THE NEW KID
Meet Camera Houses’s new friend. An early Christmas and birthday gift all rolled into one from Our John and his mother, The Matriarch. This is a Fujifilm X30. And marvellous. And no it is not my birthday or Christmas. It is second hand. (The latest model does not have a viewfinder and I like a viewfinder). It took some research to find. (All my cameras have been pre-loved and gifts – just like my cars when I think about it – I am proud to say I have never bought a new vehicleor a new camera – though I definitely take more care over choosing a camera than a vehicle).
This is not a point and shoot. It is a brainy camera. My next purchase will be a manual.
I don’t usually show gifts but as this one will be sending images to you I thought introductions were in order.
It seemed mean to make camera House take photographs of his rival so I took one with my phone of them together. 
My first favourite camera was a Leica of my Dads – in fact I still have it. And the body of the Fujifilm X30 is very similar. (No-one can afford a digital Leica). But this little camera is a star in its own right.
This is going to be fun. There is so much to learn about this new camera. So much it can do.
The new camera arrived after dark so the test pictures are hand held – in low light.
The joys of Double glazing. 
As well as colour you can actually shoot in a number of black and white settings; in a theme to use the modern vernacular. Any of these choices are applied before you capture your images. Old fashioned. So I think if I do this well a lot of my post-production work can be skipped. Also, I can go back to totally manual and make all the decisions myself in the usual way.
This is a very exciting camera!
And yes this dog is on a diet.
Although the X30 (MrX) will be used to take photographs on the farm when I am feeling ‘arty’ the Nikon D90 (Camera House) will remain the hardworking camera-pack-horse of the farm. Being smaller MrX the X30 will travel with me much more conveniently. And being large I can always find Camera House when I leave him on a fence post.
I will show you some shots tomorrow. I am looking forward to taking photos today. Plus my diary is clear today so I get to work on the farm uninterrupted all day. A small joy all in itself.
I hope you have a lovely day.
celi
WEATHER: As I write it is 19f/-7c and blowing 13mph/20kph a NW. A bit chilly and more normal for this time of year.
Thursday 12/07 0% / 0 in Mostly cloudy early, then afternoon sunshine. High near 30F/-1C. Winds WNW at 10 to 20 mph.
48 Comments on “THE NEW KID”
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Well Mr. X, welcome to the farm! I suspect we will receive many beautiful photos!
Fingers crossed
Lovely, lovely table. Made with love, I assume? (And your camera is very nice, too 🙂 )
I don’t have a carpenter in the house – I found this in an old nick nack shop – it was a display table – made from an old work bench..
Ahh. A great find for you.
Your photos are always top class, even your phone pics are sharp and clear. I am not a photographer and my appreciation is therefore solely in the subject matter, as I have zero technical expertise. Good luck, enjoy your new friend 🙂 Laura
I am not a very technical person either – I just teach myself the pathways necessary to get the image I want. And as you know I love a challenge..
I like your new camera. It is good to have a large or small choice. Here is the link to the online manual if that is helpful. http://fujifilm-dsc.com/en/manual/x30/
Yes. Thank you – I have printed that out – makes looking up stuff on the fly easier..
So wonderful! And Jim beat me to it–I was going to suggest that you could find the camera manual online. Enjoy!
Yes, I searched for it when I first researched the camera, next I am looking for an original paper copy – they came with the cameras and are small
That’s the best new kid!
I think so too – does not eat much!
OH, Mr X looks sleek and travel worthy for sure. Hubby still packs his Rebel and three lens for every adventure we go on, but I have a nice little Nikon I carry and I find most of the time now, I use my iPhone with some of the fun little lens you can get for them now. No, they are not my best photos but they still capture the image and invoke good memories when I look at them.
On a melancholy note: when I look at my parents photography’s, it stings to think that I maybe the last living person to remember those events where the image was captured. And that the pre 1965 images – there is no one remaining. And what to do with those images? It would break my heart for them to just go in the trash after I am gone. But, I will be gone….
You know what I have done? I make books of prints (as in glueing them into a scrap book) and write everything I could remember – my books will go to my kids but I know for a fact that my local library would love a book such as you would make for their historical archives. A lot of work, I know, but if you were to sort the best of the bunch then write about them? Your written memories will be as important as the images. Ask your local library if they have a compilation of written personal histories. OR create a time capsule of some sort. People will say scan them but I really think that in fifty years or so the actual prints will be an incredibly valuable resource. Technology changes so fast but pictures on paper are golden I think – just a thought. (Wore your mums gloves this morning – that cold – they are fantastic!! ) c
Oh glad the gloves are being used! And your idea is fantastic. Even the photos I’m not sure the why, but I know the who might help someone someday doing a family tree. Thank you for the idea!
If I might suggest another option. You can sign up for a free membership at FamilySearch.org, and start a family tree with the people you know, add the memories and photos with tags of who the people are. It is possible to search and would widen the reach for those doing family history. I understand the desire to see those photos preserved. Recently lost most of the genealogy materials I’d been collecting for many years, documents, photos, family heirlooms, etc. because of circumstances beyond my control left me with no way to pay the storage unit rent and because I’m in temporary quarters what I could have with me was very limited. I’ve also seen what hits the curb/garbage cans when a house is cleaned out by surviving family members who don’t realize (or care) that they’ve thrown away their own history. A former neighbor’s children tossed boxes and boxes of family photos, diaries, letters and scrapbooks which just ended up in the landfill. I’m getting the photos I have left scanned and will be uploading them to my FamilySearch tree after the holidays.
Actual photographs will be a rare treasure one day..
That camera looks like it would feel fabulous in your hands. Lovely!!! You deserve a new toy.
I am excited! There is a wifi component too – I am still researching it though as it is not well reviewed
I simply love how excited and ready you are to learn all that you can now do with your new camera. Me…. even having an update on my iPhone makes me nervous… but I always get through it. Looking forward to seeing the great new things you’re going to do with this ‘baby’!! ; o )
That looks awesome. Old retro look to it!!
And the old retro weight too – nice and heavy in the hands.. I really like that
The retro look is what i noticed. Very cool 😎
You will have a lovely day today! Have fun with your new camera!
yes – I hope so –
Super exciting about the new camera! And the wonderful pics the fellowship will get to see!!! 🙂 And Boo Boo? On a diet? Dolly is on a permanent diet, and has been on one for two years! And she still looks fat!!! 😦 She has lost about 5 pounds, but seems to have plateaued! Oh well…., I’m thankful that she is healthy, and that her leg has mended well! 🙂
Boo has ONE cup of food a day – and still he is a weighty fella – I blame the milk and those stolen eggs –
Lovely sharp detail in that black & white shot of the slightly porky Boo… Poor boy. I suspect we’re going to be treated to some seriously great photos once you have your head around Mr X’s capabilities.
Getting my head around it is the fun part – remembering what i put my head around is the difficult bit..
Ceci, that’s a beauty!! looks like the weight would be perfect to hold! What will you name Mr. X, or do you need to become better acquainted first? Sure happy for your ‘new-to-you’ treasure! What a thoughtful gift!
It is a marvellous gift – even if I did suggest it myself!!
Looking forward to seeing what you produce together…magic, I expect!
After s while- I am still a learner
Leicas were great in their day – the 40s and 50s, but Japanese light engineering peaked in the 70s and 80s, producing far superior multi coated glass lenses. Today lenses are mostly made of plastic and are nowhere near as good as those made by Nikon 40 years ago. Ironically, the post WW2 Japanese camera industry was based on making cheap knock offs of Leicas – if you look at pictures of Nikons and Canons from the 1950s, you will see they are almost identical!
I love my old Leica – it has a russian lens too!
Ha ha – they were never good 😉
WOW! Just WOW!
I know!
You already take wonderful photos. How are you going to top what is already excellent??
I have lots of room for improvement – makes things fun!
Love the new camera. I’m sure you’ll have lots of fun with it. I’ve got Smoky on a diet too, the spouse decided to let the old boy have too many treats and tastes of this and that (sandwiches, dinner, etc.) and he’s gotten pudgy.
I never thought I would have a pudgy dog either!
First time for me. Smoky hasn’t noticed he’s on a diet, just as well. Part of the problem was losing the place he could run around, fetch his stick and dig (he loves to dig). We don’t have an adequate place for him to do those things where we are now, he’s also 14 and getting a bit wonky on his hind legs.
Oh congrats, C! YESSSS! A LEICA, I knew the look of that camera reminded me of something else!; )
Umm, so is Camera House called “Camera House” because he IS “as big as a house”?
Good morning, c. I’ve been taking all of my photos lately in B&W format. Peder always comments that he prefers colour. More and more, I prefer black & white. For definition. For clarity of the subject. For mood. I’m just a black & white sort of girl, I think.
My husband’s uncles, being single men, spend crazy amounts of money on cameras. We have a Nikon D2X which when new was €5,500 (no special lenses!) in 2004. Now is worth €350 at average, despite being in immaculate condition. An iPhone has the same 12mp resolution. Crazy.
“Pre-loved” — I love it! Such a positive approach. So often I learn good things here. Gratefully,