Frozen

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DSCF4089FUJIFILM X-Pro1 (14mm, f/9, 1/450 sec, ISO200)

What a day! After the darkest winter since more than 100 years we finally saw the sun again.

It’s the 2nd of March and winter is still very present in Austria but today there was a first sign of spring. A week ago I shot the Pelicans in snow. Our backyard is still covered with snow so we went to the Neusiedlersee Nationalpark. A beautiful place. The light, the sun, the fresh air. It is a great place in summer and autumn but it is magical in late winter / early spring. Just before nature bursts into life. Just like today.

DSCF4088FUJIFILM X-Pro1 (14mm, f/9, 1/750 sec, ISO200)
 DSCF4090FUJIFILM X-Pro1 (14mm, f/9, 1/160 sec, ISO200)

I shot with my new Fuji XF 14mm lens. The second day. The day before I shot it in a museum and inside St. Stephens Cathedral. But now I used it in bright light for the first time. No need to shoot wide open – there was plenty of light. But here is the problem: Normally I use the OVF on my X-Pro 1 but I can’t use it with the 14mm because the lens plus sun shade obscured a substantial part of the viewfinder. I changed to the EVF but the image was hard to see because of the sun. I needed to shade the viewfinder with my left hand while shooting.

Beside that I have no complaints. The lens is fantastic. Very little distortion for such a short focal length. Bright, very good colors and contrast. AF is fast though not as fast as on the 18mm but a lot faster than on the 35mm. Manual focus works very well and on such a lens AF is not really necessary in good light. I already had my doubts if I really needed the X-Pro 1.

I really love my X100 but now with the 14mm the Pro gives me something I can’t get with my X100. It is just more versatile and I think that the Fuji X cameras combined with the fast primes are a real substitute for a full frame DSLR if you want to travel light. The fast and sharp 35mm gives you perfect portraits with beautifully blurred backgrounds and the 14mm gives you great wide views with almost no distortion. The Fuji X are not the fastest cameras around and they might not appeal to everybody but they can give you results no other mirror less system can give you today. And that is what really matters.

DSCF4086FUJIFILM X-Pro1 (14mm, f/8, 1/640 sec, ISO200)
 DSCF4115FUJIFILM X-Pro1 (14mm, f/10, 1/420 sec, ISO200)