Friday (26-August-2016) — New Jersey

Summertime Nature at the Sourland Mountain Preserve.

The Elusive American Bittern Hunting Frogs a the Sourland Mountain Preserve Pond.  Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 100-400 mm OIS lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/600 sec).

About two weeks ago, I dropped my two Fuji X-T1 cameras off for service. One wouldn’t turn on, and since I am home for awhile the other one to fix the light pollution issue. There was a Fuji recall to fix the light pollution issue soon after I purchased the camera, but with my travel schedule never had time to be without the camera. Five days later I was told both cameras needed new power supply modules, and the one with the light pollution issue needed a new top cover ( ~$250 and ~$300). I then got a call that when they opened up the camera that wouldn’t turn on that there was internal water damage, and that the camera was not repairable. So much for weather resistance. The only time that camera got wet was the mist at Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. And even then it was in a rain cover. So I ended up getting one working camera back. The first thing I noticed when doing my afternoon walkabout in the Sourland Mountain Preserve was how slow the Fuji X-T1 camera was in acquiring focus, and that it had a hard time auto-focusing for close targets. I would have to manually focus, and lost many shots. Two weeks of using my Nikon DSLRs reminded me of how good they are even if they are are heavier. Even the mirrorless Nikon 1 series of cameras focus faster (but don’t have same image quality for large prints).
End of Rant.

Elusive American Bittern at the Pond. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 100-400 mm OIS lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/600 sec). (David J Mathre)
Elusive American Bittern at the Pond. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 100-400 mm OIS lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/600 sec). (David J Mathre)

Author: David Mathre

I am a scientist by training (Eckerd College, BSc; Caltech, Ph.D.). I worked for 27 years as a Chemist in the Pharmaceutical Industry developing processes to manufacture medicines for human and animal health. I now spend my time as a photographer and world traveler. My interests include the natural world, wildlife, landscapes, sky, and seascapes, travel, and astrophotography. I look for unique ways of viewing the world and presenting my images. I have traveled to over 55 countries in six continents, often on Semester at Sea voyages. While at home in New Jersey, I spend time on home renovation and expansion of a wildflower garden/meadow.

9 thoughts on “Friday (26-August-2016) — New Jersey”

  1. Ah good to know. Well there are applications where Nikon cameras are just "do it" and some other companies will do that too in the future…

    Disclaimer: For what i know, mostly Canon gear will do that too.

    And sometimes i use my Leica 🙂 For some fun the Nikon can not deliver 🙂

    And sometimes an old Nikon motorized cam is the best one can use 🙂

  2. +Dieter Fröhling Every now and then my Nikon cameras have problems (Df shutter buckled in Antartica, and D3x power supply burned out in Yosemite in the winter). But all in all, my pro bodies have taken a lot of punishment over the years – and just kept shooting.

  3. +cobalt please I learned the hard way before and now always take two identical camera bodies with me when I travel. These two Fuji bodies have been to 30+ countries over the last two years, and only after I got home the one failed completely and the other one is now repaired.

    Also, thanks for your other comment. I don't have a "smart phone" and didn't realize they had issues with multiple images in a post.

  4. I hope my Fuji X-T1 keeps working…..depending on the light, I have Fuji captures that I will take over the Nikon, but then again I can say the same things about my Nikons. It is such a toss up sometimes.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.