The X100's ND filter

Before the X100 I never really thought an ND filter would be of much use. I take that back now. For the heck of it, I tried it in a bright sunny day. Below is a before and after ND filter shot:

Fuji X100 | 1/1000 sec, f/8, ISO 200 | 1/70 sec, f/8, ISO 200

OK OK... I'm a convert now.

With firmware version 1.20, Fuji has finally made it easy to turn the ND filter on and off. I'm now using the RAW button (an odd choice from the beginning) as the ND filter button. Before this (when only the Fn button was customizable), when you try to turn on ND filter it'll ask you first yes or no. Then you select yes and click it. Now finally, one press it's on, one press and it's off. No fuss.

My Canon 5DIII impressions - part 1

This is the first decent picture I took with my new Canon EOS 5D Mk. III. It's the 4th one :). I took this shot while dicking around with the camera on the MRT.

Canon EOS 5D Mk. III + Canon EF 50mm F1.2L USM | 1/40 sec, f/1.2, ISO 125

The 5DIII comes with a silent shutter feature which is very nice for stealthy street shooting. Granted my subject had earphones on but DSLR shutters are comparatively noisy to compact cameras so it's a nice feature to have.

As Lightroom doesn't read 5DIII RAW files yet, this file was processed from the JPG. I really like the AWB in this camera: it's definitely more accurate than my 60D and the 5DII. I've always tried to avoid having to adjust WB on the camera so this is good for me.

And so... the circle is complete...

Fuji X100 | 0.3 sec, f/5.6, ISO 3200

More to come as I play with my new toy :)

Matthew is 6!

Time flies and my eldest kid is now 6 years old. As it's the weekend and it's the school holidays this upcoming week, we decided to have a small celebration at home. He will be celebrating with his kindergarten friends when school starts.

Canon EOS 60D + Canon EF 24-70 F2.8L USM | 1/8 sec, f/5.6, ISO 400

This shot was done with a tripod on 2 second timer. The shutter was triggered with a remote so I didn't have to run and quickly get in position. Flash was bounced up and slight to the back to prevent shadows below the eyes. IIRC this was -2EV as I didn't want the flash to overpower everything else.

I'm just OK with how it turned out. I still find flash photography quite challenging but at least the background is not distracting :p

The Canon EF 24-70 F2.8L is a lens I borrowed from a friend to try out. More on this lens in another post.

Singapore Streets (10 Feb '12)

OK... last day of my February trip. Not many photos this time as I was busy packing and doing proper stuff haha.

Fujifilm X100 | 1/120 sec, f/2, ISO 200 | 1/50 sec, f/2, ISO 200
| 1/1000 sec, f/2, ISO 200 | 1/80 sec, f/2, ISO 200

The Fuji X100 got a thorough workout from me and I'll say this: it's a superb camera. Some pluses:

• Colors are wonderful
• Operates near silently
• Unobtrusive
• Light
• Build quality
• The hybrid OVF has to be seen to be believed
• Just a really fun camera to shoot

Some issues:

• Clunky menu system
• Autofocus slow at times
• Random missed focuses
• Subject is 1 foot away and I have to use macro already?!
• Macro focus slow
• Battery life
• Slow recording of images

Yes... quite a few issues with the hinky focus being the biggest issue for me. Still, if you're like me and you shoot either P or Av mode (the X100 doesn't have auto), you won't be complaining much about some of the way custom controls are implemented. If you're a power user though, good luck.

Would I be perfectly happy with having this one camera in my closet? Probably not with its fixed focal length and the slow autofocus. However, I can't say my DSLR is as much fun as the X100.

> Full set of pictures on Flickr

Singapore Streets (9 Feb '12)

Day 2 of my walkaround in Singapore. Now usually I have some errand to run and in between places I need to go I will observe the surroundings and shoot things I find interesting.

First up, Orchard Road to help my mom pick up her prescription meds. The streets are much emptier in the morning which is a nice change.

Fujifilm X100 | 1/500 sec, f/2, ISO 200 | 1/13 sec, f/2, ISO 3200| 1/1000 sec, f/2, ISO 200

Next up is downtown Singapore for my monthly errands for my employer. I try to walk everywhere I can so as to not miss the moments of life passing by. It helps of course that it's not raining nonstop this time around.

Fujifilm X100 | 1/1000 sec, f/2, ISO 200 | 1/500 sec, f/2, ISO 200 | 1/680 sec, f/2, ISO 200
| 1/240 sec, f/8, ISO 200 | 1/30 sec, f/8, ISO 1250

Late afternoon I was back in Orchard Road meeting up with a few friends of mine who are into photography too. Handicapped baskers usually perform at the main intersection of Orchard Road.

Fujifilm X100 | 1/130 sec, f/8, ISO 640

After cornering one of them to get a tripod, we decided to let him give it a test drive at Boat Quay. A cool evening made for some decent shots. It also gave me a more time to give my X100 a night time street shooting shakedown and of course, more cliche nightscapes.

Fujifilm X100 | 1/30 sec, f/2, ISO 2500 | 1/12 sec, f/2, ISO 3200 | 1/680 sec, f/2, ISO 200
| 20 sec, f/8, ISO 200 | 1/30 sec, f/2, ISO 1250

I'm still very much impressed with the color renditions of the X100.

Fujifilm X100 | 1/30 sec, f/2, ISO 1600 | 1/30 sec, f/2, ISO 1000

Fujifilm X100 | 1/30 sec, f/2, ISO 1250 | 1/30 sec, f/2, ISO 2500
| 1/30 sec, f/2, ISO 1600 | 1/30 sec, f/8, ISO 640

Night portraits (of my buddies) sans flash are easily tackled by the X100 with it's f2 maximum aperture.

Fujifilm X100 | 1/30 sec, f/2, ISO 1600 | 1/30 sec, f/2, ISO 800
| 1/30 sec, f/2, ISO 640 | 1/30 sec, f/2, ISO 3200

A bit disappointed with the random missed focus but the next shot usually makes me forget about it. Haha.

Fujifilm X100 | 1/10 sec, f/2, ISO 3200 | 1/30 sec, f/2, ISO 800

The last shot of the night was another cliche one of the Marina Bay Sands. A lighting show was on so at least there's something unique about it.

Fujifilm X100 | 30 sec, f/8, ISO 200

One more day to go!

> Full set of pictures on Flickr

Awww... Whiskey Tango Hotel Canon?!

OK, there has been a ton of news that it was coming and today, Canon announced the EOS 5D Mk II replacement, the EOS 5D Mk III (5D3). All the crazy specs can be found on Dpreview so I shan't repeat them here. The highlights for me?

• Digic 5+ sensor
• 22 Megapixels
• 61 Autofocus points with 19 cross type
• 6 fps continuous shooting
• Dual CF/SD card slots
• 63 zone iFCL metering system
• 100% Viewfinder
• ISO 100-25600 standard, 50-102,800 expanded

Now these are all huge improvements over my 60D... well, except for perhaps the lack of the tilt screen. And I would have gladly plonked down my money for one once it comes to market (apparently by the end of the month). But as it turns out, it will have an MSRP of USD 3,500 for the body only.

WTH...

That's about IDR 32 million! Sure street prices will be lower, but even at 15% off, that's still IDR 27.5 million. The 5D2 can be had for IDR 18 million nowadays. Is the 5D3 really better by close to IDR 10 million?! That's the price of a Canon EF 135mm f2 L right there. With change enough for an EF 50mm f1.8 II as well. Yeesh...

And now it turns out the 5D2 might not be end of life yet. That Canon will maintain it at a reduced price. Which means 2 things to me: the 5D2 won't see a drastic drop in price (new or used) and the 5D3 won't see a drastic drop in price either.

Personally, I'm pretty sure this is the only upgrade path for me. But man... it's steep. I got the 60D at about USD 1,000. And now I need to spend USD 3,500 for my next camera?! Yikes!