Go Well - Go Shell

And all older Australians will have had a brief flash of nostalgia there...

The Shell referred to in this posting is a new camera housing made by the Peak Design people. It is intended to shelter your camera while it is attached to some of the other Peak Design holsters or docking stations - in their turn on backpacks or belts.

The literature on the packet says that it is available in small, medium and large to suit mirror-less, regular DSLR and flagship DSLR cameras. The example you see in the images is the small version holding a Fujifilm X-E2 and a Fujinon 18-135mm lens.

It is a good fit - the neoprene material stretches at any binding point and the length of the lens portion is perfect for this Fujinon. It is a little deceiving as this particular camera body is encased in a metal cradle - a bare camera would slip in more easily. There are peculiar little attachments that I never quite figured out to make it cling to camera straps but the bottom opening is free to allow the signature Peak Design dock to work.

For an out-of-the-packet item it is one of the best fits I have seen.

Perhaps not needed in Perth in the summertime, but remember that winter will eventually come and you will want to go where rain and snow are common. Be prepared.

Peak Design product range available online.

Decisions...Decisions...The Fujifilm Fan In Agony

Well, it's sort of pleasant angst, after all.

I own a number of Fujifilm X-series cameras and not surprisingly, a number of Fujinon XF lenses to go on them. I have tried to select the ones that have the correct focal length for the work I do and up until now I have never considered the actual look of the lenses - just their optical characteristics. Then Fujifilm threw me a curve ball - they introduced a lens that looks gorgeous.

It is the new Fujinon 35mm XF f:2 WR lens...in this case in as silver colour to match the silver bodies of the X-E1 and X-E2 and the X-T10. Of course it is entirely suitable in fit for the X-T1 and the X-Pro1 but the silver colour is closest to that of the three bodies first named - and it is all about good looks.

Don't snort. That's one of the factors that influences a lot of camera and lens sales, even if the purchasers do not acknowledge it. Good design is one thing - good looks is another. People are drawn to pretty things.

Well, this is pretty. And pretty good, too, as it happens. I clapped it onto the editorial X-T10 ( in silver...) and took it outside the shop door. In large jpeg  - because my Silkypix Developer Studio Pro 6E doesn't decode the X-T10 yet from RAF files - the image is very good. No CA at the corners or in the tree branches at all. Yay!.

Fast on the focus - no hunting. No front element movement. Aperture stops with a clean and clear feel. And a "Just Right" balance with the X-T10 - some of the other lenses in my stable are a little nose-heavy with this little camera.

Note from the rear view that it has the WR rubber gasket for water resistance. Not an exact match for the X-T10 as the body does not have the extensive water sealing of the Fujifilm X-T1, but it does suggest a wonderful thought; put it on the silver X-T10 and never take it off and never have to clean the sensor again...

With this lens the camera is wonderfully reminiscent in shape of the 35mm SLR cameras that were sold in the 60's as package deals with one standard lens fixed on the front. You can set this to reproduce a famous slide film by setting it to Classic Chrome and I reckon all we need to find now is a brown leather ever-ready case for it to have an instant time machine.

Oh, you were wondering about the angst? Well I already have a 35mm f:1.4 Fujinon lens that is the sharpest thing out of the box. So strictly speaking I really don't need the new one. But the new one is soooo pretty...

Note: It also comes in black, as do all the other Fujifilm X-series lenses and cameras. So you can be professional.

Under Water With Leica

Thursday last was the nearest thing to a circus I can remember. It had the ringmaster, the clowns, the pretty girl in spangly tights, and the tightrope walker. There may have been elephants but I left before they passed out the brooms and buckets...

Never mind who the ringmaster was, or the pretty girl, or the elephants...the whole thing turned on the tightrope artist and his main trick; pouring water on a fully functional Leica camera. The tightrope part was doing it and having a job with Leica Australia next day We have been informed that he still has his lunch pail.

Obviously he knew that the trick was going to work - tipping a glass of water over a new Leica SL camera with a 24-90mm f2.8 lens - before he did it in front of the audience. I have seen evidence that he practised it earlier on...so it wasn't just a one-off stunt. This gives me a great deal of confidence in the weather sealing of the Leica SL camera but it does raise an interesting question...

Did he pour the water on it knowing that Leica had made a waterproof camera? Or did Leica make a waterproof camera knowing he was going to pour water on it? Is this man safe near other machinery?

Leaving this speculation aside, here's a marvellous thing that a visitor brought in on the night. It is also a waterproof Leica but a little more serious about it. it's a specialised housing made for an older screw-mount Leica. Pressure-cast aluminium, I should say, and looks to be a 50's or 60's job. There is a substantial O ring seal and dedicated gunsight.

I cannot tell you if the Photo Marine II has ever been used, but the owner has a lot of experience in marine work. We're also at a loss to explain the bottle green colour of the Leica inside the housing. It is very nearly attractive, though I doubt we will see it duplicated in the new SL range.

Note: the Leica SL we saw on Thursday is not a diving camera - it withstood a glass of water on the shop floor, but would not do so if put under water pressure. And we have no information as to whether it would withstand custard or soup.

The Falls Creek Lunch Box - Or How To Go In The Snow

The daughter has just been to visit Falls Creek in Victoria and was lucky enough to hit the best snowfall day of the year - 30cm of powder. The pictures she brought back of the holiday taken with my old Fujifilm X-10 set to automatic are wonderful - she put the SD card into the slot on the television last night to give us a slide show and I am torn between pride and jealousy - they are that good.

Note: The dear old X-10 was superseded by the X-20 and latterly has been replaced by the X-30. This Fujifilm compact zoom line just gets better and better. Travellers take note...

But back to the snow. She missed out on a few of the activities they did because she was afraid to take the camera out into the falling snow - I have since told her she was silly as the devices do pretty well, but she was careful with it. In retrospect I think I should have grabbed one of the small Pelican cases and let her dump the thing into that - then she could have ventured out into the cold dauntless.

This is the one I'd have picked - the Pelican 1050. It's only $ 35 and has the famous water-tight edge seal that Pelican is famous for. Plus a pressure relief valve that means it does not get stuck closed if you go up and down the mountains.

The interior is a padded solid rubber well - not a foam block. This means that you don't have foam crumbles flailing around and getting into the camera. There is plenty of room in there for the Fujifilm X-30  - as a matter of fact it is big enough to take the Fujifilm X-100T  or either the Fujiflm X-E2 with a 27mm lens or the new Fujifilm X-T10 with a similar optic. Now THAT'S going to be good tourist photos!

Note the carabinier strap and side slots for other strapping.

Oh Yes. Oh Yes. This Is The News Of the Week. New Fujifilm Lens

Never mind the state of the world or the Prime Minister. That can wait. There is a new Fujifilm X lens in the shop and you can try it out right now.

The new 16-55mm Fujinon XF has:

Constant f:2.8 aperture.

Aspherical elements.

Water-resistant gasket.

Superb X-lens construction - smooth focussing and zooming and solid build.

This is the perfect companion piece to the Fujifilm 50-140 f:2.8 WR lens.

You won't get it free in a cornflakes packet and they don't send 'em up with the rations, but the lens is a real gem in the Fujifilm lineup. Anyone using the X-Pro1, X-E2. or X-t1 for landscape, interiors, or portrait groups would be well-rewarded with a test run.

Come in now and see how good it is.

Hot Off the Griddle - Fujifilm's New Zoom Lens Is Here

Open the box! C'mon! C'mon! Open the Box!

Lemme at that new Fujifilm XF 18-135mm R LM OIS WR lens. Never mind the letters behind the name. I can see that it has an internal stabiliser by the switch on the side. I can see the f numbers at the front. I can see the metal mount for the Fuji X-mount.

Lemme at it.

I've got an X-E 2 at home that would suit this perfectly. I've got an X-T 1 that would be perfect for this. I can fit it on my X-Pro 1 and go out and do just everything.

Apparently the WR means it is water resisitant. Well, unless the roof on the studio gives way and it leaks inside this is superfluous for me, but I have met people for whom it would be essential. Like old surf photographers who have X-E1 cameras and want to carry lighter burdens on the beach...or at the hot rod shows...

This would be the killer lens for a wedding - you can adapt to the dim insides of a church with Fuji cameras because they support high ISO's so well. 1250 to 1600 no worries. SO you could either snipe at the bride from a side aisle or go right down the front with the action and still get a wide sweep or the ring exchange without juggling lenses ( or worse - juggling cameras ). The outside for the gardens and the lens would have great resolution for the groups and two-ups.

Also good in a studio or at a people shoot - a one-lens solution for dance shows or closer sports. This is short for birds but fine for beasts. And the Antarctic or Alaskan tourist customer will appreciate the weather sealing - mist and rain should be no problem if this lens is on an X -T 1.

Here's three shots = Long, medium, and close. Look at the detail that Fuji lens gives!

Okay, I'll admit that jpegs shot out the front of the shop and plastered on this blog are not the definitive laboratory test...but if you are a Fuji X system user and can bring your body into the shop...clutching your Fuji camera body...you can test this remarkable optic for yourself. Be warned - you will want to spend money...