What Ever Happened to the Dedicated Macro Mode on Fujifilm Cameras?

If you’ve been a Fujifilm camera user for many years, then you probably know all about the Macro mode.

With Canon, Nikon, Panasonic and others launching their own serious mirrorless camera options we figured that we’d go back into history for just a bit to when Fujifilm first started their ILC camera system. I tend to use older cameras from both Sony and Fujifilm and by far, Fujifilm has had the most unique changes. One of the biggest things that Fujifilm had on their earlier cameras was a dedicated Macro mode. That gave the user closer focusing with all of the system’s lenses. But after a while it disappeared. Why?

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Marina Weishaupt’s Swiss Mountain Photos are a Compositional Dream

All images by Marina Weishaupt. Used with Creative Commons permission.

If the mountains bring you peace and creative motivation, you’ll find a kindred spirit in German photographer Marina Weishaupt, and her breathtaking mountain snaps. Today, we place the spotlight on her surreal set Winter in August, featuring the snowy peaks of the Piz Feiss in eastern Switzerland. Weishaupt, a self-taught photographer based in Ulm in Southern Germany, has found her passion in nature, animals, and the environment, with a keen interest for rough landscapes. It comes as no surprise then that she now focuses on capturing mountainous locations with rough structures and unique shapes, and is constantly looking for new places off the beaten paths. Sure enough, Piz Feiss isn’t the first to come to mind when we speak of Swiss peaks (that distinction belong to the Swiss Alps), yet its stunning beauty and dramatic vistas are also worth the adoration.

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Question: Why Are There Light Leaks on My CineStill Film?

A founder of CineStill weighs in on what’s caused Light Leaks on their film

Tons of photographers absolutely adore CineStill’s films. They give you a look that you simply can’t get at all in digital due to how they’re treated and developed. But one of the biggest problems that has been consistent with CineStill film though is the light leaks that they can give off. And in most cases, one of two things tend to happen.

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Why Every Photographer Should Have an 85mm Lens in Their Bag

The 85mm lens is genuinely a very versatile lens that can be of use to any photographer.

Do you have an 85mm lens in your bag? Some photographers may think that this is a lens that is too specialized for a variety of shooting situations. But in truth, these lenses have been improved over the years to include better options, weather sealing and things like even closer focusing. And no matter what camera system I’ve been on, I’ve had an 85mm lens in my bag that has become a staple that I’ve needed.

Here’s what I think every photographer needs an 85mm lens.

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5 of Our Favorite Film Rangefinder Cameras (One for Everyone)

If you’re really looking for a solid film rangefinder camera, you should know that you don’t need to spend a whole lot.

When I went on my journey to grow as a photographer, some of the best tools that I had were film rangefinder cameras. I’m still very much of the belief that any and every photographer should shoot film and use cameras that don’t have metering built in to become better. They’ll move slower, they’ll have a lot more intent with their images, and they’ll create something much more unique to them. So we went into our reviews index to find some of our favorites film rangefinder cameras. And here they are!

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Cheap Photo: We’re Saving You a Ton of Money on Education and Presets

These Photography software deals, and sales on tutorials and guides are around only for a limited time.

You’re probably just as broke as we are after taxes–so we get it. You can’t spend a whole lot of money and that’s okay. Have you always wanted a preset for just about anything you can think of? If you answered yes then the Mega Bundle Of 8,400+ Professional Lightroom Presets can be yours for just $29! That means you save 96%! The Ultimate Boudoir Bundle for Photographers is also has a discount of 91%!! Join us after the break to see more deals that will rock your world. Continue reading…

Realistic Advice for the Freelancer: Photography Can be a Grim Business

A recent thread on Reddit traced that professional creatives often have a pretty tough time.

If I were to go back in time and give any sort of advice to my younger self when I first quit my day job to run The Phoblographer full time, it would have involved a whole lot about money and personal health. Luckily, I don’t seem to be alone as a recent Reddit thread echoed the sentiments of many other freelancers in the US. For all of us, it seems very grim because of how our system works. And in general, it’s easy to say that a lot of us are often pretty scared of the things that those with full time jobs don’t even think about yet complain about to their higher ups pretty often.

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Social Media: A Photographer’s Curse and Why I Chose To Break Free

I’ve deleted social media. Which means I’m either having a mental breakdown or there’s actually some method to the madness.

Social media has become such an integral part of a photographer’s journey. I myself had become so immersed in it that I’d spend a large portion of my day on apps like Instagram and Twitter. Building profiles, portraying the perfect life and living for likes, it absorbs so many of us, including myself. I’ve known for a while that I was moving towards a point where I had to break free.

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Sebastian Magnani Imagines the Less Heroic Daily Life of Batman

All images by Sebastian Magnani. Used with Creative Commons permission.

We’re all familiar with Batman as a bat-inspired figure of justice that sets to work at night. But surely, we’ve all wondered at some point, what if he doesn’t shed off his superhero identity to become Bruce Wayne and goes on with his days as the Caped Crusader? To our rescue comes Zurich-based photographer and conceptual artist Sebastian Magnani with his awesome series aptly called Daily Batman.

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Review: Godox Thinklite TT350F Mini Flash (Fujifilm)

Godox TT350F

The Godox TT350F is an affordable flash for Fujifilm Shooters, but you get what you pay for.

Godox are synonymous with producing good quality lighting at prices that make the accessories affordable to the masses. Their flashes are well built, and they have one of the most robust, user friendly wireless trigger systems around with their R2 triggers. The Godox TT350F is a small, affordable flash that has been designed to work with Fujifilm’s smaller Mirrorless camera bodies, but can it live up to their reputation of producing quality products that are affordable?

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Cheap Photo: The Street Photographer’s Notebook is Only $39

For the budding street photographer that wants a whole lot of inspiration and tutorials, look no further than the Street Photographer’s Notebook.

We’ve got a special deal for street photographers out there who are just starting out: for only $39, you can get a whole plethora of tutorial material. The Street Photographer’s Notebook by photographer Alex Coghe is a nice starting point for the person who wants to find a way to take their street photography further but is still really getting started. Best of all, it will help you pivot if you eventually find that you want to do something else: therefore giving you a ton of long term value.

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Before the Metabones SpeedBooster, Kodak Had Their Own Design

Back in 1994, Kodak had a focal length reducer just like the Metabones SpeedBooster that made them famous.

Back in the 1990s, digital photography was really still just getting its foothold and engineers were trying to figure out a whole number of problems and issues. It was done in a similar way to how the Metabones SpeedBooster gave cameras the ability to use lenses for larger format sensors while both providing more light and field of view. Except for Kodak, it was to solve a significantly bigger problem around significantly smaller sensors. Before most cameras used CMOS sensors, they used CCD sensors–and really small ones too. The sensors in those cameras would be laughable today for the professional photographer, and one of the big problems that needed to be solved was using available lenses.

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Jeff Karp’s Beautiful Street Photography Finds Light in the Darkness

All images by Jeff Karp. Used with permission.

Jeff Karp is an exceptional street photographer. In a short period of time, he has amassed a strong, supportive following through Instagram. “I am so grateful and humbled by every person who chooses to authentically follow,” he says when speaking of his rise to success. This, however, is not someone who is solely focused on popularity. Here is a man who takes street photography very seriously. He is just as passionate about improving as he is creating – clearly evident through the images he makes. A street photography journey that’s still very much in its birth, Jeff tells us, “I work every day to get better”.

Jeff very kindly took time out of his busy schedule to chat to us about his experience in street photography so far…

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Did You Know About This Nikon 170mm F1.4 Lens from Years Ago?

If you want to get your hands on the Nikon 170mm f1.4, you’ll need at least $50,000 to start.

Just imagine the portraits one could take with a Nikon 170mm f1.4 lens, let alone the nightmare they’d have with focusing. Every time you’re told that a long telephoto lens would be too big and that no one would buy it, consider it to be complete poppycock. Indeed, a lens like this is possible, and even though it’s pretty big and very silver in appearance, it is very well possible.

 

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Creating Stunning Portraits Using Beautiful Golden Hour Light

While you don’t need the golden hour to get the best portraits, it surely does help.

For the uninitiated, Golden Hour describes the short, fleeting period of time just after the sun had risen or immediately before it is about to set. During this momentary window, the sun appears very close to the horizon and produces a quality of available light that tends to be beautifully diffused and typically embodies a warmer tone than usual. Portrait photographers, particularly those that rely heavily on natural light, often prefer to photograph their subjects during these ephemeral minutes because of the beautiful quality the light imparts onto their subjects. We have a wealth of tutorials here on The Phoblographer that cover topics such as portrait subject posing as well as how to best interact with your subjects to bring out the expressions you’re looking for, but for the purposes of this particular tutorial, we are going to focus specifically on the challenges that you will likely come across when photographing portraits during Golden Hour and what you can do to combat them.
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The Zenitar 50mm f0.95 for Sony FE Will Need Their Awful Focus Peaking

If you’re considering the Zenit Zenitar 50mm f0.95 lens, then just remember one of Sony’s biggest problems.

When I saw the news of the new Zenit Zenitar 50mm f0.95 lens I was truly as excited as so many of you are, but then I remembered just how terrible it is to use the focus peaking feature on Sony FE cameras. Now lots of you may say, “Chris, you can just use magnification.” But the truth is that you shouldn’t have to do that and it really isn’t a faster way of working with the lens because you need to move the focusing point around depending on your scene’s composition unless you’re an absolute master of the focus and recompose method of shooting–and I doubt many of you are. So while the Zenit Zenitar 50mm f0.95 seems to be quite tempting, I’m going to warn folks against it at least initially.

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Opinion: The Film Photography World is a Million Times Less Toxic Than the Digital World

If you’re looking for a sphere within the photography world that isn’t a bunch of dudes just complaining about pixels and measurbations, then consider film.

I love film and I love film photography. In fact, I adore it. I am enamored with the conversations around it, with the discipline involved in knowing that you need to be more careful and how that translates into digital photography, with the formats and how much more affordable it becomes as you go for larger sizes, the look, and most importantly its people. There are far less frivolous conversations in the film photography world about megapickles (spelled this way purposely) and one brand vs another–instead it’s more about creative intent.

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Here’s Why a Fujifilm Full Frame Camera Isn’t Coming Anytime Soon

If you’re waiting for a Fujifilm full frame camera, we hate to say this but it doesn’t seem to be in the company’s plans.

Fujifilm has already launched some pretty landmark cameras of the digital age, but there’s still one thing missing in their line-up: a Fujifilm full frame camera masterpiece. Despite the clamor for it, the company has made it clear in a recent interview with Fujifilm’s Shinichiro Udono, Jun Watanabe, and Takuya Noguchi at the CP+ 2019 by French website Photo Trend.

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Cheap Photo: These Cheap 50mm Lenses Are Fantastic Choices

If you’re on the hunt for affordable but really solid 50mm lenses, then this list will be tempting.

It’s tax time here in the US, and in continuing with our search for really affordable lenses and cameras we’ve found a number of great and cheap 50mm lenses for you to choose from. We’re trying to ensure that you don’t break the bank. Because we’re catering this to full frame shooters, you’re going to find a 50mm lens with glorious bokeh that you’re seriously going to love.

So let’s take a look at the list!

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Kevin Bauman Paints a Portrait of Detroit’s Past in 100 Abandoned Houses

All images by Kevin Bauman. Used with Creative Commons permission.

A city, much like all of us, changes, evolves, and ages. Just look at photos of your city or home town from 20 years ago and you’ll see some changes, big or small. Denver-based Kevin Bauman takes this a notch higher with an interesting project simply called 100 Abandoned Houses. Part architectural and part documentary photography, he takes us around the streets of Detroit to showcase the lingering remnants of a shrinking city.

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Here’s a Creative Way to Think About How Lens Apertures Physically Work

Photographer Nick de Bruijn came up with this really fun way to explain lens apertures to a friend.

When we think about all of the visual graphs in regards to how lens apertures work, there are literal drawings of them. But photographer Nick de Bruijn came up with a special way of explaining how they work simply by using and carefully arranging the lenses themselves. As you can in the image above, the lenses are arranged from top to bottom from 1.2 to f3.5. The way that one is supposed to think about this is the largest aperture is on top (and therefore less closed down) and then smallest is on the bottom. Of course, that all depends on the maximum aperture of the lens–but if you think about the size of this all being in regards to a single lens, then you’ll see how genius this all is.

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