This past weekend I reluctantly took my GFX and the Fuji 120mm and 32-64 zoom lenses with me to two events. I was reluctant because I didn't buy the camera to photograph jazz or demonstrations, but I figured, why not see what happens.
I keep reading all these comments about focusing issues and testing. I won't argue with anyone, and those who enjoy that sort of thing certainly should pursue their passion. I, on the hand, just don't notice much of that stuff. Here are my observations:
A.
Very Comfortable. I was out for about three hours photographing one of the Trump Release Your Tax Returns demonstrations. I had two other cameras with me, but the vast majority of the time I was using the Fuji. It was very comfortable, and my arms did not get tired.
B.
Camera Shake. I was very pleasantly surprised when I reviewed the files. Camera shake was not an issue. Keep in mind, however, that it was a very sunny day, so I had the luxury of shooting at a faster shutter speed. While it is just a guess, I attribute the results in part of the shutter button, which has a very smooth release.
C.
Jazz Photography. I shot photographs in a Jazz Club that I have shot photographs in dozens of time before. I am very familiar with the room. I had photograph the performer Friday night using my Sony R7ii. Typically I shoot at 200 shutter speed, 2.8 aperture, and ISO at 3200, but the club owner has been keeping things a bit darker lately, so I found myself at 6400. The results are very acceptable. Keep in mind that jazz photographers live in the darkness, and we do make compromises--live with some noise. I went back on Sunday for the 4PM matinee. At this time of day, there is some natural light coming in, but the owner keeps some curtains closed, so the time of day did not prove to be the advantage that I thought it might be. I took one shot, looked at the screen, and put the Fuji away. The screen was pretty dark. I could barely make out the performer. I shot at 1600 ISO, 4.0 Aperture, and 250 shutter speed. 250 was as close to 200 that I could get, and of more significantly, F4.0 is the maximum. I only had the 120mm with me. Toward the end of the performance, I decided to give the Fuji a try again. The guitar player was fairly well lit. I started at 1600 ISO, but bumped it up to 3200.
When I got home, I loaded the files into Adobe Camera Raw (haven't gotten the other processor yet), and did something I rarely do: Adjusted exposure. Normally, I just work on the highlights, shadows, whites, and blacks. On one photograph I adjusted the exposure by somewhere around 2.5 stops. The files came alive. In fact, I have never gotten better quality files in this club before, particularly the color. I have to disagree with Kevin Raber's comment this past weekend. The files were not slightly better than the Sony files. They were much better. Maybe the Fuji handles low light better than the Sony and there is not much of a difference in daylight. Now if Fuji comes out with a 210mm lens, I will be in my normal range.
D.
Processing. I am finding the workflow in ACR is completely different with the Fuji than other cameras. As noted, I typically don't make exposure adjustments. I usually reduce the highlights, open up the shadows, increase the whites, and increase the blacks. Obviously, there are exceptions and difference balances and degrees of adjustment. I found myself making fewer adjustments overall once I opened the exposure up. To the extent I made adjustments, I increased the highlights, reduced the shadows, reduced the whites, and made minor adjustments to the blacks. With one or two exceptions, I did not rely on a curves adjustment layer. Nor did I need to have HSL adjustments (or very minor ones). The photographs were processed using the default sharpening and noise reduction settings (although toward the end, I did make a slight adjustment in the luminous noise slider (from 0 to 3).
Rather than post photographs here (which I have trouble doing), I will post photographs to my photo blog. Please keep in mind that I put more up in the blog than I do in my online portfolio. In the Lonnie Smith (Educator) post, all of the color photographs are with the Fuji. In the 6013 post, most of the color photographs are with the Fuji (I note which ones are with the Olympus and Leica) at the end of the discussion.
http://www.chicagoobservations.com/chicago-observational-ramblings/2017/4/15/6103http://www.chicagoobservations.com/chicago-observational-ramblings/2017/4/16/educatorFor comparison sake, all of these photographs were taken with the Sony on Friday night:
http://www.chicagoobservations.com/chicago-observational-ramblings/2017/4/16/lonnieHere are some individual photographs I took over the last two weeks with the Fuji (you will need to click on the autoplay button to stop the slideshow from advancing) Each of these were taken before I understood some of the focus tools:
http://www.jacksiegelphoto.com/portfolio/C0000vLfVsGbZW94/G0000zkKakhvNGpw/I0000q.5x5p2aQk0 (handheld)
http://www.jacksiegelphoto.com/portfolio/C0000vLfVsGbZW94/G0000zkKakhvNGpw/I0000AdQsHYI_Tys (handheld)
http://www.jacksiegelphoto.com/portfolio/C0000vLfVsGbZW94/G0000zkKakhvNGpw/I0000fqabR0DCNE0 (tripod)
Hope the foregoing is useful to anyone making a decision.
