mervyn_wilmington

I've just bought one as a back-up for my x-t1. It is really delightful! At first I had problems in getting the flash settings available via the q menu: but so have many people and the issue was fully explained several times on the web. However, now I can't get flash compensation via the q menu. It is 'grey' on the screen. Advice/help please. What am I missing!

<p>Thanks for that Don. Very helpful. Entirely by chance, I looked at that list earlier in the day. Great minds or something!</p> <p>Out of interest, if you download the 'latest' firmware, do you automatically download any earlier ones? </p>

<p>Thank you all for the further advice and comments.</p> <p>Regarding the firmware updates, the answer is that I don't know. The lens came from a very reputable dealer, and, perhaps wrongly, I had assumed they would have attended to that before sale. However, I have decided to return the lens, and will point that out to them.</p> <p>If I can find my Nikon fit Vivitar 90-180 macro lens, I will give that a try with an adapter. It certainly produced stunning images when I used it in the past. It also gets round the 'too close' issues.</p> <p>Thanks again for the help.</p>

<p>Thank you Edward for your valuable comments. Can I take the issue further though. It is almost exactly 58 years since I bought my first camera. I've had some 'interesting' lenses since then, but I think this one is the most frustrating.</p> <p>This afternoon I had the opportunity to test the lens outdoors in decent light. We live in the countryside, and I have a standard walk that takes in near, mid and distant views of a variety of subjects. I took around 40 shots. 80% were fine. Indeed, 'when right' the image quality/definition, even fully open, is very high. </p> <p>Let me give one example of the 'frustration'. There is a view that I often use. It is of a small group of houses in the mid-distance with a field in the foreground. I think the architecture lends itself to good focussing - at least it always has in the past. I took the first shot. It was lousy: just about as soft as they come. It wasn't camera movement. In any event, the shutter speed was more than enough. I immediately took another shot. I had changed nothing. This one was perfect. That sort of thing occurred on several other shots.</p> <p>What I also noticed was that while usually you can readily tell when a lens is struggling to find focus, there seem to be a variation with this lens. Looking through the viewfinder you can sometimes see a continuing softening and hardening of the image. It is not the juddering that I am more used to.</p> <p>As I say frustrating. I shall probably return it to the dealer, and have a think!</p>

<p>Thanks for that Jochen.</p> <p>In the past I have used lenses on a manual stop-down basis. It is slight nuisance, but I didn't find it terrible. Certainly with digital, as compared with film, there is so much 'latitude' in post processing that it is easier to out things right.</p> <p>I would only be working indoors, and I have three very sturdy tripods.</p> <p>The evf is very good on the XT1 in my experience. I have 6 Fuji lenses, including 4 primes. They have never given me any problems in post processing.</p>

<p>I've just bought the Fuji 60mm macro, but I can return it. I wanted it very largely for macro use, but for that purpose in autofocus mode it hunts, hunts, hunts. Of course, it can readily be used in manual mode, and it produces first class images.</p> <p>It seems to me that, bearing in mind the cost of the Fuji, there could be a good deal of sense in buying a manual Nikon (or Nikon fit) macro lens, and an adapter at a fraction of the Fuji price. Indeed, I already have, hidden away somewhere, the 'legendary' Vivitar 90-180 macro lens.</p> <p>Advice, comments, experience please?</p>

<p>Thanks RJ. That looks very useful. I'll investigate further.</p>

<p>RJ - thanks for that. I've no shortage of fairly high power guns now. But I wanted to try a few 'experiments' and need slaves that won't fire when the main unit pre flashes. I didn't think that the YongNuo has that facility?</p>

<p>RJ - I have now spotted another slave one, similar - where it says the auto pre-flash is to avoid red eye. Might not be the same...</p>

<p>Thanks for that RJ. They look small, but they are also cheap. They would not need to be powerful for where I need them. We have a huge, ancient beam across our sitting room with a white ceiling. I thought of putting, say three, on the beam pointing upwards and getting indirect flash off the ceiling.</p> <p>I've looked for 'better' ones with the pre-flash sensor, but without discovering anything. Any suggestions, please?</p> <p> </p>

<p>On ebay uk, there are several sellers offering 'mini digital slave flash auto pre flash sensor' They are obviously sourced from China and are marked W&S.</p> <p>I have asked two of the sellers whether auto pre flash sensor means that the unit ignores the pre flash from the main flash and doesn't go off 'early'. I can't get a sensible reply. One man says he is only in customer care and can't help!</p> <p>Has anyone come across these, please, and are they of any use?</p>

<p>The sad thing is that here in the UK now camera shops are few and far between, and odd bins are even fewer than that! Back in the 1970s and 80s I was always finding top quality filters and the like for no money. Now that I am reducing all my equipment just to Fuji, I seem to have masses of spare lens and body caps and filters. Ebay before long...</p>

<p>The small ones can be a bit fiddly, but the larger ones are ok. However, all my lenses have always had a top quality filter. Each lens has it own case, even when in the main bag. The ones that are in active use I tend to keep the lens hood on, even when in their cases. The risk of damage is virtually nil. At least, over 40 years I've never had a problem.</p>

<p>There are several references on the web to the EF42 simply being a rebadged PZ42X, and can be used on Fuji X cameras. Sunpak do not produce such a flash for the Fuji.</p> <p>The question is which dedicated PZ42 do you buy - for Nikon or Canon dedicated - and would it have full features when used on the Fuji camera including ttl?</p> <p>Advice appreciated.</p>

<p>Don, I don't have the 60mm, but it is next on my list, but for mainly macro use, although many people use it for more general purposes. The 90 obviously can be a bit long in some circumstances - that happened to me the other day, when I only had that with me - but it is a stunning performer. I used Nikon for 30 years, and I had nothing that bettered the 90mm Fuji. The 90 and 60 are really different lenses in terms of purpose - at least in my mind - but you are almost covering the 60 with your 18-55 unless you are looking for the macro performance.</p> <p>I have the 18-55. It was my first lens, but it now rarely gets used, and I may part with it. Nothing wrong in performance terms, but it mostly seems that I have a prime on the camera. However, I may have to cover a christening shortly - our grandson's - and it may be that a short zoom would be most useful. Babies are not inclined to wait until you change lenses!</p> <p>I also have the 55-200: I was using it yesterday. I feel that I really need to get it down to f8 for general use, but another winner!</p>