Fujifilm X-T3 and XF 56mm f1.2 APD: Portraits Around Soho
I’m finally getting in more shoot time with the new Fuji X-T3. Last weekend, I had a morning shoot scheduled with someone to further test the new camera. Even though the person in these photos was quite busy with midterms, she was nice enough to come out for a short shoot. We basically walked around the Soho area in Manhattan. I used to hang around Soho quite a lot but it’s always so busy these days that I try to avoid it :). But this was early Sunday morning, and other than a few dog walkers, and a few photographers, we pretty much had this area to ourselves. It was a nice day too; overcast skies, and a little chill in the air.
Lens of choice was my XF 56mm f1.2 R APD lens. I’ve been very eager to try this lens with the X-T3. This is my favorite lens in the X Series. It’s expensive and large compared to some of the other X Series lenses but in my opinion, it produces some seriously unique images, and it is an absolute “must have” in the Fuji world. In all honesty, I don’t even feel it’s that big. In terms of weight, carrying a lens that’s 405 g isn’t the end of the world to me, and the truth is, I actually find some cameras a little light for my taste these days, and therefore, I prefer a little more weight for added stability.
Anyway, this lens performed great last weekend, and I found it an excellent match with the Fuji X-T3. The autofocus is very quick as well. How quick? Well, let me put it this way: it was quick enough that autofocus performance was never even on my mind when I was shooting. I used the Face Detection and I must say, it was great on the X-T2 but it’s pretty fantastic on the X-T3. All the shots were taken at f1.2; if you read my 90mm APO Summicron-SL review you know I’ve been on a bokeh craze lately ;). Lastly, all were RAW files processed in Capture One, and then transferred over the Photoshop CC for some minor editing.
I should walk around Soho more often. On Friday, I’ve schedule another shoot with someone else, so I should have some more stuff with the X-T3 and my Leica SL as well. I’m in the process of reviewing not only the X-T3 but a couple of Fuji items, and SL related gear as well. Any questions, feel free to let me know in the comment section. Thanks for stopping by!
Hi Patrick, Who is the model here? Absolutely gorgeous. First photo successfully draws attention to her face with a somewhat unnatural sitting position.
Hi Frank,
Apologies for the late reply! She’s just a friend of a friend who’s currently going to university around here. She does not model but she was nice enough to let me shoot her :).
Best,
Patrick
Hello Patrick,
I am really impressed with these initial photos taken with this X-T3 combo – great clarity with lots of punch; beautiful colors, skin tones & bokeh. And as noted above, a very striking looking young model. Also it sounds like with some of the new features on the X-T3, you were working without any awareness or interference by the camera, an ideal situation to have but not available most of the time with other camera & lens combinations. Your full review of the X-T3 is anxiously awaited by this new X-T3 owner. Cheers,
Jed
Hi Jed,
Apologies for the late reply! Thanks but I have to admit, the weather helped a lot. I couldn’t ask for better lighting on that day. I’m just sorry we didn’t have more time to shoot. I should be posting my review soon; it’s taking me a little more time because I’ve been really busy, and I also plan on writing up something a little more detailed and comprehensive this time. Talk to you soon!
Best,
Patrick
very nice
Thanks! I appreciate you stopping by!
Best,
Patrick
I bought an xt3 and also a 56mm APD. I could not get that lens to settle into focus ever. It kept searching. I couldn’t get any faith in it so I sent it back. Im going to try a 90mm. Id rather have something in the 56 range.
Could have been new user error but it should have taken that long to focus, or should I say TRY to focus.
Hi Tony,
I’m sorry it took me so long to get back to you! My site went down due to my hosting service having a mechanical failure, so I was offline for a few weeks.
I have had absolutely no issues with this combo. In fact, I find the focus actually better and faster than with my X-T2. I even did a shoot in a dimly lit hallway where I had the camera set on continuous mode, so I was firing a lot of frames at a time. All were taken at f1.2, and the focus kept up with the model. I was actually impressed. Did the XF 90mm work out better for you?
Best,
Patrick