In our previous article, based on the statistics made by thephoblographer, we reported how most of this years’s award winners used Fujifilm and Nikon cameras. ThePhoBlographer writes:
The big winners are Fujifilm and Nikon in terms of camera manufacturers.
I was thrilled about it, and reported about it here. And I trusted the great guys over at thephoblographer, who keep delivering great content for the photography community. Honestly I didn’t check it by myself, as today its my birthday, and I have a day planed with my wife at home, cooking and (a bit) drinking ;).
But it turns out, as our fellow FR-readers noticed, the real statistics are a bit different than the one shared at the thephoblographer.
Fujifilm and Nikon are still strongly represented.
In fact, the most prestigious award for the best “General News” image was taken by Yasuyoshi Chiba with his Fujifilm X-H1.
But the most used camera brand overall, was still a Canon.
And yet, year after year, Fujifilm saw a constant rise in terms of awards at the World Press Photo contest. DSLR a constant decline. And yes, it really looks like APS-C is more than enough to take an image worth one of the most prestigious awards on the world.
Maybe, one day, even some popular vlogger like Mr. Jared will be able to take some decent shots with APS-C cameras ;).
Now the ranking:
Camera by brand:
Canon 31,37%
Fuji 17,65%
Nikon 15,69%
Sony 9,80%
DJI 3,92%
Leica 1,96%
Unknown 19,61%
Camera by sensors:
FullFrame 58,82%
APS-C 15,69%
Medium Format 1,96%
Unknown 23,53%
Camera by type:
SLR 43,14%
Mirrorless 33,33%
Drone 3,92%
Unknown 19,61%
Last year Fuji was 10.5%, now is 17.6%, mirrorless was 13% and now is 33%…
This year Fujifilm won the top award. But also in the past years, Fujifilm was well represented. Look at the awards won in the past few years:
I read somewhere, that about 4 billion people are forced to stay at home now to slow down and hopefully stop the spread of the COVID-19 Coronavirus.
In my country, the stunning Dolomites in Italy, we are locked in since over 1 month now. Of course I strictly follow the rules and never leave my apartment, except to buy food 1 or 2 times a week, and to quickly bring out my old dog in the fields just under my home.
Teaching Online
I continue to teach. Just online! With live streaming lessons, videos I upload on youtube [does this qualify me as a vlogger now??? ;) ], material I send to students via email and more. I try to do my best.
But the more I do it, the more I miss it to enter a classroom, write on a blackboard, smell the chalk, but most importantly, interact with my students.
But hey, these days there are people, who live far bigger challenges than me. So no complaint here. Just a wish that everything goes back to normal soon.
Lockdown Photography
The first weeks all went into figuring out how to do this online teaching. Trying different platforms for online live lessons, adapt my material to make it online teaching fit, figure out how to reach the various students best (some have only a smartphone, no computer, no printer, etc), and more practical issues to sort out.
But now that I have some sort of workflow, I can start thinking at my lockdown photography.
In my small rented apartment, I am running out of subjects rather quickly.
my trusty dog is 15+ years old, and sleeps almost all day. Too little action here
my lovely wife does not want to pose for some boudoir photography (yet)… I need to convince her, but I won’t make impossible promises like “I won’t buy new gear this year, if you pose for me” :)
What I did now, is I started to take out my Fujinon XF55-200 lens, a lens I hardly use anymore since I own the Fujinon XF18-135mm (which never stops to surprise me, as you can see here).
The goal?
Get a decent shot of the little birds flying around my balcony, and the XF55-200 is the best lens in my arsenal for that. So it gets its revival now!
So far I have failed, though, not for the limits of the gear, but because of my lack of skills. But I have time to practice, improve, and I will upload an image on my instagram if I get a decent shot.
Inspiration
Another thing I like to do, is to check out all our facebook groups, and see how other fellow Fujifilm X and GFX shooters deal with these lockdown days and what they shoot.
I have picked out some images and shared them below. May them motivate you (and me) to stand up, and do the best out of this situation, also photographically speaking.
If you you think at Italy, my home, you probably think at Rome, Florence and Venice.
And in fact, probably 70% of the tourists coming to Italy, visit those three cities and leave.
But there are many more beautiful spots to visit here in Italy, and one of them is definitely my hometown, the Dolomites.
After I unveiled my location a couple of days ago here, I got a significant numbers of emails from readers, asking me information about the Dolomites. I tried to reply to everybody as good as I can.
One recurring question was: do I recommend visiting the Dolomites also to people, who are not so fit and used to mountains.
My answer is a very clear “absolutely yes!“.
There are tons of cable ways, that bring you everywhere. For example, you can reach the highest peak of the Dolomites, the Marmolada, at 3,300m (10,800 feet) without walking a single step and enjoy views like this.
And if you are more on the adventurous side, of course there are tons of tracks and hikes of all kind of difficulties.
Old or young, single of family, fit or lazy, there is a lot ot enjoy for everyone.
Needless to say, also photographically speaking you are in paradise here, as the images below show.
So, if you ever plan a trip to Italy, try to put the Dolomites on your “to do” list.
Today I decided to go through our Fujifilm X-T and GFX group and pick a couple of images that members shared of the Dolomites, in the hope this article inspires you for you next photographic journey.
Stay safe, let’s go through these challenging times together, and done that, enjoy life again as never before!
And to be clear: we apply the conversion to the f-stop, only to indicate the equivalent shallow depth of field, and not the light gathering capabilities of the lens itself, which remains the one mentioned on the lens (with the consequences we told you here).
We also find a lovely Fujinon GF 30mm f/3.5 lens, which Fujifilm says is meant for street and landscape photography, be very sharp and also focus fast.
Above you can see a size comparison provided by Fujifilm. The Fujinon GF 80mm f/1.7 is 20% smaller and will weight under 800g, as opposed to the GF110mm f/2, which weights 1010g.
The picture above also shows the GF80mm f/1.7 mounted on the Fujifilm GFX100.
Fujifilm gave us some indications on what the differences between both lenses are.
The Fujinon GF 80mm f/1.7 will have a very creamy and softer bokeh compared to the one on the Fujinon GF 110mm f/2. Different bokeh quality for different tastes.
Also, due to its more compact nature, the Fujinon GF80mm f/1.7 is good for outside and active shooting, whereas the GF110mm f/2 instead is better suited for studio.
I decided to compare the Fujinon GF80mm f/1.7 to its closes in terms of focal length, the Fujinon GF110mm f/2 and the GF63mm f/2.8.
In fact, the Fujifilm X100 lives in a world of its own… a world where specs do not really seem to mean a lot.
Just see our massive Fujifilm X100 group, which, among all our Fujifilm X/GFX groups, is the one with less gear talk of all.
This is a natural consequence of the philosophy behind this camera: keep it simple, focus on creating images.
One camera, one lens. Now go out and shoot.
And yet…
there is a rare time, when even X100 shooters focus a tiny bit more on gear. And that’s when a successor is about to come out. And that’s fully understandable.
Today, just before the X100V hits the market, we dedicated an own article to the beautiful Fujifilm X100F, an extremely successful camera that sold far more than X100/S/T.
Fujifilm built a reputation for bringing continuous improvements to its products, a process frequently referred to as ‘Kaizen’.
In 2019, however, we saw major firmware updates from almost every camera company except Fujifilm.
So now Chris and Jordan ask, “What happened to Kaizen?”
Especially now, that the Fujifilm X-Pro3 is out with many major improvements (and the same sensor/processor of X-T3), many hoped for a big firmware update that will bring the X-Pro3 goodness also to other cameras.
But Chris remembers, that delaying the firmware love for the Fujifilm X-T3 and X-T30, is also a way to protect Fujifilm X-Pro3 sales for a little bit longer.
And guys, honestly, Fujifilm is a company that at the end of the day has limited resources and has to make profits.
So I understand if they delay their firmware, and I am fine to wait a little bit longer to get my firmware love. It’s a compromise: Fuji makes more money, and I still get what I want, just a bit later.
And as a long time Fujifilm lover (and blogger), I remember this discussion popping up so many times already.
In fact, back in 2015 I wrote this article, where we discuss the future of Kaizen already, as already back then, people were worried that Fujifilm abonded their Kaizen philosophy. Of course all discussions ended, once Fujifilm released again several huge updates.
The point is, there can’t be updates all the time and non stop. Sometimes, it just takes a bit longer.
Sure, it was not a great 2019 Fujifilm Kaizen year, but I am confident that in 2020, we will be able to “download a new camera” again ;).
But at some point, it had to happen, and now I can tell you when.
The Fujifilm X100V will see the light of the day in February 2020.
Moreover, our sources tell us that the price should be around $1,500, but that’s just the current estimate. However, in terms of price, things can change from here until launch, but right now Fujifilm is gravitating towards this price tag.
As lovely as Fujifilm’s film simulations come out of the box, there is always a way, to fine tune them to taste, simply by changing some settings quickly in the camera.
For example, so did Pete:
click here – This Guy Fine Tuned his Fujifilm Film Simulation Settings Inspired by the Work of Great Film Photographers. See “Chrome Eggleston” & More
Today I would like to share the film simulation receipts of FR-reader Ritchie Roesch, which I stumbled upon in the comments to this article here.
I will share only one here on FujiRumors. For the rest, check out the links I will provide below:
NOTE: Some profiles require newer Fujifilm cameras that have the Color Chrome effect or certain film simulations not available in older cameras