Cameras

Although I shoot nearly all digital, I still like to shoot film from time to time.

I bought a Nikon F80 on eBay. The F80 was released in 2000, nine years after the Nikon F801s. The F801s model was itself an update to the F801 that was released in 1988. The updates were to improve the autofocus and the metering. And these improvements were carried over to the F80 and its bigger brother the F100 that was released in 1999.

The F80 feels softer to the touch compared to the F801s, reflecting the evolution in the use of plastics.

So I took a chance on the F80 on eBay and put a roll through it to see what problems it had or didn’t have. I got the scans today and these shots from the test roll. Thankfully it seems to be OK.

The guitarist is Sebastian Diez, and he was playing a Paco de Lucia piece outside the Tate Modern. The third shot is in Borough Market and I was attracted to the way the older man was tagging along holding onto the other man. At first I thought the older man might be a bit out of his depth. And then I thought maybe this was a system they used so the older man could guide the man with the 360° camera when he was videoing.

I wrote previously on how to remove any stickiness from the camera body, but thankfully my camera is not suffering from that problem.

I have a Nikon FE. It is not the one I used in the early 2000s. I sold that one and then wished I had it, so I bought a replacement. It’s a manual focus camera that uses one little Mallory cell to power the exposure meter, and the battery lasts about a year of normal shooting. To take a reading you half cock the wind-on lever and that activates the meter. Then you adjust either the aperture on the lens or the shutter speed on the dial on the top plate until the needle and your settings coincide.

As long as you remain in similar lighting conditions you can leave that where it is once you have set it. If the lighting changes you have to reset the exposure.

After a while you get into the habit of keeping an eye on that floating needle in the viewfinder.

The Nikon FE2 is, I think pretty much the same except for one thing. With the FE, if you leave the wind-on lever half cocked then it will continue to drain the battery. So you have to remember to uncock it when you put the camera back on the shelf. The FE2 cured that issue, if you can really call it an issue because once you know about it, it is not a big problem to remember to uncock the lever.

But to actually take a photo, and having set the correct exposure, the next thing you have to do is to focus the lens while looking through the viewfinder.

The viewfinder has a little circle in the centre that is split into two hotizontally. One half of the circle shows whatever you are pointed at and the other is how far distant the lens is focused.

To focus, you twist the lens until the two halves of the circle coincide and you can see all of whatever you are pointed at in focus.

You can imagine that after shooting digital where everyting is just ‘there’, shooting on the street with manual focus and semi-manual expsoure you have to tailor your expectations of what you can actually photograph.

Plainly, some very famous photographers did shoot on the street and captured decisive moments with manual-everything cameras. But now that we have focus and metering handed to us on a plate, why deny ourselves that capability?

And that’s why I got the Nikon F80. It has automatic exposure and autofocus.

What if I don’t care about IBIS (in-body image stabilisation)?

I didn’t have it on my film cameras and it was the lack of ISO headroom that forced me to cut my shutter speed. With digital, I can increase the ISO, and that’s what I did with the Fuji X100s, the X100f, the X-E3 and several Nikons and didn’t think twice about IBIS.

Shutter speed was just something to think about – just don’t let it drop too low. It still is a consideration with IBIS; it’s just that there’s more headroom to which to drop shutter speed.

But there are other things that bug me more than any lack of IBIS.

Weight is still bugging me. My Canon EOS R6 weighs 680g with card and battery. I love it dearly, and after a couple of hours with the bag on my shoulder I don’t notice the weight. But as a carry-around camera it is too heavy if I am on holiday, because then I might be carrying a guide book, binoculars, and who knows what else. Only the Ricoh GRIII is light enough that I can forget about the weight.

But consider this shot I took with the GRIII, as an example. The sun was behind me and I couldn’t see a blessed thing in the LCD and I ended up cutting off the top of the tree. Maybe it doesn’t matter for the shot, but I want to make decisions like that consciously and not have a photo spring a surprise on me. That said, I still love the camera dearly for the right circumstances.

As an aside, why do Councils cut London Plane trees right back every year. They look good in full leaf, and they do look very graphic when they are cut back like this.

But getting back to IBIS, if I opt for a camera without it, what is a good balance between features and weight?

The X-T3 weighs 539g. That’s not much a saving over the weight of the Canon.

How about the X-T30 or the X-T30 II at 383g? Are they too small to handle well? Surely not when I don’t think the Ricoh is too small. Now a saving of 307g over the Canon is significant.

The X-T30 II is looking to be a possibility. Or rather, it was looking to be a possibility but it’s not what I ended up getting.

The Fuji X-T50

I ended up getting a Fuji X-T50, which comes in at 438g, which is pretty light considering that it has IBIS and a 40MP sensor.

I paired it with a 35mm f2 lens and took it to Amsterdam. This first shot is on the Prinsengracht in Amsterdam and the next shot is a waterway in village of Edam.

Let’s compare the R10 to its bigger brother the R6 and its smaller brother the R50, which I already reviewed. The only reason for going for a smaller camera is to save weight. And then the question is what you lose in return for saving weight.

The R6 weighs 680g, so there is no way a person of normal physique could shoulder it and not know it is there. And on holiday when you are lugging around a water bottle and a guide book etc, that weight becomes even more important..

The R10 weighs 429g and the R50 just 375g.

Things I notice immediately is that compared to the EVF of the R6, which is big and clean, the EVFs on the R10 and the R50 are smaller. The refresh rate in the EVF on the R10 is slower in power saving mode, with a slight wobble as you move the camera while looking in the EVF. Change it by going to the Shooting menu (the red camera icon) and then screen 9 and Display Performance and changing from power saving to smooth.

So why the R10 over the R50? The grip on the R50 is too small to be much use. And because of its lack of a good grip and its small size the camera feels like a little heavy lump. The R10 is just 6mm longer but it has a good grip and so it is easier to hold.

And the R10 has a front dial as well as a rear dial so it is quicker to change aperture and shutter speed. Actually in aperture priority the rear dial is changing exposure compensation. I didn’t set that up, so perhaps that is its default function. Can it be changed? Do I want to change it? Not at the moment – ISO seems like a good use of the dial.

The R50 is better in one respect – the LCD is 1.62 million dots whereas on the R10 is 1.04 million dots. I can’t say I felt the loss of resolution.

The R6 has in-body image stabilisation and neither the R10 nor the R50 has it. Hold that thought.

The Canon RF-S 18-45mm f4.5-6.3 IS STM kit lens has a maximum aperture at the short (18mm) end of f4.5 and f6.3 at the narrow (45mm) end. Compare that to a standard lens with a maximum aperture of f1.8 and in round terms – f4.5 lets in less than half the light and f6.3 lets in less than one third the light.

I didn’t imagine it would win any prizes for sharpness but I felt I had to judge for myself how good the lens is despite the constraints of the maximum aperture and because the lens has a four-stop Optical Image Stabiliser.

So now let’s look at what ‘good’ lenses with optical image stabilisation are available for the R10.

They must not be heavy or we are back to square one. For weight, or lack of it, the Canon RF-S 18-45mm f4.5-6.3 IS STM lens is hard to beat at 130g. The Canon RF 24-50mm f4.5-6.3 IS STM Lens at 210g is heavier with no better maximum aperture.

Two lenses that kind of stand out as possibilities are the Canon RF 24mm f1.8 Macro IS STM Lens (270g) and the Canon RF 35mm f1.8 Macro IS STM Lens (305g).

Or forget image stabilisation and go for the 16mm lens at 165g or the 28mm lens at 120g or the 50mm lens at 160g. I think the 28mm lens, which is a 45mm ‘normal’ lens in full frame equivalent is probably about right – lightweight and tighter than a 35 on full frame.

The R6, which I have, is full frame. With card and battery it weighs 680g. It doesn’t feel heavy when working with it. If you are going our specifically to shoot then it’s OK, but if you are just going out wandering then you are going to notice it. It is not so light you can take it with you without finding yourself weighing up whether you want to carry that weight.

The Ricoh GRIII is so easy to carry that you really can forget you have it with you. But it doesn’t have a viewfinder. I’ve got a TTArtisan viewfinder that slips into the hotshoe but it is hit and miss because you have to line it up very carefully to make sure you are actually pointing it at the subject.

Most of the time I work off the rear screen and that works OK except when the sun is shining on the LCD. When that happens I am shooting blind and just judging by eye where the camera is pointing. That’s not as easy as you might think although I have more hits than misses now I have done it enough times.

Still, I like a viewfinder.

The R50 weighs 375g with lens and battery, And the lens throat of the R50 is the same size as the R6 and all the R range of cameras. So any lens that fits the full frame R6 will fit the R50 even though sensor on the R50 is APS-C.

Here’s a test shot. 1/1600 second at f1.8 and ISO 200 with the RF 50mm f1.8 STM lens with evaluative metering and auto white balance. The image links to the image file so you can see it bigger when you click on the image. And then see it bigger still when you click again.

What Do I think Of The Camera

• The camera feels heavy for its small size (it’s very small) like a little heavy lump.
• The grip is small but the camera feels reasonably secure held in one hand.
• The dedicated ISO button to the right of the shutter button is so flush with the body that I have to lift my eye off the viewfinder even to see where it is. And it is not easy to press, and I do not have sausage fingers.
• I like the flippy-out screen and the ability to turn the screen to the back of the camera so the screen is protected.
• The viewfinder doesn’t feel small or pokey – that;’s a big plus for me.
• I could probably get more out of the settings if I sat down with someone who knew the menus inside out. I’ve had the 50mm on it for a few days and now the 16mm and both feel comfortable on the camera. I wouldn’t put a 28-70mm on it though.
• I charged the battery when I got the camera and I have shot 164 shots and the battery info says it is still fully charged. I tend to review shots in the viewfinder, and not every shot. So the LCD isn’t getting much use for image reviews. That may be part of why the battery is doing well. Of course, it might suddenly go to zero, and it is does I will update this.
• The images are a bit different to the R6, a bit more compressed. But then I am shooting compressed RAW. I’ll try an experiment with that if I get time.

Would I Keep It

The answer is no, and not for any of the reasons for and against that I enumerated above., What I missed, and didn’t know how much I would miss it until I reviewed the photos I took under ‘stress’ conditions, is in-body image stabilisation (IBIS). I found that I really need it.

Maybe if I were to get my hand in with a lot more shots I might do better, but I feel like I am battling against something that doesn’t need to be a problem because several small cameras do have IBIS.

Maybe with the Canon RF 35mm f1.8 IS Macro STM lens or the Canon RF 24mm F1.8 Macro IS STM lens because they are image stabilised. But then I would cutting down my lens options to just a couple of choices.

There are longer lenses that are image stabilised, but the body can’t take big lenses comfortably, in my opinion. And there are RF-S lenses designed for the DX sensor, but they don’t have big open apertures.

Bottom line is the IBIS is good because it opens up a whole world of stabilised shooting. So no to the Canon EOS R50. I wished it were otherwise because the camera is so small and light. But no.

It’s the latest in a line of X100 cameras, but with a higher megapixel sensor and in-body image stabilisation. So what is not to like?

The problem with experience is that once you have it, you can’t un-experience something. And I had experience of the X100s, that I took everywhere with me.

It was, for me, the almost perfect travel camera because it was almost two dimensional. Instead of a big lens sticking out, the lens was almost flush with the body.

Plus, it had a dedicated leather case made by Fuji. With the camera in the case it was a neat package one could put in a travel bag knowing the camera was protected.

So with that history I bought the Fuji X100VI as a go-anywhere camera. Now I am wondering why on earth Fuji changed the design of the leather case.

First, you may have read that the case for the V fits the VI.

The Fuji site on this page says that it fits. It says ‘Compatibility X100VI / X100V’

And on this page for the VI it says the VI is compatible with ‘Leather case LC-X100V’

And it is true that the Fuji X100VI fits the leather case. That is, you can slip the camera into the lower part of the case and it fits.

However, the hinged flap at the bottom of the leather case should allow access to the battery/card compartment cover. It doesn’t because the leather case was designed for the V, and the VI is a tiny bit bigger.

So the leather cases does not allow one to open the compartment because the bottom of the leather case covers a couple of mm of the end of the battery cover.

To change battery or card one would have to take the leather case off. That’s not good but it’s not the end of the world.

And if that were the only problem I would put up with it.

On earlier X100 series cameras, the top of the case was attached to the lower part by two press studs. When one opened the case, the top part hung down. It didn’t obstruct anything and it was securely fixed in place.

When you wanted to close the leather case you just flipped up the top part.

But Fuji changed the design, and the top is not connected to the bottom part at all with this new case design.

Are you getting this? Do you see what the problem is?

Let’s suppose you are out with the Fuji X100VI (or the X100V) in its leather case. You don’t have a camera bag or any other kind of bag with you. You are just out walking and you have your camera with you. It is a summer’s day and you are in your shirt sleeves.

You come across something you want to photograph. To actually use the X100VI camera you have lift off the top part of the case. Then you have to think of somewhere to put it. And where exactly? Shove it in a pocket? It’s too big for that.

An important part of why I was attracted to this camera is that it is a good camera, has a viewfinder, and it has a lens that hardly sticks out.

And it has a case, which would mean I could carry it anywhere protected. But for some unfathomable reason, Fuji changed the design and ruined a perfectly good system.

I have searched reviews and forums for people discussing this huge design flaw, and I can’t find any mention of it. I am mystified. Am I the first person to have ever noticed this?

Of course, maybe a lot of people don’t even want to use a leather case. That’s OK – it takes all kinds to make a world. But I do like a case.

When I am carrying a more substantial camera like my Canon EOS R6, I carry it in a Billingham camera bag.

And if I am carrying a small camera like the Ricoh GRIII, I have the Ricoh leather case. It really does mean I can slip the Ricoh in a pocket. The case even has a belt loop, so I can carry it hands free and pocket free. Still, the camera only weighs 277g.

Back To The Fuji

The bottom line is that because of the design fault in the leather case, I returned the camera. and I am wondering what to do next. My head is all over the place. With a Canon R50 or R10 I I could put a small prime on the camera and that would be a tiny package. Or I could go for an Osmo Pocket Three or even use my phone. Or get some Fuji goodness with an X-T30.

As someone once said to me when I was trying to decide between two options, it’s a good question and it’s a choice between good and good.