Magnolia Monday and random thoughts

Today's #MagnoliaMonday photo taken with a Fuji X-100s.

I have a new iMac and I am slowly getting used to it.  I like the big Apple screen but I really miss the solid state hard drive that was in my old MacPro.  That MacPro drive was only 500GB and the iMac is 2TB but I would take the speed back in a heartbeat.  I love the wireless keyboard and I am slowly making friends with the new trackpad.  I am so glad that the keyboard and trackpad both have rechargeable batteries.  I also upgraded from a second generation Drobo to a Drobo 5D3 which uses Thunderbolt 3 instead of Firewire 800.

Another new thing that I am working through at the moment is Google Team Drives.  I have not been a huge fan of Drive but I think it is just lack of use.  I do like having all my photos online but that is still a work in progress as each year of digital photos is about 500GB and that takes a while to upload.  It is funny how I am looking forward to back to the 12 MP era cameras so the uploads will go so much faster.  In the last three hours, 6000 photos have uploaded.  I really love using the file transfer app FromSmash.com.  The only problem is it only keeps the uploads in the cloud for 7 days several times lately I have had to re-pull photos because people didn't download them in time.  I hope Google Drive or Team Drives help with that.

I am really looking forward to Jackson being home this weekend from his summer job in Alaska.

Thoughts on Mirrorless Cameras

I shot this photo on Friday with a Sony A7 mirrorless camera.  I had the camera in my possession for about 45 minutes total so this is in no way a complete review.  I was not a fan of the camera.  I kind of felt like this butterfly with the chewed up wing, it could fly but it was not very pretty.  I could take photos but it was not very smooth.

The menu system was not very clear or easy to get around in. I have been fluent for 16 years in Nikon menus and that is a huge bias.  The lens I  used was the 18-140 and it was capable.  I was not a fan of electronic zooming but I am sure I could get used to it.   The lens was not great at closeup work which I am sure there are better lenses for that.  The camera seems to be strongly aimed at videographers and that is exactly who we bought the camera for. The thing I loved is how the monitor showed you the exposure as you changed settings.  I feel like you would eventually stop using a meter as you learned to trust what you saw in the viewfinder.  That to me is a major draw of these cameras.  The fact that the cameras are small and light is a great advantage in my opinion.  The viewfinder always looked somewhat unsharp to me as I got ready to take the photo but the playback of the image in the viewfinder showed sharp images.  I constantly struggled with turning the exposure compensation button instead of the shutter speed button.  I am sure with practice I would overcome that issue.  I am sure with practice and maybe reading the instruction book I could become friends with the camera.  I really do believe you have to become friends with your camera to get the most out of them. 

I do own a Fuji X-100s which is a mirrorless camera.  I love it and have used it for about 5 years.  The S model is the second generation of the camera and it currently is in a fourth generation as an X-100F.  Fuji has a new H-1 professional body that looks wonderful and I would dearly love to have one to use at the office but I am waiting. 

I am waiting to see what Nikon is going to release this year.  All of the rumor sites are saying there is going to be a professional Nikon mirrorless camera this year.  I so dearly want it to use the same lens mount and be able to use the majority of my lenses.  Please, Nikon, make this camera amazing and I so would love to be able to use my Nikon flashes as well. 

Finally, my hat is off to people who write equipment reviews as this was way more difficult than I thought it would be even for such a limited review.

2-7-2014 It snowed tonight

I really enjoyed watching the Opening Ceremonies of the Sochi Olympics. After they were over I stepped out on the porch and everything was covered in snow.

I decided to go walk the campus because I knew it would be beautiful and I was not disappointed. All photos taken with Fuji X100s and processed with Snapseed on my iPad.

1-6-2014 basketball with a Fuji X100s

I love having a little camera that I can take anywhere and get decent shots.  The HA Wildcats got the best of Bradford last night.  I stood under the goal with a ISO of 4000 shooting at 1/250th at F2.8.  Not bad in my opinion.

10-21-2013 Self Portrait

My class had to do a self portrait for their Vivian Maier project.  Here I am using the window of my office as my mirror.  The camera is a Fuji X100s.