Eight Miles High, 56 years later...

 56 is exactly my age inverted. But there was a time, during the nineteen-sixties, that I was only a nine-year-old youngster listening to this new age of music that was so fulfilling by itself. The musical pop group The Byrds was personifying just that, the young generation liberating from the constraining age of the past. Yes, there was also that Britain group, the Beatles, but, eh! you know, we are North Americans (U.S.A. + Canada), don't you forget! And we have poets too, don't you remember Bob Dylan that has also inspire ... The Byrds!

Yes, there was a lot of Turn, Turn, Turn that our generations have taken over the years and the decades and our basic naive simplicity of thinking have vanished under all these many material preoccupations that doesn't mean anything today in that ambitious empty world of no future. And yes, there is always a time to heal. The spirit of these sixties has been succeeded by the hard rock of the seventies and thereafter the punk and the new wave ones of the eighties so, the voyage can go over and over again with different people who all want themselves not only to heal but also to repent from their lost dreams.

Eight miles high *** yes, in spirit surely but with a body still in the ground level of a difficult life of love searching.

*** Eight Miles High, The Byrds (1966)

© Photo Daniel M: Fujifilm X-S10 / XC50-230mm OIS II

YEL-LO

 Yellow  is the official color of the sun, at least when we were children and want to draw one (sun). It is also the color of many types of flowers. In fact, it is a very dynamic color, mostly positive in many different human cultures. True that it has another significance by inducing danger warnings of all sorts, a kind of "beware" visual frequency. Today other fellow colors have become "beware" sign like the “fluo” ones, lime-green, orange, or red for more extreme contexts. Yellow won't suit to everybody taste especially for those who have a more "gothic" point of view. 

In photography, yellow is a basic primary color in the subtractive color synthesis alongside with the cyan (sky blue) and magenta (red purple) and are represent by the CMY or CMYK (K for the black in the printing processing) logos. Combined with each other, they reproduce all the color variations we can observe in nature around us.

Yellow is symbolizing many different aspects of our everyday life but there is not a lot of people that will wear on a regular base, maybe because of its flashy apparency. Often use more as an accent color than a complete one, your eyes will be easily attracted by its presence even the more subtle one. In black and white photography, yellow will be represented by an almost white renderer and will create strong contrasts with other cold colors like the green for example. Finally, we can also take note about the multiple yellow tints that are part of your surroundings.

Yellow, a yelling color, may be for some but for others, a "bright" one!

© Photos Daniel M: Fujifilm X-S10 / XC50-230mm OIS II; Fujifilm X-T20 / XF18-55mm OIS; X-S10 / XC50-230mm OIS II

Green-On-Top

 If there is one color that personifies a state of mind, it is the green. Green signifies the nature growing, life, appeasement. It is the color of hope, and it is a very rich color in all its different tonal interpretations. Green has even become a renown political color symbolizing the pro-ecologic movement. Sure, there has been others green symbolisms like for some revolution factions in the past. Green has been also the infantry garment color although since the Vietnam war, that tendency has been replacement with camouflage patterns.

For many people, green is a favorite among the other colors. Green clothing may be unnoticeable or very flashy proving that green never said its last word in the matter. Each spring we assist at an explosion of green and the optimism replace the last depressive impressions of a never-ending winter.

For sure, green is a very pleasant color!

© Photo Daniel M: Fujifilm X-S10 / XC50-230mm OIS II

Affordable long range creativity with the Fujinon XC50-230mm F4.5-6.7 OIS II zoom lens.

 The Fujinon X-Mount lens line-up is renowned for its construction and optical qualities and has been a precious asset into the success of the Fujifilm APS-C ILC (Interchangeable Lens Camera) system. Some of those optics are almost legends of their own and have already a lasting durability over years of intense use. Alongside their XF optics which represent their finest lenses, Fujifilm have developed a less expensive XC series affordable (at a comparable half selling price) that retains most of the optical quality level in a lighter construction (mainly polymer material) and less functionalities (such as a dedicated aperture ring, or a focus or stabilization switches).

The Fujinon XC50-230mm F4.5-5.6 OIS II is the second version of the same zoom lens that has been developed as a companion optic of the XC16-50mm OIS standard (kit) zoom lens. Since that introduction, the XC50-200mm OIS II has been reviewed many times and have gotten an interesting, good feedback from these tests. The long-range affordable zoom lens is not a big and heavy optic, thanks for very modest maximum aperture of F 4.5-6.7 and its obvious construction mainly in polymer (including its lens mount). The physical barrel extension when you are selecting its longest focal length is, I must admit, impressive (It almost double its physical length). Accessory filter diameter is limited to 58mm, a very reasonable and less expensive size to cope with.

Two large control ring for setting the focal length and the manual focus are available on the Fujinon XC50-230mm OIS II. The rest of the zoom lens is exempt of other switch or button and give to it a distinctive spartan look. A usual for this kind of telephoto optic, a big lens hood is thankfully furnished by Fujifilm. Close focusing is limited by a minimum distance of 1.1m (43 inches) which is manageable for subjects like flowers or animal close ups. At 230mm, we will obtain a magnification of more than 6,5 times compare to the normal view of a 35mm prime lens.

The Fujinon XC50-230mm OIS II is often compare with the venerable Fujinon XF55-200mm F3.5-4.8 R LM OIS which use to be the companion optic of the other venerable Fujinon XF18-55mm F2.8-4 R LM OIS standard zoom kit lens. The XF55-200mm OIS is noticeably a bigger lens, much metal construction with extra control ring for the aperture, an OIS switch and a larger maximum aperture that gives you more than one stop of light gain. For the newest and lighter Fuji-X mount camera models, it is an heavier optic to handle and bring with you (and heavier also on your gear budget!). As far I am concerned, I have found the optical rendition of the two zoom lenses (XC50-230mm OIS II vs XF55-200 R LM OIS) very similar. The absence of the aperture ring on the XC50-230mm OIS II shouldn't bother you since if you are using it in conjunction of the Fujifilm X-S10 model for example ***. In the field, none of these two zoom lens models are offering the Weather Resistant (WR) certification from Fujifilm although, with a minimum attention, you can safely use them outside in most circumstances.

The autofocus is working with efficiency but can be slower in dim light context or with less constrasted subject. Action photograph should be performed with bright light although you can pre-focus manually the zoom lens in some specific situations as we use to do during the manual focus only analog-film era. Even in regard of its modest maximum aperture (F4.5-6.7), you can expect shallow deep of field from the Fujinon XC50-230mm OIS II and be able to isolate your main subject, especially in shorter distances.

Optical performances from the Fujinon XC50-230mm OIS II are on the same level in comparison with the other X-Mount lenses. Color, texture, and contrast are crisp and accurate, no surprise to be expected. The optical stabilization system (OIS) is a must in my view for a zoom lens of this type. Please note that the OIS can be deactivate only via the camera menu (No lens side switch to do so). 

A specific future article published in this blog will discuss about the "birder" qualities of the Fujinon XC50-230mm OIS II.

Long range telephoto zoom lens are a delight for details and for more graphical photographic projects. You can really explore, experiment and discriminate your subject with multiple variations in term of composition. They are great creative tool that help to isolate and emulate a particular interest of the image context. Sure many photographers are using them mainly in action, sport or animal photography but there is a lot more to do than that to do with the long telephoto zoom optics.

The Fujinon XC50-230mm OIS II zoom lens is not a perfect optic considering its very modest variable maximum aperture and its lighter construction compared to the Fujinon XF55-200mm OIS for example. But at half the price of the latter, it cannot be disregard as an affordable but performing optic that respond to photographers that don't want to spend too money for an experimenting long range zoom lens. Furthermore, there is no reason to leave the Fujinon XC50-230mm OIS II at home and to transform it as a good and always available travel companion.

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*** An additional grip accessory such as the Metro Case Fuji X-S10 Grip can be a good help for a better and a more secure handling of the camera/lens combination.

©Photos Daniel M: X-T20 / XF18-55mm OIS (XC50-230mm OIS II illustration); X-S10 / XC50-230mm OIS II

A, B C(amera)!

 There are the photographers that use solely one and only one camera (body) and they use it with serenity and outstanding competence like H.C.B., the late and famous Henry Cartier-Bresson. There are the others that have on hand multiple camera bodies that correspond as many different visual approaches of their subjects, like all those famous "Vietnam war" photographers. At the end, no specific rule will dictate to the potential photographers of this world how much photo gear they need to better master their art.

There can be many reasons to have more than one camera at our disposal. To have a back-up camera body, to have an instant availability for different focal length lenses, to be able to switch rapidly from different image formats or rendering (especially with analog cameras), etc. So, no justification is needed in that sense.

Which "B" camera to choose, that is the question (assuming that, for the "A" one, you have already selected)? Some will prefer to use camera models with the same interface, the same configuration profile, the same accessories. Others will be looking to expand the versatile of their photo equipment with different camera models that will be adaptable to specific photo projects or subjects. Again, there is no golden rule for choosing a "B" camera model.

We are all different sorts of photo travelers, but our individual various destinations can differ a lot. Travelers over the world, travelers over our countryside, our city, our neighborhood, our house and so on. Most photographers now like to carry less photo equipment which is almost a general universal trend observed since the last few decades. Big camera gadget bags have gradually almost disappeared of the photographic scenery except, may be, during the sport events or for photojournalists that are looking for credibility... There is also the lens evolution that the amount needed have been reduced over the years by the development of more flexible and good quality zoom optics. Today having more than two or three lenses alongside of one or two camera bodies is rare if not more exotic than useful.

From my modest experience none of my two camera models can be specifically called an "A" camera (priority) from the "B" one (back up) since they are different in their handling, interface, and configuration. I select each of them depending on the subject or the context I anticipate photographing. More precisely, my "action" camera model (Fujifilm X-S10) * is most of the time associated with a long telephoto zoom lens (Fujinon XC50-230mm OIS II) and the "contextual" camera (Fujifilm X-T20) may be combined with a standard zoom optic (Fujinon XF18-55mm OIS) or a "normal" prime lens (XC35mm F2). This can change over time since we are always looking for different visual experiences.

Do we need to have all this photo gear? Certainly not but why restrained our pleasure to try and experiment something else? Because each specific photographic tool can generate an original visual experience and, so, watch out, wallet and photo bag!
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* As it is in May 2022.