Jun
11
Fujinon 55-200mm Zoom Lens Test Run | Gene Lowinger
Fuji X-E1 / Fuji X-Pro1 / Lenses and Accessoires / Lenses and Accessoires / Sample Images
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I don’t usually talk about equipment stuff or technical settings on this blog, but today will be an exception. I’m off to a bluegrass festival on Sunday to meet up with some old friends from Nashville who will be performing. One of the reasons I splurged on the new Fujinon zoom lens is to be able to shoot concert and festival performances, so this is the first opportunity to put this puppy to the test in a real life situation. I spent the afternoon today in the Chelsea district an the High Line of Manhattan to test out various functions and settings, and to get comfortable with using the EVF. Most importantly to see how sharp the IQ is at the full zoom distance, and to see just how many stops the Optical Image Stabilization will buy for me. I’ve got a bit more learning to do with using the EVF and the image stabilization, but I’m really pleased with the results I got today. I examined all the images at 100% and was quite surprised to see that I can easily hand hold the camera at 1/60th second. In some cases down to 1/30th second, and in one example below even to 1/15th second (although in a real life situation I wouldn’t go slower than 1/60th second).
All the images below were shot RAW and turned into jpegs in Lightroom with no other processing, so there’s some noise in the images shot at faster shutter speeds. I’ll be posting some of the individual shots in the next few days after I process them for noise and do my usual b/w conversions….
See on genelowinger.blogspot.com
Jun
11
Shooting with the Fuji 55-200 mm | Nick Lukey
Fuji X-E1 / Fuji X-Pro1 / Lenses and Accessoires / Lenses and Accessoires / Reviews / Reviews
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A rather big box arrived at the gallery this morning, furiously cutting through a million miles of tape and plastic air bags, lay my new lens, the 55-200 mm. It looked impressive and had a nice heft, not too heavy not too light. Quickly grabbed the X pro, locked into place nicely. Initial thoughts are very well made feels and looks good. The balance of the camera is quite even. Did the firmware upgrade, and had a play. Image quality is awesome, no I’m not bullshitting this glass is good, I would say a tad sharper than my 70-200 f2.8 vr2. Contrast is good too. The hood is nice and large and thankfully not a tulip one. The image stabilization works very well, however I think it will suck the hell out of the battery. Zoom ring is a trifle stiff but the aperture ring is a delight positive clicks. Not impressed by not having the aperture markings on the lens, this is a faux pas to me, you read the aperture in the viewfinder. I like to use it by setting it beforehand without having to raise the camera to my eye. The OVF is a waste of time so it’s EVF only with this baby attached. The light this evening is fabulous so I’m off to give it a workout. Well after spending a couple of hours out in the lanes. I am more than impressed by the image quality,and all round handling of the X pro 55-200 combo. Some of my shots tonight were direct into the setting sun testing out its flare handling, very very good, one of the flaws in my Nikon 70-200 was side flare, the Fuji lens showed none of those issues at all. That said the lens does struggle with focus, sometimes on seemingly easy to focus subjects. Macro focus is good I’ve never had a 300 mm focus so close. Overall I would score the lens 9/10. My lens roadmap is complete, the Nikons are being retired. Next up another body i think an XE 1, and leave the 55-200 on that…..
See more pictures on www.thebigpicturegallery.com
Jun
11
“You’re brave,” that’s what Stan Horaczek from Pop Photo told me when I told him that I’m shooting a wedding with the new Zeiss 12mm f2.8 and 32mm f1.8 Touit lenses for the Fujifilm X series system. He said this not because he didn’t trust the products, but because he would never use brand new gear for anything paid. However, I do it all the time for this site–and a recent wedding that I photographed was no exception. Since stepping out of professionally shooting weddings years ago, I had always wondered what it would be like to shoot one with an X Pro 1. Granted, it was only the secondary camera. And after being smitten with Zeiss lenses for a while, I figured that this would be one of the best testing grounds for the new optics targeted at the higher end. While they performed admirably, something went wrong–very wrong…..
See on www.thephoblographer.com
Jun
11
….
I’d love to say the Zeiss Touit 12mm f/2.8 should be purchased for your Fuji without question, but I can’t. As the pronunciation of the lens family implies, Zeiss would like you to just run out and do it today. I wouldn’t. I’d put the Fuji 14mm f/2.8 ahead of this particular lens. It’s less expensive and doesn’t have an aperture control ring that spins whenever the wind changes direction. On top of that, the Fuji 14mm sports a very useful depth of field scale and, despite being lighter, actually feels denser and less toy-like then the Zeiss. Out of the box I really, really wanted to love this lens. I love ultra wides, putting the 12mm right up my alley. Maybe if the price was $900 to $1,000, I could see past the minor flaws……
See more pictures on petapixel.com
Jun
11
Conclusion:
Looks like Fuji produced another winner with the 55-200mm for its line of zoom lenses. It shows true professional qualities: no distortion, solid build, high resolution, image stabilization, and quick focus. This is a lot for a lens with a $699 price tag, much better than most zooms I have tested in this price range, and even better than some costing several times as much….
See more pictures on aboutphography.blogspot.it
Jun
11
I was lucky enough to be invited to New York for Zeiss’ Touit lens release and they were kind enough to loan me a 32mm f/1.8 lens in Sony E mount to experiment with. Unfortunately being away during our busiest repair season got me behind and I’ve only just now had a chance to experiment with the lenses a bit. This is more speculative than what I usually write. Generally I wait until we have multiple copies to run Imatest, look at sample variation, etc. In this case, though, it became apparent that when we do get full stock in, it’s all going to go right back out on rental since there’s already a waiting list. So I thought it would be worth investigating the single Zeiss 32mm f/1.8 copy we had…..
See more on www.lensrentals.com
Jun
11
Google Translater (JP -> ENG)
XF lens Fujifilm’s whole body. This is why a standard range zoom and prime lenses some have been line-up so far, telephoto zoom system was released finally. Because it had been published previously in the lens roadmap Fujifilm-provided, of course, but also for everyone currently under consideration, all of you are using the X-Series feel lens that have been waiting for that me appeared or would not be. Lens attractive does have XF lens, but in the scene you want drawn to the subject at hand, it was the place I want a telephoto system still. Has a zoom range of 305mm from 84mm in 35mm format, because it is a spec of camera shake correction function with the 4.5 stage of Furthermore, it can you make it possible to shoot without being bound to the situation and time zone more than ever will. I did what you said I tried shooting in various conditions this time, depiction with the three-dimensional impression and dense and the strength of the backlight to the expected. It is in the presence of slightly larger certainly in the XF lineup of lenses, but also have this capability, and much more compact compared to the lens of the same class of single-lens reflex. I can say us to enable new shooting style, and reliable lens.
See more pictures on photo.yodobashi.com
Mai
29
My new wide-angle has arrived, my 18mm was never really wide enough, so took the plunge and bought the 14mm F2.8.
The build quality as usual is first class, nice weight, all metal contstruction, feels nicely balanced when attached to the camera. The aperture ring has full and half click stops. First gripe, the aperture ring is way too loose, and can easily be caught whilst shooting. The manual focus ring is nice and has a great feel. A bonus with the ring is that it switches from Af to Manual focus by pushing the ring forward or pulling it back. Overall the quality feel of the lens, the distance markings and the depth of field scale, reveal a superb attention to detail by Fuji.
So whats it like to use in the field, one word FANTASTIC. It’s pin sharp, with a great depth of field, shooting either in af or manual mode is easy, set it up for zone focus, or hyperfocal and it gives you the depth of field to make quick street shooting a breeze. A minor nitpick is the lens hood, just a little bit too big and shows up a little too much in the viewfinder, when shooting with the OVF. However minor niggles aside, it is a great lens, delivers punchy sharp images with great IQ. All I need now is the big zoom and I will be totally setup. Some images taken with the 14mm and the Fuji Xpro 1.
See more pictures on www.thebigpicturegallery.com
Mai
24
Todays blogpost is a review of the Helios 44m-4 58mm f/2 lens. The lens was produced in the old Soviet Union by Jupiter among others from 1958 till 1992 and is one of most mass produced lenses in the world! I bought the M42 screwmount version (hence the 44m name), since I have that adapter, but they made it available in many other mounts. The reason for buying this lens was one thing, and one thing only: The swirley bokeh effect! The lens has, what is referred to as optical vignetting, meaning that out of focus “bokeh-balls” becomes more elipsoid as you move away from the center of the image. Also referred to, as “Cat-eye” effect, this phenomenon gives a pronounced feeling that the background “swirls” around the center focus subject. What really surprised me though, was all the other scenarios this lens was good for! The 58mm focuslength on a APS-C sensor turns into a 87mm FOV equivalent which makes it a really nice medium tele lens. For the streets I was VERY surprised at how well it is doing. And it does amazing with black and white photography. The lens is built like a tank! Seriously. METAL and GLASS….the USSR-way!! My copy is very smooth in the focus ring, and the aperture ring has nice clicks. A good condition lens. Because the lens was built in such superfluous numbers they’re CHEAP…. and I mean REALLY cheap! $10 on ebay and you get a good condition lens…. it’s ridiculous, really…..
See more pictures on jonasraskphotography.com
Mai
23
We’ve been playing with the Zeiss 32mm f1.8 for a little while now on the Fujifilm X Pro 1 and it dawned on us from the comments that it could perhaps be a competitor to the Fujifilm 35mm f1.4. The lenses share many similarities but also have a couple of key differences.
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Conclusions
While both lenses are quite good, Fujifilm has a major advantage with a more affordable offering while also retaining a better build quality. However, Zeiss has faster focusing and better image quality. This is kind of a tough test to consider but we should all take comfort in knowing that both lenses are excellent. But on a personal scale, I’ve always had a love for Zeiss products the same way that Steve Huff loves his Leicas. And in the end, I’ll have to give the win to the Zeiss despite owning Fujifilm’s lens.
See on www.thephoblographer.com
