R.I.P. Nik Collection? Sign the Petition!

The short story

Google have announced that it will no longer support the Nik Collection. In true David versus Goliath style, German photographer Sascha Rheker started an online petition on change.org. If you're a Nik Collection user, it's well worth one minute of your time to vote. 

The long story

Even if you're only a halfway regular reader of this blog, you know I was and still am a big fan of the Nik Collection. In fact, a few of you reading this might use the Nik Collection because I recommended it to you.

In September 2012 - I cannot believe that's almost five years ago - Google acquired Nik. Not so much for the Nik Collection, but rather because Google had set their eyes on Snapseed, Nik's mobile app. By the way, if you're looking for an excellent mobile editor on your phone or tablet (iOS and Android), Snapseed is a killer app (iOS link here, Android link here). It's basically the mobile version of the Nik Collection and it's entirely free.

One of the few, if not the only problem with the Nik Collection when it was still owned, developed and maintained by Nik Software GmbH was that it was pricey: around $200 for a single plugin, $300 for the Lightroom-only bundle and a whopping $500 for the Lightroom and Photoshop enabled version of the bundle. So one of the first things Google did was limit the number of versions to only one: the Lightroom and Photoshop bundle and drop its price to $149. They must have sold a virtual truckload. But if you buy software, even if it's discounted, and if you start to build your workflow around it, it's only fair to expect the company you buy the software from to keep updating it.

And this is where things started to go progressively bad: when Google made the software totally free last year, this move was also interpreted by some as the beginning of the end.

And indeed, one year later, Google have discreetly put up a banner on their website saying the Nik Collection will no longer be supported. Now, we kind of had come to expect that there wouldn't be any new features, but now, the message clearly states that there won't be any OS compatibility updates either. You can still download it for free, and use it for as long as your particular OS and hardware will support it, but basically Google is saying not to bother them nor to expect solutions if problems arise.

Silver Efex Pro 2 is now eight years old. In software terms, it's a dinosaur. Yet, its algorithms are still some of the finest that I know and if my regular Lightroom preset based workflow does not do the trick, I know that there's always Silver Efex Pro to turn to for rescue. Not to mention the power of the Control Point Technology.

On both my systems, the Collection is still working (I did have to manually copy over the Nik Collection folder from my Photoshop CC2015 Plugins folder to my CC2017 Plugins folder) but there are already reports of people where the Collection has stopped working.

What can you do?

I'm very much afraid that there is little we can do about this. The chances of Google turning this Open Source are very slim, because they still use an important part of the technology in Snapseed. The chances of them selling the patented tech to say Adobe, are slim, too... Personally, I don't need any new features - in fact I think that 8 year old Silver Efex Pro 2 is still miles ahead of any of the competing plug-ins - but I wouldn't mind paying for the software if at least compatibility updates would be guaranteed. Right now, there's little motivation to start or continue to use a piece of software if you know that any day you're using it might be the last. In fact, over the past years I noticed I have started using the Nik Collection (or any other plug-in for that matter) less and less, and try to do as much as possible in Lightroom. For my Black & White work, for example, I have created a set of Black & White Lightroom presets that I do 95 percent of my B&W work with, but for those cases where these presets fall short, I know that generally Silver Efex would have my back. And I hate to see that alternative go to waste.

Sign the petition!

German Photographer Sascha Rheker started an online petition on change.org. At the time I'm writing this, he has already reached over 10.000 virtual signatures, including mine. Now, personally, I'm rather sceptical about the petition's potential impact: 10.000 people probably don't even cause a blimp on the Google management's radar (unless they're wearing Google Glasses, maybe) but on the other hand, it's about the only thing any of us can do anyway (the only other solution being keeping a dedicated computer around for the Nik Collection and never updating it anymore). And there's still that story about David and Goliath, remember?

Other Nik-Collection related content

Now, for many of you, the Nik Collection isn't dead yet and it's still working as good as it did yesterday, So if you want to learn more about it (and if you happen to speak Dutch), last year, I created a 4 hour video course covering all of the Nik Collection plug-ins for my subscription-based Dutch training website www.photofactsacademy.nl. I also have a (Dutch) training video on Snapseed.

Below are a couple of shorter English tutorials and blog-posts that are Nik-related. I heartily recommend this one, where I show you how you can use Silver Efex Pro to enhance even your colour images. Hmm, might want to sign that petition after all, might you not?

New trailer for my Black & White presets

As you may know, I love Lightroom and I've written a number of books on it, both in Dutch and in English. One of the things I love most is the way presets can speed up your workflow in the Develop module. As I also love Black & White, I started to create Lightroom presets. At first, they were only intended for my personal use but as people seemed to like them, I have turned them into three preset packs.

For the first, 'Piet Van den Eynde's Black & White Develop Presets', I have just created a 90 second trailer that shows you a number of before and afters, all edited with just one click on one of the presets in that pack.

My Black & White preset pack is sold through my publisher Craft & Vision and is priced at only $20 (+ VAT in Europe). In addition to the 100+ presets, there's also a PDF manual and an accompanying video tutorial covering everything from installation to how to make the most out of them. You can also get the presets as part of my Lightroom presets bundle and save 25%.

Featured in the Official Fujifilm X Magazine!

I am honored to be featured in the 20th issue of the official Fujifilm X Magazine in an article about travel photography. I not only talk about classical travel photography, but also urbex photography, which I consider to be traveling back in time! You can download this and the previous editions of the magazine here for free.

The cover image was shot mixing flash and available light during my 5 day GFX Challenge shoot in India, the video of which you can see below. If you're interested to know more about flash photography, check out my latest book Light It Up! Techniques for Dramatic Off-Camera Lighting (in English) or Flash! Flitsfotografie op locatie (in Dutch).

Using Flash to Improve your Photographs

People often ask me why I take a flash to destinations like India or Indonesia. After all, isn’t there enough sun over there? The problem is they mistake quantity with quality. Sure enough, there’s plenty of sun in Varanasi or in Borobudur. In fact, there’s often too much of it, especially on those cloudless days these countries seem to have some sort of patent on. From early in the morning to right before sunset, there is often so much sun that, unless you’re photographing in the shade, the contrast is too much to handle. Bringing a flash will let you soften that contrast, by opening up the harsh shadows the sun creates. The more powerful the flash, the more options you have: a small speedlight will let you fill in the shadows, whereas a big strobe will even let you overpower that sun, allowing you to turn midday into evening. By using modifiers such as softboxes and umbrellas, you can create soft light where ever you want, even if the available light is unpleasing.

FUJIFILM X-E1 | XF14mmF2.8 R @ 14 mm | 1/200 sec @ f/8 | ISO 200

A small flash with an umbrella, put camera left was used to fill in the shadows caused by the late afternoon sun.

FUJIFILM X-T1 | XF10-24mmF4 R OIS @ 10 mm | 1/180 sec @ f/5 | ISO 200

This picture of a Rajasthani couple in Jodhpur looks like it was made in the evening, but it was actually photographed around noon. I underexposed the available light heavily by choosing a narrow aperture, a relatively fast shutter speed and a low ISO. I then directed the flash so it looked like late setting sunlight.

The Jodphur example brings us to a second advantage of bringing a flash: you have control over the direction of your light. The position of the sun (and many other available light sources …) is out of our control. You cannot move a street lamp to a position that would better suit the composition of the photo you have in mind. But you can put a flash upside down on a light stand or hang it from a house with a clamp, cover its head with an orange gel and simulate a light bulb anywhere, as the image below shows.

FUJIFILM X-T1 | XF10-24mmF4 R OIS @ 10 mm | 1/3 sec @ f/4 | ISO 800

There was no street light where I wanted to photograph the pilgrims going to do their morning bathing rituals in Pushkar lake. So I created my own street light with an orange gelled speedlight I hung off a canopy just outside of the frame.

At the start of this article, I talked about quality of light. When we talk about quality of light, we should not so much think of it in terms of ‘good’ or ‘bad’ but rather in terms of ‘hard’ or ‘soft’. Hard light isn’t necessarily bad light. It all depends on what you want your photograph to say. When I set out to photograph the war cemetery in Langemark, Belgium, I wanted the picture of the tombstone to reflect the atrocities of war. However, on that particular day, it was very cloudy. There was almost no contrast at all. Ideal light to shoot just about anything, but not for what I had in mind. Contrary to the example I started this blog post with, the available light was too soft, too pleasing, too… flattering. So I put up a flash on a tripod, zoomed the flash head all the way to the maximum and added a grid to get a tight beam of light. The result is a much more dramatic light, one that helps to convey the atmosphere of the place much better than an available light picture.

The available light was very soft... In fact, it was too soft for what I wanted the photo to say.

A strategically placed flash with a grid makes concentrated light beam...

... that matches the subject a lot better.

Want to improve your flash skills?

My just released eBook, Light it Up! Techniques for Dramatic lighting teaches you everything you need to know. Everything explained in plain English with lots of behind the scene shots or lighting diagrams. For those who already have some flash experience under their belt, there are also more advanced chapters on gear and light setups. The book also contains plenty of buyer's advice (did you know that some brand flashes cost up to three times as much as third party alternatives, while not offering more power or features - sometimes even less).

Finally, it comes with two cool bonuses: a set of three fifteen minute videos and a sample set of Lightroom presets.

Light It Up! (including bonuses) retails for $30 + applicable taxes but until May 29, you can save 25 percent. No discount code needed. Get it here.

P.S. If you speak Dutch, this book is also available in Dutch (both as a print book and an eBook). I also have a Dutch video course on off camera flash over at my Dutch online photo training website www.photofactsacademy.nl.

My New eBook Released: LIGHT IT UP!

I am very happy to announce that Craft & Vision have just released my latest eBook: Light It Up! Techniques for Dramatic Off-Camera Lighting.

In this 160-page PDF eBook, I cover everything I have learnt myself over the past 10+ years in working with flash photography. The eBook includes essential theories about light but with a focus on the practical consequences for you as a photographer. It showcases techniques and gives advice on using speedlights and portable studio flashes on location. All the info is presented in case studies, lighting diagrams, and advice on the best gear to buy for different scenarios. Inside you’ll find: 

• Both beginner and advanced lighting setups
• Lighting diagrams and behind-the-scenes setup shots
• Real-life lessons from me on what works, what doesn’t, and how to improve
• A comprehensive discussion on the latest lighting gear and how to save big on gear by buying third-party flashes
• In-depth coverage of advanced techniques such as high-speed sync and hypersync
• Information on both big and small flashes and the importance of a “flash ecosystem”
• How to work with on-camera flash with excellent results 
• Post-production instruction

Light It Up! will help you overcome any fear you might have for flash photography (I know I had, years ago!) and help you turn your flash from a contrarian adversary to a trusted ally. Personally, I would rather leave a lens at home than my flash! I hope you will, too, after reading this eBook!

Pricing

Light It Up! is priced at $30 (+ VAT in Europe) and that's including two really cool bonuses (see below). Until May 29th, there's a special 25 percent off launch discount, making the price only $22,50. No coupon codes are needed. If you know that some of the third-party gear I use myself (and recommend in the eBook) costs between half and a third of the price of the brand flashes of the camera manufacturers themselves, you'll save the purchase price of the eBook many times over!

Bonus 1: Three Lighting Videos

In addition to the 160 page PDF eBook, you'll also get access to three 15 minutes bonus videos. That's 45 minutes total of bonus video content. The first video shows you how I shot this particular image on a recent trip to Varanasi and how I processed it in Lightroom and Photoshop. In the second video, I share my 'Layering Lights' technique with you: a cool technique to create really beautifully lit photos with just one light. In the final video, I walk you through some of the images in the eBook, giving you behind-the-scenes information.

Bonus 2: Five LIghtroom Presets

Because everybody loves bonuses, I have created a second bonus for you: five free Lightroom presets that show you how one click can take a picture from good to great.

Below is the first of the three bonus videos that come with the eBook. Watch it now for free!

And here you can see a couple of sample pages... (don't mind the compresson, the actual PDF pages are crystal clear).

Still in doubt? Here's what other photographers had to say about Light It Up!

“In the first couple of chapters alone, this eBook covers the same information that other photography courses spread across months or even years. Although the book contains some pretty techie stuff, Piet knows how to explain it in a simple way and illustrates it with practical examples. More advanced photographers will also benefit from this book by useful tips and examples from Piet’s daily practice, explanations on typical flash problems and solutions, setup shots, or lighting diagrams.”

— Erik v. R.

“Do you want to start using your flash creatively, both on- and off-camera but are getting lost in all the information that’s out there? No need to worry: this book will guide you through the world of flash techniques and gear. It’s a highly educational book that offers an interesting insight in technique and creativity.”

— Serge V. C.

“As an available light aficionado, reading this book had me go out and flirt with flash light.”

— Tom M.

“Don’t hesitate. Terrific book!”

— Ronald G.

“Impressively complete. Should be on every photographer’s bookshelf.”

— Philippe B.

“A truly marvelous book, both in terms of contents and layout, explaining complex concepts in an understandable way. Highly recommended!”

— Bart P.

Announcing the 2017 Kolkata and Varanasi Location Portraiture and Lighting Masterclass

Matt Brandon and I are pleased to announce the third edition of the Location Portraiture and Lighting Masterclass. This workshop will be held from November 26th to December 3rd, 2017, in two of India's most photogenic cities: Kolkata and Varanasi. We will shoot both classical portraits as environmental ones, and use available light as well as artificial (flash) light. Below are some examples of the types of photos you can expect to go home with at the end of the workshop.

Interested? You can find more info and a link to the registration form here.

Three ways to fade a Lightroom preset

I love Lightroom presets. Whether I'm pressed for time or pressed for inspiration on how to process an image, my favourite presets are always there to help me! However, sometimes, the effect of a preset might be a tad too much for the style you're after for a particular image. In this video, I want to show you three ways on how to dial back the effect of a preset.

In the video, I use one of my own preset packs as an example (you can learn more about it on www.lightroompresets.be) but obviously the techniques work with any Lightroom preset.

Lightroom 6/CC Unmasked. A Complete Guidebook to Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. Available as a PDF eBook from www.craftandvision.com

Lightroom 6/CC Ontmaskerd: hét onmisbare handboek voor Lightroom 6. Beschikbaar als gedrukt boek en eBook op www.lightroomontmaskerd.be

Lightroom plug-in The Fader lets you fade the effect of a preset within Lightroom. 

No flash? No problem! Lightroom and the Fujifilm GFX.

At the Photo Days photographic trade show in Brussels this weekend, I had the honour of doing some GFX studio demos with two lovely and very talented models: Rosalinde Kikstra and Sooraj Subramaniam. I had a number of Godox flashes and modifiers set up and I'll post some images later of those results but the image that probably underlines the GFX's fantastic capabilities the most was one I made by accident: on one of the shots in a Black and White portrait series, I had misaligned the trigger so the flashes did not fire. All I got was a heavily underexposed ambient exposure shot.

FUJIFILM GFX 50S | GF120mmF4 R LM OIS WR Macro @ 120 mm | 1/125 sec @ f/5.6 | ISO 400

So, in front of a live audience, I said, jokingly... let's try and see what we can make out of this... I increased the Exposure slider by almost 5 stops (the maximum in Lightroom), dragged a couple of other sliders around and half a minute later got this result... 

FUJIFILM GFX 50S | GF120mmF4 R LM OIS WR Macro @ 120 mm | 1/125 sec @ f/5.6 | ISO 400

Here's the two of them side by side in the Lightroom interface.

And below is a 1:1 crop. I added 25 Luminance Noise Reduction in Lightroom and of course there is still some noise but considering the fact that my ISO wasn't even at the base of 100 but at 400, I think the result is nothing short of fantastic...

For me, the takeaway from this accidental experiment is that if Lightroom and the GFX can do this on a completely underexposed file, imagine what you can do with a halfway decent exposure. Just about anything, I guess...

Oh... and just for the sake of being complete... here's the actual image with the flashes firing :-)

FUJIFILM GFX 50S | GF120mmF4 R LM OIS WR Macro @ 120 mm | 1/125 sec @ f/5.6 | ISO 400

5 Day Deal 2017 Photography Business and Marketing Bundle

Over $2.200 of resources for only $97

If you've followed this blog, you probably know about the 5 Day Deal. The folks at 5 Day Deal bundle photographic training resources, Lightroom presets, video tutorials and Photoshop actions into one heavily discounted bundle. Starting now, they have a new bundle out, which is very interesting because it touches on the business and marketing aspects of photography. As a professional photographer, expecially if you're a one-man-band, you're really only using a camera 10 percent of the time. The rest of the time is spent on marketing, finding new clients, putting in bids, doing your taxes, and so on. Yet, most of the training available always focuses on the creative part of photography or on postprocessing.

This bundle is a much-needed change from that. It's a must-buy for anyone who is making or is thinking of making aake a living, either full-time or part-time, in photography. At only $97 + tax, it's one of the best investments you can make, especially knowing that the full retail price of the bundle is well over $2.200. Some of the individual courses in the bundle cost more than the bundle price. Where's the catch, then? There isn't any, other than the fact that it's only around for 5 days, until noon on January 24th, to be exact.

My top-5 of what's included

There's something for everybody and if you get tired of the marketing and business talk and advice, there are even a couple of creative resources as well. Check out the full list of resources here!

1. Susan Stripling's Wedding Business Fundamentals

The wedding photography industry is probably one of the most competitive businesses out there. It's really a mine-field and the fact that you're photographing a once-in-a-lifetime (well in some cases twice-in-a-lifetime) event won't ease your mind as a budding wedding photographer. This course covers over 300 pages and dozens of videos with do's and don'ts to help starting and more experienced wedding photographers alike with marketing and pricing. 

Normally, this resource is $199 by itself, now it's included in the Complete Photography Business and Marketing Bundle 2017.

2. Perfect Facebook Ads: The Photographer's Guide by Photography Spark

Ever tried Facebook ads? It's a minefield. Or should I say, a swamp. A swamp that sucks your hard-earned money away faster than you can earn it. Yet, if you play it right, Facebook ads can help your business tremendously. This in-depth eBook will teach you all you need to know and the mistakes you should avoid when setting up a Facebook ad campaign.

Normally, this resource is $99 by itself, now it's included in the Complete Photography Business and Marketing Bundle 2017.

3. Marketing Bootcamp 2.0 by Donal Doherty

Like the previous resource, Donal also talks about Facebook ads but that's just one of the subjects. He also covers the importance of automation (after all, you don't want to spend too much time on repetitive tasks. You want to photograph, right? Donal also covers blogging, Instagram and Google Adwords. 

Normally, this resource is $60 by itself, now it's included in the Complete Photography Business and Marketing Bundle 2017.

4. What Should I Charge by Joel Grimes

This is probably the biggest question facing the beginning professional photographer after 'Where do I get my clients' (on which there's also a course in this bundle, by the way). Too many starting (and even more experienced) photographers have no realistic idea about prices. It's so hard to put a value on your own work. Charge too little and it's hard to raise your prices afterwards. Charge too much and you run the risk of not getting a job in the first place. Joel Grimes knows what he's talking about: he's a very successful commercial photographer and in this one hour course, he covers positioning yourself in the market place, how to avoid pricing pitfalls, and how to successfully prepare a bid.

Normally, this resource is $80 by itself, now it's included in the Complete Photography Business and Marketing Bundle 2017.

5. Mastering the Model Shoot on Location

In any photography business, it's 80 percent business and marketing and 20 percent shooting. That's why after 4 business and marketing oriented resources, I'll finish this top-5 with a creative resource. Frank Doorhof, himself an example of a highly successful photographer, has included his 100 minute Mastering The Model Shoot on Location video. 

Normally, this resource is $35 by itself, now it's included in the Complete Photography Business and Marketing Bundle 2017.

The total value of this top-5 alone is $473. But there's plenty more. In fact, let me give you one more tip myself. 10 percent of the sales of this bundle go to charity. But during checkout, you get the option to double the charity amount (It's called 'Charity Match'. This will cost you only $19.47 extra and if you do, good karma will come your way by way of some extra free content, like Serge Ramelli's Interior Design Photography Bundle (a $147 value by itself), Kevin Kubota's Lightroom Presets Workflow Collection (a $49 value), Blake Rudis' Beginners Guide to Photoshop Actions ($29 value). The 5 Day Deal is a no-brainer and the Charity Match option is a no-brainer within that no-brainer.

The Charity Match option costs 20 dollars extra in exchange for which you receive $400 worth of extra content and you also get that warm, fuzzy feeling of having doubled your charity contribution!

If you're even only remotely interested in becoming a semi-professional photographer, this will do so much more for your career than any filter, camera bag or leather strap ever will!

Just don't forget, the sale of the Complete Photography Business and Marketing Bundle 2017 ends forever at noon, January 24th (PST).

The Fujfilm GFX Files, Part 2 - More videos

A video interview with about the GFX and the accessories I used in India

As you could read in part 1, I have been using the brand new Fujifilm GFX in India and Belgium for a couple of weeks. I also made a 3 minute video about it for Fujifilm. Well actually, I did not make that video: fellow X-Photographers Matt Brandon (www.thedigitaltrekker.com) and Serge Van Cauwenbergh (www.fotografieblog.be) filmed it - entirely with X-T2 cameras by the way - and Matt also edited it. In case you haven't seen it yet, here's that video:

On the way back from Varanasi to Delhi, Matt interviewed me about the GFX, but also about some of the other accessories we have been using, like the SMDV BRiHT 360 and the SMDV Speedbox 85 that you can see me use extensively in the video. We also talk about using monopods and tripods and how to back up images like this while traveling. You can check out the video interview on Matt's site. There's some cool 100 percent close-ups of shots!

Check out my video interview here.

More GFX Challenge videos

If you haven't overdosed on GFX news by now, here are the latest GFX Challenge videos that Fujifilm have released:

Ollvier Wehrli - Switzerland

Watching Oliver's beautifully filmed video gave me vertigo. I guess I'm not cut out to be a landscape photographer!

Joshua Loh - Singapore

Joshua Loh appreciates the small form factor and fast focusing capabilities of the GFX. I also take away from the video that I really need a Mercedes SLS to complement the GFX... That car features in no less than three GFX Challenge videos :-)

Supalerk Narubetkraisee (Thailand)

Supalerk also lauds the universal nature of the GFX and has a couple of really nice star trail photos in his video.

Shiro Hagihara (Japan)

Shiro - like me - appreciates the EVF which lets him decide on exposure and color without having to take his eye off the viewfinder. He loves the Velvia simulation for his landscape work. He says the GFX lets him capture details that even his eyes could not see.

Saiichi Nakmura

Saiichi's work involves still life photography with water. The video offers an interesting view into his studio set-up. He praises the quality of the CMOS sensor and the standard 4:3 aspect ratio which he finds better suited for commercial use.

Jonas Rask and Palle Schultz (Denmark)

The detail and sharpness of Jonas' lifestyle shoot images with a biker almost bite you from across the screen. A must-see if you're into motorcycles or good-looking guys :-)

Sangsun Ogh (Korea)

Sangsun takes us to a shoot of a model wearing traditional Korean attire. Needless to say, the resolution of the GFX helps to bring out every little bit of texture.

Knut Koivisto (Sweden)

Knut appreciates the fact that the camera works as well in the studio as it does outside of it, in the streets. He uses the X-T2 and the GFX intermittently. For him, DSLRs have been sidestepped now.

The Fujifilm GFX Files, Part 1 - Review

Today Fujfilm have officially announced their Medium Format Mirrorless camera, the GFX 50S. The camera had already been pre-announced at Photokina, but now we have the full specs and, not unimportant for a camera of this calibre, the price!

Specs

I won't bore you to death with all the tech specs (they can be found on Fujifilm's own website) but here's the most important ones:

• All new G Mount with 12 pins to ensure a maximum of information can be exchanged between camera and lenses. Diameter of 65 mm and a flange back of 26.7 mm.
• 43.8 x 32.9mm CMOS sensor, rumoured to be the same as in the Pentax 645Z but with Fujifilm tweaks added to it (and of course Fujifilm's own processing which is done by the X-Processor Pro). This means the sensor is 1.7 times as big as a fullframe sensor and almost 4 times the size of a regular X system sensor.
• The crop factor is 0.79. To know what a G-mount lens is like in fullframe terms, multiply the focal length by 0.79.
• The sensor array is Bayer, not X-Trans. Personally, I think that's a good fact. As it's still unclear as to whether Capture One will support the GFX, Lightroom currently seems to be the only mature raw converter that will support it and it does a great job with Bayer sensor patterns.
• 51.4 megapixel sensor with 8256 x 6192 files (4:3 native aspect ratio). Other aspect ratios can be set in the camera and, contrary to medium format cameras with an optical viewfinder, the GFX can show you an exact preview of what your crop is going to look like in its EVF.
• Base ISO of 100. ISO up to 12.800 and extended ISO modes up to 102.400.
• Mirrorless design
• Focal plane shutter to 1/4.000th of a second, electronic shutter up to 1/16.000 of a second
• Weather sealed
• Dual SD Card slots
• WI-FI
• Contrast-detection AF with joystick for quick focus selection (just like X-T2 and X-Pro 2)
• 117 focus points all around the frame, pretty unique in the medium format world!
• Tethered shooting support (Lightroom)
• HDMI, PC Sync Port, USB3 and Remote Control connectors
• Flash Sync Speed of 1/125th - HSS should be available through Fujifilm's own EF-X500
• Detachable viewfinder with a 3.69 M-dot viewfinder
• Two-way 2.36 M-dot tiltable screen (like the X-T2) with touch capability
• New, more powerful battery
• E-ink display that shows essential shooting data even when the camera is turned off
• Full HD Video @ 30 FPS. Although, if you want a video camera, get the X-T2: it's four times cheaper :-) Matt Brandon from www.thedigitaltrekker.com and Serge Van Cauwenbergh from www.fotografieblog.be used the X-T2 to film my GFX challenges video and we were all amazed by its video capabilities!
• Weight: 825 grams including battery and card for the body-only. That's less than typical pro-level DSLRs. 1230 grams with the 63 mm attached. Or in other words: medium format quality for fullframe weight!

 

G-Lenses

Of course, no system is complete without lenses. Just like the X-Pro 1 some five years ago, the GFX is available with a choice of three lenses, and a promise of more to come. Of the three lenses that are currently available, the 32-64 is the one I used the most. In fact, Lightroom tells me I shot 87% of my images with this very versatile lens. In order to know what these lenses are like in fullframe terms, you have to multiply their focal length by 0.79. This means this lens translates into about 25 to 50 mm. My second-most used lens (ten percent of all shots I made) was the 120 mm f/4.

The Filter Bar in Lightroom: a great source for information. It's no surprise that I used the 32-64 the most. I cannot wait for the 23 mm that is announced for later this year!

I really appreciate the fact that it's stabilised and while waiting for the announced 110 mm f/2, it makes for a nice portrait lens which has the advantage of having macro capability and being stabilised. Finally, the lens I used the least (only 3 percent) was the 63 mm f/2.8. Not that it's not a nice lens, in fact, with it's relatively light weight and relatively fast aperture (in medium format terms), it's got a lot going for it. It's just that 50 mm fullframe equivalent is not my favourite focal length to shoot at.

The 120 mm is a crazy sharp portrait lens. This downsampled, compressed JPEG does not really do the lens much justice, unfortunately. Its OIS came in really handy for making this hand-held available light portrait. All images in this blog post were processed in Adobe Lightroom using my Lightroom preset packs | www.lightroompresets.be

FUJIFILM GFX 50S | GX120mmF4 R WR @ 120 mm | 1/125 sec. f @ 4 | ISO 500

Price

At Photokina, Fujifilm had already hinted at a price 'Well below $10,000' and it looks like they have kept their word. Body-only price in the US is $6.499. In Europe, it's $6.999, including VAT. So, for you professionals out there who can reclaim VAT, that's under €6.000! This makes the camera not only a serious contender for other suppliers of digital medium format cameras like Pentax, Hasselblad or Phase One, but this aggressive pricing strategy is clearly also aimed at winning over people who now shoot high-end fullframe DSLR cameras.

So what about the lenses? In Europe (Belgium) the price is as follows:

• Camera: 6.999 € including VAT
• 63 mm: 1.599 € including VAT
• 32-64 mm: 2.499 € including VAT
• 120 mm: 2.899 € including VAT

In the US, the prices are (excluding sales tax):

• Camera: $6.499
• 63 mm: $1.499
• 32-64 mm: $2.299
• 120 mm: $2.699

So, the camera is indeed 'well under $10.000', even including the standard lens. Although still a considerable investment, as far as I know, this is not only the latest, but also the most affordable medium format camera you can buy new, today.

Using the GFX in the field

The internet will probably explode with opinions about this camera, lots of which will be based only on the spec sheet. After all, few people have had a chance to really use the camera for a prolonged period of time. As you probably know by now (see this blog post), I was one of those lucky guys who had the opportunity to test a prototype for a couple of weeks, back in November. Below is the video I made for Fujifilm about it. Special thanks to Serge, Matt, Matt's wife Alou and fixer Manoj for their help!

The actual camera felt very finished, but the firmware was still very beta and buggy. However, this still gave me a very good idea of what it should be like to use the finished product. In summary, the GFX gives you the quality of medium format while combining the best in handling from the mirrorless and the DSLR world. If you're used to a traditional DSLR or - even better - any Fujifilm camera and especially the X-T2, you'll feel right at home. If you're used to using other medium format cameras, you'll probably appreciate the ergonomics and all the little extras that aren't necessarily present on the camera you're currently working with.

My Top-10 features

This brings us to my favourite features of the camera. 

1. Image Quality

When I saw the first shots in the viewfinder and later on my monitor, I was simply stunned, and I still am. And mind you, this is even without having worked with the RAW files as there currently isn't any support for them, yet. I did capture uncompressed RAF files along with Super Fine JPEGs (a new setting, delivering JPEGs of up to 20 Megabyte in size). 

What you might think is natural light, is actually a flash firing through a window. Just don't tell the available light purists. They're everywhere :-)

FUJIFILM GFX 50S | GX32-64mmF4 R LM WR @ 36.2 mm | 1/60 sec. @ f/4 | ISO 1000

2. 24 megapixels is plenty, 51.4 is plenty more! 

I was (and still am) happy with the 24 megapixels of my X-Pro2 and X-T2 bodies and especially for the APS-C sensor size, I think that is a nice sweetspot. However, with the GFX's sensor being almost four times as big, there was obviously room for more megapixels. The GFX 50S should actually be called the GFX 51.4S, as this is the actual pixel count. It's funny, really, that the number just gets rounded off. 15 years ago, the first affordable digital cameras were about 1.4 megapixel. Now, that is considered pocket change! The GFX has a 4:3 aspect ratio, which takes some getting used to. However, I have started to appreciate this aspect ratio, especially with regards to printing. The images are 8256 by 6192 pixels tall.

This Lightroom screenshot might be the best way to give you an idea about the size and the detail in the files. This is a screenshot of my 2560 x 1440 iMac monitor. The image in the middle is zoomed to 1:1. In the Navigator to the left, the rectangle shows you how tight I'm zoomed in.

The first advantage of having this many megapixels is obviously the resolution if you want to print really big. At 300 dpi, without any upsampling in Photoshop, you can print images that are 28 inches or 70 cm on the long side. Now, if you're printing on inkjet printers, 200 to 150 dpi is actually a much more common resolution. This means that you can print up to almost 60 inches on the long side, without needing to upsample in Photoshop. With some upsampling, even larger, sharp prints are absolutely possible. Simply amazing.

The second advantage is cropping. Although I try to get my crops right in camera, there will always be situations where you could not get the crop you wanted, or a layouter wants to use a crop from a shot because it better matches the layout. In the example below, I was actually shooting vertically. It was a staged, lit shot which I wanted to be quite dramatic. However, suddenly, the dogs - a quintessential part of Indian daily life - came walking through the frame and I wanted to capture that, too. I had no time to change the camera's orientation. The horizontal crop puts the focus more on the street scene. And it's still some 25 megapixels, so even more than an uncropped shot of my X-T2.

I was actually setting up for this type of more posed shot... when some dogs walked by. 

FUJIFILM GFX 50S | GX32-64mmF4 R LM WR @ 35 mm | 1/125 @ f/4 | ISO 200

I had no time to turn the camera, but made a vertical photo and then cropped it into this 4:3 landscape shot. The resulting image still measures 5701 x 4276 pixels! The blue light in the background is a Cactus RF60 flash with a blue gel on it. I chose the colour because of the contrast with the warm, orange clothing.

FUJIFILM GFX 50S | GX32-64mmF4 R LM WR @ 44.9 mm | 1/125 @ f/7.1 | ISO 320

3. Dynamic Range

Another reason many photographers invest in Medium Format, is to have more dynamic range and much more postprocessing leeway with the raw files. As I mentioned, there still is no raw support so it's hard to fully appreciate this already. I will report back on this as soon as I can but from tests I did with the camera's built-in converter, I'm very optimistic!

The best angle for this shot was when the diver was back-lit. Not a problem for the GFX. And... this is based on a JPEG. Can't wait to see what Lightroom can pull out of the GFX raw files.

4. Autofocus system

Traditionally, with medium format cameras, autofocus is the achilles heel of the system, requiring you to either use the LCD in Live View mode or the central AF point and then focus and recompose. This makes these cameras rather slow to use. The GFX is different. Although not as fast as its smaller, recent X-siblings (because it's contrast-detection only) it was surprisingly fast to focus (in medium format terms) and, more importantly, the 117 focus points cover the entire frame, so no need to focus and recompose. The latter technique could really cause you to lose your critical focus if you're working with shallow depth of field (like the upcoming 100 mm f/2 lens offers). To change your focus point, you can use the 'joystick' which most of us know (and love) from the X-Pro 2 and the X-T2. And of course, in those cases where the autofocus does not work, it's an easy switch to manual mode, where the manual focus aids (like 3 or 10 times magnification in the EVF) can help you focus manually. Try that with an OVF!

I rarely put my subjects in the centre. Which is why I really appreciate the fact that the GFX has autofocus points everywhere across its viewfinder. 

FUJIFILM GFX 50S | GX32-64mmF4 R LM WR @ 36.2 mm | 1/100 @ f/4 | ISO 800

The optional grip turns the GFX into a squarish block. This improves the ergonomics when holding the camera vertically.

5. It's mirrorless!

Analog viewfinders are so 20th century... I really like the EVF on my other Fujifilm cameras and it's no different on the GFX. I like that I can see what I'm going to get even before taking the shot, the live histogram and the fact that I can set the camera up to show me a preview of my ambient exposure in manual mode. This is super handy when working with flash. Set the ambient, dial in the flash and review the picture immediately in the EVF. No need for chimping! I have done a full blog post covering the advantages of an Electronic Viewfinder in more detail. Check it out here.

6. Dual SD card slots

I love the fact that Fujifilm sticks to SD cards. They're readily available and so are card readers for them, unless you happen to own the new MacBook Pro, of course. 

7. A lens roadmap

Remember when Fujifilm only had three lenses available at the launch of the X-Pro 1? Some people were hesitant to buy into the system but Fujifilm was smart: they released a lens roadmap that shared all the lenses they were considering making for the X-system. That not only showed that they were committed to the system, but it also made it easier for people buying into the system. If your favourite lens wasn't among the three initially available, you at least had an idea if it was coming. Fujifilm are repeating this launch strategy with the GFX. Already we know that 3 more lenses are scheduled for this year: a 23 mm f/4 super wide, a 45 mm f/2.8 and a 110 mm f/2. I love super wide angle shots. So, the fact that I know that the 23 mm wide angle is under development is important to me. The same goes for the 110 mm f/2.

These 3 extra lenses have been announced for 2017. As mentioned, I am really looking forward to the 110 mm f/2 and the 23 mm f/4. Together with the 32-64, they would be my personal 'holy trinity' of GFX lenses.

8. Size and weight of the system

Although the lenses are what you'd expect from medium format lenses that have to cover a sensor this large, the actual body is surprisingly small and lightweight. It's about 1.2 kg with the 63 mm lens. Size-wise it's more compact than most other digital medium format cameras, except maybe for the Hasselblad X1D. However, with that camera, goodlooking as it is, I cannot help but feel that the design process has emphasized form over function. And although the GFX (or the X-T2, for that matter) don't look as retro-sexy-good as the X-Pro 2 and definitely not as the X100 series in my opinion, in the end, it's the handling that matters most. 

With the 63 mm 'standard' lens, you could almost consider the GFX as a 'walkaround' camera. Only one that delivers 51.4 megapixel files. It certainly isn't much bigger or heavier than typical pro-DSLRs.

FUJIFILM GFX 50S | GX63mmF2.8 R WR @ 63 mm | 1/125 @ f/2.8 | ISO 400

How would you like your GFX today? From full-blown battle dress with the EVF and the grip to minimalist and as lightweight and small as possible, with the EVF detached. The modular design lets you adapt the camera to the needs of your shoot.

9. Love those old view cameras?

The GFX has got you covered! One of the things I love about the old view cameras is that you can hold them at waist level and then look down in the viewfinder. The GFX lets you simulate that with the two way tilt screen. You can tilt it both horizontally and vertically. If you're more into EVFs, then you will be able to purchase an accessory for the EVF that lets you rotate and tilt it. But back to the LCD: it also features a touch screen, which wasn't working yet on my prototype. So I can say nothing about it but from what I saw it will definitely be useful, if only when reviewing images.

10. Other odds and ends

There's really so much more to like about the camera: the fact that it will have tethering support (for Lightroom; apparently Phase One are still on the fence if they will open up their Capture One for the GFX) or the fact that it has built-in WIFI and that you can print to an Instax printer. That might seem like a gimmick, but I can assure you that for travel photography, the Instax really is a door-opener. Or how 'bout the C-position on the lenses. They have aperture rings (like in the good old days) but for those of you who have forgotten how these work, Fujifilm have added a C-position on each lens. Put your lens on the C-position and you can control the aperture with the command dial, pretty much like you can with a DSLR. Finally, another nice feature are the crops you can set in the camera. If you shoot RAW, you still record all the image data, but seeing only the crop in the EVF or the LCD really helps you with composition, especially with the new panoramic 65:24 format, which I really like and which I plan to do more with. It's just another one of those EVF advantages, I guess.

The new panoramic 65 x 24 Aspect Ratio is almost 3:1. The preview in the EVF is a big help in composing these shots. The resulting images are still 8256 x 3048 pixels, or more than 24 megapixel. If you change your mind afterwards and want a different crop, the full 51.4 megapixels are still available in the raw file.

FUJIFILM GFX 50S | GX32-64mmF4 R LM WR @ 32 mm | 1/60 @ f/5.6 | ISO 200

Just another one of those cool features. The small LCD on the top left of the camera shows you the shooting essentials. It stays on, even when the camera is turned off.

What could be improved?

Well, nothing is perfect. Not even the GFX :-) For example, the position of the Play button takes some getting used to. The eye cup is a little too easy to lose (at least it was on my unit), but those are all minor things. Probably the biggest drawback is the 1/125th sync speed. I use a lot of flash outdoors, and the faster your sync speed, the more you can overpower the sun with a flash of a given power. I was a bit worried that this would prove to be a problem in India but it actually wasn't. I used a lightweight yet powerful 360 Ws portable battery-powered flash (the SMDV BRiHT 360) and most of the time, that was powerful enough, even when used with a softbox. I'm also happy to hear that HSS support is available with the EF-X500 flashes and the next time I have a GFX at hand, I will try if the Cactus V6 Mark II, which offers HSS with other brands' speedlights and even studio flashes on the other X-series cameras (see this blog post), will also perform that same magic with the GFX.

In conclusion

The GFX is a mighty fine camera. Or, as Jonas Rask calls it in his review, a 'portable beast'. All 825 grams and 51.4 megapixels of it. I am not a pixel peeper by nature but it's kind of addictive to scroll through those files in 1:1 view in Lightroom or Photoshop, hitting Page Down and being amazed by the level of detail that unfolds in front of your eyes. As is also indicated by the videos of the other photographers who used the GFX, this is a camera that can please a very diverse audience, Except maybe for sports shooters, everyone from the studio photographer over the landscape photographer all the way to the portrait and travel guys like myself should all seriously consider this camera. And you know, although I wouldn't take it to the Olympics, in a pinch, thanks to its 4 frames per second, it can even shoot sports, too :-) As I did in this wrestling school in Varanasi.

I had loads of misses, but I also had a couple of tack sharp shots. Not bad for a medium format camera! In situations like this, or with the boys diving into the water, the four frames per second (which is like Formula 1 in the mirrorless world) really help.

That's it for now. If you want to hear more about the GFX and the other gear I used on this trip in conjunction with it, check out the video-interview that fellow X-shooter Matt Brandon, who also edited and partly filmed my GFX Challenges video, did with me while we were waiting for our plane from Varanasi back to Delhi. There's some great gear tips in there!

Join Matt Brandon and me in Varanasi in 2018

Each year, Matt Brandon and yours truly do a photo workshop in Varanasi, India and we also have a workshop in Ladakh in the works. If you are interested in these, fill out the form below and you'll be the first to hear. We love our newsletter subscribers so they always get the scoop. The 2017 edition sold out in one hour after sending out our newsletter. Although we are both Fujifilm shooters, this workshop is open to all camera beliefs. But you might go home converted :-)

In an upcoming blog post, I will show you some still unreleased images of that I shot back home, during a couple of urban exploring photo sessions I did with dancers in order to get to know the camera a little better, before embarking on a plane to India with it.

Looking to add that extra 'oomph' to your images?

All images in this post have been processed in Lightroom with my Black & White or Colorific Color Grading Lightroom preset packs. Buy them all and save 25 percent | www.lightroompresets.be

Fujifilm releases new GFX Challenge videos

Fujifilm today have released no less than 7 new GFX Challenge videos. For the GFX Challenge, some 20 photographers worldwide got to work with a prototype of the upcoming GFX medium format camera and the three lenses that are going to ship with it when the camera is released: the 63 mm f/2.8, the 32-64 f/4 zoom and the 120 f/4 stabilised macro. 

The photographers were free to do what they wanted. The only thing is they had to make a three minute video of using the camera. It's really refreshing to see what people do with the camera. Not only the photography is truly breathtaking, but some of the videos are also beautifully made and most of them were filmed in 4K with Fujifilm X-T2 cameras.

Gary Heery (Australia)

Australian photographer Gary Heery uses the GFX and the macro lens to create some really beautiful still lifes (litterally) of objects frozen in time. I cannot wait to see these printed large. And neither can he, apparently!

Roméo Balancourt (France)

French portrait, architecture and food photographer Roméo Balancourt uses the GFX on location to shoot upscale restaurants and their crew. It's interesting to see him set up an entire lighting studio on location. He mixes available (tungsten) lights with flash and fresnel spots. He appreciates the Q menu and the Electronic Viewfinder that shows him exactly what he's going to get. I blogged about the advantages of an EVF a while back in this post. Roméo admits that before using the GFX, he always had to add extra sharpening to his images before delivering them to his clients. With the GFX, he no longer has to, he says. I also loved how the images he made during the video come together in a final composite, at around the 4 minute 5 seconds mark.

Luciano Romano (Italy)

For his GFX Challenge, Italian photographer Luciano Romano wanted to combine his three favorite elements of photography: art, architecture, and theater. He loves the excellent ergonomics of the camera (something I can confirm: if you're used to working with a DSLR or Fujifilm's X-T2, you'll feel right at home).

Victor Liu (Canada)

Perhaps it's slightly over-the-top, but I just love this Canadian landscape's photographer's video. I love the low angles, the fades from the video to shots of the GFX and back. It's like a trailer for a blockbuster movie. Or should I say, a blockbuster camera? Victor shows that the GFX absolutely feels at home in very rugged conditions. Now I want to go to the Rocky Mountains, too...

Ivan Joshua Loh (Singapore)

Medium format and cars. It's a marriage made in heaven. As such, the Mercedes SLS appears to be a hot ticket amongst car photographers: Ivan Joshua Loh from Singapore is the second GFX Challenger to photograph this gull-winged beauty of a car, yet he does so in a completely different way than Satoshi Minakawa.

Per-Anders Jörgensen (Sweden)

Swedish photographer Per-Anders Jörgensen describes his own work as "faked documentary" (a term I have to remember as it kind of reflects some of the stuff I do). Just like Roméo Balancourt, he takes the GFX to a restaurant but he uses it to photograph the preparation of food. It's interesting to see hem use a curtain as a diffuser tent and get under it to get the softest light possible. That's the nice thing about these GFX videos: you always pick up a thing or two that you can insert in your own workflow...

Minoru Kobayashi (Japan)

Japanese Minoru Kobayashi takes the GFX outside to photograph a sports car. I'm no petrolhead, but I think its a Honda NSX. Its 573 bhp sure goes well with the GFX's 51+ megapixel. He loves what he calls the "resolution with density" that only medium format can provide. His favourite film simulation is Velvia back from in the days where he shot Velvia on film, at ASA 50 or 100. He really loves the fact that he can now shoot Velvia digitally, with a previously unthought of ISO of 1600 and above!

With a price point of "well under $10,000" including the standard 63 mm lens, the GFX might very well wind up to be not only a "medium-format-killer" but also a "high-end-dslr-killer". And we've still got a couple of more GFX Challenge videos to come! In the mean time, if you want to see how the GFX behaves on the busy streets of India, have a look at (shameless plug, I I know), my own GFX video:

And in case you still need some more convincing, here's the other GFX videos that have been released thus far:

Testing the GFX was a lot of fun. Actually, it only had one drawback. I want one, now... 

Honoured, humbled, frightened and excited, part 2: my Fujifilm GFX Challenge

About a year ago, I published a blog post called 'Honoured, humbled, frightened and excited'. These words best described my feelings when I was invited by Fujifilm to test a pre-production sample of the X-Pro 2.

Fast forward to November 2016. I got a call from the Belgian Fujifilm office, inviting me to participate in the GFX Challenge: a limited number of photographers worldwide would get the opportunity to test drive a preproduction sample of the long-awaited and even longer-rumoured Fujifilm Mirrorless Medium Format camera, the 50 megapixel GFX 50 S.

So I was feeling humbled, honoured, frightened and excited all over again. Well, maybe even a little more humbled and honoured and definitely a lot more frightened, as the group consisted of only 20 photographers. Compared to last year, we not only were supposed to make images with the camera, but we were also asked to produce a short video clip. Other than that, we were free to do choose how, where and what we wanted to photograph.

I thought it would be cool to see how a camera that is thought of by most people as a typical studio camera, would behave outside of its natural habitat. So I rustled up fellow Fujifilm photographers Matt Brandon and Serge Van Cauwenbergh as cameramen and within days of being asked, we were on a plane to one of my favourite places to shoot: Varanasi, India.  

Below is the clip on the official Fujifilm Youtube channel (with Japanese subtitles). It was filmed entirely in 4K with X-T2 cameras, by the way. For now, that is all I can share. More pictures and a more detailed account of my experience with the GFX will follow when Fujifilm releases the embargo.

In case your Japanese or your English are a little rusty, below is the clip on my Vimeo account. It's the same, but it gives you a choice of Dutch and English subtitles.

A huge thanks to Serge, Matt, Matt's wife Alou (who acted as my voice activated light stand) and our guide/fixer/translator Manoj. This would not have been possible without you, guys (and gal)! Further thanks are obviously due to Fujifilm Japan and Fujifilm Belgium and finally also a big thank you to Ruth and Noah for letting me embark on this unexpected journey on such short notice.

Join Matt Brandon and me in Varanasi in 2018.

If seeing this video got you excited about Fujifilm and/or photographing in India, know that Matt and I will be leading another Location Portraiture and Lighting Masterclass there in 2018. The 2017 edition of this workshop sold out in just one hour. We'll be releasing details about the 2018 one within the coming weeks. If you want to be notified as soon as dates and details are available, you can sign up for information via the form below. Please make sure to click on the link in the confirmationi email you receive.

Young meets old in the narrow alleyways of Varanasi. An orange-gelled Cactus RF60 was fired through a gridded SMDV70 Speedbox to produce this image. 

Save 50 percent on my Lightroom presets until Nov. 19

Craft & Vision, the publisher of my Lightroom presets and my English video tutorials and eBooks on Photoshop and Lightroom are having a massive sale until November 19: everything in the store is 50 percent off! Even the bundle of my three preset packs, which by itself is already 25 percent off of individual prices, is another 50 percent off! At just over $20 + VAT, it's a steal.

Presets are the way to speed up your Lightroom workflow but they do more than that: they let you discover new looks for your images you might not have thought of yourself. Finally, they're a great teaching resource as you can verify each preset's settings to see how a particular effect is created!

Below are before and after videos of two of my preset packs: Black & White and Piet's Power Preset Pack, Vol. 01. What separates the 'after' from the 'before' images is litterally just one click! 

Piet Van den Eynde's Black & White Lightroom presets samples

Piet's Power Preset Pack before and after samples

As mentioned, the best deal to get my presets is in an already discounted bundle that consists of all three of them. Until November 19th, you can get them at another 50 percent off. You'll pay less than $25 including VAT for the whole collection!

eBook review: 'Portraits' by Damien Lovegrove + 20 percent discount code

Leaving on a jet plane

On Thursday evening, July 17th, 2008, I boarded an airplane. My camera bag was filled with a Nikon D300 and a cheap Sigma zoom lens but my heart and mind were filled with priceless excitement. I was out of a job but not unhappy to be so because I had grown tired of my old job anyway. Even way back then, I was already heavily into digital photography and Photoshop. In fact, I was the kind of guy who faked a shallow depth of field using the lens blur filter instead of simply using a fast lens - rest assured, that has changed! I wanted to brush up on my photography skills and I was following a five year photography evening course in the Royal Academy of Fine Arts where I lived. Although I'm all-digital again, now, I'm glad I still got to work with analog cameras and print in a darkroom.

Secretly, like so many of the enthusiasts I know, I had a hope of turning my hobby into a job, maybe teaching post processing. But for that, I obviously needed some great looking pictures to work on. Evening school is all fine, but sometimes the pace can be a bit slow. So I decided to speed things up a bit by taking a workshop. As the one I had set my eye on, involved flying to the UK, I decided to add an extra day. Having written a book about Lightroom, I already knew a thing or two about postprocessing and I had already played around with off-camera flash. All these cool flash gizmo's and triggers really appealed to the gearhead in me but I knew little to nothing about working with models, posing and so on.

I used one of the pictures from the workshop as the cover of the second edition of my Lightroom 3 book, published by Pearson back in 2011. In the mean time, the Lightroom 6/CC edition is available in Dutch (print and eBook) as well as in English (eBook).

The flight was to Bristol, a UK city close to Nailsea, where Damien Lovegrove has his studio. Back in the day, Damien still shot a lot of weddings and he had a resident picture editor working for him. I had booked a workshop with Damien on the 18th and a second day with Marko Nurminen, the picture editor, on the next day.

I don't use the words 'career defining' easily, but this workshop really was. I already knew Damien's enthusiasm from his videos but to see the man in real life was a treat. Back then, his workshops were 4:1 and he showed us around Bristol all day with a professional model. I had a blast. He taught us how to use virtually any background as a cool portrait background, how to make use of existing light when possible and how to add flash when necessary. My D300 was doing overtime. The next day, I had a one-to-one Lightroom session with Marko. I knew Lightroom by heart but I was still struggling to find a professional workflow. I still remember Marco say:

“Your problem is you know Lightroom too well!”

— Marko Nurminen

Portraits, an eBook by Damien Lovegrove

Fast forward to now. Damien and I run into each other quite often, as we are both Fujifilm X-photographers and Ambassadors and I consider him as a friend. Every once in a while, he comes to Belgium for some fun shoots, which underlines the importance of doing personal shoots and not only client shoots. We recently did an urbex shoot in Belgium with lovely model Cato. Damien was testing the X-T2 at the time. He then told me he was working on what would be his (and maybe even 'the') ultimate book on portrait photography.

FUJIFILM X-Pro2 | XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR @ 17 mm | 1-160 sec at f - 8,0 | ISO 200

I know very few professional photographers who manage to photograph at this pace all while still sharing so much of their knowledge through live workshops, lectures and videos. Take a look at Damien's excellent lighting videos, I can recommend all of them, especially his Illumination ones. In fact, I think if you'd go look up the word 'prolific' in a dictionary, chances are that after the description, you'll read 'see also: Damien Lovegrove'. I once jokingly asked Damien which pills he was on because I wanted to see the same pharmacist. 

Shot during a recent urbex shoot with Damien and fellow X-Ambassador Ioannis Tsouloulis in Belgium. FUJIFILM X-Pro2 | XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR @ 17 mm | 1-160 sec at f - 8,0 | ISO 200

The master himself in action in this set-up shot: we used two Cactus RF60 speedlights and a Cactus V6 trigger. Modifier was an SMDV 70 Speedbox with a grid. Here's my review of the V6 and the RF60 and that of the V6 Mk II.

“I don’t know what vitamins Damien Lovegrove is on, but I want the same!”

— Me

The eBook is available in two different covers. This is one from Damien's 'Figure in the landscape' series which he shot in the USA.

After being two years in the making, Damien’s Portraits eBook is finally there. As he says himself, everything he knows about portrait photography is in this book.

In Portraits, Damien takes you through his complete portrait making process. He starts at the planning stages and obviously covers capture in great detail, both using natural light and flash, but he also talks about how he delivers files to clients and how he archives them.

Portraits has 356 pages with 384 high-resolution photographs that have all the exposure and lighting details that were used to create them. Because it's so high-res, you actually get two download sizes to choose from: a high-res one (e.g. for on your computer or tablet) and a lower res one (e.g. for on your phone).

“Everything I know about portrait photography is in this book. I hope it helps you to achieve a lifetime of enjoyment from your photography.”

— Damien Lovegrove

Imagine Damien sitting next to you in a bar, giving you 50,000 words worth of lighting and career advice. Believe me, that would cost you a lot more in beers than the 36 € / $40 (+ tax) Portraits is currently selling for. And better still, if you use code GENT€ (if you pay in €) or GENT$ (if you pay in $) upon checkout, you can get 20% extra off. On the eBook, not on beers! But hurry, because that code is only valid through the end of June 2018.

Although Damien is currently using Fuji gear, this book really is useable regardless of your camera brand. For example, it will show you that you can use overexposure to achieve a particular high-key effect, but it won't tell you how to do overexposure on your specific camera (it would have become a very boring book, otherwise!) That's what your manual is for, after all. However, if you'd like to hear Damien's more camera-specific thoughts on the Fujifilm X-system, read on:

A second eBook: The Fujifilm X System Guide

I told you Damien's prolific, didn't I? If you go to checkout, you will see that you can also purchase a second eBook, The Fujifilm X System Guide. This one is obviously of particular interest if you're a Fujifilm user. Think of it as Damien joining you on a trip to a camera store to help you make an informed decision on what to buy, based on your shooting style and interests. I like to think that I know my X cameras pretty well, but I still picked up a couple of valuable gems from the eBook. If you're new to the Fujifilm system, it will really help you in deciding which lenses and body types are the ones you should go for. It's 20 GBP when purchased separately, but if you buy it along with Portraits, it's only 10 GBP extra (actually 8 GBP thanks to the discount). And, thanks to Brexit, a pound sterling is not what it used to be, anyway. So spending 10 GBP might save you a couple of hundred choosing the wrong lens our camera.

So, that's all for this review. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to slaving away at my own upcoming eBook, which will be a more technical and gear guide about on- and off-camera flash (so it will be a perfect complement to Damien's Portraits). More on that later!

Using Silver Efex Pro and a free Photoshop action to enhance colour images

This technique is taken from my eBook Pushing Light. Extending Dynamic Range with HDR and Other Techniques, published by Craft & Vision.

If you're a regular reader of this blog or my books (English link, Dutch link), you know that I'm big fan of the Nik Collection by Google in general and the Black & White plug-in Silver Efex Pro 2 in particular. I already endorsed these plug-ins when they still cost an arm and a leg (well, € 500 to be precise), and now that Google has made them completely free, that hasn't changed. If I can't get the job done with one of my own Lightroom Black & White presets, Silver Efex is where I turn to.

But, did you know that you can also use Silver Efex Pro to bring more life to your colour images? And that you can use Silver Efex Pro's Control Points to easily Dodge & Burn those same images? I'll show you how in the following video. You'll also pick up a thing or two on how to use Lightroom and Photoshop together and on the advantages of Smart Objects and Smart Filters. At the end of the video, you'll see me automate the workflow with an action that I created. Being the generous fellow that I am, this action is available as a free download below. But make sure to watch the video first so you can make the most out of it.

If you liked this tip, make sure to subscribe to my newsletter: there's more where this came from. You'll also receive my free '10 tips for better travel photographs' eBook absolutely free! The subscription form is in the sidebar to the right, under the 'Dutch or English' header because, guess what, I have a Dutch and an English one!

* Some users report that the .atn (Photoshop action) extension gets removed when downloading the file and that the action does not work. In that case, simply add .atn to the filename. Sorry for the inconvenience.

The 2016 edition of the 5 Day Deal: What's in it for you?

From now until Wednesday, October 19th, noon PST, it's 5 Day Deal time again! The 5 Day Deal is a unique bundle of photographic training content. If you were to buy every item separately, you'd be looking at a total bill of over $2.500. Now, you're only paying $97, a savings of more than 95 percent! The bundle contains over 60 hours of video training, 15 eBooks and almost 500 Lightroom presets and Photoshop actions. In total over 25 gigabyte of training goodness.

From Lightroom presets over video courses on how to shoot wine or photograph models to a complete landscape postprocessing photography course: there's something for everyone in this bundle.

Of course, the real question is: 'What is this bundle worth to you?' Unless you're really into all genres of photography, probably not the full $2.500. But I can guarantee you that even if you're only remotely interested in photography, the 5 Day Deal bundle is certainly worth more than the measly $97 it's selling for. In fact, this bundle will do more for your photography than the umpteenth camera bag or a shiny new UV filter. 

To help you determine if it's worth your dollar (well, 97 of them), I've broken the bundle down into three typical areas of interest: general postprocessing, landscape photography and portrait photography. You'll see that even if you're only really into one of those three areas, the bundle is a steal. Heck, if you're into two or more, you should already be ordering!

1. You're into Lightroom and Photoshop

Postprocessing seems to be the main theme of this year's bundle, so if image editing is your thing, you're in for a treat. The bundle is ideal to hone your editing skills over these cold winter months and get you ready for a great start in 2017. There's hundreds of Lightroom presets and Photoshop actions, textures and loads of training videos. There's also a lot of HDR training, and I mean photographically interesting HDR, not the headache-inducing variety! The total value of the highlighted items alone is over $1.600. The 5 Day Deal price is less than ten percent of that. If you're a Lightroom or Photoshop user, this bundle really is a no-brainer.

2.  You're mainly interested in nature photography, landscapes, cityscapes and how to postprocess these

The total value of the highlighted items is about $700. From previous 5 Day Deals, I remember the excellent quality of the stuff that people like Jimmy McIntyre, Klaus Herrmann and James Brandon put out, so I'm looking forward to discovering their new courses. Also, note that I've only counted items that have a direct relationship to landscape photography. There are lots of resources, like the many preset packs, that will without a doubt also be useful when you're editing your landscape images.

3. You're mainly interested in portrait photography and portrait retouching

The total value of the highlighted items is also some $700. Again, there are some hidden gems in this line-up. For example, I really enjoyed Serge Ramelli's no-nonsense approach to compositing: he photographs a model and then puts her in front of a different background. This course alone by itself normally costs double the entire 5 Day Deal bundle price.

Other areas of interest

But that's not all. There's also more general, introductory courses such as David duChemin's 26 part email course on the one hand but also some highly specialized ones on the other: how 'bout an in-depth course on Photo Mechanic (I know I can use one since I'm using this app more and more as a front-end to Lightroom). Or what about a course on how to photograph wine? It's all there.

If you're still in doubt, here's 5 final reasons why you should really consider this bundle:

The ever-funny-yet-to-the-point Zack Arias has written an eBook of over 100 pages with business advice for photographers. It's an excellent and at times hilarious read.

1. This way of learning is one of the cheapest to improve your photography skills, at your own pace, when and where you want it. Furthermore, there's always a couple of hidden gems in bundles like this. For example, I thoroughly enjoyed Zack Arias' 'Get To Work - Business Primer' eBook. It's not something I'd probably buy (in fact, I didn't know it existed), but it was included in the bundle anyway! 
2. A lot of this bundle's resources are new and if they aren't new, at least they've never been in any other 5 Day Deal bundle, so there's no overlap with previous 5 Day Deal purchases.
3. If you're more interested in the business side of photography, there's a couple of interesting items as well, like the afore-mentioned guide by Zack Arias. Zack's studio is doing great now, but he once was nearly bankrupt. So, he knows what he's talking about.
4. The bundle is gone forever on October 19th, noon PST (that's 9 PM Brussels time).
5. 10 percent of the entire turnover (not the profits, but the turnover, so almost $10 on every sale) goes to charity. Since the start of the 5 Day Deal in 2013, over $650.000 was donated to good causes. For this year, the 5 Day Deal team is hoping to achieve $250.000 of charity donations and they even silently hope to reach $350.000, which would bring their total over one million since 2013. To that effect, upon checkout, you can choose to pay an extra 10% ($9.7) which goes entirely to charity. And, as a token of good karma, you get an extra bonus-download worth $250. Some 50% of people who bought the bundle so far have chosen this option. It's called 'Charity Match', you'll see it on the 5 Day Deal page.

You see, I'm shutting up already. Yes. I'm that easy :-)

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!