On this episode of the Photofocus #Mirrorless Show Scott and Marco will discuss these new products and mirrorless topics:
- Marco returned from an assignment to Oslo and Copenhagen and instead of using train & plane, he traveled by cruise ship and shared a short photo essay that he captured with mirorless cameras.
- Leica launched the M-D (Type 262) digital rangefinder camera with no rear LCD screen. Scott and Marco discuss the pros and cons of the concept of this camera.
- Sony is one of the biggest image sensor manufacturers for the photographic industry. They announced that their sensor plant in the Kumamoto region in Japan will resume production after an earthquake shut it down on April 14th of this year. This is good news as a longer shut down could have delayed the release of new camera models and lead to shortages of current models, too.
- Canon announced the EF-M 28mm f3.5 macro IS STM with two controllable built in LED macro lights for it’s mirrorless M cameras. It offers a true 1:1 reproduction plus a 1.2x super macro mode and will retail for only $299 USD.
- Fujifilm announced the Fujinon 2x Teleconverter XF2X TC WR that will work with the XF 50-140mm f2.8 and XF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 lenses and that will allow for a maximum equivalent field of view of up to 1,219mm in full frame comparison. The TC will slow the lens aperture down by 2 stops (f5.6 for the XF 50-140mm and f9-11 for the XF 100-400mm) and it will also disable the phase detection autofocus on the longer of the two zoom lenses.
- Fujifilm also introduced a new LH-XF23 square metal lens hood for the XF 23mm f1.4 lens that can be purchased separately as accessory.
- Scott shares his ordeal with a broken camera and the Fuji US repair service and raises the question if the lack of Canon or Nikon style pro service offers may be the biggest caveat for pros who would want to switch to mirrorless cameras? Please share your service experiences from mirrorless camera manufacturers with us. And let us know if anyone of them offers a pro service similar to Canon’s CPS or Nikon’s NPS?
- Scott is looking for a new interchangeable camera from a different brand to switch to. Please share your serious suggestions and tell us why this could be a good mirrorless camera for Scott?
- Scott and Marco answer a listener question regarding focus peaking settings for more accurate results with less spill outside of the critical focus area.
- We now have a Photofocus Mirrorless Flickr group that is open for our listeners and photos taken with all mirrorless camera brands. If you want to join just let us know through the “request invitation” button on the group and drop us a quick line there. We’ll add you to the group then. And please ask for the invite via web browser and not via the Flickr App. The invite process via the app has not been working reliably.
- We have picked our first featured photographer and image from our Photofocus Mirrorless group and the image is taken by Guy Vanhulle and the image is called B16 – 79 TTT – Trying to Tango
Please share this podcast with your friends and subscribe via iTunes. We would also love to get your feedback. Is there anything that you want us to cover on the show in the future? And we would appreciate if you could take a short moment to rate or to post a quick review on iTunes for us.
For more information on Scott Bourne follow him on Twitter: @ScottBourne
For more information on Marco Larousse follow him on Twitter: @HamburgCam
About this show:
On the monthly #Mirrorless episode of the Photofocus podcast Scott and Marco will discuss the news from the mirrorless camera world related to innovations, trends, gear and accessories. And they will introduce mirrorless camera manufacturers by interviewing the respective managers of those manufacturers. And they invite pro photographers who make their living working with mirrorless cameras to share some tips and tricks on their workflow.
Scott, since the market appears to be waiting for significant mirrorless announcements by Fuji (XT-2), Canon (who knows, could finally get serious), Olympus (EM-2), and Panasonic (GH5), I would be reluctant to buy a new mirrorless till some of these are revealed.
I have split my mirrorless cameras between Olympus (EM5II mostly using the 9-18, and 12-40 lenses) & Panasonic ( primarily using the new 100-400, or the 25 f1.4 in low light). This combination has worked pretty well, and if a camera breaks, or is lost or stolen, the lenses are of course interchangeable.
Scott, enjoyed the program yesterday. I switched from Canon to Fuji and one thing I knew I was leaving behind was Canon CPS. I’m not a pro so I accepted the risk. Fortunately , I have not has the opportunity to check Fuji’s repair service but I now have concerns. As for a new mirroless system I think you choices are limited, or non existent, if a CPS level of service is required. So Fuji didn’t cut it, Nikon is not a player and I would not be surprised if they were not around in 5 or 10 years. Their… Read more »
Scott, do I sense some mild form of gear acquisition syndrome? Just kidding. I totally understand your frustration. Not being able to shoot for such a long time and the abysmal service must have been most annoying. Happened to me once on Galapagos when my Canon DSLR quit on me and I had to rely on a point and shoot for all photos. Big bummer. Anyways, I have used three mirrorless systems so far. Olympus Micro43, Fuji X and Sonys Full frame. Currently I am using Fuji X (X-T1 and X100T only). I would give Sony a spin since money… Read more »
GAS? Me? :) Actually I wish the Fuji would have worked out. I loved the system. I have tried the Sony cameras. Their lens selection is too limited for me, their interface – menu system, etc., is in my opinion the worst on the market, and the company has always been hard (for me personally) to deal with. While I understand that there are many Sony fans, I will not be among them. I have been shooting birds primarily lately and that means the Canon 1DX MK II – while I can indeed shoot birds with mirrorless systems, and have… Read more »
I have come here via a link from DP Review as I understand you are looking for feedback regarding Fuji’s level of service and repair times. This is my recent experience of Fuji UK. On Sunday 20th March I went to the Photo Show in Birmingham (UK) and my X-T1 began behaving erratically so I handed it at the Service Check booth Fuji had there. When I picked it up about 2 hours later there was a note with it to the effect that it needed to be returned to Fuji’s Service Dept. I rang the service department on the… Read more »
With regard to Fuji service I can only add to Mr Bourne’s pain in that the service I received from Fuji UK was first class, I contacted them with a problem on my XT-1 they sent a postage paid box for me to return the camera and I then had it returned to me repaired by the end of the next working week.
Well done Fuji UK, happy customer here ?
I guess the message here is that I should move to England. :)
I recently saw this interesting video on a similar poor support experience with Sony. -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apCc5JD4PYs I’m really hoping that these newer players to the professional market step up their support model. I mostly had good experience with Nikon when I was NPS member out of Ontario, Canada and they had my bodies for repair. Same quick and good communication experience as what Scott talked about in this cast. But when my 3rd full frame Nikon body failed (D700, D3s and D610 all had different issues) and I had spent almost $1700 in repairs over 5yrs, I got frustrated and… Read more »
I have a technique for the focus peaking issue discussed where I try to mimic the “hunting” of the contrast detect focusing. The problem is that the peaking is a bit too liberal when high lighting in focus areas. What I do is to note when the detail I want in focus just starts to pop up. At this point it will not be totally in focus yet, but I continue to move the focus ring just until the high light just goes out. At that point it is not totally in focus either, but on the opposite side of… Read more »
Scott & Marco – I enjoyed your podcast! I like the ukulele jingle! Like Scott, I enjoy the design of the Fuji X100 series cameras and use one for a pocket-able backup camera. However, I’m struggling with their reliability and would like Fuji to do better. When I owned the first X100, it suddenly quit working and needed repair. When the X100S debuted, I upgraded. However, my copy has failed three times out of warranty, and ownership is getting embarrassing when I pull it out in front of a group of people and then have a confused face while I… Read more »