Fuji X Series

Anyone used extension tubes on Fujis as a cheap way to get into macro?

Been eyeing up that lurrrvely 80mm macro but it's so expensive and the 60mm, though optically very good isn't 1:1 which is a bit disappointing.
 
philstanbridge said:
It reviews well, how have you found it? I need something with a bit of range, and IS.
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It's a shockingly good lens for the price - well the price for used copies anyway. I have tried two copies of the 50-140 2.8 and my 55-200 is every bit as sharp, if not a little sharper, particularly in the 70-140ish range. Apparently the 70-300 will share much of the same optics so that bodes well for sure.
I have either been unlucky and received two bad copies of the 50-140 or I have been caught up in the hype and expected too much, but the two I had were underwhelming to say the least and one was an absolute lemon.
With the 70-300 being released (and especially at the price point) I have decided to forget about trying to get a good copy of the 50-140 and just stick with my 50 and 90 f2 primes and have the 70-300 for the range and where fast apertures are not required. The cherry on the cake (for me anyway) is the 70-300 is compatible with the Fuji teleconverters so I fully intend to get at least the 1.4x (the 2x is a little pricey). Granted a 1.4x means a 420mm at f8 wide open but that sort of focal length will be for moon shots specifically for me and they are always in the f8-11 range anyway.
 
Admittedly the last astrophotography I did was back in the days of the Canon 40D/50D, but even on APS-C with a 1200mm scope, the moon still needed cropping. I guess with the pixel density of modern bodies, that's less of a problem.

Might be worth having an ND filter so you can avoid super-small apertures/diffraction- the moon is bright! I used to stop the scope down with a piece of cardboard with a hole in it :D
 
Reluctantly selling my X100f :(. It's listed in MM if anyone was interested. Would like to see it go to a good home and get the attention it deserves.
 
Picked up a 2nd hand 50-150mm, 16- 55 f2.8 for a silly value, gotta love rich friends who have sporadic spending habits.

Can't wait to try it on the weekend, makes the xt4 a bit front heavy, might need to pick up a grip from somewhere
 
philstanbridge said:
I haven't been able to do much photography at all recently. Really cant wait to get out and try some long exposures.
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Yep same here. Between lockdown and the weather it has been very sparse. I’ve been editing some of my back catalogue just to pass the time and keep my eye in. I’m really looking forward to the new lens as I sold my 55-200 back when I pre-ordered so I’ve had nothing longer than 90mm for the past few weeks.
 
My 70-300mm arrived earlier only just had time to have a look, unfortunately an emergency at work so won't be testing it this evening, hopefully the weather is as nice tomorrow / this weekend, a couple of images showing it next to my 16-55 and with an X-T3 and metal grip.

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Very nice! Thanks to Boris (among others I’m sure) I’ll likely not see mine until Saturday (if FedEx deliver) or most probably Monday :(.
The last lens I ordered from WEX took 6 days to arrive despite it being shipped Next Day, but hey, that’s Brexit for you :D.
 
Mine was from Wex, I pre-ordered pretty early on the 27th of Jan after the announcement, they called this Monday to say they would have in stock on Wednesday and take payment and pretty much confirmed on that call it would be with me today.

They even did not charge me for the next day delivery service so can't fault them at all.
 
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JDR82 said:
Mine was from Wex, I pre-ordered pretty early on the 27th of Jan after the announcement, they called this Monday to say they would have in stock on Wednesday and take payment and pretty much confirmed on that call it would be with me today.

They even did not charge me for the next day delivery service so can't fault them at all.
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Oh it’s not WEX’s fault, it’s a combination of Brexit and the shambles that is Fedex. I ordered mine on 26th Jan and like you paid at the start of this week and it was dispatched yesterday.
For some reason WEX were told that ParcelForce would no longer courier to NI and the only company that would is FedEx.
The previous delivery courtesy of FedEx spent three days “in transit” at their Kingsbury hub - it must be a massive hub!
 
Finally got my hands on my 70-300 this afternoon after quite the runaround from FedEx. As mentioned it didn't arrive on Thursday and the tracking seemed to have hit a dead end yesterday as well. Then out of the blue I refreshed after lunch time and it said delivered - no notification to say it was out for delivery nor confirmation it had been delivered. Needless to say there was no sign of either FedEx or the parcel at my house, queue an afternoon of fun and games with FedEx and WEX trying to track it down. Never got word back from either however thankfully I tracked it down at a neighbour's today. I know that may not seem all that odd but I live in the countryside and there only are 3 houses on my road, never had a mis-delivery before.
Anyhow, had a brief play with the lens before the light beat me, not long enough to form any sort of opinion but managed to fire off some test shots.

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Firstly (as I'm sure is quite evident) I'm not a birder! But this was a quick shot I got @300mm and then cropped 100%.

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The above images are the 70-300 @300mm and the 55-200 @200mm. No real way of determining sharpness but this is mainly to show the difference in focal lengths.

I sold my 55-200 in anticipation of this new lens so I can't do a side by side comparison but I did shoot some test shots before I sold it so I will try and replicate those shots with the 70-300 tomorrow all being well.
 
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