When I looked at the above image my first thought was "Why did I take an image of a bit of carpet"? Actually, it is some sort of flower they use to spruce up a bouquet. Quite amazing isn't it. I'm certain that XF 60 f2.4 macro is going to get a lot of use, and not only as a macro lens; I just wish the hood was a tad smaller than it is, but I'm certain I can find something smaller that will also do the job.

The word on the Internet is that evry manufacturer can produce a sharp macro lens, and I don't believe I've come across a soft macro lens since I've got back into photography some years ago, and I've used quite a few macro lenses. The thing is, some lenses are a joy to use and others I just didn't care for although all produced sharp, contrasty images on the system they were mounted to. This lens is really fun to use and the best thing about it for me is that it's not big at all. Actually it's quite small when mounted on the X-T1 (apart from the hood) and balances nicely, even for hand-held work.

A true macro lens can get to 1:1 magnification, so the XF 60 F2.4 macro lens isn't a true macro, only being a 1:2 lens. However, for me personally, it does the job and it's very sharp. Having processed a few images taken with this lens I've been asking myself how sharp can a lens get. I really can't imagine geting any sharper than this lens. It really is superb.

I must say, the more I use the Fujifilm system the more I like it. All the lenses I've used up to now have been very good indeed. The 60 f2.4 macro lens is no exception. Simply wonderful on the X-T1. Not only can it be used as a macro lens but it's also quite suitable as a portrait lens. This makes me wonder if I should get the 56 f1.2 or not. I think not presently. Yes, the 56 is f1.2 and the 60 macro is f2.4 allowing you to get a shallower depth-of-field, but how many times do I do portraits. Actually never really so the 60 f2.4 will do for me. many have said that it's quite a slow focusing lens but I didn't find this at all on my X-T1.

Last one from this combination and one I wanted to post because it does show that you can get sharp images at the long end. This ws taken at 140mm and detail is there when viewing the image at larger resolution. Thought someone would appreciate this who was thinking of buying the lens.

Here's another from the Panasonic 14-140 f3.5-5.6. Looks ok doesn't it? Maybe I should have tried the lens on a Panasonic body but the E-M1 was where it would have been used most of the time. I like the colours and the files sharpen up nicely (when the focus was good). Some might ask why I think it was the lens and not the body, well, I've used other lenses on the E-M1 and focus and sharpness has been spot on. I'm pretty much convinced that the lens was a lemon because I've read a lot of praise for this lens on the Internet or maybe Panasonic had a batch leave the factory. Either way, it's gone and my refund has been transferred, so I'm happy for the present.

I have three or so samples taken with the new Panasonic 14-140 f3.5-5.6 lens. This is the second version and not really optimized for video. I really wanted to like this lens because I like the zoom range and it has a better feel to it than the first version. It is also smaller and lighter than version 1. However I may have gotten hold of a dud or as I call it "a Monday morning lens". Now these images I'm posting suggests that the lens was fine but these are only a few of the ok ones I got after using the lens for over a week. What I was seeing was really soft images using this lens on the E-M1 and I just couldn't figure it out. One minute I got some sharp images then the next few images were really really soft, and not only at the long end.

I tried switching from IBIS to ILIS but that didn't help matters at all. There was no pattern as to when a sharp image would appear because most of them were soft. The fact that this lens must have come from a kit because it actually came in an envelope, which didn't really help my confidence in the lens to start with.

To cut a long story short, the lens got sent back for a refund but I really did like the lens as such. I just might try another one down the line because it would pair up with the GX7 nicely.

Last image from this combination for now. Whether this image works or not is questionable. For me personally no it doesn't. It's not quite symetrical and the horizon is not quite correct. Boy, do I have a lot to learn about how to photograph with a fisheye lens. Very very difficult.

And here is the second image, a totally different one just by turning where I stood. Working with a fisheye lens is one of the hardest thing I've attempted (I feel the same way about real portraiture photography). It's something you really have to work on and finding subjects that work is the hardest thing to find.

Another point about using one of these fisheye lenses is to take work your subject. I know this is true of all subjects but with a fisheye it's really important. All you have to do is turn slightly and everything changes. I'll show what I mean with the above image. The next post will show exactly what I mean. All I did was turn where I stood and a totally different image came out.