Considering this is supposed to be a Fuji lens blog, then my my, what a Nikon bias! Come on, stick to the theme!

No love for the 24-70f4

Wait, so where's the video where you talk about the X-T5 as a landscape camera?

I have been using clear glass filters on my lenses for years, ever since I purchased my first Nikon camera, a N2000 film body. I hate the thought of rubbing a cloth on the actual lens glass.

No interest in damn zoom lenses

ill agree with a lot of this, my only disagreements are advances in technology that are less about MP and IQ, are really great and are really important to me.. such as AF, the weight of the camera, what lenses are available to experiment.. etc. For example images of my kid running.. I end up with many more priceless images with a fast and accurate camera.. And a camera like the ZF.. with its ability to adapt so many manual lenses and vie you MF feedback... its great stuff. Id agree though that much of the IQ and MP stuff is pretty hyped out.

Its REALLY had trying to make a living on KZbin, best of luck tto you.

Thanks!

That 50mm f2 AIS lens you have is a bit of a sleeper. Originally it was introduced in 1965 within 3 weeks of the introduction of the 50mm f2 Summicron. Oddly enough the lens diagrams for both lenses were identical and they were equal in terms of performance. Which led to rumors they were a shared design which is quite possible because at that time optical glass selection options were quite limited. Anyhow that exact design was used for the 50mm f2 Nikkor-H, then in 1974 it gained multicoating and became the 20mm f2 Nikkor-HC and then when the AIS change was introduced the HC got dropped and it became the 50mm f2 AIS Nikkor. I would suggest that you compare this lens to a 50mm f1.8 Z Nikkor S because you are in for a real surprise. From f2.8 to f16 you will find it's the near equal to the S lens with a bit of character thrown in. BTW another bit of a sleeper is the 135mm f3.5 Nikkor-Q but you will need to shop for one with the AI conversion aperture ring installed because the FTZ adapters feature a mounting flange that is 58mm in diameter and 1mm larger than the mounting flanges on all of the Film Nikon cameras and the Non AI aperture rings feature a inside diameter of 57.2 mm. Yeah, a bit dumb on Nikon's part and one day I will look into seeing how difficult it would be to remove that mounting flange and chuck it up in a lathe and turn it down to the correct 57mm diameter. On a final note the 180mm f2.8 EDIF AF-Nikkor D is an S Line quality lens. Sharp everywhere from f2.8 to f11 and quite capable of producing nice sharp 16x24 inch prints at f16. It is one of the finest lenses Nikon ever created. Hopefully someday we will actually see a stepper motor equipped FTZ.

A nice run through, thanks! Let me gain you 2 buttons back...I noted you keep the Display button as itself, so: In the display set up we are given 4 “displays”. 1 is my Simple (minimal bottom line data) plus histogram. 2 is both data lines with grid active plus level meter. 3 is totally black, just a clear screen. 4 is free for any other preference you like.

Nice! I recently switched from Fuji to Nikon with a Zf and I love it. I’m really excited to acquire a second Nikon body, and if I get the Z6II vs the Z6III, I can get more glass. I really don’t want to break my bank on a Z6III when I can get a Z6 II for under $1,500, which will not put me in the position of being broke! Is the Z6II still a good choice? I shoot portraits and headshots in natural light and studio, and some occasional family sessions. I don’t need insane speed , I mainly just want the images to be similar in look to my Zf. I know the processors are different, but do you think the sensor is the same in the Z6II & Zf? Thoughts appreciated!!!!

Love your style of presentation. Keep up the work. Hopefully it will pay off.

Banana-great one! Found your channel after buying a brand new Fuji XT-5 and was researching the best landscape lens for this camera (good video by the way). But this was better. My 2nd best discovery of 2025 so far- right behind cheap chinese lenses (TT Artisans, Brighten Star, etc) that are crushing the Leica fanboys. Watching other channels cry about the "vignetting" and the "chromatic aberration" and oh my, the weight! Sounds like I found your channel at the right time!

Amazing pictures!! When taking the picture where did you set the focusing point ? I assuming that on the bell house, but the foreground seems to be extremely in focus as well. I have the 8-16mm lens for my XT-5 and I think I’m struggling a bit with getting things done right, it seems I can’t have everything in focus as I would like to. If I had taken the picture I would have set the focusing point on the house, but I might be wrong.

Interesting video, then at the end you said you were a teacher who hated the politics of it. As a teacher who hates the politics of it, I hit the subscribe button.

BANANA!!!!! Art is the breath and breadth of the artist. Spot on! Creative inspiration is the soul of art. Knowing how to effectively use its tools is a matter of mechanics and will never by itself make an artist. Thank you for making it real.

Amazing lens, I'm a proud owner and use it pretty much all the time.

Thomas what settings did you use, WB, color, highlight/shadows? Shooting RAW and then postprocess or film simulation?

Liked and Subscribed... Thank you Sir!

You don't have to be a nikon, fanboy to appreciate that beautiful piece of technology only main complaint. People have are from people who don't like the retro style in ergonomics but you can't go out in the rain and complain about getting wet it's just the nature of this kind of camera nikon cameras so far cannot record video redundantly to the second card, and that's all of their cameras

Nikon said it's the same basic sensor with tweaks from the exspeed 7 processor that's straight from an ambassador who's not Richie. Someone higher up

That Nikon V1, that’s a sensor smaller than say the M4/3’s?

Banana. I just found your channel. Thank you for the content, I am now a new subscriber. I didn’t really understand the jargon used in reference to the digital cameras. I’ll get it as we go along. I have an Olympus tg-4 tough or something like that. I use for work in wildlife management for clients to see immediately. For myself I just shoot film, using an old Sears 35/rf (Ricoh 500G) or my Graflex 22 tlr. Looking forward to seeing some darkroom content. Thanks again.

Banana, and all the best with that cough, spot on my friend, regards from the Netherlands!

What you say from 8:00 on, anybody should be doing. There is so much idle talk on Yt, done by smart people who don't wait for the right moment and inspiration. They are clever at inventing catchy titles that will lure you to click on it. But the content in the video so often doesn't match the expectation raised by the title. They are deceiving us and deceiving themselves at the same time.

you are so right...i get great images from my D700 and my D200 Nikons from which i can make very nice large prints...I used to make large prints from 35mm b&w and color negs in the darkroom the old-fashioned chemistry way -- much more fun and satisfying.

I am a retired veteran photographer of the commercial and portrait realms. I have used everything from an 11x14 Deardorff to a D800 when I retired. I retired 5 years ago and really glad I did. The entire industry has gone insane in my opinion. I literally have not owned a camera for the last 5 years after getting rid of everything. I am waiting to finally buy a camera. A tiny new Fuji XM5. This is literally the first video I have ever watched of yours and I am really glad that I found it.

BANANA! first video i see and You got me !

I started improving as a photographer during lockdown when I started reading about art inc. art history. I have become convinced that composition is the main skill. Photography like crime is a case of 'Means, Motive and Opportunity'. And without the Motive and Opportunity the Means are immaterial.

I've been shooting with Nikon since the time when the F2 was introduced. So I have a bit of a history with Nikon and I like the brand even though it does have some warts. Back in 2016 I picked up a D750 to use at my Nieces wedding and the first lens I got for it was the 24-120 EDIF VR AF-S Nikkor, one of those alphabet lenses Nikon just loves to produce. My sample happened to be one of the best samples and tested on my Z7 II as a complete equal to my 24-120 S line lens. Pixel peeps at any magnification were a dead on match. However it was 1/2 pound heavier than the S lens and at nearly 70 years of a age weight does matter. Basically the 24-120 S is a huge giant bargain because the image quality is top rank and the usefulness is off the charts good. BTW, having shot with so many film cameras over the years I am well aware of the benefits of having at Aperture Ring on a lens. First time you find you need to adjust the aperture while maintaining your finger on the shutter release you will discover the left hand is very useful for more than just holding the lens. BTW, that is Nikon Wart #2, they should have retained the aperture ring on the lenses. That would allow those who don't change their aperture to have a dial where it would only rarely get disturbed and those who like to set the aperture on the fly to do that without changing their grip on the camera.

I really enjoy your videos. Curious - what do you use for your field videos of yourself and in studio and for audio? The quality of both video and audio is great. Thanks!

I am under no illusions that new camera gear will produce better images, especially for landscape photography. As a retired guy with more time to pursue my passion and enough income to buy into the new mirrorless systems (Nikon for me) I have some of the latest gear. If I was starting out and on a budget, I’d go to eBay or KEH and buy into an 8 or 10 year old system, purchasing someone else’s cast-off gear, and go out and produce some great images

I suspect the reason a LOT of KZbinrs burn out and get depressed, is they figured: 1) their channel CAN'T compete unless they go "play the game" - which includes producing content, and thumbnails titles, and shilling in such a way - that clashes with morals... You know the GAME CHANGING, SHOCKED FACE, NEW PRODUCT.... 2) Then there's the people who went along with it all, but know they can't do what they want anymore, or they'll sink, so they gotta keep churning out algo chasing, product shilling content. There's a tiny number of people who can make it with their likeability and not need to resort to this, but you and i and 99.9% of channels don't have that.

Took photography class in art school. Film and early digital era. Being in dark room days and nights for photograpy assignments. It's the human behind the camera.

Would you prefer this one over the XT-5? I am leaning towards the xt-5, but not quite sure yet. Weight/mp/recipes/ ( and also the 35mm 1,8 )

Bravo!

It's just advertising, camera companies need to make a profit to stay in business, it's not unlike new cars, no one needs 500 hp to drive down to the supermarket, but we all like new cars with their gadgets and gimmicks, once again car companies need to sell new cars to stay in business, but their are still lots of people driving around in old cars

hear hear

Thanks for this video, it has really got me going more on my thinking about what I want with my photography. I recently got me an old '57 Konica film camera, with ambition to get the feeling I had as young when shooting 35mm black and white. 2 years ago I invested huge in a Fuji X-T5 with some great lenses. The lenses I then swapped for a 100-400 mm. What I wanted to focus on was bird photography. But it is hard, a lot of waiting, searching and, very difficult to get photos you are really impressed of. And, I don't know why, but I'm not 100% happy with my great equipment. Nothing wrong with it, work super, really nice pictures. But there is something that I'm missing, when I use it. That I haven't been able to express. It's more of a feeling. And it is a lot of money that I have stuck there. What I mostly ending up shooting is landscape, forest, auroras, stars and often very, very low light. Has been obsessed with the Cancon EOS 6D and going the old DSLR full frame road. I have an opportunity to buy a body and couple of lenses rather cheap. Have seen so much good photos taken with it here on YT. Am I totally crazy if buy it, sell the X-T5, ditch most of the bird photography and get a bag of toys that I maybe will have a better feeling with, have more fun with. I mean, someone would be very, very happy to get my almost not used X-T5 and lens and really make good use of it. Isn't that best for all parts? :)

Hi, Thomas! I still have one BANANA that I can add to other fruit, for tomorrow's breakfast! Sincerely, I'm very happy to see your video, and like you, feel that far too many photographers, both good ones, and bad are doing little more than shilling for the big companies, who only want to sell more cameras and other gear! I stuck with DSLR's and have a nice little stable of the ones I love and use. I have NO desire to go mirrorless, though I'm happy that others jumped on that bandwagon. Them selling off their pro DSLR glass made it possible for me to buy some top of the line lenses, for VERY low prices! I'm as happy as a pig on poo! Thanks, again, for clearing the air on this! I still grin when thinking about some photographers who I follow, who swore that they were sticking to their good, old gear, only to eventually succumb to temptation, and shill the "newest", or "greatest" from the big companies! Meanwhile, I continue to soar along on my chosen older gear, and am extremely satisfied to do so! Well done, Good Sir, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc Mark

Recently my X-T10 broke catastrophically (power supply section blew) after 8 years. I loved that camera. as I look at replacement options, I just want my X-T10 back. I would love an affordable X-Trans 16 MP sensor X-mount camera with physical dials and no menu diving, an updated processor that can process HEIF, no IBIS, no video capabilities whatsoever, no dual card slots or insane readout speeds or autofocus capable of tracking a flea on dog fur from 100 m away. The result? I bought a manual 23mm lens for my broken X-T10; it has horrendous field distortion and unusable large apertures: it's great and it keeps my X-T10 alive. When I get another camera it will be an older used X-E or X-T so I can keep using the lenses I already have. BANANAS!

Good on ya. I want a Sony A6700 for the auto focus. I do self tapes with a Lumix ZS100, and I have to use a standin (a spare tripod) to set the focus manually because the Zs100 auto focus is not good enough for video. But it is as you say, I can get great results with a lesser camera, so I'm not going into debt to get an a6700. One day, but for now I'll continue to use my standin. Bananas.

As a hobbyist my use case was one body one lens (prime). Then I began to appreciate what a useful lens the Nikon Z 24-70 f/4 S was on my Zfc. And I told myself I had to get a similar zoom range for my Zf. Voila the Nikon Z 24-120 f/4 S. Of course everyone, Nikon, Adorama, B&H, Amazon were out of stock. After a month, the lens was suddenly, a month early, in stock and in my Shopping Cart at Adorama. Got the lens 3 days ago. Just loving it.

Hey Thomas, coming more from the perspective of a fellow KZbinr: I completely agree with you, that the tech is just the tool to help us do what we do, and for years and years and years these tools are so ridiculously good, that we could easily just use a 10 year old camera and would be fine. What I am not completely sure about is the thing with the algorithm and that KZbin is "dictating" us to do gear stuff... I definitely agree that gear talk brings in views, but in my opinion it doesn't grow a channel and a community as good as helpful content. For example opinion videos, tutorials and so on. When I look at my channel and my most successful videos, I can see that these are never the tech videos. I still try to keep the balance between tech and helpful content because in the end, I love photography but I also love tech and love talking about it. So I found a way where I only talk about tech that somehow excites me and I feel it works really good. I think your move is great and I will keep an eye on your channel to see what's coming in the future, I am really interested :)

Free Hasselblad camera cry me a river. Some people sound so miserable.

I couldn't agree more with you, I am using old cameras, not because I can't afford the new ones, it's because I do not wish to become lazy and rely on easy life, you will lose the skill. I am using my two DSLR Canon 5d Mark II and 6d mark i as well as my old Nikon D750, they are amazing cameras. Imagine you are trying to unscrew a pipe or a screw and you're using a pair of pliers instead of using a proper wrench, you will get the job done because you will have to compensate with your skills. A 100 years ago, many great photographers didn't have cameras we have today and yet their photos are legendary.

Do you use filters

BANANA! haha I enjoyed this video and it's the first I have seen of your channel. I am fed up with the channels that just review gear. I subscribed. I am a hobbyist and I bought a Nikon D700. Paired it with a Nikkor 58mm f1.4 G and now a Milvus 21mm F2.8 and I am happy with my purchase.

All of this is true, but what is also true is that the gear is getting better and better. Makes for photographer, their life easier, and almost effortless in some case. I am always happier when I get a picture with something that was not of the latest technology and that sense it kinds of prove you right. After almost 50 years of photography, when I replace a piece of equipment, I do it because I wanted to do it not because it’s gonna make me a better photographer. One might say, why do you replace your older gear? The only answer I can think of is because I can.

we need more bananas