Episode 366: New Gear to Test & More

Show Transcript

Greetings, you’re listening to the Liam Photography Podcast, I’m your host Liam Douglas and this is Episode 366. In today’s episode I want to talk about some new gear that I recently received to test out, some on loan and some my own.

I recently reached out to my contact at Fujifilm USA, Daniel Carpenter and he was nice enough to send me the new Fujifilm X-S20 camera and their new XF8mm F/3.5 lens as well. Now if you remember, this camera and lens were announced back on May 25th, 2023 at the Fujifilm X Summit in Thailand.

Now the Fujifilm X-S20 is Fuji’s latest consumer level camera in the X-S line and is quite a bit of an upgrade from the previous X-S10 which was released on October 15th, 2020. The new model sports the X-Trans 4 sensor but has the newer 5th generation processor that is found in the X-H2 and X-H2s as well as the Fujifilm X-T5, which allows this camera to have the same advanced autofocus of those cameras. Another change that Fujifilm made was to make the hand grip larger so it has better ergonomics and also allows it to house the larger NP-W235 battery from the X-T4 and X-T5 instead of the smaller NP-W126S of it’s predecessor and my X-E4 or X-Pro3, so this new camera can shoot more frames per charge.

In addition to those changes, the X-S20 also has a new dedicated VLOG mode on it’s PSAM dial, which puts the camera into a vlogging mode of course and enables enhanced autofocus capabilities such as “product showcase” which allows the camera to move from focused on you to focused on something you hold up in front of the camera and then back to your face when you lower the other item. It also enables advanced autofocus tracking as well, which give this new camera abilities on par with other camera makers such as Canon, Sony or Nikon.

The Fujifilm X-S20 also has IBIS with 7 stops of shake reduction to make your video and stills more clean and free of hand shake. The camera also has 14bit RAW image capture at 6240 x 4160, as well as Panorama capture both vertical at 2160 x 9600 and horizontal at 9600 x 1440. For this of you who are video shooters, you now have 6.2K video and can add the optional FAN-001 to keep the camera cool when shooting lots of high resolution video. To make your photos and videos more to your taste you also have 19 film simulations to choose from.

For anyone interested in landscapes, architecture or astrophotography, Fujifilm released their new XF8mm F/3.5 lens, which sports a Weather Resistant design that is super compact and light weight with internal focusing. The lens also has a dedicated Aperture ring on the barrel as many but not all Fujinon lenses do and is something many of us Fujifilm shooters love about their lenses. Although this lens is not as fast as the Fujinon XF8-16mm F/2.8, but it’s also cheaper, and lighter than that lens as well so it won’t break your wallet. I am very excited to try out this new Fujifilm gear and will be shooting with it over the next three weeks.

Now, for my listeners who are more into video, I also recently acquired the new DJI Osmo Action 4 action camera. This new edition of the Osmo Action sports a new larger 1/1.3 inch sensor to improve both video and stills quality and has 10bit & D-Log M Color Performance as well. This upgraded camera also sports Deep-Freeze resistance and a longer lasting 160min battery as well as 4K/120fps video. Like the previous Action 3 this model is also capable of native both vertical and horizontal video using it’s magnetic, quick release mount system. If you love shooting underwater video, this model can handle being submerged up to 18 meters and also has their 360 degree Horizon Steady to keep your footage upright and looking level all the time, similar to the GoPro Hero 11 Black with its built in MaxLens Mod.

The new image sensor is capable of 2.4um pixel size and a nice wide F/2.8 aperture as well so you can shoot in very low light without much in the way of issues. My friend Suzi Pratt of Gemini Connect recently compared the Action 4 to the Hero 11 and the Action 4 does have superior low light performance compared to the GoPro model. As soon as this new camera was announced, I was excited as I had been planning to get a second Osmo Action camera to go with my first one and now I was able to get the Action 4 so I now have one of each, the Action 3 and Action 4. I have not had much time to use and test the Action 4 myself yet but that will also be coming over the next two to three weeks and I am planning to use it while we are up north for our Labor Day visit.

Even though the new Action 4 camera is more capable than the previous Action 3, it’s still not as good as the Hero 11 but DJI is making great strides in their advancements with their action cameras and I assume they will reach or overtake GoPro by time the Action 5 or 6 release in the next couple of years, unless of course GoPro makes some massive advancements of their own. GoPro has been doing some innovating of their own with their new, larger sensor that allows the Hero 11 to shoot at 8x7 and their new HyperSmooth 5.0 Stabilization and the new Cold-Weather Enduro battery. Additionally, the GoPro is now natively able to go to 33ft without issues or need of an external housing. GoPro has also recently changed to using folding finger mounts on the bottom of their cameras so you don’t need a housing to mount the cameras anymore and the fingers are even replaceable if they become damaged.

One other new gear item I wanted to mention is a couple of weeks ago I got a couple of new IceFox Action Cameras made by a new competitor out of China. These new entries to the Action camera market are interesting with their design looking like it was almost completely ripped off from the DJI Osmo Action design. The IceFox cameras are considerably cheaper than the Osmo Action or GoPro Hero line at only around $141 US, and they are capable of 5K video at 30fps and waterproof to 98 feet but the video and image quality is subpar and their iOS app is very lacking as well. The only other big complaint I have about the IceFox cameras is their mounting system is a screw in one that is similar to the finger mounts of the other two cameras, but they put the screw in mount right where it’s in the way of the battery door, which is also located on the bottom instead of the side like the DJI and GoPro. I plan on doing some more testing with the IceFox cameras but as of this point I wouldn’t use them for anything more than “B” roll footage. One plus of the IceFox is that they also include a LOT of accessories with their cameras including their WiFi remote controller for working the camera from a distance, which is nice as GoPro charges you an extra $80 for their WiFi remote control.

A new personal note in my life is I have finally decided to become a North Carolina Notary Public as I had been for many years in Georgia. In NC you can charge more for the service at $10 per signature vs Georgia’s $2, but in North Carolina you have to take a 7 hour college class and pass an exam to become a Notary and in Georgia all you had to do is buy the Secretary of State’s Notary book and apply and you were a Notary. I also like that the Commission in NC is five years versus 4 years in Georgia. I enjoy doing Notary work and in my new home area in Roxboro, NC in Person county there aren’t very many Notary Publics. Back in my home state of PA Notaries are fairly common and many people make a nice full time living doing it, especially given that Notaries in PA are allows to do DMV work including issues license plates, where they cannot in NC or GA.

Here in Roxboro, I have not seen any Notary signs in front of people’s homes like I would back in PA and the only Notaries we have in town are at the couple of banks and one car dealership. The problem is for some reason none of the banks in Roxboro are open past 4PM on weekdays and not at all on Saturdays. And the one car dealership has a Notary in house 2-3 days a week tops. By becoming a Notary Public and doing it out of my home or as a Mobile Notary I can offer my services to people that have to work weekdays till 5PM or so and I can accommodate them on weekends as well. Since I don’t have a separate building I can use as a Notary Office I plan to only be available by appointments only for now so that Tina doesn’t get annoyed at having people just show up to have Notary work done. Ok, so now that I have caught you up on other things both photography and non photography related, lets looks at some photography news now.

Large Format Photographer Considered ‘Underrated is Finally Recognized

During her lifetime Evelyn Hofer was underrated in most photography circles mainly because she was considered too “commercial”, but her incredible body of work that she left behind is challenging that notion. She is now getting posthumous exhibitions and a new book that was just released. She captured many intriguing and beautifully executed portraits of people from all around the world that cannot be ignored. One of the reasons she was largely ignored is that she chose to do all of her image making with a large format 4x5 inch Linhof Technika view camera that required not only patience but engineer-like understanding to operate.

“She was always studying the light,” Andreas Pauly, her former assistant, and executor of her estate, told the New York Times in 2010. “She had a little notebook and would write down when the light would be good, then she would come back at that time. It was rare she set up a camera and did something quickly.”

In the mid-1950s, Hofer began working with the writer Mary McCarthy who commissioned her to illustrate The Stones of Florence. So began a fruitful relationship that saw Hofer travel across the world capturing the sights of New York, Ireland, London, and Italy.

Despite her travel photos being seen by millions of people on the pages of magazines and in books, Hofer, who died aged 87 in 2009, was not a prominent photographer in her lifetime.

My Thoughts

I am always happy to hear of a great photographer getting the recognition they deserve and Hofer’s work is no exception. Although her images appeared in many magazines, she was never “famous” even though her work is truly amazing and she had a great understanding of light and composition. Reading about her reminded me of the story of Vivian Maier. If you don’t already know Vivian was a live in nanny who “dabbled” in photography all her life using an old Roliflex camera and just capturing what caught her eye. Vivian never shared her photography and often didn’t even develop her film. Vivian died in 2009 as a totally unknown photographer but in 2007 a man named John Maloof purchased a Chicago storage unit and stumbled upon some of her negatives and he developed them and scanned them into digital format and posted them to the Internet. This kicked off a slew of news stories and a Kickstarter campaign which Maloof use the money to create a fantastic documentary film about that was released in 2013. If you have not already seen his film, Finding Vivian Maier, I highly recommend you check it out as soon as possible. You can find it on Netflix or buy it in iTunes.

Kodak Says it Will Make Film As Long As There is Demand

Eastman Kodak will continue to manufacture film as long as there is demand for it, the company’s executive chairman said on a conference call to shareholders this week.

As reported by Kosmo Foto, Eastman Kodak’s CEO Jim Continenza reaffirmed the company’s commitment to the analog format.

“We recently renewed our supply agreement for film with our long-term customer, Kodak Alaris in a deal that will run through 2028. We are committed to manufacturing film as long as there is demand from the filmmakers and photographers worldwide,” Continenza says.

“In addition, we continue to see growing demand in our still and motion picture film business. A great example of the ongoing relevance of film as an artistic medium is Christopher Nolan’s ‘Oppenheimer,’ which was shot on Kodak large-format film, including both color film and a 65mm black-and-white film created by Kodak.”

Of note, the United Kingdom’s Pension Protection Fund was seeking a buyer for Kodak Alaris — earlier this year. It does not appear as though one has been found. Still, that doesn’t appear to be affecting Eastman Kodak’s plans and the reference to Oppenheimer is perhaps the biggest bit of publicity the brand has experienced in several years.

As PetaPixel reported in July, Kodak specifically manufactured the black and white 70mm film for Christopher Nolans blockbuster biopic to be used with IMAX and Panavision System film cameras. Just one film reel weighs 600 pounds and is more than 11 miles long.

Eastman Kodak’s affirmation isn’t just in the production of high-end film, though. The company will also continue to manufacture consumer-facing film as well, as long as demand remains high. Considering that analog photography has experienced a resurgent popularity and Kodak needed to hire more technicians in order to keep up, that demand doesn’t seem to be waning.

Hearing that Eastman Kodak is going to continue to support a thriving business might seem like a “duh” statement, but business doesn’t necessarily respond to popularity with continued financial support. Businesses regularly pull the plug on segments where there is still demand — just look at how Amazon treated DPReview. Even in Kodak’s exact same business, there are doubts. Fujifilm has been discontinuing film stocks for years now, following a vision from its CEO who would rather place emphasis on pharmaceuticals.

“Health care and semiconductor materials will be our future earnings drivers,” Teiichi Goto, Fujifilm’s CEO, said in 2021 after the company closed four United States-based photography equipment plants.

My Thoughts

I think that it’s great that Eastman Kodak is going to continue to make film stocks for photography, especially with the massive uptick in people shooting film today and its increasing popularity. Kodak also still makes photo paper as well that can be found in retail stores and although their printers are only available on eBay they do still make the inks for them as well. It’s sad to see one of the former giants in the photo industry become a small footnote these days but since Kodak didn’t embrace digital photography and camera when the market was going that way, well I guess they removed themselves from the camera market. But given that Fujifilm keeps discontinuing their film stocks in favor of pharmaceuticals, it is good that Eastman Kodak will continue to make film stock for the time being and that they also still support the motion picture industry with custom made film stocks as well. If Fujifilm reaches the point where they bow out of the film stock business altogether, then I guess Eastman Kodak could basically take over that market and continue on for the foreseeable future in that space but I guess only time will tell. If the continued trend of popularity in film photography continues on for decades to come Eastman Kodak will be in a good position in the market. On a personal note, as you know I started photography many moons ago in the film era and although at one time I enjoyed shooting film, I got past that when digital became the industry and then mirrorless. Since I started in the film era I tend to be more slow and methodical in my photography than many who grew up on and started their careers in digital only. I highly recommend that you try film photography at least a little bit to get a better understanding of photography as a whole and to learn to slow yourself down and really think about your composition and the final image before you ever press the shutter. Although film stock and development is a bit more expensive today the good news is many nice film cameras can be had for a song so to speak, especially if you shop in antique stores for them. Now I know that film cameras have started going up in price as well but there are still deals out there if you know where to look and when you are done with your film experience you can always sell the camera for possibly more money than you paid for it or keep it and add it to your collection as I do. My personal collection of films cameras I bought or had given to me over the years is probably easily what would have been at one time $150-$200,000 worth of film gear and even with the ones I bought I probably have less than $2,000 in money spent on the entire collection.

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I also now have my own affiliate link for Think Tank Photo, use the link to guy any of their gear, get a free gift and free shipping!!!

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You can find my work @ https://www.liamphotography.net and follow me on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter @liamphotoatl. If you like abandoned buildings and history, you can find my project @ http://www.forgottenpiecesofgeorgia.com. and http://www.forgottenpiecesofpennsylvania.com.

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