All of the Fuji X cameras are excellent. I've been using an X-E1 and X-T1 since they came out and I love them both. The image quality is superb, and the X-E1 in particular feels very "Leica-like" in performance.

I just purchased a Factory Refurbished X-E2 kit because I wanted an extra 18-55, it came a few days ago. I intended to put the body up on ebay, but if you would like it, or if anyone here would like to have it, just drop me a note. It comes with a 3 month transferable factory warranty.
Body still sealed with original box.

I have a 35mm 1.8G and an 85mm 1.8G and where I have always struggled is which is the better lens to use as the "main" one when traveling or your general walk around lens. It never fails that when I have my 35, I am thinking it would have been great to also have the 85, and vice-versa. I primarily like taking pictures of landscapes, buildings, people walking by, etc. I also like taking close ups, but neither seem very good at close distances. Great lenses but just wondering what people use as their primary set up. I use either my D300 or D7100 with either/both lenses.

Here is the link: https://petapixel.com/2018/01/08/not-fake-till-make-photographer/
Hate it when people, most of whom don’t know enough to give advice, advise the wanna-be photographer who is thinking about shooting a gig to “Go ahead! Do it!! You’ll be fine.”

Though there are exceptions, when I hear people say “I’m a natural-light photographer” the first thing I think is they don’t know how to light or use a flash. Or those who are ill-equipped by equipment and/or skill to do the job.
Or trying to fix things in post that should/could have easily been taken care of at the shoot.
When things go right everything’s ok.
Murphy lurks at every gig, but at weddings, he brings his whole family.
A pro is able to handle those times.

It’s also the job of the client to educate themselves to know what to look for, especially with so many fauxtographers out there promising the world.


I think it’s a matter of: You don’t know what you don’t know.
It’s hard to know when to say no if you don’t know enough to realize you could be in over your head.

Sorry dude, but that is just getting asinine. Canada is a province of Iceland.

In days of old, paper, glass, lenses, and even the camera boxes started to be sold instead of being constructed by the photographer. There were few standards though. It was easier to produce many glass plates the same size than multiple sizes. And then George Eastman designed and started selling his camera loaded with cellulose film. After that, other camera makers started selling their cameras with the same size film as Eastman. Then movie cameras came along.

Because movie cameras used Eastman's patented cellulose film, it became standardized at 36mm wide and was named 35mm film. Soon, still cameras were developed that used 35mm film, basically as a way to test for the film. As the quality of the film became better, 35mm became a standard format. Kodak's larger cameras using 2 1/4 x 2 1/4 became the 120, larger 645 became Medium format, and 8x10 and larger became large format. Other formats were tried but none survived as viable.

By the 1960s, 35mm became the camera of choice for photojournalists. Range Finders were slowly replaced by Single Lens Reflex and interchangeable lenses. Most 35mm cameras allowed some user adjustment. Soon 120 cameras became obsolete and medium and large formats became the venue of art and professional photographers.

With the advent of digital, the manufacturers used their 35mm lenses and just altered the bodies to make consumer cameras. The 35mm size remained the standard, or full frame size. Cameras that use smaller sensors but the same 35mm lens produce the same picture. For a "cropped" sensor the photo is approximately 1/3 cropped around the perimeter. Smaller sensors crop even more.

So if you are concerned about the standard size sensor being named "Full Frame", that sucks. There is a lot more in the world that keeps me awake at night than the recent adaptation of a standard.

BTW, that is the super condensed summary.

There is no condensed version that will enable what you want. You must understand the underlying principles.

Read The *Fine* Manual first. Study each page with camera in hand. TRY each variable setting until you know what it does. Your patience and suffering WILL BE rewarded!

The ENVIRONMENT variable is LIGHT:

Volume/intensity
Type and color spectrum characteristics
Specularity (hard vs. soft sources)
Contrast
Brightness (dynamic) range

Manual mode always has to BALANCE that environmental variable (light) against:

Sensitivity (ISO)
Aperture (how much light gets through the lens)
Time (shutter speed)

Each of the four variables places CONSTRAINTS on at least one of the others. Each effects the quality/character of the image differently.

A good book on photography will help you understand. Tony Northrup’s *Stunning Digital Photography* and Bryan Peterson’s *Understanding Exposure* are good starting points.

Learning the basic principles behind photography will help you to choose appropriate tools and settings, and to determine desired outcomes.

Great question. In 1967 my Junior High offered Photography as a Science elective. My teacher, Mr. Reed was awesome. Tough and critical was his nature, but he also knew when to encourage and praise. He had very high standards that motivated you to work hard.

He had two mantras:
1. Slow down, you're moving too fast, you've got to make the moment (morning) last. (Ala 59th Street Bridge Song)
2. If you can't get the picture you want with a 50mm MOVE CLOSER. (We had no budget for telephotos)


50 years later, when I go on a photo shoot, I still hear in my head....feeling groovy. Thank you Mr. Reed for giving me so much joy from taking pictures.