Fujifilm X-Pro 2: She’s got it where it counts, kid

Charlene gear, journal 68 Comments

It was exquisite. I spent a whole day in late October last year, doing nothing but hitting “refresh” on DHL’s tracking site, willing the courier to make it to my door in under 12 parsecs. So lifting the pre-production model of the new X-Pro 2 out of its packing was a hotly anticipated moment. Picking up the X-Pro 2 for the first time felt like returning to some kind of photographic home. I got its predecessor – the X-Pro 1 – in 2012. It was my first X-series camera, and with the old XF 35mm f1.4, the only thing I had to make photos with for 2 years. It had been a while since I’ve held an X-Pro body. The first time this one sank into my palm, I had that feeling. The one …

Just because…

Charlene journal 4 Comments

…I can. The number of gear-related hits I’m getting are a little bit alarming. If you’re new to this site, you should probably know that I don’t write about gear much, and when I do, it’s inevitably use-based. I use good gear and there are plenty of others who can tell you, more lyrically than I, about why and how its technology amazing. With good tech as a base, I prize my gear for how well it enables me to do the kind of work I like to do, and to explore the work I’d never otherwise be doing. I’m happy to tell you about what gear I use, but for everyone who’s been kind enough to drop me an email to ask me about gear advice, I really can’t tell …

The New Fujifilm X-T10 Promotional Movie and Sample Photos

Charlene gear 23 Comments

Made in Australia, finished in Singapore, published in Copenhagen. This was an international effort. If you’ve been keeping up with the rumblings about this camera, wait no more! Read all about it: Official press release | My Professionals Review on The X-T10’s product page Check the X-Photographer promo movie out right here. It stars yours truly, armed with octopus hair, big grin and of course, the all new Fujifilm X-T10. Still Photographs: Charlene Winfred (yes, me!) Original Soundtrack: Rasmus Kjærbo | raskjaerbo.com Audio Capture and Engineering: Flemming Bo Jensen | flemmingbojensen.com Directed & Edited: Charlene Winfred (directing and editing myself was not weird. At all.) Filmed by: Flemming Bo Jensen & Charlene Winfred Filmed with: X-T1 and XF 18-135mm F3.5-5.6 (with the XF 35mm F1.4 used for the product segments) This is the first …

A Fujifilm Video Rig

Charlene gear 8 Comments

I have a new setup for shooting video. Several months ago, I filmed the XF 16-55 F2.8 promo video with a borrowed XT-1 and 23mm lens, a stabilizer cobbled together from Flemming’s Gorillapod and 3 kilos of lead sinkers, and no lighting of any kind. It looked like this: It’s a big departure from the picture at the top of the post. More on the whole experience here. Fast forward 4 months and I’m properly equipped with a quality, lightweight video rig, courtesy my sponsors (yep, I’m officially sponsored!). The line up: Fujifilm X-T1 Fujinon XF18-135mm F3.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR lens (fabulous stabilization!) Fujifilm MIC-ST1 microphone (not pictured) Cineroid L10C-VC Swedish Chameleon SC4:Small Shoulder Support) With much gratitude to my sponsors: Fujifilm Nordic for the XT-1 camera body, 18-135mm lens and MIC-ST1 microphone Goecker Denmark for the Cineroid …

The making of the Fujinon XF 16-55 video: A $4.20 product shoot with the X-T1

Charlene gear 3 Comments

One of the pleasures of shooting the Fujinon XF 16-55 video, was figuring out how to showcase the product on its own. I mentioned in the X-T1 filming review, that I’d wanted to transpose a car commercial style onto the product showcase itself, so this was what I worked on. These are the original clips used in the movie, slightly sped up: What did I use to these film product clips of the XF 16-55mm? A few very simple, and cheap things: 1 x A2-sized black sheet for a surface & backdrop (SGD $1.40) 1 x stack of books as a camera stand (SGD $0 if you happen to visit the library regularly) to create my “set” in my old bedroom in Singapore:   For the all important lighting to sweep the lens with: 1 x cheap torchlight (SGD $2.00), …

Shooting the XF16-55mm F2.8 promo movie: the Fuji X-T1 (with pre-release Ver 3 firmware) filming experience

Charlene gear 21 Comments

Have you watched the new Fujinon XF 16-55mm f2.8 promotional movie? No? What are you waiting for? I love the delicious hedonism of car commercials, slivers of light slipping over sinuous metal curves, evoking speed, performance, beauty, divine luxury. I’ve always wondered what it’d be like to shoot a car commercial for a company like BMW, or Subaru. When Flemming and I pitched the Fuji XF16-55 project to Fujifilm Japan, which included a video component, I had only one thing on my mind: A car is a shiny metal object with curves. A lens is a shiny metal object with curves. The X-T1’s version 3 firmware included manual video control. Give its to us, the preciousssssssssss! At the start of December, Fujifilm Japan sent a big box to my Mum’s place in …