Colour
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Sailing Home
The quality of the Viltrox 56 1/4 XF never ceases to amaze me.This image was taken with an X-T4 at ISO1600, so the quality of the sensor plays a significant role in the overall result. However, as the lens is not supported in Affinity Photo 2, the image is wysiwyg in the sense that no profile-based corrections have been applied.
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Serva padrona @ Teatro Marrucino
LED banding is a major problem when using electronic shutters, and the Fuji X-T4 and X-T5 are no exception. In the specific conditions of this piece, I found that setting the shutter speed below 1/100s tamed the problem. However, there is one major drawback: the number of ruined shots increases. This is particularly true of the moments when the actors are waving their limbs or moving randomly. In this case, the slower parts of the body remain in focus, while the peripheral parts do not. Unfortunately, there is still no post-production technique that can eliminate this problem, which makes it difficult to achieve usable results. Of course, using a mechanical…
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On Composition. Or: the eye sees what the mind is prepared to comprehend
This shot, taken during the Italian Road Running National Championships, is a fair application of the French philosopher Henri Bergson aphorism to composition: the eye sees what the mind is prepared to comprehend. In fact, although there is not a direct, cause-and-effect relationship between this image and renaissance painting, the learned observer may find some connection with works such as, for instance, Michelangelo’s Battaglia di Cascina. The connection between present and past may be loose, but this does not affect the principle. When I framed the shot I something ‘clicked’ in my mind and I instinctively decided to press the button. Photography (at least in all its variations, such as…
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Fujifilm XF 18-120 just snapped in two
Everything breaks down eventually, but there are different kinds of breakdowns and different kinds of reasons for them.On the one hand, you cannot expect a product to be indestructible and you must take proper care to maintain its efficiency. As I said, it will break eventually, but probably not in an unexpected way.On the other hand, when you buy a ‘professional’ or simply an expensive product, you expect the overall quality of the build to match the price.Enter the Fuji XF 18-120. It costs around 900 Euros. Not a steep price compared to Leica, Zeiss or even Canon lenses, and far more expensive than Chinese brands such as Viltrox (which…
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The Expired Film Series – Episode 4 – Ferrania Solaris 100 – Dec. 2006 shot in August 2023
This is the fourth episode in a series documenting the use of expired film in various contexts. Episode 4 features a Ferrania Solaris 100 shot with a Voigtländer Vitoret DR and a Color Lanthar 50/2,8 in the vicinity of the sea of the city of Pescara (Abruzzi) .The film was overexposed by one stop as it is customary with expired film to allow more light to impress it.The results are just subpar, however the pictures have some sort of ‘individual’ trait.
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Red Moon at the end of August
Shot handheld (no tripod) with an X-T5 and a Fuji XF 150-600. Image stabilisation worked very well.
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HeadButt
Sometimes the difference between a pleasant result and just a plain wrong, missed photo may be challenging to tell.I took this picture years ago, during an MMA fight and, to be honest, I can not even remember framing and setting the camera accordingly for this shot. In other words, it happened almost by accident.The outcome is blurry and shaky, however, the overall result has a ‘painterly’ feel, almost like an ink sketch.
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Coffee at Caffè Nero
On the technical side, this photo was a test of the X-T5 capability to handle scenes with both strong highlights and shadows without increasing the standard dynamic range. As per the quality, despite the similarity of the name, definitely no, it has nothing ado with the ‘Nero’ one can taste in Trieste which —unbeknownst to many — is the Italian capital of coffee.
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A Maserati GranTurismo
Another piece of Italy in Boston…
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A Ferrari 812 GTS
In a sea of wannaby italians, the original shines.
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Justice measured as the distance between Words and Facts
This photo, in itself, is nothing special. Bur it carries an implicit message about law and rights: the level of democracy in a country is measured by the distance between bold statements and the daily courtroom’s reality.
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A Cornhole Board – Independence Day Edition
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Elishéva live@Faneuil Hall
Boston is an incredibly vibrant city and hosts many live events in theatres and outdoor venues. At Boston’s Faneuil Hall, I took some pictures of Elishéva, a soulful jazz singer, while she was rehearsing.
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Tesla Coils@Boston Science Museum
Not a great photo, taken on the fly at Boston’s Science Museum. Nevertheless, Tesla Coils hold a special place in the hearts of early Command & Conquer players, so I had to take it.
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Helios 40-2 85/1,5 and Fuji X-T5: a sample
This is an early attempt at using an M42 mount Helios 40-2 85/1,5 coupled with a Fuji X-T5. The lens is not tack-sharp and the APS-C equivalent field of view is around 127mm, therefore the bokeh effect becomes less evident. The results, however, are pleasaning.
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FUJIFILM X-T5 RAF have problems with Affinity Photo 2.1
As this video shows, when opened in Affinity Photo 2.1, an RAF generated by a Fujifilm X-T5 shows a vertical stripe and a slightly higher resolution. The problem does not occur if the file is pre-processed with Iridient Transformer and converted to DNG, or if the file is processed with Pixelmator Pro 3, Lightroom Classic or the latest version of Capture One.
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A pouch for the Fuji XF 150-600
The JJC Deluxe Lens Pouch model 811 fits perfectly with the Fuji XF 150-600 with the handle mounted and the lens hood reversd. It also leaves some room for filters, SD cards or small accessories.
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Niccolò Fabi – Meno Per Meno Tour 2023 – Live@Teatro Massimo, Pescara
Covering Niccolò Fabi’s concert for Rockol, gave me the opportunity to test an X-T4 with an XF 150-600. The image quality is on a par with the X-T3. This was to be expected. However, I have some reservations about the autofocus. The lens also needs to be examined in more detail before I can form an informed opinion.
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Another experiment, now with a Kodak Portra 400
This is a DSLR scan of an old Kodak Portra 400 roll of film shot during a 2015 concert by John De Leo Grande Abarasse. The editing with Affinity Photo was quite challenging, however, the result is a fair rendition of the film aesthetic.
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Moonshot with a handheld Fuji XF150-600 and a Fuji X-T3
This picture is taken, handheld, with the following parameters: Focal Lenght 600mm, Aperture F/8, ISO 6400, Exposure 1/300s. Even if shot with a Fuji X-T3 (that has no In-Body Stabilisation) the resulting image is very good.
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Editing a photo taken with a Carl Zeiss Jena 135/4 Sonnar and a Fuji X-T3
A vintage Carl Zeiss Jena 135/4 Sonnar whose RF mount has been replaced with a Fuji X mount by Adriano Lolli (https://www.adrianololli.com).Coupled with a Fuji X-T3, it delivers pleasant results. Post production is highly subjective, so the final outcome might no be ‘acceptable’ to some taste. Still, the lens is very good.
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A sample of the Carl Zeiss Jena 135/F4 Sonnar and a Fuji X-T3
This photo was taken with an old Carl Zeiss Jena 135/4 Sonnar whose Contax RF mount was replaced by a Fuji X mount by Master Adriano Lolli.
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Floating
The Panasonic TZ100 is a very good travel camera. Its one-inch sensor allows a fair balance between performance and portability. Being slightly bigger of trendy smartphones, this camera delivers a way more better results.
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Pixelmator Pro Debanding and Electronic Shutter
Pixelmator Pro Deband feature does not work on banding caused by the well known electronic shutter lag. The Deband feature has not been advertised as working also with ES-induced banding, so the fact that it can not handle it is not a bug. However, this limit seriously reduces the appeal of the new feature. I have flagged the issue to Pixelmator Pro Support: currently, they are out of work, but eventually, they should get back to me with some news. Good news, hopefully.
