tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73014557355948912902024-03-07T12:41:27.704-08:00The Camera Ninja's BLOGChris Clabornehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05667976111738074928noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7301455735594891290.post-16150738148823556832024-01-04T20:16:00.000-08:002024-01-04T20:34:26.750-08:00Welcome to the Camera Ninja's BLOG<span style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">I'm a photographer in San Diego. I enjoy and therefore focus my 30+ years of experience on portraiture photography. I don't feel I'm the best, but as the </span><a href="http://cameraninja.com/" style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">Camera Ninja</a><span style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">, I've captured some very marketable images and more importantly, I really enjoyed the experience and the results. This BLOG is the result of various people asking me advice or questions and, like my other BLOGs (</span><a href="http://cloudrant.com/" style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">Cyberthoughts </a><span style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">& </span><a href="http://throboflife.com/" style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">The Throb of Life</a><span style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">), the strange need to jot it down. All images are mine and under copyright unless specifically stated. <a href="http://cameraninja.com/">CameraNinja.com</a></span><br />
<br />Chris Clabornehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05667976111738074928noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7301455735594891290.post-14833933018266237012024-01-04T14:35:00.000-08:002024-02-06T11:45:24.694-08:00Starting Out In Photography - Choosing A Camera<h2 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE1R56Oyr6JMN4DnIyJSh8GtT9HCEZfnP9WvqR2N6gFNpI2dWspnGeN4yafQebg8nPXNJhPfqber3a6qN2pNWKZSCEHN_o7Np6vldC0VHpywcz7BJqaD31GDFTw9GBECWgn70Zi4yYKsR6876kWDCPX4116Xpx-JNjOL-j81TidWIu-Pc8xL8WRiZ3Wu6r/s1325/C3S16259.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="883" data-original-width="1325" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE1R56Oyr6JMN4DnIyJSh8GtT9HCEZfnP9WvqR2N6gFNpI2dWspnGeN4yafQebg8nPXNJhPfqber3a6qN2pNWKZSCEHN_o7Np6vldC0VHpywcz7BJqaD31GDFTw9GBECWgn70Zi4yYKsR6876kWDCPX4116Xpx-JNjOL-j81TidWIu-Pc8xL8WRiZ3Wu6r/s320/C3S16259.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Why Photography?</h2><div>As you begin your journey, it' will be important to think about what you first plan to do as a photographer. As you look at the work of others, what is your focus? You don't have to limit yourself to just one genre or type of photography but what you want to do will inform your first steps in your learning journey.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rarely do photographers limit themselves to just one aspect of photography. Initially you can't afford, nor does it makes sense, to purchase a whole bunch of kits to perform various task, but rather a camera body that accepts different lenses. But... It's OK to purchase a camera that has a fixed lens to get started. Cameras like the Fujifilm X100v are excellent cameras and are one of the most popular street photography cameras.</div><span><a name='more'></a></span><div><br /></div><h2>Genres of Photography</h2><div>Below is a list of various genres of photography but it's not an exhaustive list. I've left out things like... you just want to take good picture of your kids, friends and pets or take great self-portraits for Instagram, all of which are just as valid.</div><ul><li data-checked="false">Portraiture</li><li>Landscape</li><li>Street</li><li>Macro</li><li>Product</li><li>Architecture</li><li>Industrial </li></ul><h1><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8-uDAYbjzwh2DelI9R2YgjnqVBot0UpZYA7qyHKA7-CB9K7LC7arxkW5_WhQs9nqn0Xq6BS_SGtWQlbhkbPosXu2H8C_1jmC-WXXDIITsmAdIqt1uh90lYs6q1fbGi-T0DI8qwWhEJhlKu9rqPNkF4_K36vjWFgMnKDx3_CJt3NLch9ZuTKwIkYbJCHQn/s1600/cameras.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="716" data-original-width="1600" height="143" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8-uDAYbjzwh2DelI9R2YgjnqVBot0UpZYA7qyHKA7-CB9K7LC7arxkW5_WhQs9nqn0Xq6BS_SGtWQlbhkbPosXu2H8C_1jmC-WXXDIITsmAdIqt1uh90lYs6q1fbGi-T0DI8qwWhEJhlKu9rqPNkF4_K36vjWFgMnKDx3_CJt3NLch9ZuTKwIkYbJCHQn/s320/cameras.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Choosing A Camera</h1><div>The first thing that photographers think about is equipment, mainly the camera. Makes sense, it's the "paint brush" of our trade. But like paint brushes, there are many kinds, used for different things. The "what camera should I buy" is really a difficult one. The kit that you assemble will be different depending on your objectives. For example, a wild-life expedition will normally require a longer more powerful lens, whereas street photography will typically call for a much wider lens and system that is less obtrusive. Each of the genres outlined above might require slightly different setup. </div><div><br /></div><h2>Brand </h2><div>Brand may not be important because all of the cameras that are five years or newer take excellent pictures and generally have all the features you will need. BUT, the brand you choose today will most likely be something that you stick with over time. Camera brands are kind of sticky mainly because the lenses aren't typically interchangeable between systems. Sure, you can get adapters but when you use these to move lenses between brands you may loose some functionality, like camera controlled aperture control or auto focus. This doesn't mean you are locked in, just something to be aware of. There is a very healthy used market where you can buy and sell your old equipment ranging from <a href="http://ebay.com">ebay.com</a> to <a href="http://keh.com">keh.com</a>. <a href="http://Keh.com">Keh.com</a> makes it super easy to sell your equipment and buy your equipment with short-term or long term warranty. They also check out the equipment and grade it before putting it up for sale. Several years ago, I switched from Nikon to Fujifilm, selling all but a couple of my lenses. I wrote about why <a href="https://cameraninjablog.blogspot.com/2015/05/fuji-love.html">HERE</a>, and <a href="https://cameraninjablog.blogspot.com/2019/02/fuji-love-continued.html">HERE</a>. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>NOTE</b>: I am a huge fan of Fujifilm and Nikon cameras and have a ton of experience with both of these brands, owning my first Nikon at age 13. If you purchase any of the leading brands made in the last 5 years, you'll be able to take fantastic photos and it should meet your needs for quite some time. I've compared photos from photographers that are using thousands of dollars of Leica equipment to a modest setup from Fujifilm and there is no difference in my view. A camera is just a bush, and in the right hands, can create epic pictures. In addition to Fujifilm and Nikon, you could consider some other great platforms from Sony, Cannon, and Olympus.</div><h2><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbDUOmTRny_SiG5n2_JuKkSFTAvN03q9K9Qhr8HQbbnx0aJ_k8xx1GiE9v-EbZMzX-kkgN9vGt67pV8IoV0-XZjxCmpca5BWNwzGpknKTJD_lQj3pKXKjeTcaQmif6y-8NaFJSyrqxyK1-__uzDIv5AtMpwBKHV17Q2646V-EQRd2aP20apK_6X15iSFCg/s1000/xt3_feature07-01.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="670" data-original-width="1000" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbDUOmTRny_SiG5n2_JuKkSFTAvN03q9K9Qhr8HQbbnx0aJ_k8xx1GiE9v-EbZMzX-kkgN9vGt67pV8IoV0-XZjxCmpca5BWNwzGpknKTJD_lQj3pKXKjeTcaQmif6y-8NaFJSyrqxyK1-__uzDIv5AtMpwBKHV17Q2646V-EQRd2aP20apK_6X15iSFCg/s320/xt3_feature07-01.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Key Attributes</h2><div>Since I don't know what aspect of photography you want to focus on (pun intended), my suggestions below will hopefully allow you to start out and grow. Some of the key elements of your photography system you should consider are:</div><ul><li><div>A camera body that accepts different lenses. Although not required, it provides you options down the road by not having to purchase a new body when you want a different focal length.</div><div><br /></div></li><li><div>Your first lens should include a small zoom but it doesn't have to. Many camera makers have a "kit" option that includes a zoom lens and these lenses help you better understand some of the key aspects of photography. Some options include a fixed / prime lens, which I love because it makes you move and think more about what you want.</div><div><br /></div></li><li><div>The camera should allow you easy access to the core creative controls, specifically the ones that control the three aspects of the exposure triangle, ISO, shutter speed, and aperture. These controls should be accessible from the top of the camera or located on one of the many knobs / wheels under your thumb or index finger. I prefer not to go into the menus for things that I use all the time. Therefore I really like the FujiFilm cameras, particularly the X-T3. </div><div><br /></div></li><li>Get something that exceeds your technical capabilities and get a camera that you can grow with. The camera is just a complex brush. Make sure it can deliver on your vision today and in the future. Starting out, don't worry about purchasing a camera that exceeds your capabilities and skills. When you start out, you may choose to use the more automatic aspects of the camera, but having the ability to take more control as you go on will be important. (I shoot in aperture-priority mode most of the time, letting the camera choose the proper shutter speed and I choose the ISO and aperture / depth-of-field).</li></ul><div><br /></div><div>I've written previously on what camera to buy in <b><a href="https://cameraninjablog.blogspot.com/2019/02/fuji-love-continued.html" rev="en_rl_none">this article in the section titled "What camera should you buy</a>"</b>. The point I was stressing there is that all the cameras today can deliver fantastic pictures. <b>Choose the camera that makes you want to pick it up and go out shooting.</b> Don't ignore the emotional input in your decision. In addition, before purchasing, put your hands on it. How does it feel in your hands, how accessible are the controls, how much does it weigh, etc. I've picked up some cameras that I just didn't like because of how they felt in my hands or the controls were just too hidden or funky.</div><div><br /></div><div>If you are new to photography, having a camera that can go fully automatic but support the ability to have more control over time is the best option. Certainly, the Fujifilm cameras in the "XT" line are a fit because they allow you to set everything in automatic mode for starting out and use different lenses. Cameras from Nikon, Cannon, and Sony support this ability as well. The camera body is a one-time purchase, think "cry once, by once" since you'll have it for a long time.🙂 Obviously you'll need a lens. A lot of times you can get a "kit", in that the camera comes with. Normally it's a small zoom lens but you can change it later. Over time, I find that I use a few key lenses for what I like doing, nature, portraits, travel, and street photography. It's a journey with no right answer. I always laugh when seeing articles like "the best lens for street photography", because it's all BS. It really depends on YOU. I'm happy to tell you what I use but it doesn't matter. It's better to understand what the difference is between various options and make up your own mind based on your creative vision.</div><div><br /></div><div>Clearly, the camera doesn't have to be as complex a camera as I have, you can choose something else and still enjoy what you are doing. The above are just <b>my</b> recommendations. You may choose a simple fixed-lens camera and have fun and create fantastic pictures.</div><h2>Using Your Phone Camera</h2><div>Sure, you can use your iPhone or android and get some great pictures but it's really hard to control what it produces. There are apps that allow you to possibly control what comes out but it's still not easy. Also, you'll inevitable be bugged by some pop-up message from your social media, messaging service, etc. Phone cameras are moving into what I call computational photography. The designers are working hard so that you can point your phone at anything and it produces a passable picture. The camera may even take multiple images and put them together got improve the dynamic range and bring perfection. The problem is, as a creator, you may not want perfection or what it chose as what was important isn't what you wanted. A purpose-built camera is always ready to take photos and is designed for that. If you have the right gear, you won't be fighting for control.</div><div><ul data-en-clipboard="true" data-pm-slice="3 4 ["todolist",{"todo":true,"style":null,"backgroundColor":null,"color":null,"lineHeight":null,"listStyleType":null}]"><li data-checked="false">Phones </li><ul><li>Represent "computational photography". They look at the scene, make take more than one shot at various sensitivities, compute what it thinks you will like best. </li><li>Point shoot a fuck-ton of times and move on</li><li>They are harder to control in order to produce what you may really want. </li><li>Interrupt you with notifications and other distractions</li><li><div>No ability to use on-camera or off-camera flash. </div><div>Sure, they have a light but it's worthless during the day for sure.</div></li></ul><li>Full Camera</li><ul><li>As much control as you want allowing you to get what you want.</li><li>Cause you to be more purposeful.</li><li>Lenses! Lots of options for your model, and from other manufactures and used manual lenses.</li><li>Tons of options for on-camera or off-camera flash, and studio strobes</li><li>Lots of all other options.</li><li>Again, full control over all aspects of photography to achieve your vision and creative choices.</li></ul></ul></div><h2>What else will you need to buy?</h2><div>You may not need a tripod and other accessories, but you should budget for the following when you purchase a camera:</div><ul><li>Memory card</li><li>At least one spare battery.</li><li>A strap.</li><li>To get started, you won't need a flash but consider getting one down the road, even if the camera has a built in flash.</li></ul><div>Oh, and don't forget the fasionable bag to put all this stuff in. 🙂</div><div><br /></div><h1>Next Steps</h1><div>You that you have your camera, learn the basics. You can pickup a book, take a class or watch Youtube on the exposure triangle and then composition and artistic aspects. I'm working on an outline for a class that includes some practice assignments. Photography, like painting, is less than 10% technical knowhow, 90% creative art. <b>You'll never quit learning</b>. Part of the learning process is taking pictures, and making mistakes. Take pictures that you love to come back and look at, but practice, practice, practice.</div><div><br /></div><div>Buy used... Buying used equipment is a great option but it doesn't typically allow you to pick up the item and feel it. If you know what you want, you could head over to <a href="http://keh.com">keh.com</a>. <a href="http://Keh.com">Keh.com</a> gives you confidence in stated quality and comes with a short term warranty. They test and certify what they cell. I recently sold a lens to them and bought a Nikon F3 film camera. (yes film, long story).</div><div><br /></div><h1>Post Production:</h1><div>Ensure that you have the proper accessories to get the photos off of your camera and onto your computer so that you can enjoy, share, and possibly edit them. Just cropping an image can completely change it. Also, if you've over or under exposed, you might be able to fix it on your computer. Early photographers did this in "the dark room". Today we mostly use a digital dark room.</div><div><br /></div><div>You'll have to look up what sort of editing software will work for you. Most photographers that I know, including myself, use Adobe Lightroom, which can be had for an annual fee. The number of options for editing your work is unlimited, a simple web search for "best photo editing software for beginners" would be a good idea if you don't want to invest in Lightroom. </div><h2>How to improve</h2><ul><li data-checked="false">Shoot, shoot, shoot. Make mistakes, rinse, repeat. </li><li data-checked="false"><div>Consume other artists work on media sites you respect. Look at their lighting, composition, and editing.</div><div>Focus on what other did from an artistic point. It's a great photo because of why? Tells a story, bokeh, use of lighting...</div></li><ul><li data-checked="false">Try Instagram</li><li data-checked="false"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtXF1eC3FDk3oh6xIXmDgYv0q9jeHlT7jckUk2_kGcd-NmAv1qeKHvM53t23ET28C-AD5Zjhr44wHFoyKTcZPPPvAMWycLZVfiI_zHZ4UdzHDsfWOmt2RRQkI2cLZEPZ7XtxGGy-lj-4CSENK0U37LaU1YFr-QahCFSYfaL7qw0I6Lzuakr2tlNtqZMV4X/s249/EXIF%20example.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="249" data-original-width="232" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtXF1eC3FDk3oh6xIXmDgYv0q9jeHlT7jckUk2_kGcd-NmAv1qeKHvM53t23ET28C-AD5Zjhr44wHFoyKTcZPPPvAMWycLZVfiI_zHZ4UdzHDsfWOmt2RRQkI2cLZEPZ7XtxGGy-lj-4CSENK0U37LaU1YFr-QahCFSYfaL7qw0I6Lzuakr2tlNtqZMV4X/w186-h200/EXIF%20example.jpg" width="186" /></a></div>Better yet, go to <a href="http://Flickr.com" rev="en_rl_none">Flickr.com</a> and create an account. </li><ul><li data-checked="false">Sign-up for some groups, like style, portrait photography, landscape, etc.</li><li data-checked="false"><div>When looking at photos, you can see not only the artists composition, editing, etc but also the EXIF info that displays what lens was used as well as exposure (ISO, F-Stop, and shutter speed). <br />Image at right is an example, showing what the photographer used for camera, lens, and exposure settings.</div></li></ul></ul></ul><ul><li data-checked="false">Shoot with others to see their style, choices they make, and gear that they use (and why).</li><li data-checked="false">Check out YouTube but also still sites </li><li data-checked="false">Practice, experiment, take it in a direction that YOU want, not what others want.</li><li>Take a class. You can check and see what is offered at skillshare.com, or masterclass.com, but I would recommend an in-person class so that you can do the homework assignments, more easily ask questions, and receive feedback on your work.</li><li>Practice, practice, practice. </li></ul><div><br /></div><h1><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_E-GKrWWI3EnC7ZAulIfcrefAUwZLLaAgoLD-RGPsr4Vs16GOAeRkm75aMM41a79P8G-636ZXrJdvR_cNAlENEawdy0YLUifb84qMYn5Xown_7qPkrhZ7PfQr2wqGeb0bdNMRMdmUXPx-tOzLRJJ97jcnSSXwyIrqpOdZXU8pqDt_e_TWfPwe3WonjofV/s2032/000265960023.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1348" data-original-width="2032" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_E-GKrWWI3EnC7ZAulIfcrefAUwZLLaAgoLD-RGPsr4Vs16GOAeRkm75aMM41a79P8G-636ZXrJdvR_cNAlENEawdy0YLUifb84qMYn5Xown_7qPkrhZ7PfQr2wqGeb0bdNMRMdmUXPx-tOzLRJJ97jcnSSXwyIrqpOdZXU8pqDt_e_TWfPwe3WonjofV/s320/000265960023.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Film vs. Digital</h1><div>Use of film cameras is seeing a huge resurgence, even with the younger crowd. It's a bit nostalgic for me but it also brings a particular color and look that is super hard to reproduce digitally. In addition, it's not perfect. As digital continues to strive for a perfectly exposed image with huge dynamic range, film can be artistically pleasing because it's not perfectly exposed, and super sharp. It's also fun to not know how things came out until you have the film developed. Lastly, I enjoy film with my manual camera sometimes because it's much more purposeful. It forces me to take my time as I re-check exposure settings, manually focus, and finally pull the trigger. Because each shot costs you a little money, I'm not "over shooting" a scene, hoping I got something I like among the 100 photos I just blasted off. (How many times have you just taken a bunch of pictures with your cell phone because it really didn't cost you anything.<br />(<b>Above image </b>shot on Kodak Ektar 100 film)<br /><br /></div><h2>Learn on Digital</h2><div>You can learn photography a LOT faster using a digital camera. You get instant feedback as you experiment with different settings, lighting and perspectives. This shortens the time that it takes to learn. Shooting on film, even if you develop yourself, extends that time to learn way out. Labs around town do offer two-hour turnaround but that's at a cost premium. Normal development time is two days and developing via mail and scan takes several days but lower cost.</div><div><br /></div><h1>Backup!</h1><div>Don't forget to backup. If you are taking pictures that you want to look at more than a day, you should have a backup plan. I'm a bit of a freak about backing up my data. Since I have pictures of my children since they were babies, family and client photos, have a full backup plan and use it. I wrote an entire article specifically on this topic <a href="https://cameraninjablog.blogspot.com/2015/05/do-you-backup-your-photos.html">HERE</a>.</div><div><br /></div><h1><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht8Su1FpYiFOiO6A9oIm2EbOvqTj9LWQV42GJfhR_gZ2dcsqrDjUDRkW7ybedN6hylYBbOOOX8jDdlIp6xPpkUFL-T7eFNCdejAsyK5ESLk5-AvJflR5Dx3_VrxFYa1aywhvFUX94fu2QrziKoz0jIfv3uqSWE25mW5oPE8Jt9xm71REp7GwqyJLx76pVs/s1325/C3S16518.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="883" data-original-width="1325" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht8Su1FpYiFOiO6A9oIm2EbOvqTj9LWQV42GJfhR_gZ2dcsqrDjUDRkW7ybedN6hylYBbOOOX8jDdlIp6xPpkUFL-T7eFNCdejAsyK5ESLk5-AvJflR5Dx3_VrxFYa1aywhvFUX94fu2QrziKoz0jIfv3uqSWE25mW5oPE8Jt9xm71REp7GwqyJLx76pVs/s320/C3S16518.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Conclusion</h1><div>As a new photographer, the journey may seem daunting. You don't need to accomplish this all in one sitting and the things I covered above are just the first steps. Take your time, and don't stress. You could also borrow a friend's camera or just use your iPhone.</div><div><br /></div><div>As my sketching friend likes to say, "enjoy the process". I really like that. As you are looking to build out your kit, and as you frame your first shot, enjoy the process!</div><div><br /></div><div><div><b>Remember though, the camera is but one of the tools in your visual arsenal.</b> </div><div><br /></div><div>Be careful you don't go down the GAS (gear acquisition syndrome). Once you've chosen, learn to use this fantastic tool to achieve what you envision or tell a story. Then spend your money on classes. Like taking a couple of <a href="http://thephotographiceye.info">thephotographiceye.info</a>. </div></div><h1>My sites and References:</h1><div>Web: <a href="http://Cameraninja.com" rev="en_rl_none">Cameraninja.com</a></div><div>This BLOG: <a href="http://Cameraninja.com/blog">Cameraninja.com/blog</a></div><div>Instagram: <a href="http://instagram.com/cclaborne" rev="en_rl_none">instagram.com/cclaborne</a></div><ul><li><a href="https://cameraninjablog.blogspot.com/2015/05/fuji-love.html">Fuji Love</a></li><li><a href="https://cameraninjablog.blogspot.com/2019/02/fuji-love-continued.html">Fuji Love Continued</a></li><li><a href="https://cameraninjablog.blogspot.com/2015/05/do-you-backup-your-photos.html">Backing up your images.</a></li></ul><div>By Chris Claborne, <a href="http://CameraNinja.com">CameraNinja.com</a></div><div><span style="color: white;">christian claborne</span></div>Chris Clabornehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05667976111738074928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7301455735594891290.post-86053705477484816362019-02-23T13:56:00.003-08:002023-12-28T21:26:13.215-08:00Fuji Love Continued<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoHGdcb_52CwpSVkGNiQpP_9NAUUIOlTnrwQkthMjJN55-se2BVQ6_sDEGe-7yDfmz7APywA0dlIrSddxfBik57NO7hq8-HwBqlLKJ9R0esJgpZsiCRH_7uAGpgdgc6wUm3CiT2NlmVcco/s1600/DSCF9043.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoHGdcb_52CwpSVkGNiQpP_9NAUUIOlTnrwQkthMjJN55-se2BVQ6_sDEGe-7yDfmz7APywA0dlIrSddxfBik57NO7hq8-HwBqlLKJ9R0esJgpZsiCRH_7uAGpgdgc6wUm3CiT2NlmVcco/s320/DSCF9043.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN">It’s been a while since I’ve published
something here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve been spending most
of my time lately writing over at <a href="http://hamninja.com/"><span style="color: #1155cc;">HamNinja.com</span></a> but it’s time I provided a much
needed update.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">My first BLOG entry on the CameraninjaBLOG
(this site) was “<a href="http://cameraninjablog.blogspot.com/2015/04/nikon-my-first-camera-love.html"><span style="color: #1155cc;">Nikon, My First Camera Love</span></a>”. It was
appropriate since I’ve been driving Nikon cameras since the mid 80s, starting
with an EM that my dad gave me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I move
up from there to my next favorites, FE-2, F5, then to a small digital, the
D300, and now to my D800.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(I still have
the FE-2).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I followed that article
shortly after with “<a href="http://cameraninjablog.blogspot.com/2015/05/fuji-love.html"><span style="color: #1155cc;">Fuji Love</span></a>”, describing how much I enjoyed my
new adopted platform, the FujiFilm X-T1.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This article is about continuing that journey on the Fuji train with my <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">X-T2 and as of about 2020, I started using an X-T3</b>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I’ve been wanting to write this for a while and was inspired to get to
it when someone reached out to ask what I thought about the Fuji cameras and
what he should buy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What follows is my
answer. Read <o:p></o:p></span><span style="color: #1155cc;"><a href="http://cameraninjablog.blogspot.com/2015/05/fuji-love.html">Fuji Love</a></span> because the X-T2 is just a better X-T1.<br />(Updated 12/28)</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi25w-QxdN2171useVD_UD1oMI3XP-3UYIDr4l7xI39BBFH6fgLdOHmHBegeAbh_WRNHaVoKpDhtKm9drlYk_9d5oiibELDDfEan8F0WZbl-fS3adMZXU_YHBCx558wTtCED-SUIePBtiRP/s1600/DSCF9047.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi25w-QxdN2171useVD_UD1oMI3XP-3UYIDr4l7xI39BBFH6fgLdOHmHBegeAbh_WRNHaVoKpDhtKm9drlYk_9d5oiibELDDfEan8F0WZbl-fS3adMZXU_YHBCx558wTtCED-SUIePBtiRP/s200/DSCF9047.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<h1>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_b3954xnwe8lz"></a><span lang="EN">Fuji vs. Nikon and other DSLRs<o:p></o:p></span></h1>
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<span lang="EN">I shot a wedding with the D800 a few of years
ago and I was exhausted after spending the entire day holding the 5 lb beast
up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had an XT-1 but I wasn’t familiar
enough with it at the time to trust a wedding to it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also, I didn’t like the flash sync speed and
most importantly, the fill-flash.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nikon
spent 30+ years honing their fill flash to perfection.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Later, I shot a large set of prom pics with
both cameras (D800 and XT-<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">1</b>) with
mono strobes outside.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I compared a
couple of the shots and couldn’t tell the difference!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of my absolute favorite landscapes was
shot with an X-T1 and it’s enlarged and printed on canvas in my office (a dry
brush effect was also applied). So, I loved my X-T1 so much that <a href="http://cameraninjablog.blogspot.com/2015/05/fuji-love.html"><span style="color: #1155cc;">I wrote a review of it.</span></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When comparing the heft of the same
configurations of the D800 vs. Fuji,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>with similar lens and vertical grips… FUJI WINS hands down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nikon weighs in at 5.3 lbs and Fuji at just
under<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>2lb!!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Notice the top picture I had to have a prop
to keep the lense from tipping the Nikon over.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-mS9ecSCDsNV2s1Zh2RBaQwBAvcNZn7rgSLnhPkNwgcTuUjT17HEmAI9XllWTuwBuddZVCneOmT2II2oDycgkcCcy2v08UWYsFftfYSfe_8i5zygnHnOtIqbrT93jD-7CS8OI8dej4e9o/s1600/41999512884_8812cfb6e1_o.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1068" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-mS9ecSCDsNV2s1Zh2RBaQwBAvcNZn7rgSLnhPkNwgcTuUjT17HEmAI9XllWTuwBuddZVCneOmT2II2oDycgkcCcy2v08UWYsFftfYSfe_8i5zygnHnOtIqbrT93jD-7CS8OI8dej4e9o/s200/41999512884_8812cfb6e1_o.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN">I’ve since upgraded to the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">X-T2.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></b>It provides faster flash sync, focus speed, Acros film simulation,
and most importantly, dynamic range.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
biggest issue for me at the time was focus speed, response speed, and sync
speed on the XT-1 which is 1/180 (but many times I had to slow it down for
proper sync).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sync speed is important
when shooting outdoor portraits given the lighting conditions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When the images and reviews of the X-T2
started show up, the dynamic range improvement was a big draw.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sure, it has more pixels, but that was only
going to help improve digital crop post-production and possibly enlarging.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also liked that Fujifilm stayed with the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fujifilm_X-Trans_sensor"><span style="color: #1155cc;">X Trans sensor</span></a>, which in my opinion, provides
better quality with fewer pixels.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">I love my Nikon D800 but I just don’t use it
as much anymore.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The XT-2 runs great
with the <a href="http://www.godox.com/EN/Products_Camera_Flash_V860II.html"><span style="color: #1155cc;">Godox V860 II</span></a> as well as my studio
lighting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I love the jpg off the camera
but run with both jpg and RAW.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The RAW
provides just a bit more dynamic range and post-processing capabilities when I
need it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I love the feel of the XT-2,
even with the vertical grip.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As a bonus,
it’s a lot quieter than the DSLRs from Nikon or Cannon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pull off the vertical grip and it’s the best
landscape vacation camera ever made.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Put
all of this together and the weight advantage seals the deal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I clipped the X-T2 onto my belt on my Grand
Canyon trip and had a blast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would
have probably left the D800 at home if that was all I had.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve since snapped a few shots at a wedding
with it and outside shots like this put the max pressure on dynamic range of a
camera.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The X-T2 definitely strutted
it’s stuff.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTj0ykxRYEggq3LYbtnhW4w268nyLMGB408rawHZFb64EC4nye5Tv7qy77fTUS9oMSZosnHm7Jr-Jt8LZcE6PDsmMC2ZumqFNlOX81t8sqNbGkYTVyXZHfeUa9pv5eSlum8SD7XTygUVbj/s1600/41999489844_7f47c4d5bc_o.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTj0ykxRYEggq3LYbtnhW4w268nyLMGB408rawHZFb64EC4nye5Tv7qy77fTUS9oMSZosnHm7Jr-Jt8LZcE6PDsmMC2ZumqFNlOX81t8sqNbGkYTVyXZHfeUa9pv5eSlum8SD7XTygUVbj/s200/41999489844_7f47c4d5bc_o.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN">I was happy (actually surprised) with the X-T1
image quality when I first started using it with it’s 16mp sensor up against
the 36mp on the D800.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The XT-<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">2 is even better</b> at 24mp but more
importantly, it’s dynamic range is killer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I no longer count pixels or sensor size after doing my image
comparisons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sure, there’s more usable
crop on the higher density chips but that’s about it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(<a href="https://www.mirrorlessons.com/2016/07/09/fuji-x-t2-dynamic-range/"><span style="color: #1155cc;">Here is a good article on dynamic range of the X-T2
sensor</span></a>).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I typically will
shoot a little underexposed to get the best shots.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fujifilm’s sensor is “ISO less” so it does
the same things as amping up the dark areas in photoshop when turning up the
ISO for faster speeds.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivWF2LrAepODKqjAVBdrJj_nhLBATNWr9-UZiBrM8-KvHGY1BoZkSq4z1pdSUGwDtpP4T5XmPHcAPVHm5j374F227mVCuDEzNp_vZhVgZFaf1_sf_qLJzLjYE2JZ3KAlYVtSXpG_3GVf7N/s1600/29775762028_df0a14c271_o.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivWF2LrAepODKqjAVBdrJj_nhLBATNWr9-UZiBrM8-KvHGY1BoZkSq4z1pdSUGwDtpP4T5XmPHcAPVHm5j374F227mVCuDEzNp_vZhVgZFaf1_sf_qLJzLjYE2JZ3KAlYVtSXpG_3GVf7N/s320/29775762028_df0a14c271_o.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN">Fuji lenses are high quality, lower cost, and
lighter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I take the X-T2 everywhere
because it’s lighter and I like the retro look, the feel and the shutter
sound.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The user interface, sort of retro
with all of the creative controls that I use the most on the outside,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>makes this camera an awesome platform.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It looks a lot like my Nikon FE-2, maybe
that’s why I like it... not sure.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN">Finally, the most important part.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I get real joy from shooting with the Fuji
system, from the feel, the sound, and user interface and what comes off of the
sensor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And once you have an
in-viewfinder exposure curve, you’ll never want to go back. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">Some nits:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">●<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN">Ork is right, they still have some
work to do in the flash department.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
V860 rocks though.<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">●<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN">If you really need max bokeh, physics
says you need to run with a larger sensor, 35mm or medium format but I've been very happy with a 80mm equiv on the Fuji system.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve done some comparisons with my full sized
35mm sensor and struggle to see the difference.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I’m happy with with the Fujinon lenses and shooting with the Fuji glass
wide open provides butter smooth bokeh. <br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">●<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN">Nikon has a slight edge on focus
speed at low light but it’s never stopped me from getting the shot and I’ve
never had to resort to manual.<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">●<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN">If you want to pack your bag with
all the focal lengths known to man, Fuji and the aftermarket manufacturers
aren’t quite there. But here’s the thing, I have everything that I need or want
with Fujinon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The biggest zoom tele that
I have on my Nikon is a 80 - 200 F/2.8 and the Fujifilm 50-140 (75 - 210 equivalent)
fits out my kit perfectly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They both
offer a 1.5x teleconverter that I use for nature shots so I’m fully set for
300mm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 12pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">●<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN">It's too easy to bump the servo
mode on the front of the XT series cameras, I would like to see a lock on that<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>future.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEyKF5vzrVayJNw4dFElNkt11F3Odu5SSbGTZYi4zl351Uk6HAYD-P7ikjMNb6Rr-k3mNjYvMUgkVppKBZk6fuG2TzWz9Rqtmr8NwiX_tekrlQfeN1P4RCK_Hsvy7kktflE394qMY77Cu1/s1600/42750746845_ac92724548_o.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEyKF5vzrVayJNw4dFElNkt11F3Odu5SSbGTZYi4zl351Uk6HAYD-P7ikjMNb6Rr-k3mNjYvMUgkVppKBZk6fuG2TzWz9Rqtmr8NwiX_tekrlQfeN1P4RCK_Hsvy7kktflE394qMY77Cu1/s320/42750746845_ac92724548_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN">In summary, the
X-T2 is a great step up from the X-T1 for my needs and I really enjoy using
it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fujifilm has come out with the
X-T3.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span lang="EN"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">The X-T3 is a nice bump in not only sensor density (24MP) but the dynamic range rocks. This is now my pro platform. If forced, I'll go to the current X-T5 (two generations up) but the X-T5 image quality really isn't that much better.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<h1>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_7mih759bkd30"></a><span lang="EN">What camera should you buy? <o:p></o:p></span></h1>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN">Recommendation:</span></b><span lang="EN"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Shop for a camera that you are going to love.</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m serious.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Stay with me here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbsc2iCIDEYmUC6rr-X5ebFzws56Yk9wkvSav-tRnO7wAGmxIK0TBR0umCnhuqxk-kM8bsFVKvUbFqLtQkuUn4Lb4KjZkgdG_r4caEDfdQ0OgkgP1iLA4BBluImcYaWII75x5-VN6YwhWc/s1600/39379686555_60633f62b7_o.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbsc2iCIDEYmUC6rr-X5ebFzws56Yk9wkvSav-tRnO7wAGmxIK0TBR0umCnhuqxk-kM8bsFVKvUbFqLtQkuUn4Lb4KjZkgdG_r4caEDfdQ0OgkgP1iLA4BBluImcYaWII75x5-VN6YwhWc/s320/39379686555_60633f62b7_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN">Go down to the dealer, pick it up, use it for
a while, listen to it, adjust the controls and shoot a bunch of lighting
situations with it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also, try a couple
of lenses on it in the store.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do you
like the way it looks, feels, sounds?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN">Fuji, Nikon, Cannon, Sony…, they are all going
to give you images that are close in comparison.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Equipment enthusiasts love to compare, pixel
peep and wax about the quality of one DSLR over another or APSC vs. 35mm
sensors but it’s all a wash now to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">It’s really a personal and somewhat
emotional choice.</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I along with
others, are obviously real fan boys of this system but there are other great
choices out there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Try not to pixel
peep, count pixels, measure sensors, but <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">find
something that you want to pickup and shoot with.</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you scan the blogs of pro photographers
and others, they all gush about the quality of their gear, but under all of
that is an emotional response to shooting with their system.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After reading this far, I’m sure you will say
the same about me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>:)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFbKiDH84MONwvi8kWOXRTOS55tJpFVJ_GO5zf7YYsWNygErIq-wZk7syETrtPNXXgCbnyC8yokhnAu8dB01c6oCzoHKGn2NLEutkNU3nA1asnHBN827CCGSnlzTuN_nDdMJxI4b-Q2_xv/s1600/26404701038_0f21e8c62f_o.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFbKiDH84MONwvi8kWOXRTOS55tJpFVJ_GO5zf7YYsWNygErIq-wZk7syETrtPNXXgCbnyC8yokhnAu8dB01c6oCzoHKGn2NLEutkNU3nA1asnHBN827CCGSnlzTuN_nDdMJxI4b-Q2_xv/s320/26404701038_0f21e8c62f_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN">Get something that exceeds your creative
capabilities. Get a camera that you can grow with.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The camera is just a complex brush</b>.
Make sure it can deliver on your vision today and in the future. It also has to fit your capabilities and your style.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you get real enjoyment from picking up
your camera, you’re going to create more images and with more images comes
learning and continuous improvement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Get a camera that makes you want to pick it up.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">My son is using the X-T2 now and really enjoys
it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I like watching him enjoy a new
hobby and his photography improve. His friend is using my old X-T1. These cameras have some awesome features and film simulations that are awesome. Fuji is known for their color science, developed over the last 50 years in their film products. They poured all that knowledge and expertise into their camera systems and it shows.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">Thanks for reading.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN">Note:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Image of the X-T2 were taken with the X-T1,
all other images here are from the X-T2.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz-d1A7J26VN1HuIOk4BjNyHrAuhji8BpRfU2iLLeuwZz4YjJxAD745huDDjYxcrXLbDSsQG-qDA_BgM78qXf43epQyOTmA5oMVidllpAE9-w4owRBH3oFcDb2wnq3A0ldw4XlnNjed-s8PCYL7nseOz3Ir8MOZKeCsLODQXSJ38Pu6BUyXpyd2-8Xb_Na/s1600/JD5_1366.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="716" data-original-width="1600" height="143" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz-d1A7J26VN1HuIOk4BjNyHrAuhji8BpRfU2iLLeuwZz4YjJxAD745huDDjYxcrXLbDSsQG-qDA_BgM78qXf43epQyOTmA5oMVidllpAE9-w4owRBH3oFcDb2wnq3A0ldw4XlnNjed-s8PCYL7nseOz3Ir8MOZKeCsLODQXSJ38Pu6BUyXpyd2-8Xb_Na/s320/JD5_1366.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOnU0IHeoLlJvK3tLYTUyKBwL1PTgoG7WJ-HGDN1Z4KUBTDjZDeW9LiSiudi636N6rfx7J0r-oxwhrgt7Yy2BAl0UQ11RLNS4mm3UyIWfg3JIqH2sO88fcAuzC120r-pHivcAb5ti9hTTZ/s1600/26404673608_1b55df5e89_o.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1553" data-original-width="1242" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOnU0IHeoLlJvK3tLYTUyKBwL1PTgoG7WJ-HGDN1Z4KUBTDjZDeW9LiSiudi636N6rfx7J0r-oxwhrgt7Yy2BAl0UQ11RLNS4mm3UyIWfg3JIqH2sO88fcAuzC120r-pHivcAb5ti9hTTZ/s320/26404673608_1b55df5e89_o.jpg" width="254" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN">Christian Claborne - The Camera Ninja<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN" style="color: white;">(aka chris claborne)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />Chris Clabornehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05667976111738074928noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7301455735594891290.post-91440631395022343682016-05-19T22:09:00.002-07:002016-05-21T12:33:35.835-07:00Preparing To Photagraph A Wedding<div>
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I've recently photographed a wedding and thought I'd pass on what I learned during my preparation and day of shooting. One of the things that I read in the photo-blogs is that a photographer is not only a creator and artist, they have to be problem solvers. I'm not the best artist but I am a problem solver (my day job). Shit will go wrong, camera setting will get hosed up and when you see images start to come out of the envelope, you need to be ready to adjust. For a wedding, you have to know the equipment inside and out and roll with the punches. I've been driving a Nikon for 40+ years so the menus, ergonomics and operation is second nature. My backup camera for this job is a Fujifilm XT-1 and I'm not ready to make it a primary for a fast moving shoot like a wedding (More about why is published <a href="http://cameraninjablog.blogspot.com/2016/05/is-fujifilm-x-t1-ready-for-weddings.html">HERE</a>). (I have used the XT-1 for portraits and you can't tell the difference in quality even though it weighs 4 pounds less.)</div>
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Even though I've owned the Nikon D800 for a while, the number of menus and options is crazy. I ran into a problem about an hour into the pre-wedding portrait shoot and was flustered trying to find the right menu to override the issue. I called a camera store 600 miles away to talk to an expert that wasn't flustered. Problem solved within two minutes and I was back to smiling, laughing and shooting. If I hadn't been able to fix it within a time limit for my situation, I had a backup camera that could do the job within 6 feet of me. I'm a pilot, but as Gene Kranz (mission control for Apollo 13) says, "You gotta just work the problem". I say you also need to have a backup plan, a Plan-B, and Plan-C and some alternate airports for when things go wrong.</div>
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This article has a lot to do with planning and prepping for an event that can't be rescheduled. I did some research before my shoot which covered some of the items here. My view is a little more in-depth on the failure planning for sure. I've seen almost all of these failures first hand over the years. As the wedding approached I really had to focus on planning. To make matters more exciting, the client was FAMILY. A major screw-up would result in my being razzed for the rest of my life, not just loss in business. Some of the lessons below were learned from experience and others are a reflection on what went right because someone else thought of it (like the bride printing the schedule out for all the guests as well as a shoot list).</div>
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<span style="font-size: 19px;"><b>Plan:</b></span></div>
<ul>
<li><b>Obsess over pre-shoot planning with the bride.</b></li>
<li style="display: inline; list-style: none;"><ul>
<li>What she likes, doesn't like. Example poses (mine brought examples to the event) on her phone. (Why didn't I think of that?)</li>
<li>Find out what she likes about the dress.</li>
<li>Have her sum the wedding up with three words. Ask what she wants to remember.</li>
<li>Have her bring a shoot list to the wedding. This is for all of the group shots and who should be in each one. The more excitement, the more memory failure. If the bride or groom are nervous, the memory goes completely.</li>
<li>Have her think about who will help the bride and groom get ready? Usually it's mom or dad. You want them in the "getting ready photos".</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><b>Schedule - </b>Have a schedule on paper that you can hand it out. This is mainly because you are working with multiple people that need to be in different shoots at different places and times.</li>
<li><b>Site - </b>Visit the site, look at the lighting. Go ahead and shoot some pics during the visit to look at later. How else should a photographer document?</li>
<li><b>Power - </b>If you are going to use some lighting, find out if the venue has power. Do you have permission to use the power? <a href="http://www.paulcbuff.com/vagabond.php">I have a portable power inverter</a> so I can go for a while with one or two studio strobes.</li>
<li><b>Permission - </b>Speaking of permission, a quick call to the hotel is needed to ensure you won't get hassled if you want to use a certain location for pictures. In my case, the client also wanted to use a location that may have required us to go on private property in the neighborhood, so I called the owner (whom I know) for a quick and easy OK.</li>
<li><b>Lighting -</b> For each site, find out where the natural light is coming from.</li>
<li style="display: inline; list-style: none;"><ul>
<li>If outside, do the site visit at the time of the main event and drive to all the other locations with the couple.</li>
<li>If inside, look at where natural like can help or hinder you. Is the ceiling low enough to use for bounce? What color is the ceiling (the reception colors were really challenging).</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><b>Natural light -</b> Speaking of natural light. I wish I had shot a little more with it during the bride prep. Going full natural light during the wedding prep would have shrunk my footprint and made for a more journalistic set of photos. The clients are really happy with the outcome but I always wonder what I could do better. Also, in this case the client was totally fine with having a mono-light and portable light as part of the shoot. Sometimes it's not appropriate, you have to feel out the client for what is right. I could have easily strapped on the X-T1 and configured it for natural light for some quick options.</li>
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<span style="font-size: 19px;"><b>Equipment Planning:</b></span></div>
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<b>---[ PLAN FOR FAILURE ]---</b></div>
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The first thing that most photographers think of is having a backup camera is MANDITORY. It is for sure. But, the camera is just one piece in your photo system that can fail. Also, for each camera system item below, you have to plan for all the same things on the backup camera system. If the backup body is different than the primary you have some work to do. Having the same camera body will reduce the amount of shit you have to bring and smooth the transition to the backup should you have to go there. I can't afford two D800s, but I could have rented a second one at a week-long rate. My Fujifilm XT-1 is perfectly up to the task though and I used that. There is a reason the XT-1 not the primary platform yet, but that is for <a href="http://cameraninjablog.blogspot.com/2016/05/is-fujifilm-x-t1-ready-for-weddings.html">another article</a>.</div>
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<b>A little more about "PLANING FOR FAILURE" - I'm not kidding!</b></div>
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Anything and everything can fail. From weather to the most solid lens to stupid stuff like a tri-pod. When you travel, and it's an "event", don't leave anything to chance. If a camera goes tango-uniform during a portrait shoot, a client can normally reschedule. If it's a wedding, the show goes on and there will be some major disappointment if all you have is the camera on your phone. What follows is my list given my very limited experience at weddings but over 40+ years of shooting.</div>
<ul>
<li><b>Camera body -</b> This is generally the first thing photographers think of. They can and will fail. With today's cameras, a small out of bounds condition on a sensor will send the entire body into error mode and render it useless. Bend a pin when inserting a memory card and its game-over.</li>
<li><b>Sync the camera clocks -</b> Try to sync the clocks on the cameras. This will allow you to combine all of the photos in a continuous stream. Flickr will use the time shot to order your photos but I couldn't do that on this last shoot because the time was too different.</li>
<li><b>Accessories -</b> Camera vertical grips that supply extra power and vertical release will fail. If it fails, you now depend on the on-camera battery. I use to depend on the grip's ability to hold AA batteries (I use rechargeable) to give me an endless supply of power without the cost of Nikon EL-15 batteries. I've had this seeming simple device fail and then ran out of juice.</li>
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<ul>
<li><b>Batteries - Rechargeable batteries will fail, so bring extra.</b> I use a rechargeable power pack for my on-camera strobes, camera bodies, inside my strobes, and a portable inverter to power the studio lighting. These batteries fail all the time. When the charger detects a problem, it will refuse to charge the battery to avoid a fire, explosion or some other kind of melt-down. When you charge your batteries, verify that it is really completed and that the charger isn't telling you that the battery has failed. If you are in the woods doing a wedding, and a freak like me, you'll bring a small brick of Alkaline as insurance.</li>
<li><b>More power -</b> Bring more batteries than normal, You will most likely be shooting a lot more than you are used to. My D800, with auto-focus and image stabilization burns up a lot of juice. In addition, the processor that is churning through the processing of images to both JPG and RAW also eats up quite a bit power.</li>
<li><b>Lens - Lenses will fail. </b> Photographers normally have a few lenses but at times they may just grab a favorite. Don't plan everything around a single lens. I had a 50mm all of a sudden tell my D800 body it was a DX and not a FX lens. This was quickly overridden (after a frantic phone call) and the shooting went on, but I had a backup lens within three feet of me. Lenses are mechanical so auto-focus can stop working (the first to go), and auto-apertures can malfunction (most lenses have an "auto-aperture" that stays wide open until the shutter is released and it then snaps closed and reopens). I hate to even mention the possibility of damage to a lens due to "blunt force trauma". I've experienced all of these failures and refuse to talk about the last one.</li>
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<ul>
<li><b>Strobes -</b> On-camera strobes can fail. My most recent was an over-heat condition. I had a near panic-attack when the SB-900 overheated after shooting the entrance of each of the flower girls at the wedding. The bride was about to enter when the strobe started to play a tune (SHIT!). I knew what it was right away and with a quick change to the backup SB-800, I was back to shooting like a boss. This is the first time its ever happened to me but I've read about it and was prepared. It will be back to the reliable SB-800 for events like this.</li>
<li><b>Other lighting - </b>Mono-lights can fail. I've had a tube stop working as well as the wireless trigger receiver fail. Plan for it. I took one light into the forest but knew that if it or the portable inverter quit working, I could switch to my hand-held strobes with umbrellas. Back-up mono-lights were about 100 yards away in the car.</li>
<li><b>Memory -</b> Memory cards can fail. Try to plan out so that you can shoot sections on different cards. If a card becomes corrupt, you can normally recover the images with free software. I've had cards become corrupt but have only lost two images with high-end Lexar memory card.</li>
<li><b>Other Accessories - </b>My light meter/mono-light controller can also act as my backup wireless trigger. For some reason I still have flash sync cords as well (hay, you never know).</li>
<li><b>Even more power - </b>If you use portable strobes like me, invest in an <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Godox-IMPROVED-4500mAh-HVL-F58AM-HVL-F43AM/dp/B00T45C5IC?ie=UTF8&psc=1">external battery pack</a> to power them. I found some decent ones that were reasonable. I use strobes all the time as on-camera during the wedding and reception action but also as a second or third light for portraits. I mount them with a power pack on a light stand, or my favorite use, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Westcott-Speedlite-ProGrip/dp/B00HJH0K20/ref=sr_1_1?s=photo&ie=UTF8&qid=1463714882">mount them on a handle</a> that my assistant holds for me (like voice-activated mobile light stand).</li>
<li><b>Weather - </b>If it's outside, weather is king. Talk with the bride about how her hair will be set and advise her that it could be windy. We planned for rain and had a plan-B for wedding location if that happened. As it turned out, it did rain for about a minute just before we were to leave to walk to the site. It cleared but I had plastic bags over the mono-light and was ready to store other sensitive gear just in case. I was lucky that the wedding was in the afternoon as well as the post-shoot so I didn't get burned. </li>
</ul>
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<div>
<b><span style="font-size: 19px;">Second Photographer</span></b></div>
<div>
I've read quite a bit about the value of having a second photographer. You can get someone on the cheap since many photographers will help just to get experience. You can also trade and do backup for the photographer that helps you. Being able to pay for a second shooter is bonus. Tell the client that they get extra bonus shots from a different angle. Also, the backup photographer will be more likely to get candid shots since everyone is always looking at the event or primary photographer.</div>
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<div>
I had my wife use my Fujifilm XT-1 which is really good for candid shots because its small and super quiet, allowing her to not be noticed. She's not technically adept with the gear but still got a lot of good shots and optional angles. Also, if I blew a shot, she might still get the shot (which I did miss one while changing strobes). As a bonus, I didn't have to carry the backup camera around, she was right there (along with the backup strobe and a back pack with other stuff) and she acted as a grip when needed (which was most of the time).</div>
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<b>CAUTION!!!</b> Having multiple photographers can be very annoying. I went to an indoor wedding where there were two people using very loud Cannons. They definitely over-shot the wedding and the constant noise was very distracting. I also over-shot a little and I hope it wasn't annoying. I love the mirror-less bodies from Fujifilm for the near silent operation. I also have a "quiet mode" on my Nikon for the church. In "quiet-mode" you can't shoot fast but it's not as distracting. Buy a body that's not so loud. I'm guessing a plastic body may be louder.</div>
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<span style="font-size: 19px;"><b>Working with Clients</b></span></div>
<div>
Some of the quick points working with clients</div>
<ol>
<li>Get to know them. Talk with them as much as you can about what they want and don't want but also hobbies and what's important to them in general. Building rapport will help you when trying to explain things from their point of view.</li>
<li>Send positive energy: If you are having fun, being positive and complimentary, they can't help but feel better about the whole encounter.<br />
</li>
<li>Have Fun, this not only sends positive energy, you become a person they might want to do business again.</li>
<li>Relax. Although related to sending positive energy, you being up-tight will make the subject up-tight and it will come through in the photos. Actually there is science here. See Daniel <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Social-Intelligence-Science-Human-Relationships-ebook/dp/B000JMKTMS">Goleman's "Emotional Intelligence".</a></li>
<li>Take some goofy pictures too. Most people love to photobomb, make funny faces, or odd poses the other person doesn't see. Keep it fun (unless the client is all business <span style="-evernote-sentoj-emoticon: true;">😔</span> )</li>
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<div>
<span style="font-size: 19px;"><b>Pre-shoot</b>:</span></div>
<div>
Even if the client doesn't want to do a pre-wedding shoot, do one in another way. Have them take you to the place where they will get married with the intention of just checking it out. You can get to know them, their style, and sense of humor. ALSO, take pictures, lots of them if they are into it. This will really help them get use to the camera, your style and just being in-front of the camera. Get some goofy ones too. Doing this helps eliminate the camera shyness during the first bit of shooting on the big day. Doing it the day before the wedding is good since they will be use to you and the camera. I did a bunch with the X-T1 which is small and innocent looking (but packs a punch).</div>
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The wedding was outdoors and my specialty. I shot the location the day before at the same time and was able to get an understanding of where the sun would be, how I could co-opt the sun, and most importantly, the shade areas I wanted to use. Clouds factored greatly so everything could change at a moment's notice, and it did. </div>
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<span style="font-size: 19px;"><b>A word on Compute</b></span></div>
<div>
<b>Backup!</b> <a href="http://dreamvent.blogspot.com/search/label/backup">I've written about this a lot in my geek BLOG!</a> Plan for storage failure. Once you have the photos on your computer, back them up immediately. Get the backup off-site. There are multiple cloud options available that I discuss in the link above. I've had several friends come close to loosing all of their family photos because they had no backup. </div>
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Network attached storage (NAS) servers that have redundancy are a great first step. They fail too. It's rare but this year a friend almost lost everything when her redundant storage system had one of the mirrored drives fail and then some strange event cause it to go completely off-line. She ended up spending over $1000 to have a company recover the data. At almost the same time, my home NAS unit was in the middle of recovering a from a single drive failure when a second one failed, causing complete loss. I had it backed up so I lost nothing. In addition, NAS servers don't protect you from theft or fire because they are normally at your place of business (home or office). </div>
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I hesitate to use such large flash cards but shooting fine JPG + RAW requires a lot of space. Although I only used two, use multiple cards that will last through various sections of the event to give yourself room for failure. You can recover from some amount of card failure with free software but don't count on it. As mentioned, I've only lost two images due to corrupt files. By the way, a corrupt file can be caused by the camera or memory card.</div>
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<div>
<b>Recommended Reading</b></div>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/claborne/albums/72157667798306570">Claborne & Van Asdlan Wedding Photos</a></li>
<li><a href="http://cameraninjablog.blogspot.com/2016/05/is-fujifilm-x-t1-ready-for-weddings.html">Is the Fujifilm X-T1 ready for Weddings?</a></li>
<li><a href="http://cameraninjablog.blogspot.com/2015/05/do-you-backup-your-photos.html">Backing up your photos</a></li>
<li><a href="http://improvephotography.com/3236/wedding-photography-tips/">68 ESSENTIAL Wedding Photography Tips</a></li>
</ul>
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<div>
- Chris Claborne</div>
<div>
CameraNinja.com</div>
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Chris Clabornehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05667976111738074928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7301455735594891290.post-41284207221780067522016-05-17T22:19:00.001-07:002024-01-04T20:37:40.201-08:00Is the Fujifilm X-T1 Ready for Weddings?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBidmpgvc60T9SY9n5FSgiIbnjlBtMLbY731Fl22jIsn_Z7-WSX2pZ8u-Nsk6qbpXW2-FpInkSjt2SEsobbfePmCGAwjlL_T7E7SZQhd0ycjkfdfPQY3KcUiUITLdanG8jKTAhOi0WlC_x/s1600/C2F05182-2.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBidmpgvc60T9SY9n5FSgiIbnjlBtMLbY731Fl22jIsn_Z7-WSX2pZ8u-Nsk6qbpXW2-FpInkSjt2SEsobbfePmCGAwjlL_T7E7SZQhd0ycjkfdfPQY3KcUiUITLdanG8jKTAhOi0WlC_x/s320/C2F05182-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
I'm going to attend 3 weddings in three months this year. I've attended two and have one to go. On the second, I'm the primary photographer. I've read and posted about photographers dumping their heavy Nikon and Cannon gear and switching to the X-T1 for wedding photography. I've used the X-T1 for portraits and a Senior Prom shoot right next to my Nikon D800. In both cases, I was using an external studio strobe or multiple remotes. It performed perfectly in those roles and other than the small difference in saturation, you can't tell the difference. I've used the X-T1 in the studio and in natural light. I love the camera. I wanted to answer for myself how practical using the X-T1 as a primary for wedding might be. So I took it to wedding 1 to find out. (Note, all the photos here are from the X-T1)<br /><br />
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<a name='more'></a></div>
Since I was not the primary on the first wedding, I decided to take the X-T1 and try to capture something the primary photographer wouldn't get and stay out of paid team's way. The wedding was in a church that, like most, was pretty dark. This meant that I would use a flash. Until I got outside to use it for fill.<br />
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<h3>
Flash Performance</h3>
My first frustration was to the Fujifilm top-end (for now) EF-42 strobe.<br />
<br />
The EF-42 as compared to the SB-800 sucks. I bought it because my Nikon strobes won't produce TTL with the Fuji system. It was a lot less money than the cost of the Nikon units but performance sucks. First the strobe somehow eats batteries like my son tears through a steak. In addition, leaving the batteries in the strobe with the power off still seems to drain them. Four batteries in the EF-42 seems to last about 5 minutes. Fujifilm claims something on the order of 130 feet under ISO 100 but that would be pushing it.<br />
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There's no built in bounce card on the strobe, so my first act was to jam a card into the gap in the flash and constantly mess with it. Also, there is no way to plug in an external power pack, something that is mandatory if you need to shoot with a flash all day. If things are fast moving and you need cycle times in the sub 3 second range, you've got to have an external battery pack.<br />
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TTL capabilities are a long way from Nikon quality. I've used the EF-42 in multiple situations and it seems that they are still in the developmental or maybe stage, like a Nikon F3 back in the 80s. It did perform but not consistently. It could be attributed to power management from shot to shot or me mashing down on the trigger before it's fully charged (an most likely running low on battery power).<br />
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There also seems to be multiple things that will keep the flash from firing. I still can't figure them all out. It can be frustrating as hell when you think you have everything set correctly but it still won't fire. I think the firmware update resolved one of them but it can be frustrating.<br />
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If you I have time and can go manual strobe mode, use a good Nikon unit. For portraits, I've hooked it to my Paul C. Buff lights and get great performance and love it.<br />
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<h3>
Focus Performance</h3>
<div>
Compared to my D800, it's slow. When using the X-T1 for portraits and travel, it works great. For fast moving fluid conditions its just not quite fast enough. When it's dark, it really gets slow and at times will just hunt. When the bride is walking down the isle, you really need the focus performance to be at its best. </div>
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<h3>
General</h3>
<div>
Shutter release is sub-second but you can feel the lag. When shooting fluid events waiting for the crucial expression or something else, the D800 satisfies, the X-T1 might get it, it might not. I've tried pre-focus and that doesn't always resolve things if you didn't pre-focus at the right point.</div>
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<div>
People are biased to look at the photographer that has the biggest camera. I learned this while at a school event where I was asked to help out as the official photographer. I was constantly competing and learned to just roll with it and shoot over her shoulder with the X-T1. This bias is a real bummer because even if they do fix the issues I have with the next camera body and flash I can still be screwed out of photos by the guy with the 5+ pound Nikon or Cannon system.<br />
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The other thing that drives me a little crazy is the startup time. That is, when I turn the camera on via the switch or wake it from sleep, it takes way too long. It's frustrating! I've missed several good shots because of this. To contrast with a modern digital 35mm, the startup time is neglagble. I'm going to play with a Fujifilm Xpro or Xpro 2 and play around with it. I'm guessing it will be a lot better since it doesn't have to fire up a EVF.</div>
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<h3>
Conclusion</h3>
<div>
I was able to capture a few photos that the bride liked at wedding number 1, but all of the small nits really add up that day and I was frustrated. As the primary photographer on the second wedding, I really needed to nail it. The client for number 2 was the worst kind, family. A sub-optimal performance for that one and I'd be razzed for the rest of my life. </div>
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I was comfortable enough with the X-T1 to take it as a backup camera for wedding 2 and had my wife shoot candid shots and a little backup angle. This saved me a multi-day D800 rental. Using the X-T1 for candids is perfect because it's small and quiet. The day before the wedding I did some pre-shooting where the wedding would take place and it performed well there. The wedding was outside and I didn't put flash on the X-T1, keeping it simple. It performed excellent. </div>
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<div>
A lot of the day was primarily for portraits of family at three locations and bride/groom at a forth and fifth. I used on-camera flash at one portrait session, the live event outside, and the post event as well as some other bride/groom post shots. I didn't want to attempt to use the X-T1 with on-camera flash but it would have been fine for the rest of the shooting where I used remote strobes and an Einstein mono-light.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirl5Zaj1BuQRImZVm9cHM4DyhDZUBzI5uxWzLMIvvmJpQBUgH0qMAWPLaJMt7ObI7Aa2T_t4gLf_TEsyKAqTNTUdgaUiik1Wa-VpqWEGn46NFR65hfZKcYphj66GJbb7Arn8XnF408d2on/s1600/C2F05502-2.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirl5Zaj1BuQRImZVm9cHM4DyhDZUBzI5uxWzLMIvvmJpQBUgH0qMAWPLaJMt7ObI7Aa2T_t4gLf_TEsyKAqTNTUdgaUiik1Wa-VpqWEGn46NFR65hfZKcYphj66GJbb7Arn8XnF408d2on/s200/C2F05502-2.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
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The one small factor that also made it tough are the menus. Although I should be able to stay out of them for the most part, I've been driving the Nikon systems for 40+ years so I know the system inside and out. When shooting outside with clouds moving in and out, the X-T1 has all the controls I need on top which is nice.</div>
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At the end of wedding 2 after using the 5+ pound Nikon system I was dead, and in pain. I would love to dump the Nikon weight if I could get equivalent performance from the X-T1.</div>
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Here's what I want in the X-T2</h3>
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<ul>
<li>Fuji's new 24 mega-pixel sensor that is on the new line of Fujifilm cameras coming out.. The D800 has 36 mega-pixels which make my 300mm lens a lot more powerful for long shots and affords me a lot of crop options. 24 mega-pixels would be plenty though.</li>
<li>Sort out the on-camera strobe TTL lighting and come out with a decent strobe that supports external power-packs. Shooting a wedding, even outside, I need to have a strobe for fill.</li>
<li>Faster flash sync speed. Why only 1/180th? </li>
<li>Don't change the ergonomics or the creative controls on the outside. I love it. In fact, I like their approach using mechanical dials better than Nikon's. In-fact, keep the look the same too. I love the X-T1's look.</li>
<li>Improve startup and reduce shutter lag.</li>
<li>The "quick menu" is still hard for me to get use to. Is there a better way?</li>
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If Fujifilm can nail the next iteration, maybe I'll build a big styrofoam box to put around the X-T1 so that I don't have to fight for recognition in the line-up of photographers. </div>
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-- </div>
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Chris Claborne</div>
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Cameraninja.com</div>
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<br /><span><!--more--></span><span><!--more--></span><span><!--more--></span><span><!--more--></span><span><!--more--></span><span><!--more--></span><span><!--more--></span><span><!--more--></span>Chris Clabornehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05667976111738074928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7301455735594891290.post-18539570734417662142015-05-25T12:40:00.002-07:002024-01-04T20:38:25.019-08:00Backing up Tags on Flickr<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitwOY6OfsRv9o71Du-DCGgwKuyvaVQwxM74GiTo7NmuG9VtkQpng7v_iAdQkCPgRSKgSF_goHOsfgd_DrBud-SJgGgN6bLJEJFPi3gpiB9egBqH39WA35OeegzubeQQgEKUrYl6mLsxh5e/s1600/juan-marilu-flying.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitwOY6OfsRv9o71Du-DCGgwKuyvaVQwxM74GiTo7NmuG9VtkQpng7v_iAdQkCPgRSKgSF_goHOsfgd_DrBud-SJgGgN6bLJEJFPi3gpiB9egBqH39WA35OeegzubeQQgEKUrYl6mLsxh5e/s200/juan-marilu-flying.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I started using </span><a href="https://www.flickr.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Flickr </span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">in November of 2007 (although my collection of photos that were uploaded predates that). I love Flickr and have used tagging extensively so that I can find my photos. As a cloud service, Flickr hosts my photos, allows me to share them and enables albums, searching and more. All of this comes at a very low yearly cost with no software to upgrade, patches to apply or something to re-install on my new computer. I can do all of this on any device, phone, tablet, computer. Flickr has recently pushed out a large upgrade of their service, and they apply small improvements all the time. Flickr is a perfect example of “software as a service”. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyiQmeEvTdFA9JaH8C3Rs2CyvQIXJ4kSVb3VZDsLZXYi9VyKnbqPQYDnMCTiG0N6Hgd0vY27s3sw7l8VdQ__Y5vJyzG4vfG6ARhCrK7ezb3AmoZQ4uNDj50_uLsCsRbFPyENlT8SpBPKlH/s1600/juan-ballpic-2014.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyiQmeEvTdFA9JaH8C3Rs2CyvQIXJ4kSVb3VZDsLZXYi9VyKnbqPQYDnMCTiG0N6Hgd0vY27s3sw7l8VdQ__Y5vJyzG4vfG6ARhCrK7ezb3AmoZQ4uNDj50_uLsCsRbFPyENlT8SpBPKlH/s200/juan-ballpic-2014.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tagging photos is accomplished by applying keywords made up by the user. Users can add tags to each photo or to a batch of photos when they upload them, simplifying the process. You can go back later and add additional tags in a variety of ways. Flickr made it easy to upload and tag all of my images when I started and as I go along. By using tags, I can find just about any photo I can think of in under a minute out of my current collection of 31,000+ photos. For, example, doing a </span><a href="https://www.flickr.com/search/?user_id=21191718%40N07&sort=date-taken-desc&text=flying%20marilu%20juan&view_all=1" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">search of “flying marilu juan”</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> will narrow my search down to two photos. I can send a search to grandma (as a URL), creating a synthetic album, e.g. </span><a href="https://www.flickr.com/search/?w=21191718@N07&q=juan%20ballpic%202014" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">highlights from my son’s 2014 soccer season</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tags are the value that I add, and Flickr enables value via their search interface. After tagging 30+K of photos, I don’t want to lose that work as it’s quite an investment by me. After almost 8 years of doing this, I’d hate to lose all of that value. It’s bugged me for a long time, even though I didn’t think I had the software to take advantage of this in a way that is generic from a technology standpoint. Now, if the tags were embedded into the photo and I could use local tools to take advantage of that, there it would be worth ensuring this data is backed up. OK, I’m a freak about backup </span><a href="http://cameraninjablog.blogspot.com/2015/05/do-you-backup-your-photos.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">as you can tell by my previous post</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. I’m not leaving Flickr but I still want all of this manual effort backed up just in case. Even if I didn’t have the software, I could probably write some software to utilize it but it turns out that I don’t have to, I have Adobe Lightroom.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjChezBcXgLbQSjgcpcfH_KUb91GgyByam5PwXysC4593zvhJ5ixyxRaNB9HdW8QkwzY08MiQj4-qUHMtcO9_WtVV4zB7YBi0FuF1BLfEKuz-guF-41TLv9SvEeMo9klMlvannWuG_FgDO6/s1600/adobe-lr-5-01.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="93" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjChezBcXgLbQSjgcpcfH_KUb91GgyByam5PwXysC4593zvhJ5ixyxRaNB9HdW8QkwzY08MiQj4-qUHMtcO9_WtVV4zB7YBi0FuF1BLfEKuz-guF-41TLv9SvEeMo9klMlvannWuG_FgDO6/s200/adobe-lr-5-01.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’ve been using Adobe Lightroom for a long time but I’ve recently decided to use it more as part of my post-production workflow. Up until this time, I’ve used Lightroom to help me sort out what I really want to post using a method of applying ratings to whittle down the selection and then push the photos to a directory where I run them through a manual Photoshop editing session or an automated set of steps for 100s of shots, like soccer game pics. When I first tried Lightroom, I didn’t like the way they implemented some of their UI, mainly because I was use to Photoshop. I’m getting use to it and am starting to realize what it can do to reduce my post production workload. I’m trying to use it more. Because it’s built with photographers in mind, it makes a lot of tasks that I do simple. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One of the things I noticed in Lightroom is... wait for it... keywording / tags. Entering keywords for photos (you can do a bunch at a time) allows users to quickly search for photos. It puts this “metadata into an area of the photo file that you can’t see (called the header). I like this approach technically because it keeps the data with the asset in a standard way and it’s more likely that other programs can use that data. As a bonus, it turns out that Flickr’s uploader page will see the tags that I put in the images making the final step of uploading them to Flickr simpler. This means I can tag in Lightroom and skip that step when uploading to Flickr. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_GEsYFQsDUV0KlRoZBAgV3WvEmhC-iS5hLUKk6B-vSmocaXT4WNg5oi_kZoDj1V6nPJFuugzcsiTwGmHnN2lvn14XAM1D4AYeZ5WjRhsRAK_nJ-G8xfnSmzp0vkqYcrrz_K7RSyJuWCEU/s1600/bulkr.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_GEsYFQsDUV0KlRoZBAgV3WvEmhC-iS5hLUKk6B-vSmocaXT4WNg5oi_kZoDj1V6nPJFuugzcsiTwGmHnN2lvn14XAM1D4AYeZ5WjRhsRAK_nJ-G8xfnSmzp0vkqYcrrz_K7RSyJuWCEU/s1600/bulkr.png" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As I did some research on programs that would allow you to download all of your photos from Flickr, I found one that would not only pull them down, but embeds the tag in the images in a way that can be read by Lightroom (and hopefully other software). The software is called Bulkr. Once I download and paid the $30 for </span><a href="http://clipyourphotos.com/bulkr/pro" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bulkr Pro</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (which enabled the downloading of tags), I fired up the software, highlighted all of my albums, clicked the download button, told it where on my PC I wanted all of the photos, and started the download. I have a pretty big network pipe so it only took about 48 to 72 hours to download all of my images. Bulkr created a directory with the same name as the album name within the target directory that I gave it. Because I named the albums with the year first, they sort nicely in the directory. To test that the tags were embedded, I pulled some of the files into Lightroom to see if the tags showed up... they did. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mission accomplished. The photos will probably just sit within a directory on my file server for now since I don’t really need to import that data into Lightroom, and if this download is lost in a fire or redundant disk failure, I can always re-download the files from Flickr. From this point on, I will be using Lightroom to tag files so the work will stay local, get backed up with the images, but also reside on Flickr, where I use them the most.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m really starting to understand Lightroom better and didn’t realize how powerful it’s gotten over the years, mainly because I didn’t take the time to look. I’d write more about Lightroom but don’t take Lightroom advice from me, go to </span><a href="http://laurashoe.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Laura Shoe’s BLOG</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, it rocks. For example, I had some dust on the camera sensor and didn’t know it. I fixed the important images from that shoot but it was a pain in the ass after a few. There is a way to apply a fix like this to all the images. Find out how to do that </span><a href="http://laurashoe.com/2008/12/03/more-on-spot-removal-in-camera-raw/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">here</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">-- Christian Claborne</span></div>
<a href="http://cameraninja.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">cameraninja.com</span></a>Chris Clabornehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05667976111738074928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7301455735594891290.post-9101354426959507182015-05-03T23:13:00.001-07:002015-05-25T01:34:40.072-07:00Do You Backup Your Photos?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcdRL8FWSi6A1WPikVuaze0b5qSmqGp_yLws7yP551tOJQBqphB8UEX68_I9Slry4vysZ4qQf9EoUYDVgYnh5TPNXQv3kJYuMJA-X9QR_zr-jDh6MDUjShkXvCumgsPO6oky4IZQw7UPdv/s1600/readynas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcdRL8FWSi6A1WPikVuaze0b5qSmqGp_yLws7yP551tOJQBqphB8UEX68_I9Slry4vysZ4qQf9EoUYDVgYnh5TPNXQv3kJYuMJA-X9QR_zr-jDh6MDUjShkXvCumgsPO6oky4IZQw7UPdv/s1600/readynas.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Do you backup your photos? Good, glad to hear that you do. Wait! you only put them on a USB drive? </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You should do better and here’s why. </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you only have one backup, when you go to restore from that USB drive or CD it won’t work. It’s almost a guarantee. If you have two options, the first always works. Its some sort of spooky gadget thing.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fire, theft or some other destructive power can ruin your whole day. </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you use a USB drive, you won’t be be alone with the people that forget to backup after every shoot. In fact, some people who have the drives don’t do it but every few months.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pictures are irreplaceable moments in time. If you lose a bunch of documents it may not be too bad (unless it’s your wife’s PHD thesis that she is working on then you better get out of town). To lose all your photos is a real disaster (unless you are really into the Zen thing and and into full unattachment). You can’t recreate images. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This article is less about photography tips and equipment but it’s a subject that I’ve got to cover again due to recent events. I have a strange fetish for backups. Maybe it’s the geek in me. I’m a computer geek by trade so it sort of comes naturally. It’s possibly due to being stung back in the old days or because I’ve had a job where it was my responsibility to ensure backups worked every time, were automated, and if we had to use them, they darn well better work.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Need more convincing?</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> I had a neighbor come over to me in a panic one day because his computer wouldn’t boot, all of his images were on there and the disk looked like it was pooched. I asked if he backed up. Answer = no. OK, OMG!!! Lucky for him I was able to mount the drive on another computer and recover almost everything. I then installed two hard drives with an automated backup routine. I also had him install </span><a href="http://idrive.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">iDrive</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMy1b_pv9ilF8i0aldYUiWYb-hcRDpcAKGU5jVqu_bWOBy0i9ZYl_rxzwFaADt7oAOGT0nQyJxZiSz25ero79VQwHHjnoRPrsm0BKNjgT4T9WOCfY0Izo_BggUzvrmCDsfelUV4iRiS-77/s1600/fire.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMy1b_pv9ilF8i0aldYUiWYb-hcRDpcAKGU5jVqu_bWOBy0i9ZYl_rxzwFaADt7oAOGT0nQyJxZiSz25ero79VQwHHjnoRPrsm0BKNjgT4T9WOCfY0Izo_BggUzvrmCDsfelUV4iRiS-77/s1600/fire.jpg" width="176" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A friend of ours lost everything in a fire that swept through San Diego county about 10 years ago. They lost everything but their lives. The only photos they had were the ones that I had taken, mainly of their little girl. I printed everything I had (they are also on Flickr) but she never picked them up and they moved out of town. They contacted us just last week wondering if I had a picture of their now not so little girl. I didn, found them in about 5 seconds on Flickr and my home NAS incase she wanted the originals. I feel good that I could replace something.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A computer friend of mine called one day in a panic wondering how to recover files from his home file server or “network attached storage” (NAS). Although it had some redundancy it had a major failure and wouldn’t mount the drive. I think he was able to work with customer support and get it restored. Remember, everything fails.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My last story is when I </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">almost</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> lost some images... I was backing up my images to my redundant NAS device plus DVDs and putting the DVDs in the fire safe. I thought I was cool because I have a redundant NAS and DVD should the worst happen. Human error happened (which, by the way, is in fact “the worst”). I accidently deleted some files on the PC and the backup program I was running at the time propagated the delete to the NAS device. OK, no problem, go get the DVDs and do a restore (and then modify the backup program so this doesn’t happen again).</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The restore from DVD didn’t work initially because the DVD drive that I used to do the backups was aligned slightly different than the restore device. I tried a couple more drives until I found one that worked. The lessons here is that human error can be worse than a fire, and DVDs for backup suck. DVDs are slow, small, and require that you label the shit out of everything. DVDs over time want to revert to their original form, goop. They will delaminate over time in addition to other fun failure modes (will you be able to find a DVD drive in 10 or 50 years???). Whatever your approach to backups, think about what it will take to do the restore and then ask yourself if that technology will be around when you need to do the restore. Also, think about the file format. JPG files may be safe for some time but if you have a fancy tape backup system that stores things in a database, will that database be readable in the future by whatever software is around? Maybe your backup has some cool encryption built in. Ask yourself if the encryption technology will be around for the next 20 years. If not, get the source code so your grandkids can possibly port it to the computers of their time and get to your stuff. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Keep your backups as simple as possible. I’ve written backup automation programs for work a long time ago and I’ve since put in firewalls to keep my human error from burning down my image vault. Remember, stuff breaks, everything breaks. Fires, theft, earthquakes, and wrath of god shit happens. Backup for the love of the universe! </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Also, as your equipment is replaced and technology changes, don’t forget to re-evaluate your backup plan. You may be forced to re-write everything in some new format when we get to computers that store data on man-made proteins.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’ve written blog posts about backups a few times on my other blog, </span><a href="http://cloudrant.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">cloudrant.com,</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> where I cover computing with a focus on cloud computing. I rarely see an article written about backing up your images by professional photographers and how the pros do it so I’ll cover it here at a high level and then link you to my geek blog articles on this for more detail.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 17px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Camera Ninja’s backup rules:</span></h2>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rule #1</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - Backup often, like right after you finish post-processing your images for the day.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rule #2 </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">- Have more than one backup (I always have an image in three places). </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rule #3</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - Backup to the cloud or keep a drive off-site (off-site is hard by the way because if it is off-site, how do you use it to backup?)</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rule #4</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - Don’t depend on photo sharing sites as your backup plan. They are not in the backup business and they can sometime erode the quality of your images when they compress them. Social or file sharing sites are in the business of getting more users and advertising and keeping you kind of happy. They really don’t care too much about image quality. And remember, things happen. </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rule #5</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - If your local copies are lost, refer to rule #2, get a new drive (preferably an SSD), and do a restore from the cloud. Don’t leave them ONLY in the cloud. If the cloud goes belly up or catches the hot end of a nuke, you are still covered. If your cloud backup company goes bankrupt or human error wipes your stuff out in the cloud, the worst that can happen is you just choose another company and push all your data into that cloud. No harm, nothing lost.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9eqWxKkUYwjYERZJe5tvwqoGVJVFsSdZB2xJZWzsABjCy2d1YNFBDNwkJmvs4mEjApW2hk5qipzrBrnACa8EwhlrUk57qyDmR9tAoGpASfenJZn3qkCsFZcHbcxb0ALl891O9jDwIdoyn/s1600/idrive-logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="83" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9eqWxKkUYwjYERZJe5tvwqoGVJVFsSdZB2xJZWzsABjCy2d1YNFBDNwkJmvs4mEjApW2hk5qipzrBrnACa8EwhlrUk57qyDmR9tAoGpASfenJZn3qkCsFZcHbcxb0ALl891O9jDwIdoyn/s1600/idrive-logo.png" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I recommend people use something like </span><a href="http://idrive.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">iDrive </span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">or </span><a href="http://crashplan.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Crashplan </span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">to backup their computers to the cloud. Once installed and running, these programs automate the backup process for you and upload your data once a day. The backups are secure because you tell the local client on your PC to encrypt it with a password on your PC/Mac before it’s ever uploaded. I like this because even if a hacker breaks into the cloud service, they can’t access your stuff. Just don’t ever forget the password. I wrote a complete article on backups using this technology located at cloudrant.com </span><a href="http://dreamvent.blogspot.com/2009/10/backup-your-pc-to-net-or-just-backup.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">HERE</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Take a look at it and use the service if its right for you. After you have it installed and working, the first backup will take a long time. Once completed, daily backups are pretty quick because it only moves new or changed files. Once the first backup is complete, verify that you have it configured correctly by restoring one of your files and checking that it is backing up the directories and drives you think it is.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you are a geek like me and you want to save a lot of money, try a service called Amazon Glacier. Glacier is less expensive at a penny a gig but a bit harder to use. Although they encrypt the data as it moves over the wire and when the data is at rest, image security is not as important to me. The cost savings add up for me because I have over a terabyte of images and with the D800 it can grow real fast, especially for pro work where I shoot RAW. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Glacier has eleven 9s of durability. It sounds like cool marketing and in fact it’s cooler. Amazon stores your files in 3 different locations on multiple devices in each location, they verify each upload with checksums, and they constantly run data integrity programs looking for any sort of image degradation. If they find a problem, they fix it from one of the other copies. If you are interested, read more about Glacier, and the PC tool, Fastglacier, go </span><a href="http://dreamvent.blogspot.com/2013/09/using-amazon-glacier.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">HERE</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. The article is a little dated so there may be some other tools on the market that are even better at using Glacier.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 17px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Camera Ninja’s Backup Plan</span></h2>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Daily backups to a house NAS device that is running a redundant file system. I can lose a disk and still not suffer a failure. I’ve tested this :)</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After shooting on the weekend, I drag my new image directories to Fast Glacier and go to bed. When I get up, all of my images are safely tucked away in the cloud.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">All the PCs in the house use the NAS and run </span><a href="http://idrive.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">iDrive</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> for all of the local documents.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Once in a while, I get a removable drive out of the safe and backup the NAS unit (hey, you can never be too careful). If I have to replace a drive in the NAS, I first do a backup of the unit. Because of the amount of data on there, I don’t want to pull it all from the cloud over the network unless I really have to.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I hope this was useful.</span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-00a17b39-1d82-3028-c356-6eeeb7f401d2" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 21px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">REFERENCE:</span></span></h3>
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<a href="http://idrive.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">idrive.com</span></a></div>
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<a href="http://crashplan.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">crashplan.com</span></a></div>
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<a href="http://dreamvent.blogspot.com/2009/10/backup-your-pc-to-net-or-just-backup.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My article on backups on cloudrant.com</span></a></div>
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<a href="http://dreamvent.blogspot.com/2013/09/using-amazon-glacier.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My article on Amazon Glacier</span></a></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Chris / Christian Claborne</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://cameraninja.com/">CameraNinja.com</a></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
<br />Chris Clabornehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05667976111738074928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7301455735594891290.post-7561446028546097022015-05-03T00:40:00.006-07:002019-02-19T11:02:00.005-08:00Fuji Love<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I've always loved solid camera bodies, opting for metal over plastic. But I've paid the price from the wallet and my neck. On the plus side, every one of my Nikon SLRs has been super reliable and fun to use. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I currently have a Nikon D800 and <a href="http://cameraninjablog.blogspot.com/2015/04/nikon-my-first-camera-love.html" style="font-weight: normal;">love it</a>. It produces what I feel is near "medium format" quality pictures. But here is my single biggest issue with the D800 -- Combine a Nikon metal tank of a body with a Nikon metal pro lens and you are easily over 4 lbs. I normally shoot with a vertical grip with extra batteries, pushing it to over <strong style="font-weight: normal;">5 lbs!</strong> After full day of shooting or touring, I come home with neck and back pain and I'm tired. Because of this, the Nikon stayed at home when I would have preferred taking it wine tasting, touring down town, or on some other small outing. I have my iPhone so it lulled me into feeling safe because I had a camera. (No, I'm not camera obsessive but I have Photography in my blood wanting to work). <b>This article is about my XT-1. </b>(I've since upgraded to the XT-2 and wow! I'll write about that later.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">I recently started reading up on the modern mirrorless cameras. Mirrorless cameras are different than the typical single lens reflex (SLR) cameras like my Nikon FE-2 or my D800 DSLR in that mirrorless don't have a mirror that sends the image to the view finder. Mirrorless cameras use an image display on the back of the camera or an electronic view finder (EVF) in the eye-piece (mini LCD screen) and some let you skip the electronic EVF altogether and use a second lens mounted off to one side like Lica's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rangefinder_camera">rangefinders</a> of yesteryear (and today). (The Fujifilm </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006UV6YMQ/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B006UV6YMQ&linkCode=as2&tag=cameraninja-20&linkId=QMATX3PAGZJTR47B" style="orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">X-Pro 1</a><span style="orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;"> also uses a rangefinder and photographers love it). Mirrorless cameras rise to DSLR quality without the weight. "Nikon 1" mirrorless, but I don't really like them and they require a completely different lens system. If I have to go to a new lens system then why not really look at alternatives. Nikon isn't known for making budget equipment so I figured maybe I can lighten the load and save some money....</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I love you Nikon, but I have a new love, she's named <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HYAL88W/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00HYAL88W&linkCode=as2&tag=cameraninja-20&linkId=PKYH35KQEVP7YWR2">Fujifilm</a> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HYAL88W/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00HYAL88W&linkCode=as2&tag=cameraninja-20&linkId=PKYH35KQEVP7YWR2">X-T1</a>. A lot of photographers are dropping their Nikon and Cannon gear off at eBay and switching to the little X camera, but I'm not ready to put the D800 out to pasture. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I'm becoming a mirrorless fan, and fell in love with the Fujifilm X-T1. During my research phase I was surprised to find some wedding photographers had sold all of their expensive Cannon and Nikon gear and switched to the X-T1 exclusively (I'll post some references below). It weighs 1/3 or so less, you save 50%+ on the cost for the body and lenses, its quiet and unassuming. I read up on them, tested two different models (black and the graphite which were of slightly different build quality). Since I purchased late in the release cycle, the bugs were worked out and I saved some money by waiting to by my <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NF6ZGSM/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00NF6ZGSM&linkCode=as2&tag=cameraninja-20&linkId=VBGAOKC53BPLMC2E">graphite model</a> on sale. Reviews gushed on the X-T1 but there is also a huge following for the Fuji X series cameras like the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NF6ZGY6/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00NF6ZGY6&linkCode=as2&tag=cameraninja-20&linkId=QV5EUTQ3KJF3XAON">X100</a> and especially the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006UV6YMQ/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B006UV6YMQ&linkCode=as2&tag=cameraninja-20&linkId=QMATX3PAGZJTR47B">X-Pro 1</a>. Fujifilm has been steadily building their intellectual capital in digital mirrorless cameras and the X-T1 is the end result of that IC build right now in my opinion. There is almost a cult following of the Fuji cameras and sales are healthy. For many of us Nikon fans, this is the camera we wish Nikon had built. The retro <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GD1KCAI/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00GD1KCAI&linkCode=as2&tag=cameraninja-20&linkId=TDKZKLMWVUPJL6DR">Nikon DF</a> was cool, but it lacked any imagination and was way overpriced (almost $3,000!). Looking at the price of the DF, I'm glad they didn't build the X-T1. :)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Another feature that was sort of a must have for me was an eye-point electronic viewfinder (EVF). A viewfinder is that little window you put your eye up to on a SLR to see what the camera sees. I wasn't thrilled with the idea of a rangefinder camera like the Fujifilm XE2. Over the years I've become use to the "what you see is what you get" approach to the viewfinder found on SLRs. Also, if you add a telephoto to a rangefinder, exactly how are you supposed to frame the shot? Some of the cameras that I looked at had an option for adding a viewfinder onto the hot-shoe or some other place on the camera but it looked clunky, was one more thing to carry and keep track of and as it rattles around in your bag... break. Reviewers at the time were gushing about how great the viewfinder on the X-T1 was, saying that it is the best on the market. And in fact it seems brighter than some of the others that I looked. Another nice thing about the X-T1 is that the viewfinder displays a mini histogram in the corner which is pretty cool. It also rotates the image when you hold the camera in portrait vs. landscape position. Nice touch. Lastly, the viewfinder has a diopter adjustment. Since my vision is far from perfect, it's nice being able to flip my glasses up and adjust the viewfinder for my eyes. This allows me to "chimp" the image on back of the camera quickly with my glasses off.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">One interesting thing that I get with the EVF that I don't get with the DSLR is the ability to see pictures in black and white (monochrome simulation mode) or some other mode in the viewfinder. The X-T1, like many digital cameras, allows you to shoot in black and white (monochrome) or some other "film simulation" mode like sepia. This allows you to pick a classic finishing treatment that you would normally do in post-processing right on the camera. If you are on vacation and want to upload your work without a lot of goofing around in post-production, you can shoot in one of these modes and just upload the result. Being able to see what the photo is going to look like in the viewfinder with the treatment applied is a huge bonus. Also, b</span>eing able to see the scene in something like B&W or sepia while you are shooting may make you rethink the exposure or composition a bit. When shooting in monochrome, I will focus more attention on scene highlights and dynamic range than I might in full color mode. </div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">TIP: The down side to letting the camera apply what I call post-production treatments, is that you lose the original color data of the scene. </span>Also, if you toss the original color image, you can't apply other effects or treatments later. One example is an electronic yellow filter. This is because the color data you need is gone. <span style="font-family: inherit; text-align: -webkit-auto;">This can be eliminated on most cameras by setting the image quality to Fine + RAW. By doing this, the camera saves the raw version of the file (with all the color) along with the in-camera processed jpg file to the memory card, thus allowing you to go back if you want. </span>When using one of the X-T1 film simulation modes, I always use Find+RAW so that I can always go back.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My old Nikon FE2 with the X-T1</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I found something interesting while I was shooting the photos for this post. The X-T1 is almost the same size as my Nikon FE-2 and has some of the same old manual feel to it. Maybe it's a bit of nostalgia kicking in on top of the looks and everything else that makes me like the X-T1.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Fuji is fielding a nice set of lenses and this is one of the most important aspects to me. According to expert reviews by teams of people that obsess over lens quality, Fuji lenses rock, including their zooms. In addition, <a href="http://www.fujifilm.com/products/digital_cameras/xf_lens/roadmap/index.html">Fuji has a roadmap of great lenses</a> slated to come out over the next year and they are hitting the milestones laid out when they introduced the X cameras. As of this post, they already have an <a href="http://www.fujifilmusa.com/products/digital_cameras/index.html">impressive lineup</a>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I picked up a used 18-55 with vibration reduction as well as a 27 mm pancake lens for maximum portability. The most recent addition is the 56mm f/1.4 for portraits, so far it's quality living up to the hype. Because I'm not planning on getting rid of the D800 anytime soon, the lens kit I have is really all I need. If I need telephoto, I'll go to the Nikon. Maybe some day I'll be able to find a used 200 mm equiv lens (or you will ship it to me).</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">D800 and a Nikkor 85mm</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I can also use some of my Nikon lenses on the X-T1 by utilizing the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007YPED8O/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B007YPED8O&linkCode=as2&tag=cameraninja-20&linkId=2S2KMD6APZFLI7PD">Fotasy Nikon lens to Fujifilm FX mount adapter</a>. It will work with all of Nikon lenses that I own that are equipped with an aperture ring (non-G lens). The only thing I loose with the lens adapter is auto-focus. Fuji has that covered with two different manual focusing options (digital split screen or the very cool "focus peaking"). I thought I took the pick to the right with the X-T1 but I now remember it was was with the D800 & the 85mm. I've used the X-T1 with my Nikon 50mm and 85mm. I wanted to get better compression to the Christmas tree as well as some nice bokeh. The Fujinon 18-55 f/4 2.8 - 4.0 was just too slow for good bokeh. Because the X-T1 uses an APS-C lense, using the Nikkor 50mm was like using a ~75 mm lense. It compressed the scene the way I wanted, and because I could open it up to 2.8, I got great bokeh. I'm looking forward to trying the X-T1 with the 56mm mounted. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I'm going to start using the X-T1 for client work but will lean on the Nikon for a few reasons. I know how to get exactly what I want out of the D800. I think I can drive the same results from the Fuji for portraits but I still need to prove it to myself. I'm pretty sure the D800 could take over as starter when I can drive the platform as well as I can the Nikon. I don't think the dynamic range matches the 36 mega-pixel sensor in the D800 but in the end, it may not matter. The most important factor is that I'm still learning how to drive the Fuji. I can drive every aspect of the D800 because I've been using Nikon digital ever since they came out. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I'm not worried about the loss in sensor resolution either (I always want more). The D800 has 36 mega pixels on a full frame sensor compared to the Fujifilm's 16. Until recently, most of my pro work was done using a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000VJX7DW/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B000VJX7DW&linkCode=as2&tag=cameraninja-20&linkId=XTT645RLRKNL2XBT">Nikon D300</a>, which has an APS-C 12 mega-pixels sensor, plenty for 8 X 10 and larger. So far, the portraits I've captured with the X-T1 indicate it'll hold up in quality (all of the pro reviews indicate that the X-T1 more than meets the pro demands that I have). Clients aren't going to want to hang out while I debug some strange issue with my equipment, so until I become completely comfortable with the Fuji system, the Nikon will most likely be the starter with the Fuji swinging in for backups and easy lens change outs. With two bodies (one very light), I can have two lenses ready to go saving me the jump back and forth. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">One other thing I notice is that the files are a LOT smaller on the X-T1 given the lower pixel count. This means less stress on my storage, processing time, backup storage and costs and lower upload times when putting them up on Flickr and Glacier (my cloud archive service).</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Shooting sports with the X-T1</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I don't do much paid sports photography work but I shoot tons of my kids club and high school soccer matches. Last week I had the opportunity to shoot some high school gymnastics and took both cameras. The Fuji performed well and kicked the D800's ass when it came to frames / second (8 frames per second to Nikon's 6) but it was sort of odd to follow the action in the electronic view finder (EVF) on the X-T1. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">X-T1 with the Fujinon f/1.2</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">While shooting with the Fuji blasting away on continuous-high, the camera had to grab a quick image of the actual action and put it up on the EVF screen so that I could follow the action. There was a slight delay in doing this and therefore a sort of choppy set of motion. Because of this, I missed the feel of what was going on. It's workable when the subject is on the parallel bars but when running across the mat I could start missing the shot. For soccer it would be even harder but you could do it. On the D800 , the mirror-flip momentarily blocks the view, but the cycle time and time slice of the action comes at a rate that you are able to see the subject in smooth motion, and it's enjoyable. The quality out of the Fuji with the 56mm lens were much better than I expected and very usable. Another issue during the shoot with the X-T1, similar to the last, was when shooting a single frame there is a slight frame freeze in the EVF while it writes the image or rebuilding the EVF image. I'll shoot a single fame at times in sports while I follow the action, but when I tried to do this with the Fuji, the pause (less than a second) is too long. For portraits, travel, and landscape photography, this isn't a problem. Over time, I'm guessing Fuji will remedy this. Also, you can't follow any action unless the Fuji is turned on, something you may not like doing since it eats into the batteries.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taken with the D800</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I shot over 1000 frames at the gymnastics meet with the D800 with a 70-200mm but the low light (and weight) requires a monopod. I got some nice shots. I could have done a lot better by getting in closer, but it was the end of the day and I was content to sit next in the stands, talking to the mom of the girl I was there to shoot (on my own dime). I spotted where to be for the vault if I ever do that location and sport again. Also, I wasn't sure how much freedom I would have to get in closer. If I was shooting for $$$, a research trip or arriving real early would have been required.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I've shot tons of soccer with the D800 and it's fantastic. The one thing that the D800's 36 mega pixel sensor gives me is crop rage, the ability to zoom-in during post. The biggest lens I have is my 70-200mm with a 1.5x magnification ring giving me 300mm. The extra pixels come in handy when the game is at the other end of the field or the other touch line. Bottom line, the D800 owns my sporting shots. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Flash</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I tried using the X-T1 with their larger <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004NROYVM/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B004NROYVM&linkCode=as2&tag=cameraninja-20&linkId=HTISJF54MXEE4B2I">Fujifilm EF-42 flash unit</a> and in one shoot, I got some strange results. I used it since then without any issue but it was odd and I can't quite pin down what was going on. Also, the X-T1 won't fire the flash unless the camera is set to single shot mode (there may be one other mode as well). This is a pain in the ass if you go to pick the camera and blast out a quick shot in a hurry and it's in the wrong mode. I have no idea why they force that. I'm use to leaving the Nikon in continuous shot mode and shooting a single shot is in my muscle memory. Nikon has been known as king in the on-camera flash competition. They've probably pumped 50 years of R&D into it to get it just right. </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Street Photography and Night Time</span></b></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ISO 6400, 1/40 at f/3.6</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I took the X-T1 it for some <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/claborne/sets/72157649632556252">street shooting with my wife in South Park here in San Diego</a>. I didn't have a fast lens so I cranked up the ISO to 6400 (for the outdoor shots) and depended the image stabilization on the 18-55 to give me a stop more. I was a bit worried about the noise but it was a good torture test for the X-T1. All of these pictures were shot hand held, only two used the stubby little flash that came with it. I'm really happy with the results. I used the JPEGs that came off the camera and (minor post-production in photoshop) and the noise was low while still holding detail (as shown by the detail in the accordion in the picture to the right). On <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/claborne/15345099093/in/set-72157649632556252">one of the outdoor shots</a> I lowered the ISO to 800 and used a light post to stabilize the camera to allow a long exposure. (The shooting data is below the images if you do click through to them). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I don't like the tiny bit of lag on start up to first picture (1.4 seconds vs. the D800 .3 seconds) but the X-T1 wins for match for street photography, including night time. The camera is small and light allowing me move within crowds without bashing someone with the Nikon tank.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">One thing that the Fuji does that the D800 can't is talk to my iPhone. While on an outing last month, I quickly transferred a photo to my iPhone using the built-in WiFi and sent the image to a friend. In addition, the iPhone can act as a remote view finder and fire the camera. I'm going to try this out the next time I'm doing some street photography. </span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Shooting Landscapes</span></b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu-nZAPsbJMmRCcDdcoBaMytK7O8znpOc_iVSa0mG9cDtsQnAbKeLxxkcUJg1tzIRaEhIVrxNms8UkfqohmYB_UZe3JHG-fR91rX8iY6Qfuuhk668cmjDL5QQsoyawkRR43dCnvjQ5qi3d/s1600/torreypines.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu-nZAPsbJMmRCcDdcoBaMytK7O8znpOc_iVSa0mG9cDtsQnAbKeLxxkcUJg1tzIRaEhIVrxNms8UkfqohmYB_UZe3JHG-fR91rX8iY6Qfuuhk668cmjDL5QQsoyawkRR43dCnvjQ5qi3d/s1600/torreypines.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">I was on an errand and decided to try for a sunset with the X-T1. The hand-held shot to the right is the result. Nice color, shot in normal mode (Provia) but it looks like Velvia. I had fun and love the result. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">There's a lot to love about the X-T1 and I hear that some of the things that bug me may be fixed in a firmware release coming this month. I now know why a lot of street photographers like the Fujifilm cameras with rangerfinders on them as it eliminates the issues I have with viewfinder switch lag. Fuji keeps adding features to the X-T1 via firmware, a sign of the times with not only cameras but also cars. I'll let you know. In the end for me, I'll admit that the choice is tainted with emotional imput. I don't care if you are a farmer buying a tractor or a photographer buying a tool that takes photos, emotional </span>input<span style="font-family: inherit;"> always plays a part. It's who we are.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">A summary of some of the things that I like:</span></b></div>
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">1/3 or less the weight. With a 35m F1.4 (50mm equiv) it weighs 1.5 lbs, and with the vertical grip it weighs just under 2lb. That's a long way from 5 lbs!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">1/2 or less the cost</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">It's quiet. Mirrorless cameras have a shutter but if you want, you can switch to electronic shutter for super stealth mode.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Small (a large camera in someone's face is a bit off-putting and it often alerts people when you are shooting for a candid)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">All of the controls that I use the most are on the outside. I love the retro knobs.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">(shutter, aperture, exposure compensation, focusing area & mode, and more)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">It looks cool retro and even though its a tool, I really like the look. Everyone thinks I'm shooting film. I've had several people ask me about it wondering if film is still around.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">The hot shoe drives all my lighting.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">16MP sensor is fantastic. The X-Trans sensor is supposed to cut down <span style="line-height: 14px; text-indent: 0mm;">moiré</span> without using a low-pass filter, thus improving image quality.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">I've been trying the chrome mode in the camera and have been enjoying that. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Diopter adjustment on the camera.</span></li>
</ul>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">What I don't like:</span></b></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Focus speed is a little slower than my Nikon pro.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">The shutter release lag is a tad longer but the technical BLOGs say there isn't any difference. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">The boot time from sleep is longer than my Nikon. It's noticeable and it makes quick street shots harder until you learn to pre-boot while you hold it.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">The power-up on the EVF is a little slow for my taste. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">The EVF switch from the main screen in the back to the EVS takes less than a second but it's noticeable, you can set it to stay on the EVF for the entire time.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">The viewfinder blackout is much longer than the actual shutter speed. Using it for fast moving sports will continue to live in the domain of the DSLR for now.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">The capture move dial (single, continuous, bracket, etc) gets moved unexpectedly. Although the ISO and shutter speed have a lock this one doesn't and it needs it. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Short battery life (300 images). </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Batteries have an "on to off"/steep power curve. That is, the battery indicator can read full one minute and the next you get the out of power message. </span></li>
</ul>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cameras with Vert grip mounted</td></tr>
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<span style="color: #323a46;"><span style="line-height: 21px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Chris's X-T1 comparison</span></span></span></h2>
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<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #323a46; font-family: "} "; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">X-T1 Body with XF 35mm F/1.4 lens -</span> <span style="color: #323a46; font-family: "} "; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><b>1.5 lbs</b><br />(with vertical grip - <b>1.9 lbs</b>)</span></span></li>
<li>Nikon D800 with 50mm F/1.4 lens - <b>2.8 lbs </b><br />(with vertical grip it's<b> 4.0 lbs</b>)</li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #323a46; font-family: "} "; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">X-T1 Body with XF 18-55mm F2.8-4, - </span><strong style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; color: #323a46; font-family: '} '; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">1.875 lbs</strong></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #323a46; font-family: "} "; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Nikon D800 with 28-300mm F3.6-5.6 - </span><strong style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; color: #323a46; font-family: '} '; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">4.25 lbs</strong><span style="color: #323a46; font-family: "} "; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><br />(with vertical grip it's</span> <b style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; color: #323a46; font-family: '} '; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">5.3 lbs</b><span style="color: #323a46; font-family: "} "; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">!)</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #323a46; font-family: "} "; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Nikon D800 + vertical grip with 70-200 F/2.8 lens - almost</span> <b style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; color: #323a46; font-family: '} '; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">almost 7 lbs!</b></span></li>
</ol>
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<span style="color: #323a46;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><b>What should you buy me for Christmas? OK, here's my Fuji list.</b></span></span></div>
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<ul>
<li><span style="color: #323a46;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NF6Z8IK/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00NF6Z8IK&linkCode=as2&tag=cameraninja-20&linkId=LWNOZ6F7UB54TT27">Fujinon XF 50 - 140mm F2.8 lens</a></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #323a46;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006ZSNRWO/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B006ZSNRWO&linkCode=as2&tag=cameraninja-20&linkId=PP7UC5KREZVE3OBP">Fujinon XF 18mm F2.0 lens</a></span></span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="color: #323a46;"><span style="line-height: 21px;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Reference</span></b></span></span></h2>
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<ul>
<li><span style="color: #323a46;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><a href="http://cameraninjablog.blogspot.com/2015/04/nikon-my-first-camera-love.html" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Nikon, My First Camera Love</a> </span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #323a46;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"> <a href="http://www.fujifilmusa.com/products/digital_cameras/x-lenses/">Fujifilm X Series lenses</a></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #323a46;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><a href="http://www.slrlounge.com/two-hands-reviews-fuji-x-t1-agree/">Two Hands review the Fuji X-T1</a></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #323a46;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><a href="http://petapixel.com/2014/11/13/went-mirrorless-switched-canon-fuji-detailed-exploration/">Dumping DSLRs for the X-T1</a></span></span></li>
<li><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/20/business/international/as-digital-camera-sales-sputter-fujifilm-finds-its-niche.html?_r=0"><span style="color: #323a46; font-family: inherit;">Fujifilm Finds Niche With Old-Style Cameras - NYT</span></a></li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="color: #323a46; font-family: inherit;">Thanks to John Doxey, who loaned me his D300 for the lead shot. It's hard to get photos of all your cameras without some sort of fancy multi-mirror setup.</span><br />
<span style="color: #323a46; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #323a46; font-family: inherit;">- Chris Claborne</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #323a46; text-align: -webkit-auto;">- </span><a href="http://cameraninja.com/" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Cameraninja.com</a>
</span></div>
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<span style="color: #323a46; font-family: inherit;">Christian Claborne</span></div>
<br />Chris Clabornehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05667976111738074928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7301455735594891290.post-72770547829193418552015-04-27T00:31:00.002-07:002016-05-18T16:40:34.542-07:00Nikon, My First Camera Love<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Film</h2>
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I drive Nikon camera bodies; I love the look, and the results. I've been a Nikon driver since my first SLR 30+ years ago when I received a Nikon EM for Christmas with an E series lens. I used the camera all through college and figured out how to force it to complete specific assignments in a college photography course where a manual camera would have been much better. I don't remember how the camera ended it's life. I think it died of natural causes and when I checked the used market it was worthless. The E series lens was worth even less.</div>
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Nikon chose to go with aperture priority for "automatic mode" in the early days (starting with my EM). That makes more sense to me. I tend to think more about depth of field than shutter speed. In addition, because the aperture control was on the lens, that meant that I could use it to hold the camera and control the shutter speed I wanted by turning it with my supporting hand and watching the shutter speed in the viewfinder. At the time of the FE, Cannon decided to go with shutter priority on their AE1 and it sorta set the tone for their camera line for many years. Nikons ergonomically feel right to me and they fit my style. I love the fact that they have not changed the lens mount since the first F camera in late 1959. Those F lenses will still work on Nikons made today. </div>
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My next camera was a Nikon FE2 right after college. It was all metal, and supported aperture priority and manual. The FE2 SLR did a yeoman's job, tough, reliable and easy to use. I loaned it to my niece who used it in college and then returned it. It never had to go to the shop and I still have it. I had an MD12 and it sounded like a Sherman tank when you pulled the trigger. This was very much in vogue at the time and fun to use. </div>
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I owned a little Nikon 35TI for a while. I loved that little guy and it performed well, looked great, but was what pilots call a "hanger queen" because it was always in the shop. I sold it after its last repair. </div>
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My last analog or film camera was a Nikon F5 (circa 1995). It was the best film camera ever made in my opinion. Nikon made an F6 but I don't know how you could have made it any better. The F5 was a beast, had a built in winder and would stop a bullet. I think war correspondents must have had a part in the design. Until just recently, it was the best camera I ever owned. I hauled it to Europe and lugged it and some heavy glass all over the place. My neck was killing me after the first day, but I was young and put up with it. No way was I going to leave it in the hotel along with the several pounds of glass. When I purchased my D70, the F5 rarely got used if ever and just sat in the safe. Although the D70 wasn't nearly the camera the F5 was, it was a digital SLR that was close enough at the time. I hated having the F5 camera just sit there when it should have been out working and being loved. I sold it on eBay to a photographer who I hoped would put it to work and enjoy it as much as I did. It was hard parting with the F5.</div>
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Digital</h2>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYRYpmCbsdkrrohT71rrLBqJSuqKjFjf9HytRuwMVXdxaxKeAjYYHVU58HOkI7OZS-0ogTMYUEzwYRn6pm0O4jEdlRkOtTRrPz3RJgjdqrQlQeKofw2y1Zat0QD05JAKvWTMQhIkSER_hE/s1600/photoshop-xmas-card-b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYRYpmCbsdkrrohT71rrLBqJSuqKjFjf9HytRuwMVXdxaxKeAjYYHVU58HOkI7OZS-0ogTMYUEzwYRn6pm0O4jEdlRkOtTRrPz3RJgjdqrQlQeKofw2y1Zat0QD05JAKvWTMQhIkSER_hE/s1600/photoshop-xmas-card-b.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First act in Photoshop, add hair to bald head.</td></tr>
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Digital started for me when I started working for HP. Shortly after I joined in 1996, HP came out with a photo printer that surpassed anything affordable on the market. I'd always wanted a dark room but without the mess. Although I used a wet lab in high school and college, I knew I didn't want to go to the expense and mess. I looked at a few film scanners and settled on a Nikon Coolscan. I had my darkroom, or really, a dry lab. The scanner was slow but high quality. I searched for a processing lab that would treat my negatives like a baby. The film scanner revealed every scratch, ding, and water mark. I found a lab close to the house run by a family. The prints were just proofs to me, what I really wanted were good negatives. I didn't really like slides because of the lack of dynamic range. It was much easier to recover an underexposed image on negative than on chrome. I remember that to use a scanner back then you had to be a bit of a computer geek. Since that's my day job it was a snap to install a SCSI board, drivers, and get it working. I gave it to my brother to use after I went full digital and I think he still has it. When my first child was born, I rushed the film of the new baby to the film processor and then zipped home to start scanning and uploading. </div>
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When you have a scanner you have to have a way to edit the images so this was also my first introduction to Photoshop. The clone tool was my friend. I remember one of the very first things I did was crop an image from a wedding that improved it 1000%. I was hooked. My next act was to clone hair from my wife onto my balding head. You really couldn't tell until I pointed it out. Now we're talk'n.</div>
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My first digital camera was a Nikon Coolpix 990. Although it didn't crank out nearly the image quality of the F5, it got me to digital and uploading pictures of my new baby to grandma in minutes. It was getting hard to pick up the beloved F5 but the F5 was still really the go to camera. The 990 was cool because I could rotate the screen 180 degrees. My first selfe was with a 990. My favorite selfe was while flying, but that's another story :)</div>
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The first affordable digital SLR was the D70 in 2004. It worked with all of my old glass and dusted the 990 in quality for sure. Because of the image size increase however it forced larger flash memory cards and computer upgrade. The larger images were too much for the current system so I geeked out and built a new system, modern CPU, more hard disk and memory. I took the D70 to <a href="https://www.flickr.com/search/?w=21191718@N07&q=india">India</a> and I had a blast. I shot tons of images and then at night burned them to CD, sorted and post processed in my hotel before uploading a few to my web site. The guide that I had while in Agra to see the Taj Mahal was also a photographer and knew all of the best spots to shoot from. He was friends with the guy at the mosk on the grounds and got me in to shoot some really great images from a different point of view as well as some from inside the mosk. A few years later, the D70 developed a problem where the memory card would need to be jiggled. After I upgraded cameras, my brother figured out how to fix it, used it for a while and then returned it. It now lives in the hope that one of the kids want to use it. My son thought he would get into it, but video games nixed that idea.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shot with D300</td></tr>
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After the Nikon D70 was the D300. I think that's the point at which digital climbed back into film quality output in my opinion. Although the F5 focusing was faster, the D70 performed well. When I bought the D300 I thought about a higher end camera in Nikon's line which had a little better sensor but was almost a pound more and only had about 5 features over the D300. By purchasing a knock-off vertical grip, it was a D3 but lighter, and the grip (with batteries) was removable. This is the camera that got me wanting to do more, and I ended up starting <a href="http://cameraninja.com/">Camera Ninja</a> with the D300. This camera was a real workhorse and never had to see the doctor. I shot many jobs with it when I wasn't learning more and shooting pictures of my own family. </div>
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I now drive a Nikon D800 which produces what I feel is near "medium format" quality. I saved some money by buying it late in the product cycle just before the D810 was introduced. With 36 mega-pixels of sensor, I always have enough data to work with for cropping and enlarging. The images sizes are almost too big. I say this because it's more data, more storage, more processing power needed. I think the resolution pushes right up to the limit of the lenses. Because of the image size, it doesn't have the frame rate of the D300 for sports but the extra digital zoom in post-production is worth it.</div>
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The D800 is the best camera I've ever owned. In addition to the medium format level full size 36 MP sensor, it has fantastic dynamic range. It's built and looks like the F5 when I mount the vertical grip on it. Since I've been a Nikon user for so long it was easy for me to come up to speed on the D800 and I know it inside and out. I can drive every aspect of the D800 to get exactly what I want (to my personal capability). Although Nikon has moved away from nobs and movable aperture rings, it's still an ergonomically pleasing camera for me to use. Most of the controls that I touch during a fast paced shooting experience are at my fingertips. It's also like the F5 because it's a tank that will stop a bullet (not that I've tried). <span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "droid sans" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.9999942779541px;">I love a body where I can get as many of the controls on the outside of the camera as possible. I really dislike having to dig through menus to get to what I want and then figure out how to change it. You'll see this represented in all of my choices.</span></div>
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I've always loved solid camera bodies, opting for metal over plastic. But I've paid the price with my wallet and my neck. Every one of my Nikon SLRs has been super reliable and has never let me down during a shoot. My biggest issue with the D800 -- Combine a Nikon metal tank of a body with a Nikon metal pro lens and you are easily over 4 lbs. I normally shoot with a vertical grip with extra batteries, pushing it to over <b>5 lbs!</b> After full day of shooting or touring, I come home with a sore neck and back pain. Because of this, the Nikon stayed at home when I would have preferred taking it wine tasting, touring down town, or on some other small outing. I have my iPhone so it lulled me into feeling safe because I had a camera. (No, I'm not camera obsessive but I have photography in my blood wanting to work). </div>
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I recently started reading up on the modern mirrorless cameras. They have risen to DSLR quality without the weight. Nikon has the "J" series but I don't really like them and they require a complete different lens system. If I have to go to a new lens system then why not really look at alternatives. Nikon isn't known for making budget equipment so maybe I can lighten the load and save some money....</div>
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I love you Nikon, but I have a new friend, she's named Fujifilm X-T1. A lot of photographers are dropping their Nikon and Cannon gear off at eBay and switching to the little X camera and saving a lot of money in the process. I'm not ready to put the D800 out to pasture. I'll explain why in <a href="http://cameraninjablog.blogspot.com/2015/05/fuji-love.html">my next post.</a></div>
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-- Chris Claborne</div>
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The Camera Ninja</div>
Chris Clabornehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05667976111738074928noreply@blogger.com0