Pittsburgh Architecture

So this is going to be a little mis-mash of stuffs. My buddy won another trip to Las Vegas, and he’s taking me again!! Woohoo! So I figured this would be a perfect time to rent the Fuji X Pro-1. While I was at it, I figured I’d rent the 12mm f/2.8 Zeiss Touit lens. I wasn’t really happy with the photos I took last year and knew I could do better plus i’ve never shot the legendary Zeiss! So that settled that. I rented the 12mm Zeiss for architectural shots around Vegas and the Fujinon 35mm f/1.4 for the concert. This would give me a longer focal length than last year and a better option for those Vegas lights!

The gear arrived yesterday and I was eager to try it out. I spent some time in Downtown Pittsburgh taking some test shots. I spend all day downtown and frequently walk around so I knew exactly what I wanted to shoot and also got a few surprises shooting down in the Cultural District. I knew even before I rented the camera that my goal was to take long exposure shots. I think that was part of my let down last year is that I didn’t attempt this. I researched the easiest way as I pretty much knew I’d need a different shutter release. I settled on a Linholf release that screwed down to trigger the shutter. This set-up was looking like a rangefinder of the old-school fashion, I was ready! This isn’t a review of sorts just my initial thoughts.

First thing I noticed about the Fuji which was as expected was the body construction. It was built like a tank though it is not weather sealed, but I don’t expect this to be a problem. It was comfortable to hold and the grip on the side is a nice touch. All that aside, I’d mostly have this on a tripod shooting at night. I didn’t get too technical and I didn’t test different ISO’s. All photo’s were shot at ISO 200 on a tripod with a shutter release. I did need some time to get used to the menus and where the buttons were. Once I was acquainted with this it was very simple to use. The Q menu was a dream. Focus was easy to set. I mainly used manual focus but I did try the autofocus. I didn’t experience the slowness that I read about. The Fuji has two modes for long exposure, B for Bulb and T for Timed mode. T mode lets you shoot up to 30 seconds which was just fine for what I was doing. That’s the setting I used most often. The Zeiss 12mm lens was a different look for me and I really enjoyed it. It does require getting up close to my subject. It is wide enough to do what I want it for – to capture the city. It was very sharp and everything I’d expect from Zeiss glass. The Fuji version has the aperture ring on the lens, my only complaint was that there was not a lock for it. The focus ring was easy to find and grip and was smooth to use.All and all I was very happy with the photos I came away with. I can’t wait to take this setup to Vegas!