Exploring east London with the FUJIFILM X-T50, Josh Edgoose looks for islands of colour in a sea of grey
Walking around an overcast capital, Josh Edgoose scours London for unexpected flashes of colour and emotion.
“I look for serendipitous, unguarded moments between people,” he explains, “focusing on interactions that have a sense of joy.
“I keep everything light-hearted – I’m quite a light-hearted person myself. I don’t want to take myself too seriously, and always try to make that come across in my photos.”
Equipped with the FUJIFILM X-T50, this street photographer went searching for the unusual – pockets of interest on a seemingly dull day.
“It’s been grey and cold, so I headed to east London. It’s always a good option – lots of people wearing colourful clothes – and it’s spring, so flowers are coming out. I wanted to get a few portraits, the colourful canal boats, the blossom in Regent’s Park.
“I was a little worried, to be honest,” Josh admits. “I get maybe five photos a year that I quite like. I’ve been doing this a long time, and you can be critical of your own work, so in one day?
“But things came together. I stopped three people for portraits and they all said yes. And there were lots of interesting colours along the canals. It all worked out nicely.”
Street Photography With the X-T50
“I initially got into photography when I studied it at college,” recalls Josh. “I started on film and, since then, have been using Fujifilm cameras. They have that film camera style, so it came quite naturally.
“With street photography, you go out for eight hours just walking around. I need to keep myself engaged with taking pictures. Some cameras I’ve used before are less engaging, but Fujifilm bodies have all the dials, so you can make little adjustments as you’re moving along.
“I like being able to look down, see the settings and adjust them in real time for the lighting conditions. Having that tactility has kept me motivated.
“Film Simulations are another part of it. I can’t afford to use film any more, it’s so expensive. Yes, photography is about composition, framing, subjects, background and foreground and so on – but being able to control the way your pictures look has always been equally important.”
Vintage tactility and enhanced colour science are common to all X Series cameras. What sets the X-T50 apart is the housing of Fujifilm’s most advanced sensor and processor in an extremely small and lightweight body.
“It’s great,” enthuses Josh. “My primary camera is the X-T5 – and the X-T50 is essentially a smaller version of that. I probably make a couple of hundred photos every single day, so I love having a camera that’s so light and small that I don’t even need to think about it. Just grab it, leave the house, go and create some photos.
“It’s one of those cameras that looks so nice you want to pick it up and play around with the dials. I always have it resting nearby, so I can grab it and take a picture of my son; or if I’m going to the shops, I can throw it around my neck and bring it along.”
Using the Film Simulation Dial
Fujifilm’s Film Simulation modes have long drawn in lovers of an analogue aesthetic. The X-T50 is the first body that features a purpose-made Film Simulation dial, for the quick selection of unique moods on the fly.
“Being able to see, in real time, how a scene looks in ACROS or REALA ACE was great,” notes Josh.
“I hadn’t created images in black and white until I used this camera. But being able to quickly change between Film Simulations makes all the difference. I’ve photographed in London for around 15 years, and seeing your images in monochrome opens up that extra space for being more confident on overcast and rainy days. It’s super cool.
“When I stop people for portraits, knowing Nostalgic Neg. has nice skin tones or REALA ACE has lovely, soft shadows and being able to experience that in real time to make a creative choice is great. I can see it being another motivating factor for me when spending a lot of time outside.”
While Film Simulations are nothing new to Josh, as with the rest of the camera design, the all-important tactility adds a new dimension.
“Even if you had set up customised buttons or dials on another camera, you still might not necessarily remember what they do,” points out Josh. “On the X-T50, it literally has the ACROS logo on the dial – so it definitely streamlines the process.”
40-Megapixel Sensor and 7.0 Stops of IBIS
The X-T50 is equipped with Fujifilm’s top-of-the-range X-Trans CMOS 5 HR sensor, boasting a full 40 megapixels of resolution.
“With that much detail, you can crop a lot if needed,” remarks Josh. “Especially in street photography, sometimes you’re reacting to a moment and may not necessarily have as much time as you want to compose.
“This sensor gives you the option to retroactively compose, almost, because you’ve got so much information. It’s always nice to have that extra resolution – it’s the same for portraits. There’s an impressive amount of detail, especially with the FUJINON XF35mmF2 R WR – a super-sharp lens.”
Such a reactive style of image making can come at the cost of stability – which is where the X-T50’s 7.0 stops of IBIS come into play.
“I’ve always got the IBIS on,” adds Josh. “It’s so nice to have, especially with a high-resolution sensor, for that extra peace of mind. I haven’t done much low-light work with it yet, but when I do, it’s important to know you can rely on low shutter speeds.
“You can use it for everything – travel, street, portraits. I love the X100 series but sometimes I love being able to change lenses. Anybody who wants a compact system like the X100VI, but still likes the ability to stop and change lenses, should definitely look at this camera.”
Lightweight Design
Weighing just 428g, the X-T50 makes an ideal companion for the photographer on the move. “Being a dad, you’re constantly carrying a lot of stuff around for your children,” laughs Josh. “With such a compact system, you don’t have to think about it too much.
“I’ve had bigger systems before, and after a while your neck starts to hurt. But with this, I sometimes put it in a bag, go to pick it up and think ‘is the camera even in here?’.
“I also used the X-T50 with the FUJINON XF27mmF2.8 R WR pancake lens, which makes this such a tiny set-up. And with the little pop-up flash as well, you can imagine it would be great for using at parties, photographing friends – and weddings too.”
Paired with Fujinon lenses, the advanced autofocus afforded by X-T50’s X-Processor 5 is able to truly shine.
“Between half-pressing the shutter button and taking the picture, it feels like there’s no lag at all,” Josh notes. “I had a function button set up to select eye detection, so whenever someone’s up for letting me take a picture of them, I quickly hit that and then lock onto their eyes. Every single photo I made was in perfect focus.”
An abundance of imaging technology in the lightest of bodies – the X-T50 is a street photographer’s ideal tool.
“This could become my main camera quite easily,” enthuses Josh. “It would also be a nice secondary camera for anyone who already uses an X-T5. I’m thinking I would just carry them both, have a wide angle on the X-T50 and a long lens on the X-T5 – and that’ll be me sorted for the day.
“The X-T5, when I first got it, I was blown away by the image quality. So, to have access to that same quality in such a small package is so cool,” Josh concludes. “I mean, it can do everything. There aren’t any compromises.”
