Laowa 9mm f/2.8 Zero-D Astrophotography Meetup

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bma9DU6A9NI/

Saturday night we had a big meetup at Kirby Storter Roadside Park that we pushed via social media with our sister sites and it was a great night, thank you to everyone that came out. I had to wait several hours for the sky to clear to get my final image above (High Rez Here), but while I was waiting I experimented with some time-lapse shots below.

The Laowa 9mm f/2.8 Zero-D worked flawlessly on my Fujifilm X-T2 and infinity focus was spot on, which allowed me to capture my sharpest Milky Way photos yet. I can’t wait to try the Laowa 9mm on the upcoming Fujifilm X-T3. We generally shoot Astrophotography every new moon so be sure to check our social media (FacebookTwitterInstagramYouTube) and our Astrophotography Addict group if you’re interested in joining us or would like to create your own meetup.

I have also used the Laowa 9mm f/2.8 Zero-D for some landscapes and environmental portraiture on the X-H1, which worked out well. The vignetting shows up a lot more during the day than at night shooting the Milky Way, but it is easily corrected and if you stop the lens down a little it becomes quite manageable and the lens remains tack sharp.

As of now, the Laowa 9mm f/2.8 Zero-D is my favorite lens for shooting Astrophotography, but the new Fujinon XF8-16mm f/2.8 R LM WR might top it at 4x the price. Hopefully, I can secure one for testing when they start shipping in November, but that will be after Milky Way Season.

There is also our owners’ groups
Fujifilm GFX Owners Group
Fujifilm X-H Owners Group
Fujifilm X-T Owners Group
Fujifilm X-Pro Owners Group
Fujifilm X-E Owners Group
Fujifilm X-A Owners Group
Fujifilm X100 Owners Group

Laowa 9mm f/2.8 Zero-D: VenusOptics / B&H Photo / Adorama / Amazon
XF 8-16mm f/2.8 R LM WR: B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama

https://www.instagram.com/p/BmdinXhg7ni/

Posted in 3rd Party Lens, Fuji X-T2, Fujifilm X-H1, Fujifilm X-T3| Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Meike MK-XA5G Aluminum Alloy Hand Grip Quick Release Plate L Bracket for Fujifilm X-A5 For X-A3


The Meike MK-XA5G for the Fujifilm X-A5/X-A3 is coming to AmazonUS soon and is currently listed on AmazonUK. The grip has some very useful features and it looks like it is built very well for photographers looking for a little more grip on their Fujifilm X-A5/X-A3.

  • MK-XA5G metal grip is suitable perfect for fujifilm X-A5 camera
  • Improve the comfortable grip
  • The bottom is equipped with 1/4 screw hole, which can be used with 1/4 screw peripheral products
  • Bottom with quick-loading plate chute for quick use with tripod head
  • The handle carries the battery hole, and the battery can be quickly replaced without disassembling the handle

Fujifilm X-A5: B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama
Fujifilm X-A3: B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama

 

Posted in Accessories, Fuji X-A3, Fujifilm X-A3, Fujifilm X-A5| Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Fujifilm Savings Sunday


Save $650
Fujifilm GFX 50S Body: B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama

Save $250
Fujifilm X-H1 Body: B&H PhotoAmazon / Adorama
Fujifilm X-H1 + Grip: B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama

Save $400-500
Fujifilm X-T2 w 18-55: B&H Photo / Amazon  / Adorama
Fujifilm X-T2:  B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama
FUJIFILM X-T2 Graphite Edition: B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama

Save $200
Fujifilm X-T100 w XC50-200mm:B&H Photo
Fujifilm X-T100 w XC15-45mm + XC50-200mm: B&H Photo / Amazon

Save $200
Fujifilm X-A5 :+ XC15-45 + XC50-230: B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama

G Lens Savings
GF 110mm F2 R LM WR (save $550): B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama
GF 23mm F4 R LM WR(save $550): B&H Photo  / Amazon / Adorama
GF 45mm F2.8 R WR (save $350): B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama
GF 63mm F2.8 R WR (save $350): B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama
GF 120 F4 R LM OIS WR Macro (save $550): B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama
GF 32-64mm F4 R LM WR (save $450): B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama

X-Mount Lenses
Variety of Discounted X-Mount Lenses in one place: B&H Photo

Software
Luminar 2018 & Aurora HDR 2018 (Savings code FUJIADDICT)
ON1 Photo RAW 2018
Picktorial+X-Pack Bundle


New Apple iMac Pro: B&H Photo / Adorama
New Apple MBP: B&H Photo / Adorama
MacBook Pro (Savings still available): B&H Photo

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Fuji Guys: Fujinon XF200mm f/2 OIS WR and XF8-16mm f/2.8 R LM WR Preview

The Fuji Guys introduce the Fujinon XF200mm f/2 OIS WR and XF8-16mm f/2.8 R LM WR in their latest preview video that covers these new lenses features a little better than their launch videos.

The Fujinon XF200mm f/2 OIS WR + XF1.4x TC f/2 WR covers 305mm and 427mm.

  1. Weather sealed in 17 places
  2. The barrel is made of magnesium alloy, while the outer casing is made of aluminum.
  3. New XF1.4x TC f/2 WR, which gives you two lenses in one.
  4. OIS gives 5 stops of stabilization and on the Fujifilm X-H1, you get 5 axis stabilization.
  5. Linear motors that perform quickly.
  6. Minimum Focus distance of 1.8 meters which is great for portraiture.
  7. Takes a 105mm filter
  8. It’s silver to help dissipate heat so the lens doesn’t warp and reduce image quality.
  9. Focus limiter to speed up AF.
  10. Lots of buttons on the lens.
  11. Collar for going from vertical to horizontal with a click so you know it turned 90 degrees
  12. Arca Swiss Plate on the lens foot.
  13. Lens hood has a door for a polarizer filter.

The Fujinon XF8-16mm f/2.8 R LM WR covers 12mm – 24mm

  1. Widest focal length for Fujifilm
  2. Rectilinear so no fisheye
  3. Nano GI coating
  4. Minimum Focus distance of 25cm which is great for landscape and architecture.

Pre-orders:
XF 8-16mm f/2.8 R LM WR: B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama
XF 200mm f/2 OIS WR w XF 1.4x TC F2 WR: B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama

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Fringer Firmware V2.30 Released


As we planned, V2.30 firmware has been released for Fringer EF/FX smart adapters.

Improvements integrated in V2.30 include:

  1. Bug fixed: For some zoom lenses, when working at certain focal length, AF may repeatedly fail to acquire focus point.
  2. Bug fixed: Due to some minor differences of the mount protocol processing between the lens and the adapter, some lenses especially Tamron ones may cause the camera to work unstably or frequent black screen and restart.
  3. Following lens has been further optimized to improve PDAF performance:
    1. EF-S 10-18/4.5-5.6 STM
  4. Added following lenses to the tested and optimized lens list:
    1. Tamron SP 150-600/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2
    2. Tamron 100-400/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD
    3. Tamron SP 45/1.8 Di VC USD
    4. Tamron SP 85/1.8 Di VC USD
    5. Sigma 70/2.8 DG Macro Art
    6. EF 180/3.5L Macro
    7. EF-S 18-135/3.5-5.6 IS USM
    8. EF-S 18-55/3.5-5.6 IS STM

Please visit my website to download the update file and its release notes.

Be noted: Before upgrading to V2.30, make sure current firmware version is V2.x. If it’s V1.x, please upgrade to V2.10 first.

Recently, a lot of users asked for optimization of Tamron SP 150-600/5-6.3 G2. Now here it is. You may refer to this AF demo video for better understanding how it performs on a Fujifilm X-H1.

According to my tests, Tamron 150-600G2 performs quite well on X-Trans III cameras. I even shot BIF and got many successful results. I believe its AF motor is better than that of Sigma 100-400.

All the pictures above were straight out of a X-Pro2 installed with Tamron 150-600G2 (@600mm F6.3) and Fringer EF-FX Pro adapter. Camera was set to AF-C mode, central 7 x 7 zone focus and high speed continuous shooting.

Currently Fringer EF-FX Pro adapter is open for pre-order. You may visit my web store to place your order. The adapter will begin to be shipped before August 17. Usually it takes 3 to 5 working days to deliver.

via FringerDEV

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Net SE The Company Behind Meyer Optik Görlitz is in Bankruptcy


There’s been a pretty big jump in third-party lens releases over the past two years and Meyer Optik Görlitz has been a part of that jump. Unfortunately, Net SE which is the company behind Meyer Optik Görlitz, Ihagee and Schacht has been in bankruptcy since mid-July.

At this time it is unknown what will be the effect of this bankruptcy, but Meyer Optik Görlitz has almost nothing left in stock on their site. The current Indeiegogo and Kickstarters campaigns are further complicated by the lawsuit and the following statement was released as an update.

“we have a rather sad message for you today. A few weeks ago, our founder, CEO and main investor Stefan Immes had a serious traffic accident, which he barely survived. Although we have been able to talk to him and although, for a very short time of the day he has become the astute, humorous and positive entrepreneur we know, it is now clear that due to the severity of the injuries he will not be able to continue running the company in the foreseeable future.

For a company of 15 employees only, this entails a large number of changes. Currently, we are in the process of reorganization and are trying to establish a working system as no successor regulation can yet be found for the Net SE Group. For this reason, we are currently undergoing a restructuring process with an as yet unknown outcome for the individual divisions.

Especially as far as Crowdfunding is concerned, we think that we will need until the end of October to be able to share our conclusions on how to proceed. One of the top priorities of the Oprema Crowdfunding team is, of course, to deliver the orders we receive as promised. However, we ask for your understanding that, for legal reasons alone, we cannot make any faster decisions without having reorganized the company. For technical questions, our support team is of course still available, but we can only make limited forecasts about the development progress of our projects.

We are honestly touched and the shock still sits deep. We are also extremely sorry that we are not able to spread better and more positive news at the moment, but we are working very hard to change this at short notice.

Yours sincerly, team at Oprema Optik”

The following Kickstarter/Indiegogo are likely affected by Net SE’s bankruptcy and could lead to a total loss for backers.

We have always had a good relationship with Meyer Optik Görlitz and we wish them well. Hopefully, backers are made whole in this process so that future backers aren’t reluctant to get involved in future lens projects on Kickstarter/Indiegogo.

via Photorumors

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