Thursday, July 16, 2015

Continuing my tests with the Fuji 90mm f/2 lens

I've been so impressed by the results from the new Fuji 90mm f/2 lens that I have been trying to find new applications where I can use it. One on-going project I have been photographing is vistas of New York to be used for large scale prints. Normally I shoot these scenes with high resolution, full frame cameras, like the Nikon D810, and sharp, prime lenses. I take multiple exposures  -- anywhere from three to ten -- of the scene and combine them later into one super-large panoramic photograph. Because these images may need to go to a width of 8' I need to keep the initial image quality very high.

Last night I decided to do a test using the Fuji X-T1 and 90mm lens to see what it could deliver. I did this partly out of curiosity, but also in case I ever find myself in a situation with only the Fuji system available.

The panorama below showing lower Manhattan and the financial district of Jersey City is a composite of three horizontal images taken with the 90mm at f/4 at 1/5 second with an ISO of 200.  The sunset fizzled out and the scene ended up rather drab so I did punch the colors in Photoshop and by applying the Velvia/VIVID color mode.  I did some tests afterwards and determined that this image will produce a sharp print as large as 6 feet wide. There is some slight motion blur due to a shaky tripod arrangement, but I found this initial test to be successful.

I find that super-sharp optics is one of the top criteria for achieving good results. The Fuji 90mm certainly supplies it.

Download a high res version of this image by clicking here. 


This is my Fuji panorama rig set up for taking vertical passes. It was a bit shaky with the 90mm lens so I think I'll be using something more substantial next time. 


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