that some lenses made for the smaller format actually do a decent job in covering the sensor without a hard mechanical vignette. A soft, optical vignette being much easier to correct.
A different topic: I've been so conscientious about getting to swim practice all month, in spite of the heat-inspired lack of any possible motivation. But I felt the need to give my brain a break from the pool today. I got up early and ran a three mile loop through the neighborhood. There's a long grade, about a quarter mile, up a hill that will really make one break a sweat. It was chilly when I laced up the shoes and headed out. A happy 80 degrees. Bearable in comparison to recent mornings. My time was not fast and it really wasn't meant to be. But running is different from walking and I don't want that rhythm to slip away from my muscle memory.
After the run and a cup of nice, Columbian Supremo coffee (drip, of course....) I felt warmed up and still had some excess energy so I headed to the gym to work through my usual 45 minutes of strength training. I'll never be ripped, chiseled and all puffed up but I sure am working hard at keeping sarcopenia at bay. Three times a week seems to be my limit. Anything more and I'm too stiff and sore to sleep comfortably. And then my flexibility falls apart...which is detrimental to effortless swimming. It's all interconnected.
Finally: Rounding up talent to photograph for portraits is harder than I remember. As Austin gets hotter and at the same time more affluent more and more of the beautiful people decamp during the Summer months and go elsewhere. The selection of people that I want to photograph, but who also have open schedules and a desire to be immortalized, wanes with the heat. I'll keep trying. I'd like to get back into practice....
One more program note: someone chided me offline (email) about the silliness of "changing systems yet again after just recently pronouncing my everlasting love for the Leica cameras." The implication being that grabbing a new Fuji MF camera to use must mean that I will rush to abandon all the other cameras and concentrate for the moment on obsessing only about the Fujis. I just don't see that happening. The Fuji 50Sxxx seems like a much more niche camera. And I still have a crush on the Leica SLs (the original). The SL2 is still the prime choice for work and I pressed it into service recently for a healthcare client. One that required all the cool stuff Leica offers as well as needing macro lenses, wide lenses and longer lenses. It worked beautifully. And the extra depth of field was mission critical...
Let me enjoy a fun camera without making it into a drama about the futility and neurosis of system changes. At least until you see me snap up a GFX 100S and a box full of Fuji primes..... Just sayin.
It's okay to have both. Really. I even asked my spouse. She said it would be fine. "As long as it's fun."
I wanted to see how the Voigtlander 58mm f1.4 Nokton looked when I used it on the Fuji 50Sii. I had the camera set to record in a 1:1 aspect ratio and took this image at f2.8 with the lens adapted for use on the camera with a Novoflex adapter. The focus was set onto the spine of the cinematography book near the left side of the stack. That's a somewhat out of focus photo of a photo of my dad in his old University office. Most of the books on the shelf are mine. Even the one in Chinese....
And look!!! No vignetting in the square!
10 comments:
No explanation necessary when talking about the Fuji GFX 100S, Kirk. There are rumors about an update/replacement being in the pipeline. If the 100S ever goes on clearance, I may just have to figure out some way to own one.
But do you have a television?
One thing that a lot of people don't take into account when it comes to camera purchases like you with the 50SII is that one of two things will happen: 1) You'll like it so much that you wear it out over a period of years, so as an annual expense, the price is quite low; or 2) You won't like it after a while, and you'll sell it off, but you got such a good price that you'll get most of your money back, so your real cost is the difference between the purchase and sale price, which might not be all that much. A lesson I learned when a friend and I bought a boat in Fort Lauderdale. Our wives sorta hit the roof when they found out how much we paid. Then, during covid, when everybody wanted to get away, and you could hardly buy a boat because a lot of factories were closed or slowed down, and there was huge demand, we sold it for a (small) profit. Then the wives were like, Uh, okay, but, you know...and we were like, Uh-Huh.
there's someone on youtube using the 100s with a canon tilt shift, no, two canon tilt shifts, but a laowa 17mm today, keith cooper
You shouldn't have to justify your purchase of camera gear to any of us.
I rarely own only one camera at a time - I have 4 now, which is not unusual for me, and I choose which one I'll use (and with which lens) based on mood and what I'm shooting.
I like having more than one available to choose when going out or on a trip.
Never have been a pro photographer, but it's been a hobby of mine since I started in the 70s. Connie used to question why I would buy or sell a camera or lens, but she really doesn't care if I do it now. We've been married for 51 years now, so I guess she's used to my quirks.
Looking forward to more reports and photos with the new camera.
There will always be those - apparently - who feel it necessary to provide commentary on those they do not understand, or cannot match. Quite frankly, I think it's simply an emotionally driven attempt to take a bite out of others. What an interesting, miserable life. Enjoy your new kit, and I look forward to hearing your thoughts.
Ron
In terms of excellent portrait lenses, one shouldn’t overlook the Mam 645s: 110 2.8, 150 3.5, or going very nearly Apo the 120 f4 or the 150 2.8. Have them all, favorite being the 120 which has excellent resolution and bokeh. Always go top mint from Japan, all less than 600. Throw in the dumb adapter for 60. A 35mm alternative being the Contax 100mm f3.5 or the Minolta MD 100 f4, both extraordinary. Or…the list goes on. No flies on a 105 Nikkor.
I know this doesn’t apply to you, but every time I try MF cameras and lenses, I’m turned off by the size of the lenses and the weight of the overall kit. So far, I’ve saved thousands on Fuji and Hasselblad by spending some money on renting them. Same applied to the Leica SL, which I loved but found too heavy. That’s despite the fact that I love those large sensors.
Kirk, You are growing a beard? It matches you well!
I said in my last comment that I'd never get a digital MF camera: too much money for not enough use. However, I have been picking over the details of your camera and I now have a serious case of GAS. £3,199 with the kit lens in the UK (no extra taxes). If I were in the market for a quality camera I'd be sorely tempted. I shall have to enjoy your adventures with it instead.
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