Blog Post #52

Recent Purchases

Hello and welcome to Blog Post #52. In this post I want to take you through some recent purchases I have made and that you may be interested in. I will give my thoughts on each item and would be interested to hear what you think.

Fujifilm X-T5 Hand Grip MHG-XT5

I mentioned in an earlier post that I had traded in my Fuji X-T3 camera body for the new X-T5 camera body. One of the features of this new camera is the much longer battery life compared to previous models. Fuji say that this negates the need for a battery grip, where typically two batteries are housed in the battery pack to back up the internal battery thus providing power for longer. This had a mixed reception with purchasers but I think it is a good strategy. One of the benefits of a battery grip though is that they usually have an enhanced grip geometry making the camera easier to hold, especially considering the extra weight. The other thing about the X-T5 camera body is that it is smaller and lighter than previous models. In the main that is a great improvement but very often smaller means harder to hold and operate. To counter this some of the ergonomics of the camera have been improved making the controls more positive and accessible. I found though that when holding the camera, the small grip bump was a bit small and didn’t give enough area to get a good grip, especially with heavier zoom lenses fitted. Fuji have recognised this and have brought out the enhanced hand grip accessory. This fits to the camera and provides a much more positive gripping experience. It maintains access to the battery compartment without removal and also has the Arca dovetail on the base with suits many tripod quick release plates. The weight increase is negligible given the better grip. I like it and look forward to a better experience when using the X-T5.

If you are considering this accessory or one for your own camera, there are lots of cheaper copies on the markets like Amazon etc. but beware. I read a lot of comments and watched reviews and can only conclude that you get what you pay for. For example the reputed company “SmallRig” do an X-T5 hand grip in their ranges of camera cages. It is a lot less expensive than the Fuji original but it came up short in the reviews I read. There are also lots of very cheap probably Chinese copies too. You decide how you spend your money but just be careful. I would recommend the original Fujifilm accessory based on fit and manufacturing quality.

PARABLE

YouTube as you probably know is full of great information, advice and tutorials on how to do just about anything. Photography is no exception. I do however tend to steer away from videos that start with “Hey Whatsup?” as these characters I find are usually irritating. One YouTube contributor I have followed for some time now is Sean Tucker, I have mentioned this before. Recently Sean has made a change in the way he is putting his work across and the result is a magazine format entitled “PARABLE”. His regular YouTube videos will continue thankfully.

I will let Sean describe this first edition in his own words; “In this first edition I tackle the subject of window light in photography: how windows serve to shape light into dark interiors, dealing with glass reflections, the concept of aperture, and finally using all this to talk about how we can be more conscious about flooding light into our own inner worlds”.

As well as being a great photographer, Sean is a philosopher and has a great way of communicating his thoughts. The publication costs £10 plus £4 p&p. It is a 37 page A4 magazine with volume one focusing on Sean’s thoughts on window light for subjects and some insights into his personal photography journey. I have seen a bit of debate recently as to whether Sean is actually a street photographer and if his work fits into the genre. I believe he is and the majority of his work fits in with a lot of other street photography images I see on street photography forums and web pages.

So what did I think of PARABLE? It’s neither a heavy read nor is it a technical tutorial on how to shoot subjects using window light. Like a lot of Sean’s videos and his book, “The Meaning in The Making”, it is his take on what window light is and how it can be a powerfull skill to have in your photography toolbox. The content fits with what a PARABLE is and Sean describes this as “ A simple story or analogy offered to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson”. The photos it includes are simple examples of varying types of window lighting and match the words in the text.

I found the choice of paper interesting. For the past few years Sean has published a yearbook containing about 90 of the shots he has taken over the preceding year and says he has stuck with the paper and printing style that these books used. Again to use Sean’s words; ”The physical version of PARABLE vol.1 is printed on environmentally-friendly, uncoated paper giving a pleasing matt feel in the hand, and muted hues with lifted, charcoal blacks to the rendering of the images”. It was a production format I wasn’t used to and found the photos a bit too muted at times but that is just my opinion. I think its a great first step Sean has taken and look forward to the next volume.

I hope you have enjoyed this blog post and thank you for reading it. If you want to comment on this blog post please do so below or you can contact me by using the “Contact Me” facility in the website header.