leaf

I Went Mirrorless! by John Wineberg

So I finally pulled the trigger on a brand new Fuji XT1 paired with an 18-55mm f2.8 to 4.  I took advantage of the discounts they were offering during the holidays and added a used 56mm f1.2.  In total I saved close to $750.  I'm going to warn you now this is not a full blown review of the XT1, just my first impressions and feelings in using it for approximately one week.  The ver first thing I noticed about this camera is that everything is where I would expect it to be.  It looks and feels like a mix between my Nikon FE2 and my Fuji X100T.  It's light weight but fits perfectly in my hand.  The viewfinder is amazing.  As most have already commented, the directional buttons around the menu button are small but i've gotten used to it.  The hardest thing for me is that the lens release is on the right side, or grip side, of the body, opposite to Nikon, so muscle memory has to be overcome.  Another peeve is that the lens hood doesn't click in as easy and smoothly as my Nikon.  Not a big deal.  

When I got home today the clouds parted for a few minutes and the lighting in my backyard drew me out.  I attached the 56mm f1.2 and started wandering.  This is my favorite way to shoot.  It's like hunting and the image is my prey.  Below are some of those shots.  All of these images are jpegs edited in Snapseed.


While this is more of a portrait lens, I enjoyed this hunt.  Focusing these images was a small challenge but was solved by increasing my distance.  I can't wait to do a portrait shoot with this lens and hopefully it will be soon.  I look forward to exploring all of the capabilities of this camera and will share as I do.  Shooting is fun again and my bag is a few pounds lighter with this smaller gear. 

Hmmmm where to wonder next?