How WYSIWYG is your DSLR? 5 Advantages of an EVF

As most of you know, I’m an avid mirrorless camera user. In my case, that mirrorless camera is a Fujifilm, well, actually a couple of them! I often talk to DSLR users who want to switch to a lighter, mirrorless system, but the fear that they will miss the Optical Viewfinder (OVF) of their DSLR is holding them back. I can relate to that feeling, as I had it too, when I took the plunge almost five years ago. But you want to know something? After years of shooting mirrorless, I have come to love the Electronic Viewfinder (EVF) on my Fuji’s so much that my only fear now is not having one. Luckily, this happens only rarely, like when I'm writing a magazine article or a blog post about an accessory that's only available for DSLRs.

So for all of you still on the fence about EVFs, let me tell you what you’re currently missing out on by not using one. If you’re already using an EVF, I hope you can get some tips from this article as to how to get the most out of it and I’m looking forward to reading your own tips in the comments.

1. An EVF is WYSYWIG, an OVF is WYSIWYTYG

Back in the early days of Desktop Publishing, WYSIWIG (What You See Is What You Get) was all the rage: finally, you could see your layout as it would come rolling out of your printer. An EVF is just the same: it shows you what you’re going to get. An OVF on the other hand is WYSIWYTYG: What You See Is What You Think You Get. And that can lead to quite some disappointment when you finally get to view your shots on your monitor. After all, we all know that the human eye can see a lot more dynamic range than a camera sensor can (regardless whether that sensor is in a DSLR or in a mirrorless camera style body). An EVF shows you what your camera makes of the dynamic range in front of you, and lets you adjust your settings accordingly before you take the shot.

An EVF shows you the image you're going to wind up with, not the image you think you're going to get. Image © Fujifilm

If you’re shooting RAW, you can even tweak your in-camera settings so they are as close as possible to showing you what your RAW file is capable of. For example, by setting the Film Simulation to Pro Neg Standard and dialing down the Highlights and Shadows to -2, I get a relatively flat looking image in the viewfinder. Using one of the more contrasty film simulations like Velvia would unnecessarily make me underexpose my shots to preserve highlight detail.

Have you ever shot with a DSLR with the intent to crop your images to a square afterwards? You just have to imagine that crop while you’re shooting. Not so with the Fuji: set it to a square crop in the Quick Menu and … what you see is what you get. This makes it much easier to accurately frame your shots in-camera. Best of all, while the JPEG you record will indeed be square, if you shoot RAW + JPEG, you’ll still have the full image data in the RAW file in case you want to change your mind later on. By default, the RAW will appear as a square crop in Lightroom but if you reset that crop, you’ll get the full image back. The best of both worlds!

If you love to shoot Black & White with a square aspect ratio, just choose those settings from the Quick Menu and what you see is what you'll get. This is a tremendous advantage in determining the right composition and subject matter. Here, I chose ACROS with a Yellow Filter. By shooting RAW + JPEG, you'll still be able to go change your mind afterwards if you prefer color and/or a different aspect ratio!

The same goes for film simulations. In addition to square, I also love Black & White. And while I have created my own set of dramatic Lightroom presets for B+W, I love the fact that I can set the camera to black and white (on the X-T2, there’s no less than 8 settings to choose from - I’m deliberately not counting Sepia!) so I already get a feel for how a particular scene would work in Black & White. Just like with the square crop, if I shoot RAW + JPEG, I keep my options open if ever I want to process the image in color, too. With a regular DSLR viewfinder, you have to ‘imagine’ the black and white the same as you have to imagine the crop.

FUJIFILMX-T1 | XF10-24mmF4 R OIS | 1-320 sec. @ f/16 | ISO 400
Being able to already preview the scene in Black & White with a 1:1 aspect ratio through the EVF is a tremendous advantage. With an OVF, you'd have to imagine the square crop and the absence of colour. The in-camera film simulation gave me an idea of whether the scene would work in Black & White. In postproduction, I used one of my Black & White Lightroom presets for an even grittier feel.

2. All the info you want in a heads-up display

In cars, HUDs (Heads-Up Display) are becoming increasingly popular: all essential information like speed, traffic warnings and so are projected on the windscreen in front of you, so you don’t have to take your eyes off the road. An OVF only gives you a very limited amount of information in the viewfinder. In the EVF of my Fujifilm cameras, I have complete control over what information I want to display: Level indicator? Check! Live histogram? Check! Distance scale with depth-of-field information? Check! I even have two settings to choose from: pixel-based or film based, the latter being more tolerant.

Did you know that when I turn my camera to portrait mode, the info on the EVF like the histogram rotates 90 degrees as well so I don't have to read it at a 90 degree angle... Image © Fujifilm

The EVF on the X-T2 is so huge and widescreen, that some people prefer to set it to Normal mode, which makes the image slightly smaller and surrounded by a black band. When in capture mode, pressing the DISP/BACK lets you switch between these two options. When you're in Manual Focusing Mode, you have a third option: DUAL. This mode shows you a split view with the 100 percent view of your image to the left and the area your focusing on smaller and to the right with the focus aid of your choice, e.g. Focus Peaking or Digital Split Image as in this example. Image © Fujifilm.

All this information is available to me without having to take my eye of the scene, resulting in a more informed decision and therefore in less wasted shots. 

You can add as much - or as little - information in the EVF as you want. In this case, the bar at the bottom is the distance scale. It displays a white bar (at 1.8 m) where the actual focus point is. The blue bars left and right indicate the range of acceptable focus. This is ideal for zone-based focusing. Image © Fujifilm

What I also love - in fact I love it so much I have dedicated a function button to it - is the ‘Preview EXP/WB in manual mode’ setting. This does the following: when I’m in Manual Exposure Mode, I can set this so that the EVF reflects the exposure I have manually set on the camera. When I’m mixing flash with available light, very often I’ll underexpose the ambient light by up to two stops. When Preview EXP/WB in manual mode is set to 'on', it lets me preview the available light component of my image, without having to take a test shot like I would have to on a DSLR. However, in that mode, my subject (which I’m about to light with flash), will generally be underexposed. Simply by toggling the function button and switching the setting to off, I can tell the EVF to increase its brightness (the actual exposure will remain unchanged, of course!) so that I can actually see my model's face and the way he or she is posing.

In the camera's settings, you can choose what info you want to be displayed on the EVF. You can do this separately for capture and playback. During playback, you can press the DISP/BACK button to cycle through a couple of other screens, including one without any overlays that lets you focus on the actual picture.

An overview of all the info you can choose to display in your EVF and LCD. I just would not display it all at once! Image © Fujifilm and Masami Tanaka.

3. My EVF sees better than my eyes can!

I am finding that I get sharper pictures with my mirrorless camera than I used to with my DSLRs. The reason is twofold. First of all, the AF system on my Fujifilm cameras is hybrid: it uses a combination of a faster but slightly less accurate phase detection system (which is the same system DSLRs are using) with a slower but more precise contrast detection system. Yet where an EVF really shines is in manual focus: first of all, you have two manual focus assist systems to help you. The first is the Digital Split Image, which is similar to how we used to manually focus back in the day. Your image is virtually split in two and by turning the zoom ring, you can move the two halves to the point where they are in line. That’s when your focus is optimal.

The digital split-image function, here on the X-E2: turn the focus ring on the lens until the four blocks in the middle perfectly align and your image is in focus! Image © Fujifilm

As retro-cool as it is, I rarely use this feature, though. I prefer Focus Peak Highlight. What this does is display a fringe in the colour of your choice (Blue, White or Red) around the areas of your image that are in focus.

Add to that the option to zoom into the area you’re focusing on by pressing the rear command dial. If you then turn the dial, you can switch between a 3x and a 10x magnification. I don’t know about you, but I don’t have a 10x zoom built into my eyes when I’m using an OVF!

While I am still predominantly an AF-guy, I have recently set up my X-T2 and X-Pro 2 to AF + MF for this exact reason: this lets me manually override the AF and as soon as I turn the zoom ring on the lens, I get the all the MF assist goodies in my viewfinder, like the Focus Peaking and the magnification options.

4. No more chimping

The advantages so far were all about helping you before you take the actual shot. But perhaps the biggest advantage lies in reviewing what you just shot. As a DSLR user, you probably know how annoying it can be to review a picture you just took on the LCD on the back of your camera, especially in the glaring sun. If anything, your reflection is usually clearer than the actual photo! On top of that, chimping makes you lose the connection with the scene in front of you: if something shoot-worthy happens, you have to bring the camera back to your eye first. None of that with an EVF. On my Fuji’s, I have two ways I can take advantage of the EVF: first of all, I can set the camera up that it always briefly displays the image I just shot in the viewfinder. Because the viewfinder is much more shielded from the ambient light than the rear LCD is (especially on the X-T1 and X-T2) I get a much better idea of what the image will look like on my monitor. The Fujifilm menu gives me a choice between off, continuous, 0.5 seconds and 1.5 seconds. Regardless of those settings, you can always go straight back to shooting with a half press on the shutter release.

The obligatory kitten shot! An EVF only has one disadvantage: it's really hard to take a picture of the EVF itself :-) Here's a crappy iPhone attempt! When in playback mode, pressing the rear command dial automatically zooms in to 100 percent at the focus point you used when you made the shot. No need to take your eye of the viewfinder.

Then, there’s the playback button. This gives me even more options of reviewing my images, whether on the rear LCD or in the EVF. The one I use most is to check for sharpness: simply press the rear command dial in playback mode and the image will zoom to 100% on the focus point you used. Ideal for judging sharpness post-capture. By the way, this is also the reason I shoot RAW + Large JPEG: the larger the JPEG, the more zoomed-in view you get because you’re actually looking at the JPEG, not the Raw. If you’re shooting RAW only, the EVF will only be able to show you the (smaller) embedded JPEG preview that’s inside the RAW. If you’re like me and you’re generally only shooting RAW + JPEG for that reason, it might be a good idea to use two cards and set card slot one up to hold your RAW files and card slot two to store the JPEGs. That way, you only have to import your first card in Lightroom.

5. Shooting sports with an EVF

The Vertical Power Booster Grip VPB-XT2 not only triples your mileage by adding  two extra batteries, it also has a Boost button which revs up the EVF's refresh rate from 60 to 100 frames per second. Image © Fujifilm

There was one area where traditionally OVFs had a clear advantage, and that was in sports photography. Yet - did you note the use of the present imperfect in the last sentence - even that last stronghold is now under EVF-attack with the advent of the X-T2 and the optional Power Booster Grip. By switching the grip to Boost mode, the EVF refresh rate increases from 60 frames per second to 100 frames per second. For general photography, 60 fps is more than enough, but when you want to shoot fast action, 100 fps can make a difference: I’m no sports photographer, but I tried the feature in a moving train: looking outside through the EVF at 60 fps, the image was choppy. At 100 fps it was one continuous, uninterrupted flow. The Boost mode also significantly reduces viewfinder blackout.

So, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that people like fellow X-Photographer Dirk Bogaerts use the X-T2 even to photograph car races like Francorchamps and Le Mans!

The best of both worlds

On the X-Pro 2 with its unique hybrid viewfinder, you can set up the OVF as the main viewfinder but still have the EVF displayed in the bottom right corner. You have 3 zoom levels available: 100% field of view, 2.5x magnification and 6x magnification. This is handy for checking focus, real-time exposure, white balance and what not. It's really the ultimate viewfinder experience. Image © Fujifilm

So, if you’re on the fence about getting a mirrorless camera in general (and a Fujifilm one in particular), the absence of an optical viewfinder should not hold you back, on the contrary! If you want to go EVF all the way, it’s hard to do better than the X-T2. The X-T2 has a bright and large viewfinder and the slightly longer eyecup does a great job of shielding the ambient light. However, if you really want the best of both worlds, you should consider the X-Pro 2: it’s got a unique Hybrid Electronic Viewfinder that marries an EVF with a rangefinder-style Optical Viewfinder: the latter is great for street photography, because unlike the viewfinder of a DSLR, it shows you more than the actual frame you’re going to get (the actual frame is approximated in the viewfinder by a white frameline). So you can anticipate on people or things entering your frame much more easily, which is ideal for those decisive moment shots. Even better: you can overlay a miniature EVF in the bottom right corner of the OVF so you have the benefits the EVF as well, all at once. And of course, you can switch from one viewfinder to the other, as well by using the lever on the front of the camera.

So, I hope this article will have relieved you from any fears you might have of shooting with an Electronic Viewfinder, at least a state-of-the-art one as is included in any of the recent Fujifilm cameras. Try one out in a camera shop near you and when you return to your old OVF, you'll know all the good stuff you're missing out on!

300 € cashback: To X-T1 or not to X-T1?

Met alle hype rond Fuji's nieuwe digitale middenformaatcamera GFX zou je bijna de 'gewone' X-camera's gaan vergeten. Recent nog lanceerde Fujifilm de X-T2, de opvolger van de immens populaire X-T1. Die laatste is overigens nog altijd te koop. De X-T2 (winkelprijs ca 1.700 euro body-only) kost sowieso ongeveer 500 euro meer dan zijn voorganger (1.200 euro body-only). Voor dat geld krijg je de helft meer megapixels, een beter kantelscherm, een handige joystick-controller, een gevoelig verbeterde autofocus en natuurlijk nog een resem kleinere verbeteringen.

Rock the Cashback!

Alsof dat het kiezen tussen beide toestellen nog niet moeilijk genoeg maakt, loopt er tot 31 januari 2017 nog een cashback-actie op de X-T1 waarbij zowel de zwarte als de graphite editie en zowel de body-only als de kit met de 18-55 en de 18-135 in aanmerking komen. Je kan maar liefst 300 euro terug claimen na aankoop. Dat brengt het effectieve prijsverschil op ongeveer 800 euro of anders uitgedrukt: de X-T1 kost momenteel ongeveer slechts de helft van de X-T2!

Is de X-T1 plots een slechtere camera geworden nu de X-T2 uitgekomen is? Natuurlijk niet! En met die 800 prijsverschil euro koop je al bijna een top prime objectief zoals de 56 mm f/1.2, de 16 mm f/1.4 of de 23 mm f/1.4 of... een vliegtuigticket naar een fotogenieke bestemming!

X-T1 of X-T2?

Fotografeer je graag snel bewegende onderwerpen, druk je graag op (echt) groot formaat af of wil je gewoon altijd het beste van het beste, dan zou ik eventjes door de appel bijten en toch maar onmiddellijk voor de X-T2 gaan. Je koopt dan een van de beste spiegelloze systeemcamera's die er momenteel op de markt is. Dat zeg ik trouwens niet, maar de EISA (de Europese foto-vakpers) die onlangs de X-Pro 2, het broertje van de X-T2, tot European Professional Compact System Camera van het jaar verkoos.

Indien je echter meer statische onderwerpen fotografeert en niet onmiddellijk op groot formaat afdrukt, dan is de X-T1 vandaag de dag nog altijd diezelfde goede camera als hij was bij zijn introductie. Eigenlijk is hij zelfs nog beter geworden, want hij heeft nog een aantal firmware updates gekregen. Ik heb fotoboeken gemaakt van 30 x 30 cm. Ik houd er daarbij van om één foto op een dubbele pagina te zetten zodat hij 60 x 30 cm afgedrukt wordt. Die afdrukken zien er fantastisch uit. Niemand die merkt de foto uit 'slechts' 16 megapixels bestond, waarvan ik er door de 2:1 uitsnede dan nog maar 12 gebruikte! 

De 16 megapixels van de X-T1 zijn groot genoeg om een dubbele pagina te vullen in een 30 x 30 fotoboek. Zelf maak ik die met Lightroom (natuurlijk!) en Blurb. Enkel de voor- en achtercover, die je hier ziet, maak ik op in Photoshop

De huidige cashback maakt de X-T1 ook een interessante keuze voor wie in het X-systeem wil stappen op een budgetvriendelijke manier en nog wat geld wil overhouden voor de lenzen.

Hieronder vind je een selectie van tien van mijn favoriete foto's die allemaal met de X-T1 gemaakt zijn. Als je er reiskriebels van krijgt: met het bedrag van de cashback raak je al tot in India! *

FUJIFILMX-T1 | XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR | 1-180 sec. bij f - 2,8 | ISO 200

FUJIFILMX-T1 | XF10-24mmF4 R OIS | 1-125 sec. bij f - 4,0 | ISO 800

FUJIFILMX-T1 | XF10-24mmF4 R OIS | 1-60 sec. bij f - 16 | ISO 400

FUJIFILMX-T1 | XF10-24mmF4 R OIS | 1-180 sec. bij f - 6,4 | ISO 800

FUJIFILMX-T1 | XF50-140mmF2.8 R LM OIS WR | 1-280 sec. bij f - 5,0 | ISO 400

FUJIFILMX-T1 | XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR | 1-125 sec. bij f - 3,6 | ISO 200

FUJIFILMX-T1 | XF10-24mmF4 R OIS | 1-3 sec. bij f - 4,0 | ISO 800

FUJIFILMX-T1 | XF10-24mmF4 R OIS | 28,0 sec. bij f - 11 | ISO 400

FUJIFILMX-T1 | XF10-24mmF4 R OIS | 1-7 sec. bij f - 11 | ISO 200

FUJIFILMX-T1 | XF10-24mmF4 R OIS | 170,0 sec. bij f - 11 | ISO 200

Meer info over deze actie (en hoe je de cashback kan claimen) vind je bij je Fujifilm-dealer.

* Een ticket naar India kost ca 600 €, met de cashback geraak je dus al op je bestemming! En er valt zoveel te fotograferen dat je toch niet onmiddellijk terug wilt... Of je moet twee X-T1's in met cashback kopen :-)

5 products that caught my eye at Photokina 2016

I have just returned from a bustling two days at Photokina, the biannual photographic gear lovefest that is held in Cologne, Germany. I was travelling in the exquisite company of fellow Belgian X-photographers Isabel Corthier and Ioannis Tsouloulis. I want to thank the people from Fujifilm Japan and Belgium for inviting us over. Trade shows like Photokina are as much about people as they are about products. So, it was great to reconnect with longtime friends such as Tom, Bert (who used Tom’s bald head as a reflector during his 'Small lights, big results’ demo on the Fujifilm stand), Rob, Damien (energetic as ever), the German ‘rock star’ trio Dieter, Jens & Peter and Marco, Julia, Shusuke and Kunio. I also had the privilige of being introduced to new people such as Patrick La Roque, Jens Krauer, Martin Hülle and their impressive work. Finally, I am happy I got to meet Rico Pfirstinger. He’s the author of the unofficial Fujifilm manuals. If you are struggling to get the most out of your camera, his books and workshops are among the best resources to turn to.

Now of course, apart from the social aspect, Photokina is obviously also about gear. Lots of gear! In fact, it's probably the most GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome)-inducing show on the planet. Even during those two days, I was unable to visit each hall, let alone each booth. Yet, there were a couple of products that caught my eye. Because the Internet loves lists, here's five of them, in no particular order. Well, except maybe for the first! 

1. Fujifilm GFX

The GFX looks like a beefed-up X-T2. Image © Fujifilm.

Call me biased (I'm an X-photographer after all) but the Fujifilm GFX was the star of the Fujifilm booth and probably even of the entire Photokina. In case you've just returned from another planet, the GFX 50s is Fujifilm's first digital medium format camera. It has a sensor size roughly 4 times that of the other X series cameras and a pixel count of 51.4 megapixel. The GFX 50s will be available with three lenses at launch, which you should be ‘early 2017’. By end of 2017, another tree lenses should be available.

Literally everybody wanted to get their hands on the camera of which only a couple of prototypes exist. I was lucky enough to get to hold it in my hands for a couple of minutes. I was surprised at how well it focused even in the dark venue where I was and also at how lightweight it was: this beast of a camera weighs less than many a professional DSLR! If you want to read more about the specs (even more than is available on Fujifilm's own website) read this excellent article by Rico Pfirstinger.

The price of the GFX hasn't been set yet, but Fujifilm management did promise it would be 'well under $10.000' with the standard lens. We have yet to see into how many Euro that will translate...

Official press release here.

You'll be able to use two EVF viewfinders with the GFX: a regular one and one that can be tilted and rotated, allowing almost every imaginable capture angle. It will even be possible to use an external monitor.

2. Phottix Spartan beauty dish

As you know, I use a lot of artificial (flash) lighting in my images, so I'm always eager to learn about cool new lighting accessories. One interesting modifier I came across was at the stand of Phottix. The Spartan beauty dish (full specs here) is a modifier that seems to come straight out of a Transformers movie: it's easy to set up and you can remove the disc in the center to turn it into an octabox. I also like the fact that it comes with a grid. More and more, I seem to be using grids in my own lighting. The Spartan comes in two sizes: 50 cm and 70 cm. Price for the latter is about $145. That is very affordable, considering that some companies charge about that much for just a grid!

3. SMDV BRiHT-360

The SMDV BRiHT-360 is a lightweight 360 Ws battery-powered barebulb flash with removable battery that slides into the main unit.

Just as I thought I could finally finish the manuscript of the second edition of my Making Light e-book, I came across the SMDV stand... I could not help but notice their BRiHT-360 portable barebulb flashes (there were about 10 of them placed along the counter). As you may know from previous blog posts, I am a fan of their easy to set up (and even easier to break down) Speedbox series of softboxes. At Photokina, it was the BRiHT-360 that stole the show, though. As its name implies, this is a 360 Ws barebulb flash. What I like about it is that it's super lightweight at only 1.25 kg including the battery. The latter lasts about 300 full power pops. Basically, this thing produces the same amount of light as four Speedlights at the weight and price of only two. What I also like, is that it works well with SMDV's Speedboxes, who happen to be also very lightweight: the combination of the BRiHT and an 85 cm Speedbox only puts 2 kgs on the scale!

The BRiHT does TTL and HSS with Canon and Nikon cameras (using a compatible SMDV Flashwave 5 trigger) but luckily enough it also works in manual mode on my Fujifilm cameras. I am looking forward to testing this unit more in-depth and to see whether I might even be able to get some sort of HSS with my Fuji cameras by using the Cactus V6 Mark II triggers, which I reviewed here.

In the mean time, you can read the full specs of the BRiHT 360 here. In Europe, the BRiHT will be available through www.foto-morgen.de. Price should be somewhere around €700 / $750.

4. Godox

The AD600 exists in a Bowens and a Godox mount and in a TTL and manual version. All versions support HSS with Canon, Nikon and Sony (provided you use the matching Godox X1 trigger). Image © Godox.

Godox, whose Lithium battery-powered Ving V850 speedlight I’ve reviewed here, also had a stand at Photokina. Their AD600B battery powered studio flash has recently been reviewed in Shoot, the Belgian photography magazine I write for (Dutch link here). This unit packs 600 Ws of power in an affordable package with TTL and HSS support for Nikon, Canon and Sony. By default, it comes as an all-in one light with a battery that attaches directly to the body of the flash. The advantage is that you don’t need cables and you don’t have a separate power pack to worry about (or carry around).

The potential disadvantage is that if you put your light on a boom stand, especially with a heavy modifier, the setup can get a bit top-heavy. Also, if you’re using an assistant instead of a light stand, it’s quite a workout to hold a setup like this in the air for any prolonged period of time.

Image © Godox

So I was happy to see the 600 Ws Extension Head. This accessory allows you to separate the pack from the head. Just unplug the flash tube from the AD600, plug it in the Extension Head, connect the power cable to where the flash tube used to be and boom, you've transformed your all-in-one into a pack-and-head system.

Godox also had a 1200 Ws Extension Head on display: this accessory has a special, more powerful flash tube which effectively allows you to turn 2 AD600s into one 1200 Ws pack-and-head system. With so much power, you can overpower the sun even when using larger modifiers. Or, you can benefit from faster recycle times.

Finally, Godox also had an AC adaper on display which allows you to turn the AD600 into a mains-powered flash. The adapter includes a fan as well.

If you live in the US, note that the AD600 is sold by Adorama under the Flashpoint XPLOR 600 brand name.

Image © Adorama

The 600 Ws Extension Head ships without a flash tube because you use the one that comes with the AD600. Price is around $80. Image © Adorama.

The 1200 Ws one has a special flash tube which actually consists of two 600 Ws tubes. Price is around $300. Image © Adorama.

5. 3 Legged Thing Albert Tripod

I have been using the Three Legged Thing Brian tripod during my travels for the last couple of years. The main reason is that it is a lightweight travel tripod that still can be extended really high. For me, it serves a dual purpose: I can use it as a traditional tripod for long exposure photography (in which case I obviously don't extend it all the way up) but I actually use it a lot more as an impromptu light stand. Having this versatility (transformability really seems to be a theme in the products I selected in this blog post) allows me to travel with less weight without compromising on photographic opportunities. Alas, the Brian is no longer available. At Photokina, I was introduced to his successor: Albert. The Albert was improved on a number of points but still shares the Brian’s adventurous and multi-purpose DNA. Price of this carbon-fibre travel tripod system is about GBP 400 (including a ballhead).

Full specs here.

The Brian used as a light stand.

So there you have it, a quick round-up of some of some of the products that caught my attention at Photokina. If you were there, I’d love to hear what caught yours!

Review: The Cononmark i6T EX Leopard portable studio flash

I am currently updating my Making Light and Making Light 2 eBooks on off-camera flash. They will be merged into one completely revised and updated eBook with loads of new case studies and lighting diagrams. I'll keep you posted on when the eBook will be ready. As all my other English titles, it will be published through the fine folks at Craft & Vision. 

One thing that was a lot of work, but also fun to do, was updating the gear section of the book: a lot has changed since the original eBooks were published over four years ago. Luckily, most of that change is for the better: gear has become more powerful and cheaper. Maybe the only downside is that there’s simply too much stuff to choose from, nowadays. In the eBook, I'll offer you some guidelines to help you choose a system that works.

One of the main trends is that we now have a lot more choice in powerful, battery-powered studio strobes that offer TTL (Through-The-Lens) metering and HSS (High Speed Sync which allows sync speeds up to 1/8000th of a second). In this and a couple of future blog posts, I want to introduce you to some of my favorites. In this first installment, I’ll talk about the i6T EX Leopard by Chinese Lighting manufacturer Cononmark, who kindly sent me a review unit to try out. If you live in the US, you can find a rebranded version of this flash at B&H Photo, where it sells as the IMPACT Venture 600 TTL.

600 Ws is good to have when you want to overpower the ambient light and still use a large modifier like I did in this shot. Exposure: 1/800 @ f/7.1 | ISO 100. I used the SMDV Alpha 110 Softbox.

Why a portable studio strobe?

When you start to explore off-camera flash, your first stop will undoubtedly be speedlights: they’re affordable and light-weight. After a while though, chances are that you’ll start using them in ways they weren’t really intended: to overpower the sun on a bright day and/or in big modifiers because you want a softer light.

One thing you can do - and which I personally did a couple of years ago - is combine a couple of speedlights on a multi-speedlight bracket. However, the fun of that wears off quickly!

If you have one speedlight at full power and you want to underexpose the ambient light by one extra stop (or add one extra stop of flash light), all you have to do is add another speedlight. That’s still doable, right? But what if you find that you’re still one stop short with those two speedlights? If you want to double your amount of light again, you now have to add two more, leading to a total of four. Good luck to you and your budget if you happen to be using premium speedlights like the Nikon SB-910 or the Canon EX600-RT! And… if this setup still leaves you needing an extra stop of flash light, you have to add another four. Hello second mortgage!

After a while, charging all those batteries becomes almost a day-job in itself, too... Not to mention you'll want to carry some spares, too!

Battery powered studio flashes

The Cononmark i6T EX Leopard is relatively small and light but it does not feel flimsy.

That's where a more powerful, yet battery operated studio flash like the Cononmark i6T EX Leopard comes in. Portable flashes like these exist in two varieties. The pack-and-head systems have a separate battery pack with a cable that you plug into the head. The advantage is that the head is generally a little lighter, which is handy if you want to angle the light on a boom stand. The disadvantage is that they take a little more time to set up, and that they are also slightly more cumbersome to handle because of that power pack. The Leopard is part of the other variety: battery and head are one unit. The battery is detachable, though, so you can charge it separately or even buy a spare and use one while you charge the other.

Cononmark i6T EX Leopard: what's in the box?

The Leopard comes in a metal case that looks like it comes straight out of a James Bond movie. At first I thought I’d prefer a soft case, but the advantage of this case is that it protects the flash really well and that in a pinch, you could use it as a small step to put yourself or your model on, depending on who’s taller.

The James Bond-style metal case comes with all of these goodies. I especially found the grip to be handy. A trigger is included in the price.

The flash itselfs also packs a couple of features that might have been invented by Q himself. For example, the flash is rated at 600Ws output but by default, it is set up in High-Performance Mode, which offers an impressive 1 second recycle time but only delivers 300Ws. To get the full 600 Ws power, you have to press the Test button for a couple of seconds. The ring around the button will then turn blue, indicating you can now blast away at 600 Ws. Doing this will decrease your recycle time to a 3 seconds, which is still respectable considering that this flash is approximately the power of 6 to 8 speedlights.

For indoor use, the Cononmark also sports a 15W, dimmable LED modeling light.

One of the things that struck me is that the unit is very lightweight yet solidly built: with the default Comet mount, it puts a mere 1.8 kg on the scale, making it one of the lightest portable 600 Ws strobes around. The default swivel adapter that comes in the box has an opening for an umbrella so if you add 200 grams for an umbrella, you can start to produce loads of beautiful soft ligt on location while carrying only 2 kilograms in lighting equipment. I used the Leopard with the optional Bowens adapter though, because I own a lot of lighting modifiers that feature this mount, such as the cheap and easy-to-set-up Phottix Luna Folding Octa or the SMDV Alpha 110. Including the Bowens mount and the battery, the unit weighs 2.2 kilo.

Other specifications

• Power: 600 Ws
• Flash Duration (t0,5): 1/380 - 1/18500 sec
• Wireless remote receiver: built-in, auto-switches to the trigger used
• Sync Mode: wireless trigger, photosensitive receiver, sync cable
• Color temperature: 5500 K +/- 100K
• Modeling lamp: Led, 1500LM, 4200K
• Recycling time (power): 0.2 - 1 sec
• Recycling time (standard): 0.3 - 3 sec
• Full power output flashes (5s for one flash): approximately 400 times
• Overheat Protection: yes
• Dimensions: 210 x 100 mm
• Net weight: 1.4 kg (battery not included), 1.8 kg including battery
• Battery properties: Li-Ion battery, 2000mA (29.6Wh)

Nikon, Canon and Sony HSS and TTL triggers

Although there’s a plug to sync the flash with a cable, if you want to take advantage of the cool features like TTL and HSS, you’ll need Cononmarks wireless ABC Radio Trigger. This trigger exists in a Nikon, Canon and Sony version. The photos in this blog post were made with a Sony Alpha 7 RII. The trigger lets you fire up to three groups of remote (compatible Cononmk) flashes and you can combine manual and TTL settings in those groups. First and Second Curtain Sync and High Speed Sync up to 1/8.000th are available.

And Fujifilm?

As you might know, I'm a Fujifilm user. There currently isn't a dedicated Fujifilm trigger. I don't know of any portable studio flash system that has one, for that matter. My test unit came with a Nikon and Sony trigger and I was able to use the Nikon trigger with my Fujifilm cameras, albeit obviously only in manual mode and without High-Speed Sync. Still, I could remotely change the manual power levels from the trigger, which is convenient. By adding 2 Cactus V6 Mark II triggers to the mix, I could also use the Leopard in Power Sync with my Fujifilm X-Pro 2 (all the way up to 1/8000th). More on that in this blog post.

Cononmark's ABC trigger gets its name from the fact that it can control up to three groups of flashes. You have a choice between manual (with power settings from full power down to 1/128th), TTL (including up to 3 stops EV) or a combination of both. The trigger exists in 4 versions: Canon, Nikon and 2 for Sony. The Brightness of the modeling lamp can also be set from the ABC trigger.

Having never worked with either the Sony or the Leopard, I was expecting all kinds of issues but everything worked straight out of the (Bond-styled) box. I was impressed! The less you have to struggle with your gear, the more you can pay attention to your model.

Pricing and availability

The i6T EX Leopard is available directly from Cononmark for about $1.000 (excluding shipping and taxes). Contact Sue (queok@163.com) for more details. If you live in Europe, I would recommend buying the unit through a reseller such as Mikrosat (this is a link to the Nikon version). At 1.299 € including VAT, the Leopard sits in the mid-range of battery powered studio flashes. Note that the trigger of your choice is included in that price. The Bowens adapter is 35 € extra.

What I liked

• All-in-one concept: battery and flash are integrated
• Easy to set up and works as advertised
• Super fast recycle time of 1 second if you're working at 300 Ws
• Lightweight and compact, even with optional Bowens mount
• Trigger is available in Canon, Nikon and 2 Sony versions. The flash will auto-detect which trigger is used
• Nikon trigger will also work with my Fujifilm cameras (although manual-only and no HSS)

What could be improved

• If you’re into multi-flash setups, the trigger only works with other compatible Cononmark flashes. There currently is no way to include for example a regular speedlight (e.g. as a fill light) in an HSS and TTL setup, although you could obviously still use that flash when you set it up as an optical slave
• Locking mechanism of the optional Bowens mount is perfectible. I added an extra washer under the release lever to facilitate the release

High Speed Sync is essential to get shots like this as it allows you to freeze the movement. Exposure: 1/1000th @ ISO 200 @ f/8. I made this shot in High Speed Sync after having only used my test camera, the Sony Alpha 7 RII and the Leopard together for one hour. 

A big thank you to my model: Matthias, dance instructor at I Believe in Lebbeke, Belgium. You rock!

Tutorial review: The Complete Guide To Portraiture by Sandro Miller

When I first heard about ‘The Complete Guide To Portraiture & Building A Body Of Work For Print & Publication’ I knew this was one I just had to watch. After all, it’s about all the things I love in photography: travel, portraiture, lighting and retouching. So I contacted the guys over at RGG EDU (that's short for Rob and Gary's Great EDUcation), the producers of this video, and they were kind enough to set me up with a review copy and a really cool discount code for readers of this blog. Full details are at the end of this post but basically, it means that as a reader of my blog, you can get RGG EDU's newly released 6 hour Capture One Pro training video as a free bonus when you purchase the Sandro Miller tutorial.

UPDATE: the discount code no longer works, but there is currently (until May 29th, 2017) a 66 percent discount on this tutorial, making this an even much better deal than the one I had for you back when I originally wrote this review...

This tutorial follows internationally acclaimed photographer Sandro Miller from start to finish on a project in which he photographs indigenous tribes in the remote and sometimes downright dangerous parts of Papua New Guinea. Here's the official trailer below.

This day and age, everyone and his dog seem to be producing video tutorials geared towards photographers. As I can tell from my own area of expertise, Lightroom training, there’s a lot of chaff amongst the wheat. Yet, the videos from RGG EDU, a relatively young photography tutorial website, definitely fall in the ‘wheat’ category. Having bought, watched and highly appreciated their ‘The Complete Guide To Composite Photography, Color & Composition with Erik Almås’, I knew I could expect high quality, and I wasn’t disappointed. By the way, here's an in-depth (Dutch-only, unfortunately) review of the Erik Almås tutorial.

Sandro Miller

One of Sandro's most recent books is the result of a seventeen-year collaboration between photographer and subject. I'll try and keep that in mind the next time I make a one-minute portrait of someone :-)

To be really honest, I did not know Sandro Miller. At least not by name. But I did know some of his work, and chances are you do, too: just google his latest book Malkovich Malkovich Malkovich, which features photographs that Sandro made during his 17 year friendship with this incredibly versatile actor.

Incidentally, this is just one of the things this tutorial taught me: getting a book published takes time and patience. Sandro visited Cuba 14 times before he did a book on it. But... it is not undoable, especially after watching this tutorial...

What’s in this tutorial?

In this tutorial, we get to follow Sandro while he is preparing a new book project: a series of portraits of tribal people in Papua New Guinea. 

Obviously, the highlight of the tutorial is the actual documentary in which you get to see him set up a makeshift studio, set up his lights and interact with the people he photographs. If this tutorial where a five course dinner: this would be the main course. But the appetizers, served as 'prerequisites' and desserts (the compositing tutorials and final interviews) are just as... mouthwatering.

Gear and Lighting Prerequisite 

First of all, there are a number of so-called prerequisites or series of introductory videos: there's one about the gear that Sandro uses and then another series of videos about lighting where you can see how he puts that gear to use in his studio in Chicago. The contrast between the high-end equipment (Sandro's studio looks like a mix of a Profoto and Broncolor flagship store) and what he used in Papua New Guinea could not be bigger. It’s another proof that it’s the photographer matters more than the gear, or as the publisher of my own eBooks, David duChemin would say: Gear is good, Vision is better!

The idea of the prerequisite videos is to teach you some of the basics so that you can follow along better when the tutorial shifts to a higher gear. To that effect, we see Sandro make 2 portraits: a moody male portrait and a fashion portrait of a woman. During these sessions, Sandro explains why he uses a certain light and how he modifies it with flags. We also get to see that lighting is often a game of inches...

“‘I can create a novel in a man’s face by the way that I light it’”

— Sandro

I found it interesting to see the progression in the images: from ‘I can do that, too’ to ‘Damn, that’s a setup I have to remember’. It was also kind of comforting to see that even a highly respected portrait photographer has to work a scene and a model to get to great results. Success does not come easy. In fact, if there’s one theme that recurred throughout the work of Sandro Miller in general and this tutorial in particular, it’s the importance of practice, perseverance and attention to detail. I really picked up lots of little nuggets from those prerequisites.

Digitech prerequisite

Another thing that I found really interesting was the interview with Shad Wilson. Shad works - amongst others - as a so called Digitech: a digital tech assistant. He even has his own custom truck stacked to the roof with tripods, pelicases and light stands. Sandro being a high-end photographer, he can afford the budget for a Digitech to come along on this project.

'I'll be in the shed...' Shad WIlson talks Gary from RGG EDU through how he turned a regular Pelicase into a sun-shielded laptop case.

But even for mere mortals like you and I, this section has some really interesting advice on backup and workflow that can be helpful when you have to be your own Digitech. I also learned an interesting idea from this section: Sandro already had a specific idea from the start as to how the final images should look. He created that specific style in Photoshop and then gave that file to the Digital Tech. Shad emulated the look in Capture One so that he could apply it to the images while shooting tethered.

Postprocessing and retouching prerequisites.

As this tutorial is as almost as much about postprocessing as it is about photography, there’s also a couple of introductory videos on postprocessing and retouching.

In these videos, we get to know Pratik Naik of Solstice Retouch. Pratik is a world renowned retoucher and another example that RGG EDU will only work with people who really know their stuff.

Pratik has some interesting ideas on how to redefine some of Photoshop's shortcuts so they are grouped together better for retouching. Even though these prerequisite tutorials were primarily aimed at beginners, I picked up a couple of interesting tips, not in the least about Capture One, which I I'm not so familiar with as I am obviously more of a Lightroom user. Yet, the things I learned definitely made me want to check out Capture One more in detail.

Again, the idea is to get you up to speed for the ‘real’ postprocessing sections towards the end of the video, where the Papua New Guinea portraits that were taken on a green screen are composited into the backgrounds which were also photographed on location, but separately.

Sandro shot the backgrounds separately. At first, I had a hard time understanding why but after seeing the whole series come together, it made sense!

I have to admit that at first, I thought it was a strange idea to be shooting people against a green backdrop and then, sometimes as little as 100 feet further, shoot the actual backdrop separately, only to combine them later in Photoshop. I mean, why not just put your subject against the backdrop of your choice and photograph him right there and then, right?

It's what I have been doing so far with all of my travel portraits. It was only after viewing a number of finished images that I understood why this at first sight overly complicated procedure made sense: by having separate control over the background and the foreground and by also being able to exactly control the lighting of the subject in his makeshift studio (much more than under the glaring Papuan sun), the resulting photographs work much better together as a series. This in turn makes the work better suited for a book. It's definitely something I might also try in the future. 

The actual Papua New Guinea documentary

Although ‘only’ slightly over an hour, this is obviously the ‘pièce de résistance’ of this tutorial. Here we get to see Sandro created the raw material (pun intended) that will form the basis of an actual book project. We see Sandro check out locations that can either be suitable to create his makeshift studio or as a so called black plate, a background for compositing.

The setup (left) and the resulting raw file (right). Sandro used a digital Hasselblad on this shoot so he has virtually unlimited postprocessing options in terms of recovery and dynamic range.

To me, the most important take away from this video was that you don't need expensive or complicated lighting setups to create really impactful images. Everything was done within a relatively simple, double diffused soft box. No rim light, no reflectors, nothing.

The video below has some behind-the-scenes footage and it gives you a good idea of what to expect in the full-length tutorial.

For me, the tutorial also re-emphasized the importance of having a good fixer on location. When you spend a lot of money on a location project in an area or a country that you're not familiar with, it really is a good idea to set some money aside and hire someone who can help you, not only logistically but most importantly help you scout interesting locations and faces and interact with them.

In terms of makeshift studios, it does not get much more makeshift than this :-)

On my most recent trip to India, I did exactly that: we hired a really great local guy who helped us find interesting people and locations and who at the same time could translate  as my own Hindi is limited to ‘Hello’ and ‘Look this way’ and ‘Look that way’.

I would rather buy an f/1.8 portrait lens and have some money left for a fixer, than buy the most expensive lens there is and not have any budget left for travel, let alone a fixer. If you're interested, below you can find a short video with some of my own location lighting work. Although it's not in the Hasselblad range, I'm very happy with the dynamic range of my Fujifilm X-Pro 2 and I'm even happier its price isn't in the Hasselblad range, either!

The Compositing videos

As much as I liked the actual on location video in Papua New Guinea, I was even more looking forward to the compositing videos. And again, I was not disappointed. Pratik does a really good job of explaining how to blend these rather complex subjects with all their feathers and beads into the background. I found his explanation on how to get rid of the green fringes that remain (shooting against a green backdrop is no miracle solution) and how to use the blur and smudge brushes to tweak the mask, invaluable.

Before... As you can see from the screenshot, the original mask leaves a lot of problems in terms of green fringing. Pratik shows a couple of really interesting tips that I have never seen before (and Lord knows I've watched my share of compositing videos) on how to get rid of those.

And after... The final image is dark and moody. Yet, by keeping everything nicely organized in layers, adjustment layers and groups, everything can still be changed should the photographer prefer a different blend of foreground and background, or a different white balance. By the way, these quick screen grabs don't do the images much justice...

As a photographer, you have to have your own characteristic style. Part of that style is obviously created during capture, but this tutorial really made clear that an important part is also added in postproduction. The original files were rather dark and flat. Using a bunch of adjustment layers and filters, Pratik turns them into very moody portraits. As a nice extra, the tutorial includes a number of backgrounds and original raw files so you can follow along with the compositing videos. And I really recommend you do because it's the best way to learn anything. 

Two images waiting to be combined into one...

Another advanced technique I picked up was how to use Photoshop's Blend If options to restrict the effect of an Adjustment layer to specific areas.

The printing videos

In these videos, we see Sandro meet up with his longtime friend and printer, Jon Scott of JS Graphics. We get to see Jon prepare the final images for print and if you have ever printed on a large format printer yourself, you'll recognise the mix of anxiety and excitement that you feel when an expensive large-format print comes rolling out of the printer. This section wasn't as in-depth as I wanted it to be but on the other hand, you could probably easily fill another 11 hours with just a printing tutorial.

Sandro and Jon inspecting a large format print. As an interesting side-note, this image, which was shot with available light and was not composited, is one of my favorite images of the entire series.

Final interviews: hug a book!

This tutorial wraps up with two more interviews: the first is with Sandro’s publisher, Martha Hallet from Glitterati. It's an interesting talk about the publishing business and all of the artistic, financial and marketing considerations that go into  publishing a book. I chuckled when I heard Martha say that Sandro wanted to use seven inks for the Malkovich book (compared to the standard of four) and how they finally settled for five.

“I dont’t want to look at a book on an iPad. That’s ridiculous. You want to feel a book. You want to hug a book!”

— Sandro

This section really is an ode to the printed photo book and rightly so. One thing I found missing was some insight as to how to actually layout a book like this. The publisher goes briefly into it but an interview with the graphic designer would really have interested me, too. Well, I guess the RGG EDU guys had to draw the line somewhere!

The final interview not only gives an insight in Sandro's career, which spans four decades, but also in his amazing collection of photo books, which seems to span 40 feet!

That ode continues in the last interview with Sandro about his life and career. Sandro is filmed against a bookshelf that literally contains hundreds of photo books. After all the tech talk of the previous videos, this more inspirational interview is a great way to end a great tutorial.

Conclusion

As you may have guessed by now, ‘The Complete Guide To Portraiture & Building A Body Of Work For Print & Publication’ is an excellent tutorial in my opinion. If you're into location portraiture, postproduction and the entire process of working towards a published book, whether it's self published or with a publisher, this is something you must watch and then... probably watch again.

“Everything is relative”

— Einstein

Update: the discount codes in the next paragraph are no longer valid but as mentioned in the introduction, there is currently (until May 29, 2017) a Memorial Day discount on this tutorial that offers no less than 66 percent off, making the price only $98. And, even better, if your total bill exceeds $99 (in other words, if you buy two tutorials), code REMEMBER gets you an additional 25 percent off your entire bill AND if you spend more than $300, code REMEMBER35 shaves 35 percent off your total bill! Only for two more days!

Two fantastic RGG EDU discount codes for readers of this blog

Now... about the price. At first sight, $299 isn't cheap but as Einstein said: 'Everything is relative'. For the price of a camera bag, you get 11 hours of very well produced, in-depth, concise and above all very motivating training that will probably do more for your photography than any camera bag ever will!

Knowing what it already takes to produce a relatively simple Lightroom or Photoshop tutorial, I can only imagine the planning, effort, time and money it has taken to create the Sandro tutorial. So I would say that although not cheap, the price is more than fair for the length, quality and production value of the tutorial.

“With code MTW25, you basically get RGG EDU’s new 6 hour Capture One Pro tutorial for free!”

And if $299 is too much to pay in one go, you can even finance it in monthly installments of $29.

Better still, I’ve got two very cool discount codes for you, my dear readers: code MTW10 gets you 10 percent off the Sandro tutorial (or any other RGG EDU tutorial, for that matter). Code MTW25 even gets you 25 percent off on any order that's over 375$. That basically means you can get RGG EDU's freshly announced Capture One tutorial (a $79 value) completely free: the trick is to add both tutorials in your shopping cart, enter the code MTW25 and you'll pay less for both than the regular $299 price of the Sandro tutorial alone! But don't wait too long, because these codes expire end of August, 2016.

Before I forget: the RGG EDU contest!

When you buy the tutorial, you also get access to a private Facebook group and you get to enter the Sandro Portrait Photography Contest which RGG EDU specifically set up for this tutorial. The contest has $50.000 in prizes! I told you these RGG EDU guys don’t do half work… Find out more about the contest here.

Subscribe to my newsletter and get my '10 Tips for Better Travel Photographs' for free.

And - shameless plug to end this long review - if this tutorial gets you in a traveling mood, don’t forget to subscribe to my newsletter: you’ll receive my 10 tips for better travel photographs absolutely free.

Finally, if you want to do more than just read about travel photography, Matt Brandon and I have just announced the 2017 edition of our Location Portraiture and Lighting Masterclass in Delhi and Varanasi, India.

Announcing the second edition of the Location Portraiture and Lighting Masterclass in Varanasi, India

I am pleased to announce that the incomparable travel photographer Matt Brandon and yours truly have teamed up again for the second edition of the Location Portraiture and Lighting Masterclass in Varanasi, India.

You'll learn how to create impactful, cinematic 'environmental portraits' by combining wide angle lenses, shallow depth-of-field and some extra light. At night, there will be plenty of time to discuss the images' catch of the day and suitable postproduction techniques.

Full details will follow in a couple of weeks - UPDATE: full details can be found here - but here's the lowdown: this is not just a travel workshop nor only a portrait workshop. It's not merely a street photography nor just a lighting workshop and it's definitely not only a postprocessing workshop. In fact, it's all five of those elements blended together in an incomparable mix, pretty much like the Indian chai we'll be having when we're discussing images at the end of the day. In short, if you're into any of the above, you should seriously consider coming. If you're into most or all of them, you have no excuse not to come!

We're wrapping up some final details, but the dates are already set and I already wanted to share these with you: this unique workshop will be held from Saturday, February 25th 2017 until Sunday, March 5th. We will meet in New Delhi and after two introductory days of shooting the bustling street life there, we will go to Varanasi. For the rest of the week, this holy city will become the beautiful backdrop for our portrait sessions. In fact, probably the only thing more photogenic than the city itself is its inhabitants. We will photograph sadhus and silversmiths, fishmongers and rickshaw drivers.

We will use available light but we'll help that available light a hand (or two) by bringing our own available lights (in the form of speedlights and portable studio flashes) to the party. 

Best of all, while other workshops often have an 8:1 or even 10:1 guest/workshop leader ratio, we're limiting subscriptions to only 6 participants (so a 3:1 ratio), so you will have ample opportunity to interact with us and with the people we'll be photographing.

In this workshop, you'll learn how to make beautifully lit images even in the harshest of natural light conditions.

This workshop is open to all levels of photographers using mirrorless or DSLR-style cameras who know the basics about operating their cameras. You don't need to be a flash wizard, but we'll help you become one! And if you're already familiar with flash, we'll teach you more than a couple of tricks to take your knowledge and your images up a couple of notches. We've called this 'a Lighting Masterclass' because that's what we want you to be by the time you return back home: a master of lighting, both available light and flash, and any mix in between, for that matter.  Below are some examples of the kinds of pictures we made on the first edition of this workshop last year and previous workshops in Delhi.

If you want to be first to learn when the workshop website goes up and final details and pricing are announced, use the form below. (Note: even if you're already subscribed to the regular MoreThanWords newsletter, I recommend you fill out this form).

UPDATE: No need to fill out the form as the Masterclass' page is now up: you can find it here.

We used a so-called 'Short Lighting' light setup here because it works great with character faces like this sadhu's.

Have your travel juices already started to flow? Subscribe to my regular newsletter and get this free eBook with '10 tips for better travel photographs'!

High Speed Sync for Fujifilm cameras: a review of the Cactus V6 Mk II radio transceiver

The shot above is probably the most important Fujifilm image I have shot in the past 4 years.

I am joking obviously, at least as far as the contents of the image go. This is by all accounts a crappy, ill-composed, flash-lit picture of a toy bulldozer!

Yet, it’s the fact that it was obviously lit by flash that makes this picture so interesting. Because… look at the Exif-info: that 1/8.000th isn’t a typo. No, after 5 years of Fujifilm X-series, it marks the start of a new era where Fujifilm users who are into flash photography, will no longer be limited by their Fuji’s sync speed. On an X-Pro 2, that is 1/250th, on an X-T1, it’s 1/180th of a second. From now on, you’ll be able to use these cameras with flash at up to 1/8.000 of a second. The little wonder of technology that makes this possible is a radio transceiver called the Cactus V6 Mark II. And the opening shot is the first image I shot with it. 

The Cactus V6 Mark II. Affordable High Speed Sync for Fujifilm users.

As I wrote in this review, I was already quite fond of the original Cactus V6 Mark I as a radio trigger for Fujifilm cameras because it lets you control the power of say a Nikon SB900 manually and remotely by connecting it to a V6 switched to Rx (receiver) mode. Pop a second V6 on your camera’s hotshoe in Tx (transmitter) mode, and you’re good to go. You have 4 different groups that you can assign flashes to and each group’s power can be controlled individually. When changing power levels, you can do it all conveniently from the V6-transmitter on your camera and you can do so for one group separately or for all groups proportionally. The V6 Mark II keeps all those cool features and adds what I have been hoping and waiting for ever since I switched to the Fuji X-system: High Speed Sync. Short of TTL, which I rarely use anyway, and High Speed Sync, which is about the only thing I miss from my DSLR days, the original V6 did everything I wanted it to. And now the Mark II adds just that one missing feature.

What is HSS?

Let’s backtrack a little. When you shoot flash, traditionally, you have to take the so-called X-sync speed - typically around 1/200th of a second - of your camera into account: you can only sync a flash at shutter speeds up to the sync speed.

“No longer having a sync speed to worry about, means you can use your expensive fast Fujifilm primes wide open and still use flash!”

Now, did you notice the word ‘traditionally’? I put it in there because, for a couple of years already, most camera and flash manufacturers have found ways around this limitation, effectively letting you use your flash with sync speeds all the way up to 1/8000th of a second.

A flash used on a camera with a sync speed of 1/200th of a second. Left: 1/200th of a second, middle: 1/320th of a second. Right: 1/500th of a second. Failure to respect the X-sync speed of your camera will result in the infamous black bar across your image.

Why is this such a big deal for Fujifilm users?

Working at 1/250th or 1/180th of a second with flash forces me to use very small apertures, resulting in a very busy background.

As I said in the previous paragraph, most camera and flash manufacturers already support HSS, except… Fujifilm… They are working on an HSS enabled flash (the EF-X500), that would even have the advantage of throwing TTL in the mix. By contrast, the V6 Mark II is manual-only, although you can change that manual power level remotely. However, that flash still isn’t available. Latest rumors point at a September release. According to Fujifilm’s press release, the EF-X500 would sport an optical triggering system. The V6 Mk II uses radio, which is more reliable in direct sunlight, is exactly the kind of situation where you would need HSS in the first place. So, the upcoming EF-X500 and the Cactus V6 needn’t be competitors. On the contrary, they might end up working well together…

Now about those HSS advantages: there are two of them, and they’re both super important for flash users. First of all, no longer having a sync speed to worry about, means you can use your expensive fast Fujifilm primes wide open and still use flash, as the example below shows.

Compare this image to the previous one: the background here is nice and blurry. It makes you focus on the subject in the foreground.

Thanks to the Cactus V6 Mark II, I was able to use flash (in this case a Cactus RF60, but I also tried it with a Nikon SB-900) and shoot at f/2.8 at 1/8.000th of a second. With any other trigger, I would have had to shoot at 1/250th of a second on my X-Pro 2 (and even 1/180th of a second on the X-T1). That means I would have to use an aperture of f/16. I don’t know about you, but I did not buy the 56 mm or the 50-140 mm to use it only at f/16! HSS works with Cactus' own RF60 flash and with a large number of third-party flashes (some 60 of them), too. The full list is detailed at the bottom of this page. Apparently, one of the most important criteria that the third party flash has to have is that it has to support HSS.

Now, in all honesty, there’s another way you could solve this problem, at least when your subject is stationary. That’s by putting a neutral density (ND) filter over your lens, in this example a 5 stop one. However, as anyone who’s ever used NDs will testify: using them adds another layer of complexity to your flash photography. Also, as they’re an extra piece of glass, the cheaper ones may have a slight impact on your image quality and the stronger ones will often introduce a colour cast, too.

And finally, ND’s won’t help you if you want to freeze fast moving outdoor action, like dancers jumping, with flash outdoors. That’s because at those slow regular sync speeds, the ambient light that falls on your subject will cause some blur around it in the final image. For that blur to disappear, you need to use faster shutter speeds.

Without High Speed Sync, the only way to use flash, e.g. as fill light when the light is really bright and contrasty outside, is to use a truckload of neutral density. In this image, I had to use over 10 stops to get the aperture down to F/1.8 to get the cinematic shallow depth of field that I wanted. 

This image was shot with a Sony camera and a 600 Ws CononMk i6 EX Leopard using High Speed Sync. Up until now, you simply could not make this kind of action-freezing, flash-lit shot with a Fujifilm X-series camera other than the X100 series. Thanks to the Cactus V6 Mark II, now you can.

Normal HSS

This is where High Speed Sync comes in. I won’t copy the V6 user manual - in fact, it’s 100 pages long and you can download it here if you want to - but the procedure is rather straightforward. It took me 5 minutes to get my X-Pro 2, one cactus V6 Mark II trigger and one Cactus RF60 flash shooting in High Speed Sync. Honestly, I was surprised at how smooth it all went.

The Cactus RF60 is a manual flash that has a built-in radio receiver that allows HSS with the V6 Mk II trigger. In the case of non-Cactus flashes, you have to attach them to a Cactus V6 receiver. Although the trigger on your Fujifilm camera needs to be a V6 Mk II, Cactus are working on a firmware update that will support Power Sync if you use the V6 as a receiver with a non-Cactus flash. For Normal HSS support with those non-Cactus flashes, you'll always need to use a V6 Mk II as a receiver.

The Cactus V6 Mark II will not only enable HSS with Cactus’ own RF60 flash, but with just about any speedlight, like the Nikon SB-900 or the cheap Godox V850 flashes. The advantage of Cactus’ own RF60 is that it has a built-in receiver. In the case of non-Cactus flashes, you have to attach them to a Cactus V6 receiver. Although the trigger on your Fujifilm camera needs to be a V6 Mark II, Cactus are working on a firmware update that will enable users to use the V6 Mark I as an HSS-enabled receiver.

The only thing you have to do - once - is ‘train’ your trigger to get to know your specific Fujifilm camera: for that, you need to go into the trigger’s menu and it will ask you to fire one shot at 1/1000th of a second. That’s all. Once that’s done, you simply set the trigger to ‘Normal HSS’ mode. Specifically for Fujifilm cameras, as they don’t officially support High Speed Sync yet, you also have to set ‘Forced HSS’ to ‘On’ when you want to shoot at speeds higher than your sync speed. Luckily, you don’t have to dive into any menus here: You simply push the rotary wheel on the back of the V6. When you’re back to using shutter speeds below the sync speed, don’t forget to push the rotary wheel again. I found myself sometimes inadvertently switching between those two modes simply because the wheel had bumped into something. Cactus have already replied they would fix this in the next firmware update.

I put a flash outside, behind the door. Without the flash, either Serge would have been completely dark or the outside world would have been completely blown out. Thanks to HSS, I could use the 16 mm at f/1.4 and 1/8000th of a second. Without HSS, I would have had to shoot this at f/8 to stay within the X-Pro 2’s 1/250th of a second sync speed.

Without getting too technical, what happens in Normal HSS mode is that the flash fires almost stroboscopically during the shutter speed of say 1/2000th of a second. Yes, it’s hard to believe but in that short period of time, the flash fires more than once but that’s what happens! The downside is that a lot of flash power gets wasted, but that’s the case for all HSS systems that work like this, also Nikon’s and Canon’s!

Power Sync

That’s why Cactus has also included a second way of letting you work beyond the sync speed of your camera, and that’s called Power Sync. This technology works differently: it uses a slice of the flash curve’s tail and matches that up with your shutter speed. So in a way, your flash acts as a continuous light source, if only for that very short shutter speed. For this technology to work, the flash duration needs to be as long (slow) as possible. That’s why it will only work at full power. The advantage is that less light is lost, so when there’s a lot of ambient light you need to tame, or you want to use very big, light-sucking modifiers, Power Sync might give you some more mileage. The downside compared to Normal HSS is that you cannot dial your flash power down from full power. In the V6’s menu, you can adjust which part of the flash curve is used, simply by turning a dial from 0 to 32. For example, for the RF60, I found a setting of 28 to be ideal. Back in the day, the Pocketwizard TT1 and TT5 system offered a similar option of adjusting the sync timing but you needed to program the units via your computer. Compared to this, Cactus’ implementation is incredibly simple and straightforward.

I’d recommend starting out in Normal HSS and using Power Sync when you really need to squeeze every last photon out of your flashes. Power Sync is also the option to choose when you want to work with studio flashes beyond the sync speed.

Two shots, both with the flash at full power. The darkest one (left) was shot in Normal HSS mode. The slightly brighter one (right) was shot in Power Sync mode. In both shots, the subject was standing at the same distance to the flash. So the difference you see is the extra power that Power Sync gives you over Normal HSS.

Power Sync is also the way to go if you want to use studio flashes. This shot was taken with the 600 Ws Godox AD600B, attached to a Cactus V6 Mark II receiver and triggered by a Cactus V6 Mark II transmitter on my Fujifilm camera. At first, I could not get this to work, but after contacting Cactus' support, they told me that for the moment, when working with these kinds of powerful strobes in Power Sync, you have to to set the receiver in Nikon mode. 

So does this this mean you can sell your ND filters?

Not quite: if you really like to work with flash and use your precious primes wide open, there will still be instances where even at 1/8000th of a second, you’ll have too much ambient light at f/1.4 or f/1.2 and ISO 200. And your Fuji’s electronic shutter is not an option, as it does not work with flash at all. Although in a pinch you could drop your ISO to 100, I don’t recommend you do because it effectively decreases your dynamic range. In those cases, you might still want to use a two or three stop ND filter. Also, although HSS is certainly more user-friendly than using ND filters, it wastes flash power. So, an ND filter can still come in handy on those occasions where you really need to squeeze every last photon of light out of your flash.

Also, Normal HSS and Power Sync do not work on all Fujifilm cameras: I have personally tried it on the X-Pro 1, X-Pro 2, X-T1 and X100T. According to Cactus, it does not work on the X-E2. I don't know about the X-E1, X-A1, X-M1 or X-E2s or older versions of the X100. 

Finally, if you want to work with bigger flashes that don’t play ball with Cactus’ Power Sync technology, you will still need ND filters to keep shutter speeds under your sync speed when working with wide open apertures.

Ergonomics and handling

The V6II is compatible in Normal HSS and Power Sync mode with Cactus’ own RF60 flash (obviously) but also with a lot of flashes that you might have lying around from your pre-Fujifilm days. For example, I tried it with an SB900 and it also worked. Oddly enough, the few flashes HSS does not work with, are the current Fujifilm flashes like the EF-42. For optimal compatibility and performance, you can choose the flash model (e.g. Nikon SB-900) in the menu of the V6.

“The V6 Mark II should be in the bag of every Fujifilm photographer who’s even halfway interested in using flash on location. ”

Putting my old Nikon SB900 back to life - and not just ordinary life but life in the fast lane! By putting it on a V6 Mark II, I can use it in HSS mode with my X-Pro 2.

Putting my old Nikon SB900 back to life - and not just ordinary life but life in the fast lane! By putting it on a V6 Mark II, I can use it in HSS mode with my X-Pro 2.

The Cactus V6 has an easy-to use interface with 4 direct-access buttons, a control wheel and a pass-through TTL hotshoe, but as a result of that, it’s also quite wide. In fact, on some cameras, especially the X-T10, it makes it hard to adjust the shutter speed dial. The easiest workaround is to set your shutter speed dial to the T-position and then adjust your shutter speed with the front dial anywhere between your fastest shutter speed and 30 seconds. You did know that trick, didn’t you?

On the X-Pro 2, there’s another thing to watch out for: don’t turn the lever that secures the trigger to the hotshoe too far to the right, or you will not be able to change your ISO anymore because it would refrain you from lifting the ISO dial.

Because of the design of the X-T1 and the newly announced X-T2, there is more clearance between the bottom of the trigger and the dials on the top of these cameras and I don’t expect any issues there.

Finally, make sure you slide the V6 all the way in the hotshoe. If necessary, push it a little. I’ve had a couple of instances where my flashes did not fire because I had not pushed it all the way in.

Conclusion

The V6 Mark II should be in the bag of every Fujifilm photographer who’s even halfway interested in using flash on location. It dramatically extends your creative options in terms of working wide open and/or freezing action and it does so in a way that is relatively easy to understand and set up, especially considering that Fujifilm does not have native HSS support at the moment. On top of that, it lets you put those old Canon or Nikon flashes that you might still lingering about in the cupboard to good use. Considering it’s currently the only trigger that currently does that, the price (under $200 for a pair) is a bargain, too. I know more than one Fujifilm photographer whose leather wrist wrap costs more than a V6!

In Belgium, the units can be bought through www.grobet.be, amongst other dealers. In the rest of Europe, the V6 Mark II and the RF60 are available for pre-order through the website of X-Photographer Damien Lovegrove via this link. Damien's even got a cool bonus: if you buy at least two units or a kit consisting of at least one trigger and one flash, you get one of his - excellent - training videos on off camera flash for free! More details over here.

For this image, I exceptionally dropped the ISO to 100 so I could shoot at f/1.8 and still keep the background dark enough.

Interested in more news and reviews?

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The Web Essentials Bundle for Photographers

Over $2.400 of resources for only $87

Every once in a while, I blog about a bundle that I think is interesting for photographers. Now, I nearly missed this one, because I thought it was a bundle for web designers. Turns out it is really much more a bundle with web and marketing tools for professional and semi-professional photographers and bloggers. The Web Essentials Bundle for Photographers bundles a bunch of eBooks, video tutorials, software and templates that, when purchased separately, would set you back over $2.400. Now you can get them for only $87. I was actually planning on buying two courses when I got word that they were included in the bundle and those alone would have cost me around $200. So getting the bundle was a no-brainer.

My personal top-10 of what's included

I'll just give you my personal top-10, but there are many more resources. For example, there's a tonne of Wordpress-based content (photography themes, shopping cart plug-ins, ...) but as I use Squarespace for this website, that content has little value to me. If you're running a Wordpress-based website, chances are that you might want to get the bundle for the Wordpress-based content alone. Check out the full list of resources here!

1. Making your Mark Online: Digital Marketing eCourse for Photographers

This is a marketing for photographers course by Corwin Hiebert, manager to one of the most successful photographers I know: David duChemin. So, I figure, if there's one guy a photographer can learn digital marketing from, it's Corwin! As photographers, we are generally too busy being creative to bother about the marketing. In fact, some of us consider ourselves to be artists and find that 'marketing' is a dirty word. Yet, simply making art does not pay the rent or feed the children or the cat... And even when you don't need the money, wouldn't your rather have thousands of people seeing what you created rather than hundreds? That's what this  course is all about.

Normally, this resource is $79, now it's included in the 5 Day Deal Web Essentials Bundle for Photographers.

2. The Creative Composites Bundle

In this course by Photoshop wizard Serge Ramelli, you'll learn all about compositing: putting a model you photographed in a studio into a different background. 

Normally, this resource is $135, now it's included in the 5 Day Deal Web Essentials Bundle for Photographers.

3. Affiliate Marketing - Monetizing Your Website with Value-Based Content

This is a brand new course by Dave Seeram, of which I've previously watched and enjoyed 24/7 Photo Pro on how to make your website make money for you. 

Normally, this resource is $97, now it's included in the 5 Day Deal Web Essentials Bundle for Photographers.

4. SEO Cookbook for Photographers

This eBook teaches you the basics of Search Engine Optimization. We all know how much time and effort it takes to keep a photography website and blog alive with fresh content. This eBook shows you how investing a little more effort can attract a lot more visitors to your website.

Normally, this resource is $99, now it's included in the 5 Day Deal Web Essentials Bundle for Photographers.

5. Designer Sets of Social Media Templates

This is a set of drag-and-drop templates that let you easily create Facebook banners and the like.

Normally, this resource is $89, now it's included in the 5 Day Deal Web Essentials Bundle for Photographers.

6. Photographer Logo & Overlay Templates

If you're looking for a professionally designed logo for your business cards, this set by Brad Wayland has a couple of great-looking options.

Normally, this resource is $48, now it's included in the 5 Day Deal Web Essentials Bundle for Photographers.

7. Photo Collage Templates for Social Media

A sample of the templates that are included in the bundle.

Another set of customisable drag-and-drop templates.

Normally, this resource is $98, now it's included in the 5 Day Deal Web Essentials Bundle for Photographers.

8. Original Designer Fonts Bundle

76 script-based fonts that work really well with senior portrait, wedding or other announcement cards.

Normally, this resource is $39.99, now it's included in the 5 Day Deal Web Essentials Bundle for Photographers.

9. Illustrator Quickstart Video Course

As a photographer, you sometimes need Adobe Illustrator, but if you're anything like me, you haven't got a clue how it works. That's where this Quickstart course comes in. It teaches you the basics!

Normally, this resource is $20, now it's included in the 5 Day Deal Web Essentials Bundle for Photographers.

10. Power of Planning. A Guide for Creating Your Editorial Calendar.

This is one that interests me a lot: as many photographers and bloggers, I consider myself to be more creative than organised - and that's an understatement. The result is I don't blog as much as I should - and could. This training resource promises to help me get a grip on planning my blogging better. I look forward to trying it out!

Normally, this resource is $79, now it's included in the 5 Day Deal Web Essentials Bundle for Photographers.

Adding it all up

I've done the math, and this top-10 alone would cost me $783,99. Now I've purchased it (and I did actually purchase it - I did not receive it for free) at a fraction of that cost.

I suggest you head over to the 5 Day Deal website to check what other resources are included that might interest you even more than this top-10. There's a big chance you'll come to the same conclusion as I did: this bundle is a steal!

The only thing to bear in mind - as the name 5 Day Deal implies - is that this bundle isn't around forever: in fact, you can only buy it until July 19th. Then it's gone forever. And in the case of the 5 Day Deal, that is to be taken litterally, as they never promote the same content twice. Final thing, if you're living in the EU, there's 21% VAT that gets added to your bill, unless you have a valid VAT number!

A nice extra touch is that 10 percent of the sales go directly to charity: you can even choose your own charity from the list during the checkout procedure.

Disclosure: if you purchase the Web Essentials Bundle for Photographers, MoreThanWords.be will make a small commission (at no extra cost to you). This helps to support the free content, reviews and tips on this website and its maintenance. However, rest assured that I will only recommend products or bundles that I find interesting enough.

What's the big deal about The Big Deal?

If you're reading this blog, chances are that you are into photography, postprocessing or probably even both. Well, I've got some interesting news for you! There's a new photography bundle out, The Big Deal. I'll immediately cut to the chase: this bundle, which is only available until July 4th, contains photography software, video tutorials, eBooks, Lightroom presets and Photoshop actions. The combined value of all the goodies in the bundle is over $3.000, yet it's priced at $99... and that's really a steal! 

Generally, there's a lot of 'filler' content in these bundles: stuff that you even would not want to get for free, let alone pay for it. But the Big Deal is much more about 'killer content' than it is about 'filler content'.

Let's have a look at what's inside. I won't list everything - there's a full list available over here - just my personal highlights.

Software

Although there's a lot more software in The Big Deal, I've limited myself to my personal top-3:

1. Photo Mechanic 5

More and more high-volume photographers who are using Lightroom, are starting to use Photo Mechanic as a front-end to Lightroom. Instead of waiting forever for Lightroom to build 1:1 previews, they use Photo Mechanic for the culling (selection) of the best images and then import only the selected ones into Lightroom. Ratings and Color Labels applied in Photo Mechanic can be read by Lightroom.

If you're a high-volume shooter, Photo Mechanic is an ideal 'front end' to Lightroom: do your culling in Photo Mechanic and your developing in Lightroom.

If you want to speed up your Lightroom workflow, Photo Mechanic is the way to go. In fact, Photo Mechanic only has one disadvantage: at $150, it's more expensive than Lightroom itself. If you get The Big Deal, it's included in the $99 bundle. For some of you, this should be enough to go for the 'Buy Now' button, so I've included one below, just for your convenience :-) By the way, if you want to see a video on how I use Lightroom and Photo Mechanic together and how it could speed up your workflow, check out this recent blog post of mine.

2. Tonality by Macphun

After Silver Efex Pro, Tonality by Macphun is probably the best Black & White software out there. It's got tonnes of presets and what I especially like is that it has built-in layer capabilities: this allows you for example to blend what one preset does to the sky and what another preset does to the foreground

Tonality (Mac-only) has the ability to work with layers inside the application. This lets you combine presets or easily fade their effect.

Normally, it's about $60, now it's included in The Big Deal.

3. Clarity by Topaz Labs

If you like the Clarity slider in Lightroom, you'll love Clarity by Topaz Labs: it's like a whole plug-in dedicated to creative sharpening effects. It's one of the favorite plug-ins of master retoucher and compositer Glyn Dewis, whose videos are also included in the bundle!

Clarity is normally around $50, now it's included in The Big Deal.

Video Tutorials

There is a plethora of video tutorials included in The Big Deal. Below is my personal top-3. Just as with the software, some of these tutorials cost more if you buy them separately than if you get them in the bundle.

1. Language of Light, Volume 1 by Joe McNally

If you want to learn about off-camera flash, no better source than Joe McNally. I've bought this tutorial myself a couple of years ago and it's worth every penny of its $120 price tag. So this is another example of a tutorial that by itself costs more than the whole bundle itself!

2. Retouching and Compositing Video Bundle by Glyn Dewis

If you're into compositing, British guru Glyn Dewis is your man. I own his book on compositing and it's excellent. I've also seen him live on a couple of occasions and the man knows his Photoshop stuff and he's witty to boot. This bundle contains several of training and again, when purchased separately, would cost more than the whole Big Deal Bundle.

3. Photoshop Training with Dave Cross

Dave Cross is another one of those Photoshop giants. He's got three courses in The Big Deal: one on working non-destructively, one on selections, channels and masks and one on automating Photoshop. 

This is just my personal top-3, but there's also Lightroom training by RC Concepcion, a video tutorial on how to use Photoshop for video editing and lots more. Again, you can see the whole list here.

Presets and actions

Finally, there's a bunch of Lightroom presets and Photoshop actions in the bundle as well, like Lighroom guru Jared Platt's comprehensive preset pack, by itself a $115 value.

Conclusion. Is it worth it?

There's lots more interesting stuff than what I've listed in this post but ultimately, you're the only one who can decide on whether this bundle is worth it or not. What I generally do in cases like this, is have a look at the entire list (scroll down a bit in this link), and check what stuff is in there that I'm really interested in. In this particular case, that would be well over $1.000. So the way I look at it is I get a 90 percent discount on the stuff that really interests me, and I get all the other stuff thrown in for free, in which there will probably be some hidden gems, too!

But that's just me and my rational approach. You could just go and say '$3.000 worth of photo stuff for $99?' That's a no-brainer :-)

Disclaimer:
In the interest of full disclosure: the above links are affiliate links. If you purchase the Big Deal through the links in this blog post, MoreThanWords receives a commission that is paid for by the seller. In other words, it does not cost you anything extra and it helps me pay the bills of running this site and all the free content and videos that are on it. Rest assured that I don't simply advise this bundle because I'm an affiliate. In fact, I have the opportunity to promote bundles like this one quite regularly, but there's a lot of chaff amongst the wheat. So, I only promote the ones that I think are interesting, like this one. If you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comments.

It's birthday week at Craft & Vision: free stuff and 50 percent discounts

The fine folks over at Craft & Vision, the publisher of my English eBooks , Lightroom presets and Photoshop training videos, are having a birthday sale.

Indeed, Craft & Vision is now officially seven years old. I'm glad to have been a part of it for the past five years and I'm looking forward to many more! Here are three deals I think you should absolutely consider:

1. My 2 Lightroom preset bundles at half price + free Lightroom 6 Up to Speed eBook

Looking to create striking Black and White images or to give your color images a little twist? This bundle contains over 200 presets that you can mix and match for even more creative results.

My critically acclaimed Black & White Lightroom preset bundle and my Colorific Color Grading bundle are preset bestsellers at Craft & Vision, with thousands of copies sold. The bundle normally retails for $40 + VAT, but until June 26th, you can pick them up for $20 + VAT. Each bundle includes an eBook with in-depth explanation on how to get the most out of these presets, or any other presets for that matter. On top of that, we throw in a free copy of my 'Lightroom 6 Up to Speed' eBook. So, that's some 200 presets and over 200 pages of Lightroom literature (including some very rare tips and techniques) for only $20 + VAT!

2. David duChemin's excellent 'After the Camera'

After the Camera is a 20 video, 4.5 hour journey on how a working, published photographer uses Lightroom to manage and edit his images.

Craft & Vision founder David duChemin is no stranger to Lightroom himself. In fact, he recorded 'After the Camera', a brilliant, four hour tutorial about how he uses Lightroom. The tutorial is as much about the why as it is about the how of postprocessing images. It's normally priced at $40 + VAT which I consider already an absolute bargain, but until June 26th, you can pick it up for only $20 + VAT. Here, you can read a more in-depth review about After the Camera.

3. PHOTOGRAPH NO. 16, normally $8 + VAT, is now absolutely free.

The latest issue of PHOTOGRAPH is also the last. To soften the blow, it's available for free! Get it here.

The latest issue of PHOTOGRAPH magazine will also be the last - unfortunately. This 100% ad-free magazine focuses on photography itself. No geek stuff but simply beautiful portfolios and deep, motivating interviews. To get this latest and last copy in as many hands (or should I say on as many tablets) as possible, the Craft & Vision guys have decided to make it free, that is, if you hit the button below before June 26th!

Speed up your Lightroom workflow with Photo Mechanic and get 33% off + bonuses

I love Lightroom, but if there's one thing that frustrates me, it's the speed (or lack thereof) with which it renders its 1:1 previews. And... you need those to check for sharpness, a rather essential criterion when you're separating the keepers from the rejects.

Speeding up your workflow with Photo Mechanic

That's why a lot of pro photographers have started to use Photo Mechanic, an extra piece of software, in their workflow. In the following video, I show you what Photo Mechanic can do as a 'front end' to Lightroom.

Photo Mechanic probably has only one drawback: its price tag of $150, although in itself not extravagant, seems to be a bit on the high side if you 'only' want to use it as a front-end to Lightroom...

The Big Deal Bundle

Well, I have some good news for you: if you like what you saw in the video, I would suggest NOT heading over to the Photo Mechanic website, but to the site of The Big Deal. This is a bundle consisting of over $3.000 worth of photography related software, ebooks, training videos, Lightroom presets, Photoshop actions and the like. The bundle is currently being offered for $99. And the best thing is... Photo Mechanic is included in The Big Deal. Not an old version or a time-delimited demo, but the real, fully workin, current version 5 (*). So, instead of forking out $150 for Photo Mechanic alone, you can get it at a 33% discount and in the mean time, download a very cool Joe McNally training vide on lighting, a compositing course by compositing guru Glyn Dewis, a tonne of Lightroom presets, some other cool software, including Clarity by Topaz Labs, Tonality by Macphun and much more.

Is this a permanent deal?

No, as with most of these bundles, there's a time-limit: you have to order before July 4th. So, if you're interested, head over to The Big Deal website and find out what else is included...

And don't forget, you'll not only be saving money but more importantly, you'll be saving precious time by culling your images with Photo Mechanic. And as time is money, you'll actually be saving money twice :-)

(*) Although the software itself is fully-functional, there are two things that I do want to tell you so you can make an informed decision: first of all, you can use this bundle version of Photo Mechanic on only one computer and second, the license is non-upgradeable. However, if you'll only be running it as a front-end to Lightroom in the way I describe in the video, the current version 5 has all it takes to do that, so you would not need an upgrade anytime soon anyway!

Flash and the Fujifilm X-system: dramatic lighting in India

After my blog post about my first six months with the X-Pro 2 went online, a number of people asked me how I lit my Varanasi portraits. So I thought this would make an excellent subject for a blog post.

One flash, big or small

In 90 percent of my shots, I use only one artificial light. Depending on how much power I need, this can be a powerful portable, battery powered studio strobe like the Jinbei HD600 (reviewed here) or a simple speedlight. With my X-Pro 2, the latter will generally be a Godox Ving V850 (reviewed here) or a Cactus RF60, triggered by a Cactus V6 transmitter (reviewed here). 

However, as the opening image shows, this does not mean I only have one light source in my shot. On sunny days, I'll generally pose my subject with his back towards the sun. Then, I'll underexpose the ambient. This kills two birds in one stone. First of all, the sun makes for a nice rim light, separating my subject from the background.

Obviously, if you'd do this without flash light, your subject would be in the shade. But that's where the flash comes in! I generally work in manual mode, both on my ambient exposure as on my flash exposure. After having set the background exposure the way I like it, I'll start adjusting the flash power until it looks right to me.

That's one of the reasons why I love Electronic Viewfinders so much: they can give me a preview of the ambient exposure and they also give me a glare-free, reflection-free review of the image in the viewfinder, immediately after I've taken the shot. Ever tried reviewing the image you just made on a DSLR screen in the blazing sun? I rest my case.

Positioning the flash

I love me some drama in my shots. So I'll rarely put the flash behind me. Most of the time, my flash will come from a 45 degree angle or even more, because that lets me create some drama in the face of my subject and it gives a nice triangle of light under the eye on the shadow-side of the face, the famous 'Rembrandt-look'.

Sometimes, I'll have my subjects look straight into the camera, but whenever possible, I prefer to have them look slightly off-camera. When you position your subject that way, you have two ways of lighting them: you can either light the side of the face that's directed towards the camera, or you can light the side of the face that's turned away from the camera. The first is called broad lighting and the second is called short lighting. 

FUJIFILMX-Pro2 | XF16mmF1.4 R WR | 1/250 sec. @ f/1.8 | ISO 200
In the opening image, the flash and softbox were just outside of the frame, to the left. In this image, the flash is to my right, lighting the side of the face that's turned towards the camera. The result is a much flatter looking image.

The latter makes for a much more dramatic look. Compare the opening image of the rickshaw driver (which used the short lighting technique) to this one here, which was lit with broad lighting.

When I shoot against the sun, I'll also try to put my flash diagonally opposite to the sun, and have my subject stand in between them. This diagonal lighting technique is called cross lighting. If this means I have to move my subject, so be it. Of course, in the mean time, I take the background into consideration, too. This makes that sometimes, I'll revisit a certain scene later that day or earlier the following day to assure the best possible combination of sun and background. If there's no sun, I'll recreate the cross-lighting scheme using two flashes 

The 'short'-cross-lighting technique in action. The light falling on this sadhu's shoulder is the sun.

Modifiers

My two SMDV speedboxes in action. The small one on the right is the SMDV Speedbox 70, equipped with a grid. The big one on the left is the SMDV Alpha 110.

Recently, I have discovered the fantastic line-up of modifiers by a company called SMDV. In Varanasi, I used both their SMDV Speedbox 70 and their SMDV Alpha Speedbox 110. The first is aimed at speedlight, the second has a Bowens mount and is aimed at bigger studio lights. They are strong, reliable and can be set-up in under 30 seconds. This means a lot if you're constantly moving around. And, better still, breaking them up is done in literally two seconds. You just press a couple of buttons and off you go.

FUJIFILMX-Pro2 | XF50-140mmF2.8 R LM OIS WR | 1/250 sec. @ f/5.0 | ISO 400
This image only has one light in it: the Jinbei HD 600 fired through the SMDV Alpha 110 softbox.
Postprocessing was done with one of my Colorific Color Grading Presets for Lightroom.

But maybe the best thing about the SMDV Speedboxes is that both of them can be gridded. Especially in the narrow Varanasi alleyways, this can make for a huge difference and lets you control your light much more. In fact, they only have one disadvantage: they're not cheap but you really get what you pay for in this case. In Europe, they can be bought through the fine folks of Foto Morgen. Outside of Europe, I'd recommend the equally helpful staff of 1212world.com. If you want to know more about the SMDV 70, check out fellow X-photographer Matt Brandon's blog post about it.

Another image in which I used short lighting. The softbox is just outisde of the frame. This results in a soft yet contrasty light with a dramatic light falloff (because of the inverse square law). By the time the light that correctly lights his forehead, has reached his ears, it has already lost a lot of power.
Image processed with my new Lightroom preset pack: Piet's Power Preset Pack, Vol 01.

I'll generally put the softboxes as close to my subject as possible, generally just outside of the frame,  for three reasons. First of all, the closer they are, the softer the light will be. Yet, the light falloff will be more dramatic which is what I'm after in the first place, remember? Finally, by putting them close to my subject, I make it easier on my flash because it has to work less hard. If you're familiar with the infamous inverse square law, this says that if you double the distance between your flash and your subject, you'll need four times the light output.

This inverse square law can also work in your favour: if you halve the distance between your light and your subject, you need four times less light!  

ND filters

Finally, there's one other piece of kit in my camera bag that comes in really handy when using flash with the Fujifilm X-system. Unlike most other brands, Fujifilm cameras still aren't capable of performing High Speed Sync. Unless you're shooting the fantastic X100 series cameras, you're limited to a sync speed of 1/250th on the X-Pro 2 and 1/180th on all the other X-series cameras. If there's a lot of sun (and I can assure you that in Varanasi, there is!) this means that you'll have to resort to apertures of f/16 or smaller. In other words, no way of using shallow depth of field to isolate your subject from the background. Unless... you use an ND filter. I generally use a combination of a fixed (by Formatt-Hitech) and a variable one (by B+W) and I'll explain the reason for that in an upcoming blog post.

If you want to know more about working with flash in general and off-camera flash in particular, you might want to check out my Making Light and Making Light II ebooks, available over at Craft & Vision. If you already know your way around the technical sides of off-camera flash and if you're looking for a more inspirational book, make sure to check out the slightly fantastic Joey L's Photographing Shadow and Light.

6 months with the X-Pro 2

I have been using the X-Pro 2 for half a year now and that calls for a celebration. Because I could not find half-year birthday candles, I decided to print a book with some of my favorite images. And then I thought, why not create a small slideshow, while I'm at it? 

Ever since I received a pre-production sample in november 2015, the X-Pro 2 has become my go-to camera. I use it for portraits and landscapes, for urban exploration and cityscapes.

I have taken the camera with me through hot and dusty India and through cold and rainy Belgium. I have shot it in the glaring sun and in near darkness. Long exposures and short ones. Natural light and flash. 

FUJIFILM X-Pro2 | XF10-24mmF4 R OIS @ 14.5 mm | 1-250 sec at f - 16 | ISO 200

I love the unobtrusive look that lets me focus on my subjects instead of having them focus on my camera. I love the retro dials on the body and the aperture rings on the lenses. I love the instant feedback of the Electronic Viewfinder and the fact that I can easily switch to an optical one in those instances where I prefer it, like when I’m shooting street photography.

FUJIFILM X-Pro2 | XF56mm F1.2 @ 56 mm | 1-125 sec at f  - 1.2 | ISO 200 | Acros Film Simulation profile in Lightroom

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, I love the quality of the raw files that let me do almost anything I want in postproduction. Yet, I am perhaps even more impressed by the out-of-camera jpegs and the beautiful film simulations like Classic Chrome, Pro Neg and the new Acros.

I have included the EXIF info under each image, so you can have an idea as to what lenses I use and what they’re capable of. My personal favorites are the XF 10-24 and the XF 56 1.2 but I also find myself increasingly using the XF 16-55 and the XF 50-140. Almost all of the lenses in the Fujifilm line-up are sharp, but these two really knock it out of the park. Especially with the new X-Pro 2 sensor.

Even if you enjoy these images only half as much as I have enjoyed creating them, you should be in for a great visual journey, from Brussels to Benares.

P.S. All images have been processed in Lightroom, using either my Colorific Color Grading presets or my Black + White presets.

What's new in Lightroom 6.6 / Lightroom CC 2015.6?

Adobe have just released an update to Lightroom 6/CC. As usual, there's a long list of new supported cameras and lenses, which you can find at the bottom of this post, and there's also a couple of new features. Some of them are Lightroom CC only, others are available both in Lightroom 6 and in Lightroom CC.

The following video shows you all the new features in detail.

400 pages and over 50 case studies: Lightroom 6/CC Unmasked is the ideal companion for beginning and more advanced Lightroom users.

If you want to know more about Lightroom, check out my 400 page eBook 'Lightroom 6/CC Unmasked', available over at www.craftandvision.com.

New camera support in Lightroom 6.6

• Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark II
• Leica MD (Typ 262)
• Nikon COOLPIX B700
• Panasonic DMCGX85 (DMCGX80, DMCGX7MK2)

New tethering support

• Canon EOS1DX Mark II
• Canon EOS 80D
• Canon EOS 1300D / Canon Rebel T6

New lens profile support: [Mount] - Name

• [Canon] EF Canon EFS 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM
• [Canon] EF Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM +1.4x
• [Canon] EF Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM +2.0x
• [Canon] EF TAMRON SP 85mm F1.8 Di VC USD F016E
• [Canon] EF TAMRON SP 90mm F2.8 Di MACRO VC USD F017E
• [Canon EF-M] Rokinon 10mm f/2.8 ED AS NCS CS
• [Canon EF-M] Samyang 8mm f/3.5 UMC FishEye CS II
• [Canon EF-M] Samyang 10mm f/2.8 ED AS NCS CS
• [Canon EF-M] Samyang 100mm f/2.8 ED UMC MACRO
• [Canon EF-M] Samyang 135mm f/2 ED UMC
• DJI PHANTOM 4 FC330 (RAW + JPEG)
• [Fujifilm] Rokinon 10mm f/2.8 ED AS NCS CS
• [Fujifilm] Rokinon 100mm f/2.8 ED UMC MACRO
• [Fujifilm] Rokinon 135mm f/2 ED UMC
• [Fujifilm] Samyang 8mm f/3.5 UMC FishEye CS II
• [Fujifilm] Samyang 10mm f/2.8 ED AS NCS CS
• [Fujifilm] Samyang 100mm f/2.8 ED UMC MACRO
• [Fujifilm] Samyang 135mm f/2 ED UMC
• [Leica M] Lomography LOMO LCA MINITAR1 Art Lens 2.8/32
• [Leica M] Lomography Zenit New Jupiter 3+ 1.5/50
• [Leica M] Lomography Zenit New Russar+ 5.6/20
• [M42] Fujifilm FUJINON 55mm f/2.2 M42
• [Minolta SR] Minolta MC TELE ROKKORPF 135mm F2.8
• [Nikon F] TAMRON SP 85mm F1.8 Di VC USD F016N
• [Nikon F] TAMRON SP 90mm F2.8 Di MACRO VC USD F017N
• [Nikon] Coolpix Nikon COOLPIX B700
• [Olympus] Rokinon 10mm f/2.8 ED AS NCS CS
• [Olympus] Rokinon 100mm f/2.8 ED UMC MACRO
• [Olympus] Rokinon 135mm f/2 ED UMC
• [Olympus] Samyang 8mm f/3.5 UMC FishEye CS II
• [Olympus] Samyang 10mm f/2.8 ED AS NCS CS
• [Olympus] Samyang 100mm f/2.8 ED UMC MACRO
• [Olympus] Samyang 135mm f/2 ED UMC
• [Panasonic] Rokinon 10mm f/2.8 ED AS NCS CS
• [Panasonic] Rokinon 100mm f/2.8 ED UMC MACRO
• [Panasonic] Rokinon 135mm f/2 ED UMC
• [Panasonic] Samyang 8mm f/3.5 UMC FishEye CS II
• [Panasonic] Samyang 10mm f/2.8 ED AS NCS CS
• [Panasonic] Samyang 100mm f/2.8 ED UMC MACRO
• [Panasonic] Samyang 135mm f/2 ED UMC
• [Pentax] HD PENTAXD FA 15-30mm F2.8ED SDM WR
• [Pentax] HD PENTAXD FA 28-105mm F3.5-5.6ED DC WR
• [Pentax] HD PENTAX D FA* 70-200mm F2.8 ED DC AW
• [Samsung] NX Rokinon 10mm f/2.8 ED AS NCS CS
• [Samsung] NX Rokinon 100mm f/2.8 ED UMC MACRO
• [Samsung] NX Rokinon 135mm f/2 ED UMC
• [Samsung] NX Samyang 8mm f/3.5 UMC FishEye CS II
• [Samsung] NX Samyang 10mm f/2.8 ED AS NCS CS
• [Samsung] NX Samyang 100mm f/2.8 ED UMC MACRO
• [Samsung] NX Samyang 135mm f/2 ED UMC
• [Sony E] Rokinon 10mm f/2.8 ED AS NCS CS
• [Sony E] Samyang 8mm f/3.5 UMC FishEye CS II
• [Sony E] Samyang 10mm f/2.8 ED AS NCS CS
• [Sony FE] Rokinon 100mm f/2.8 ED UMC MACRO
• [Sony FE] Rokinon 135mm f/2 ED UMC
• [Sony FE] Samyang 100mm f/2.8 ED UMC MACRO
• [Sony FE] Samyang 135mm f/2 ED UMC
• [Sony FE] Sony FE 50mm F1.8
• [Sony FE] Sony FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS
• [Sony FE] Sony FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS + 1.4X Teleconverter
• [Sony FE] Sony FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS + 2X Teleconverter
• [Sony FE] Sony FE 70-300mm F4.5-5.6 G OSS
• [Sony FE] Voigtlander SUPER WIDEHELIAR 15mm F4.5 III
• [Sony FE] Zeiss Batis 2.8/18

Fixed bugs

For a full list of the bugs fixed in this release, check also the official Lightroom blog.

The Macphun Creative Kit XXL: over $2000 worth of software for only $129

If you're a Mac user, chances are that you've already heard of Macphun software. 

Macphun creates a number of interesting photo plug-ins for Lightroom and Photoshop. Their plugins can be purchased separately, but you can also get them in a bundle: the Creative Kit. For a limited time (until the end of May), Macphun has a special version of that Creative Kit, called the Creative Kit XXL, on sale. Basically, it's a bundle of the Creative Kit and a bunch of other photography related resources, such as eBooks, training videos, actions, textures and a bunch of Lightroom presets, including an unreleased set of my own!

When purchased separately, the total bundle would set you back over $2000 or €2000. Until the end of May, it's only $129 or €145 - the price difference between dollar and Euro is because of European VAT. In any case, it represents a savings of over 90 percent. And even if you aren't interested in all of the content, there's bound to be enough that interests you to make this killer deal worth your while.

I did the exercise and here's my personal top-10 of software and extras that are included in the bundle:

1.    Tonality CK

This Macphun Lightroom and Photoshop plug-in is one of the best plug-ins for creating great Black and White pictures. It comes loaded with presets for quick results but it caters to advanced users, too. One of the coolest features in my opinion is the fact that you can work with layers and layer masks inside of the plug-in. So, for example, you can combine the sky of one preset with the foreground of another. Or you can add a separate dodge & burn layer or a separate creative sharpening layer and work selectively in those layers.

Tonality is normally €60, but now it's included in the Macphun Creative Kit XXL.

Converting this image from a bland to a powerful Black and White was a breeze with Tonality Pro. Thanks to the built-in layers and layer masks, it's easy to combine several looks into one or to add a dodge and burn layer for selectively brightening parts of the image, as I did here with the jacket. By the way, this is the Dutch interface. The App is obviously available in English, too!

2.    Intensify Pro

This is my second favorite Macphun plug-in: as its name implies, it lets you intensify your pictures. Think of it as Lightroom's Clarity slider on steroids. Intensify gives you incredible control over the texture, structure and sharpness in your images. 

Intensify is normally €60, but now it's included in the Macphun Creative Kit XXL.

All it took was one click on an Intensify preset to add more drama and mood to this image. And the sensor dust it brought out? That's an easy fix for Snapheal.

3.    Snapheal

This third Macphun plug-in is great for removing unwanted elements like dust spots or power lines from your images. It's more powerful than Lightroom's Spot Removal tool and as such it's a great plug-in for Lightroom users that don't have Photoshop.

Snapheal is normally €50, but now it's included in the Macphun Creative Kit XXL.

4.    Africa with Athena. A photographic adventure.

A video-tutorial on shooting in South-Africa with award-winning photographer Athena Carey and filmed by talented Dutch photographer and filmer Armand Dijkstra (he's the guy that makes some of Joel Tjintjelaar's videos).

Normally € 68, now included in the Macphun Creative Kit XXL.

5.    Frank Doorhof's Live in Boston video.

The Dutch King of Fashion Photography and Training needs no further introduction! There's always something to learn from Frank. Normally €45, now included in the Macphun Creative Kit XXL.

6.    The Essentials of Street Photography eBook by James Maher.

An eBook on the increasingly popular genre of street photography. Normally €23, now included in the Macphun Creative Kit XXL.

7.    Getting Started with Portrait Retouching by Lesa Snider.

A tutorial video on portrait retouching. Normally €57, now included in the Macphun Creative Kit XXL.

8.    HDR with luminosity masks.

A video tutorial by Howard Snyder. Luminosity masks are a great way to have fine control over your images. If you're a landscape photographer, you have to know about them. Luminosity masking is one of the few things I leave Lightroom for and turn to Photoshop. Normally €68, now it's included in the Macphun Creative Kit XXL.

9.    Landscape eBook bundle by Nature Photo Guides.

If you're planning a trip to Iceland or Death Valley, these ebooks will help you get the most out of these places. Normally €57, now included in the Macphun Creative Kit XXL.

10. MoreThanWords Preset Mix Vol. 01.

Yes, that's right. I'm in the bundle, too. I've contributed a set of 20 Lightroom presets that aren't yet available elsewhere. If you like my Colorific Colour Grading Presets or my Black and White presets, you'll love these, too. Normally, they're €20, now ... you guessed it, they're included in the Macphun Creative Kit XXL. If you love Lightroom presets, there are hundreds more in the bundle, including the ones from Contrastly (by themselves another €112 value).

One click on the 'Warm Fuzzy Feeling' preset was all it took to transform this image. The preset bundle contains 20 presets: 10 color ones and 10 black & white ones.

There's loads more than this top-ten, obviously and your top-ten may be different than mine. But a quick calculation taught me that this top-ten alone represents over a €500 value. And 330 of that €500 are extras, so that's not even counting the software. So the Creative Kit XXL might even tempt non-Mac users!

If you want to get the Creative Kit XXL, there's really only one downside: the deal is only valid through end of May 2016. So if you're thinking about it, don't think too long!

This is an overview of the all the extra goodies included in the Creative Kit XXL bundle, on top of the actual Macphun of the original Creative Kit, obviously.

Review: Cactus V6 Transceiver and the Fujifilm X system

Earlier, I reviewed the excellent Godox Ving V850 manual flash. It still is one of my favorite flashes for off-camera flash photography in general and on my Fuji system in particular. However, recently, I’ve also been working a lot with another manual system: the Cactus RF-60 flash and the Cactus V6 transceiver. As this is a manual system, it isn't exclusive to Fuji users: almost any camera with a central firing pin on the hotshoe can use it. That's the beauty of manual flashes: they work on every camera. In this blog post, I'll focus on the V6 transceiver.

The V6 Transceiver

I still remember using the Cactus V4 on my X-Pro 1 a couple of years ago. It was a small and cheap, no frills triggering system. It got the job done, but that was about it. Two iterations later - I've never used the V5 - the V6 is quite a different beast: first of all, it's a transceiver: the same unit can function as a transmitter or as a receiver. You just slide a switch on the side to set it up. The unit has grown quite a lot in size, but also in specifications: in fact, it seems like remote TTL and High Speed Sync are about the only two things you cannot do with it. And one of those is about to change, as you'll read further down the road! (Images © Cactus)

• Control of up to 4 groups of remote flashes
  The V6 can control 4 groups of remote flashes: either RF60 flashes, or other compatible flashes. In that last case, those flashes have to be attached to a V6 acting as a receiver. The RF60 has its own compatible receiver which obviously makes it a compelling candidate to use in concert with the V6, if you don't already own a flash. To turn a group on or off, you simply press the buttons A through D on the left hand side of the transceiver.
• Change power levels remotely
  You can remotely change the power level of compatible flashes, such as Cactus' own RF60, from the easy to use rotary dial. But, as I'll talk about in the section 'Recycling your old Canon and Nikon flashes', you can even control the (manual) power of those flashes remotely!
• Change power levels independently or in unison
  This one's a biggie if you use multiple groups a lot. Say you're working at f/8 and you've set group A to quarter power, group B to one sixteenth power and group C to one eight power to get the shot looking the way you want it. Now suppose you want to close your aperture down from f/8 to f/11. With many systems, you'd have to increase each individual group's power output by one stop. With the Cactus V6, you can choose: you can change the power individually but you can also change the power of all groups together! A big time-saver.
• TTL passthrough hotshoe
  Although the V6 does not support off-camera TTL flash, it has a hotshoe on top of it. When used as a receiver, this hotshoe obviously lets you slide the remote flash in it, like most recent receivers do. But, when used as a transmitter on your camera, the V6 passes the TTL information from your camera on to a TTL flash you put on it. In other words, you can use the V6 to combine a TTL on-camera flash with manual remote flashes. This is something wedding and event photographers will appreciate. The passthrough hotshoe has another advantage, which I'll talk about later in the section 'Using two trigges simultaneously'.
• A lock system for the selection rotary dial
  Here's another cool thing: because the rotary dial is facing towards you, it's not uncommon on smaller camera bodies, such as the X-series, to have your nose or your forehead inadvertently change settings when your working. In one of the firmware updates, Cactus installed the option of locking the rotary dial. In that case, you have to depress it first to make changes. An ideal setting for people with big noses, such as myself! Here's the how-to straight from the manual:
  • On the TX main screen, pressing and holding the selection dial or the OK button for 2 seconds will lock the selection dial from adjusting all group or single group power level. (Note: The short-cut to adjust a single group power level by pressing a group button and turning the dial simultaneously will be unaffected.
  • To temporarily unlock the selection dial, press the selection dial or OK button once. Alternatively, press and hold any group button to select a group for power level adjustment. The dial will be locked again when no button or dial is pressed or turned for 2 seconds.
  • To permanently unlock the selection dial, press and hold the selection dial or the OK button for 2 seconds.
• Advanced features
  The V6 also has another nifty feature up its sleeve: you can set up a delay in milliseconds. I haven't actually tried this yet, but it looks like you could use this feature as a workaround to do something resembling off-camera second-curtain sync. If you're reading this and you can confirm this, please let me know in the comments. Another nice feature is that you can choose the increments between 1/10th of a stop to half a stop. 

Recycling your old Canon and Nikon flashes

A really nice feature about the V6 trigger is that you can recycle your old Canon and Nikon flashes. After all, if whether you’re only adding Fujifilm camera to your existing Nikon or Canon gear or you’re making the switch entirely, you’ve probably already spent a lot of money on bodies and lenses so anything that you can reuse is welcome. Well, the good thing is that most Nikon and Canon flashes can be used in combination with a V6 transceiver. Although you obviously lose any TTL and high speed sync functionality, you can still set up the system so that you can remotely change the manual power level of your Nikon flash. That’s right: by attaching a V6 transceiver to your Fuji camera and by putting your old SB900 on another V6 transceiver, you’ll be able to manually change the power of that flash! What’s even better is that if you use two different flashes (e.g. an SB-700 and an SB-900) you can set the system up that they have the same absolute maximum output (dictated by the lowest output of both). In other words, when you set them both in separate groups to fire at 1:1, they will both fire at the power of the SB-700. This is handy in situations where you want symmetry in your lighting (think of two lights left and right behind your subject to be used as rim lights) but you don’t have two identical flashes.

Using two triggers simultaneously

This Sadhu was lit by an SMDV Alpha 110 Softbox with a Bowens mount (available in Europe through this reseller), attached to my Jinbei HD 600. The rim light was created by a Cactus RF60, fired through a gridded SMDV 70 Speedbox.

FUJIFILM X-Pro2 | XF50-140mmF2.8 R LM OIS WR @ 129.2 mm | 1-250 sec at f - 8,0 | ISO 400

Let's stack some triggers! Thanks to the hotshoe on the V6, I can stick my Jinbei trigger on top of it and fire both the 600 Ws Jinbei and a smaller flash like the Cactus RF60 together, while still maintaining separate (and remote!) control over their respective power levels.

As I've explained in an earlier blog post, if I want to use a more powerful flash, I often pick up my Jinbei HD 600 II, a review of which you can find here. The problem is that the Jinbei has its own - relatively simple - trigger which lets me change the power of the flash remotely. And this is where the hotshoe on the V6 comes in really handy. If I want to use 2 flashes, one powerful one and a smaller one (e.g. as an accent light), I can slide the Jinbei trigger in the Cactus V6 hotshoe. This makes both flashes trigger simultaneously, and I can still power them up or down remotely (and separately) by adjusting the respective trigger.

Next up: High Speed Sync for Fuji cameras?

This is fairly recent news which got me very excited: Cactus apparently are not resting on their laurels. In fact, they've announced that they are working on a V6 Mk II update that would - through some sort of ingenious hack - allow High Speed Sync with any camera, including Fujifilm cameras. Yes, you've read that right! High Speed Sync on a Fujifilm camera. I'll report back as soon as I've been able to test this out myself. Originally, it was rumored that this HSS hack would also be made available on the current V6 triggers through a firmware update but apparently that's not necessarily the case. Those of you who want to buy a set of V6 triggers now and want HSS, might want to wait a while until things are clearer.

Conclusion

I have to say I really like the V6 transceiver. It's a bit bulky on my X-T1, but on the other hand, unlike some other flash triggers, it is very ergonomical with lots of direct-access buttons and it still gives enough clearance so that I can turn the dials on the top of my camera easily. It just takes some getting used to the fact you can't see the value you set from the top of the camera anymore because the trigger partly obscures it. Obviously, you still see your settings through the viewfinder!

Because the X-Pro 2's hotshoe sits slightly lower (more level with the speed selector dial), there's less clearance and people with very big fingers might find it a more difficult to adjust shutter speed - mine are still ok. However, on both the X-Pro 2 as on the X-T1, you can always turn your shutter speed dial in the T position and then change the shutter speed all the way from 1/4.000th (1/8.000th on an X-Pro 2) to 30 seconds, simply by turning the front command dial. DSLR-style. But you knew that, didn't you?

Availability

• In Belgium, the Cactus V6 Transceiver can be purchased through Grobet.be
• In the UK, Fujifilm X-Photographer Damien Lovegrove is the importer and also sells them through his online shop. Damien is also an avid user of these flashes and triggers.
• International orders can also be made directly through Cactus' own online store.

UPDATE: Contrary to what I said in the original post, it appears that the HSS trick might not be available as a firmwire update after all, but rather only on the soon to be released V6 Mk II triggers. I'll report back on this as soon as I have more info. In the mean time, those of you who are looking at buying a set and want/need HSS, might want to hold off until the V6 Mk II is released. I have updated the blog post.

Converting a difficult image to Black & White with Silver Efex Pro

Hi, it’s been a while since I did a video tutorial so here’s an old one about a plug-in that suddenly is "hot" again. It’s about converting a "difficult" image with a very bright sky into a dramatic Black & White with lots of sky detail. Done with my Black & White conversion plugin of choice: Silver Efex Pro. The video also shares some tips on file preparation before you enter the plugin. Please note that the info at the end of the video regarding discounts and pricing is no longer accurate. In fact, that's why I wrote that five year old Silver Efex Pro is hot again: while Silver Efex Pro 2 used to be a $199 purchase, it’s now only available as a bundle (the "Nik Collection by Google") with the other 6 Nik plugins and… it has now become completely free! Yes that's free as in F.R.E.E.! That means that Silver Efex Pro is no longer only one of the best Black & White plug-ins out there, it's definitely the cheapest one! More about that in this blog post.

Sure enough, at that price, it probably won't receive any new features any time soon but I don't really care. It's got all the features I need and the Control Point technology is still as amazingly simple to use as it was more than five years ago when the software was released.

The best Black & White plug-in for Lightroom and Photoshop just became free!

In this eBook about Dynamic Range, I talk about HDR Efex Pro and I also explain a cool technique on how to use a Black & White plug-in like Silver Efex Pro 2 to enhance the dynamic range of my colour images.

If you've followed me online or read some of my eBooks, like Pushing Light, it probably does not come as a surprise that I'm a big fan of the Nik plug-ins. Years ago, you had to pony up some $500 to get the entire suite but after Google purchased Nik about four years ago, they slashed the price down to $149. An absolute bargain. True, apart from Analog Efex Pro, an interesting plug-in that lets you simulate old-school film processes, Google did not really update any of the other plug-ins. There were only compatibility fixes when new OS updates came out. It seemed that Google had mainly purchased Nik for Snapseed, which is a great (and free) iOS and Android mobile editing app. 

The best Nik plug-ins are the creative ones: Viveza, Silver Efex, Color Efex, HDR Efex and Analog Efex.

Yesterday, Google announced that the Nik Collection would follow the same pricing path as its mobile sibling. Yes, you've read that right: the once so expensive Nik Collection is now entirely free! You can start downloading it right now through this link.

Obviously, this probably means that we don't have to expect new features any time soon but you know what? The existing features actually work pretty well! In fact, even though it's been over 5 years since Silver Efex Pro 2 came out, I still consider it to be the best Black & White plug-in on the planet. Period.

Silver Efex Pro in action. The unique feature about Nik that you find in all of the plug-ins is the fact that you can quickly and easily make local edits without having to create complex masks: the amazing, patented U-Point Technology does the job for you.

If you happen to speak Dutch, you can sign up for a 2 week free trial to Photofacts Academy, my Dutch Photography Training website. I've got a 4 hour course on Nik Software, including some very cool tips and special techniques.

If you don't, the links below will take you to some of my English Nik tutorials.

2 months with the X-Pro 2: my 10 favourite features (part 2)

(Read about features 1 to 5 in this post)

In a month, I’ll be off to India again to teach a travel photography workshop together with fellow X-Photographer Matt Brandon and I hope to take the X-Pro 2 with me. I’m really looking forward to the trip. When I’m traveling, I always hope that nothing bad will happen to my gear because it’s often difficult to replace or repair. That’s why I’m extremely happy with the next item in my top-10 of new features:

6) Weather Sealing

Contrary to the X-Pro 1, the X-Pro 2 is now weather sealed. Now, truth be told I’ve never had any issues with my non-weather sealed Fujifilm cameras and they’ve eaten quite a lot of dust, too, but it’s still a reassuring feature to have.

When you're playing with flour, it's good to have a weather sealed body and lens to keep the stuff on your model and not in your camera. 

Of course, ideally, you then have to pair the camera with a weather proofed lens as well, such as the beautiful XF-16 mm 1.4. I love that lens because, thanks to its wide aperture, it still allows me to play with shallow depth of field although it’s relatively wide-angle.

Belgium's probably got he ugliest coast line in the world (40 miles of ugly concrete skyscrapers) but there are a couple of noteworthy exceptions, such as this the Blankenberge Pier. Working this close to sea and sand, I was happy to be using a weather-sealed combo. Processed with my Colorific Colour Grading presets, but you probably know that by now :-)

One of my resolutions for the new year is to use the 16 mm prime a little more. I used a Formatt Hitech ND filter to get the exposure within reach of the new 1/250th sync speed.

7) Flash improvements

This one is pretty big, at least for me: the sync speed has been increased to 1/250th of a second. That means that when you’re working at the sync speed of your camera, your flashes effectively become one third of a stop more powerful than they were on an X-Pro 1 or an X-T1.

Sofie shot with the X-Pro 2 and the Jinbei HD-600 II flash. To date, still my favourite 'big gun'. I'm very happy that I can now use flash also in Continuous shooting mode. This lets me fire a burst of shots (until the flash has to recharge) rather than one at a time so I dramatically increase my options of having the right expression or composition when using flash). Image postprocessed with my Black & White Lightroom presets.

But even better, you can now also use a flash when the camera is set to continuous shooting. To be fair, it’s something almost every other camera has but it’s great to see that my X-Pro 2 now does it, too. Especially with more powerful flashes like this Jinbei, this means that you can keep on shooting with flash at lower power settings for quite a while until the flash has to recharge. This is the same feature by the way that got introduced for the X-T1 in the latest firmware update that subsequently got pulled because of a bug. So X-T1 users, this one is coming your way, too!

Finally, Fujifilm have announced a new speedlight, the EF-X500, that is capable of doing High Speed Sync. I can't wait to get my hands on that one!

8) Improved Bracketing

I’ve never understood why the bracketing functionality of all Fujifilm cameras was limited to 3 shots with +/-  1 EV. If you want to create HDR images, that range is often too limited.

Maybe it has something to do with the new maximum shutter speed of 1/8000th of a second, but you can now bracket 3 shots with +/- 2 EV. I would still love some more options, like shooting 5 or 7 frames but it's already a big step up. If you want to go beyond what's currently possible, I recommend you do as I do: put the camera on a tripod and use the Exposure Compensation function on the Camera Remote App: this lets you make up to 7 bracketed shots, 1 stop apart, without touching the camera.

9) An improved menu

Image © Fujifilm Corporation

I already like Fujifilm’s menus more than most of the other brands out there, but they have made the menu even better: it’s more legible and there’s also a MyMenu, which lets you assign up to 16 items for quick acess. So between this MyMenu, the (customizable) Quick Menu and the function buttons, there really is no shortage of options of having this camera do what you want it to do, as fast as possible. On thing that did not improve is formatting the card. It takes way too many button presses. Luckily, there appears to be a shortcut which I learned about over at Kevin Mullins' excellent review. If you're thinking about using the X-Pro 2 as a wedding camera, read his review (and then start saving). Oh, the shortcut you ask? Press the delete key for a couple of seconds and then click on the back command dial.

10) 3 Power Management Modes

Let’s be honest. Battery life isn’t the best feature of the Fujifilm cameras. But let’s also be honest in that the batteries (the X-Pro 2 uses the same as the X-T1, X-Pro 1 and X-T10) are very lightweight and compact so adding a couple to your bag won’t break your back. I think Fuji did well in maintaining the same battery. However, what they did is offer three power management modes: Economy, Standard and High Performance. As you might guess, autofocus speed and EVF refresh rates increase as you switch from the first to the latter, but battery life decreases, from 330 shots over 250 to 220. I just use High Performance and I pack a couple of spare batteries. I guess I’ll only use Economy when I see I’m popping in my last spare! Oh, and even in Economy the camera is still a Ferrari compared to the original X-Pro 1. So, as greater minds have already said: ‘Everyting is relative’.

So, that’s it for this highly subjective top 10. As some of these are firmware-related, there's some hope that they might trickle down to other cameras too.

This is what the new interface looks like. Again, evolution, not revolution but it looks and reads better than before. There are loads of smaller refinements, such as this one: you might know there's a digital depth-of-field scale that you can overlay in the EVF and OVF. Only, it did not match up with the one found on lenses like the 14, 16 and 23. Because the lenses' DOF scale was film-based (with a larger Circle of Confusion, in other words, larger tolerance) whereas the digital scale was pixel-based. You can now set the digital scale to film-based as well. If I were a street photographer, I'd love this feature!

There are other features, such as the new black and white ACROS film simulation and the new grain engine, which look nice. But as I explained in this blog post, as long as there is no Raw conversion software that can actually read the raw files of this camera, I set my film simulation to something very neutral as the JPEGs are currently the only thing I can work with. Setting a black and white film simulation would mean I currently cannot work on the image in colour and I want to keep my options open.

If you have any questions, I’ll be happy to try and address them in the comments.

Don't forget to switch off the light.

What about the Tilt Screen?

Yeah, what about it? There isn't one, as you probably know by now. For me, it's not a deal breaker. Sure enough, if the X-Pro 2 had one, I would welcome it, but not if it came at the expense of a bigger, bulkier body. Between the dual card slot and a tilt screen, I'll take the dual card slot any time. Also, don't forget that you'll be able to wirelessly control the camera with the smartphone App. That's even better than a tilt screen, in some cases!

What could be improved?

Some testers have reported the Exposure Compensation wheel is too loose. It did not feel loose on my sample. What I would like is that Fujifilm offer the option of saving 16 bit TIFF files to card. I feel that Lightroom still isn't squeezing everything out of the RAW files and this would be a nice addition, especially for people who shoot rather slow and deliberate, like me. Alternatively, I wish that Fujifilm would release a simple RAW to 16 bit TIFF conversion software. Basically, a desktop-version of the in-camera RAW converter that would allow batch-processing. And no, I don't mean Silkypix, that awfully complex raw converter that ships with the camera. 

Another thing I would like is to see on the accessory list is a 'Long Eyecup' like the X-T1. This helps to block the sunlight and gives more contrast in the viewfinder which is especially helpful on sunny days.

Finally, I would really love to have some more highlight clipping information in the EVF and OVF: we can already program a gazillion warnings in the viewfinder, but the one I would like to see is a Lightroom-style highlight / shadow clipping warning, showing the actual areas that are clipped. Sure, there's the live histogram but that only says there's clipping. It does not say where that clipping occurs. 

As you can see, minor quibbles that are mostly software- or firmware related. Other than that, I really can't think of much. So now, I'm off to shoot some more! Where did I put my spare batteries?

Two months with the X-Pro 2: my 10 favourite features (part 1)

So, I’ve had the privilige of using a pre-production sample of one of this year’s most eagerly anticipated cameras for a couple of weeks. You could already read about that in this blog post. By now, your RSS feed and Facebook status page is probably overloaded with features, comparisons, opinions and what not. The following thoughts are not solely based on specs, but on actual usage of the camera. Given the four year gap between the X-Pro 2 and its predecessor, there’s bound to be a lot of change. In this and the following blog post, I’ll try to outline my personal top-10 improvements of this camera, taking into account the way I use it: as my everday camera, with a focus on travel- and flash photography.

Two of my favourite models: Brecht & Frannie. Shot in an abandoned carpet factory. On urbex (urban exploring) shoots like this, I appreciate the fact that all my camera gear fits in my F-Stop Loka UL, a small and lightweight camera backpack (US link, EU link)

Evolution on the outside...

When I got the camera, it felt like reconnecting with an old friend: it looks almost identical to the X-Pro 1 (which I consider a good thing), especially from the front. In fact, I could probably have taken this camera to a Fuji workshop and people would have thought I was shooting my old trusted X-Pro 1. Outside, there are only a couple of changes, and they're all for the better.

Seen from the front, not a lot has changed: the EVF/OVF lever now not only lets you switch from OVF to EVF, but also between the two OVF modes that we now know from the X100T. Another barely visible - but interesting - new feature is the addition of a front command dial. Image © Fujifilm Corporation.

... revolution within

But on closer inspection, a lot has actually changed for the better. Which brings me to the first point.

1) Improved ergonomics

This one’s so important that I’ve actually put it before the ‘obvious’ advantage (the higher megapixel count, more about that later). The first thing you’ll notice is the joystick on the camera’s back: it has a number of uses but its main use is changing the AF point. The advantage is that this frees up the four buttons surrounding the Menu/OK button. You can now actually program three of them to a custom function. If you like to change your focus points as I do, the joystick works really well, it just takes some getting used to and retraining your muscle memory not to go to the old position. On top of that, there’s 2 more function buttons, bringing the total to 5. There is no dedicated WIFI function button, but WIFI is obviously included, and another big difference with the original X-Pro 1.

Apparently small changes but ergonomically big ones: all buttons are now on the right hand side, enabling true single-handed operation. There's a new joystick-like control that - amongst other things - lets you select your focus point. Image © Fujifilm Corporation.

• One thing I did not like about the X-Pro 1 was that there were some buttons on the left of the LCD. All buttons are now at the right, meaning you can control this camera with just one hand. For you, it might be sipping cocktails, but in my case it leaves the other hand free to hold a flash and an umbrella, for example.
• The grip is slightly bigger and more pronounced. As a result, the camera feels better in your hand. And as mentioned, this is now a camera that you can completely control with one hand! Great news for photographers who like to smoke on a shoot. No more cigarette breaks needed: smoke and shoot as you go!
• There’s also a new Front Command Dial which in playback mode lets you browse flick back and forth through your images (the rear one zooms in and out). While shooting, the FCD lets you adjust the shutter speed to the intermediary settings between the full stops that are marked on the dial. It probably does some other things too, but I haven’t discovered those yet. The manual was even more preproduction than the camera (in other words, non-existent!)

Those clever Fujifilm engineers incorporated the ISO dial into the Shutter Speed dial. To change your ISO, pull up the outside of the dial and rotate it. The EV-compensiation wheel now has a -3 to +3 range and by setting it to the C-position, you can even go from -5 to +5 by turning the new Front Command Dial. Image © Fujifilm Corporation.

• Speaking of dials. Probably the coolest feature is how Fujifilm managed to integrate the ISO dial on the top of the camera. It’s literally on the shutter speed dial: you have to pull the outer ring of the shutter speed dial up and then rotate it to set the ISO. The first couple of times, you’ll probably inadvertently change the shutter speed itself, too, but once you get used to it, it works very well. While turning the wheel, you can see the value adjust in the viewfinder. So no need to take your eye off the viewfinder. Now, in honesty, I liked the old system with the top function button, too but this system has the advantage that you can also see at a glance what ISO the camera is set to. And I do like this implementation more than that of the X-T1. While we’re still talking about dials: the Exposure Compensation dial now has a -3 to +3 range and even a Custom setting that allows you to go from -5 to +5, another use for the new Front Command Dial.
• And finally, another big one in the ergonomics department: a built-in diopter adjustment with the same range as the X-T1. That’s right, no more messing around with little screw-in adjustment lenses that you’re bound to loose sooner or later.

2) 24 Megapixel X-Trans CMOS III Sensor

Same APS-C sensor size but 50 percent more pixels. Image © Fujifilm Corporation.

Although I’ve printed images from my 16 MP X-T1 as large as 30 x 60 cm (12 x 24 inch) and I could easily print even larger, I welcome more pixels any time, provided they offer me the same or even higher image quality. The X-Pro 2 has got 50 percent more of them. So, you can either print prints that are 50 percent larger (in terms of surface, i.e. 22 percent longer and 22 percent taller) or you can crop 1/3 of your image away and still keep the same amount of pixels as the X-Pro 1 or the X-T1. Another nice advantage is that you can experiment some more with alternative crops, like 16:9, or square, while still retaining enough pixels to print relatively big. Especially with the best quality lenses like the 16-55 and the 50-140, the increased resolution actually shows in the image. Those two lenses really are perfect companions for the new sensor.

I have really come to appreciate the 16-55. Sure, it's a bit big and heavier than its prime siblings but boy, what a sharp and versatile lens! If you're an event or press photographer, it's hard not to be impressed by its sharpness. Model: Stéphanie. Image processed with my Lightroom Colorific Colour Grading presets.

3) Faster AF, more focus points and more phase detection pixels

As you might know, cameras use two techniques to achieve autofocus: phase detection and contrast detection. The first is faster, the latter is more accurate. As of the X-T1, Fujifilm has started to combine these two techniques by incorporating phase detection pixels in the sensor. The X-Pro 2 increases both the total number of focus points available and the number of phase detection pixels. By default, there’s 77 points including 49 phase detection pixels, but you can increase this to a whopping 273 points, including 169 phase detection pixels. Just be prepared to use that new joystick controller a lot. Regardless of the number of focus points, what I really appreciate on mirrorless cameras in general and those by Fuji in particular, is that you have focus points all over the frame. If you like to frame your subject off-center, that’s a very handy feature to have. With a DSLR, you’ll be forced to focus and recompose, but if you’re shooting with a shallow depth of field, that can lead to images that are out of focus.

"And how many focus points would you like today, Sir?" I don't think I'll be using the 273 focus points layout a lot...

... but I do like the fact that there are more phase detection pixels (you can recognise them by their slightly larger size in the grid...

I really cannot count the times I have sworn at my DSLR for not giving me a focus point where I needed it. With 273 points to choose from, that’s no longer necessary! Of course, the same AF enhancements that were introduced with the X-T1’s 4.0 firmware upgrade, such as wide tracking AF and zone AF are also present. I just haven’t used them much as most of my subjects are pretty stationary and if they aren’t, like the dancers I shoot, I prefer to pre-focus manually. It’s a matter of habit and preference.

4) Improved viewfinder

Take the hybrid viewfinder of the X-100T, add the resolution of the viewfinder of the X-T1, and turbocharge the framerate to 85 frames per second and you have the recipe for the X-Pro 2’s viewfinder. It’s really as state of the art as it gets. The front lever lets you switch between EVF and OVF and also between OVF modes themselves: simple OVF or OVF with the little EVF screen in the bottom right corner that was introduced with the X100T. This little screen-in-the-screen can be set to three possible zoom levels when you’re in manual focus.

The Hybrid Viewfinder combines the best of both worlds...

... especially since you can overlay a little LCD panel that for accurate framing...

... or manual focus checking options: choose from 100%, 2.5 x en 6 x.

The first is 100 percent view (which basically gives you a mini view of the entire scene in your OVF, ideal for combining the precision of the EVF with the bright viewfinder of the OVF. The second is 2.5 times enlarged and the third is 6 times enlarged. Pressing the rear command dial (you knew that the rear command dial can be depressed, also on the X-T1, didn’t you?) cycles through these magnification levels. Combine those features with manual focus aids such as digital split-level or – what I prefer to use – focus peaking and you have noone to blame but yourself if your pictures aren’t sharp using manual focus on the X-Pro 2! 

5) Dual Card Slot

I haven’t verified this, but according to Fujifilm, this is a first on a mirrorless camera. I know a lot of wedding photographers and generally everyone that shoots unique events that will utter sighs of relief. The card slot can be set to any of the following three options: sequential (when the first card is full, the camera starts writing to the second), backup (anything written to the first card is also written to the second) and RAW/JPEG, where RAW files are written to one card and JPEG files are written to the other.

Needless to say, the write speed to card has also dramatically improved. I remember that on the X-Pro 1, when I accidentally shot a bracketed series of photos, I swore because the camera would freeze up, literally for seconds. None of that on the X-Pro 2. I do recommend that you use fast cards. My sample unit had two Toshiba 16 GB Exceria Pro SD cards installed (the ones with the double row of contacts) and that worked perfectly.

That's it for the first 5 features. In this blog post, I'll cover 6 to 10. But let me leave you with one last image of Stéphanie. After all, it's all about the image, not about the camera, isn't it?