Earlier this week, I attended the launch of Fujifilm's latest X-series camera, the X-S20. I confess that there weren't too many people my age there, but as I get older, this is becoming more common. Of equal interest, there weren't many photo magazine writers there either, but a lot of bloggers and influencers! Yes, it's the new world order and the good news for us is that as Fujifilm and other manufacturers invent and modify their gear, we get the benefits, even if we're still using the camera predominantly for stills.

On the other hand, if like me you're doing a little video as well (because I confess it's a lot of fun), then a small camera is what's required if you're going to take something instead of your mobile phone. Let's face it, most of the stuff we see on social media is shot with a tiny phone sensor (referring to the physical size of the sensor, not the pixel count) and a wide-angle lens. Then when we suddenly see some footage shot with a real camera and a proper lens, the differences are obvious - at least to me. And this is the market the X-S20 seems to be aimed at - vloggers and influencers who want to create a better quality image.

Some of the new features are simply great for stills photography as well, beginning with the small size body (weighing 491 g) and the deeper handgrip, so you get that small camera, but it's not such a struggle to hold it! It makes me think of travel photography and shooting from the hip.

Officially, the X-S20 is a mirrorless digital camera equipped with the back-illuminated 26.1-megapixel, X-Trans CMOS 4 sensor and the high-speed image processing engine X-Processor 5. The use of the new high-capacity battery has more than doubled the number of frames it can capture on a single charge, now around 800, compared to that of the previous model, Fujifilm X-S10. The camera also features a five-axis in-body image stabilisation (IBIS) mechanism that offers up to a 7-stop advantage, plus AI-based subject-detection AF, capable of detecting, for example, animals and cars.

The X-S20 supports recording 6.2K/30P 4:2:2 10-bit video internally and features a 3.5mm microphone / earphone jack for connecting external accessories to conduct fully-fledged video recording. And a new Vlog Mode makes it easy to produce a range of content, letting the camera set the most appropriate settings.

We'll grab a review unit from Fujifilm and let you know how it goes in the field!

A landmark exhibition documenting an often-overlooked side of Brisbane’s history will soon open at Brisbane’s premier photographic art gallery, the Maud Street Photographic Gallery in Newstead.

Divine Brisbane is a fascinating record of Brisbane’s past and insight into a growing city’s growing diversity. From grand cathedrals to bush chapels, to mosques, synagogues, and temples, all captured through the eyes – and lens – of master photographer Robert Gray.

“We all have our cross to bear,” says Robert. “I just have more than most!”

A photographic lifetime honed his interest in architecture, history, and religion.

“All these things collided to produce what has become the Divine Brisbane project. A photo of a church is just a photo of a church,” he says, “but show me the collection of every religiously significant building, and you can learn so much about that city.”

Just over 80 pieces from his collection of more than 560 religious sites will be on display, from June 9-23, 2023.

This major exhibition is part of the Asia Pacific Architectural Festival, an initiative of Architecture Media and the State Library of Queensland, and alongside the inaugural Brisbane Photography Festival; 9 days of events bringing together the city’s photographers and community. Robert will also talk about The Importance of Photographic Projects at South Brisbane TAFE during the Festival and will hold an Artist talk at the gallery on June 17th at 10 am.

Lone tree, Arkaroola. Although I had a tripod with me, this was hand-held!
Fujifilm X-H2, 150-600mm Fujinon lens, f6.4 @ 1/500 second, ISO 1250

As a landscape photographer, there’s a strong argument for using a tripod, but when it comes to travel, the case is not clear cut. Sure, travel photographers shoot landscapes and probably to get the best possible landscape exposure, a tripod would be useful. However, if carrying a tripod restricts your movement for capturing other aspects of your trip – such as portraits, interiors, documentary – then maybe your tripod is best left at home.

In a travel context, you can often leave a tripod behind in the hotel or vehicle, so taking one with you on the trip is easy enough. I have a small, lightweight tripod which isn’t as stable or as functional as I’d like for landscape photography, but it’s much easier to work with when travelling. Maybe the answer is a compromise tripod for your travel work, too.

The other option is to say no tripod. If tripods serve two main purposes, to keep the camera stable and to slow yourself down so you can frame carefully considered compositions, perhaps these purposes are incompatible with travel photography. Certainly you don’t want to be slowing yourself down when shooting in the street and if you’re worried about camera shake, use different camera settings. If you’re unwilling to change your aperture, you can usually increase your ISO setting without any significant compromise. When you think about it, if you set a fast enough shutter speed, there’s no need for a tripod at all.

So, what about shooting landscapes and wildlife with telephoto lenses? When it comes to landscape, just ramp up the ISO setting so you’re shooting at 1/1000 second or more and, along with image stabilisation, you should have perfectly sharp images. For wildlife, tripods and gimbals are generally used for the large super-telephotos because they're too heavy to hand-hold for long periods – perhaps you need to compromise with a monopod or take a lighter telephoto zoom instead?

When it comes to equipment, travel photographers often find themselves making the most of what they have brought with them, comfortable in the knowledge that if they had brought everything, they wouldn’t be able to carry it!