I’ve left in the exif data with the photos to give you an idea of what settings they were shot with, that should give you an idea of what lighting was available from the Foldio. Most were shot in the evening so there was very little additional light.

All the photos (with the exceptions of the two photos of the Foldio) were taken with the Foldio using either the stock white backdrop, charcoal cardboard or a piece of black reflective acrylic.

The XPro has finally hit the market and I managed to get my hands on one of the first ones from Godox. These are my pure unadulterated unbiased thoughts, with the exception of my perceptions of Godox to date which have been largely positive.

Introduction

When it comes to tripods, there are a few brands that everyone knows: Gitzo, Manfrotto, Vanguard, Slik, some like Gitzo are on the high end, some like Slik on the low end. Over the last couple of years, there have been some newer brands like Benro, Mefoto and 3 legged thing entering the market.

Whilst Gitzo is widely considered the best tripod manufacturer on the market, there is a fair chunk of the market who don’t want to spend that kind of money on a tripod, and to be honest, some of the other brands offer 80% of the quality at about 30-40% of the price. I currently have a Benro which is pretty heavy duty and meets all of my requirements from a tripod perspective.

I first heard about Sirui when I was searching for a lighter tripod for travel and the Sirui T-025X/T-024X came up. I had a look at their tripods, but eventually decided to pull the pin due to a change in my requirements, rather than an issue with brand.

Introduction

Flash, or more specifically TTL & HSS has always been Fujifilm’s Achilles heel. Sure you could get HSS and TTL with systems like Cactus and Roboshoot, you could get some level of support, but it wasn’t native and required expensive triggers and receivers.

Then the EF-X500 came out and although there was initial fanfare, it came with a premium price a lack of wireless support. Since then, we’ve been waiting for suitable alternatives and fortunately that day has arrived.

Godox released it’s TT350F which is the first one of their proposed TTL/HSS flashes for Fuji. It’s on the lower end of the power spectrum, but it’s also a good size for a small mirrorless. With the lack of wireless support for the EF-X500, I’ve been working with a Yongnuo YN560 along with a Elinchrom Ranger for the heavier stuff, but there are times where there simply isn’t any other alternative for TTL.

Introduction

I’ve been wanting to look at an ONA Bag for a while. Call me a sheep, but after listening people whine incessantly about how much like they love their ONA’s has been extremely annoying. Part of me is inquisitive to understand what all the fuss is about (the other part of me wants to tell them to stop whining).

ONA recently released a smaller bag called the ONA Bond. It’s a small street bag, smaller than the Retrospective 5 which is what I currently use. It seemed like a nice option as a single camera bag for days I’m taking my Sony A7 with a 35mmF/2.8 and an 85mmF/1.8 without a strap. To date I’ve got through with some ThinkTank Retrospective bags, and I’ve been happy with them, but I’ve wanted a leather bag for some time and it was the antique cognac that tempted me (along with a review from a fellow photographer – thanks Greg). It also seemed like a good excuse for GAS, you can never have too many bags after all, or at least that’s what my wife says although I’m not sure she meant the same thing.

I started looking for a new backpack for work a couple of months ago as I wanted to find a backpack , while still maintaining some form of retro modern look. This turned out to be a surprisingly difficult task.

The challenge with backpacks is they aren’t really designed to have an executive look, and most of the bags look about as executive as my daughter’s Dora the Explorer backpack. You get black backpacks, but they are not really at home walking into a boardroom. Add the challenge of finding something to carry 15″ Macbook Pro and an iPad Pro and this becomes more difficult. Granted I could have gone for a conventional messenger, but with the amount of travel (and riding on a motorbike) I tend to do, my back and shoulders are starting to suffer as a result.

Introduction

Prior to getting my Fuji X-T2, I used a Black Rapid strap on my Nikon D750. A neck strap and a full frame body with pro glass is painful. With the arrival of my X-T2, I decided to go back to a neck strap as the small size of the X-T2 meant it was feasible. Sadly, most OEM straps are somewhere between “terrible” and “if this was the last strap on earth” so I decided to venture out and seek a aftermarket strap.

My key criteria for the new strap were (in no particular order):

– Something leather that fitted the XT-2’s retro theme

– Easy removal of the strap as I don’t like having a strap attached permanently

– Neck pad or some form of wider neck for heavier lenses (as opposed to the platted leather straps)

– Good quality

That’s where the Tap & Dye Legacy Spring Clip Strapcame into the picture.

There were not many things I missed after moving from Nikon to Fuji. I missed my TTL Flashes, I missed my 1000+ shot battery life, and I missed my Think Tank Retrospective 20. I sold the retrospective 20 when I sold my D750.

Fortunately I had my Retrospective 5 and let’s be honest, whilst the retrospective 20 was great for my full frame DSLR and a couple of full frame lenses, it’s simply too big for a mirrorless beauty like the XT-2.

The fact that I loved my Retrospective 5 and 20 should give you an indication of what I think about this bag already. It’s the same bag, but bigger than the 5 and smaller than the 20. Same construction, same material, same incredible quality.