NYC Long Exposures with the Fujinon WCL-X100

Having rented the Fujinon WCL-X100 Wide Conversion Lens for our trip to New York, I thought I would use it for a few long exposures during an afternoon visit to the Dumbo area in Brooklyn. As the sun began to set, I set up the X100S, conversion lens, and a 10 stop ND filter to shoot the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges. The good thing about the conversion lens is that the filter thread is the same size as the X100S. This meant that I didn’t have to buy an additional step up ring to use my ND filter. The bad thing is that you need to tell the camera the lens is mounted to get the right Exif data. Not a huge deal, but I did find myself constantly forgetting to switch this setting on and off during our trip. Aside from that though, I have no complaints about the Wide Conversion Lens. My images shot using it were all plenty sharp and the wider angle of view, while subtle, really helped for capturing these iconic New York City bridges.

Brooklyn Bridge - 125 seconds at f/8 — Brooklyn Bridge – 125 seconds at f/8

Manhattan Bridge - 58 seconds at f/11 — Manhattan Bridge – 58 seconds at f/11

Brooklyn Bridge Sunset - 28 seconds at f/11 — Brooklyn Bridge Sunset – 28 seconds at f/11

10 responses to “NYC Long Exposures with the Fujinon WCL-X100”

Christopher

February 18, 2014

Do you think that the wcl-x100 is good enough for the x100s to be used as a sole landscape set-up, instead of an x-system camera with the 14mm, 18mm or forthcoming. 10-24mm? Thanks.

Stephen Ip

February 18, 2014

That’s a tough call Christopher and it really depends on how wide you need to go. From an image quality perspective, I would say the answer is yes. I find my images from the X100S/WCL-X100 combination are as sharp (especially between f/8 and f/11) as those from my X-Pro1 and 14mm. If you already have the X100S, I recommend renting the conversion lens to see if it is wide enough for your needs.

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1. Christopher
  
  February 19, 2014
  
  Many thanks, Stephen. Your images are fantastic and I would think that a wider angle would probably have meant that the buildings/bridges are lost in the scene. Unless there is some focal point in the foreground that one needs to fit into a landscape then perhaps the WCL-X100 would be sufficient. I have an X100S and a Nikon DSLR (which I use for landscapes mainly). I plan to sell the Nikon but I am trying to see whether I can work with the X100S alone or whether I could plump for something like the X-T1…
2. Stephen Ip
  
  February 20, 2014
  
  You have a great point about the difference a wider lens would have made. I don’t think I would have liked these images as much if I shot them with the 14mm. The reason being there wasn’t much around to use as a foreground interest. As much as I like the 14mm, it is challenging at times to make interesting photographs with it. I have actually found myself using it less and less of late. If you already have the X100S, I would probably wait to pick up an X-T1 unless you’re sure the Wide Conversion Lens wouldn’t suit your needs. I was in a similar position as you a couple years ago and picked up the X-Pro1 after using the X100 for a year. As I much as I like being able to change lenses, there’s just something special about the X100/S.

Don

February 19, 2014

Absolutely marvelous images; I salute your talent! Can you get a similar perspective by using an X-E2 with the zoom lens set to 18mm? How do you determine how long the shutter speed should be?

Stephen Ip

February 19, 2014

Thanks Don for the kind comment! Yes, you can absolutely get the same perspective with the X-E2 and 18-55mm. In fact, the zoom at 18mm will get you a little wider view than the Wide Conversion Lens on the X100S. As for determining the shutter speed, I normally start by setting my aperture to f/11 and my ISO to 200 in aperture priority mode before adding the ND filter. Once I get my shutter speed for the exposure I want, I use an Android app called Exposure Calculator to calculate the shutter speed with a 10 stop ND filter. I then switch to the Bulb setting on my camera and use a cable release to capture the final image. After my first shot, I will sometimes adjust the aperture to make my exposure time longer or shorter. Hope that helps.

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Don

February 20, 2014

Thank you very much for clear and concise response, Stephen. Extremely useful help; I plan to follow your blog closely and pick up some more tips. I can’t wait to get started on long-exposure photography!

Stephen Ip

February 20, 2014

Glad to help Don, hope to see some of your long exposure images soon.

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Jeff

February 20, 2014

Great shots Stephen. I bought a WCL-X100 for my X100 in 2012 and it was a great addition to the camera. I agree with you about setting the camera to the correct setting but the only thing I can see that does is tell the EXIF data that it is a 19mm rather 23mm lens used, I don’t see any correction going on. However I do set it to ‘on’ when I remember to do so.

Stephen Ip

February 20, 2014

Thanks Jeff! Yes, I believe the only thing that is different in Lightroom is the focal length. Not really a huge deal, more a nice to have. How do you like using the Wide Conversion Lens?

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