Shutter speed or framerate issue makes this hard to watch. 180 degree shutter rule and an ND filter would make it much more tolerable, as it is the motion of the birds looks bizarre.
Hi, Thanks for your comments! Yes, some video clips (particularly the flamingoes taking off) were shot at a much faster shutter speed unfortunately due to bright light. Normally, I shoot video at 50fps with a shutter speed of 100sec (180 degree rule) , to allow a degree of Slo Mo in post. A variable ND filter would have been very useful here of course! Most of the other clips were shot using the 180 degree rule shutter setting. Cheers!
Did you get the 1.4X Teleconverter to use with this? I own both 100-400 (bought when it was the only long tele-zoom was available) and 70-300. Former is a wonderful lens but whew!! heavy for me. For travel got 70-300 last year seeing your other video, very sharp lens. But miss the 400mm reach at times and wish i carried 100-400. The TC would solve that and also keep the weight down. Any chance you shot with this lens and the TC?
Hi, Thanks for your comments! No, I haven't tried the 1.4TC as yet, but will hopefully in the next couple of weeks! The 100-400 is a lens I was hoping to get, but the 70-300 was more affordable and practical! Cheers👍
Thank you so much for this fun review. I loved your informative input and your fun presentation. Great job! I am looking for a lens for my trip to Hawaii. This looks like a great lens for that trip. Thanks for a wonderful review!
MY GO TO LENS ON THE XT3 WAS ALWAYS THE 55-200 BUT WITH XT 5 I AM WONDERING IF I SHOULD SWAP OVER TO THE 70-300. YOUR VIEW? I HAVE FOUND THIS VIDEO HELPFUL. THANKS.
I had the 55-200 which is an excellent lens! My 'RAMPA' video of racing cars was mostly shot with it! I needed a little more reach for wild life etc and the 70-300 fitted the bill. And it's able to take the 1.4 or 2x tele extenders too. Something I've yet to get! Thanks👍
It's an excellent lens. Almost red badge quality. I use it for stills covering sport (polo and windsurfing) and dogs (running on the beach) and when hiking. First used it on a XT4 (26Mp), now on a XT5 (40Mp) and on the new sensor it holds up exceptionally well.
Yes, For it's undoubted sharpness, practicality and affordability, it's hard to beat! How are you finding the performance of your XT5 over the XT4? Cheers👍
Nice lens, I rented this a few months back, it has a lot of possibilities with some glaring negatives (at least for me). I am personally no fan of telescoping lens barrels, I much prefer internal focusing. If Fuji were to update this to an IF lens, I would likely be a buyer. The other downside is the variable aperture, a constant f4 with an actual aperture ring would have “sealed the deal”. My current tele-zooms are the 50-140 and 150-600, the 70-300 would have made for an optimal lens in situations when the 150-600 is overkill and the 50-140, just not long enough. Hope springs eternal, that Fuji will modify this lens in the coming years.
Well, yes that's the two downsides, but for the price it can't be beaten! I'd love the 150-600 and if I was still a Pro, I'd have the 16-50 and 50-140 too no doubt! The focus issue whilst zooming in and out as mostly been fixed now with firmware update! Cheers👍
Brilliant review. I'm debating between this one for my XT4 or Nikkor z 24-200mm paired with an old Nikon z6. Will be for mountain bikers and wildlife. Argh! Can't decide! :) Thoughts?
Thanks very much! Regarding your choice of lenses, the 24-200mm would be more versatile, regarding mountain bikers. For wildlife the 70-300mm would be better, as at the 300 end it's the equivalent of a 450mm telephoto! So, twice as close in! Cheers👍
GREAT review of a GREAT lens. Fully agree with you! When this lens first appeared it didn’t get rave reviews. Pixel-peepers were stating it wasn’t as sharp as the red-label zooms. Who cares? How sharp do people want? It’s a stunning lens and so compact. I’ve owned the 100-400 and 55-200 and sold them immediately the 70-300 came out. The one quality of the 70-300 than no reviewer seems to mention in the last 30 months is the bokeh. The bokeh of this lens is amazing (considering the slowness of the 5.6 aperture) I regularly shoot wide open knowing it’s plenty sharp-to get the lovely soft backgrounds. The bokeh of the revered 55-200 was awful! I love taking macro shots of flowers with the 70-300 because it pushes everything else into a wonderfully blurred background. I own the TC 1.4 but prefer to crop like crazy. I’ve done several tests and prefer not to lose a stop of light. The converter gives the same quality as crop-like-crazy. I’m thinking of getting the X-T5 because crop-like-crazy with the 70-300mm will give me awesome images even though it’s not red-label. Thanks again for a down to earth review of this great lens. ( I’ve found I’ve had to be careful with dust-had to have it cleaned by Fuji UK to get rid of thin film of dust on lenses). But I had been shooting in dust storms in the desert🤣)
Thanks for your comments! Yes, I don't think I over exaggerated this lens capabilities, though don't think I mentioned the Bokeh? Anyway, I'm going to get the TC 1.4 and will be doing a video on that! By the way, have you updated your 70-300 to the latest firmware? It's made a huge difference by holding focus whilst zooming in and out! I have a Vid demoing before after. Cheers👍
Great video, Nigel, and thanks for the cool shots (+ music). This lens + the 1.4TC is permanently attached to my X-T3 too. The 150-600 is too big (physically) and FF bodies just seem too chonky. Liking this combo. Kinda considering the H2s for the AF performance. Do you have any thoughts on it?
Thanks for your kind comments! Yes, I will definitely get the 1.4TC soon and see how it performs. Better AF performance (for video) than I get from my XT3 would be great. The HS2 & H2 and XT5 do have better AF, (only what I've read and seen on YT) but I can't justify buying any of those. However, the new more affordable XS20 has excellent AF and IBIS, so may go for that next year? Cheers👍
Thanks very much! the 55-200 is a great lens that I used to own, but I think you'll find the extra reach of the 70-300 useful and the macro close up great too. The stabilisation too is very effective. Cheers👍
Wonderful video. I bought the 70-300mm lens for my X-E3 and managed to get an 1/8" photograph of a squirrel in the late afternoon in the depths of winter. Then bought the 1.4X teleconverter and bought the X-S20 about a year ago. I keep the 70-300mm and the 1.4X teleconverter on the X-S20 and the 18-55mm on the X-E3. They are in separate bags and I can carry both of them around quite happily. I did some pixel peeping and a photograph of a heron with the 70-300mm and the 1.4X TC was razor sharp. For wildlife I use manual aperture and shutter speed and auto-ISO like you do. I also use the LIVE VIEW HIGHTLIGHT ALERT and use the exposure compensation dial to prevent overexposure of white areas of birds, especially swans.
Hi Catherine, Thanks for your kind and informative comments! I've been meaning to try out the 1.4 TC for some time. I may lease it for a week for a good workout! Funnily enough I've had my eye on the XS20. Mainly for it's improved autofocus for wildlife over my XT-3's. How have you found it? Cheers👍
@@NigelHarperPhoto I have had the X-S20 for almost a year and am not a heavy user. But I used it in the US in April to photograph the solar eclipse. I find it a lot easier to use than the X-E3, this camera wouldn't always focus correctly with the 18-55mm lens and had to change the RELEASE/FOCUS PRIORITY to FOCUS. I also have problems with the angle of the shutter button on the X-E3 and find it awkward to press it downwards and prefer the angled shutter button on the X-S20. The X-S20 feels right with the large grip makes it easy to hold the 70-300mm lens with the 1.4X TC and there is less strain on the wrist. I prefer the arrangement of the flip out screen but don't use it very much, but always have it with the screen pointing inwards when putting the camera away in order to protect it. On a very hot day in early September I went to Trent Lock that is close to Nottingham to photograph some dragonflies using burst mode and pre-shot. UHS-1 SD cards were used and the camera took some time to write the data to the cards, after taking about 750 photographs a warning icon appeared about the camera going to overheat. I think that I flipped open the screen to allow better cooling and have now standardised on UHS-2 SD cards for both cameras. Unfortunately the insects were not posing very well so it was difficult to take good photographs, but I manage to photograph a dragonfly in flight using the bird detection setting. I set the manual focusing to linear for astronomical photography because I found it difficult to use with the default nonlinear setting. Even though I haven't done any video photography with it, I like the idea of having a video recording button next to the shutter release button so I can easily change between taking photographs and taking videos. I also plan to use the custom buttons for "normal" videos and slow motion videos. The X-S20 is a wonderful camera and it is the best one that I have ever used. However, when I was walking into the Grand Canyon in April, I used the X-E3 with the 18-55mm lens for size and weight of that setup. The colours of the photographs were beautiful.
@@catherinegrimes2308 Thank for your info on the XS20! I can quite understand the handling issues etc with the XE3, not that I've used one! Anyway, thanks again and all the best with your photography. Cheers👍👍
Thanks for your comments! And, thanks for letting me know about 70-300 firmware update too! I see there's an update for the 16-80 too that improves focus tracking. I'll be doing some tests to hopefully see the difference in performance? Cheers👍
@@abadjoseph Many thanks for subscribing! I've just update the lens . . and Wow! It's quite an improvement and I should have a video out in the next couple of days? Cheers👍
Hi, just to let you know my video with the new firmware is now live. Here's the Link ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-GD6qplnjbJE.htmlsi=K0WM_0PHRQoUrsn5 Cheers👍
