Musing July 2014
Lessons from the Fuji X Pro 1
I got more feedback from my last Musing about trying the Fuji X Pro 1 than almost any other I have written. Reactions ranged from “Welcome to the 21st Century” to “You’re making me cry”. Neither viewpoint reflects what I was trying to say. I am not leaving film for digital. As I was writing the April Musing, thousands of dollars of 8×10 and special order 5×12 film were showing up on my doorstep. We just finished hanging the new show for this year in my gallery and there are 70 new images. The majority of these images were shot on film. There are, however, a few prints where the original capture was made with my Fuji X Pro 1 and then the files made into a digital negative to make platinum prints. It is simply a new tool in my camera bag.
Since my last Musing I have shot over 10,000 images with my 2 Fuji X Pro 1’s. In some cases I shot film as well. In other situations the only option was to work with the digital camera. During the Photographer’s Retreat I shot both film and digital; on a short trip to Kyoto I shot only digital; in North Dakota (where I have shot hundreds of sheets of film in the past) I worked only with the digital and during my month in Orkney I shot both digital and film.
So what have I learned so far from working with this new tool?
The Pro’s:
1.The digital outfit is light, making it easy to carry. The entire kit weighs less than ten pounds. (This is the weight of 5 – 8×10 film holders.) My small camera bag has two bodies, and 4 lenses and, if I remember, a couple of extra batteries.
2. I find myself more willing to experiment with the digital camera because of the instant feedback, knowing I am not wasting money or time processing film and because the small size of the camera allows me to put it places I can’t put a view camera.
3. The Fuji lenses are incredibly sharp.
4. I love the live view screen. It is 2 by 3 inches, about half the size of a 4×5 ground glass. Being left-eyed dominate, this allows me to use both eyes for composition.
5. I love the auto focus feature. Fuji makes shifting the focus point very easy. When looking on the rear screen I can place the focus exactly where I want it to be.
6. I love the auto bracketing feature. In tough lighting situations it is very nice to be able to have three separate exposures and later be able to choose which will work best. And there is also the possibility of using HDR merge, the Zone System for digital photographers.
7. What is not to love about 600 RAW images on one card?
8. The RAW files are large enough for me to make digital 5×7 and 6×9 negatives for platinum prints.
9. The Zoom lens. I haven’t had a zoom lens in 30 years and the Fuji 55 to 200 is an amazingly sharp lens. It works best on a tripod but it is great to be able to find the vantage point I want and then use the lens to get the image the proper size.
The Cons:
1. I miss the movements of my view camera when I am using the Fuji on a tripod. Every time I use it on a tripod I want a little front rise or back tilt or one of the other movements that have been so natural to me for 30 years.
2. Dirty sensors. One major disadvantage of the Fuji mirror-less system is this: every time I change the lens the sensor is exposed to the elements. I have read all the “how to change the lens” articles, but when I am working in a hurry I change the lenses like I used to with my Leica’s. With the Leica there is a shutter between the opening and the film, but with the Fuji, take the lens off and there is the sensor. (This became apparent when I was working at the bottom of a dry Erie Canal lock in January. It was 6 degrees with a slight wind. I was 30 feet below water level, wanted to change lenses and snow was swirling around. That night I learned how to clean a sensor.)
3. When I use the 14mm wide-angle lens at f22, every piece of dust on the front element or on the UV filter shows up as a blob or circle that has to be cleaned up in Lightroom. On an 8×10 view camera even a wide-angle lens has a focal length of 120 mm. Rarely does anything on the front element show up on the film. But 14mm is so close to the sensor at f22 shows everything. So I have to learn how to work at f16 or even f11.
4. There is not a good soft focus lens for the Fuji. I have both the Holga and Diana lenses and both require an adapter to fit the camera. That makes them excessively long and very slow. I have to push the ISO way up to use them on a mono pod.
5. It is too easy for me to work too quickly with the Fuji. Even on a tripod the ease of working with it makes it hard for me to slow down and really concentrate on what I am looking at. A view camera requires me to slow down. In fact, I first started using a view camera to force myself to slow down.
6. I have to have more than one battery with me at all times. It is hard to remember to bring an extra battery or to put them on the chargers at night. It is just a matter of learning a new system.
7. No mirror-less digital camera is going to give me a file as large as what I get from a scanned 8×10 negative. At the moment I do not foresee being able to make large platinum prints from a digital file.
8. Dust on the sensor. It is a huge problem for me so worth mentioning twice.
9. No movements. For me, worth mentioning a second time.
In summary, I still prefer working with a view camera. There is nothing like completing a day’s work and having 25 or 30 8×10 negatives ready to download. I actually enjoy processing film in the darkroom. It allows me hours alone, time to think and contemplate life and photography. In addition, for me there is nothing like turning on the light and seeing a beautiful 8×10 negative in the fixer that begs to be printed or looking at an 8×10 negative on the light table and knowing exactly how to print it. On the other hand I have to admit how nice it is to let a card download into Lightroom while I head out to dinner. Like the convenience of a gas fireplace, I can later sit at my computer and edit the files, not worrying about making chemistry, keeping it at temperature or being interrupted for one reason or another.
The 5×7 kit I used to travel with required about 50 to 70 pounds of equipment. The camera was relatively light weight but lenses, film holders, changing tent, light meter, loop, filters, cable releases, and everything else weighed in at nearly 40 pounds before putting it into some sort of travel case. To travel with a 5×7 kit has become an issue of compromise just to meet the weight requirement for airline travel. Paying for a second bag or shipping film and equipment to the location ahead of time has become both expensive and a headache. If I want to take the 5×12 or 8×10 forget it. It costs me several hundred dollars to ship the 8×10 kit and tripod to a workshop location.
For the time being, weighing time, money and image size, the bottom line is this: If I drive to a location I will take the view cameras and film. If I have to fly, then the digital kit is probably the only equipment going along. I will just have to be happy with smaller prints after I fly to some new location.
I have some great images from North Dakota and Kyoto that I can’t wait to make platinum prints from. As for Orkney, I have begun processing the film and editing the digital files. I am sure there are some winners in both the digital files and on the 5×7 film.
I hope you all have a great summer!
All the best,
Tillman