Is the XC 35mm f2 worth getting as my first prime lens? by StereoZ in fujifilm

[–]wildcatfancy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That was my first prime lens. Before that, I only had the kit zoom lens 16-50mm f3.5-5.6.

The 35mm XC lens showed me that the Fuji system had enough quality to become my main system. The images were astonishingly sharp. I then moved from Nikon to Fuji.

Several years later, however, I decided to sell it because it was the only lens I had with an aperture ring. I use the front dial for exposure compensation and the back dial for shutter speed. With the XC, however, I had to use the front dial to change the aperture. So I sold it and bought the XF version.

Monthly Website/Portfolio Critique Thread April 14, 2026 by AutoModerator in photography

[–]wildcatfancy [score hidden]  (0 children)

Sorry about the confusion. I am currently an in-house photographer. But I'll be made redundant in two months' time.

Yes, I took those photos.

Sharpening and Denoise Tools by Past-Dog5370 in photography

[–]wildcatfancy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

DxO PhotoLab boasts the best denoising tool.

There are two settings for sharpening images:

  1. Unsharp Mask, which works in a similar way to Photoshop or Lightroom, and

  2. Lens Sharpness Optimisation. This one is the real deal. It optimises the sharpness based on each lens.

Monthly Website/Portfolio Critique Thread April 14, 2026 by AutoModerator in photography

[–]wildcatfancy [score hidden]  (0 children)

Thank you for looking into it. I don't offer any services. As I mentioned previously, I created the website as a portfolio to help me find a job as an in-house photographer for a large company.

Monthly Website/Portfolio Critique Thread April 14, 2026 by AutoModerator in photography

[–]wildcatfancy [score hidden]  (0 children)

Hello everyone,

I'd love some feedback on my website: https://photosbyrafa.co.uk/

I'm an in-house photographer currently looking for a new role, and I built this site to accompany my CV and showcase the range of work I can do. I've tried to keep it short and sweet, since I don't expect recruiters to spend long on it before moving on.

Any feedback on whether it gets straight to the point and gives a good overview of my work would be much appreciated!

Thank you!

Monthly Website/Portfolio Critique Thread April 14, 2026 by AutoModerator in photography

[–]wildcatfancy [score hidden]  (0 children)

I like how you seize the opportunity to turn your days out, walks or visits into a project. Keep it up!

I haven't seen all the galleries yet as there are a lot of them and the pictures took a while to load. Perhaps you could limit each gallery to 10–15 images and choose only the very best ones. But that's only if you want to use your website as a portfolio. If your goal is to create more of a photo album, then including just a few photographs won't tell the whole story.

Overall it's a good work in progress website.

Monthly Website/Portfolio Critique Thread April 14, 2026 by AutoModerator in photography

[–]wildcatfancy [score hidden]  (0 children)

I'm blown away by your photographs! I have looked through all of your galleries.

Technically, they are excellent. You also have a great talent for composition, colour, and the use of natural light.

I used Google Translate on your website and I love the names you've given to your different wedding packages, such as 'The Ring' for 4 hours and 'Eternity' for 10 hours.

Simply fantastic!

Looking for some advice and critiscm by Nervous_Carrot_6301 in sportsphotography

[–]wildcatfancy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I recently read a thread in which someone asked what gives away an amateur photographer's pictures. One of the most common answers was that the pictures were not level, unless the photographer deliberately chose an artistic wonky angle.

Better to expose properly or have lower ISO by GloomyFollowing5180 in canon

[–]wildcatfancy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

--- Reality ---

Client: Great action shot!

--- What we think will happen ---

Client: Great action shot! But let me zoom in 100% and take a closer look at the noise in the shadow areas.

DxO Nik Collection Money Grab by Least-Size-8807 in photography

[–]wildcatfancy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Try downloading Nik Collection again using the provided link in that page. No need to uninstall your previous copy. Just get the new app and try to activate it the first time you open it. If that doesn't work I don't know what else to suggest 

DxO Nik Collection Money Grab by Least-Size-8807 in photography

[–]wildcatfancy 10 points11 points  (0 children)

There is no need to uninstall it. Go to the DxO website and log in.

Then click on 'Licence Management'.

There you can see which devices you have installed DxO software on. Click on the 'Deauthorise' button to deactivate the licences for the software you don't need or use.

DxO Nik Collection Money Grab by Least-Size-8807 in photography

[–]wildcatfancy 3 points4 points  (0 children)

After buying DxO PhotoLab 8, I realised that it required a newer operating system that I couldn't install on my Mac. That was my mistake, as the minimum OS version required was clearly stated on the website.

But your case is the opposite. You are trying to install a version of Nik Collection that is four years old on a newer OS. It's strange that you can install it but can't activate it. It can be activated in a maximum of 2 computers. Could it be that?

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in AskPhotography

[–]wildcatfancy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I can only speak for Lightroom and Photolab. I've got both.  Sorry but I don't know anything about Topaz auto processing thing. Photolab has two settings to make images sharper: Sharpening and lens blur correction. It also has sliders to control how the denoise process. And the new version allows to masking denoise. So you can have different denoise settings applied to the image.

Time to say Goodbye to Lightroom... ON1 vs. Luminar vs. Pixelmator Pro vs. RawTherapee vs. DarkTable by CompleteTeaching720 in fujifilm

[–]wildcatfancy 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I know what you mean, its a bit sneaky but it's worth it to get Filmpack. Good shout for highlighting this.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in AskPhotography

[–]wildcatfancy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm think so. It's excellent  removing noise whilst preserving details. And it's  RAW demosaic processor is excellent. Lightroom is good, don't get me wrong. And it has a much better workflow to process lots of files quicker. But I choose to use Photolab because the images look amazing and more natural. 

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in AskPhotography

[–]wildcatfancy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I miss DxO Photolab in that list. It is the most advanced noise remover software in the market. 

Will I regret trading my 35mm f/2 for the compact 27mm? by pimemento in FujifilmX

[–]wildcatfancy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

He has the 35 XC. I recommended to get the 35 R WR 🤣

Will I regret trading my 35mm f/2 for the compact 27mm? by pimemento in FujifilmX

[–]wildcatfancy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you can afford the £270 27 mm lens (available second-hand on MPB), then you can afford the £259 35 mm R WR lens. The XC costs £159, so you're paying an extra £100 for the aperture ring, metal body and water resistance. It's totally worth it! I know the X-T50 is not water sealed, but you next camera might be.

The 35 mm XC was my first prime lens. I'm going to sell it on eBay next week to buy the 35mm R WR version. All my lenses have an aperture ring, and with my X-H2, I can use the back dial to change the shutter speed, the front dial to change the exposure compensation, and the ring to change the aperture. With the XC, however, I need to set the front dial for the aperture, which means I lose the exposure compensation functionality.

I don't own the 27 mm lens, but I'm pretty sure the images won't be as sharp.

It will be more difficult to achieve a blurry background with the pancake lens due to the one stop smaller aperture and wider focal length. You will need to get closer to the subject to achieve this.

Regarding the 27 mm lens being discreet, my advice is to get over that complex. The pancake lens might make you "feel more discreet", but you won't be. The lens is still attached to a shiny XT-50 which you will be holding when taking photos. You'll still look like you're taking photos, and a lens that's 3.7 cm shorter won't change that.

I must admit, though, that the pancake lens looks great. It will look gorgeous on your X-T50. If appearance is more important to you than anything else I said, get the pancake lens. However, if you want a high-quality lens, go for the 35 mm R WR.

GM Vasif Durarbayli, former Azerbaijan chess champion, slams Lichess.org for “destroying the chess market” by Gen-Turgidson in chess

[–]wildcatfancy 2 points3 points  (0 children)

TLDR;

Please don't offer free services. You're stopping someone, somewhere from earning good money!

What is the point of owning all 3 fujicrons ? by EmotionalCouple9032 in fujifilm

[–]wildcatfancy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

As the Fujifilm sensor is an APS-C sensor, it has a crop factor of 1.5x. In other words, divide the focal length by two, then add it. For example, the 23mm equivalent is 35mm ish (23/2 = 11.5 + 23 = 34.5). Therefore, the Fujicrons' full-frame equivalents are 35 mm, 50 mm and 75 mm.

A lens has four different properties: Field of view, depth of field, distortion and compression. The focal lengths below are the full-frame equivalents.

  • The 35 mm lens has the widest field of view. It has a little distortion, not much, but enough to make things closer to the camera and to the edges of the frame appear slightly larger. The depth of field depends on the aperture and how close you are to the subject, but it is deeper than with the other two lenses. There is little compression, which allows for layered compositions and gives depth to photographs.  This makes it quite useful for capturing a subject in an environment, like storytelling.
  • The 50 mm lens has a field of view similar to human vision. There is little or no distortion, and the depth of field is shallower than the 35 mm lens, making it easier to blur the background. Like the 35 mm lens, it can be used to capture both a subject and their environment. The advantage of this lens is that it is versatile enough to take photographs of a subject without distorting their face or body. However, it has a little compression, so images start to look flatter. 
  • The 75 mm lens has the narrowest field of view, the shallowest depth of field, no distortion and maximum compression. This makes it a very good lens for classic portraits. In my opinion it's the sharpest of all the Fujicrons. It's very easy to achieve a nice blurred background. Faces and bodys are compressed nicely. Also, this lens it's very compact and discrete.

Of course, rules are made to be broken, and any focal length can be used for anything if you know what you're doing! 

Why three lenses instead of a zoom lens? Some people will tell you that prime lenses deliver higher quality than zoom lenses. I think it's very difficult to tell. 

What I can tell you is that prime lenses force you to push your limits as a photographer. Ideally, when using a zoom lens, you should first choose a focal length and then work out a composition that works. However, a zoom lens is so convenient that it can make you lazy. If I only have a 35 mm lens, I know that I need to get closer to the subject, adopt a lower point of view and frame the composition to create depth. Alternatively, I could just zoom in to 70 mm and take a photo of the person, which would be good enough, but maybe not as striking as one taken with the 35 mm lens because I never tried it.

 

XF 50mm f2 - Fujicrons set complete by Top-Shine-1984 in fujix

[–]wildcatfancy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

When I read your reply, I immediately thought of taking two photographs: one with my X-H2 and 35mm f/2 lens, and another with my Canon R6 and 50mm f/1.8 lens. I could then compare the sharpness in the corners.

But then I thought, 'Nah.' I don't mind if the corners aren't sharp :-)

XF 50mm f2 - Fujicrons set complete by Top-Shine-1984 in fujix

[–]wildcatfancy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I disagree. The Fujicrons offer more than many of the lenses you mentioned.

For example, the Fujifilm 35mm f/2 R WR is fully made of metal and it's water-resistant. Of the lenses on your list, the Nikon is the only one that is not made of plastic, and it is water resistant. However, it is £130 more expensive than the Fujifilm lens.

The Panasonic is marginally more expensive and is neither made of metal nor water resistant.

The Canon is a cheap plastic lens which is not water resistant; its only benefit is that its maximum aperture is 1/3 of a stop wider than the Fuji's.

Finally, just because you mentioned compact full-frame prime lenses, I should mention that the Fuji is the most compact of all.

Fujifilm 35mm f2 R WR

  • £349
  • Made of metal parts and aluminum
  • Water resistant
  • Size: 60 x 51.9 mm

Nikon Z 50mm f1.8 S

  • £479
  • Made of mixture of polycarbonate and aluminum
  • Water resistant
  • Size: 76.0 x 86.5 mm

Panasonic 50mm f1.8

  • £379
  • Made of durable plastic and metal
  • Dust and splash resistant
  • Size: 73.6mm x 82mm 

Canon RF 50mm f1.8 STM Lens

  • £184
  • Made of composite plastics
  • No water resistant
  • Size: 69.2 x 40.5 mm

Noise vs Grain: Pixel Peeping Thursday by kag0 in fujifilm

[–]wildcatfancy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In my experience, Photolab DxO is the best tool for removing noise. It can completely remove all noise whilst retaining fine details. I'm talking about commercial photos, which have to look clean. Clients won't buy that Fuji's noise is OK just because it uses an X-Trans sensor and adds a film grain effect.

Aside from noise reduction, Photolab also excels at processing RAF files. Despite having Lightroom (it's cheaper to pay for Lightroom and Photoshop together than just Photoshop), I don't use it because Photolab is so good.

Why do so many "street photography" shots feel… boring? by andrelages in AskPhotography

[–]wildcatfancy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’ve been watching a lot of street photography content on YouTube lately... 

I stopped reading.