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| Goodbye Canon...Hello, Fuji! |
I finally twisted my own arm and forced myself to sell my 'old' Canon 700D. There was a bit of reluctance which wasn't just sentimental attachment but the desire to document my hobby with a decent camera. But, in the end, the fact that I had a couple of hundred pounds worth of equipment just laying around, and used only occasionally, wore me down and I decided to eBay it.
Amusingly, I first attempted to sell it at my local Jessops but the derisive offer I was given (£175) by them made me think again. But then, my daughter's boyfriend - who is a bit of a whiz on eBay - said he'd have a go and this time I netted a £296 offer. Bloody Jessops!
Anyway, the end goal of this sale was for me to be able to then buy myself a new lens for my X-T2 camera. I just have the kit lens at the moment and as good as it is I have already fallen foul of some of its limitation (zoom-wise). I had always intended to buy a second lens for my Fuji pretty soon after I got it but have been in two minds over which path to take - prime lens or zoom lens.
As it turned out, my need for a good mid-range zoom seems to be greater as I have started to document some of my local events. In particular, I have been attending my local tabletop games club (Scarborough Games Society) and I found that - due to the size of some of the game tables - I couldn't quite get close enough with my closeups of the action with my tidgy 18-55mm kit lens.
So, with the money from the sale of my Canon burning a hole in my pocket, I had my eye firmly on the Fujinon XC 50-230mm F4.5-6.7 OIS II lens (£240 new) which I reckoned was just the job for the ranges that I had in mind...
After a short wait, it was with great excitement that I snapped on my newly arrived Fujinon XC 50-230mm F4.5-6.7 OIS lens (£240 new) and I got to work banging away at the club, getting some nice closeups of the game I was involved with. Here are some examples...
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| Picking out the action at the center of the table! |
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| Another atmospheric closeup, impossible with my 18-55mm zoom. |
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| A closeup from all the way over on the other side of the table. |
The greatest thing about my new 50-230mm zoom - aside from the ability to do extreme closeups from a distance - was that I could now take intimate shots and pick out tiny details without getting in players way or having to stop play so I could get myself close enough to the action. I actually found, on occasion, that I actually had to take a few paces back away from the table to focus on some objects!
Now, I could have bought this lens nearly a hundred pounds cheaper, but I would have had to have had it in silver. I know the colour of the thing makes no difference, but I really just couldn't stomach the idea of a silver lens on my camera. I know that sounds a bit daft, but I had the money so I paid the extra for exactly what I wanted, a black lens to match my all black X-T2.
Any downsides?
The XC 50-230mm zoom is Fuji's budget or ''entry level' X-mount zoom and as such there are some compromises, compared to the 'standard' Fujinon X lens.
To begin with, there's construction. Compared to Fujinon's XF 55-200mm f3.5-4.8 R LM OIS Lens, the XC 50-230mm lens, the outer 'tube' is made of plastic and not metal. But then, the XF 55-200mm is twice the price I paid for my XC zoom!
Even compared to my 18-55mm kit lens - which is also an 'XF' series lens - you can feel the weight difference between the plastic bodied XC series and the metal bodied XFs. My smaller XF zoom feels about twice the weight of my new zoom, even though it's about half the length.
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| XC50-230mmF4.5-6.7 OIS II Lens construction. Source: Fuji |
What else? Well, the XC zoom has no aperture ring. You have to adjust your f-stop via the command ring on the front of the X-T2 (or whatever set-up you have on any other Fuji X camera). Some people make a lot of this, and I can understand why - it's not so intuitive. But, after using this system for changing my aperture during my first session, I actually got used to it - after all, the f-setting is available in the displays.
And finally, what about low light? The XC zoom is rated f4.5-6.7 variable and I have read that some reviewers feel that this is detrimental to its performance in low light situations. I've been exceptionally pleased with the results from my XF zoom lens (f2.8-4) in dimly lit environments so there was a bit of a worry as my focus is shooting at indoor events (which are almost always poorly lit).
But, looking at the results from my session at the Games Society I have little to complain about. And it's great not to have to resort to flash to get the shots, specifically because that would be exceptionally distracting for those at the event (indeed, some events and locations prohibit the use of flash altogether).
Conclusion
At the end of the day, the event's participants were pleased with the photos I took and that - to me - is the most important thing about documenting an occasion like this. I'm very pleased with the money I spent and at peace with myself for selling my Canon. The Fujinon XC 50-230mm F4.5-6.7 OIS II lens is an absolute bargain as far as I am concerned.
Here's a really interesting review of the Fuji XC 50-230: 'SIBLING RIVALRY: THE UNDERESTIMATED XC 50-230MM.'
