daily slice-of-life photo blog of a Gen-X dad
Photography-related posts. I talk about inspiration, settings, gear, other photographers, etc.
Just a quick PSA that I hope can help someone out. If you experience Fujifilm X100T Wi-Fi app connection issues using the Fujifilm Wi-fi App to connect your camera to your Android device, change your phone’s “name” in the app settings, then on the camera, “Change access point” so that it searches for a new device.
It seems like if the app remembers your phone’s old name and tries to connect, it will fail. However, if it searches for a new device, it will connect. I hope this helps!
I got a new camera! As you can see, it’s a beautiful X100T by Fujifilm, in black. I’ll write more about it in the coming months, but I am excited to be using this amazing picture-capturing machine.
Photo info: FUJIFILM XF1, 6.4mm, f/1.8, 1/350 sec, ISO400
One of the omiyage that my family brought home for me was this version of Fuchiko. I like it a lot! The various Fuchikos are a lot of fun to take photos of. And if you break a few of them out at a restaurant with friends, it’s usually a good time!
This is why I prefer to shoot in RAW. You can really do a lot with the RAW information in Lightroom! Sure, you can do a lot with JPEG too, but RAW just lets you do more, and rescue some photos that might be lost causes. I highly recommend shooting in RAW, then watching the hundreds of useful Lightroom tutorials on YouTube. I particularly like Serge Ramelli’s videos.
I recently bought a Patagonia MiniMass messenger bag. I have a couple of bags already, so why do I need a new one? I don’t need one, but it is nice to have a new one that fills a specific purpose.
The other day I listened to a relatively new photography podcast called “Your Itinerary” whose focus is travel photography. In that particular episode, the host interviews a VP of a camera bag manufacturer. During the conversation, the thought that no one camera bag is perfect for all situations kept coming up. I agree with this thought, and am happy that I can now feel less guilty about satisfying my love of messenger bags and backpacks.
Before I bought my new bag, I had two main bags. The first is my REI Messenger bag, with a padded insert for carrying camera gear. The second is a North Face Router backpack, also with a padded insert. Both are good for carrying my dSLR and lenses, the messenger bag being more nimble since I can get the camera out of the bag quickly. The Router holds a lot more and since it’s a backpack, the heavy load is distributed between both shoulders. If I get really tired, there is also a waist strap so I can use it as a pseudo backpacking pack.
The problem with both of these is that thye are large. Lots of times I don’t want to carry them. I mistakenly thought that I could carry either of these wherever I went and have access to my beloved dSLR (actually SLT, for you purists). But now I realize that a smaller bag would be better for an “everyday carry” and since I have my Fujifilm XF1, I don’t need to carry the dSLR for general walkabout photos. The XF1 and RAW can produce some great photos.
I did some research online, watched video reviews, and then went to REI to check out the bags they had in person, specifically looking for a small messenger bag. The Patagonia MiniMass stood out as the best one, and REI had it on clearance! What great timing! Unfortunately, they didn’t have the color I wanted in stock, but I ordered it online and had it shipped to the store. After a week, I had the bag in my possession.
So, how is the bag? In a word: Great! It’s small, but not too small, comfortable, the pockets and storage are for the most part well-thought out. I can fit everything I need into it, and in fact if I wanted to squeeze the dSLR and an extra lens in there, it could do it.
Here’s a list of stuff I currently carry in it:
As you can see from the list, there’s a lot that I carry! But in reality, it does not weigh that much. It’s a nice little kit and I can even shoot RAW, edit on my Dell Venue 8 Pro tablet, and post to Instagram all while on the go. One useful feature of this bag is that the two cover-straps also double as compression straps, so you can expand or slim down the width of the bottom of the bag. I wish I had this on my larger messenger bag and backpack!
Of course with any bag, there are a couple of things that I’d change. Well, just one in fact! There is only a single outside pocket for a water bottle. This pocket is perfect for carrying the Fujifilm XF1 compact camera, but I wish there was another pocket on the other side so I could carry my 12oz. Liberty water bottle. Since that bottle has a handle, there may be some way to attach it.
All-in-all I love the Patagonia MiniMass messenger bag. It fits into my life perfectly!
