For the July episode of the Frugal Film Project I went to my 'local' airport to catch some of the action there. I made a small change to my setup, the lens I would use today was another frugal lens, an EF 70-210mm f/3.5-4.5 USM lens that cost me € 20. The camera remained the same, my Canon EOS 1000N. Reviewing the photos I found that most are quite the same so I opted to show you just two.
Choice number one is a former Royal flight Dakota, C-47A PH-PBA. The 'PB' in the registration points to HRH Prince Bernhard, an accomplished pilot. This Dakota was delivered to the US Army Air Force with serial number 42-100971. After World War Two it was transferred to the Netherlands for government use. It was later transferred to a museum, restored and is now in use with DDA Classic Airlines with the markings it had when flown by the prince.
Choice number two is an Army Air Corps (AAC) Wildcat AH.1 helicopter with serial number ZZ384. The Wildcat is the current troop transport helicopter of the AAC, replacing the similar Lynx helicopter. In this shot, the overall vignetting of the 70-210mm lens is quite visible.
The June edition of the Frugal Film Project takes place in my back yard - sort of. For those new to the project, the aim is to show that you don't need fancy photo gear to get great photos so in order to participate you select a camera-lens combo under $ 75, some cheap, well, make that less expensive film and shoot a roll every month for a year. I've opted for a Canon EOS 1000N with a 24-85mm lens and Agfaphoto APX 100/36. I also develop the film at home using Adonal developer.
This month I went walkabout on an early misty Monday morning, just as the sun was rising. Enjoy!
The Frugal Film Project - you know, that project where you use a film camera and lens that cost you less than $ 75 and shoot a roll of affordable film each month just to show that you don't need expensive stuff to get great photo's - sadly hasn't seen enough attention on this blog in the last months. We last visited the project in April, so let's turn our attention to May.
The Muiderslot is perhaps most famous as the summer home of P.C. Hooft (1581-1647). Hooft, being the sheriff and bailiff of het Gooiland for 39 years (hence his use of the castle) was a well known writer, poet and historian who established the Muiderkring or Muider society which had members like Vondel, Huygens, Bredero, Barlaeus and father and daughter Visscher.
After the time of Hooft the castle was used as barracks for the French army occupying the Netherlands. It was later used as a prison and ammunition depot. After that, the castle fell into disuse and disrepair. So much so that in 1825 it was for sale with the purpose of it being demolished. King Willem I interfered and the building was saved. It took another 70 years before reconstruction began. These days the castle is a national museum.
I brought my Canon EOS 1000N fitted with a 24-85mm lens and loaded a roll of Agfaphoto APX 100. As usual, I've developed the roll at home using Adonal developer and scanned the negatives with an Epson V850.
This week I was pleased to see some of my photos in print. Both Air Forces Monthly from the UK and Defence International from Taiwan published my Ramstein 1v1 article. And as an added bonus, Air Forces Monthly used one of my photos from Ramstein 1v1 as a background for one of their adverts.
Air Forces Monthly
Last week I brought the Fujifilm GFX 100S II with me on a trip to the UK. This was an aviation-themed trip with visits to the Royal International Air Tattoo held at RAF Fairford and the excellent RAF Museum at RAF Cosford. It would also be the first serious outing for the GFX, I was very excited to see what results this camera would produce and how it handled itself in the field.
General use
Now the GFX system is new to me and there are a few things I really have to get used to. I really wonder why the Fujifilm engineers omitted a dedicated ISO button. Now I either have to go to the menu to change the ISO settings or I have to use the front wheel after pressing it down. The latter function is tricky, if you accidentally touch the wheel whilst shooting your ISO settings will change without you noticing it. And if, after switching lenses, you'd like to activate the dust removal function, good luck. That means scrolling through the menu again instead of taking pictures and at RIAT things happen fast. No time to fiddle with the menu. I guess it would be quicker to just switch the camera off and then on again to activate dust removal.
Battery life is another thing to consider. I used up two batteries before the end of the afternoon at the RIAT.
Aside from the lack of an ISO button these are things that I will get used to over time when the menu of this camera gets more familiar. The short battery life was unexpected, I'll have to get me at least one more battery before I take the GFX out for a long day of shooting again.
The camera feels solid in my hands and I had no issues carrying it around all day long. And those images? Wow! This is where the GFX really shines, those gorgeous medium format images. I had no issues with the autofocus, I had set the camera autofocus to the airplane mode and this worked fine for me. The image stabilization is also top notch, I am very impressed how slow I can go with my shutter speeds whilst using the camera handheld and still get sharp images.
Will I take the GFX to an air show again? You bet! I just need a longer lens than the 100-200mm I was using so Fuji, if you're reading this: I would really like to see a 100-500mm telephoto lens for the GFX system!
Images
Below you'll find images shot at the RIAT at RAF Fairford and at the RAF Museum at RAF Cosford.
When the word went round that Ramstein Air Base was hosting a one-day exercise called Ramstein 1v1 with several fighter jets from different NATO countries attending I called my buddy Leo and together we drove off to Rheinland-Pfalz to see what Ramstein 1v1 had to offer.
Behind the scenes
Whilst at the base we had a chat with Lieutenant Colonel Kyle 'Cyclone' Rutherford. Lt Col Rutherford explained that Ramstein 1v1 includes both aviators and aircrew from nine NATO countries, bringing 37 NATO aircraft to Ramstein. "The Ramstein 1v1 exercise is similar to the US Navy's Fighter Weapons School (better known as Top Gun) 1v1 event. Basic fighter maneuvering (BFM), perhaps better known as dog fighting, is a foundational skill for fighter pilots. Additionally, we talk a lot about interoperability and today, we are exemplifying that capability by having jets cross serviced by ground crews from other countries. For example, the Norwegian F-35's could only participate today based on US maintainers offering to help to service their aircraft. Furthermore, Ramstein 1v1 is a prime opportunity to hone our skills in a fun but learning experience that builds camaraderie amongst all the participants."
Luftwaffe Oberst (Colonel) Michael 'T-man' Trautermann, commander of the German units based at Ramstein, explained to us that it not just about getting the aircraft , pilots and maintainers to Ramstein but also about reserving airspace so that these trainings can actually take place. "Having the exercise run by USAFE at Ramstein had the added advantage that NATO Allied Air Command is also based at Ramstein and that helped keeping lines between NATO nations short. Ramstein 1v1 will demonstrate the strength and unity of our alliance. The skills honed here will contribute significantly to our collective defense capabilities."
Oberst Trautermann also added that cross servicing is becoming a more sought-after skill. Whilst in the 1990s any NATO pilot could land at any NATO airfield and have his jet serviced this is not as common now. So having exercises like this is of great importance to both air crew and ground crew.
The aircraft
The exercise featured a variety of fourth and fifth-generation fighter aircraft, including F-35 Lightning IIs, Eurofighter Typhoons, Rafales, and modernized F-16s. The exercise consisted of multiple sorties, with pilots engaging in simulated dogfights.
The images
Although we enjoyed our chats with Cyclone and T-Man we came to Ramstein with one thing in mind, to get some images of the flying participants! So we unpacked our photo gear and got to work.
All in all Leo and I were both very pleased with the results. A big thanks to the Ramstein PAO for making this visit possible!
So, recently my friend Joeri van Veen and I went to see a guy about a camera. As you know, I've been looking at 100 MP cameras as an alternative for my current digital shooter. You can catch up here, but in the end it was the challenging choice that I wanted to explore further. So we hopped into Joeri's classic MR2 and comfortably drove to one of the bigger camera stores that was bound to have this camera plus some other related gear in stock.
Meet the Fujifilm GFX 100S II
There were a few things I wanted to see or test. The first was the electronic view finder (EVF). As I am used to (D)SLRs not looking through the lens but looking at a small screen is a new experience for me. I was actually very surprised how well this works. After some fiddling around, I set the EVF settings to EVF on and screen off when my eye is near the view finder and EVF off and screen on when it is not.
The camera body is quite small for a medium format camera. It is not much bigger that my Pentax LX with the winder fitted and small when compared to my Pentax 645Z.
Next, I had a list of lenses that I wanted to test with de GFX. First up was the Fujinon GF 45-100mm f/4 lens. I have used a 45-85mm lens on my Pentax 645D and Z before and I love the reach of this lens. The Fujinon 45-100 has even a bit more reach so seems like a perfect fit.
Next up was the Fujinon GF 100-200mm f/5.6 lens. If the 45-100 was a son of a gun then I don't know how to describe this lens as it is even bigger. This setup however feels well combined.
The third lens I wanted to look at was the Mitakon 65mm f/1.4. This sadly was not in stock.
Another thing I really wanted to test was the usefulness of my Canon 100-400mm lens when paired with the GFX. I learned that adapters exist that allow auto focus (AF) to be used. I tried this with the Viltrox EF-GFX mount adapter.
So does this work? Well, yes. It does focus. However, I found the AF to be very slow and the AF kept hunting when focusing most of the time.
So what are my thoughts? Well, from what I've experienced at the store there are quite a few things I like about the GFX 100S II: The EVF is better than I dared to hope, the body handles well in my hands, the two lenses I was able to test felt good when combined with the camera body, the AF points can be controlled with the touch of a single button, I like the way information is displayed in the EVF and the GFX fits well in my camera bag. I had to fiddle a lot to get the ISO to change, only later I discovered that the forward control dial needs to be pressed backwards to achieve that. One thing I don't like is that the charger for the batteries is not included in the box. Why?
The lenses themselves feel pretty solid. The fact that they have an actual aperture ring was a nice discovery and this is something I really like. I would also have liked to test the Mitakon 65mm f/1,4 but alas, this is for another time.
The GFX-EX adapter was a nice idea but the AF is to slow for me to consider this. I guess I have to start saving for the GF 500mm f/5.6 instead.
And talking about savings, I think my expression says it all when being told the actual amount this was going to set me back...
So did I go for it? Yes, in the end I managed to get a good deal so I walked back to Joeri's MR2 holding several boxes. Boxes that needed space to store them. In an MR2. Oh, wait...
