#23mmf2

Into the Light, with Fuji X100F !

Aren´t we photographers all seekers? Always searching for the best. Always experimenting, trying, testing. Best images, best light, best gear, best software, best deal, best whatever? Last week´s favorite turning into this week´s dog? To those of youse been following me, relying on me to stay true: I´m sorry, ashes on my head, I lost it. Really. I´m leavin´ my trail & gettin´ outta my comfort zone. Hey, I kid you not: just recently I was singin´ praise for just doing ACROS JPEG´s & an easy workflow. Now I´m sold on doing RAW´s in Capture One! Interested why? Please read on!

Into the light, found by Fuji X100F´s 23 mm, processed in Capture One "with Style" ;-) !

At least some consolation: I´m still a black & white guy! Color´s just not my thing, Never been. I always look for the light. And shadows. And contrast - color´s just in the way. Found out that´s why I never liked developing RAW´s in Lightroom & Co. Hated seeing my black & white´s appear as color thumbnails (And no, I´m not into cosmetics ;-) kinda disrupts my workflow...

Together but still alone, captured by Fuji X100F, 23 mm, developed in Capture One B&W style

That all changed when a window popped up on my Capture One workspace the other day, advertising "Styles" ("Jeezus, Spam", I thought. OK, just get rid of it ...). But C1´s promise kinda intrigued me & I clicked the "Learn more" button! First thing I "learned" was that this was gonna cost me like 80 Dollars. What? 80 bucks? Whoa daddy, a kinda steep price for a bit of learning!

500 shades of grey, seen with Fuji X100F, 23 mm, developed with BW-15 (grey) style in C1

But luckily they got a freebie samples download with one "BW-15 (grain)" style, which I activated in my Capture One´s import menu (together with auto adjust). This automatically imports RAW´s into C1, does some basic dynamic range optimization, applies this BW-15 (grain) style and spits out be-ooti-ful black & white thumbnails in C1´s browser plane

Stairway alley, Fuji X100F, 23 mm and Capture One with BW-15 (grey) style

The real surprise comes when you open ´em and just tweak exposure, contrast, brightness and levels a bit: Into the Light is all I can say. And the gradation & grain´s close enough to by beloved ACROS, it´s got MOJO, man! See below image of my lovely wife during a recent trip to Sicily:

Italian fashion shoot with Fuji X100F, developed in Capture One BW-15 (grey) style

I hope y´all enjoy these images & experiment for y´self, it´s easy. And fast. No Lightroom where you can go have lunch while its processing. So, if you got any questions or suggestions, like or not like the images, or wanna share your stories, please leave me a note in the comments below or on my contact page! Thanks for stopping by & wish a great weekend!

Hendrik

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First Walk with Fuji 23 mm f2 - Mother of Lenses !

Finally Fuji did it & finally it´s here: The "mother of all lenses". The 23 mm f2 WR. How long have we been waiting for Fuji to give us a compact standard wide-angle for their interchangeable lens cameras, just like on the legendary X100 series ? Was it worth the wait ? Please read on !

Walking with the 23 mm f2 WR on my Fuji X-Pro2

Now I can ´fess up: Never really liked that 35 mm focal length (50 mm FF equiv.) - always either not long enough or too short, jack of all trades but master of none ... I loved the 23 mm (35 mm FF equiv.) on my X100T but could never get to terms with the 23 mm f1.4 on my X-Pro. Too heavy. Too big. Too obvious (and covering half of my OVF - hey, an elephant could hide behind it and you´d be in for a nasty surprize when you reviewed your image ;-)

Then when Fuji announced it was gonna give us a compact WR f2 - I ordered it right off the bat and settled in for the long wait. Now it´s here & I´m in heaven - This lens beats everything. Period. Image quality´s already stunning at f2 & gets even better on stopping down. And it don't get in your way, compact enough so youse can always take a camera just with one lens along with you. Always, anytime. No more excuses, no sir !

Late Afternoon Fence, 23 mm f2 WR on Fuji X-Pro2

Operation´s perfect, aperture ring with just the right resistance & clear clicks (although I must say there is a slight spread between samples - the first one I tried was a tick too tight). The focus ring is wide enough to justify using it now & then, in case you ever get tired of the lightning fast, spot-on autofocus ... Oh yeah, I gotta say: This one focusses real fast, like faster than all the other Fuji lenses I´ve known ! I prefer the Wide/Tracking focus mode: Don´t worry, be happy ! And the vented lens hood of the 35 mm f2 also fits, yay !

Dark Facades, captured by 23 mm f2 WR on Fuji X-Pro2

Last but not least: Field of view´s just perfect for reportage, street photography, storytelling, landscapes, environmental portraiture - just about everything, except the kitchen sink (and even that one will look good ;-) ! Yup, the images taken with this lens have a special quality for me - I discovered it´s got a slightly larger field of view (around 2° more) than what i had on the 23 mm f1.4 or the 23 mm f2 on the X100T !

So is there anything I don't like about this lens ? Normally I´m kinda critical ´bout my gear & easily find something or other to bitch about. In this case it´s a real challenge - IF I had to say something: Bokeh´s not as nice as on the 23 mm f1.4 & I sometimes miss that additional stop of light in dark corners ... but you can't have ´em all, right ?

Closed ... the deal on the new 23 mm f2 WR !

To sum it up, this IMO is THE must-have lens for every Fuji shooter - if you can only have one lens (like the "desert island lens"), this is it ! You get stellar image quality, it´s fast, silent, compact, light, water resistant & ain´t got no OVF intrusion - at a very reasonable price. OK, you need f1.4 or can't live w/o best-in-class bokeh (on a wide -angle) and don't need the WR, nor mind the size & weight ? Then go for the 23 mm f1.4, by all means - luckily Fuji gives you the choice !

Thanks for reading, hope y´all liked it. Please let me know if you got any questions or comments - you know where to find me !

Hendrik

I hope you enjoyed reading this post - If you like you can support me by sending me a small donation via PayPal.me/hendriximages ! Helps me run this site & keeps the information coming, many thanks in advance !