Category: Updates

My photos have finally been sent to the publishers, along with their captions and after yet another read through and, for now, a final edit, the text to Volume 2 has also been despatched….and breath. Next steps;  email tennis with the copy editor and probably a couple of adjustments to the captions text once the archive images are sorted.  If it’s to be a repeat of last time, the final copy plus all the images will be sent off to India and Vol 2 will get printed there, then return for publication in July, accompanied by a heft thud on my front doorstep as my 10 free authors copies arrive.

Yes, it has felt like a bit of a drawn out process, but it is what it is.  Though after a close to two years of honing, even I think it reads a lot better than Vol 1.

Interestingly (to me at least),  I took a look on Key Publishing’s website yesterday and it’s showing Volume 1 is out of stock!  To say the odds of them selling about 500 copies in the last few months since I last looked are slim.  So they’ve either pulped them, had a warehouse fire, or maybe, just maybe, they’re saving what’s left just in case there’s a demand for Vol 1, once Vol 2 arrives.  The term “Scooby Doo ending” springs to mind.

In the meantime, if the copy editor wants me to do anything for the next week or so, tough.  We’re off next week on a  photography trip holiday to San Francisco and the MacBook isn’t invited.

As for taking photographs, first trip out the other week to test the X-T5 “in anger” and even the weather behaved.  the Yorkshire Air Museum at Elvington looks much better with blue skies and sunshine than it did last time I visited, when it was grey, wet and miserable.  Had a great chat with a couple of the people that manage the museum after depositing the 1930’s aero engineering books I’d been given with them.  It was even better to learn that they’d seen a copy of the books at another museum and there’s a section in them that will help restore another exhibit they’re bringing up to Yorkshire: Result!

It’s safe to say I’m delighted with the output from the X-T5 and very much back in a happy place using it, much like the late lamented Olympus.  It’s not quite as small and light as the E-M5, but drastically better than either Nikon full-frame I’ve had in between and from what I’ve seen, I’ve lost very little in the way  of image quality.  What I’ve also gained is easy access to “film recipes”. This is essentially a method of customising the output from the camera sensor to give your images a specific look, be that simply B&W with a coloured filter to tweak the impact reds or blues have,  or give them contrasty and pure blacks, so it looks like you’ve used ISO 50 Ilford Pan-F.

There’s a whole cottage industry dedicated to creating Fuji recipes or their counterparts for other systems which support similar techniques.  All of them include a few particular favourites from the heyday of 35mm film, especially emulation of Kodak’s slide emulsions, Kodachrome and Ektachrome, assortments of Kodak and Ilford’s monochrome negative films, like T-400 and the aforementioned Pan-F, as well as more non-specific themes to create moods associated with  or for places.  This includes adding grain for moody street photography, hazy effects for sunnier climes and a host of slightly more off-beat effects.

Naturally enough, Fuji have a head start over most camera manufacturers as their range of 35mm films were easily on a par with Kodak’s finest.  Velvia 50 slide film was my particular favourite, producing lush vivid greens for landscape shots, while Neopan Arcos 100 was superb fine grain B&W .   My
X-E5 which is already packed in my cabin luggage, has a dedicated wheel to select the built in film recipes, along with 3 empty custom setting you can program to suit.  As the X-E5 and X-T5 share the same sensor and processor, the recipes I’ve acquired are good for both cameras, and after my day at Elvington, I can see much of San Francisco being shot using Kodachrome 64.   As I always shoot with the camera set to save images as both JPG and RAW,  I automatically get an “as is” image (RAW) and a JPG image that’s been subject to whatever recipe is set.   Thing is, so good is the JPG output from the Fuji, if I get the exposure right in camera, there’s very little to do later in post on Lightroom or whatever if I don’t fancy editing the RAW files.

For the uninitiated, the aircraft below is a Blackburn Buccaneer S2, the second mark of Buccaneer built for the Royal Navy (once they’d finally put decent engines in it!) and eventually thrust onto the RAF, in S2B and S2D versions once they’d axed all the Navy’s proper carriers and after they’d cancelled TSR.2 ….Volume 2 is out in July for the whole sorry tale 🙂

 

Spot the difference!

Those who remember Kodachrome 64 will understand, but I sat there staring at this for a good few minutes just thinking, WOW.

For those who don’t have a clue what I’m on about, lets just say I’m more than impressed that at the flick of a button in effect, I can make my camera produce images that look like I’ve taken the taken using 1970s slide film, without having to send it away in the pre-paid envelope (you didn’t drop this stuff into Boots, do your shopping and come back to collect your snaps!), wait a week or more for it to return, set my slide projector up and then discover there’s only half a dozen decent photos on the whole 36 shot roll.

Next time, probably lots of photos of coffee and croissants….(SF appears to be the croissant capital of America) as well as a certain bridge.

 

After a weekend spent looking at all sorts of reviews and trying to balance those against experience and knowledge, as well as a bit of soul searching I suppose, sometimes you just have to go with your gut; I am now Nikon-less.

I knew myself well enough to know that the Zf would end up sat in a bag (yes, one of many before you say it) and the little X-E5 would become my go to camera.  Much of that is to do with its size and weight, as well as the fact you can actually stuff it in a jacket pocket; with the 23mm lens on at least.  But it’s also because it’s fun to use!  The output is excellent, even unaltered JPEGs, the film simulations are great, and I can afford more lenses for it (and have).

So welcome to my Fujifilm X-T5.

I was edging towards actually buying a used X-T5 and doing a proper head-to-head shoot out with the Zf, but after a brief skirmish with the X-E5 instead, it became readily apparent I’d be losing very little in terms of image quality, as it’s the same sensor in both Fuji bodies.  I also knew what’s possible from an even smaller sized sensor than APS-C, the micro four thirds (MFT) sensor on the 12MP E-P2 and the E-M5, especially the 16MP version on the latter,  produced excellent images and beautifully large prints, A2 in a couple of cases.

One video I watched really struck a cord with me as well, that if trying to afford a full-frame “habit” restricted the photographer travelling, then it was time to make a change.  I don’t need any more photos for volume 2, I very much doubt there’ll be a third instalment, but travelling is definitely on the cards.  Consequently,  a visit to the usual place saw a straight swap take place, the Nikon kit. in its entirety, for the X-T5 body.  Yes, I probably could have done a bit better on flea-bay, but with more hassle and I really couldn’t be bothered (it’s not the place it used to be as a private seller either).

I’d taken the 35mm f2.8 lens along when I went to get the X-T5,  which I’d acquired at the photography show last month, and took a walk in the park on the way back, with the default settings enabled.

A day later and a few setting changed, especially saving as RAW plus JPEG, both memory slots filled, battery charged after hours trawling settings menus, (see below),  I tried again, with my usual accomplice.

A day out in the next week or so to the Yorkshire Air Museum at Elvington will prove a sterner test. Better still, at the same time I also get to donate of a pile of 1930’s aero engineering books someone gave me, and hopefully these will help them renovate an Armstrong Siddeley Cheetah piston engine they’re working on, which I’d assume is for an Avro Anson which they have.

One thing that is all too apparent when switching camera manufacturers, is the different ways in which they implement the settings menus on them.  People used to moan at Olympus for their menu structure on the MFT range, and to be honest, at first there was a bit of a learning curve.  But once set and with quick menu option enabled for the bits you actually did alter when shooting, I rarely needed to delve into them.

Prior to Olympus, Canon’s menus were easy enough, but there again that was 20 years ago and a conventional DSLR,  not mirrorless and things have definitely become more complicated since.  Those on the three Nikons I’ve had were probably the most logical and easiest to sort out of the mirrorless cameras, but the Fuji settings are another world.

This is I suppose in part because there’s so much you can configure to get the camera to operate exactly as you want it, but some of the wording doesn’t help.  Where basically all the other cameras say “metering mode”or words to that effect (so centre weighted, average or spot etc), the Fuji says Photometry and not until I looked at what it did, did the penny drop.  Then there’s “greyed out” options, which you were sure weren’t greyed out seconds before, and are only enabled dependant upon other settings, leaving you to search through the manual to find out what you have to change (or change back…).  This is all made more complex when you have half a dozen or so custom modes, each allowing you to make multiple changes, usually allied to implementing a film recipe.

Still, if  can’t sort them out, I can see a reset settings and starting from scratch looming and 10 1/2 hours sat on a 787 reading the manual.

 

 

Back in February, I mentioned a term called GAS: Gear Acquisition Syndrome and I’m desperately trying to avoid another bout of it, other than for the obvious reason that it works out rather expensive!

Some time ago, I think I said for one reason or another, I’d done complete camera system/manufacturer swaps three times over the years.  The last one was to full frame and Nikon simply to get the photography finished for the book(s), certainly to an original image standard I was happy with.  As it turned out, I probably didn’t need to bother, the size and quality of the printed images would have masked the problems with “noise” (grainy photos as opposed to smooth) in low-light situations that the Olympus E-M5 suffered, and I could see on screen. This only occurred when I needed push the ISO levels beyond where the 16MP sensor was happy (because indoor museum lighting is generally crap for photography!).

I have cursed myself for actually going through with the change numerous times since, primarily because the Olympus was lovely to use, I had a good set of lenses and the images it produced, certainly in adequate lighting, were brilliant.  This switch over also roughly coincides with starting this website in 2022, hence if you trawl back far enough, you’ll see the merry-go-round with assorted cameras I’ve had since, and more recently with me moaning about camera/kit weights, poor ergonomics and add-on camera grips.  Strangely though, two recent events have finally delivered the reasons behind my grumbling, much to my surprise.

A reviewer I was watching on a website complained about the Nikon Zf’s handling in much the same manner as I had, both with and without a grip, but he’d realised what the problem was: its purely the position of the shutter button, compared to the rest of the Nikon Z series (except the Z fc) and most other “modern” camera bodies.  Just take a look at what was my Z5 in the header image, the shutter button is on top of the grip.  On the Zf, it’s on the top plate, just like an old school 35mm camera.  But as you need an add-on grip for the Zf with anything more than the pair of small prime lenses Nikon released, you end up twisting your hand/shutter finger maybe more than you’d like, and it just feels awkward.

I’ve used the Zf since I watched that review, and now it all makes sense, I’m happier, honest!….

My other gripe about weight of both full frame cameras and lenses, regardless of manufacturer, I understood would happen from day one, it’s basic optical physics.  In the photo below, on the left is the APS-C sensor housed in my Fuji X-E5, on the right, the full-frame sensor of the Nikon Zf.  The diameter and number of glass elements needed to focus light onto the sensor, which is also dependant on what task the lens is designed to do,  add the auto-focus electronics, plus the lens barrel to house them all, makes most full-frame lenses moderately heavy, telephoto zooms and fast primes especially.  The APS-C sensor and its associated lenses fare better simply because the sensor is smaller. By smaller, the full-frame sensor is 2.6 times larger than the APS-C, against the micro four-thirds (m4/3) sensor in my old Olympus it’s 4 times the size!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s this sensor size that governs the ability of full-frame to gather more light in low light situations than the smaller sensors.  It’s also why issues could arise with pixel density causing noise on APS-C and other even smaller sensor cameras for an equivalent number of megapixels compared to full-frame, but that’s largely been solved. Hence the 40 megapixel Fuji sensor is heading for double that found in most of its APS-C competitors, let alone an awful lot of full-frame models.

Of course, if you really want good low light photography, you move to medium format like Fuji’s GF series, but that’s a whole different cost/weight scenario and I’m not going anywhere near, this side of a serious Lotto win and 180Kg baggage allowance on a, from Southampton, around the world cruise!

What really brought home why the weight thing was bugging me, happened in my favourite camera store, Harrisons.  The used Fuji wide-angle zoom I’d bought online a couple of months ago was traded in against a used, smaller and lighter (yes, definitely a theme going on here!) Sigma lens, which balances better with the small body of the X-E5.  I happened to mention I used Olympus E-M5 for ten years and the assistant handed me an ex-demo OM Systems OM-5 with the current equivalent lens attached to the one I used to use.  Oh, dear!

Now I finally understood, four years or so down the line, why everything feels heavy…. because compared to an OM-5 II and 12-45 f2.8 pro lens, it is! I had completely forgotten just how light and small the micro four-thirds cameras are, which is one reason they’re popular with those who disappear into the wilderness, coupled with brilliant weather sealing and class optics.  This is also why the OM series are still regularly recommended in the photography glossies and webpages.

Where this leaves me in terms of keeping the Nikon for “big jobs” or at least ones where really good low light capability is needed, or where I’m not worried about my camera gear taking half the weight of my cabin luggage, I really don’t know.  There’s no doubting the output is excellent, and knowing what I gave up to move to full-frame in the first place, I’m very reluctant to part with it.  I’ve got ideas (as ever…), but in the meantime, we’ll wait to see how well the Fuji performs on its travels first.

 

Interesting day out this week with my friend to the Midland Air Museum (MAM) near Coventry to add a couple of extra options for my photographs for Volume 2.  Quite spookily, the morning after an email from Key Publishing appeared asking how I was doing with the pictures!  Hence, I spent the day going through the captions for said pictures; but as it turned out, much as happened last time, the issues were more to do with archive photographs.

About three years ago I spent a day at Key Publishing, sifting through a pile of their archive photos I’d asked them to drag out so I could choose a few for the aircraft in both volumes.   In-between times,  I’ve found a few I like more, either in either of Key’s magazine I usually buy, or their website.  The trouble then is, establishing who owns the images, because they may belong to whoever wrote the articles and were used with permission.  In most cases thankfully, I have multiple options to choose from if I can’t use the ones I’ve founf, but in a couple of instances, I’m really limited, because there’s not a lot of photos of the thing in the first place.  So I’ll have to wait and see what the response is to my questions when I send my email in reply.

My trip down the M1 also gave me a chance to compare my Nikon Zf with my Fuji X-E5 “in anger”.   This was especially significant indoors,  as the light capturing ability of the Zf’s full frame sensor, is rather better than the APS-C sized sensor in the X-E5 and massively better than the Micro Four Thirds sensor in my late lamented Olympus I took most of the original batch of photos with that have ended up in print.  As it turned out, for one I shouldn’t have been worried and for two, I really need to be a little lighter of touch with the Fuji’s controls and get to grips with which control is set to do what, let alone be more aware of what the display says regarding ISO settings if I’m a bit sausage fingered!  Hence the indoor shots were all taken at ISO 1600, as opposed to ISO 400 the Nikon was happy with, yet until you start magnifying them,  it’s hard to notice the difference.  For me, that rather underlines why I like the physical dials on the Zf, or the more limited options of what you can program the front and rear control dials to do on my old Z5.  Time to sit with the Fuji manual again I think and limit the command dial functionality a little…

Much like my previous visit to MAM,  where a large proportion of the exhibits are outside, we were treated to a day of overcast grey “clag”, which generally leaves you having to use exposure compensation to stop you getting over bright sky and darkly shadowed aircraft, it also means a bit of editing.  Fortunately, the rain held off until after we’d just reached the car to leave.

I’ve used Adobe Lightroom for years, certainly back to when it was something you bought outright, rather than drip feed Adobe every month for the privilege of continued use and updates.  You may gather, I’m not a fan of subscription software, what worked well for me one year, most certainly would for 2-3 after, or until they added something worth shelling out again for.  So there’s no surprise why Adobe and a host of others have all moved to encouraging you paying by a thousand cuts and you really do have to keep an eye on software subscriptions as they can soon mount up, especially if you add apps for phones and tablets into the mix which won’t share across devices.  To make it worse, for me at least, I’ve also succumbed to resubscribing to Office 365, purely to use Word for the next few months and make life easier once I start playing editing tennis with the copywriters; it will again get the chop once we’re done.  Apple Pages and LibreOffice work fine and do everything I need for free, whilst Copilot was immediately switched off, there’s no AI words in my books.

However, where AI is concerned, its ability to remove unwanted objects in photographs has improved massively since it was first introduced, which is really useful at times and saves a lot of work with clone tool for a start. Generally my thoughts on AI control of image editing is it’s OK-ish,  but you see some images and wonder just how much of them are actually the original image, they look so false. It is undoubtedly a changing world, sometimes not always for the better.

This leads nicely on to the series of photographs below, honest.  Yes, they’re all the same aircraft, but bear with me.  For the uninitiated, the subject is a Gloster Meteor NF.14. This was the last production version to see service and the rather out of proportion nose houses the best radar scanner we could squeeze in. It was 1953,  so we’re talking a big moving radar dish and valves don’t forget, while the NF bit denotes this model as a night fighter.  Note there’s no missiles either, just a pair of external fuel tanks so it could stooge around waiting for customers!  No “I have a tone” here (you need to watch Top Gun again), the pilot had to creep up on his target and shoot the thing with a battery of four 20mm cannon.  But it filled a gap for a couple of years until the missile armed Javelin arrived.

Now why four similar images you may ask?  It’s all about what they were taken with and how they’ve been “developed”.

From the top, this photo we’ll use as the “reference image”.  It’s the unmodified shot taken with the Nikon Zf,  and simply dragged into Apple Photos and exported as a JPEG to reduce the file size and because WordPress hasn’t a clue what to do with a 31Mb  .NEF Nikon RAW file.  Still, the Fuji kicks out 87Mb RAW files and a couple of higher capacity SD memory cards were on my shopping list at the photography show the other week as a result!

Next, same image,  with a bit of mild adjustment in Lightroom to give the sky a little more depth and the white balance tweaked, so the grass isn’t quite so green (it wasn’t!)

Remember the bit about AI?  Spot the difference!  Edited in Lumiar Neo,  I simply let the AI substitute blue sky for grey and a quick flick of the erase tool, so we’re also missing the top of the GR4 Tornado’s fin that’s sat behind the Meteor and looks like it’s stuck on the top of the Meteor’s canopy in the other two images..

Now it gets more complicated.

Correct, we’ve gone from a 24MP Full frame sensor to 40MP APS-C sensor, with a similar amount of adjustment in Lightroom to that in the second picture above, as well as a crop as the Fuji was using a 10-16 wide-angle lens.  Dropping both images to similar size and quality JPG file reduces the usual advantages of the larger sensor.

Regardless of which you think looks the best, these images raise another question: Is the expense of full-frame worth it, especially the cost of the lenses to go with it, if you’re only going to convert the output to JPEG anyway to drop on the web, or in my case shrink to relatively small photos for printing and you’ve also software that can use AI to de-noise if needed?

As for what AI can do when importing scans taken from 40 odd year old slides that have been gathering dust in the loft for decades….   and before you ask, no, the sky wasn’t quite that benevolent, hence the puddles!  But at least it looks like the rain might have stopped.

 

 

The lineys are out kicking the tyres and checking the fuel, ground power is on standby and we’re readying the inputs for the NAVWAS.  Volume 2 is scheduled for July.  Hallelujah.

Consequently I’ve been through my ramblings again, especially the captions for each image as quite surprisingly there’s been more movement of aircraft exhibits recently than you might think, and it’s not all good news.  Lots of talk about “making it relevant” and “non-core exhibits” basically means we’ve had funding to make it “educational” so all the aircraft beloved of those who know what they’re looking at is getting marginalised,  placed in storage or offered to other museums. Worse still, when covered storage isn’t available, they’re being dragged outside, necessitating emergency waterproofing in a number of cases, which is simply asking for trouble.  Definitely not good news when you’re one of only two surviving Avro York, the only one in civilian colours, a Berlin Airlift survivor to boot and have been under cover since renovation decades ago.

From a photography aspect, it also most likely means another hanger that looks like the Cold War exhibition at the RAF Museum in Cosford; interesting, but a nightmare to get site lines in because everything is crammed in on top of one another and to a large extent dark in terms of adequate light for non-flash photography, which when use of a flash is banned, makes life awkward.   Hence the arrival of my full-frame Nikon to finish off what was needed last time around, simply so I could up the ISO without grainy images, whilst keeping the shutter speed high enough to stop the wobbles.  Before anyone says, tripod, they’re banned too!

Now I’ve a fairly definite publishing date and been told the copyeditors will start the correction tennis game next month possibly, I’m off next week to grab my extra Folland Gnat photos from the Midland Air Museum at Coventry and hopefully their Fairey Ultralight is easier to access than last time I visited as well.

Meanwhile, first visit in a long time to the Photography Show at the Birmingham NEC last weekend with one of my fellow photographers.  I admit, I did have a small shopping list,  along with the usual prices, but I stuck to it!  So I saved a few quid,  changed my mind about getting a couple of items, so nice when you can actually have a good look at things and then ordered what was dearer on the day from elsewhere when I got home.  Better still, for my wallet at least, I had a chance to have a look at the mark two version of the Nikon Z5, only to discover that the grip with the usual lens on is no better on that than my Zf, much to my surprise, so there will be no swapping.  Mind you, the Fujifilm X-T5 is nice….

As well as the big boys at the NEC, there’s always lots of smaller stands with interesting kit on; a rather tempting little drone, with the chaps from the ministry next door explaining where you can and can’t fly them, which made me chuckle, numerous sellers of tripods, printing services and other stuff that if you stopped long enough to work out what it did, you were liable to get accosted for a demonstration.  The renewed love of all things analog saw a dedicated corner of Hall 5 allocated to those selling film, old cameras, new film cameras and related gadgetry.  We managed a quick chat with the people from Analog Wonderland who ran the film photo shoot in Sheffield and elsewhere last year.  They confirmed similar events will occur this year around the end of June,  so that’s been pencilled in, but we might try to venture further afield this time for somewhere more photogenic than Sheffield city centre.

For a number of years, the show itself has alternated between the NEC and ExCel in London, but with a ticket and parking costing more than £30 for the NEC,  the odds of forking out for a train ticket and return visit next year in London, are slim.

Our four-legged friend and myself made the most of some sun the other day and ventured out with a camera (or two).  Things were OK until I released the bag I’d swapped my Fuji into didn’t have extra batteries in after all (as it turned out, none of my bags did, they’d been packed in a dedicated pouch ready for stowing in my cabin luggage…) so further digital photography was somewhat curtailed.  But I’m loving using the film recipes on the E-X5, and much will be made of them when we’re off on our jollies in May.

Both the above taken with the Fuji X-E5 and a 10-16mm wide-angle zoom,  hence the two lens flare spots despite having the lens hood attached, so something I’ll need to watch out for.   The other cure for lens flare is holding one hand up to stop the light hitting the lens at the angle causing the flare, but that’s awkward when you’re attached to 30Kg of fur who’s just seen the nearby sheep!

I’m off on a bit of a tangent this time, mainly because there’s no news on all fronts, I’m yet to arrange a trip to Coventry to take extra photos for Volume 2 and I’ve not chased Key up about a publishing timescale either.  I have however booked a holiday and as a result,  the logistics of transporting cameras, lenses, filters and all the rest of the paraphernalia has loomed large in the thought process.

A common problem many photographers have is commonly known as GAS, no not that sort, but Gear Acquisition Syndrome, buying new (or used) kit because they think it will make life easier or help them take better photos; musicians are also know to suffer the same problem.  Too a point I’m guilty of this at times, swapping the Z5 for the Zf a prime example, not because it was massively better, but because after loving using the lighter, classically styled Zfc, it seemed a reasonable thing to do. Selling the Z5 covered the cost (roughly) for a Zf which has the same 35mm styling as a 35mm Nikon F3, only to find the Z5’s ergonomics to be better than the Zf, mainly due to the weight of the Zf camera body and 35-70mm lens as a unit and a grip that doesn’t seem big enough.  Let’s say that’s a situation yet to be resolved.  On the other hand, I appear to have another problem, BAS, Bag Aquisition Syndrome!

Camera gadget bags are a bit of a personal thing with photographers, some like backpacks, others messenger type bags and more recently, sling bags have become popular.  For years I used a set of pouches attached to a dedicated belt from a UK company called Camera Care Systems, CCS for short, but sadly for a number of reasons, they fell into administration in the late 1990s and as pouch systems also fell out of favour, I moved on.  Then there’s what they’re made of.  Billingham have made what I suppose could be called “old school” canvas bags for decades, they have a reputation for wearing well (they cost enough, so they should do!), and usually gain a nice patina in the process.  Ballistic nylon, recycled plastics, aluminium cases, leather, the choice is huge.

Other than the obvious, securely carrying or storing your kit, as well as keeping the elements out, sometimes you want a specific style of bag for a specific task.  For street or travel photography, having a bag that doesn’t shout “Expensive Camera” is generally advisable, whilst those  heading out into the wilds usually need a backpack, preferably with space to store non-photographic essentials, like food or dry clothes.  However, it’s possible I’ve adopted a scatter gun approach…

So why so many?  Having a full frame camera plus lenses, new APS-C travel camera and lenses, as well as a couple of old 35mm camera and a few lenses, doesn’t help. But storing them all safely is the top priority, with silica sachets in all the bags to help keep moisture out and reduce the chances of lens fungus amongst other things, is a must, as well as having the space for the other bits and pieces you collect.  Everything in its place and its own bag means it’s all kept relatively tidy.

Going clockwise from the blue Think Tank sling bag in the bottom left, which houses my new Fujifilm kit, the black Kata backpack is empty and its the only backpack I have;  swapping whatever kit I want to use into there on demand.  The bottom section accepts any of my cameras and lenses, whilst the top half has enough space for nourishment, etc, plus side pouches take a water bottle and a trippod. Top middle, that’s a Nikon bag which is home to my 35mm Nikon FG and lenses, plus a couple of Tamron Adaptall lenses I can use on the Nikon or the Olympus OM40 (stored elsewhere).  Top right, the nice and anonymous grey bag is my Think Tank Retrospective 5 which has the Nikon Zf and lenses in, ,it’s also got plenty of room for a laptop if needed and any other bits.

Bottom right, an Ona “The Bowrey”, which is a lovely bag, expensive when new (which it wasn’t) but its the least used and its the bag which might depart; its not as efficient(?) storage wise as the others, plus the strap has a habit of falling off my shoulder regardless of what I try.  The small rectangular cube centre bottom, is a Tenba BYOB bag whose role in life it simply to keep your camera kit safe within another bag, usually within whatever my cabin luggage is, while the daily driver gadget bag is in the main luggage.  Finally, in the centre, is a Manfrotto bag that’s usually used to store everything else, straps, inserts, filter adaptors, etc, etc, but it’s a really good bag to use as well,  some nice features like a zip in the main flap for easy access.

Can you guess which of these are going on holiday?  Ok, fair cop, you’re right, none of them.   I may finally have found a travel bag that’s big enough to take the new small Fuji X-E5  plus lenses, be sufficiently incognito around the streets of wherever once I get there,  as well have space for cabin essentials like an iPad or MacBook, Kobo eReader (less fussy than a Kindle…), my noise cancelling Sennheiser headphones (which have a battery life vastly better than AirPods, about 70 hours!) and other odds and sods.  Emptied of cabin essentials also means I’ve space for a jacket if needed on my travels, or purchases along the way, with the jacket relegated to being secured to straps on the outside.  It’s waterproof, so no separate cover needed and so many other neat little tricks to it that it makes you smile. Better still, this was a nearly new bargain off eBay that saved me £150!

 

 

First post of 2026 and January is nearly done, but photography wise, not a deal to report, mainly due to Mother Nature!  The UK is three storms in, we’ve had snow, sun and torrents of rain, but at least the hose pipe ban has been lifted….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This retirement lark still feels a little odd at times, mainly because after logging on to a PC at work in a morning for the last 35 years or so, and knowing you’ve jobs to do, you can feel a bit lost.  But at least my “office” has become my study and had a coat of paint and some new flooring, the dog is getting walked whilst its still daylight and further.   This state of mind is not greatly helped by the alarm still gong off at the same time, as the wife is still logging on for a few more years.

On the book front, I’ve been reduced in the January Sales, which probably says a lot, but its allowed me to buy cheap copies that I’ll take to give to some the museums whose aircraft feature.

One museum in particular features in both volumes.  The Wings Museum had just started work on renovating a Hawker-Siddeley Kestrel when Volume 1 was being assembled.  The Kestrel is the immediate predecessor to the Harrier, so a project close to my heart, as I’ve first hand knowledge of this amazing aircraft.  Only 8 Kestrels were built, just enough to form a dedicated trials unit funded by the UK, USA and West Germany, all wanting to find out how vertical take off and landing could be applied to the modern battlefield; the rest they say is history.  When the trials unit disbanded, one aircraft had already been written off after an accident, the UK kept two, one of which later crashed, the USA took six aircraft back across the Atlantic for more trials to work out how they wanted to use a production model, and some were assigned to NASA for scientific flying duties.  The West Germans were more interested in how  V/STOL could be used and the flying characteristics, as at the time they were developing their own aircraft, the VFW 191B, but this was cancelled in 1971 and only the RAF Harriers were eventually permanently stationed in Germany.

Fast forward fifty-odd years and surprisingly, the remaining six machines are still around in various forms, as is the wing from the first to be written off!   The RAF Museum Midlands fully restored XS695 (which during a previous restoration, used the wing from the first accident loss, XS696),  and this at present is housed at RAF Cosford, four others sit in museums on the USA.

The Wings Museum managed to acquire XS694 from America and are a good way into restoring it to exhibition  standard, with the ultimate aim of the aircraft becoming a prime exhibit in a new museum at Dunsfold, the birth place of every P.1127, Kestrel and UK Harrier; it’s going to be a long job!  The airframe spent some years as part of a paintball range, so as you might expect, is looking the worse for wear.  The RAF Museum kindly donated their excess parts once their renovation had been completed, especially the main undercarriage components, but the people at Wings will still need to shape a deal of the aircraft panels from scratch to replace those lost or corroded.

Longer term and to finish the project, they need to buy the missing components to finish work on the cockpit, the assorted gauges and dials to display air speed, altitude, fuel levels, etc, plus a host of other spares they can’t replicate, and they need some help.

 

Please donate at the Wings Museum GofundMe page.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/hawker-kestrel-xs694-restoration-wings-museum

 

Last post of the year probably, but some major news on a personal front to finish off with; I’m retiring!  From the day job that is.  This year’s been a tough one on the mind and heart strings more than anything else, too many people departing this life, both family and friends,  one very close to home and many of them not that many years older than myself.  It really sets you thinking “how long do I have?”.

So after a few months with my head in a spreadsheet of pension figures, tax allowances  and expenses,  I decided to take my chances.  I’m not of pensionable age according to the government, that set of moving goalposts is a few years away, so its possible I might need to pick up a little job beforehand, but we shall see.

Post Christmas, I’ll have time to do things I’ve not managed to do at home,  unwind a bit (if only I could do a brain defrag…), maybe find a couple of new project to start, but mainly,  I’ll have more opportunity to venture out with a camera(s), which will be nice, or I will do when the weather is kind.  No more sat at my desk, staring through the window at blue skies even on a chilly day, and thinking about all that wasted light.  No doubt the dog will also appreciate it as well!

I’ve also discovered some extra material for Vol.2 to shoot and fill in a bit of a blank for the Folland Gnat in the process, so that’s a day out at the Midland Air Museum near Coventry early next year.

If you’ve looked at the gig photos I posted the other week, “Dare” crop up on a number of occasions.  Aside from loving their music, their end of year show is brilliant and is at the Holmfirth Picturedrome, which is only a short trip up the road from me.  It’s a small, wonderful, if slightly quirky venue, but with decent acoustics and being largely standing only, arrive early and you can get close enough to take decent photos with your phone.  It’s also got a lot of family feel to it, mostly Dare fan club members many who know one another, even if only from gigs, or last night, went to school with the Darren Wharton who’s band it is and gets a shout out mid gig!

Meanwhile, this was also the first chance to use my new iPhone 17 ProMax and at one point I got a tap on my shoulder from a woman who turned out to be Darren’s schoolmate’s daughter with “what is that?”, I think she was impressed.  She must have been, as later on a pair of hands appeared over my head and decided to help take more photos!  A quick chat after the gig led to a promise to send them copies of the photos.  It’s nice when you meet lovely people.

Happy Christmas everyone and have a healthy and prosperous 2026.

 

As I mentioned in my review of the Nikon Z f, one of the drawbacks to me for this otherwise great camera is weight, the body alone tips the scales at 700g, add anything more than either of the small Z mount 28mm or 40mm prime lenses, and you soon learn possibly the biggest drawback to full-frame; a big sensor means heavy glass.  After using the Z f for a while now, and despite buying two add-on grips, I’m also still not totally enamoured with the general ergonomics either.  Yes, the retro styling looks great and I love some of the features, plus using dials for ISO, shutter speed and exposure compensation is second nature, but the complete package still somehow feels awkward compared to the Z5.

It’s largely the weight problem that’s been playing on my mind recently, as the opportunity has arisen to be able to acquire one, if not a pair of additional lenses. This is mainly to have next year to get used to any peculiarities they  might posses, as well as how they handle on the Z f, ready for a much anticipated cruise to Hawaii from San Francisco in 2027.  With the Z f, and standard Nikon 24-70 zoom I already have, plus definitely a wide angle zoom and maybe a telephoto zoom, I was considering buying, I’d have lost just over 1/4 of my cabin baggage allowance!  Unsurprisingly then, I’ve been poring over my options.

Having already dabbled with Nikon’s DX range in the shape of the Z fc and commented on the limited options lens wise, I’d immediately ruled them out.  After spending over ten years using Micro Four Thirds, and despite some new models arriving from OM Systems which have been very well reviewed, it doesn’t take you long to realise that, certainly in terms of sensor development, progress has stalled and it’s not recently either.  Prior to getting the Z fc that went on holiday in 2024, I briefly had a Lumix GX9.  That used a 20MP sensor and came onto the market in 2018, yet the sensor itself was at least 2 years older than that.  The latest models still use virtually the same sensor, but coupled with new processors to provide additional functions, whilst newer APS-C and full-frame sensors have all arrived in the meantime. So despite the heart saying yes to the beautiful used Olympus Pen F at a temping price in my local camera store, even knowing I’d get decent results, plus a lightweight kit and access to an excellent range of lenses, I reluctantly decided to pass.

Jotting down my criteria for what is my ideal travel camera,  the major requirements were light(er) weight, preferably a camera body that was marginally pocketable or at least would fit in a small bag or pouch as opposed to an obvious gadget bag, access to a decent range of lenses from both the camera manufacturer and third parties,  the best possible image quality I could afford and good ergonomics.  Also high on the wanted list was a viewfinder, because after using Olympus’s first m4/3 series offerings, both E-P1 and E-P2, but struggling to see the rear LCD screen to compose shots in any sort of bright sunlight, as well as now being rather short sighted, an Electronic Viewfinder or EVF of some sort, with diopter adjustment, cures both problems.

Canon, having stopped production of their M-series models, and drastically restricting third-party lens availability on their RF mount had ruled themselves out, which realistically left me with two potential candidates: Sony and Fujifilm.

Sony was the other contender when I switched to full frame, if I’d found either and A7 II or III at the right price, its very possible I’d have opted for that as opposed to the Z5.  The need for large diameter lenses for full-frame is down to basic physics,  simply to focus sufficient light onto the sensor, whilst keeping the actual camera body a reasonable size, you need a wide lens and that makes for weighty glass.  Sadly, this ruled out Sony’s rangefinder style full frame A7C and A7C II, as size wise they met my criteria, as well as having a EVF, plus a rock solid autofocus system.   As for their A6000 series APS-C models, having tried a couple at photography shows and stores, they don’t seem to handle as I like.

Naturally enough, this left me looking more and more at Fujifilm, which for me is full circle, my first 35mm SLR being a Fuji ST-605 some 45(?) years ago.  Not really wanting another SLR style body, nice though the X-T series are, and wanting the adaptability of interchangeable lenses that the best selling X100 series rangefinder style compacts can’t offer, investigations centred on the X-E, X-M and X-Pro series.  As the recently released X-M5 has no viewfinder, that was soon eliminated, plus it uses the older 26MP X-Trans sensor and lacks in body image sensor stabilisation (IBIS) which is handy to have.  Likewise, the most recently released X-Pro 3 is six years old (an X-Pro 4 is liable to arrive in 2026) and uses the older 26MP sensor,  otherwise that would have been a contender.

Lucky for me then, that Fuji launched the X-E5 back in September, using a 40MP APS-C X-Trans sensor and essentially shoehorns that with the rest of the innards of the X-T5 into a very compact rangefinder sized body, complete with the requisite EVF and IBIS.  The tilting rear LCD screen isn’t the same fully articulated affair found on both the Z f or Z fc, but it gives you sufficient options for creative angles, as well as a selfie-mode, though that does take a bit of effort to get right.  The EVF is, ok, not very large and lacks a proper eye cup, but it works fine. Plus, just as a sweetener, Fuji have given you the option to switch to an electronic implementation of a 70’s or 80’s style swinging needle exposure indicator, complete other essential info in old school red LED iconography along the bottom; it’s pretty….but I’m not convinced.

Much like its X100 siblings, the X-E5 also has plenty of functions that makes taking photos fun!  Key amongst these is the adoption of recipes to emulate the look of Fuji’s old 35mm film stock.  Better still, the dedicated selector wheel introduced on the X-E5 has three spaces marked FS1 to 3 for custom recipes, and plenty now exist online for all manner of film stock and styles, all easily programmable from within the main settings menu.  Also carried over from the X100 VI, is the multi-function and customisable lever on the camera front, adding even more useful functions at your finger tips.  Fuji also released a compact 23mm f2.8 pancake lens alongside the X-E5, the pair tip the scales at just over half the weight of the Z f body alone.

After a brief hands on in Harrison’s in Sheffield, alongside some more homework into lenses etc, and as you can already guess, this provided the impetus to splash the cash on the X-E5, its lovely little 23mm companion and an equally svelte Sigma 18-50 “standard zoom”. The whole package comes in at just over 100g more than the Z f body. Better still, with the 23mm lens attached, it’s easy to slide into a jacket pocket and even with the additional lens, plus the usual accoutrements of extra batteries, SD cards, lens cloths and a couple of filters etc. will fit in a bag that doesn’t scream “CAMERA GEAR”; which one is my next quandary.

Volume 2 will finally arrive next year, huzzah!  Email flurry with Key Publishing and my manuscript is to be in to them by the end of this year, but no definite time line yet, just; next year.  I’m already half way through yet another read through and edit, a copy has gone off to my mate to sanity check and make sure I’ve got the right captions to the aircraft, which is harder than it sounds as I don’t have images for all the archive photos I’ve selected.  This might entail another trip down to Stamford and the Key offices,  a journey I’ve done that many times over the years, I can do on autopilot.

Once they set a publishing date, it will be a month getting printed, because the finished product has to sail back to the UK from India!  Then they have to decide when to make it available, next year, obviously 🙂

Once the text is out of my hands and editing is over,  I really don’t know what’s next, if anything.  Having already canned what I fancied doing,  never easy when they were all supposed to be secret projects, was probably for the best, as trying to get images for projects that never materialised, or have all been seen before for the ones that did surface from the cloak of secrecy, may have made it rather dry reading.  Revisiting my “Seeing a City” is very much just for me, I doubt anyone would want to publish a comparison of Sheffield in 2010 to 2025, the council won’t, it’s just a bigger mess now than it was and with even fewer shops, but its not their fault, naturally.

Meanwhile,  one of the 35mm compacts has departed, the Cosina CX-2 went back on eBay after managing to produce a blank film.  Not a clue why, it certainly seemed to make all the right noises when I ran the film through it.  The roll of Fomapan B&W I put through the Chinon Bellami was..OK,  exposure was fine, but a number of frames had lines on, which makes it hard to  determine why. If they’d been on all the frames I’d say it’s something on the camera, though that feels smooth across the film runs.  I might have to put another roll through just to check, but if anyone wants to buy a neat little 35mm compact to play with, let me know.