A short GoPro Fusion Review

February 9, 2018

Every once in a while there is a piece of technology that boggles your mind and that creates disruption. The iPhone did that ten years ago, for example. The dynamics of the mobile phone market completely changed over night and we suddenly had a different relationship with our phones. Little over two months ago (December 2017), something big happened in the video/ photography space. GoPro released its first 360 camera called the GoPro Fusion. GoPro’s CEO Nick Woodman says that ‘Fusion is arguably the most versatile creative tool ever made’. Those are big words that made me curious. I have …

The Lightroom Mobile RAW workflow

August 20, 2017

Lightroom Mobile Galore! Traveling light as a passionate photographer is a constant challenge. There is the nagging balance between bringing our beloved gear and keeping the overall weight of the luggage at an acceptable level. That is one of the reasons why I ditched my huge and heavy Nikon equipment and went with the versatile and lightweight Fuji X system. But regardless of the camera equipment, a key weight contributor is typically the computer. I personally really enjoy editing photos on vacations as this is the occasion where I can actually spend quality time on it. But I have always …

Hiking with the Fuji X-T2

November 2, 2016

Hiking & The Fuji X-T2 Hiking with photographic equipment can be quite cumbersome. There were days when I schlepped a heavy backpack with a set of lenses and DSLR bodies around. Not only was the hiking experience akward but I also often ended up leaving the camera in the bag as it was inconvenient to take stuff in and out. Those days are long gone. Hiking with a mirrorless camera such as the Fuji X-T2 is a joy. Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to discover the gorgeous Lake Duisitzkar (Duisitzkarsee) in Styria, Austria. Together with my family, we …

The Fuji X-T2 in Hallstatt

October 30, 2016

Hallstatt Take a gorgeous lake, put some mountains around it and build a scenic town with cobble stone streets & wooden buildings right on the slopes of the hills. What you get is Hallstatt. Hallstatt is probably amongst the most desirable places to visit in Austria. Its scenery and location is unrivalled for sure. Lucky for us, Hallstatt is just a short 2.5hr drive away from Munich. Fall has been kind to us and we decided to spend a day there. This was also an excellent opportunity for me to test the new Fuji X-T2. I have had the camera for …

Night running with the GoPro Hero 5

October 20, 2016

The GoPro Hero 5 As an avid runner and biker, I really love the GoPro range of products. Earlier this year, I actually wrote that the GoPro might be one of my favorite cameras. No wonder – it’s small, almost indestructible and it delivers pretty awesome image quality. I carry the GoPro on most of my runs and rides to capture beautiful scenes. If you follow me on Instagram you will see an almost daily supply of photos taken with the GoPro. Not a big surprise that I was really happy to learn about the latest release – the GoPro …

Part 2: A review of the Samyang 8mm f/2.8 fisheye for Fuji X

April 7, 2016

Over three years ago, I posted a review of the Walimex 8mm f/3.5 fisheye for Nikon. Since then I have sold all my Nikon gear and switched to the Fuji X system. Naturally, one of the first lenses I acquired was the Fuji version of the fisheye. Since the original article is still one of the most popular ones on this blog, I thought it might be time to write an update. Impressions: Samyang Fisheye for Fuji The Fuji version of the Samyang fisheye simply put represents an amazing value for the money that you pay. It’s awell-built lens and feels really …

The Fuji X70 – A review

March 28, 2016

Finding a camera that delivers awesome image quality in a small and light package has always been a quest of mine. While there are a ton of great tiny cameras out there, none of them have really clicked for me (no pun intended). That’s why I got excited when the good guys at Fujifilm announced the Fuji X70. It sounded too good to be true: amazing APS-C size sensor in a small & sexy package. I have now had the Fuji X70 for over a month and love it. This post summarizes some of my experiences with it. Technical stuff There are …

The Fuji X70 at a concert

March 19, 2016

A few weeks ago, I acquired one of the new Fujifilm X70. Finding a small enough camera that produces really awesome results has always been one of my quests. Unfortunately, to this date I have not found something that I really love. And that’s when the Fuji X70 entered the scene. It seemed small enough while featuring the amazing Fuji image quality. To make it short, I was not disappointed. As a matter of fact, I love this camera and wrote about using it on a run earlier this week. This post is not intended to be a full review …

The GoPro might be my favourite camera

February 27, 2016

GoPro as a camera While the GoPro is well-known as a fantastic multi-purpose video camera, few people acknowledge that it can also deliver fairly decent photographs. As a matter of fact, I mostly use my GoPro HERO4 for taking photos while biking and running (I call it runography & bikeography, respectively). Due to my job I get to travel to some amazing places and I therefore always take my GoPro on virtually every run that I do. There are just too many nice things you see while on the road. GoPro Photo Quality Let’s get this out of the way: the GoPro will never …

Photographing the Perseid Meteor Shower with the Fuji-X

August 16, 2015

Meteor Showers It’s hard to escape the hype around this year’s spectacular Perseid meteor viewing conditions. Despite a demanding travel schedule and the resulting laziness that sets in during breaks, I ended up driving to a somewhat remote location outside of Munich to photograph the Perseids meteor shower. Along with me was the Fujifilm X-T1, the excellent Fujinon XF 14mm F2.8 and my beloved Samyang 8mm F2.8 Fisheye. The Fuji X-Series in the field One of the things I absolutely love about the Fuji X-Series is the small size of the equipment. In the past, I logged around a huge and heavy bag filled …

Garmin Virb – Video quality

July 17, 2014

Garmin Virb Video A few weeks ago, I posted a review of the Garmin Virb action camera. While I mainly use it for taking photos during a run and or bike ride, most people are probably more interested in making videos. The purpose of this post is to expand on the review and to show a quick example of the video quality of this camera. Epic Cycling Most cyclists know that you sometimes experience rides that can only be categorized as ‘epic’. I am still savoring the memories of a bunch of those rides. Unfortunately, in the past it was …

A Garmin Virb Review

June 1, 2014

The Garmin Virb Action cameras are amongst the hottest items in the electronics market these days. The GoPro camera totally revolutionised the video segment and made action-oriented videography affordable and accessible. Since then many other companies have entered the market. One of them is Garmin – best known for their GPS devices. A little while ago, they released the Garmin Virb Elite action camera. The specs are probably not as impressive as those of the upper level Go-Pro models but Garmin allows you to connect any kind of ANT+ sensor to it. I hone a very pleasant addiction to running …

Going mirror less – Switching to Fuji X

May 24, 2014

Switching to Fuji X Wow. Big news. Still can’t believe that I actually did it. A few weeks ago I sold my entire Nikon DSLR equipment and have switched to the Fuji X system. After 20 years of being a loyal Nikon customer I finally decided to take a step into the future. Over the years, I had amassed a collection of lenses, flashes and small tools such as remotes, batteries etc.. Nikon had never let me down. As a matter of fact, I simply loved my Nikon D800. It is an amazing camera with probably the best possible image quality out there …

Google adds Analog Efex Pro to the NIK suite

November 10, 2013

Analog Efex Pro Enhancing your photographs in post-production does not require a complicated software package such as Photoshop. The small software company NIK has been known to produce one of the finest toolsets for getting the absolut best out of your photos. It’s a collection of different plug-ins that work with either Adobe Lightroom or Apple Aperture. What makes NIK so powerful is that it is extremely easy to use while employing the probably best algorithms for enhancing your images. You can easily learn how to improve your photos in just a few minutes. Contrast that to learning Photoshop. In …

Discovering the Fuji X-E1 in Paris

September 20, 2013

The Fuji X-E1 A short while ago, I decided to give the Fuji X-E1 a try. Traveling with a full-frame camera and some lenses is a bit difficult sometimes. The Fuji X-E1 quickly appeared as the ideal camera: Fantastic reviews – I have never seen so many positive reviews about a camera before. People are really passionate about their Fuji X-E1 or X-Pro 1. APS-C sensor – I did not want to move towards the tiny micro 4:3. The larger APS-C sensor is definitely very attractive. Image quality – the resulting images are extremely impressive. ‘Invisible’ – people don’t really notice …

Fun with the Fisheye

May 24, 2013

The Fish-Eye A few months ago, I reviewed the Walimex/ Samyang fish-eye lens. It’s a great tool and it provides amazing value. The other day, I had some time to really put this lens to use. Below are some of the results. I am still in awe about how well this thing performs on my Nikon D800. It has really become one of my favorite travel lenses.

Christoph Papenfuss Photography