Venus Drive 14 August 2013, 2.3km
Who’d have guessed that the X100S isn’t just a brilliant streeting camera, but does decent nature macro photography as well! First field test went better than expected: slapped on a Raynox DCR-250 close-up lens and used my Nikon SB-800 flashgun with a flimsy DIY diffuser softbox (it fell into a pool of murk when I was shooting the frogs), synced with a SC-29 remote cord. Everything is manual: exposure, flash settings, flash handling sans extension brackets. The only thing that’s stopping me from using manual focusing is that I’ve run of out free hands.
Love the colours, the tone and the environmental ambience. Almost love it more than my Nikon D300/D7100 + Sigma 150mm combo, in fact, which is almost always used exclusively with a tripod and making use of only ambient lighting. My standard Nikon set-up is bulky and unwieldy to deploy, but I prefer shooting under natural conditions, without flashing. Which, naturally, limits what I can successfully shoot.
Although I believe the X100S with its solid build is capable of withstanding quite a bit of beating, subjecting it to the harsh and humid conditions of the tropical field – not to mention my recent accident-prone nature – feels as if I’m abusing it, so I doubt I’d want to do this too often. Still, it’s a fun, extremely flexible and quick-response rig and I’ve a feeling I won’t be willing to sacrifice one camera for the other anytime soon. It would help if I could graft me more limbs.
Micropezid white-handed flies (Mimegralla albimana)
Flower mantis nymph eyeing a springtail
Salticid (Phaeacius sp.)
Some ‘lil garden snail
?Crab-eating froglet (Fejervarya cancrivora)
‘Gummy bear’ harvestman (Sandokanidae)
Some katydid