Category : The Learning Center

 

Excitement and confusion. Excited to see a really neat product coming from Fuji and confused at the reaction various people have to their choice in cameras!  Let’s get that out of the way first!  When I worked for Nikon I found it amazing that users of various brands are like tribes.

 

tribe |trīb|noun1 a social division in a traditional society consisting of families or communities linked by social, economic, religious, or blood ties, with a common culture and dialect, typically having a recognized leader: indigenous Indian tribes | the Celtic tribes of Europe.

 

In the Indian Nations tribes could be either allies or bitter enemies.  Sadly in the world of photography some people fall into that pattern.  Among some circles Canon shooters hate Nikon shooters, and visa versa.  It is no less true among Olympus, Fuji, Panasonic, Leica etc, etc.  I understand the dynamic.  You study and study, you try different brands and then you make a decision with both head and heart and then you “commit”!  Once you commit to a brand you become surrounded by friends and associates that use the brand you chose! Now the fun begins, the teasing, the joking, the debating, most is harmless but some folks just take the whole exercise to seriously!  For me, no harm – no foul.  I never took any of this very seriously even when I represented one of the 800 pound gorillas in the room!

 

Cameras and lenses are made to make photographs, that’s it.  Some do it better, or worse but they all get the job done.  Is a D800 higher resolution that Canon 5D Mark III?  Does a Fuji X Sensor have incredibly low noise at super high ISOs?  Does the Panasonic GH3 make incredible video? Sure, sure, sure!  Doesn’t matter, pick one, and make images.

 

Regardless of brand loyalties, sooner or later you have to find what helps you make the image. I’m not going to go through  the whole shoulder surgery story again, let’s just say I’ve found my everyday, walk around system, Fuji’s X System, and here’s why;

 

(1)  The weight is just right.  Not heavy, but with a feeling of real substance.

 

(2)  The image quality is absolutely incredible.

 

(3)  I can shoot at any ISO up to and including 6400 and not worry about noise, in 90% of the cases, not even notice any!

 

(4)  I own the 14, 18-55, 23, 35, 60, and the 55-200, and everyone is of the highest quality, absolutely stunning glass.  All of my lenses, and the ones that are coming from Fuji, are faster than almost any other brands, and cost substantially less! 

 

(5)  After years of using DSLRs, I’m loving the quiet shutters, and lack of mirror vibration.

 

(6)  I shot Fuji film in the old days, and always loved their color renditions, and the X cameras have those say lovely colors.

 

(7)  Photography is tactile, I love the feel of the X system, it just fits my hands!

 

(8)  I’m very impressed with Fuji’s commitment to continue to improve their products with constant firmware updates that make genuinely significant improvements to their products. 

 

(9)  Most of all, they listen to their customers!  A number of Firmware updates have addresses specific recommendations from their customers, that’s golden!

 

(10)  And lastly, they have developed a philosophy to produce products that are designed for photography, not the specs race!

 

So, I’m anxious to feet to try the XT-1, the 56 f 1.2 and the 10-24 f4 OIS, it’s going to be an exciting start to 2014!

 

Blessings,

 

the pilgrim

 

ADDENDUM:   Believe it or not, I had not seen Scott Kelby video on his blog about switching from Nikon to Canon before I wrote this blog entry!!!!!  I may have been the only guy in the photo world who hadn’t!!  The reaction to his video with Rick Sammon got as variety of responses, some pretty nasty!  This was my point in my own blog entry, and remember once again I had not seen Scott’s video!!  A number of pretty blunt charges were leveled at Scott, and I feel bound to respond in blanket form.

 

(1)  Scott is a great guy, and an honest guy, and I believe a sincere guy!  If he says he really liked the Canon stuff for what he does, I’m sure he does.

 

(2)  I am sure that Canon made a good offer ($$$) to NAPP, (now KelbyOne), to be “more involved” with them.  I’m sure they probably really wanted Scott to give their stuff a good try.  That Scott really liked the gear for sports, or for that matter any other kind of shooting, does not surprise me.  Remember I used to work for Nikon, and I can tell you that both Nikon and Canon make dang good stuff!   Why did Nikon not offer to become a bigger part of KelbyOne too?   I have no idea, you would have to ask the people in marketing at Nikon, they are the only ones that would know the answer to that.  I wish they had, I would love to see equal representation at KelbyOne between both brands, but they didn’t, and that’s that!  Case closed.   However, that is not Scott Kelby’s fault!

 

(3)  Does it really matter what camera brand you shoot?  I’m going to go out on limb and say that Jay Maisel could shoot all our pants off with a low end  Samsung camera!  I really believe that it’s the photographer, not the camera, and that is not being disrespectful of Nikon, Canon, Leica or anyone else!!!!!!!!  I think we need to grow up and start acting like adults on this whole brand thing!  Surely we are not so insecure that we have to roll in the mud over this subject?

 

(4)  I really respect and care for Scott Kelby, he has been a great friend to me, and it doesn’t bother me in the least if he makes good money doing what he does, he has earned it, and I can tell you I’ve seen him shoot superior work with anything you hand him.  All of you can infer anything you would like about the “brand wars” ,  but for me, I won’t disrespect  his ability with a camera, to reduce it down to Canon vs Nikon!

 

(5)  Want to take someone on, come after me, I don’t shoot either brand, and I’ll shoot it out with you anytime, anywhere.  Just be sure to tighten your belt, to keep your pants in place!

 

Sorry, I was a little ticked off after reading all this, but that was pretty good line!!!!

 

the pilgrim

 

I was cleaning some old drawers in my office and found a big stack of very old Nikon brochures and literature.   In the stack was an old catalog from Norman’s Camera in Battle Creek, Michigan.  This was a dealer I bought some early bodies and lenses from and I had called them and gotten the prices on various items which are hand written above in the catalog.  The catalog is from 1970, the year I got seriously into photography!!!  Above the Nikon Photomic FTN Black goes for $244.97.  That was the D4 of that day, in today’s dollars, (calculated on 3% inflation per year for 44 years),  that would be approx. $568.33, today’s D4 sells fro $5,995.!!!!  My grandfather bought me a $5,000. car when I graduated from college in 1968, that same car today would sell for around $35,000. a 7 fold increase.  If the Nikon price had risen 7 fold it would have been, $1,714.19!  Sure would love to go back to these prices!!!!!!!

 

Here are some price comparisons on lenses from 1970 vs today:

 

20mm f 3.5 back then  $189.97  today’s 20mm f 2.8 AIS manual focus $674.

 

24mm f 2.8 then  $139.97  today’s 24mm f 2.8 AIS manual focus $529.

 

28mm f 3.5 then $124.51  today’s 28mm f 2.8 AIS Manual Focus  $499.

 

35mm f 2.8 then $87.  Today 35mm f 2 AF $329.95  (Manual must be bought  used)

 

Interestingly lens prices have not escalated as much as bodies for AF lenses, manual focus glass has increased more in keeping with bodies.  I have started to use my old Nikkor manual focus glass occasionally with the D700 body, a great combination.  When the D800 was released I took it and four manual focus lenses (24mm f 2.8, 55mm Micro Nikkor f 2.8, 105mm Micro Nikkor f 2.8 and the old classic 80-200 f 4.5 Nikkor zoom.)  I wanted to prove to myself that they were still viable lenses even on the super high res D800, below are some of the shots representing each lens.  The D700 is less demanding and these lenses look fantastic on that body.

 

 

I’ve since acquired a very rare, very hard to find, (John Gompf located it for me), 25-50 f4 AIS manual focus zoom.  This lens is really strange, it is not one of the legendary sharp lenses from Nikon, it is very sharp, but not in a category with the four lenses above, but it has essentially no Chromatic Aberrations!!!  The result is a look and color quality that no other Nikkor can match! It’s a two ring zoom which for the kind of work I do is wonderful.  While I use the Fuji X System 95% of the time, it is still a thrill to shoot this combo of manual focus glass.  I own a bunch more and my all time favorite long lens is the 400mm f 3.5 AIS, which I enjoy a lot!

 

Modern autofocus lenses can’t have firm focusing rings because they have to be turned by tinny motors to autofocus and the torque required for the little motors would be too much.  Most modern motors would burn up trying to turn my manual focus lens, focusing rings.  It is that wonderful tactile feeling that makes these old lenses such a joy to use. I usually use this gear when I can work close to the car.  Of course for sports and action shooters AF is a must, but for travel, landscape and Americana these old manual focus lenses are great.

 

The big bonus to manual focus glass is the great pricing!   These prices are from KEH, a used gear dealer, based in Atlanta, I really trust.  You can buy the following in Excellent + or Like New condition for the following prices:

 

 24mm f 2.8 AIS  $205

 

55mm Micro Nikkor F 2.8 AIS  $150.  

 

105mm Micro Nikkor f 2.8 AIS $339.

 

80-200 f 4 AIS  $94.

 

( this was the updated version of the old f 4.5 version which can often be found for around $50.!!!  The f 4.5 lenses are hard to find in Excellent shape though.  I own both and find them both razor sharp!!  F4 takes 62mm filters, the f 4.5 takes 52mm).  For their asking price they are screaming bargains!

 

If you enjoy this kind of subject matter, consider joining Jack Graham and I in Acadia, in October of this year!  Check full details at  www.jackgrahamphoto.com

 

By-the-way my first serious camera was the Nikkormat FTN above, in chrome!  Wow, this has been, and continues to be a great ride, thanks for coming along on my sentimental journey!!!

 

Blessings,

 

the pilgrim

 

http://www.keh.com

 

If you enjoy these kinds of old gear articles and posts, please let me know!  Happy to occasionally do more!

 

I got this question from yesterday’s blog and it made me want to set the record straight…..  I really appreciate the question!!

 

 

This starts with a short story.  In my early years as a photographer I used to love to read articles, and publications from a photographer named George Lepp.  George was one of the original columnist of Outdoor Photographer Magazine, and still is!   When I first met George he was a Nikon shooter, he later switched to Canon and is highly supported by them. That didn’t keep him from being honest when evaluating equipment or products, he called it the way he saw it, which I’m sure did not always please Canon, but he was honest!   I came to trust him because I knew he had integrity.  My late father stressed to me that when it is all said and done we have nothing more valuable than our character, integrity, and our faith. I’ve tried very hard to always adhere to my father’s advice and follow George’s lead.

 

So to the answser to the question above is;

 

I worked for Nikon for 11 years as their NPS tech rep for the southern U.S.  I did my very best to always be honest with my customers and give them the best guidance I could.  Nikon paid me a salary and provided benefits, and I very much appreciate all they did for me.  However, that never affected what I said when I offered advice, I always told the truth. Fortunately my telling the truth was never a disadvantage to Nikon.  I believe my customers thought more of Nikon because they provided that kind of service to them, through me.  If I ask for some ones help, I  expect them to tell me the truth, and that is what I do.  I do the right thing, because I said I would.

 

I no longer work for Nikon.  I now write a blog, teach classes for my own company, for Jack Graham, and Kelby Training.  I appear before audiences all across America, and I only want to do one thing, make their lives better, because I was in it for a brief moment.  For my entire career I’ve believed that almost all companies in the photo industry make good products, some are better than others for their intended purpose, but most companies make very serviceable, cameras and lenses.  What you buy is up to you, I don’t benefit either way, I hope to offer my opinion, and they are only that, my opinions.  I do however have 43 years of industry experience to back up my opinions.

 

Do I work for Fuji?  No.  Do I work for Nikon?  No.   Do I work for Singh Ray filters?  No, or Think Tank, or Lowepro?  No.  I want to keep my position as a neutral source of information so I may be of real help to you!  Let me tell you how far I’ve gone to do that.  In late July I was contacted by Fuji and asked to send a photo of myself and a testimonial about how much I loved the Fuji X system for use in a 2 page spread, national ad.  I thanked them, but declined.  It was way to soon after leaving Nikon to appear in a competitors ad, even though I was happily using Fuji cameras. I wouldn’t do that to my friends at Nikon, I respect them to much, I owe them better than that, and I don’t want to be perceived as on the payroll for Fuji, which I am  not.  By-the-way, every piece of Fuji equipment I own was paid for, nothing has been given to me.  I was offered the chance to be used as a featured speaker representing Nikon yesterday, I said thank you, but no thanks, I am a free moral agent and I want to keep it that way.  Both of those decision cost me money, a lot of money, and some good exposure which for a blogger and workshop leaders is a valuable commodity, but it isn’t worth it to me.  I want people to come to this blog and know I will be honest in my evaluations of products, that matters more to me than the money.  Money can’t buy integrity, that must be earned.  While we are on the subject, some of the sponsors of my workshop company do provide some products for us to use and evaluate, but I receive nothing that I have not paid for to own long before I was sponsored by those companies.  In other words, if I promote a product, I first bought it with my own money, free stuff could not buy my loyalty.

 

Have I turned my back on Nikon?  No, I still own a significant amount of Nikon gear and still love it.  When I can have it handy, I still use it, I just can’t comfortably carry it in the field as I did when I was a younger man.  Do I still think Nikon makes great gear, you bet, 95% of everything I’ve shot in my career has been with Nikons going back to the Nikon F.  Do I think Fuji makes great gear, you bet, I am using it 95% of the time now and I’m getting wonderful results from it.  I can hear someone saying how can that be???!!!  Let me ask you a question, do you have children, more than one?   Do you love all of them?  Do you love them each in different ways, but all equally?  There you go.  My cameras and lenses are my photographic children, each are different and I love them all.  Are they equal, of course not, each have their own strengths and weaknesses but I still love them.  I also think Canon, Olympus, and Sony, Panasonic and Leica and many other camera companies make great stuff too!

 

I do this blog for two reasons; to spread my belief in and love for my God, and to share my great enthusiasm for photography and the wonderful people it has brought into my life.  One thing is for sure you can always come here knowing I will shoot straight with you, as best as I can.  I hope you believe me, but then, that is your call.

 

Blessings,

 

the pilgrim

 

Wow, some interesting stuff is happening in the camera market place!  A few years ago Olympus revived the old OM series in digital form, and the first model the OM-D E-M5 was a big hit, and charged to t he top of the ladder of Micro four third cameras.  For good reason, it was well built, very resistant to the elements and Olympus has always had a reputation for making great lenses.  They supported the camera with and extensive line of quality glass and Olympus was on their way.  The OM-D E-M1, which I had the pleasure of shooting in Death Valley, is another giant step up for Olympus. This camera is a force to be reckoned with.

 

To add to the confusion, Nikon introduced the the Df about ten days ago, a throw back style body with manual knobs and locking controls and a modern D4 sensor, wow are things getting interesting!  I’ve got a theory, and I will share it, but first let me brag a little on Olympus.  This is a real winner, good looking, solid feeling, great image producing camera.  It has more features and possible adjustments than almost anything I’ve seen in a long time, and that may also be it’s achilles heel.  Let me back up on that, if a person is willing to dive into the manual and learn how to use the amazing features it can be an amazing tool.  It can do more than I’ve seen in a camera in long time, but it is not to be taken lightly, with this camera , at least for a while, the manual will be your best friend!

 

 

The top deck has a knob that sets the main operating system, Program, Manual, Shutter Priority and Aperture Priority, plus some special functions, that’s easy enough.  When you get into setting the custom function buttons and control wheels, I counted 6,  but I may not have found them al!  It’s obvious this camera can be either really powerful, or really confusing.  I expect that someone a little younger, and more patient will not only figure it out, they will get wonderful results from it.

 

Now to my theory, there is a secret that is starting to emerge, one that Leica never forgot, Fuji has rediscovered, and now Nikon is “finally” on board with, and I’m not sure where Canon is???!!!  Many photographers are getting older and want something that is simple to use, like what they learned on! A Shutter speed knob, aperture ring on the back of the lens, easy to set compensation dial, you get it, a camera like we learned on in the late 60’s and early 70’s!  Does this make an effort like the Olympus bad?  Absolutely not, I applaud them for pushing the boundary of micro four thirds technology and creating such a very capable camera.  Heck, I’m really tempted to pick one up, I think it has some really wonderful applications.  The upside is it is really well made, it has the best viewfinder I’ve seen on a mirror less camera.  The 12-40 f 2.8 Pro lens (24-80 equiv.) I used and the 12mm f 1.8 (24mm equiv.) were both top notch in build and optical quality, I suspect the soon to come additional Pro lenses will be up to this standard.  If I was looking for a small camera that was also very capable, I don’t think you could go wrong with the OM-D1.

 

Is there a downside?  Maybe, and it depends on what you like, need, and prefer.  If you like manual control knobs instead of buttons, and want the best very High ISO low noise performance you may consider the Fuji X system which has the bigger APS-C size sensor.  They are very different cameras and after you hold both, and operate them, you’ll know which one seem right for you.  One thing is for sure, the big camera companies like Canon and Nikon are loosing people to these new smaller and very capable cameras, and that is not something that has to happen!  Both of the flagship, big boys, in the industry are more than capable of building these kinds of killer, smaller, but very serious performing systems!!   I wish they both would, it sure would make the market place even more interesting.  The Nikon 1, the V and J were good starts, but to compete in this arena, they need to go to the next level. Come on Nikon, I know you can do it!

 

I want to thank  my dear friend and long time photo buddy from Olympus, Ray Acevedo for making it possible for me to try out this truly wonderful camera.  It is such an attractive camera, I just may find myself owning one!

 

 

This will give you a size comparison idea next to the Nikon D7100.

 

Exciting times indeed!

 

Blessings,

 

the pilgrim

 

Addendum:  A friend emailed  me shortly after this posted and he owns the M5, the earlier model, he owns Olympus, Fuji, and a Panasonic.  He agreed with everything in the report, but added that he got the multi button scheme down pretty quickly and said he loves the camera….  Doesn’t surprise me a bit!  I think those that take the time to shoot it, will really enjoy it!