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Why the Fujifilm X100V is one photographer’s perfect camera for the streets

29 Mar

Introduction

Recently, Fujifilm released its fifth-generation Fujifilm X100V camera, an update that has been two years in the making. By now there are a lot of reviews out there, but my goal here is to focus on why I believe this is the best camera on the market for street photography. The X100V works really well as an everyday travel camera and even as a daily a cityscape/architecture camera, but I think that street photography is in the camera’s DNA.

I’ve been using the X100 since the first version, released in 2011, as my everyday camera and my primary street photography camera. Since then, it has transformed the way that I work as well as the quality of my work. Full disclosure: Fujifilm provided me with a loaner camera to review.

How the original X100 transformed street photography

The original X100 rocked the photography world in 2011. It embraced the design and ergonomics of old rangefinder film cameras and combined them with a cutting edge hybrid viewfinder and excellent image quality. And the cost was fairly affordable considering everything that was packed inside it.

While a few other camera companies had come close, no company had yet to put together such a small, tight, and refined (after some firmware updates, admittedly) street photography camera. Many photographers began to ditch their SLRs and prime lenses for the X100 and its later models.

And while many companies have created incredible cameras for street photography, most of them have a significant flaw or two that hold them back in some way (or they cost $ 10,000). I still don’t believe there is a camera company out there that has put together the entire package for street photographers in the way that Fujifilm has. It continues to lead the pack.

What’s new in the X100V?

The X100V comes with a host improvements over the previous models, including:

More reliable autofocusing: This may be the major reason for upgrading the camera for some of you.
New 26.1-megapixel sensor (shared by the X-T3): You get a modest resolution bump and much faster readout speeds.
Newly weather-resistant body: You will need to purchase an attachment to make the lens itself weather resistant, but I have shot significantly with older versions in the rain with an umbrella and never had an issue with it getting fairly wet. A weather-resistant body would make me even more comfortable in doing so.
Newly developed lens: The lens redesign is two years in the making and improves corner sharpness and close-distance focusing.
Slightly sleeker design: Streamlined lines and new top and bottom aluminum plates with a satin finish make the camera even more aesthetically appealing.
Two-way tilting screen: The screen is so thin, you hardly know it can tilt.
Updated hybrid viewfinder with a new OLED panel.
4K Video: For any street photography videos you may want to make.

Now let’s take a look at why I think the X100V is perfect for street photography.

Size and ergonomics

While the benefit of the Fujifilm X100 series is its complete package of features, the size and ergonomics of the camera are what stand out the most for me. With its very compact 23mm (35mm equivalent) lens, the camera is tiny and a pleasure to carry around all day. It is both inconspicuous for street photography and light enough that it allows you to photograph in a quicker and more spontaneous manner.

The X100V just makes you want to take it outside and walk around all day

The camera has dials for all the major camera functions, which makes it easy to change your settings on the fly without going into the menus. The viewfinder allows you to move between an optical view and an electronic view, which I do frequently depending on what I am shooting.

The X100V just makes you want to take it outside and walk around all day. And it’s tough to understate that, because that’s really the key to street photography: getting out there with a camera consistently and having as much fun as possible.

Image quality

Part of the genius of the X100-series is the restraint that they showed in building it. The choice to have a fixed lens and an APS-C sensor could have been thought to have been features that held this camera back, but instead, they were the features that defined this camera. Both choices allowed it to hit a perfect mix between size and image quality. The photos that come out of it look great and I easily feel comfortable blowing them up to giant sizes, even at remarkably high ISOs.

I find that the colors and black and white tones that come out of this camera are nothing short of remarkable, and in recent years Fujifilm has provided a wide variety of color and black and white profiles that allow you to create a variety of looks depending on your style and the particular image you’re working with.

High ISO and autofocus

I’ve found the X100V to be a beast for night photography, whether it’s street or architectural. I tested this camera up to ISO 6400, and found the noise was fairly minimal. The photographs were sharp as well. I would certainly be comfortable printing ISO 6400 photographs and I would even be comfortable using ISO 12,800 in a pinch. The level and look of the noise in the newest version of the X100 is something that I could not have imagined even five years ago.

Mix the ISO capabilities with the size and inconspicuousness of the camera, and shooting street photography at night is so much easier. In general, street photography at night is incredibly hard to do, but this camera speeds you up enough to significantly lessen some of the primary constraints with night street shooting.

Autofocus, what was originally one of the main issues with the first X100 camera in 2011, is now one of its strengths. The X100V has incredibly reliable autofocusing and performs remarkably well for a camera of this size. It’s still is not as fast as an SLR, of course, but with each new iteration, they get closer.

Lens(es)

The Fujifilm X100V comes with the option to purchase 50mm equivalent and 28mm equivalent attachment lenses. I’ve found that 35mm and 50mm primes are my bread-and-butter focal lengths for street photography: wide enough to get close and intimate while showing a lot of background, but not too wide. Many street photographers love to use a 28mm equivalent as well, although that is usually too wide for me unless I am on a very crowded street corner.

The act of using a prime lens like this has allowed me to capture so many more split-second moments than I would have missed otherwise. With a zoom, I feel like I am a part of the camera, but with a small prime, I feel like the camera is part of me.

Battery life

The battery life over the last few versions is remarkably improved, particularly for a camera of this size. I still find that I need three batteries for an active day of shooting, but the battery life has been turned from a detriment to a benefit over the five generations of this camera.

Street photography settings and tips

While I think that the silver version of the camera is the prettiest, people tend to notice it frequently. It still works great for street photography, but I suggest getting the black version, which is more inconspicuous and gets fewer comments.

The X100V has a leaf-shutter, so is already very quiet, but you can disable all other sounds and enable an electronic shutter for completely silent shooting. This is particularly helpful for indoor and especially quiet situations.

I also lengthen the time that it takes for the camera to go to sleep. I find this option necessary since the camera will go to sleep occasionally just as a fast-moving moment appears out of nowhere The ‘Boost’ option also enables even faster autofocus speeds. Both of these options will significantly reduce the battery life, but with three batteries, you should have more than enough for a full day of busy shooting.

Street photography accessories

While Lensmate has not yet released a thumb-grip for the new design of the X100V (here it is for the X100F), I’m sure one is coming soon. This type of thumb grip makes the camera much easier to hold, particularly with one hand.

I also find that a soft release button makes the camera more comfortable and sensitive to shoot with: My personal favorite is the Abrahamsson Mini Soft Release. Purchase a couple of these because they can unscrew in your bag and get lost easily. I lose one a year usually and I’m very careful.

The overall aesthetic of Gordy’s camera straps goes very well with the camera and are incredibly comfortable. I typically keep the strap shorter than normal to keep the camera higher on my chest, which makes it easier to shoot quickly with and isn’t bothersome since the camera is so light.

Conclusion

The X100 series has been around for almost 10 years now, and it only gets better as Fujifilm works to find smart and subtle ways to improve it and the photos that come out of it without straying from the initial spirit of the camera.

I’ve found that the Fujifilm X100V has helped turn me into a more spontaneous street photographer. I can react faster, am able to manipulate the camera easier, and have gotten really in-tune with the fixed focal length. If you decide to get one for yourself, I think you’ll feel much less self-conscious and afraid of getting close and intimate with your photographs.

The combination of all of these factors has allowed me to capture images that I would not be able to come back with before. And to be honest, I don’t know what camera I would use for street photography if the X100V didn’t exist. I can’t say I would be as happy or comfortable with any other.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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‘Streets in Mind’ shows NYC through the eyes of B&W street photographer Alan Schaller

26 Mar

SmugMug Films has released Streets in Mind, its latest film that follows London-based street photographer Alan Schaller around the busy streets of New York City.

The film comes in at five-and-a-half minutes and takes a wonderful look into the life and work of Schaller. As narrator, Schaller explains how he came to be a street photographer after a career in music.

In the words of SmugMug Films, Schaller’s ‘surrealist, geometric eye reveals the hauntingly intimate beauty which exists in the hustle of every day life in the Big Apple.’

You can find more of Schaller’s work on his Flickr photo stream and purchase a print through his online shop.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Gothic streets and cured meats: shooting the Panasonic S1R in Barcelona

09 Feb

With a pre-production S1R in hand, I took to the streets of this iconic Spanish city.
ISO 100 | 1/200 sec | F4 | Lumix S 24-105mm F4 @ 66mm

I stepped out onto the promenade with the early afternoon sun shining bright. A couple wandered past, the woman leaning her head on the shoulder of her partner. Barcelona is a city filled with romance, from couples young and old sharing an embrace on seemingly every corner, to the intricacies of the city’s historic Gaudí architecture.

With the S1R dangling from my right hand, I flipped the on switch as I brought it up to my eye and the enormous 5.76M-dot electronic viewfinder sprang to life in an instant. I snapped three frames and brought it back down as the oversized camera strap bumped into my leg. “I sure hope one of those is in focus,” I thought. All three were, but the camera’s Depth from Defocus AF system made it hard to know for sure in that moment.

I continued on my way, eventually turning off the promenade toward a series of modern buildings that quickly gave way to a narrow gothic residential street. These ultimately lead me to Barcelona’s famed Mercado de La Boqueria, a historic market.

Barcelona offers a wonderful mix of new and ancient architecture.
ISO 100 | 1/400 sec | F4 | Lumix S 24-105mm F4 @ 51mm

Last week I attended Panasonic’s worldwide launch event for the Lumix DC-S1 and S1R in Barcelona, Spain. There I was able to spend an afternoon shooting street photography with an early-production S1R. Because of its not-quite-finished nature, I used the opportunity to get a better understanding of the broader essence of the S-series, rather than assessing its technical merit.

Panasonic is pitching the S1 and S1R as no-comprise packages for professionals

Panasonic is pitching the S1 and S1R as no-comprise packages for professionals: so not only will they have to perform from a technical standpoint, but they also have to handle well. Panasonic aspires to have S-series cameras on the grounds at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. If that’s going to be a reality, they’ll need to operate as well as the Canon and Nikon pro bodies currently being used by most sports photographers.

Full disclosure: Panasonic covered our costs to attend this worldwide launch event including flights, lodging and several yummy meals. This was our first opportunity to shoot with the S1 and S1R. Images and impressions are based off of pre-production firmware – performance and image quality may change with final firmware. Images in this story are out-of-camera JPEGs, minimally processed in Adobe Lightroom. Originals can be found in the gallery below. Raw conversions will be added with ACR support.

Cured meats, as far as the eye can see.
ISO 2000 | 1/500 sec | F4 | Lumix S 24-105mm F4 @ 78mm

People buzzed around me on both sides as I stopped and glanced at the vendor above. He didn’t seem to notice or care about the camera in my hand. I turned 90 degrees and brought it to my eye, pretending to focus on something else, then swung it back around and clicked the shutter four times. Unsure of whether my focus point landed on the vendor, his hand or somewhere else completely, I looked up from the EVF: he was staring my direction. I smiled, gave a little wave and kept on my way.

Annoyed with myself for not taking more time to compose, I gave the camera’s AF joystick a flick and watched with delight as my AF point zipped across the screen. The ability to quickly move an AF point is critical for many forms of photography and the S1/S1R’s fastest setting doesn’t disappoint. Of course, none of this matters if you aren’t giving yourself the chance to properly compose and move the point in the first place.

I continued walking through the market labyrinth with no real sense of direction, letting the allure of brightly-colored candies and glistening seafood guide me. Some time had passed before I noticed a few shops were closing down, so I stepped back out into the street. Before long, I was on La Rambla, a noisy/touristy stretch as famous for its kitschy vendors as it is for its pickpockets.

Mercado de La Boqueria is filled with plenty of eye-catching delights.
ISO 1000 | 1/500 sec | F4 | Lumix S 24-105mm F4 @ 24mm

At this point I’d been walking around Barcelona for a few hours with the camera in-hand the whole time. Despite being a big chunk of magnesium alloy and rubber, the S1R wasn’t a burden. The grip is comfortable and reaching core controls doesn’t compromise one’s hold on the camera, nor does it cause strain.

The S1R simply handles more like a pro DSLR than a mirrorless camera and that’s ok

There’s been a lot of talk about the heft of these two cameras, given their mirrorless pedigree, but I feel the size/weight is justified: they simply handle more like a pro DSLR than a mirrorless camera, and that’s ok. Yosuke Yamane, Panasonic’s imaging division president, even confirmed the day prior that the S1 was benchmarked against the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV and Nikon D850, not other mirrorless cameras, and the S1R was benchmarked against the 1D X Mark II and D5.

In fact the S1 and S1R may actually be tougher than those DSLRs: you can literally flip the screen out on either, pick them up by the LCD and give them a good hard shake without worry. I know this because it was done the day prior at the launch event by a Panasonic representative as a demonstration of toughness (I did not mimic this test). I’m told this professional construction is a contributing factor to the high MSRP of both cameras compared to offerings from Sony and Nikon.

The Gothic quarter is filled with narrow street and open courtyards.
ISO 200 | 1/500 sec | F5.6 | Lumix S 24-105mm F4 @ 105mm (cropped in slightly)

I turned off La Rambla, overwhelmed by the buzz of the selfie-stick crowd and made my way into the Gothic quarter. After navigating windy, shadowy streets, I came to a courtyard with the sun illuminating a stone wall, as silhouetted figures wandered by.

I knelt down, flipping the tri-angle screen out to frame up the image and zoomed the 24-105mm F4 kit lens in all all the way. Then I waited. As individuals crossed through the scene, I tried to see if I could use the AF joystick and a single point to follow whomever I deemed the main subject, without moving the camera and throwing off the composition. This worked ok, but then I switched the camera to Tracking mode and moved my initial AF point to the edge of the frame where people were entering. A half shutter press over a subject locked focus and engaged tracking – releasing the shutter returned my AF point to its starting place. This proved to be the better way to get the shot I was after.

Satisfied with the variety I’d captured and a bit achy in the knees from kneeling, I slammed the dual-hinged screen back in (not as hard as the aforementioned Panasonic rep did, mind you), stood up and continued along my way.

The streets of Barcelona have no shortage of characters to photograph.
ISO 500 | 1/500 sec | F5.6 |Lumix S 24-105mm F4 @ 78mm

Narrow Gothic alleyways soon turned back into wide streets filled with stately buildings. I stopped for a moment on a busy corner, filled with men in suits descending into and ascending from a subway station. Everyone seemed sucked into their own world, so I zoomed in on several interesting ‘characters’ and snapped some frames.

As someone who normally shoots street photography with primes and tends to avoid kit lenses all together, I was initially hesitant to explore with Panasonic’s kit S 24-105mm F4. But throughout the day and beyond, it pleasantly surprised me. The size and weight are both manageable, the zoom range provided great creative versatility and my photos were mostly sharp.

The shooting experience felt comfortable, organic and fun

Though it is not Leica-certified, as is the case with the S Pro 50mm F1.4 and S Pro 70-200mm F2.8, the S 24-105mm F4 handles and shoots like a quality piece of glass, even on this early production camera. It is worth pointing out though that you’ll pay ~$ 900 for the lens in a kit, but $ 1300 for it own its own.

As the sun began to set, I headed back to my hotel to rest before trying my hands at some night photography. Though I wasn’t looking to technically assess the camera’s 5-axis in-body stabilization, I was excited to drop my shutter speed down a little and explore.

Though firmware wasn’t complete, the camera’s in-body IS + lens IS offered piece-of-mind when shooting at slower speeds.
ISO 6400 | 1/25 sec | F4 | Lumix S 24-105mm F4 @ 24mm

Panasonic has long impressed when it comes to image stabilization. The brand’s Dual IS 2 system, offered in both Micro Four Thirds cameras and the S-series, combines 5-axis in-body stabilization with lens stabilization (the S 24-105mm F4 is stabilized).

Once on the streets, I pointed the camera at a dimly lit nightclub sign: I was curious to see just how slow I could go in an informal test. I began at one-over-the-focal-length (50mm, 1/50 sec) and dropped my shutter in 1/3rd increments until I hit 1 sec. ‘Blurry,’ I sighed upon inspecting my slowest sample. After a little more time chimping I determined 1/8 sec to be my slowest speed – not amazing, but I suspect this will improve with final firmware.

Satisfied with my informal test, I moved along. That’s when a large shimmering structure caught my eye – it was Frank Gehry’s Golden Fish Sculpture.

Sometimes, look up.
ISO 5000 | 1/50 sec | F4 | Lumix S 24-105mm F4 @ 25mm

I scurried up to it, giddy with excitement. Positioned underneath, I began shooting frames. “This EVF is unbelievable,” I remember thinking as I created my own abstract take on a famous artists’ work. It was getting close to dinner and I knew my time with the S1R was winding down. I spent a couple more minutes lying flat on the ground – I wanted to make the most of 24mm and really fill the frame with as many abstract lines as possible. A couple of passing tourists paused for just a moment, seemingly concerned about my well-being, before they continued on their way.

Once back at the hotel, I sat in the lobby looking through the day’s photos. As I thumbed through, my mind began to wander: for a brand taking its first crack at a truly professional stills camera, the S1R receives high marks for its handling. My afternoon with it resulted in a shooting experience that felt comfortable, organic and fun – even more importantly, it resulted in photos I’m happy with. Panasonic set out to make a camera that handles and shoots as well as the best pro DSLRs. In terms of the former, the S1R nails it. And regarding the latter, well, we’re excited to get a chance to test a final production model in the coming weeks.

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Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Composite timelapse combines Death Valley’s night sky with New York City’s streets

14 Apr

In honor of International Dark Sky Week 2018—which will run from April 15th to the 21st—timelapse filmmakers Gavin Heffernan and Harun Mehmedinovic decided to create an interesting composite. Using their ample post-processing skills and footage they’d captured across the country, they replaced the light-polluted skies over New York City with long-exposure footage captured in pristine locations like Death Valley and Grand Canyon National Parks.

The whole thing is part of the duo’s project Skyglow: an ongoing quest to raise awareness about and examine the dangers of light pollution. The project features a 192-page hardcover book and blu ray video series made up of footage and photos captured all over the United States, but it was also the impetus behind an inspiring series of Skyglow timelapses. The project began three years ago with another composite timelapse—in which they ‘darkened’ the skies over LA—so Heffernan and Mehmedinovic decided they would cross the country and do it again, this time in NYC, for Dark Sky Week 2018.

You can learn more about the Skyglow Project at this link, watch the new New York City composite timelapse above, and scroll through some stills from the project below.

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Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Weekly Photography Challenge – Hit the Streets

11 Nov

Street photography is an interesting genre of photography. In some ways it sees quite simple – all you need is a camera lens and your own two feet to do it. Yet in other ways, it can be quite hard and complicated.

How can you keep moving subjects in sharp focus?
Do you even want to do that?
How do you approach people to photograph them?
What if you get in trouble?
Do you need a model or another kind of release?

Trinidad, Cuba – bought some meringues from this lovely man just so I could take his photo.

Weekly Photography Challenge – Street Photography

If this is something you’ve struggled with, here are some dPS articles to help you out.

7 Steps to Improve Your Closeup Candid Street Photography
How to Plan a Street Photography Shoot When Traveling
How to Tell a Story With Your Street Photography
The Ultimate Guide to Street Photography
Tutorial – Easy Camera Settings for Street Photography
7 Tips for Overcoming Nerves When Doing Street Photography
A Simple Way to Conquer Your Fear of Street Photography
10 Non-Technical Ways to Improve Your Street Photography

Two key tips I will give you myself are – find good light and shoot there AND find a good or interesting background and wait for a subject to enter your frame.

Be patient!

Here I saw this amazing late afternoon light on the stairs. So I waited for someone to descend and enter the light.

I was attracted by the symmetry of the arched windows but wanted someone to walk past between them. So I fired this frame when the two kids were walking through the scene and got a bonus silhouette in the foreground – which adds even more depth to the image. I waited about 5 minutes for this shot to happen.

Shadows make for dramatic photos. Find them and use them in your images,

Simply upload your shot into the comment field (look for the little camera icon in the Disqus comments section) and they’ll get embedded for us all to see or if you’d prefer, upload them to your favorite photo-sharing site and leave the link to them. Show me your best images in this week’s challenge. Sometimes it takes a while for an image to appear so be patient and try not to post the same image twice.

Share in the dPS Facebook Group

You can also share your images on the dPS Facebook group as the challenge is posted there each week as well.

The post Weekly Photography Challenge – Hit the Streets by Darlene Hildebrandt appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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Sea Wall: Dark Multi-Story Mural Shows Stormy Waters on City Streets

07 Oct

[ By WebUrbanist in Art & Street Art & Graffiti. ]

Lapping up the side of a three-story building in Kiev, Ukraine, this dark mural mixes blue and gray hues to capture dark waters and skies of the Black Sea.

Originally from London and based in Cape Town, South Africa, artist Jake Aikman enjoys working on extreme and dramatic landscapes, from dark blue oceans to dark green forests and distant lonely mountains.

The focus in most of his pieces is not so much the scene but the setting — especially at larger scales and absent figures, as in this piece, they create a tone or mood rather than telling a particular story. In short: they leave a lot to the imagination, like a blank canvass providing a time and place but no characters.

This particular piece is one of his largest to date and was produced for Art United Us. Spanning the entire side of a structure, it was completed in just over a week.

[ By WebUrbanist in Art & Street Art & Graffiti. ]

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Cooling Cities: L.A. is Painting Streets White to Combat Heat Island Effects

15 Sep

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

Thanks in part to heat-absorbing materials and colors, cities tend to be warmer than their natural surroundings, and in hot places with lots of dark roads like Los Angeles that can prove a serious public health hazard.The mayor has pledged to reduce temperatures in the city by 3 degrees over the next 20 years, in part by dealing with urban heat island effects in new and different ways.

As part of this promise to help make bring down temperatures for its millions of residents, LA is trying something that could dramatically change its urban landscape: repainting roads in white. The aim is to reflect rather than absorb heat and so far the results are extremely promising.

“We found that on average the area covered in CoolSeal is 10 degrees cooler than black asphalt on the same parking lot,” said Greg Spotts, the assistant director of the Bureau of Street Services for San Fernando Valley, an area with particularly severe heat problems.

It’s not just about open public spaces either: reducing exterior temperatures has impacts on adjacent interiors. Heat reductions outside and mean cooler spaces inside area homes and businesses. In turn, this can help residents and owners save on cooling costs. It also isn’t just a daytime problem: heat captured during the day is released into the night air, keeping things hotter around the clock.

The process doesn’t come cheap, however: each coat lasts for around seven years but prices out around $ 40,000 per linear mile. If it works, though, the cost could be offset in part by savings on other fronts, in addition to making for a more healthy metropolis all around. Meanwhile, other strategies are also in play — the city is looking to make roofs brighter, for instance, and bring more green into the mix. (via Inhabitat and L.A. Times, images by Greg Spotts and Giuseppe Milo).

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

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Video: shooting the streets of Tokyo with the X-T20

16 Jun

We’re fans of the Camera Store TV and their highly-entertaining , informative videos. We also think Chris and Jordan are genuinely nice dudes. The duo was recently flown out to Japan by Fujifilm and while there they reviewed the X-T20, both in the streets of Tokyo and while touring a Fujifilm factory.

The video is full of useful information and observations about the camera, from the field. By the end it becomes pretty clear that Chris really enjoys using the X-T20 for travel and street photography. And we tend to agree.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Cyberpunk City: World’s First Self-Driving Grocery Store Hits Streets of Shanghai

16 Jun

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Offices & Commercial. ]

It’s a tale as old as time, or at least: science fiction films — an autonomous grocery store on wheels (staffed by a holographic assistant) that can deliver late-night snacks as well as everyday essentials.

The Wheelys “Moby Mart” looks the part as well, sporting a trapezoidal shape, illuminated display in front, vintage neon sign on top, and mysteriously uniform boxes on the shelves inside.

But that retrofuturistic look is just part of the package: fueled by solar panels on the roof, this driverless shopping center operates staff-free 24/7.

When it runs low on stock it returns itself to a warehouse automatically for reloading — eventually, its makers hope to task a fleet of rooftop drones to do those pickups (maybe they could be extended to make deliveries, too).

Like other new grocery store prototypes, there will be no need to check out — items taken are automatically tallied and added to a shopper’s bill. If you need any help, the aptly named Hol (a holographic store assistant) is on hand to assist.

To top it all off, the Moby Mart has the potential to be carbon-negative, at least in terms of its urban travels — soaking up the sun for fuel, it also captures and cleans smog on its grocery runs.

A project of Himalayafy, Hefei University and Wheelys the first prototype is currently being tested out in Shanghai, a sweet spot for cyberpunk fans but a bit far for some of us to travel. But don’t worry: if all goes well your city may get one soon, too.

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Offices & Commercial. ]

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Fujifilm GFX 50S: on the streets of Tokyo, a shooting experience

09 Mar

Introduction

Edited to taste in Adobe Camera Raw and cropped in slightly | ISO 200 | 1/60 sec | F2.8

Japan has long been at the top of my list of places I would like to journey to. Like my coworker, Carey Rose, I enjoy traveling with a camera as a means to create a visual travel diary or log of my adventures.

This year, I was fortunate enough to cover the CP+ trade show in Yokohama, Japan for DPReview. Of course one does not simply fly all the way to Japan for work and not spend some extra time exploring. And so I delayed my flight back by three days, so that I could have some time to check out Tokyo, a city I’ve long admired from afar in the pages of street photography books and magazines.

Originally, I was going to bring my Leica M6 + 40mm F2 Rokkor (a camera I too often neglect) to explore the streets of the World’s largest city. But when Fujifilm informed us they’d have a sample GFX 50S we could take home from the show, my plans changed.

It was weird, at first, shooting street photography on a medium-format digital camera.
Edited to taste in ACR | ISO 800 | 1/800 sec | F2.8

To be honest I never really considered the prospect of trying to shoot street photography with a digital medium-format camera. In fact, the only digital medium-format camera I’ve spent any considerable time using is the Pentax 645Z. And while capable in many situations, the 645Z is pretty cumbersome to walk around with, being 630 g/22.3 oz heavier than the Fujifilm.

I already had my heart set on shooting a single focal length in the 40mm Rokkor, so I didn’t really mind that the only lens Fujifilm could provide was the 63mm F2.8, which is equivalent to 50mm. I really enjoy limiting my focal length when traveling, it tends to give me more mental clarity into what I’m seeing and forces me to move my feet and change my perspective more.

Handling

Out of camera JPEG | ISO 100 | 1/500 sec | F2.8

In short, I love the ergonomics of this camera. The grip is extremely comfortable, it’s well-weighted (at least with the 63mm F2.8 on), and most control points can be accessed using the camera with a single hand.

Stopped for a beer at the Tokyo Sky Tree, mostly to be a tourist, but also to take this photo of the GFX 50S at 350m above the city.

In fact, I’d go as far to say that in terms of ergonomics and comfort, I’d prefer to spend the day walking around with the GFX 50S over a Nikon D810 or Canon EOS 5D SR (with similar-sized lenses) for a few reasons. For one, all three camera bodies weigh nearly the same: The 5D SR is 845 g (29.8 oz), the D810 is 879 g (31 oz) and the GFX 50S is 919 g (32.5 oz). Moreover, the grip on the Fujifilm is just so much more comfortable, especially when holding the camera for an extended period of time (believe me, I’ve spent very long days with the both the Canon and Nikon in tow).

Fujifilm colors + a high resolution sensor = Lovely files.
Edited to taste in ACR and cropped in slightly | ISO 100 | 1/400 sec | F6.4

I also love the control layout. The top plate is very similar to that of the gold award-winning Fujifilm XT-2, though the GFX has no dedicated exposure compensation dial. Both the shutter speed and ISO dial can be locked. I mostly used the camera during the day in full manual with my shutter speed held at 1/500 sec to freeze any movement I encountered. When I saw something I wanted to shoot, I simply raised the camera to my eye and adjusted my ISO and aperture accordingly. This quickly became a very effective and natural way to shoot (though I acknowledge I could have kept my ISO closer to base in some of these images. Using Auto ISO also would have helped) .

The GFX 50S gives users two ways to move one’s AF area or point: via the joystick or the touchscreen. Fujifilm could have easily skipped the touchscreen in a camera like this, but I’m glad they didn’t. While I did not use it much for AF point placement (mostly because the joystick is fabulous), I did enjoy employing the touchscreen while flipping back through images (also pinch to zoom is nice). Oh, and the screen flips out both vertically and horizontally (like on the XT-2), which is very useful. I found myself framing with the LCD probably 25% of the time.

Notes from shooting

When I framed up this image, there was no subject in it. But thanks to the sluggish AF, by the time the shutter fired, boom, I had a subject!
Edited to taste in ACR | ISO 200 | 1/1250 sec | F5.6

For the most part, my experience shooting with the GFX 50S was positive. Maybe it was all the canned coffee I was drinking, or the excitement of exploring somewhere new, but I thoroughly enjoyed myself while shooting with it. That said, I had a few frustrations:

Autofocus, as you might expect from a contrast detect system, is quite sluggish. Not only that, it’s also pretty loud. And when fully racking focus from minimum to infinity, the 63mm F2.8’s lens barrel extends considerably. The camera is also a tad slow to start up. It’s really useful that the on/off switch is located in front of the shutter (like on any Nikon DSLR), but I missed a couple decisive moments due to the combination of sluggish start up and slow autofocus.

That said, while AF is slow, it is both accurate and precise (in good light). This is the positive of a mirrorless camera using a CDAF system.

AF speeds are a bit sluggish which sometimes resulted in me missing decisive moments. Fortunately I had a lot of time to compose this image.
Edited to taste in ACR | ISO 400 | 1/1900 sec | F3.2

I only shot using the GFX 50S in AF-S, using a single point. AF coverage is excellent, extending out nearly to the edge of the frame and, as I mentioned, the joystick is an effective way to painlessly move the AF point. When I first was handed the camera, I switched it into AF-C and instantly started to feel nauseous due to the constant, very slow hunting. I quickly switched it back to AF-S.

Because I mostly shot with the GFX 50S in decent light while in Japan, once I was back in Seattle, I was curious to see how its autofocus would hold up in crummy light. The answer: poorly. Using a dimly-lit bar as my scene (settings around ISO 12800, 1/60 sec at F2.8), the GFX 50S proved largely unable to focus on anything. This is not all that surprising given its contrast-detect AF system. And I still got some shots, I simply switched the camera to manual focus and used focus peaking.

Thank God the GFX 50S is weather-sealed. This was shot moments before it started to downpour and I had no umbrella.
Edited to taste in ACR | ISO 400 | 1/800 sec | F4

Another stumbling point is the EVF experience. Although resolution is pretty high (3.7 million dots) the viewfinder image gets noticeably ‘crunchy’ when focus is initiated, and moiré and ‘shimmering’ can be very distracting in some scenes, especially cityscapes.

This didn’t bother me quite as much as it bothered my colleague, Barney. But as soon as he pointed it out to me, I couldn’t unsee it.

That’s pretty much it for things I did not like, back to things I did: the camera is weather-sealed, and not just a little weather-sealed, but very weather-sealed. One day, while out exploring part of the Asakusa district in Northeast Tokyo, I got caught in a heavy rain storm. Now, contrary to popular belief, we don’t get heavy rain in Seattle, just drizzles, mists and spits. This is to say, I was not prepared for the rain that would fall. Fortunately, the GFX 50S was.

I was also really quite pleased with the camera’s battery life. Fujifilm introduced the new NP-T125 battery, and it’s enormous, which is awesome. I shot constantly for two and a half days without needing to charge it up once.

The images

I was able to crop this file in nearly 50% and still have a nice image thanks to the camera’s high pixel count.
Edited to taste in ACR and cropped in considerably | ISO 12,800 | 1/90 sec | F2.8

So I obviously enjoyed using the camera but what about the files? Well, you be the the judge. Adobe just updated Raw support for the camera earlier this week and boy did I have a fun time playing with these files. The above, for instance, is cropped in nearly 2x.

Raw files also seem to have excellent dynamic range. I was able to pull exposures quite far. I was also able to recover a ton of blown highlights from the Sens?-ji Temple photo at the bottom of this article (first image in the gallery). This is due to a behavior we found regarding high ISO files having extra data in the highlights. But we’ll go more in depth on that in the review. To be honest, as a former X100-series owner, using this camera reminded me just how much I love Fujifilm colors and skintones. And processing Raw files allowed me to go back and apply any one of the lovely Film Simulations in post.

I forgot how lovely Fujifilm colors are.
Edited to taste slightly in ACR | ISO 800 | 1/500 sec | F4.5

The take away

There’s something really strange/enticing about being able to shoot casually with a digital medium-format camera. And despite some sluggishness in its operation, the GFX 50S was surprisingly good for street and travel photography.

And while the entire experience was a bit overwhelming from a cultural perspective (I speak no Japanese and spent a lot of time alone with my thoughts listening to Tom Waits) exploring Tokyo with what I believe to be one of the most exciting digital cameras in a long time, was truly remarkable. I’m already planning a return trip.

So if you’re not going to read any of this article, here’s my takeaway: the Fujifilm GFX 50S is fun and easy to use and the files look awesome. What more can I say?

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Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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