CamERA Equipment |OT| Photon Capturing Comparison Club

nitewulf · Apr 5, 2019

mtosh said:
Great thanks for the tips! Little overwhelming diving into the Fuji system from Canon but really enjoying the camera so far!

Any recommendations on the Film Simulation modes? I usually just shoot RAW on Canon but I'm intrigued...

For lenses I'm just starting out with the 18-55mm but looking to pick up a prime soon - any suggestions for a nice compliment to the kit lens?

I love Velvia for landscapes/nature/sunsets/sunrises...there's a surreal, otherworldly-ness to these scens with Velvia. Provia is default do everything. Classic Chrome is great for a contrasty vintage look, I use this and Acros Red judiciously in street scenes. High contrast. For portraits Astia and Acros Green. Low contrast. Piggybacking on Menelaus' comment to tie into your question, I always use -2 for the highlight value while shooting in daylight, plus try to properly expose while taking the shot. Films simulations are one of the main reasons to go Fuji and I use them all the time for the daylight and well lit environments. I use the RAW for low light and night shots, which will allow a lot more exposure control and sharpness control in software, it'll bring out a lot of info that isn't seemingly there from the darkness.

A complement to the kit lens would be the one of the 16mm primes based on budget and use case. I do street. I personally just use the 23mm f/2 for now, which is wonderful but it won't add much besides 1 stop of light and sharpness versus the kit lens. The kit lens itself is very good. If you do portrait then the 56mm f/1.2 is a no brainer.

mtosh · Apr 5, 2019

Astral/H3X said:
Any of the "Fujicrons" are good lenses ....

Ah some great advice thank you!

Looking at samples of that Mitakon, oh man that sure is some lovely bokeh

I didn't know about the X-LR Plugin - thanks for the tip I will definitely be picking that up

nitewulf said:
I love Velvia for landscapes/nature/sunsets/sunrises ....

Thanks for your recommendations on the simulations - good stuff!

I'll check out the 16mm & 23mm - I'm also doing a lot street

The 56mm is looking great too - thanks for the tips

Jaded Photographer · Apr 5, 2019

mtosh said:
Good to know, thanks!

In terms of subjects - I'm looking for a prime for mostly portraits & street photography

For street photography and portraits my mainstays are the 23 1.4 and the 90F2, though I used the 56 1.2 yesterday and enjoyed it a lot.

nitewulf · Apr 5, 2019

Haha, and as we speak it looks like the Fujifilm lens prices have gone up, well they were being discounted. Discounts are gone.

Astral Lovelace · Apr 5, 2019

Fuji seems to do a bunch of discounts, so no worry about those prices not coming back.

mtosh · Apr 5, 2019

Thanks for all the advice guys - excited to dive deeper into this XT3
I'll set up some price alerts on the recommended glass.

JadedWriter said:
For street photography and portraits my mainstays are the 23 1.4 and the 90F2, though I used the 56 1.2 yesterday and enjoyed it a lot.

Great thanks will look into them.

Menelaus · Apr 5, 2019

nitewulf said:
Haha, and as we speak it looks like the Fujifilm lens prices have gone up, well they were being discounted. Discounts are gone.

The discounts ended last week. They do that about 4 times a year.

nitewulf · Apr 5, 2019

Cool, good to know that.

Jaded Photographer · Apr 5, 2019

mtosh said:
Thanks for all the advice guys - excited to dive deeper into this XT3
I'll set up some price alerts on the recommended glass.

Great thanks will look into them.

Also set up some Ebay alerts. Most of what I have I bought used off of Ebay. I think with bodies I'm sticking to used from B&H and Adorama though unless it's Roberts Cameras or Henry's or something.

Astral Lovelace · Apr 5, 2019

The Mitakon will give you such good bokeh as this adorable kitty.

Mitakon 35mm 0.95 test shots by Hunter Mauro, on Flickr

Mitakon 35mm Mk II MFD test by Hunter Mauro, on Flickr

20190324-FUJI3798.jpg by Hunter Mauro, on Flickr

Mathmarauder · Apr 5, 2019

For travel photography is either the Canon EOS SL2 or the Nikon D3500 good options?

nitewulf · Apr 5, 2019

Mathmarauder said:
For travel photography is either the Canon EOS SL2 or the Nikon D3500 good options?

What's the budget? Typically a mirrorless would be smaller/lighter for travel. And there are some great options these days for fixed zoom cameras with APS-C sensors, that'll take very good photos.

Mathmarauder · Apr 5, 2019

nitewulf said:
What's the budget? Typically a mirrorless would be smaller/lighter for travel. And there are some great options these days for fixed zoom cameras with APS-C sensors, that'll take very good photos.

Probably 750? But if I could go up a notch for higher quality I would. I tend to do a lot of low light activities so I would prefer something good for that, also the ability to shoot in raw.

Jaded Photographer · Apr 5, 2019

Mathmarauder said:
Probably 750? But if I could go up a notch for higher quality I would. I tend to do a lot of low light activities so I would prefer something good for that, also the ability to shoot in raw.

Bump up that budget and get either a used Fuji XT2 or XT20.

nitewulf · Apr 5, 2019

Yeah I think a used XT2 would be good, as Fuji low light performance is very good. And get a used prime like the 35mm f/2 or 23mm f/2...basically the used combo should be around $1000 based on prices I'm seeing at BH. XT20 would be cheaper, but same sensor so image quality would be same. It's also small and will be good for travel. The Fujis will be easier to carry and take photos with than the DSLRs you posted IMO. Though the Canon Rebel is fine, I've always had a soft spot for that. No idea about the Nikon. If possible go into a store and handle the cameras and see which feels best.

Ty4on · Apr 5, 2019

Panasonic has introduced the Lumix DC-G95 (known as the G90 in some regions), which sits just above the G85 (G80) that was introduced in 2016.

I get anxiety just from reading that

Could we just stop with region specific names

Jaded Photographer · Apr 5, 2019

nitewulf said:
Yeah I think a used XT2 would be good, as Fuji low light performance is very good. And get a used prime like the 35mm f/2 or 23mm f/2...basically the used combo should be around $1000 based on prices I'm seeing at BH. XT20 would be cheaper, but same sensor so image quality would be same. It's also small and will be good for travel. The Fujis will be easier to carry and take photos with than the DSLRs you posted IMO. Though the Canon Rebel is fine, I've always had a soft spot for that. No idea about the Nikon. If possible go into a store and handle the cameras and see which feels best.

The D3500 is essentially just Nikon's version of a Rebel camera with a less cool name.

Astral Lovelace · Apr 5, 2019

For low light Fuji XT2 keep in mind the two native ISOs are 200 and 800, don't bother with the 300-640ISO range.

Astral Lovelace · Apr 5, 2019

So I got a new job and now I'm having to tell myself not to try and get the Leica Q2 to take with me to Japan for our honeymoon this year.

Maybe I could rent it tho.

nitewulf · Apr 5, 2019

Astral/H3X said:
So I got a new job and now I'm having to tell myself not to try and get the Leica Q2 to take with me to Japan for our honeymoon this year.

Maybe I could rent it tho.

I've been reading some reviews and seems like it may be worse than the Q1 at low light. Check that out and maybe get a used Q1. I'd also definitely get the 16mm f1.4.

Astral Lovelace · Apr 5, 2019

Is that so? My main interests were an X100 sized full frame package, with the extra MP to handle the digital teleconverter options better. How's the Q1 in that regard?

nitewulf said:
I've been reading some reviews and seems like it may be worse than the Q1 at low light. Check that out and maybe get a used Q1. I'd also definitely get the 16mm f1.4.

Menelaus · Apr 5, 2019

Figure a few of you might be interested in this.

Jaded Photographer · Apr 6, 2019

Menelaus said:
Figure a few of you might be interested in this.

I saw this earlier. The GM is sharper corner to corner and actually comes with 24mm. I still have PTSD of having to shoot a group shot in the narrow width of a hallway, 28 would not have been able to handle that. The Tamron is pretty much not for someone doing indoor event photography in any form if they have no clue what they're shooting in till they get there and no don't show me any video done by David Oastler I know what he does, he can do what he wants it's his paycheck on the line not mine. I try to bring three lenses on an event shoot, two zooms, one prime, I'm not bringing three zooms.

trapperkreeper · Apr 6, 2019

JadedWriter said:
I saw this earlier. The GM is sharper corner to corner .

it better be for the price difference

Jaded Photographer · Apr 6, 2019

trapperkreeper said:
it better be for the price difference

I know right. The price is horrible.

nitewulf · Apr 6, 2019

Astral/H3X said:
Is that so? My main interests were an X100 sized full frame package, with the extra MP to handle the digital teleconverter options better. How's the Q1 in that regard?

If cropping is a primary concern, then for sure Q2 would be best. Much higher resolution. I was watching one review which pointed out Q2 wasn't as good with noise at high ISO, which makes sense, again due to the increased resolution. For me with the used prices of Q1, makes more sense. But there's no way you'd have the same freedom for cropping.

Deleted member 431 · Apr 6, 2019

Q2 is an amazing camera if you like the 28mm focal length. The original Q as well. That's the biggest concern for me.

Astral Lovelace · Apr 6, 2019

Hrm. I'll need to consider further.

One question, does anyone have an X100F?
I'm seeing some conflicting reports, and I'm thinking there may have been an update -- can you use the digital teleconverter with Raw+Jpg, to get a cropped JPG and full res RAW?

Jaded Photographer · Apr 6, 2019

After owning the A7RII and several different cameras I'm starting to come to the conclusion that camera deep is starting to be a rather subjective complaint. I have a vision and the camera can execute my vision. It's just a matter of getting used to the camera.

Daedardus · Apr 8, 2019

Yikes, all those camera sales numbers are not good, market shrinking in both lower and upper tier. And those longer release cycles (where's the A7sIII?) won't help at all I feel.

Jaded Photographer · Apr 8, 2019

Daedardus said:
Yikes, all those camera sales numbers are not good, market shrinking in both lower and upper tier. And those longer release cycles (where's the A7sIII?) won't help at all I feel.

I think also some of the stagnation comes from how stuff is bought too. These things don't track second hand sales surely. A7RIV gets announced tomorrow what do you think me and some thousand other people are going to be doing? Eyeballing the used A7RIII market. Also my lenses are used. I think more than anything else it's just the sales of new cameras are down and not camera sales as a whole, only problem is the market doesn't profit from this. Now if Sony had an official refurbished outlet maybe they could get some of that secondhand money. Though I will admit camera sales are a bit shit.

Daedardus · Apr 8, 2019

JadedWriter said:
I think also some of the stagnation comes from how stuff is bought too. These things don't track second hand sales surely. A7RIV gets announced tomorrow what do you think me and some thousand other people are going to be doing? Eyeballing the used A7RIII market. Also my lenses are used. I think more than anything else it's just the sales of new cameras are down and not camera sales as a whole, only problem is the market doesn't profit from this. Now if Sony had an official refurbished outlet maybe they could get some of that secondhand money. Though I will admit camera sales are a bit shit.

I mean sure, from a consumer standpoint there's a very good reason why sales are stagnating. The tech lasts way longer and the benefits are beoming smaller for higher prices. But from a business viewpoint, slowing sales are not good for future development. I guess Sony is getting good margins on their products though, but I think they expected more growth from the A7III than what happened now.

Menelaus · Apr 8, 2019

Daedardus said:
The tech lasts way longer

It's a market reaching saturation. Pretty much everyone that wants a DSLR/MILC has one, same as flat panel TVs. Have you noticed how the TV market has bottomed out over the last 2 years? You can get a 65" 4K for 500 bucks now!

The fact that people are still shooting their launch 5D2s and are happy with the results is a testament to what a durable good these cameras are.

Jaded Photographer · Apr 8, 2019

Daedardus said:
I mean sure, from a consumer standpoint there's a very good reason why sales are stagnating. The tech lasts way longer and the benefits are beoming smaller for higher prices. But from a business viewpoint, slowing sales are not good for future development. I guess Sony is getting good margins on their products though, but I think they expected more growth from the A7III than what happened now.

I think it's just getting to the point where it's becoming a pain in the ass to justify the initial cost, that and people know something is eventually coming and they'll wait out the 18 months tops for a new camera to announce and then just get the new old camera for like $500 less. Not everybody is going to buy something at the interval that's going to make the manufacturer happy. There's probably plenty of people using an A7III for example, but how many of that is new users or people just upgrading from an A7 for example?

Menelaus said:
It's a market reaching saturation. Pretty much everyone that wants a DSLR/MILC has one, same as flat panel TVs. Have you noticed how the TV market has bottomed out over the last 2 years? You can get a 65" 4K for 500 bucks now!

The fact that people are still shooting their launch 5D2s and are happy with the results is a testament to what a durable good these cameras are.

This too. DSLR market saturation has definitely peaked. D810 and D4 are probably my last DSLR's. I'm still debating if I should just keep my A7RII or trade it in or just pair this with an A7RIII or A9 and call it a day.

nitewulf · Apr 8, 2019

Camera tech doesn't update quick enough to justify purchasing cameras every year like cellphones or laptops, for most people. That kind of rate is unsustainable as well. For commercial purposes it makes sense, but for hobbyists...there would be not much gain in updating bodies on a yearly basis.

Menelaus · Apr 8, 2019

It's also quite possibly a generation of pros and hobbyists aging out of the market. I can certainly see the younger generation have far less interest in dedicated cameras than the 50-70 crowd that came up on SLRS and made the natural move to DSLRs at some point. I'm sure their pool of available, interested customers is rapidly shrinking as the older crowd "retires" from photography.

Jaded Photographer · Apr 8, 2019

nitewulf said:
Camera tech doesn't update quick enough to justify purchasing cameras every year like cellphones or laptops, for most people. That kind of rate is unsustainable as well. For commercial purposes it makes sense, but for hobbyists...there would be not much gain in updating bodies on a yearly basis.

Go to an event and checkout the event photographers gear...they don't upgrade that often. I still see D700's and D3's being used regularly. For the most part I actually have some of the newest cameras whenever I see another photographer at an event I'm covering.

Menelaus said:
It's also quite possibly a generation of pros and hobbyists aging out of the market. I can certainly see the younger generation have far less interest in dedicated cameras than the 50-70 crowd that came up on SLRS and made the natural move to DSLRs at some point. I'm sure their pool of available, interested customers is rapidly shrinking as the older crowd "retires" from photography.

There's also the crowd that buys a camera, has no idea how to use it, gets mad at it and then just puts it down forever. I'm on the Fuji and Sony Facebook groups...a lot of people have no idea what they're doing, not to mention you see some atrocious ass opinions on there and sometimes you really do just worry about the state of photography. There are some cool people in both, but damn it's bad. Also some of that 50-70 crowd is some stodgy ass people.

nitewulf · Apr 8, 2019

JadedWriter said:
Go to an event and checkout the event photographers gear...they don't upgrade that often. I still see D700's and D3's being used regularly. For the most part I actually have some of the newest cameras whenever I see another photographer at an event I'm covering.

and that makes sense, if you're comfortable with a system, why would you change it? the photo quality has been great since even the Canon 1DX days, professionals would be afraid of changing gear that often. If you are a sports photographer and you know your gear like the back of your hand, why would you risk changing it on a yearly basis? and they don't.

What I meant is if your business does very specific work like government security, microscopic imaging, medical imaging.....those are cases where I can see devices being updated regularly.

nitewulf · Apr 8, 2019

Menelaus said:
It's also quite possibly a generation of pros and hobbyists aging out of the market. I can certainly see the younger generation have far less interest in dedicated cameras than the 50-70 crowd that came up on SLRS and made the natural move to DSLRs at some point. I'm sure their pool of available, interested customers is rapidly shrinking as the older crowd "retires" from photography.

Yeah same as audiophile grade hi fi equipment. Younger crowd do not have dedicated preamplifiers, DACs, power amplifiers and tower speakers like people used to. You typically have a surround sound receiver and 5.1 to 7.2 speaker systems for AV enthusiasts, but not really audiophile grade equipment. People mostly listen to music with headphones on their phones, the more serious buyers have a headphone amp/dac solution with a few headphones of their choice.

Jaded Photographer · Apr 8, 2019

nitewulf said:
and that makes sense, if you're comfortable with a system, why would you change it? the photo quality has been great since even the Canon 1DX days, professionals would be afraid of changing gear that often. If you are a sports photographer and you know your gear like the back of your hand, why would you risk changing it on a yearly basis? and they don't.

What I meant is if your business does very specific work like government security, microscopic imaging, medical imaging.....those are cases where I can see devices being updated regularly.

Yeah if you don't need to upgrade you're not going to unless your job foots the bill for it. I wasn't even going to go mirrorless until I started doing more video/hybrid work and wanted to experiment with Fuji.

Moss · Apr 9, 2019

Thinking about buying the Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM Lens. Any reason not to? Anyone have any experience with this lens?
https://store.canon.co.uk/canon-ef-70-200mm-f-4l-usm-lens/2578A009/?sku=2578A009

Menelaus · Apr 9, 2019

Moss said:
Thinking about buying the Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM Lens. Any reason not to? Anyone have any experience with this lens?
https://store.canon.co.uk/canon-ef-70-200mm-f-4l-usm-lens/2578A009/?sku=2578A009

I've bought it twice now, it's a great telephoto at a great price. I would buy used though, they are a dime a dozen.

Moss · Apr 9, 2019

Menelaus said:
I've bought it twice now, it's a great telephoto at a great price. I would buy used though, they are a dime a dozen.

Thanks. Yeah the price seems fairly reasonable (even brand new), compared with similar Canon telephoto/zoom glass.

Custódio · Apr 9, 2019

I've got a pretty nice deal on a used Canon 135mm from someone who is migrating to Sony. I can't wait for it to arrive.

Jaded Photographer · Apr 9, 2019

Custódio said:
I've got a pretty nice deal on a used Canon 135mm from someone who is migrating to Sony. I can't wait for it to arrive.

I hope you like that focal length, it can get pretty tight.

Custódio · Apr 9, 2019

I think it should be fine outside. I usually have a lot of space for my 85. If It arrives before Saturday, I'll test shooting a "roda de capoeira" in a square downtown.

Menelaus · Apr 9, 2019

Looks like the 3.0 FW is on the way this week for the A73 and A7R3. I'm reserving my expectations about the real time EyeAF on the R7, given that it lags behind in the AF arena to start with.

Jaded Photographer · Apr 9, 2019

Custódio said:
I think it should be fine outside. I usually have a lot of space for my 85. If It arrives before Saturday, I'll test shooting a "roda de capoeira" in a square downtown.

It's a great outdoor focal length.

Menelaus said:
Looks like the 3.0 FW is on the way this week for the A73 and A7R3. I'm reserving my expectations about the real time EyeAF on the R7, given that it lags behind in the AF arena to start with.

Surely it has better AF than my RII.

Menelaus · Apr 9, 2019

JadedWriter said:
Surely it has better AF than my RII

Undoubtedly, but it's A9 > A73 > A7R3 > A7R2, and even some people with the A9 have reported the new AF can still be somewhat glitchy, and that's on the best body Sony has.

Jaded Photographer · Apr 9, 2019

Menelaus said:
Undoubtedly, but it's A9 > A73 > A7R3 > A7R2, and even some people with the A9 have reported the new AF can still be somewhat glitchy, and that's on the best body Sony has.

And this might be why I normally just use the simpler forms of AF. I don't use Eye AF that much and mostly just use expanded focus S or the other one with the small boxes around the box.

CamERA Equipment |OT| Photon Capturing Comparison Club

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