mexico with mirrorless

[eric_arnold]

<p>so, just returned from 12 days in baja california sur, took a 100% mirrorless kit -- 2x fuji xe1 w/ 14/35/18-55/60mm lenses, x100, nikon 1 J1 w/ 30-110. did a bit of everything-- street shooting, landscapes, portraits, live performance. didnt miss the size and weight of the DSLRs, but there were times the LCD made it hard to compose in the midday sun. got to really put in some work with the 14 and 60, which are both stellar lenses optically. the 14 is a solid performer with almost zero distortion equally good for street or landscape. the 60 is just super-sharp and works well in conjunction with a w/a as a short tele and portrait lens; in good light, it's actually snappy to focus. didnt use the 35 as much as i thought i would but it hardly took up any weight in the bag. the 18-55's goodness continues to surprise as well, it's a really capable lens and the OIS is invaluable in low-light situations. some of the best shots, however, were with the x100, which does everything except zoom. the J1's best attribute is its fast AF. it didnt pull as much detail out of shots as the fuji's, but it grabbed roadside signs from a moving car with impressive focus acquisition speed. i'm just gonna post a few pics, feel free to ask questions about my set-up or offer comments. </p><div></div>

[eric_arnold]

<p>temperatures ranged from 90 degrees F to about 95-98 F. one night, it may have cooled down to the mid-80s... </p><div></div>

[eric_arnold]

<p>humidity was high as well.</p><div></div>

[eric_arnold]

<p>on a really hot day, the only thing to do is hit the beach...</p><div></div>

[eric_arnold]

<p>i ate a LOT of seafood...</p>

[eric_arnold]

<p>whoops, forgot to attach this pic... </p><div></div>

[eric_arnold]

<p>the sunsets were pretty chill... </p><div></div>

[eric_arnold]

<p>as luck would have it, there was a music festival while we were there... </p><div></div>

[Lou_Meluso]

<p>Nice, Eric, looks like a great beach spot. I like the Flamenco scene very much. </p>

[eric_arnold]

<p>thanks louis; that's actually my girlfriend anya dancing flamenco there. she got invited to dance for javvy, the guitarist, who has turned to flamenco after playing in metal and prog-rock bands. he did an amazing cover of "Bohemian Rhapsody" during his set. </p><div></div>

[eric_arnold]

<p>"have you tried the Diablo salsa,"? the restaurant owner said. </p><div></div>

[nigelvoak]

<p>Thank for reminding me of Mexico with your photo's. I had some great times when I went there to work on a construction project.<br>

What I remember are the bright colours everywhere.</p>

[Sanford]

<p>Just curious Eric, did you go the Fuji route to reduce the weight of a DSLR, because that sounds like a lot of stuff you carried! </p>

[eric_arnold]

<blockquote>

<p>did you go the Fuji route to reduce the weight of a DSLR</p>

</blockquote>

<p>well, yes. let me explain: i could have taken my lightest/smallest DSLR (d90) and appropriate lenses, which probably would have been an 12-24 tokina UWA, a 17-50/2.8 standard zoom, and a 70-300 telephoto zoom. however, that presents a problem of lens changing, which i wanted to avoid at all costs since i was in the desert/ocean, where the chance of dust/sand entering your camera is exponentially higher. that kit is also much heavier than a 2-body Fuji set up with the 18-55 and three-4 primes. so i decided to go with 2 fuji bodies as my main set-up, with the x100 as backup 1 and the J1 as backup 2. i probably didnt need four cameras, but i really wanted to test the systems in the field, especially the 14mm and 60mm Fuji lenses i had recently purchased. i already knew the x100 was a stellar camera, but i also knew I wanted to shoot a lot with the fuji 14mm.<br>

<br>

what i ended up with was a highly-configurable system: i only took two cameras with me most of the time, in either a messenger bag equipped with padded dividers, or a lowepro waist pack. each can fit two bodies plus additional lenses, filters, flash, etc. i would choose lenses and other gear based on situation: for a beach walk in eastcape, i would just take two lenses in the lowepro. for a street festival in san jose's zocalo, i brought out the full set up with the messenger bag, which also held an audio recorder, flash, sync cable, etc. the messenger bag also converts from a backback to a single shoulder strap, so that was versatile too. sometimes i had one camera deployed with a black rapid-type shoulder sling; other times i would leave the sling off and use hand straps, and just pull the cameras out of my bag when i needed them. there were also times when i only took the x100, in a small third bag. other times, the x100 and the J1 stayed in the room. when most of my equipment was packed in suitcases, as on the desert drive to and from la paz, i was still able to get shots with the x100 and J1 from the car. the x100 was also the go-to cam for quick snaps and selfies.<br>

<br>

it was worth it to me because i was able to test a bunch of gear in different field conditions, but i don't necessarily recommend lugging all that stuff--i probably could have gotten by with a more minimal kit -- just the x100, or the x100 and one of the xe1's with 1-2 lenses. however, the 2 body setup was still quite minimal in practice, and i appreciated the luxury of having several high-quality lenses at my disposal, depending on the situation, while still not overtaxing myself in terms of weight. that made it easy for impromptu portrait shoots with the 35/1.4, using boutique hotels as background, for instance. the fuji lenses did take up room in a bag, but they were so light compared to a DSLR and comparable lenses that transporting them wasn't a big issue at all. even the J1 w/ 30-110 is much lighter than my tamron 70-300 VR alone.</p><div></div>