Geishas and Floating Hina Dolls in Tokyo: Edo Nagashibina

When people think about seeing geishas in Japan, the first thing that come to their mind is probably Kyoto (where geishas are called geikos and their apprentices maikos) with the Gion district or Pontocho. However, that does not mean you cannot be entertained by authentic geishas in other cities. In Tokyo, the main geisha area is the Kannonura street in the Asakusa district. One way to maximize your chances to see them from up close, is to find out the public events or festivals in which they participate. One of this events is Edo Nagashibina, a  ceremony during which children and their parents send into the Sumida river floating Hina dolls made with paper to dispel any potential misfortune waiting for them in the year ahead.

Again this year, 3 geishas from Asakusa were taking part in the official ceremony, and sent their own wishes into the river.

In a red kimono, we had Rei-san:

In a dark green kimono, Tsugumi-san:

And in a blue kimono, Akane-san:

When you see geishas in the street, they are usually on their way to (or from) a work appointment, so they usually don’t have time to stop and talk to you. However, when they are on “official public duty”, they will let you take all the pictures you want as long as you don’t disturb the overall organization of the event.

Once the usual preliminary speeches are over, the geishas and the city officials joined the rest of the crowd on the Sumida river bank, where they release a flurry of balloons shaped like doves. Everyone can then let go his/her paper hina doll into the water.  Children from the Taito City “Ishihama Hachiba Children’s Center” have the extra privilege to do it from a boat especially decorated for the occasion.

If you enjoyed this article, share the love of Japan with your friends on your favorite social networks. You can also keep in touch with me on Twitter or Instagram if you have any question.

Must-read articles from the archives if you are new to the Fujifilm X-Series

So, with the Fujifilm now officially released, you have decided to take a leap of faith and jump into the X-Series, and you slowly start to realize that you leaving your DSLR at home more and more often. While mirrorless cameras have been trying to catch up with DSLRs in terms of performances, there is still a lot to get used in terms of interface, including some benefits: for example, thanks to the electronic viewfinder that you can magnify, you don’t need to afraid of using manual anymore… As Todd would say, hooray! Anyway, here is a list of my previous articles/videos that you might find useful if you are new to the X-Series:

• Manual focus tutorial

• How to use the Fujifilm remote app on your phone

• Why you should use a UHS-II SD card rather than UHS-I with the cameras that are compatible

• Take a look at the Instax Printer SP-2

• Check out the various film simulations for your JPEGs, including ACROS
• Check out the high ISO performance of the latest sensor + processor from Fujifilm

As always, stay tune for more 😉

Product shots of the Fujifilm X-T2 and the X-Series family (and a few sample shots)

After 2 months of intense hype, the X-T2 has now officially joined the Fujifilm X-Series family on the 8th of September, as it finally shipped across the globe. I received mine on Thursday, along with its battery grip. I won’t do any unboxing video this time, as there are already plenty to be found on the net. I will also take the required time to put the X-T2 through its paces, especially the new autofocus system (rethought algorithms + Canon-like customizable settings), so I will not rush any review. Meanwhile, here are some pictures of the X-T2 (mine), which kept a similar design as its predecessor, although just a tiny tiny bit fatter. Anyways, I still would like to share some pictures OF the X-T2 along with its siblings, because it still looks gorgeous. So, without further ado, here is… the Fuji X-T2!

 

And the battery grip (or Vertical Power Booster Grip VPB-XT2 as Fujifilm calls it) that comes back on steroids:

• 2 extra battery slots instead of 1 (for a total of 3 batteries including the one in the X-T2)
• can be used to charge 2 batteries at the same time thanks to the AC adapter that comes with it in the box
• includes a headphone jack for video shooting
• has its own AF joystick for shooting vertically
• also improves the grip when shooting horizontally

When compared to the X-T1, you can see that the X-T2 is a little bit bigger, although the difference is barely visible. The main difference in design visible from the front is the taller ISO and shutter speed dials:

Comparing the X-T1 and X-T2’s grips, the size difference is more obvious given the additional functionalities of the XT2’s grip:

However, the X-T2 (without battery grip) still feels more compact than the other X-Series camera sharing the same sensor and image processor, the X-PRO2:

And here are the first few sample images I took with the X-T2 (JPEGs from the camera with the Velvia film simulation):

Dear Peter, don’t click on this link if you are looking for a review of the Fuji X-T2

This post is in response to a comment posted by a reader called Peter on my previous article. I could have replied in the comments section too, but I have a feeling this might be a long paragraph, so I figured I might as well make it into its own blog post…

Dear Peter,

First, I would like to thank you for leaving a comment on my latest blog post. As you can see, I don’t get that many. I don’t get that much traffic either, even though you seem to find my titles similar to clickbait honeypots. I am truly sorry if you felt misguided by the title of my previous article. It looks like you got onto this page several days after I published it, which could explain why. Note that I published this article a week BEFORE the X-T2 was officially released (or even shipped), so I never intended for this article to look like a review (in which case this article would have probably been called “Exclusive X-T2 review one week before the launch!!!!”, the likes of which you can find on the net by the way, and that you can call clickbaits if you so desire).

Like hundreds of people I had some hands-on time with the X-T2 many weeks before it was released (there were many opportunities to do so in many countries, nothing out of the ordinary), and yet I did not spam glorious definitive opinions like others did after shooting at cars “zipping from around the corner” from a parking lot. In fact, I did not even talk about it actually. That would have made for many “clicks” though, as Fujifilm had not yet started to tour the US photo clubs and camera stores, so I probably should have.

But you are right, there is a conspiracy theory behind this article, so let me share it with you. To tell you all the details, this article initially had a different “working title”, because, when I started to write it, the point I wanted to make was different: I wanted to reply to X-Pro2 owners who were crying like babies because the X-T2 had better specs, by writing a post reducing the X-T2 to a beautiful dream, as opposed to the good time I was having shooting with the X-Pro2 during the time  those people were spending complaining from behind their keyboards. However, there was actually more than a month between the moment I started to write the article and the moment I actually finished it. The reason for that is that – when I was not busy working – I was indeed outside enjoying my X-Pro2, instead of typing the blog post as I had originally intended. I even filmed an entire VLOG episode about the initial topic with the X-Pro2, to show that it could also shoot good video footages even though not in 4K (I was eventually too lazy to edit all my footages, while I realised I was speaking too much in the video and I would have bored every potential viewer with my French accent, so I came back to the idea of writing a blog post instead).

As time passed though, the topic on which I wanted to write also evolved, as getting to roughly a week before the release I had gotten fed up with almost 2 months of publi-advertisement without any contradiction allowed, since only people chosen by Fujifilm had the camera.

Now here comes the dreadful truth. The dirty secret. At the same time as I was getting back to finishing this article, I was actually (re-)watching Sergio Leone’s the Good, the Bad and the Ugly for the umpteenth time. Just love this movie. It’s one of my favourite movies of all times! And that’s how I got to structuring my article the way I did and choosing this title. It’s as simple as that. But it’s true that the Internet can some time be wilder than the far west, I will agree on that.

By the way Peter, I received the X-T2 and its battery grips on Thursday this week. I have used it for a few hours since, hence the time it took me to reply to you. Don’t expect to read any review about the X-T2 here anytime soon, as I don’t think that a few hours are enough time to do so (I used to try to create content quicker in the beginning of the X-Series, with the X-E1 for example, because at the time nobody else would care doing it, so writing about them was useful for the people looking for information, but nowadays there are hundreds of Fuji blogs). When I finally put up a review on this blog, I can guarantee you I will call it “Fujifilm X-T2 review”, so that you will know exactly what you will get when you follow the link. To be sure not to missed it, make sure to subscribe to this blog and to follow me on Twitter @balbo42 😉

Sincerely yours.

Fujifilm X-T2: The Good, The Hype and The Rant

Disclaimer: apart from the pictures of the X-T2, all the pictures in this blog post were taken with the X-Pro2, which remains a wonderful camera despite of all the hype you can read about other models 🙂

In my review of the X-Pro2, I concluded that if you could live without the hybrid viewfinder of the X-Pro2, then the X-T2 was probably worth the wait. This was before the official reveal of the specifications of the X-T2 on the 7th of July.

The Good

X-Pro2 or X-T2? That is not the question

The official specifications of the X-T2 have only reinforced this idea, as, on paper, choosing the X-T2 seems like a no-brainer. You get the same sensor and processor as in the X-Pro2, but with a few additional perks including:

• Bigger and brighter electronic viewfinder, with less blackout periods between shots when shooting in continuous mode
• Refined autofocus algorithms (coming to the X-Pro2 in October via firmware update), with customizable AF-C settings (think Canon autofocus menus) to better adapt to the situation (NOT included in the X-Pro2 firmware update at the time of writing this article)
• Video mode: 4K video recording up to 10min in-body (30min with the battery grip), with a “standard” 3.5mm mic jack (vs a 2.5mm jack on the X-Pro2), although you unfortunately will need the battery grip to get a headphone jack
• 2 UHS-II SD memory card slots, compared to 1 UHS-II + 1 UHS-I slot on the X-Pro2 (not a biggie for me as I am mostly using the second slot for JPEGs backups in RAW+JPEG mode, so don’t really need the UHS-II speed on the second slot)
• Last but not least, a cheaper price than the X-Pro2

On top of that, you get the differences in design between the X-T series vs X-Pro series, which to my personal taste are positive points for the X-T1/X-T2:

• Mode selection dial, instead of a “Drive” sub-menu. Whith the X-T2, the mode dial includes this time around a much needed position for the Video mode. Why there was none on the X-T1 is a mystery, as if you were not shooting stills in 16:9 JPEGs you could not frame your video properly before pressing the record button…
• Articulated screen. Why the X-Pro2’s screen is not at least a minimum articulated to facilitate shooting from the hip is another great mystery…

The one (and only) reason that would make you want the X-Pro2 over the X-T2 is the hybrid viewfinder. If this is something that you really want, then the X-Pro2 was designed just for you! If you can leave without it, then getting the X-T2 is a no-brainer in my opinion.

The Hype

While Fujifilm has made (much needed but still relatively) fast improvements in its camera lineup, the company has also up its game in terms of marketing, especially on social networks. Via the Fujifilm X-Photographers programme, Fujifilm has quickly caught with other brands in building a group of talented photographers who became the best ambassadors of the brand.

This is a brilliant marketing technique, because it means that during the (long) time between the X-T2 announcement and the actual release of the camera, the Internet buzz around the camera will be filled by people who:

•  are not professional reviewers: they write about their personal experience with the camera but can’t draw any comparison with a wide variety of competitors
• have a relationship with Fujifilm that would not be appropriate for a reviewer
• even when forgetting about this relationship, they are a biased sample: they are Fujifilm users, which means they have already chosen Fujifilm over other brands for personal taste/reasons (well, of course anyone’s opinion on anything will be biased, but in this case Fujifilm selects them for their bias)
• write all these previews and stories for free! What more could you ask for?

The downside of this strategy is that if you overdo it you can inflate a hype bubble – with the winds of “fastest auto-focus ever” and “finally better than DSLRs” – that could eventually backfire when the final product gets released, and the embargo on REAL reviews gets lifted. In my opinion we are getting close to the over saturation with he X-T2, I feel like they gave a pre-production version of this camera to way more people than they had ever done. You would think it is already out (fun fact: my X-E1 review is the most read article on my blog, because most of the photographers we hear praising Fuji today would not care to write about it at the time – with the exception of the few ones who jump into the boat from the start with the clunky X100). I do read all those previews, not because I want to hear how much better the ***insert any new camera here*** is, but I actually appreciate many of the X-Photographers for their personality (always nice and welcoming when you I met them despite of tight schedules) and their outstanding work. I would not love them less if they were not shooting Fuji.

But irrelevant to how much sympathy I have for them, their daily job is to produce beautiful pictures and not to review cameras (they will be the first ones to acknowledge that themselves when they write a preview). Consumers deserve real reviews to make an informed decision, and for their protection I would always call for professional and balanced reviews to be available earlier since the camera is already available for pre-order. Remember that when the X-T1 it had mushy buttons that had to be changed on the next batch of production. Something that you could (only?) read here before the release of the camera (and real reviews), amidst a sea of X-Photographers praising the X-T1 as a DSLR-killer (hum, sounds familiar).

Potential buyers who are being enticed by the HEAVY focus being put on the video capabilities of the X-T2 have nothing to lose waiting for real world balanced reviews to be out. No, the camera is not going to be out of stock forever if you don’t preorder. The video quality of the X-T2 might be awesome. I have no idea. But given the sub-par quality of the X-T1, there is no reason to blindly believe Fujifilm when they say they have suddenly  found the magic formula for video with the X-T2. Until the final camera is in the hand of independant reviewers, caution is advised.

The Rant

Again, I love the work of X-Photographers, I am just saying that consumers need to take a precautionary pinch of salt against the hype, and keep their expectations realistic. However, there is one thing that drives me crazy: reading interviews explaining that this camera did not get this feature available on another camera because the photographers using this camera told Fujifilm that street photographers don’t use this or that while this camera is targeting them… and then couple years later when this feature finally makes it on the successor of this camera the SAME people will write posts on how much this is fantastic!

This idea that you can put photographers in hermetic silos depending on what they shoot is plain stupid. If your camera designer does not want to put an articulated screen on the X-Pro series for design/cost reasons, obviously don’t put one. But if you are not doing it based on the fact  the tiny sample of street photographers you talk to never shot on a camera with one, then you are doing it for the wrong reasons: if they don’t want to move their screen, they can just leave it the way it is! Meanwhile different people could use the option extensively.

The current example of that is the lack of a touchscreen on the X-T2. Brainstorming meeting in Fuji HQ with a small sample of X-Photographers:
– Shall we put a touchscreen in the X-T2? 
– Nah, touchscreens are for amateurs and we are so scared that we could change a setting with our nose touching the screen that we cannot be bothered to turn the option off for ourselves while letting it available for the rest of the world to enjoy.

Fast forward to 2018, the X-T3 will come out with a touchscreen and the same people will start their previews on their blogs by saying how the touchscreen is a revolution and so intuitive because we have been using smartphones for 10 years…

Just a bit more patience

Anyway, in a week from now the wait will be over and the hype will slow down. The X-T2 will be shipping to my home. I have been using the X-Series for many years now, so my expectations are based on the previous products I have used. I am not expecting a game changer, a DSLR-killer, the fastest auto-focus in the world, etc… No camera is perfect, and spoiler alert the X-T2 won’t be. Just a camera… Find a brand/system that you like, whichever is good for you, so that you can only focus on what really matters. Shoot portraits, shoot landscapes, document your travels… Just focus on enjoying whatever camera you have and on having fun with it. Well, until it is time to fancy on the X-T3, and round and round we go 😉