Why I am using manual lenses with my Fujifilm X Series cameras?
As many of my followers already know, I come from the film cameras era. And despite I became a pro in the digital era for me photography is still the same and I absolutely love the way to photograph like the old times.
I used to work also with autofocus, especially with certain cameras where is virtually impossible to make otherwise, but in most of the cases my way to work is full manual, from exposure to focusing. There is a certain magic in the old processes for me.
This doesn’t mean I am a dinosaur not able to get the advantage of digital cameras. In fact as you know I work with Fujifilm X Series cameras and I love the Focus peak setting that allows me to understand when the object (subject) is in focus. And I use profitably the ISO in auto mode. I think that it would be stupid not to take advantage of certain advantages that digital offers. But always and only to the extent of working at their best and making my photography.
The photo above is a clear example. Most likely I could not have achieved this by relying on autofocus. It was a matter of instants.
The film experience is the best school any photographer should consider. I can see how to merge my film techniques with my digital tools is useful for my photography.
Before I continue this post I have to clarify a thing. Don’t get me wrong: I use the Fujifilm lenses, in particular I use the XF 50mm f2 for my commercial work and the XF 18mm f2 for photojournalism and street photography.
I am drawn for the future by these lenses:
FUJINON XF14mmF2.8 R
FUJINON XF16mmF1.4 R WR
FUJINON XF23mmF1.4 R
Now that I explained this, I can continue about my reasons to consider to work with manual lenses. The first reason is…street photography.
Street Photography is something different: for the approach and the technique I recommend you more to use. In fact, despite the technology made great steps the imponderability of candid events and the need not to miss the moment still suggest to go with zone focus technique. And this already makes us think about a fact: to the end of the game and when it comes to street photography…photography changed very little. The best way to make street photography is still in manual focus and using the zone focus technique.
Zone Focusing little note: the classic advice for street photographers consists of choosing a moderately wide-angle (28mm or 35mm on a full-frame camera) lens to a camera, setting the ISO to a correct high speed depending by the camera and lens: in the past with my Leica X2 I used 1600 ISO to simulate effectively in digital the TRI-X film aesthetics and now with my Fujifilm cameras I trust on ISO Auto. I pre-focus the lens. Wait…Pre-focusing? Yeah, I mean Zone Focus. Street photographers traditionally will set the lens at its hyperfocal distance but remember that this distance depends on the lens focal length and the aperture. With a fast film and a sunny day, I will probably be able to expose at f/16. With a 35mm lens focused to, let’s say, 3 meters, subjects between 1.5 meters and infinity will be acceptably sharp :"acceptable" means "if the person viewing the final photograph doesn't stick his eyes right up against it. I keep my Fujifilm cameras between f8 and f11 in a sunny day, but I am aware to change the settings depending by the changes of the light conditions. If I have to photograph far subjects or generic landscapes I go in hyperfocal. When you start many of the pictures will be ruined due to poor focus, subject motion, bad composition, shutter lag . Don't feel bad at all: it is pretty normal. And I still miss some shots. I am OK with that, because photography is by no means an exact science.
The second reason is…cost. For my 7Artisans 25mm f1.8 lens I paid only 70 bucks. For a vintage lens (a 28mm Vivitar f2.8 Nikon mount) I paid 14 dollars. In that case you have to consider an adapter, already on my purchasing list. There are several good vintage lenses that are good for your digital cameras.
The third reason is…unique results. Yes, because the optics and coatings in each lens has an effect on color rendition, sharpness, and bokeh rendition. You can see that with my recent work, realized with the 7Artisans lens that is pretty far to be a perfect lens, with several issues, and yet I love the results, especially for how filmy the photographs with this lens appear.
The fourth reason: a manual focus lens slows down and your way of working will become more like when you shoot on film: I love it.
Now look at the photo above: it is an imperfect-perfect photo in my opinion because the main subject is out of focus. I would that way when when I passed quickly in front of this girl. I never wanted my photography algidly precise and I consider so much the importance of the photographic error as a personal style. Wanted and obtained.
When I want to be accurate I will slow down like in these examples:
The fifth reason is that is another way of pushing my creativity, starting again in an enthusiast way with a new toy, experimenting with the characteristics of a different lens, to see how it works with my Fujifilm X Series cameras.
To consider an old lens in the modern world is also a way to say stop to this technology eating your creativity, making anything more and more similar as we can see.
Not anything is positive: there are several issues by using vintage lenses. The lenses won't fit or won't do everything they should. By not working the electronic contacts of course you will loose the exif data but that is not a real issue. The problems can be the artifacts that a lens can produce on the image. Vignetting problems especially with smaller sensors like the micro 4/3 and the APS-C sensors. Beware also what adapter you buy because the cheaper adapters can damage your camera. The big issue is that since there is no electrical connectivity from the lens to the camera, the metering does not work properly. Most all camera systems have this problem, because all modern cameras rely on an electrical connection to provide aperture information. Of course if you want to use a manual lens on your camera you are prepared to work in Aperture priority or Manual exposure because they are the only ways you can work with.
In general I recommend you more to consider third parts manufacturers. As I already said in this blog 7Artisans is making good stuff. Rokkinon lenses are pretty good but not that cheap, even if cheaper than the official lenses.
In going towards a lens of this type you must be aware that it is still a compromise. It's up to you to decide if this is worth it for your photography.
A little note in conclusion: I am an official Fujifilm X Photographer for Fujifilm Mexico. I love to photograph with these cameras. They make the experience really close to a film photography experience. With a small, manual lens my Fujifilm XPro2 seems more like a film camera. In these months a lot of people on the street thought it was a film Leica camera. I think this is great. As you know I work also in rough places and this makes the camera inconspicuous. It is useful in order to have less attention and when I have it is for the appreciation of the camera I am using. The Fujifilm cameras are great tools especially for those photographers like me, street photographers and journalists, with an approach still connected to the film era.
