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I’ve picked up a few new lenses this year, and it seems like I now have an endless choice of focal lengths, looks, and types of lenses to choose from. For the first time, I think I might have a lens for just about everything—well, except for zoom lenses. I just can’t stand them and can’t see buying any more than what I already have.
I know that sounds crazy and that I’m spending all this money, but most of these lenses I’m buying are under 200 bucks.
This one particular lens I just started using is the Kamlan 50mm f1.1. It was only 150 dollars new, and it’s been so much fun. Images are just beautiful. It reminds me a lot of some of my older retro lenses with its low element count and manual focus. The lens is also a bit schizophrenic in its characteristics, so be sure to check out my full review of the Kamlan 50mm f/1.1. There are several samples and useful information available if you’re willing to challenge yourself with this task.
Today, I casually walked down to the park with my daughter and brought this lens with the Fujifilm X-T2. I’ve yet to use the Kamlan 50mm on my X-T2, and I wanted to see if I could configure the focus settings in the EVF to make it any easier – and it was, slightly, but mostly because of the vertical grip.
The sun was setting, and the light was low on the horizon, so I had some nice shadows to work with. Because my exposure was bouncing around with this dramatic lighting, I decided it was best to shoot raw. – Sometimes, I like to shoot JPG to challenge myself by committing to a certain look.
Trying to manually focus on a super fast lens and nail-perfect exposure is just too much for my brain to process, especially since I also have to look after the safety of a 2-year-old. The last time I took her to the park, she stepped in dog poop and got it everywhere. Or maybe it was human poop. You just never know in Los Angeles.
One thing that kind of sucks about a lot of manual lenses is they have no CPU contacts, so you don’t have any of your EXIF info. So, unfortunately, I won’t be able to post what shot was done at what aperture, but I wasn’t shooting too much at f1.1 today, a lot of these shots were around f1.4 or f2, and up to f5.6 when there was a lot of movement.
At one point, while I was adjusting some settings on my camera, I noticed Kalina had stopped and started dancing and singing to one of her little songs, which created a cute moment. She can hardly talk still,l but she knows her little songs.
To process these shots, I use Fujifilm’s own Classic Chrome from Lightroom’s profiles.
The more I use Classic Chrome, the more I love it. Fujifilm, with its film simulators, is making it hard for me to pick up any other cameras. I even built my own simulated version of Classic Chrome for my Sony full-frame camera, but it’s still not the same.
I know Fujifilm doesn’t want to get into the full-frame market because it’s a bit crowded, but I know myself, and probably a million other photographers would switch over from Sony in a second. If you think about it, Sony is the only one that makes a successful mirrorless full-frame camera. There is room for competition, and Fujifilm is in a prime place to steal some of Sony’s thunder. For example, if it wasn’t for the Sony A6000 camera, Fujifilm would be completely owning the mirrorless APS-C market. Look at how much better the X-T2 is compared to any other mirrorless APS-C camera. The problem they might have now is that the Sony A7R III is finally good.
I get the Fujifilm GFX, which is cool, but it’s just too big, too expensive, and too ugly. But man . . . do I want one. 🙂
So, Fujifilm, please make a full-frame camera with an X-Trans sensor!
