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Equipment, Fujifilm X series, Personal, Techtalk

A wider angle with the Fujinon XF16

Posted on by tom leuntjens

I’m a prime shooter and I live at 50mm (full frame terms). When I switched to Fujifilm, the XF35 1.4 filled that spot with ease. It’s my goto lens, I love the images it produces, how it makes me feel and, how I even loved to hate that ugly lens hood. The rest of my kit consists of the the XF23 (35mm) & XF56 (85mm)… That is what I roll with on any given wedding. The XF35 (almost) never leaves my primary camera body. The other body gets fitted with what I think might come in handy.

The XF23 is there as my wide angle … to be honest, it’s not my thing … I can’t explain it. It’s supposed to be my storyteller lens but I feel that it never completely tells the story or I can’t frame it like I want it … because it’s not wide enough or perhaps because it lives too close to my comfort zone (50mm) and it doesn’t push me enough. Watching a lot of photographers produce great images with a 24mm focal length , I wanted to try myself …

I do own the original XF18 2.0, while this is a great little compact lens and the perfect travel companion I always felt it lacks the color & sharpness of my main 3 lenses to use it for wedding work.

Enter the Fujinon XF 16 mm f/1.4 R WR

Don’t expect too technical stuff here. I choose a lens because of how it makes me feel and for what type of images I can produce with it. These are the things that stand out of me.

The good:

  • Focus is accurate/quick & silent
  • Built like a tank, weather sealing (living in Belgium that might come in handy in once and a while..)
  • Distortion is very acceptable.
  • It produces crisp images, corners are sharp (pixel peeper TIP: You can compare the XF18 & XF16 on http://fujifilmxmount.com )
  • Paired with the 20Megapixels of the XPRO it allows me to crop to 35mm in post production so I don’t have to switch lenses when there is no time for it.
  • Close focusing distance

The Bad:

  • Unfortunately the extra buck also buys you a lot of added weight compared to the XF18. And paired with the XPRO2 .. well it’s a bit bulky and a rather heavy combo.
  • Colors are a bit less virbrant than other lenses. (XF23,XF35 & XF56)
  • The standard lens hood doesn’t really protect the glass that well and the LH-XF16 hood is a 100$ expensive *kuch*

Having a new focal length to play with has been really fun and pushes me to try different things.

Before I bought this lens it was obvious that it should outperform the XF18 in every way. The most important question I had about this lens was if I could adjust to this new focal length well enough and make it “mine”. I have it in my kit for two months and now I’m surprised by how much I have been using it. Having a new focal length to play with has been really fun and pushes me to try different things and step out of my comfort zone.


X-PRO2 / XF16 Combo



XF18 Vs XF16

XF16 – XF23 – XF56
Above pictures are taken playing around with a blue led panel and an X100S…

Some sample pictures, a mix of work & personal pictures.
















Simple distortion / straight line test. (yes that is an actual crooked ceiling in the upper left corner…)

Close focus distance!

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Couples, Joyfulness

#joyfulness, the emotion of great happiness

Posted on by tom leuntjens

I haven’t been shooting that many personal projects recently so I thought it was time to do something about that . I was searching for something new (to me), yet not too far what I usually do.

With the #joyfulness series I’m trying to get deeper into the personal space of two people in love. By using a smaller and more intimate environment I hope to capture spontaneous, pure and raw moments of intimacy. An exercise to capture two strangers in love and make the pictures look personal and real.

Gilles & Larissa had a city trip planned in Hotel Bloom! and I was lucky enough to spend some time with them on a lazy sunday morning. Guys, thanks for the trust, the Herbalife tea and for making me feel welcome!

A series wouldn’t be a series if there is no follow-up. So I’m looking for open minded couples with a strong personality and some character that are willing to share their personal story through my lens. Couples living in Belgium or couples travelling to Belgium with a story to tell, do get in touch and maybe we’ll meet soon.

Geartalk

It also was a good time to test drive the new Fujifilm X-PRO2 a bit more. Really happy with IQ & AF. What I like most is how snappy responsive the camera has begon. EVF lag is non existent.

All images shot with the Fujifilm X-PRO2 (80%) and the X-T1 . 3 lenses used: XF16, XF35 & XF56). Natural light only. Check here for the full “what’s in my bag post”.

Equipment, Techtalk

What’s in my bag: ONA, The Prince Street . Review

Posted on by tom leuntjens

I’m a sucker for manbags. I don’t leave home without one. The only difference is, my bag has to safely hold at least one camera and lens. For my daily commute I use the ONA Union Street. Reviewed here. But for my everyday use (going out, client meetings, restaurant,…) I was on the lookout for something small & compact.

My requirements : look good but don’t look like a camera bag too much. It has to hold one (mirrorless) camera, one extra lens , wallet , keys, battery, phone.

After some research I quickly ended up looking at the ONA bags again and made up my mind. I went to the store to pick-up The Bowery but I didn’t like the awkward looking dimensions (ratio) that much. Instead I fell in head over heels with it’s bigger brother … The Prince Street.

ONA bags ooze quality, style and function. The Prince Street isn’t any different:

  • Waxed-cotton canvas with inside side flaps to protect your gear from rain entering via the sides.
  • A properly aligned (removable) leather top-grab handle.
  • Antique brass tuck-clasp closure
  • Leather closing straps and comfortable leather shoulder padding on the strap.
  • The inside is padded so your gear is protected

Waxed canvas versions are available in black, field-tan & smoke. Two luxury leather versions are available in dark truffle and antique cognac.

For my new #joyfulness series (blog soon) I packed all the gear I needed inside this little bag. It’s pretty insane what can fit in there.
Inside the bag: X-PRO2, X-T1, XF16, XF23, XF35, XF56, spare batteries, one Instax SP1 share printer, one prism, cleaning cloth, wallet and two leash (peakdesign) camera straps.

So even for weddings, this could be my go to bag. The two camera bodies don’t leave my Hold Fast Moneymaker that much. But I’m not gonna lie to you, I probably won’t use it on weddings because on days like that I tend to throw/lug/tow/drag my bag around a bit too much. And it’s way to pretty for that kind of beating.