Vintage Camera Shopping at Champagne Court 2019

Another year and another visit to my favourite vintage camera shopping mall in the world, Champagne Court. I don't know how much longer Mr. David Chan and this shopping centre will stay open, but I think it has a couple more years left. Hopefully Mr. Chan will sell me one of his vintage minty new-in-box cameras so I can do an unboxing for you guys. Until then, enjoy my latest video from my favourite city.

BHT

Travel Announcement: 2019 Film Photography Conference

It's time again to hit the road (okay plane) and head south to San Clemente California for the 2019 Film Photography Paideia hosted by Philip and his team at The Darkroom. The last time I was there I got to hang out with my friends from Beers and Cameras and interview Grant Brittain. This time I get to see the same group of photographers, and we've added more. Check out the line-up here on The Darkroom's blog:

https://thedarkroom.com/film-photography-paideia-2019/

Pretty exciting right? If you don't already have tickets, then wait for a overview video. I think The Darkroom might even stream it live via Instagram. Check out my IG stories as well as others that will be attending.

Fujifilm X-T30 Vlogging Test in Chinatown

Here's my vlogging test with the brand new Fujifilm X-T30. I've pretty much tried using every Fujifilm camera for vlogging, even the GFX 50S. Some work out pretty good (X-E3 is great), some not so good (like the GFX 50S). The new X-T30 is the best camera that Fujifilm currently makes for vlogging. Please enjoy the video to see for yourself. Thanks for visiting and happy shooting... and vlogging!

The Baby X-T3: The New Fujifilm X-T30

Fujifilm has just announced the new X-T30, following the release of the successful and powerful X-T3. It has the same sensor+processor combination of the X-T3, but the similar body of the previous X-T20. If you were a fan of the X-T10 and X-T20, then you'll love the new X-T30. The biggest change you'll notice is the addition of the joystick but removal of the D-pad. Although Fujifilm insists that using the touch screen will compensate for the loss of the D-Pad, on the new X-T30, it might actually work out. The new LCD is more responsive and quicker. Even the touch+drag AF point selection while using the EVF on the X-T30 is very fast and accurate. Here is a quick list of the key features of the new X-T30:

-26.1MP APS-C X-Trans BSI CMOS 4 Sensor

-100% Phase Detection (2.16M-dot) with 425 AF points

-Back-side illuminated sensor design with base ISO 160 and reduced rolling shutter

-X-Processor 4 with Quad CPU (3 times faster than previous processor)

-Blackout Free 30fps in ES (electronic shutter) with 1.25x crop (20fps in ES without crop, 8fps with mechanical shutter)

-16 film simulations, including Eterna for cinematic look for both stills and video

-Lowlight AF -3.0 EV, 240 simultaneous AF/AE calculations, 300% faster PDAF focusing between near and far subjects

-383g light-weight retro-inspired design with top & bottom plate aluminum. Available in silver, black and ltd edition charcoal silver

-Improved EVF with 100fps refresh and 800 cd/m2 (nits) brightness

-Improved LCD touch screen with increased touch sensitivity and speed, especially in AF drag mode while using EVF

-Real-time Face + Eye Detection, improved algorithm over X-T3

-Addition of joystick lever instead of D-pad with increase usability of LCD screen

-upgraded USB-C connection for downloading, charging, powering (with PD Battery Pack), and use with USB-C to 3.5mm adapter (not included) to use as headphone jack for video

-DCI 4K 30fps (over sampled 6K) 200Mbps with 10 min limit

-H.264 4:2:0 8bit internal or 4:2:2 10bit external

-Full HD 30/60fps with 15 min limit

-48KHz 24bit high bit-depth sound (Internal Pre-amp)

-HD 120fps high speed video (with 1.29x crop) for cinematic BROLL

-Time-coding, Zebra, Silent Movie Mode, F-Log, Tally Light

"The Analogue Photography Series: Film is Still Alive" 1 Year Later

It's been 1 year since the release of my mini documentary on Telus StoryHive's Youtube channel and Telus' VOD service. It is part 1 of a 3 part series, for which I only had funding to complete episode 1. I'm still looking for funding to finish the project, so yes I'm trying to keep alive my documentary on keeping film alive. Please enjoy re-watching it and I'll keep everyone posted on how my search for funding is coming along. Thanks for everyone who participated in the project, many of them you'll see again soon on my YouTube channel.

Thanks for visiting and happy shooting

BHT

Leica M10 P Unbox and Shutter Sound Comparison

My latest video is the unboxing of the Leica M10-P. I also do a shutter comparison between it and the last generation Leica M246, as well as film Leica MA and the M7. According to my test, it's definitely the quietest shutter on any M body I've ever shot with, but there is body vibration due to the dampening mechanism. Wait for my first shooting impressions video to find out if it actually affects images at slow shutter speed. For now enjoy this video. Thanks for watching and happy shooting

BHT

Medium Format Battle: Fujifilm GFX 50S vs 50R

Yes it's time to rumble!! The new GFX 50R versus the bigger, chunkier but more modular GFX 50S. The new 50R has Bluetooth and a sexy, clean, rangefinder style profile, but the 50S is a beast! In this video I go through all the differences between these two great cameras, but which is my choice? I tell you in the video, but only at the end. Have fun watching!

Vintage Camera Shopping in Hong Kong: Champagne Court 2017

This walking tour of the famous vintage camera shopping mall Champagne Court was shot during the filming of my documentary Film is Still Alive with Ryan Savella from Arcade Original. I have lots of bonus material and outtakes from this project, much of it waiting to be processed and edited. I'm just starting to plow through all this content. There's at least 12 more videos I can produce from this trip, and another 12 from my last trip to Hong Kong in the spring of 2018. Thanks for your patience as I roll these older videos out.

BHT

Review: Fujifilm XF 8-16mm F/2.8 R LM WR

This is my latest review of Fujifilm's new red label ultra-wide zoom lens the XF 8-16mm f/2.8 R LM WR. Will it replace my beloved XF 10-24mm f/4 R OIS? Probably not, but this new ultra-wide is pretty amazing. Check out my written review of this lens over at FujiLove Magazine as well:
https://fujilove.com/how-wide-is-too-wide-the-new-xf8-16mmf2-8-r-lm-wr/

Yet Another Unboxing: Fujifilm GFX 50R

Warning: It's yet another unboxing video. Lately I've been getting a lot of hate for my unboxing videos, but I don't understand why. If you follow my YouTube channel and you don't like unboxing videos, just skip it. I'm sure there's some of you who don't shoot film cameras, so you skip my film camera review videos. The point of the unboxing is to show someone who wants to buy the camera what they get in the box, and also a bit of talking about what my thoughts are as a camera reviewer. I don't unbox random products that I know nothing about. I eventually review the camera, take pictures with it and create content. This is just stage one of my review process. So if you like unboxing videos, please enjoy. If you don't like unboxing videos, then please just skip. Wait for my upcoming review of the camera itself in a few weeks. Thanks for your support and happy shooting :-)