I mentioned lens testing the other day. Today I decided to find out if the longer end of the Fuji 100mm to 400mm zoom was really......meh. Or not.

(click on the images to see them bigger)

There is a lot of misinformation out here on the web. If you take it too seriously you'll either miss some good opportunities or you'll fall flat on your face. I mentioned in a previous post that most reviewers of lenses (exceptions being people with test benches and people who know how to use them or people with decades of experience using all manner of lenses professionally) have the manufacturer of the lens they are interested in testing (for affiliate clicks) send them a lens to "test" for a week. In amongst their many weekly chores, such as answering comments, having coffee, buying small hats, grooming their beards, attending manufacturer's press junkets and making Vlogs, they may take the lens (without updating firmware in either camera or lens) out for a few hours of shooting. They'll take along whomever they are dating at the time to serve as a model. Then, with a coffee in one hand and a camera in the other they will proceed to (vaguely) handhold the camera and the test lens at ridiculously slow shutter speeds (with an almost religious belief in the supreme power of image stabilization technologies) and then shoot at whatever catches their eyes. In some instances I believe that they just point the camera randomly and keep the shutter button pressed down, hoping to fix up whatever they manage to get on their memory cards in post production (which they insist on calling "editing."). 

You can see where I'm going with this, right? Their methodologies, honed by weeks of experience, might work okay if testing is being done on wide angle lenses; maybe even medium focal length lenses but as they zoom inward toward the longest focal lengths the ever magnifying angle of view shows up more and more of their bad/awful/faulty technique. Which they then blame on the "poor imaging qualities" of the long ends of (nearly every) telephoto zoom lensed they test. 

I have read in several places about the long end of the Fujifilm 100-400mm lens being somewhat "soft." I thought I'd better test the copy I got last week in the unlikely case that the less capable testers might have gotten it right just this once. I wanted to find out any bad news while I was still able to return the lens for a refund.

I shots some frames with the lens bolted to an XH-1 which was bolted to the biggest, strongest tripod Gitzo makes. I aimed at targets with lots of fine detail; targets which themselves were immobile. The lens was nicely sharp at the longest focal length, even when used wide open. So that became the gold standard for my tests. I might have been able to slightly improve my results by using the camera's self timer but I was satisfied (for my uses) with what I was getting in these studio test conditions. I could have made the images even sharper had I used short duration electronic flash for everything..... but that's a digression. 

My next test was to go outside and shoot the lens the way I might normally use it. And the way even the most inept web-tester might use it. I put the same camera and lens on a Leica monopod and headed to the Pfluger Pedestrian Bridge that spans Lady Bird Lake. I put the camera in aperture priority, chose the wide open aperture (f5.6 at 400mm), AF-C, and proceeded to photograph people as they biked, walked, scootered (is that how we say it?) and jogged across the bridge. Almost every frame was shot at the longest focal length of 400mm. The exceptions were the grouping of downtown building shots (taken from about half a mile away) that start at 100mm and go in steps out to 400mm, just so you can see the range. 

It was a two coffee day for me but the monopod neutralized the overall effects of caffeine poisoning fairly well. While none of the frames are absolutely perfect I would chalk that up to the fact that it was my first real outing with the lens and I've previously confessed to not using the longer focal lengths too often. Click on the images and see what you think. 

Could they be improved? Yes! I could stop down to f8 or f11 and I'm sure I'd pick up a bit of sharpness as a result. I could ask everyone to stop moving so I could carefully manually focus, etc. But the bottom line is my studio results told me what the potential of this lens is and this test outside shows me what I can expect in non-studio, actual environmental use might be. Would I buy the lens again? Yeah. 

After further thought and evaluation this morning I thought I'd add this: Besides being sharp all over the zoom range of this lens I should mention two other things; first, the lens is really lightweight and compact for the range it covers and the speed it offers. You can actually handhold this lens if you have to. You won't get the sharpness you'd get using it on a monopod or tripod but you won't get it from any other lens in this range either. Secondly, I didn't mention how good the image stabilization is. Beyond just taking out the jitters we humans add to the equation the I.S. steadies the viewfinder image which makes it easier, at longer focal lengths, to more effectively compose the image. At up to 250mm (estimated) I can get sharp images, free from camera shake, if I use the I.S. and take my time to let the system settle and for my breathing to settle. Might want to skip the extra cup of coffee if your intention (with any lens) is to rely on I.S. for long focal length, handheld shots.....

All I.S. systems take time to settle. Don't rush. 

Gearing up for a busy week ahead, starting with a deep dive into the play/musical, "Matilda" at Zach Theatre.

I'll be at a late rehearsal on Friday to watch the blocking and the flow of a new production at Zach Theatre. I don't charge for my early reconnaissance because I know it will make me a better photographer on the two shoot days that follow. On Sunday, and then again on Tuesday, I'll be photographing the Tech Rehearsal and then the final Dress Rehearsal to generate marketing and public relations photographs. There are a lot of children in the play and since they can't work the same kind of schedule the adult actors do there will be a "red team" and a "blue team" which will alternate. Shooting at Tech and Dress rehearsals ensures that I'll get photographs with all the members of both teams. 

While I may modify my selections after my scouting adventure I thought you might be interested in what kind of gear I'm planning to bring along and why. 

I'll be depending, mostly, on two lenses for the bulk of my coverage; the 16-55mm f2.0 and the 50-140mm f2.8. I certainly don't need anything wider as the 16mm end of the shorter zoom can cover the entire stage from midway up the orchestra seating. The 16/55mm is perfect for wide coverage when we have large ensembles on stage while the 50/140mm is perfect for closer shots with the 140mm focal length allowing me to fill the frame with a standing actor or compose a nice, tight two person shot with good isolation. 

Both lenses are usable wide open and I intend to shoot them either wide open or, at the most, one stop down from wide open. I'll use both of the lens on dedicated XH1 bodies. While I don't necessarily need the image stabilization I do want to use the soft shutter in those cameras, in mechanical mode, if I start to see any banding in the electronic shutter mode. The mechanical shutter is quiet enough to use even with an audience, if necessary. I use battery grips on both cameras with three batteries per camera so I don't have to worry about the need for battery changes during the show.

I'm also bringing along the new, 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 for its theatre debut. I'll dedicate a third XH-1 body for that lens as well, also with a battery grip. I want to see how usable the longer zoom is for isolating the person in the starring role for some of the special effects shots on stage. One of the benefits of owning three identical bodies set up in exactly the same way is the ability to put a camera down on the seat next to me, grab a body with a different lens to shoot and not having to worry about doing anything more than fine-tuning exposure. I'll know pretty quickly whether or not the long lens is going to be useful in this situation and, if it isn't I'll turn off that camera and ignore it for the rest of the evening. 

I'm comfortable shooting the XH-1 cameras at a full stop above what I am comfortable with when shooting with the Panasonic G9s so I am looking forward to working between ISO 3200 and 6400 instead of my previous range of 1600 to 3200. 

The main things I am looking for in my scouting will be how often and in what configuration dance numbers happen and how often groups come together for dramatic compositions. I'll actually take notes with quick sketches in order to get the run of the show clear in my mind. Secondarily, I'll be looking for the lighting cues and color filtration of various scenes and try to figure out how best to configure the cameras for the best compromise between total control and useable file size. 

That's what I'm up to on Friday, Sunday and Tuesday. 

On Thursday I'm back in San Antonio for a day to shoot a corporate event for Austin based client, WP Engine. The rest of the week is set aside for pre-production for video. We'll be going into a sound studio location to make a promotional video for a different production coming to Zach Theatre after "Matilda." I'll be working with their in-house technical director on a three camera shoot and we're both looking forward to the project. This is one I get to do the way I like best: we plan together, we shoot together and then I get to hand off the footage to the technical director and sit back while he does the heavy lifting of editing. Ahhhhh.

A shoot like this is a great opportunity to give some of the single focal length lenses a real workout. The technical director and I both agree that the majority of our project will work very well with a limited depth of field look. I hear the 90mm f2.0 calling......

Austin is starting to come back to (business) life after SXSW and Spring Break. It's nice to get back into a working groove. I've had enough time off.