I’ve reported about the story of Nate, who’s travelling non-stop around the world with just one lens 18mm and one camera (X-PRO1) here. Well, it’s more than 700 days now that Nate is on the road and his blog (yomadic.com) is full of impressions and images of his endless travel. Today I’m glad to post a reminder to his blog and to share Nate’s feedback about the X-PRO1 as a travel camera… after 700 days of travel and 54 visited countries. Nate wrote:
“Hey Patrick,
Thought I would contact you again – I have now been travelling for 700 days, with my Fuji X-Pro, and just an 18mm lens. My latest set of photos show some great “ruin-porn” from Sarajevo – the abandoned Bobsled track from the 1984 Winter Olympics. I’ve now visited 54 countries, and all weather conditions, and the Fuji has not skipped a beat.
Feel free to share some of these photos, and report to your readers the incredible reliability of the X-Pro 1 …I don’t even have a case, and I never carry an umbrella 😉
Take care, eagerly awaiting all news on the X Pro 2
http://www.yomadic.com/sarajevo-bobsled-track/ Nate Robert
- XF 18mmF2: BHphoto, AmazonUS, Adorama, Focuscamera
19 Responses
[sarcasm] Yep. “Weather sealing” is a must. [/sarcasm]
haha! Hey Trenton, this is Nate. I just wanted to add to your comment – when I was first deciding which camera to bring on this journey, I decided that the XPro had the best bang-for-buck in IQ, and features. However, I didn’t immediately pull the trigger, due to the lack of weather sealing. In hindsight – it just isn’t an issue. Deserts in Iran, snow storms in the Caucasus, rain everywhere, and the Fuji keeps on ticking.
One other thing, for anyone reading this – the 18mm is probably considered the weakest lens in the lineup. But, take a look at all of my photos – every single one came via the 18mm lens, and decide for yourself whether this is a good lens or not.
Thanks FujiRumors for, well, just doing your thing. Plenty of us appreciate it dearly. Nate.
From my decades of experience with the “weather sealed” lenses from Canikon – they just take much longer to defog, once they’ve fogged internally. I really hate that.
Oh, and the 18mm is a one charming lens, that’s for sure. Bright, sharp and weightless. Not as charismatic as, say, 23/1.4, but… 🙂
A plastic bag is a must.
And I mean it.
For everything else, there is $.
Ditto. Just keep in mind that most flashes, including wee Fuji units, will burn a hole in a plastic bag pretty quickly.
Are these photos SOOC? I never achieve these kind of beauty’s with my X-E1. I’m not saying these aren’t SOOC, but most photos here aren’t, which is kind of lying since the photo isn’t exactly “Fuji” anymore, since one could take the same photo with a Fuji and then with a Canon to achieve the same result after some post-processing. I’d love to see more SOOC photos, to show off Fujifilm’s camera’s real potential.
They look SOOC to me. And to achieve “these kind of beauty”, you have to play not just with your aperture, shutter speed and ISO, but also with time of day and the elements. And film simulations. Quite a few variables, eh?
I don’t see any reason why photos need to be SOOC.
Nope, these are not SOOC shots. There were massaged to make the picture “pop”.
I skipped the 18mm for too long. But I just order it thanks to Nate. Note to Fujirumors the amazon link on the article is linking me to amazon china even when I am in the US and no proxy.
As regards the overall robustness of the XP1, I have just had an unfortunate experience: my copy slipped from the edge of my desk where I had carelessly left it and fell to the floor on thick wall-to-wall carpeting. The fall was… well, desktop-high, so not that much. There was no lens attached to it when it fell.
Most of the camera features are still operational, or appear to be, however the photos it takes are systematically and very largely overexposed, as can be seen from the back screen/histogram. Of course, I made sure that no exposure setting had been altered as a consequence of the fall that could explain this deviation in exposure. The overexposure happens with all lenses. Maybe the meter got damaged… I’ve had to order another body, will send this one to Fuji France for assessment and repairs.
For the record, I happened to drop a Nikon D3 once (on a hard surface), and even a D700, both still work like clockwork. I did not expect the little Fuji to be as sturdy of course, so I’m not complaining, simply documenting what happened.
As a working pro, I deal with the camera gear on a daily basis for the past 30 years or so. Last time I dropped my camera was 15 years ago, and it was a “quick release” incident before Manfrotto implemented the safety lever.
Maybe you should do a little work on your camera safety, as you seem to be letting your gear freefall way too often. Just sayin’.
Maybe it’s the shutter.
Yes, I thought of that too. I’ll make the suggestion to the repair team.
This is to prove that weather sealing is… nice… but not necessary.
I live and work on the coast of Maine. I was shooting for a resort client just after a fairly large snowstorm. I was shooting with my X-Pro1 and a Canon 5D. I had the XP1 on a sling (behind me) and I was shooting with the 5D. I fell off the edge of a small cliff about 4 feet down. As I looked up the Canon in front, the XP1 (now under me) I feared the worst. I dug it out, cleaned it and the 35 1.4 off and kept going. After I got home a few hours later I cleaned the XP1 and it hasn’t skipped a beat yet! Can’t wait for the XP2
I just LOVE posts like this on FR~!!!!
It’s fantastic to hear the hush fall over the crowd who clamor on endlessly about the “need” for the next camera body, new features, weather sealing (as if 99% of this gearhead crowd rushes out into blinding rain and sandstorms to shoot high-art or some crap….hahahaha), faster glass, smaller, bigger, tilt-or-no-tilt … yada yada yada…..
Take what you have and go make something with it instead of pining relentlessly for something new. Reminds me of the guy who has a Porsche Cayman S in his garage because all he does is surf the net looking at Ferarris.
I’ve been following Nate’s crazy adventures for almost a year now. Great work and off the beaten path locations. On my bucket list is to attend one of his travel adventures. Highly recommend. The funny thing is I never thought about what equipment he used, just figured Nikon or Canon. Go Fuji! 🙂
Amazing pics!
Concerning the 18mm:
IQ definitely not as impressive as the 14, 35, 56… BUT: light and small. Whenever I need a light and small gear the 18mm is my clear favorite.