San Francisco and the X-T1

As I mentioned last week, I sent back my first X-T1 because of the light leak issue. Well, thanks to a timely post on Fuji Rumors, I was able to order a second X-T1 in time for our trip to San Francisco. The X-T1 I received from Amazon has a serial number higher than the ones noted by Fuji here and I confirmed before our trip that the light leak issue has been fixed, at least for my camera. In addition to fixing the light leak issue, I was pleased to find that Fuji seemingly addressed the issue with the 4-way directional pad buttons. While there is no confirmation of this from Fuji, the buttons on the directional pad of the camera I received have noticeably more feedback than the original X-T1 I returned. I wasn't able do a direct comparison since I sent back the first X-T1 before ordering the second, but I definitely find changing focus points less challenging.

With that, I'll leave you with some images from our time in San Francisco shot with the new X-T1 and XF 14mm, 35mm, and 60mm lenses . By the way, all of these were edited in Lightroom 5.4 using the newly available Fujifilm camera profiles. I'm really liking the new profiles so far and I have a feeling I'll be using the VSCO Film presets less and less going forward. If you haven't updated Lightroom yet, I suggest you head on over to the Adobe website to download the update now.

The Fujifilm X100S for Travel Photography

Over the past six months, the Fujifilm X00S has traveled with me to San Diego, Seattle, Paris, London, and New York. During these trips, I've used it to shoot everything from snapshots to long exposures. Having used the X100S extensively as a travel camera, I wanted to share my general impressions on using it for travel photography.

London Eye sunset long exposure - London

What's Good for Travel Photography

I shared my thoughts on the Fujifilm X100 a year ago, and all the things I loved about the X100 also hold true for the X100S. The small size, the excellent image quality, and the ease of use are all things that made the X100 an excellent travel camera. With the X100S, Fuji has managed to make a good thing even better. The speed of the camera has been improved all around, the resolution of the electronic viewfinder has been increased, and the sensor has been upgraded to an X-Trans CMOS II sensor. Each of these improvements have made the X100S an even better travel camera than the original X100.

In addition to all the technological goodness, there are two other reasons why I find the X100 and X100S to be ideal for travel photography. The first is the simplicity that these cameras bring to my photography. By limiting myself to one focal length (sometimes two with the Wide Conversion Lens), I am able to focus more on the images I create and less on the gear I use. This in turn makes it easier for me to be in the moment and enjoy the places we visit.

The second reason these cameras make ideal travel companions is because the leaf shutter they use are nearly silent. Without having to worry about the sound produced by a traditional shutter, I can capture images that I would normally pass up. Since the X100 and X100S are so small and stealthy, I find that I am also able to get quite close to my subjects without really being noticed.

What's Not Good

As great as the X100S is, there are still things that need improvement. The first of these things is the accuracy of the battery indicator. While I can live with the subpar battery life of the X100S, I find it much harder to live with the accuracy of its battery indicator, or lack thereof. Just the other day, the battery on my X100S went from what appeared to be full to empty in less than 30 minutes. To avoid situations like this while traveling, I make it a habit to fully charge my batteries each night, regardless of what the camera's battery indicator says.

The other thing that I would like to see improved is the focus accuracy. Even though the focusing speed of the X100S is improved, I find that it still has a tendency to miss focus. This is especially apparent when the background is brighter than the subject. In these instances, the X100S will almost always focus on the background even though the focus indicator says otherwise. For this reason, I would love to see the face detection system from the X-T1 incorporated into the next version of the X100S. As gimmicky as face detection may be, the system on the X-T1 seems to work quite well and would likely reduce the number of out of focus images of people (especially when the camera is handed to someone not familiar with the X100S).

Final Thoughts

For me, the original X100 was the camera that made photography fun again. It had plenty of quirks, but once I learned to live with those quirks, I was rewarded with amazing images. The X100S very much embodies everything the X100 was, but with fewer quirks. Sure it's not perfect, but no camera is. As a travel camera however, the X100S is as close to perfect as I have found. It is small enough to fit in a coat pocket, yet capable enough to handle almost any photographic situation I throw at it. To give you an idea of it's versatility, here are a few images from my travels with the X100S thus far.

Chihuly Garden and Glass museum - Seattle

First Light in La Jolla

La Jolla has become one of my favorite places to shoot over the last couple of years. From the Scripps Pier to Seal Rock, there are plenty of interesting photographic opportunities to be found along this stretch of the California coast. During my most recent outing, I headed to Coast Boulevard Park to catch the sunrise and to photograph the rocky shoreline in the day's first light. I don't get to watch the sunrise as often as I like, so it's always a treat to watch the sky change colors as the sun begins to make its way over the horizon. Here are a set of long exposure images from my morning in La Jolla shot with the X-T1 and XF 18-55mm.

The Salk Institute

I've been wanting to photograph the Salk Institute for some time now. During a trip to La Jolla this past weekend, I finally got a chance to do so. Here are a few images of the courtyard shot using the X-T1 and XF 14mm. For the first three long exposure images, I used the Lee Seven5 system which I'm finding myself using more and more.

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 Sunset - 28 seconds at f/11

Stephen Ip | Travel Photography

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