Anthony

It's great that business is going so well.

BBF is my standard way of shooting. It has been suggested that in the mirrorless era it is no longer useful, because the entire frame is available for AF, but I do not agree. The ability to focus without shooting and shoot without focussing is very useful. It does away with the need to half press the shutter button, which risks accidentally triggering the shutter. It makes prefocussing extremely easy. Focus and reframe is also very easy, and this is often quicker than moving the focus box around.

Our Dyson cordless vacuum has required one new battery in six years, at modest cost. Its usability is far higher than any corded model I have had.

But only if the new tool enables you to do something different. Otherwise, once you have mastered the new tool, you are stuck with the same problem. What do you do with the tools at your disposal. Example. I moved to Fuji eight years ago for specific reasons. I benefited accordingly (some may say my photography was no better, but that is another issue). Last year I moved back to Nikon for specific reasons. None of these moves inspired me to enjoy or create in any different way, but they did facilitate me to do things I wanted to do. Dallas has exposed his issues here, so it is legitimate to comment on them. Nothing he has said suggests that a change of technology is the answer. The answer is to be found elsewhere, but where that is, only Dallas can say.

I don't think new photo gear is a cure for artistic block.

Great stuff. Your neighbours certainly like scary dressing up (see also Renaissance photos)!

Thanks, Andrew, I have often wondered about the reasons, and you have explained them very clearly.

Thanks, Dallas, she was working up to the last 48 hours, receiving the resignation of one Prime Minister and formally appointing our third female PM. An inspiration.

Good to hear from you, Marco. Lovely photos and thanks for your kind words.

Some of my recent efforts.

Part of the coast at Carteret, on the west of the Cherbourg Peninsula in Normandy. The beach disappears at high tide. The tidal range is between five and ten metres, twice a day. Don't leave your towel and expect it to be there when you return!

It is a terrific movie, the flying scenes are amazing. You do need to see the first movie first, because the stories mesh together and you would miss a lot of the issues in the second if you had not seen the first recently.

Even though I no longer shoot Fuji, I did enjoy my time with it, and it is very important that competition and different ways of making camera systems survive and prosper. That way we all benefit (although at some pain to the wallet!).

Yes, the actual controls are analog style; I was thinking more of the body shape and the top LCD screen, both of which are DSLR style. I have never used an XH1, so I do not know if the top LCD screen solves one of the XT series problems. This is that the selected shutter speed can be overridden by the command dial, so that what is shown on the analog shutter speed dial is incorrect. As for the timing, the curious thing is that Fuji did not mistime the market so much as mistime its own release schedules. It is as if the team working on the XH1 was unaware of what the team working on the XT3 was doing. It will be very interesting to see the XH2. I hope they get the pricing right. In the meantime, I have switched to Nikon Z, because I decided that digital style controls work better on a digital camera, and also the AF is better. My hit rate on birds in flight was very low with Fuji, and is much better with the Z7ii.

Interesting, my take on this is that the XH1 offered XT2 levels of image quality and AF in a body which broke away from the Fuji retro analog concept that so many Fuji users love. It therefore had to appeal to a new market, people who liked the DSLR type of camera, and it had to have a compelling reason to persuade them to switch brands. The XT2 level of performance was not enough. In addition, it was very highly priced, at a level where it competed with 135 format cameras from established pro camera manufacturers. The final problem was that Fuji introduced the XT3 shortly after the XH1. As an XT2 user who upgraded to the XT3, the difference in AF response and accuracy was considerable. Which meant that the XT3 outperformed the XH1 in these areas. So for someone wanting an improvement in the XT2's rather unimpressive AF, it was obvious that the XT3 was the answer. Although XH1 owners loved the camera, the market in general did not, which was why Fuji discontinued it and slashed the price to get rid of unsold stock. The XH1 was a serious misstep for Fuji in terms of creating a market for the product. After several years, it seems we will have an XH2. It will be interesting to see how it performs. An obvious rival is the Z6II.