X100F & The Leaf Shutter

As a Strobist, my Photography now functions around the observation, manipulation and creative expression of Light.

I don’t leave home without some form of Lighting and Modifier in my Bag.

Even my tiny Pixapro Speedlight, Trigger Cord and Mag Mod System is in my bag along with my Fuji X100F.

I have been exploring the concept of over powering the harsh Sun with High Speed Sync and Off Camera Strobes.

This is quite an involved operation but highly doable for me.

My X100F is fully equipped to overpower the Sun. This little marvel of a Camera has so many cool gimmicks it’s beyond astonishing for me as a Lighting Image Creator.

Here are a few of the features installed:

Colour Science - Film Simulations.

Built in 35mm EQ Lens.

Built in Leaf Shutter which synchronises with Off Camera Flash at any Shutter Speed.

Built in 3 Stop Neutral Density Filter (Think Sun Glasses to protect the intensity of Sun light hitting the 24mp Sensor.

The images above were shot at F2 with a Shutter Speed of 1/1000 of second. You cannot do this with a Canon of Nikon.

Most DSLR Cameras can only sync with Flash up to 1/250 sec.

This means my little Fuji can operate in full blaring Sun with a shallow depth of field at F2. With my Shutter Speed high enough, I can control the quality of light in the background while lighting my subject.

As a Portrait Specialist, I am thrilled by this because I don’t enjoy the concept of wasting power which High Speed Sync does. This principle is like killing a fly with a sledgehammer.

The Leaf Shutter opens and closes just like the iris in the eye. This exposes the Sensor to Light in one go, unlike Focal Plane Shutters found in traditional DSLR Cameras.

These images of my Mother were created using the Leaf Shutter principle.

Truly amazing

I am blown away by this.

I will be sharing more as I go along

Cheers

X