FIELD REPORT: 2 weeks and 1200 pics in Israel / Palestine / Jordan with Fujifilm X-T100

FIELD REPORT: 2 weeks and 1200 pics in Israel / Palestine / Jordan with Fujifilm X-T100

I recently returned from a 2-week trip to Israel / Palestine / Jordan. I ended up taking about 1200 photos This is a review of the equipment I used, how things worked out, and notes to myself about what to do next time.

Gear:

• Fujifilm X-T100
  • Fujinon Super EBC XC 15-45mm OIS PZ 5-5.6
  • Rokinon 12mm f2.0 ED AS IF NCS
  • Fujinon Super EBC XC 50-230mm OIS II f4.5-6.7
• Pentax K-3
  • HD Pentax-DA 16-85mm F3.5-5.6 ED DC WR
  • SMC Pentax-DA 10-17mm F3.5-4.5 Fish-Eye ED
• Samsung Galaxy Note 9
• Plenty of batteries and chargers, lens cleaning accessories
• CPL filters, hoods
• Tamrac Velocity 6X sling bag – This older bag worked perfectly to hold small accessories and either:
  • X-T100 with 15-45mm attached along with the Rokinon 12mm and XC 50-230
    or
  • Pentax K-3 with 16-85mm and 10-17mm FE
• A small fanny pack type bag that could hold just one camera with lens.

I have been a long-time Pentax shooter, but this fall I got a used Fujifilm X-T100 with the kit XC 15-45mm lens because of the smaller size and lighter weight. Both use APS-C sensors. As I was practicing with it in preparation for the trip, I was pleased to discover that under most circumstances I was getting better results than with my Pentax K-3.

Trip and Contexts:

I brought a group of 43 people from the school where I teach that focused on visiting historical and biblical sites. From experience I knew that the weather would be cool with a good possibility of rain or even some snow. I also knew that in a travel group, I usually don’t have time to be changing lenses, so I always bring two bodies, and that way I also have a backup system just in case. The Pentax system is weather resistant, so that made further sense to bring it.

I also know that most of the things I would be shooting would be on the wider end, including many cramped interior shots, so that is why I include the Rokinon 12mm for the X-T100 and the 10-17mm fisheye for the Pentax.

Exposure data analyzed using Exposure Plot

Camera Usage:

• About 1000 shots with the X-T100
  • 950 shots with the XC 15-45mm
  • 40 shots with the Rokinon 12mm
  • 20 shots with the XC 50-230mm
• About 100 shots with Pentax K-3
  • 92 shots with the 16-85mm
  • 8 shots with the 10-17mm FE
• About 150 shots with the Samsung Galaxy Note 9
  • Dual lens with 4 / 8mm (= 28 / 56mm @ 35mm equivalents)
  • About a dozen short videos taken with phone

SUMMARY:

• The X-T100 worked out very well. We only had one day of threatening weather for which I used the weather resistant Pentax instead of the Fuji.
• The Note 9 was handy for video, quick panoramas, and snapshots intended for quick posting to Facebook.

Focal Lengths Shot and Lenses Used:

As the exposure plot data shows of the ~1050 picture taken, not counting the Note 9 shots:

• 8 shots using the 10-17mm Pentax fisheye lens
• 40 pics at 12mm using the Rokinon
• About 2/3rds of the photos I shot, i.e., 672 of them, were at 15-16mm. This does also mean that there were times when I would have wanted to shoot a bit wider but did not bother to stop to change lenses.
• ~260 shots in the 17-40mm range
• 95 shots at 45mm which probably means I could have used a longer lens sometimes when I was shooting with 15-45 and didn’t bother to change lenses
• 27 shots using the XC 50-230mm

SUMMARY:

• For the contexts of this trip, the XC 15-45mm lens worked out very well. I really did not have much use for a longer lens, but I do know how well the 16-85mm range works on my Pentax. (The forthcoming Fujifilm 16-80mm lens would look to be an excellent travel lens, but I do like the small size of the XC 15-45.)
• I probably could have omitted the 50-230mm lens for this trip, but you just know when you do omit, you will probably end up wanting it.
• I really enjoy the Pentax 10-17mm fisheye and the unique perspectives it can capture, but I was mainly using the X-T100, and I just didn’t take the time to use it.
• I did take quite a few shots with the intention of creating panoramas. The Rokinon 12mm is a lot of fun to use and produces excellent results, but if I was in a hurry, I would just shoot multiple shots with the 15-45.

Shooting Experience:

• The X-T100 with 15-45mm lens is an outstanding, lightweight, small travel camera system. I am very happy with the pictures obtained as I will note below. If needed, I really could get along very well with just this setup. I also paired the X-T100 with my Note 9 using Bluetooth in order to get GPS data attached (important for the photos I take), and that worked perfectly. Still, I have a few niggles…
  • The touchscreen still acts unexpectedly at times. I have it turned off, but, using AF-S, sometimes the center focus point has moved to some corner.
  • I do need to use the touchscreen to switch to manual focus when using the Rokinon 12mm. I wish there was a physical AF-MF switch.
  • It’s too easy to bump the buttons on the back. I have locked them off, but that means I have to unlock them to use any of the button features like the timer or multiple shots.
  • Bluetooth pairing worked well but using WiFi is a hassle and often hit/miss if it works.
  • Battery life is not great. I was using the Fuji NP-W126S that comes with the camera along with a Nixxell NP-W126 one. The Fuji battery did last longer, but when shooting more than ~150 pics, I would have to change batteries. Further, as the battery was nearing its drained point but while it still seemed to be functioning, I would start getting strange behavior. (Inability to focus, moving focus point, unresponsive buttons, camera won’t turn off) That really worried me the first time it happened until I determined that the weak battery was the issue.
  • I am very pleased with the XC 15-45mm lens. I am unable to compare it with the other higher end Fuji zooms (18-55 or 16-50), but I am more than satisfied with it. The power zoom is okay, and I can use the front ring for zooming if I turn of the AF-MF option. The OIS is also outstanding and gained me a couple stops without issue.
  • The XC 50-230 can get very good results, but… you really need light. I knew it was a slow lens (f4.5-6.7), but it was practically unusable when shooting in the evening or when there was haze that reduced contrast. Maybe someday I'll have to look at the XF 55-200.

Results and Pictures:

• With both cameras, I shoot with both JPG and RAW (RAF / DNG). Unless it’s more of a quick snapshot type of pic, I end up using the RAW files and processing them in Lightroom. While the Fuji JPGs are quite good, I do get better results using LR. To speed the process, I can usually process one pic in a particular setting and then copy/paste those settings to the rest and then make minor adjustments. It works rather quickly.
• I will include some pics here taken from this online album of 32 pics. If you have an Exif Viewer addin for your browser (like this for Firefox), all exif data is intact.
• X-T100 with 15-45:
  

  

• X-T100 with 15-45 and merged 3 shot pano:
  

  

• X-T100 with Rokinon 12mm
  

  

• X-T100 with Rokinon 12mm and 4 shot merged pano:
  

  

• More albums with pics from this trip here, here, here, here, here.

Thank you! Sounds like it was an amazing trip. Terrific write-up up and summary also.

One more sample shot with the X-T100 and the XC 15-45mm

Tabgha - Church of Primacy of Peter

I also wanted to add that I was quite pleased with the low light performance of the X-T100. Here's a shot with the 15-45 shot wide open (f3.5) at 15mm and 800 ISO. (This is pic is reduced to 1200 pixel size, but the detail in the 100% size is outstanding.

Augusta Victoria Church, Jerusalem

The Davinator wrote:

Nice photographs. I'm trying to u derstand your graph. You took 7 shots with a lens of 0mm focal length....and 1mm and 2mm?

Those are probably panoramas taken with the Note 9 phone. I organize all my photos by days in subfolders. ExposurePlot can read all subfolders and only evaluates JPGs. Things can be odd w/ the phone pics or panos.

Hi Mark,

great views from such a small piece of mother earth where there is so much to see, find out and learn from. This must have been a unforgetable journey.

Your pictures are indeed looking very nice and I wish Fujifilm would offer the XC 15-45 as a more solid/metal WR version as well. This would be a fantastic lens which every Fuji X fan is looking for.

I just wonder - did you use filters on this lens, polarizer or others?

Cheers,

Tom

I liked how you have nice groupings of the images - by area. I too have ISR travel captures from an epic trip I took. I paired my X-T2 with the 16-55 constant zoom. It was a treat. And it looks like you had a great time capturing the places you visited. Nicely done.

mjdundee wrote:

Hi Mark,

great views from such a small piece of mother earth where there is so much to see, find out and learn from. This must have been a unforgetable journey.

Your pictures are indeed looking very nice and I wish Fujifilm would offer the XC 15-45 as a more solid/metal WR version as well. This would be a fantastic lens which every Fuji X fan is looking for.

I just wonder - did you use filters on this lens, polarizer or others?

Cheers,

Tom

Thanks! The trip was wonderful. I also included Jordan in the tour, so pics of Petra and Jerasa still coming...

No, I didn't use any filters. (A few times I wish I would have used a CPL...) I do try to add a little 'pop' in Lightroom without making things like unnatural.

That sounds good - looking forward to see more from your trip.

You did a good work - all shot have a very natural look in a very pleasant light.

I always avoid to take photos during the meand daytime in order to avoid harsh light and shadows.  That is not easy to do on a trip like yours. Therefor I used to try some 'postcards' with a CPL whenever there was more than plenty of light.

Tom

Here's a batch of 75 photos from Jerusalem. Almost all of them with the Fuji X-T100 and 15-45mm lens: http://scrollandscreen.com/images/IPJ2019/9Jerusalem/

markgv wrote:

Here's a batch of 75 photos from Jerusalem. Almost all of them with the Fuji X-T100 and 15-45mm lens: http://scrollandscreen.com/images/IPJ2019/9Jerusalem/

Hi Mark,

I like your professional style. Impressive collection of very well composed documentary photographs. X-T 100 with the kit lens has definitelly delivered what not so long ago only hig priced pro cameras could do.

How did you manage to take control of the thousands of locals and tenthousands of other tourists that we are used to see from the streets of Jerusalem whenever it hits the TV screens around christmas. It really looks like for your group of travellers the operators have offered a private tour through the entire city!?

Thanks for sharing your experience there.

Have a good day,

Tom

mjdundee wrote:

markgv wrote:

Here's a batch of 75 photos from Jerusalem. Almost all of them with the Fuji X-T100 and 15-45mm lens: http://scrollandscreen.com/images/IPJ2019/9Jerusalem/

Hi Mark,

I like your professional style. Impressive collection of very well composed documentary photographs. X-T 100 with the kit lens has definitelly delivered what not so long ago only hig priced pro cameras could do.

How did you manage to take control of the thousands of locals and tenthousands of other tourists that we are used to see from the streets of Jerusalem whenever it hits the TV screens around christmas. It really looks like for your group of travellers the operators have offered a private tour through the entire city!?

Thanks for sharing your experience there.

Have a good day,

Tom

Thank you for the encouragement! And yes, the X-T100 with the 15-45mm kit lens has proved to be a very capable system,

As for the relatively few people in my pics, mainly, it was January, and the weather was cool, so there simply weren't as many people around. It also was a matter of setting my view and then waiting for the moment when I got a clear shot. As for the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, we got there first thing in the morning, and it quickly became crowded just 5 minutes later.

I have mixed feelings about including people in my pics. On the one hand, it's easier to see the location when the view is not obscured. I have been able to license some of my pics, and so it's also good not to have to worry about releases at all. OTOH, people do provide context, both for the nature of the site and for the relative size of features.

Nice photos and an interesting read.  Glad to see you enjoying that little gem of a Camera!

Sal

There is so much beauty at Petra, Jordan. One does need to be careful not to blow out highlights since there is so much contrast. (I forgot to bring my CPL this day.)

Here are more pics  almost exclusively taken with the X-T100 and 15-45mm. There are a few with the 12mm Rokinon, and a couple Note9 panos.