Hi ,

I'll make a confession. I haven't really shot photos all summer. I've been too busy doing the stuff I couldn't do last year because of my shoulder injury, like riding my mountain bike and playing guitar. As I mentioned in a previous email, it's perfectly ok to have these breaks. They're good for the soul, and they usually make it so you come back even more inspired when you're finally motivated to jump back in.

Which is exactly what happened yesterday evening, when the evening sunlight fell all over our garden after it had rained all day. This combination yielded perfect conditions for closeup photography, so I dragged out my X-T5 and my XF70-300mm lens, with the 1.4x Teleconverter, which is my favorite combination for this kind of work, and lost myself for a half hour of fun.

The 70-300 lens already has a pretty close focus limit of around 1 meter, and when you add in the 1.4x TC, you can magnify the image even more in your viewfinder. 

In the past, I've often used a tripod for my telephoto garden shots, and to be honest, that's the best way to ensure sharp images, especially shooting close up with a zoom lens and teleconverter. Otherwise, you'd probably want to crank the ISO way up in order to get a fast shutter speed.

However, I just can't be bothered with a tripod much of the time, so I rely on a couple of tricks, which I'll share with you right now. 

IBIS Cameras and OIS Lenses

First of all, it really helps to have stabilized camera and lenses. The X-T5, as well as some of the other X Series models have IBIS image stabilization, and this can help you reduce your shutter speed by up to 7 stops without incurring camera shake. 

When you combine this with an OIS lens, like the 70-300, you get even more stabilized security when shooting handheld at lower shutter speeds. The old rule of thumb has always been to use a shutter speed no lower than the focal length of your lens. For example, if you're shooting a 200mm focal length, then you'd want to stick with 1/200 shutter speed, or higher, especially if you're shooting moving subjects. 

Although stabilized cameras and lenses won't help you freeze action with lower shutter speeds, but with still subjects, it's often surprising just how low you can go. With this watermelon poppy photo above, I'm using an effective focal length of 323mm, but a shutter speed of only 1/40 second. 

I was able to this by crouching down and bracing my elbow on my knee; effectively making myself the tripod. Combined with the stabilization, this helps to ensure a sharp image.

By the way, the poppy above is shot with the new Reala Ace Film Simulation, while this one below is the same flower, shot with Classic Neg. Film sim. 

Use the Electronic Shutter

Another way to stack the deck in your favor is to use the ES electronic shutter. In this mode, there is no shutter movement at all, the camera simply turns the sensor on and off to make the exposure. This prevents any chance of camera shake when using slow shutter speeds. 

I usually set one of my Fn buttons on my cameras to SHUTTER TYPE, which lets me quickly access this menu item when I'm out shooting. 

Here's another comparison, this time Velvia film sim on top, and the new Reala Ace film sim below. What do you think? Do you have a favorite? Where Velvia has a bold, "larger than life" look, Reala Ace is designed with a more realistic look, but with a hard tonality. You can see that especially in the darker tones of the image. 

Manual Focus Override

This is a big one. It's what I use to make sure I nail the sharpness on images like this one below. There's so much for the AF system to grab in a scene like this, and if it locks on something that's even a couple of millimeters off of what you want, then the shot won't be nearly as exciting. 

On the Fujifilm cameras, manual focus override is done with the AF+MF setting inside the focus menu. With this setting enabled, you half press the shutter button like normal, but then hold it there at half press while you turn the focus ring. You'll see the focus distance change in your viewfinder as you turn the ring. (If you have MF ASSIST enabled, it will be easier to see.)

When you see the exact focus you want, then fully press the shutter and take the picture. This is one of the essential techniques I cover in my online course, Mastering the FUJIFILM Autofocus System.

Join me in Tucson Next Month!

I'll be in Tucson again this year for the Southeast Arizona Birding Festival, August 8-11. I'm doing an in-class workshop on focusing techniques on Saturday morning Aug 10, and then a field session immediately following. I'll also be hanging around at the expo if you want to come by and say hi. 

You find out more information about the festival here. Hope to see you if you can make it!

I hope these tips inspire you to get out and try some new things with your camera. As always, thanks for reading and have a great weekend!