Well, that's what the pack reminded me of when I saw it on the Olympus shelves - the Micro 4/3 specialists have decided to make an especial offer for people buying their OM-D E-M10 MkII cameras - three matched lenses in one box. This is both wonderful and dangerous...
He's just playing - and he admits doing it deliberately - and I think he has a very healthy attitude to it all. Indeed I was trying to come up with some way that I could work " playtographer " into the title but it seemed a little awkward. Just take our word for it that Steve Parrish has a good time doing what he does. However, he does have some interesting thoughts...
The delight I took in the first part of the day with the prime lens - the Laowa 9mm f:2.8 - was matched in the latter half of the morning when I switched to the Fujinon XF 10-24mm F4 R OIS lens. The turnover point was when the container ship slid by and I wanted to get a closer shot. Admittedly, close with 24mm on APS-C is a relative term. The colour through the blue glass needed Lightroom correction, but this was a one-click affair. With the lens changed over, I had more freedom to pick and choose framing inside. There was still a need for leveling, but not with some exhibits...
Yesterday's column introduced a lens for the Fujifilm X mount that was positively tiny. Today brings one that is positively not. They illustrate two different mindsets when it comes to wide-angle photography - you must see with which you find yourself in agreement. The Fujinon XF 10-24mmF4 R OIS lens has been the widest of their offerings for some time, but is going to joined by an even wider 8-16mm lens shortly. It'll be an f;2.8 job and you can expect it to be physically bigger and heavier than this one - but we'll be playing with this one for the time being. The packaging is straightforward Fujifilm - internal egg carton and separate lens and lens hood. The build quality is exactly like every other Fujifilm XF lens and the design style is identical to their other zooms. The lens features standard auto and manual aperture control and an optical image stabiliser system. This is somewhat of a surprise in a lens of such short focal length, but no-one who uses it will be disappointed with the steadiness. Thankfully, the lens does...
Have you got a Nikkor zoom lens on your DSLR? Have you got an SB700 or SB910 flash unit? Are they something that you take for granted? You shoulda been here at the start...
Good thing the Wordpress dashboard gives me enough space to list out the entire Fujifilm lens designation. A couple of centimetres more and it would be off the end of your computer and dangling over the desk. If you were reading this on the train using your mobile phone you'd be poking the passenger next to you...
The design bureau of any major camera maker must be a fascinating place to work. I'll bet they have interesting times...
People who read this column regularly are getting pretty used to the flights of fancy that sometimes occur. And they are more critical than you might think. So I don't think I will have any luck telling them that the lens in the heading image is the Paul Hamlyn part-work Built-Your-Own-Lens in 204 parts and that we have been faithfully buying the magazines every week for over a year now...
Or should that be gilding the Quaking Aspen? It was just one of the thoughts that came to mind when unpacking this wide-angle zoom lens from Tamron - the 10-24mm f:3.5-4.5 Di II VC HLD. It was occasioned by discovering the switch for the vibration control mechanism next door to the AF/MF switch. I must say I was surprised by it as this sort of focal length range seems a little short to benefit from an anti-shake mechanism. I daresay the Tamron people will insist I am wrong, and I'll bet the lens produces some very nice results hand-held in dim interiors when you examine the results under 100% magnification...
When you are three weeks old? When you are 65 years old? Or when you take the kit lens off your DSLR and put on the one you have bought especially for your next photoshoot? Well, all three occasions, actually. The first one is when the world swims into focus, the second is when it swims out again, and the third is when you actually get down to business with your photography. Don't misunderstand what I am saying - the kit lens that was on the camera when you bought it was not a mistake. Indeed, if you are just now looking at it after 5 years of fabulous images and wondering whether you should replace it because someone at the camera club bragged about their new $ 4000 acquisition...