Fujifilm X-T5 and XF 18-120mm F4 LM PZ WR

My first shoot with the Fujifilm X-T5 and XF 18-120mm F4 LM PZ WR lens.

I have been looking forward to getting hold of Fuji's latest X-T camera and I have to say I am quite impressed with the X-T5. The level of detail you can get from it's 40MP sensor as well as the IBIS is fantastic, I just wish it had a better (as in larger) EVF because like many of the other camera manufacturers the EVF isn't designed for people who wear glasses. Also, I have small hands but I kept tripping the front dial with my finger which meant on occasion I changed the aperture without meaning to so I am going to invest in a grip to prevent this from happening in the future.

The XF 18-120mm F4 LM PZ WR lens did take a little getting used to, the fly-by-wire zoom control was a little strange at first but once I got used to it I was fine. However, I did keep knocking the zoom when I put my hand on the lens to stabilise the camera when taking a shot which was a little frustrating. I can see why they call it a video lens as it is the first that can be fully controlled remotely which you wouldn't be able to do with a conventional zoom lens. I think photography wise this lens is more of an "all rounder" for holidays & when you can only take one lens, it's nice and sharp in the centre but no so at the edges which you would expect from a lens with such a large zoom range. I am probably going to keep this lens primarily for its reach and that it is more designed for video, but I will be investing in more prime lenses as they are much lighter & have the aperture control dials on them which this lens does not.

This is just my first impressions of the X-T5, I will be shooting more images with my 23mm F2 & some of my vintage lenses so stay tuned.

Canon EOS R7 And Why I Returned Mine.

Well what can I say I gave in to GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) and bought a Canon EOS R7 as soon as I could. One problem - I don’t like it.

I've been wanting an R7 ever since it was first announced because I wanted a Canon APS-C RF camera that I could adapt all my EF glass to. I used the drop-in CPL EF to RF adapter which as you can see from the gallery worked really well. However I am quite disappointed, the image quality was ok apart from some softness which I will come on to in a minute.

The whole shooting experience was not what I expected. I have used many Canon cameras in the past with no problems, however I found myself fighting the R7 to get what I wanted. This was a shock because I've never had that problem with ANY Canon camera, this is the kind of thing I have encountered with Sony cameras but never ever a Canon. I suspect the shooting experience might have been better with native RF lenses but good ones are far outside my price range. So, I had to settle with adapting EF lenses which you would think would be ok, but alas no it took longer than I expected to focus (longer than when I adapted the same lens on a Fujifilm X-T4 with a Metabones adapter), it left me with no confidence in the accuracy of the autofocus. One thing I found quite curious was when using my adapted EF lens, I found some of my images to be a little soft when shooting below 300th of a second which shouldn't happen. I think the IS (Image Stabilisation) in the lens & the IBIS (In Body Image Stabilisation) in the camera were fighting each other at slower shutter speeds but at faster ones it was less apparent.

The only other thing to mention is the size of the EVF (Electronic Viewfinder), I wear glasses and found it to be far too small as I kept missing the info that was displayed on the sides.

So as the title says I am returning it, I will be moving back to a Fujifilm X-T4 which with hindsight I should never have moved away from.

Film Photography

I was brought up on film photography (was given my first camera when I was 11). I was very lucky that when I did my photography degree (2009-2012) I had access to fully working film cameras (35mm, medium format & large format) as well as darkroom & developing facilities at the university – this was when a lot of universities were getting rid of their darkroom & developing facilities. It wasn’t until then that I had even thought of using digital cameras – I’ve been shooting digital since 2009 but have recently come full circle back to film.

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