MrSMW

I don't know about a drop in filter, but with my XT3/Fringer/Sigma 18-35 combo, I use a variable ND and have (metal) glued a short Nikon lens hood (approx 1.5cm or 3/4 of an inch deep) to the ND so I can rotate the hood & ND as a single unit and have marked up with white paint the min and max points of the ND on the hood. Also, if the light is low, I can unscrew the hood/ND combo as a single unit. I haven't managed to find a similar solution for my Canon 50mm f1.8 however...

In short: A: They are all actually great at something B: But none of them great at everything And the answer is there never will be because in the near future someone will be criticizing the crop on the 12k 120p or the fact that Camera X only has 17 stops of IBIS compared with Camera Y. Etc. Or just go out and use what is currently best for you and enjoy it. Which everyone knows is the Fuji XT3. Despite no IBIS. And it’s not FF. But APART from that... ?

I was at least interested in the S1 and indeed Z6, but in the end decided the best option for me was still the XT3 I bought last Sep. The S1 specifically, for me the issues were; size & weight, lack of fast AF lenses at this time, price and the AF itself. The Z6 stacked up better everywhere pretty much, but lacked the 4k 60 I use so...

Cool, I think I will upgrade to one of those @androidlad as it's a more elegant solution. The Swit, that's powered directly from the camera then? That would also cut down on a bit of weight (if the Swit with I presume internal battery is lighter than the Feelworld with external) and make for zero battery swaps on a full day shoot. Which would be great as one less thing to consider etc. OK, external battery or direct charge from external battery pack. Research + coffee ? Not sure it's worth a +200 upgrade at this time but a potential option there. Just bought a pair of Rode Wireless GO's and another OSMO Pocket so funds tight right now...

The following may be of use to some and is as follows... I purchased an Anker PowerCore+ 26800 PD which I have attached to the XT3 via a smallrig clamp and cage plus using a Rode mini and a Feelworld monitor all sitting on a Sirui frestanding monopod. Sigma 18-35mm f1.8 or Canon 50mm f1.8 via Fringer Pro for lenses. The Rode mini will be replaced for the new Rode Wireless Go as soon as in stock as that seems like a no-brainer to me, but I digress... Anyway, ran a power consumption test today ahead of my up and coming wedding season and after 4.5 hours continual running time (but not actually recording), can report the internal battery was indicating it still had 80% charge and the battery pack also 80% charge. I'd expect this to be higher if actually recording and the body possibly slightly warmer than it's slightly warm state, but bodes well. Pity I can't also charge the monitor, but it's actually fairly low consumption and I have 5 batteries for it anyway.

Which comes first (next), Planet of the Apes, or Terminator?

We will all be long dead before AI robots and cameras can replace a human being for something like a wedding. Anyone who thinks weddings are all the same has not been to enough weddings and doesn't do this for a living. If you think you can phone it in remotely, you are having a laugh. And I'm not just saying that because I am a wedding photographer but because I understand it's the human element that gets the results. Take out the human and what have you got? Not the results, that is for sure.

I agree with Novim. I cut so many short very quickly as they are either rambling and never getting to the point...if they even have one in the first place and as for the skateboards and one wheels or doing all your vids from your car seat like you are always going somewhere....

Actually, you don't even need to go to South Korea. In the UK (so presume quite similar in many other European countries?), go to any big town hall/registry office on a Saturday and there will be a wedding per hour quite easily. Back in the day when I used to do such jobs, it would not be unusual to turn up and find; a wedding happening, one more waiting to happen, your crowd turning up plus guests for the next one, several wedding cars belonging to various weddings and no one having much clue which wedding is which! I was trying to photograph guests and having to ask them which wedding they belonged to etc. A couple of jobs like that almost made me turn my back on weddings...but didn't, - I just stopped taking those kinds of jobs.

As above. We are not talking 1990's volume zoom's here, - no one will hear any Fuji lens focusing! Camera clicks, yes and that's why I only use XH1 and X100f now for stills (and XT3 for video). Off camera audio every time.

I have just bought a Canon 50mm f1.8 lens to use on my XT3 with Fringer adapter. Works really nicely as I expected it would as I already have a Sigma (Canon fit) and that works well. I have put a Tiffen variable ND size 58mm on it so I can use wider apertures in bright sunlight, but need a lens hood. Not sure if that is a screw in filter thread on the front or just some kind of ribbing that looks like a filter thread?! (my eyes are not what they once were that close up). I tried a 62mm thread lens hood, but that was not big enough so if that is a screw in thread, it's slightly bigger. Pinged a message to Tiffen but in the mean time, might a rubber lens hood that stretches over the filter do the trick? I have a slim metal Nikon lens hood 'welded' (metal paste) onto the variable ND (Gobe) on the Sigma and marked up where it works and directional arrows in white permanent marker and that does the job. Hoping to do something similar with this Tiffen. If anyone has any experience or knowledge, I'd appreciate it. Cheers.

Yep, sort of... The older lenses got a boost by virtue of being on the more recent bodies, but the newer lenses generally perform better regardless, especially those f2's.

As a long term Fuji user, I'd say the opposite actually and the newer lenses work better, - faster, more accurate and quieter. The f2's especially.

Viltrox EF-FX2? Retains AF and speedbooster. I use the Fringer Pro myself to adapt Sigma 18-35mm f1.8 and Canon EF 50mm f1.8 but would look at this Viltrox as an option.

Personally I define 'professional' as in, 'sole or greater source of income', ie, nothing to do with quality of output or level of service. A good amateur will generally always 'beat' a poor professional. I have been watching a few lighting videos on the Tube recently and they are all over the place. There are some lesser known people producing some really nice stuff and then there are some labeled 'Masters of Light' demonstrating some simply hideous results. The latter may be professionals in respect of earning a living, but amateurish in regard to results! I don't think there is anything wrong with charging low to get a foot in the door, - we all had to start somewhere and all did it. I have no issue either with quoting low for an out of season job, mid-week or short notice when the difference is some welcome extra income vs nothing but retaining a pretentious elitist attitude. Nope, I will sometimes look at a job and say, "you know what, it's lower than I'd normally take, but in return for a few days work, I could buy that new expensive lens, a new mountain bike, take the family away for a week".

Should do Daniel. Last year with the XH1, I needed to give it the occasional manual nudge, but it was pretty decent. I try and shoot it manual focus as much as I can, but as a one man band hybrid photographer/videographer, I sometimes need to do both at the same time such as entrances and exits so have to rely on the AF. There has been a firmware update I think since Oct last year for the Fringer and that new one is coming for the XT3. I just need my season to get under way ASAP because no amount of practicing etc can replace actual in the field working conditions unless they are replicated completely!

Actually Bob, yes and no... Ruining the market? No, I don't think so, - there has always been 'Uncle Bob's' (or 'Friend Jane Who Does Photography and loves to top focus her kit lens based camera chimping religiously) and if anything, I have seen less of them in the last few years. Maybe it's my market, (moderately high end but rarely the highest end) but I think it's more the case that the amateurs used to use a DSLR or decent bridge/compact but these days a phone takes such decent pictures but has more limitations, but whatever the reason, they seem less arsed than they used to be! 5 -10 years ago in the UK, there would typically be anything from 1-3 at every wedding trying to shoot the shit out of it and saying things like, "if I get in your way, just shout!". By the time I have to shout...as if I even would, it's too late mate and you already f*cked what might have been a key unrepeatable moment that I'm being paid for, earn a living from and feed my family with, but whatever. I could tell you dozens of stories, but won't... But anyway, does it ruin the market? Not really because generally if you have a client with a decent spend, the choice is rarely going to be pro tog at 3k or Uncle Bob at 0k, same as someone who can afford...and desires a new Audi/BMW/Merc is also not considering a used Hyundai in the same mix. Simply different markets... The yes bit applies only to the fact that if you get one guest trying to shoot the shit out of a wedding, it only sets a precedent for others to have a go when they otherwise would probably not and it can all get out of hand very quickly. Video or photography and both are as bad as each other as the amateur videographer usually shoots far too close and is far too slow but the tog is bobbing up and down left right and centre and again, usually far too close. I could show you a video from last Summer where one guy decided to step out into the aisle during the ceremony when there was a video camera on a tripod recording the entire ceremony from start to finish. If you watched the whole thing (like I had to), you can see he looks back, spots the camera, hesitates, makes a conscious decision to do it anyway. Short period of time, he does it again. A lady a couple of rows back watches him do this a couple of times and decides to do the same, also glancing back, spotting the camera but decides her snap is more important than the production that the couple who invited them and paid for them to be at their wedding have paid for. By the time we got to vows and ring exchanges, we had a huddle stood completely obscuring the rest of the ceremony for the remaining 20 minutes or so. One small ripple became a tidal wave. The only 'positive' I can think of is at least the couple can easily identify who completely f*cked their wedding video. Me,- well I am covered by contract as I have zero responsibility in regard to guest behaviour but the B&G were beyond incensed! The bottom line for me is one of respect and etiquette. The few times I have been invited to a wedding as a guest, phone or compact only and I would not dream of getting out of my seat, or hanging around outside church waiting for the bride and her father to turn up, same as I would not turn up at someone's place of work on a Monday morning and start using their work computer or attending a board meeting. But none of that has anything really in regard to losing a job to some low-ball quote!

It works really well Daniel. In regards to AF if you use it, not quite as fast or as accurate all the time as native, but to be expected. I haven't used any other adapters, but use the Fringer Pro with the Sigma 18-35 for that f1.8 aperture. For me, it is the best compromise of size, weight, speed, aperture, focal range etc. Once that firmware upgrade comes out, I expect it to move from the 'good' category to 'very good' based on: bad, less than average, average, good, very good, excellent, a 6 point system with 6 being best and it currently on a 4 with an expected 5 imminent. Last year with the XH1 I would have classed it a 3, but mostly because of the AF, but actually image quality-wise, bloody good!

I am in the wedding business, photography & video and have mixed views on this. First of all, there is a lot more competition. a LOT more. Since I started out close to 20 years ago, there are at least as 10x as many offering a service. Also, the competition is a LOT better than it ever has been, both in quality of output and in regard to marketing it. Video is less crowded than photography however as the learning curve is steeper and the production times longer, - less appeal for many ie, less see it as a fast buck, whereas with photography, everyone with a camera thinks they can do it. Bollocks, it takes years and dozens of different scenarios to get really good at it. I came from 5 years of college and uni photography and reckon it took me nearly 8 years until I felt I really knew what i was doing without having to really think about it. Then there is this 'race to the bottom'. It's been talked about for years and to an extent, it is true...but at the same time, not completely. The trick of it is twofold. First, you need to be offering something that is on another level to 'the rest'. I am not saying you need to be the best in the world, but better than anyone else they will probably look at. Ideally, you need to have a number of 'points of difference' and deliver this message with clarity. People have increasingly shorter attention spans. Second, you need to be found by the type of people that are your clients. This may only be 1% of the entire market. Or less. If you are trying to appeal to all and catch fish with a massive net, you might actually be better off with a rod and fishing for one species only. In regard to the latter, you can try and have a broad appeal and try to snag that 1% through the sheer volume approach or target your marketing and have a much smaller volume of contact, but a much higher booking rate. I've found the latter works for me and prefer the 'larger fish in the smaller pond' approach works better. Over the years, I have seen so many 'young bucks' come into the industry. First of all they are full of enthusiasm and it drives them for a while and all that energy helps compensate for the relatively low prices most charge, fully intending to put them up once established. They then try to do that and the work begins to dry up. Most then give up and go back to their 9-5 day job with all it's securities when they realise the reality is not swanning around the world at their clients expense and editing on a laptop in coffee shops. One other thing I have found is that 'good enough' is not good enough and you need to go above and beyond simply to maintain your position. It's extremely easy to get sucked downstream and incredibly hard to swim upstream/against the current. The latter can be done, but to get that extra 10%, often requires another 100% effort. Is it worth it? Maybe... But yes, I 'lose' out sometimes to the sub 500 photographer who either promises the moon on a stick, or more often than not, don't and they (the clients) know they won't be getting much...but that exists in all kinds of services. Or the client deludes themselves that the cheaper option will work out for them only to regret it. Doesn't help us if they do however as folks rarely pay twice and in weddings, never. To conclude, another couple of attributes any small creative business needs are a thick skin and a lot of drive/determination. I would not want to be starting out in photography/video today knowing what I know and would persuade my daughter against it. The bottom line though is that there IS a market still and a very good one but it's a case of finding the right one for you and working it. Continually. Just like an athlete, there are some people who are naturally gifted, but they can and will be beaten by someone with not so far off genetics that grafts harder then the rest. Oh and one other thought, I have tried several times unsuccessfully to get into the commercial market and in the end gave up concluding I could just not make it work for whatever reason, so I plod along with weddings which I genuinely enjoy shooting. Not overly keen on the whole industry and what goes on behind the scenes, but that is another story...

I find that ebay generally works quite well for me. I ignore virtually all questions as the folks that ask all the questions rarely purchase. I also just set a buy it now price as I've burned myself on auctions with stuff going for a ridiculously low price. Just make sure you set your restrictions which for me is anyone not in the UK or EU. Generally, if it's a fairly mainstream item, it should sell quite quickly, - I find it's the stuff I found tricky to find to purchase that doesn't sell so well. As an example, I bought a Ninja V but it didn't work out for me and as I was outside the 30 day return period, I stuck it on ebay with a BIN price very close to purchase and it sold within 24 hours. Which always makes me wish I'd asked a bit more, but there you go!

Not sure whether it is big enough for your needs, but I use a Peak Design 30l. In it, I pack; 3 bodies, 5 lenses, drone (Mavic Air), all my audio gear and small lights etc, batteries and small stuff. Really comfortable and practical. Not cheap however!

So on an XH1... ?

Xtrans raw is superb if handled correctly, but tends to be software dependent, Adobe being one of the more criticized. The biggest issue for many over the years was for those coming from DSLR processing their images, especially sharpening, in Lightroom and getting a less than satisfactory result. That scenario is far better than it was and one of the tricks (some say there should not need to be any extra steps) and in my moderately extensive testing, is to batch the raw files through Iridient X Transforner before importing the resulting DNG’s into LR. I do that while making coffee and doing a bit of admin so actually only takes me less than 1 minute.

Interested to see your report on using the XT3 with the Fringer Pro for video. I have my XT3 set up as a pure video machine with the Fringer and Sigma 18-35 mostly using eye AF and would class it as ‘decent’ but hoping the imminent firmware upgrade will take it to at least ‘good’. For stills, prefer the form factor of the XH1 with longer lenses and X100 for wider and more candid photography.

No, that was Charlton Heston ?