X-T1 or not?

What is the point of having weather-proof lens without weather-sealed camera? In fact, the weather-sealed Fujinon XF18-135mm lens is sold out in my favorite camera shop. In other shops I have to add $100+, about 15% premium. I guess Fuji X-T1 & XF18-135mm kits are available. In fact buying the kid will save about $200 over separate purchases. I can get X-T1 & XF18-135mm combo for $2k (Australian dollars). It is a good price for the camera and lens, but it is still $2k... Reviewers are very positive about X-T1.

The text below is just a personal runt written in order to sort out "things".

Significant advantages of Fijifilm X-T1 over X-E1:
- weather-sealing
- better external control (more dials, it is possible to set up camera for shooting with external controls)

Minor advantages:
- better battery life / more shots per charge (mentioned by some reviewers, but the difference is negligible in official specification)
-  tilting screen

Features I am curious about
- wireless connectivity
- external flash

Irrelevant improvements:
- viewfunder (I usually use the screen because it is more comfortable to my eyes)
- autofocus (I am satisfied with autofocus on X-E1)
- screen resolution

Negative:
- price (the camera priced fairly, considering all the features, but it is a big chunk of money to me)
- weight (it is 100 grams heavier than X-E1)

Potentially negative:
- not sure about the hump in the middle. It can be good because the flash sits higher.

To sum up: on one side we have the excellent external control layout and weather-sealing, on other side the camera costs a little fortune and adds extra weight.  And what to do with the existing X-E1?

Leopard tree. Fuji X-E1 & XF55-200mm

Spring time in Brisbane - 2

Bougainvillea. Fuji X-E1 & XF55-200mm

Colorful bougainvilleas are very common in Brisbane. The flowers of this plant are white or yellowish. The flowers are surrounded by pink leaves called bracts.  The plants stay in color for very long time.

Spring time in Brisbane

Brazilian fern tree. Fuji X-E1 & XF55-200mm

It is not a real fern tree. The species is from family Fabaceae. Overseas plants are very popular in Australia. The picture was taken though a window glass in Vivid mode.

Less noise in Fuji X30

Interesting information from Imaging Resource: Fujifilm X30 camera has less noise than the predecessor. With a hi-restilting screen, electronic viewfinder, control ring around the lens, X-Trans sensor, and 460 shots per a charge the latest Fuji X compact camera looks more attractive than the original X10.

More reviews of Fujinon XF18-135mm lens

Some links to reviews of Fujifilm's  Fujinon XF18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR lens. 

Interesting review  by Jordan Steele, a Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Admiring Light. The lens is a tad expensive and sharpness declines at wide and tele ends of the zoom range. The blog looks interesting, so I added it to the blogs and sites page for the future reading.

Review and test shots on Photography Blog. With aperture around f8 the lens is fairly sharp at 18mm even at edges.  It is also good at 135mm. The sharpness in the middle of the zoom range (33-100mm eqv) is excellent for 7.5 zoom lens. So, learn to avoid the extremes, or close aperture to f8, and it will be fine.  

Opinion about a pre-production version of the lens on Photo Review. 

Review on Dan Bailey Photo Blog, with pop-up window asking to sigh up, some animation and other stuff that activate my laptop. The review is written by an outdoor photographer. Not surprising that the lens with such versatile zoom range tends to steak to his camera.

To sum up: the lens is not perfect, but for me the advantages overweight the shortcomings. It would be nice to have it paired to weather-sealed Fuji X-T1. Unfortunately Santa does not brings checks to me, only cameras and lenses :(

Review by Bjorn Moerman (blog), an official X-Photographer: part 1, part 2. Comparison of XF18-135mm to XF18-55mm and XF55-200mm, illustration of the sharpness sweet spot around f8-f11 - all these things are there.

Fujinon XF18-135mm F3.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR

Currently in Australia Fujifilm offers $200 cashback on XF lenses. This is ~20-30% off the regular price, and this opportunity must not be missed. It seems that I am not the only Fuji X fun in the city because XF18-135mm lens was sold out in my favorite camera shop. The expected advantages of XF18-135mm over XF18-55mm and XF55-200mm combo is convenience of a single lens (no lens changing), less weight, and slightly better macro capability. Weather-sealing is a nice feature to have during trips to rainforest or other harsh environment. The minus: it is dark. I have certain reservations about corner-to-corner image quality but most people are happy with the Fuji superzoom.

Fujinon XF18-135mm is a new lens. It may cost less in the future, but probably in the remote future. With XF55-200mm I do miss wide angle, and changing lenses in wet and muddy rainforest is an interesting procedure I am trying to avoid at any cost. I probably will miss 200mm but the alternative, a second body, will add an extra weight and volume, again, things that I like to avoid.

Here are links to several reviews of XF18-135mm lens by David Hughes, an author of the SoundImagePlus blog:
-  review of XF18-135mm lens (the best super zoom)
-  optical image stabilization

Spring in Brisbane

Flowers of Jacaranda. Fuji X-E1 & XF55-200mm

Transition between dry (winter) and wet (summer) seasons in Brisbane. It is not very humid but already hot.

Brisbane state forest

Red Ash picnic area at Brisbane state forest. Fuji X10, panorama mode.

The Brisbane State Forest covers a big area near Brisbane, with main entrance point through the Gap / Waterworks road. The park headquarters / information center has a small but very interesting collection of local animals including platypus and number of snakes such as black red bellied snake. 

The dominant vegetation is a dry eucalypt forest. The state forest and D’Aguilar national park host several picnic areas, with a number of tracks. The main road is quite windy and it is popular with bikers and cyclists. There are several nice lookouts along the main road.  

Remnants of a few old gold mines are scattered in the forest. The signage state that the amount of mined gold was not huge, but digging in this area was continued for nearly 30 years.

Remnants of an old gold mine at the Brisbane State Forest. Fuji X10

Reviews of Fujinon telezoom lenses

Fuji X-E & XF55-200m vs Olympus E30 & ZUIKO 50-200mm  SWD

Reviews of Fujinon XF55-200mm F3.5-4.8 R LM OIS and XC50-230mm F4.5-6.7 OIS for Fuji X mirrorless cameras are available at Photozone.

Currently the XF55-200 is my 'default' lens. It replaced the previous favorite, ZUIKO 50-200mm. The combo is smaller and lighter. However, I do miss a wider option. I do not condone lens swapping in dusty environment, and I hate to do it on my walks. Fujinon XF18-135mm f3.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR will address the wide angle issue but a lot of my pictures are taken at 200mm... XF18-135 is available in Brisbane for ~$1000 AUD, a good price for Australia, but still a bit steep. 

Another walk at Mt Coot-tha

Rusty car. Fuji X-E1 & XF55-200mm

Mt Coot-tha is an amazing place if you know where to go and don't mind some off track hiking. I am still puzzled how this car made into the middle of the forest. No roads nearby, and the slope is very steep. Cannot find any info about this rusty thingy.

The picture below was taken on a separate walk around the Simpson falls. Usually there is no water in the creak bed during dry season but this picture was taken shortly after a strong rain.

The Simpson falls. Fuji X-E1 & XF55-200mm

New compact cameras with big sensors

Recently several big camera manufacturers announced remarkable products. Canon released PowerShot G7 X, a compact camera with a 1" BSI-CMOS sensor (20 MP), very interesting 24-100mm F1.8-2.8 lens, and 'flippable' rear screen. The camera weights about 300 grams (with battery!). Panasonic came with Lumix DMC-LX100. This model uses 12 MP 4/3 sensor (double of 1" sensor size) with variable aspect ratio 4:3, 3:2, and 16:9. The sensor contain 15 megapixels but only ~12 MP are used in any given format. The lens specs are very interesting, 24-75mm equiv. F1.7-2.8, considering the size of the sensor used in the camera. It is also has an electronic viewfinder, not bad for camera weighting just 393 grams.