Reading Between The Lines - Looking Between The Cracks

Making up weblog posts from press releases is like making dinner from bread that has already been baked; it can be stale or fresh but is still has the structure of breadcrumbs.

Not that I am complaining- I like breadcrumbs provided they are coating a Wiener Schnitzel or fried Fraser River Smelt. Now before you go poking off to see what is in the refrigerator, consider a little snippet that was in DP Review on the 15th.

Fujifilm announced the new X-Pro2 camera and detailed the wonders thereupon. I want one...I want one badly...but I can't have one because I don't have enough spare Fujifilm money at present. So I am going to console myself with one of the other products that was announced...but might have been missed.

Fujifilm have finally released news of a real professional flash for their X-System. It's in the DP Review page now. They've needed one for ever so long - and while we X-Flash shooters can make do with the EF-42 in TTL mode and various old Metz CL-1 flashes in manual or automatic - we really have not had as good a run as the available light shooters. I know - I've got 2 of the EF 42 in operation.

The new flash is bigger and sturdier - and more capable by a long way. Indeed, users of Nikon or Canon flashes will recognise some of the features that it offers and agree that they are essential - they've been using them in their respective systems for a long time.

The Fujifilm EF-X500 flash will have two tubes - main and fill - and a guide number at 100 ISO of 50/164...which means more power out the tube and we can finally retire the old Metz. it has a metal shoe and lever lock as the N and C flashes do, and a simple set of buttons and a rotary dial at the back to to the power settings. TTL, Manual, and repeating flash. It will synch to 1/8000 with the X-pro2 .

4 AA cells, of course, and Fujifilm mention a battery supplement pack as well. It will fire as master or slave and in manual will dim down as far as 1/512 power. You guess is as good as mine what that will do but someone will think it is wonderful. You can dial 5 stops of flash power so it really will replace the Metz. And it will do up to 3 flash groups.

At last a professional unit. I am hoping it will have a tougher swivelling mechanism for the head than the present EF-42 has. he use of a Gary Fong Lightsphere is great but the weight of it causes the EF-42 head to fall over - you are constantly propping it up. If the new one has the same lock as N or C we'll be sweet.

I don't expect to see it before March at the earliest so I'll get some more use of the EF -42's. But when the new one hits us...Oh Boy!

Heading Photo: Yamina. Small size - big show!

Pre-orders available at www.cameraelectronic.com.au $200 deposit, final price of the camera $2549 and we will also throw in a free spare genuine Fuji battery.