The other day I … no, that wasn’t me.
(Apologies to Stephen Wright.)
Anyway, I was plinking about in the garden and thought I would survey what few scenes look decent in this blazing heat that we are experiencing here in Ottawa this summer. The temperature seems to want to hover at or near 30C all the time, which is a drag if you value your skin and comfort.
At the corner of my house this really nice vine, it might be a Virginia Creeper but if you know better please let me know. I really like this angle where I include my pool heater and in the background is another of the same type of vine on my fence.
fuji x-s1 500iso f/4.5 1/160 39mm (EFL 213mm)
Note that 500 ISO at web sizes looks as clean as 100 ISO. If there is to be any advantage over the new FZ200, this will be it. The EXR sensor, despite Fuji’s mistakes with the FSI version, is quite clean as ISO rises.
Against my fence is a nice stand of yellow-orange (note how I equivocate :-) daisies. These are the tattered edged variety that just spontaneously grew here. The round edged variety across the pool from here seems to have been forced out this year. I never saw a stem or a bloom. Dang.
fuji x-s1 800iso f/5 1/400 47mm (EFL 256mm)
In close, the stunning sharpness potential of this lens becomes apparent. And macro ranges always throw the background into a softer blur. Not creamy of course, but nice and unobtrusive.
fuji x-s1 200iso f/3.6 1/160 6.1mm (EFL 33mm)
One of many Dogwood or similar plants around my pool. It seems that the birds have been dive bombing my yard with seed-laden feces … a good way to get free plants if you don’t mind wondering what they heck they are.
fuji x-s1 400iso f/3.6 1/600 15mm (efl 82mm) -2/3ev
This was a bit harder to capture since the flowers were white and reflecting the evening sky. But a little compensation and the capture was adequate.
From across the pool, I can see that the Annabelle Hydrangeas have fully bloomed and are sharing space with the Variegated Dogwood. These are two of my favorites.
fuji x-s1 400iso f/5 1/220 55mm (efl 300mm)
That’s about all that blooms in my garden this year. I really need to rectify that soon as I am getting bored with the same old plants.
Conclusion
I think many people are in agreement that the drooping issue that affects the long end of this lens is not in evidence when shooting at the short end. I think long shots can be sharp, but short to medium telephoto images are definitely really sharp if the subject does not move and you nail the focus.
I must say that I use the very nice EVF a lot. Although I used the EVF of the HS25 because I had to to find some subjects, I use this one because it is pleasant enough. Of course, when my D7000 gets back from Nikon I’m sure the difference will be like a slap in the face. But one day this problem will really be cracked and then we won’t have to have the discussion any more.
