Review of the Seek Outside Exposure 5000 Backpack

Hiking in the mountains requires more attention to preparedness.  The weather can change rapidly.  My existing packs didn't have room for all the layers and gear I might need.  I also wanted a better fit/comfort than my existing packs.  I wanted a rear-opening pack that would, ideally, fit my existing F-stop ICUs.  I tried several snowpacks (rear-opening to keep snow off the back and straps) but none quite worked out.  I then started looking for regular front panel-loading hiking packs.  After some research, I stumbled onto a review of the Seek Outside Exposure 5000.  I liked what I saw, looked closer, then bought one.

Seek Outside uses a single external frame and harness for all of their packs (you can swap out the packs and reuse the frame).  It is highly adjustable, more than any other pack I've used. Frame height, torso height, hipbelt location (relative to the frame), plus shoulder straps and load lifters are all adjustable.  There is an optional lumbar pad if you need it. Ironically perhaps, it fit me very well straight out of the box.

It is well-made, with a mix of drab green and tan.  The material is strong, light, and waterproof (sailcloth).  It has dual side water bottle pockets, a large external pocket (2 wide water bottles can fit), a mesh pocket, plus 2 internal pockets inside the zippered flap.  The main panel opens about two-thirds of the way down from the top.  A clasp is available to keep the panel from unzipping at the top.

The shoulder straps are well-padded with mesh backing, and are just the right width for me... not too thin, but not too wide.  The padding is thick and has a good mix of stiffness for support and softness for comfort.

The 5000 in the name means 5000 cubic inches, which is about 80L.  It is huge.  But it fits my survival gear as well as my F-stop ICUs.  It is great as an all day or multi-day hiking pack.  My large (14" tall) pro f-stop ICU takes up about half of the bag space.  It has much more space than I need for a day hike.

It came with 6 gatekeeper straps, which I've used for compression and holding my tripod on one side.

Seek Outside says their packs are heavy-haulers.  They claim they can handle ~100 lbs comfortably. I am not likely to ever carry that much... closer to 25 lbs on most hikes... but between the good fit and the capacity, I barely notice it on my back.  I have deliberately carried more weight than I would with my other packs, and it is totally fine.  My legs tire before I get discomfort from the pack itself.

A note on fit.  If you find you are between the hipbelt sizes as I am, go for the larger size.  I first tried the medium and found it didn't quite wrap around enough to really take the weight off my shoulders, so I swapped it for the large (Seek Outside was super nice about swapping with me, free, sans shipping).  The large supports the weight much better for me (though they did point out that longer hikes would cause me to lose weight so the medium could end up fitting during summer).  One thing I like about the large is the straps are much longer, which gives enough room to convert from the standard clasp to an inward pull setup.

Caveats: With a pack this size, it isn't meant for frequent stops, and it is too big to remove in a crowded space.  I prefer to use this pack when I'm hiking a ways, usually a single destination.  As a hiking pack, it is great.  As a photo pack, there are too many steps to get at the gear, so moving around an area isn't as practical as with a camera bag.  I am still looking for a pack that can mix both functions well.

Seek Outside has instructions on how to fit their packs.  And more.

Fuji 80mm macro review

I've being shooting closeups since high school.  I've used all kinds of techniques to get closer to my subjects but in the end, a dedicated macro lens is the best way to go for most subjects.  I've owned a few macro lenses now, most in the 100mm range, but one thing I insist on for serious work is that it must go to 1:1, or life size.  That is, the image captured on the film or sensor is the same size in real life as it would appear on the film or sensor.

Since I switched to Fuji, I decided that the Fuji 80mm macro would have advantages over adapting an older manual lens or another brand AF lens.

The lens in question is officially designated the Fujinon XF 80mm f/2.8 R LM OIS WR Macro.  That's quite a mouthful.  XF is the mount type; it mounts on Fuji X-mount bodies.  Obviously the lens is a fixed-focal length 80mm.  The aperture opens up to f/2.8.  R indicates it has an aperture ring. LM means "Linear Motor".  OIS stands for Optical Image Stabilizer, WR means "Weather Resistant", and of course Macro indicates it focuses closely.


Build Quality and Features
The first thing you notice when you pick up the lens is the clunking noise it makes when you move it.  This is a floating element and the manual says this is normal and expected.  The sales guy also warned me to expect it.  I've never had a lens do that so obviously so in spite of knowing it is normal, I am not used to it.  I admit, it makes me want to be more gentle with it than any other lens I've held.

Beyond that, it is big for a macro lens of this focal length.  I imagine that is mostly due to the OIS system.

The focusing ring is wide, ribbed, easy to grip, and like all the other Fuji lenses I've handled so far, turns very smoothly in manual mode.  (So far the smoothness all of the Fuji lenses I've handled remind me of Zeiss build quality.  That's saying a lot.)  It feels like a precision device.

The aperture ring is tight and and not likely to change settings accidentally.  It has a nice feel to it and is marked from f/2.8 to f/22, plus A for auto-aperture (camera selected, as used by program or shutter priority exposure modes).  It has click-stops every 1/3 stop.  Being an old-school manual mechanical film camera user, I love the aperture rings on found on most Fuji lenses (such lenses have the "R" designation in their name).

The buttons are generally easy to use but hard to change accidentally.  The buttons can turn on/off the OIS system, and limit the focus range to limit focus hunting.  They can be hard to use with gloves on.

Weather resistance is a welcome feature, as I find myself in rain and snow every so often.  I don't typically stand outside in downpours, but it does give me peace of mind when I encounter some weather (rain and snow on flowers and leaves is a great subject!)

The front filter accepts 62mm filters. This is my first lens to use that filter size. I have a couple other lenses that use 58mm filters, so I tried a 62-58 step-down ring and found no hard vignette with the 58mm filter.

It is fairly heavy at 750g, and bigger than most other Fuji primes.  Weight is up there with the all metal Voigtlander 110mm APO FE mount macro.

It comes with a very long/deep plastic lens hood.  It is well-made and easy to install or remove.  Flare isn't going to be problem from the sides as long as you use the hood, but polarizers will be impossible to adjust while it is on.  In general, for how I use macros, I don't need such a deep hood.  The hood might get in the way of a light source when shooting near life-size.  I will probably get a folding rubber lens hood to use instead.

The lens cap is thick and easy to grip while wearing gloves.

The OIS is a very useful feature.  I've never had a macro lens with any kind of stabilization before and I really like it.  It opens up a new set of possibilities for me; such as shooting flowers where tripods are not allowed.  I've used it along the sidewalk on my way to work in the morning, capturing flowers in urban areas where a tripod would get in the way of other pedestrians.

I wish it had a distance and magnification scale.

Like all Fujinon lenses, the 80mm macro focuses by wire.  When using AF, you won't notice.  If you want to focus the lens manually, as I sometimes do with closeups, then I suggest a setting in the camera menu:  Setup > Button/Dial setting > Focus Ring Operation.  Nonlinear mode focuses according to how quickly you turn the focus ring.  Linear focuses a fixed amount regardless of how fast you turn the ring.  Try them and pick the one you like better.


Autofocus
Generally fast and generally accurate.  It slows down when focusing close. If you have the focus limiter set outside of your subject distance, it will hunt and then give up with a red flash around your AF indicator, so make sure the focus limiter is set appropriately.

The AF is fast enough that, in combination with the OIS, I can use this lens hand-held in many situations where it was simply impossible before.  My older Canon 100mm USM macro had fantastic image quality but slow AF and no image stabilizer, so a tripod was essential for me.  It doesn't replace a tripod by any means; it just means I have more flexibility before I break out the tripod.


Image quality
It's sharp with great contrast, right from f/2.8. It has more "bite" than most lenses. I think it is the sharpest lens I have ever owned. I'm totally unafraid of any aperture with this lens, but I always avoid very small apertures due to diffraction. Diffraction is a natural physical phenomenon and not a flaw unique to any lens; the lenses are simply following the rules of physics.  Generally, I avoid f/16 and smaller apertures with any lens.  f/22 is an outright bad thing.  Friends don't let friends use f/22!

Very fine detail

Vignetting
I haven't noticed any vignetting in my images.


Bokeh
For how I use macro lenses, bokeh is generally excellent.

Sharp wide open with pleasing bokeh

I've shot ice crystals on evergreens in the sunlight and that has revealed onion rings in the bokeh balls, which is a big turn off for some.  It is caused by the aspherical element(s) in the lens.  Some companies have found a way to polish their aspherical elements to the point where the onion rings aren't such a problem, but Fuji didn't apply that technique in this case.  This doesn't bother me much; so far they have been small and unnoticed until I looked closely on my computer.

A crop showing the onion ring effect in the out of focus highlights.

Bokeh balls also tend to show the cat's eye shape toward the corners.  This happens with many lenses and bothers me.  Fortunately, given how I use the lens, it doesn't show up very often in my images.  If you want to shoot portraits often, I would opt for the Fuji 90mm f/2 instead, which doesn't seem to show the cat's eye problem.

Cat's eye bokeh

Aberrations
Color is outstanding.  This lens is nearly APO.  I subjected it to a torture test... a closeup of metallic keys.  I had to zoom in to 100% on the image and then look very closely to spot any fringing.

Even in a 100% crop, the fringing is hard to spot.

Longitudinal Chromatic Aberration (LoCA) is nearly non-existent.  Fuji is very good in this regard for many of their lenses.  Most lens makers ignore this flaw.  Shooting a printed page at an angle also shows almost no color shift.

A common LoCA test is plain text on paper at an angle.  Wide open there is only a slight hint of purple in front of the zone of focus.

I haven't noticed any Lateral Chromatic Aberration (LaCA) yet.


Other uses
It works well for landscapes too.

You can get nice head shots from the 80mm, however given the possibility of cat's eye bokeh in the background and modest f/2.8 aperture, I suggest you are better off with the 90mm f/2 for portraits with the Fuji system.  The 90mm focuses closely enough to get nice flower images, but isn't a true macro.  The macro is, as expected, optimized for closeups.  If you can only afford one, get the one that better supports what you want to do most often.

Summary
When used as a macro lens, the Fuji 80mm is fantastic.

Pros
Very sharp even wide open to the corners
Flat field
Fast AF (for a macro)
Accurate AF (generally true with all mirrorless systems)
Generally nice rendering
Excellent OIS system
Nearly APO
Vignetting goes unnoticed
Great build quality
Lens hood is well made, easy to take on and off the lens.

Cons
Clunking sounds when you move it
Cat's eye bokeh with some backgrounds
Onion rings in bokeh balls
Big and heavy for an APS-C mirrorless lens
Expensive


Other macro lens options for Fuji:
Fujinon XF 60mm f/2.8 R Macro (1:2)
Zeiss Touit 50mm f/2.8 Macro  (1:1)

Samyang 100mm f/2.8 ED UMC Macro (1:1)

Adapt a manual focus lens from another system


More images:

Review of the Mindshift Gear Backlight 26L backpack

I wanted a smaller backpack that is big enough to hold my 100-400 mounted, but not be too large for urban use.  I've tried slings and beltpacks, but I always want to hold a few extras like water bottles and snacks.  My F-stop Loka can do the job, but feels a bit big in an urban setting (I get quite a few stares if I use the Loka at the zoo).  I considered the F-stop Lotus, but found the large shallow ICU, the ideal size for this job, had been discontinued.  I stumbled onto reviews of the Mindshift Gear Backlight 26L, and decided to try it.

The features that attracted me to the bag:  

• It's a bit smaller than my Loka.  
• It looks like a fairly ordinary pack, albeit stiff from padding.  
• It has back panel access.  
• The camera compartment is more than long enough for the 100-400 mounted.  In fact, I can store it with my hood in the ready position and still have the 1.4x mounted as well. 
• It can hold two water bottles, one on either side.

Other features:

• Tripod carry system on the front of the pack
• Can use the side compression straps to carry a tripod on the side
• Rain cover included
• Front pocket is big enough for a thin layer and snacks
• Lightly padded laptop sleeve

The Backlight 26L comes in green and black.  I choose green.


Fit and Quality
It is nicely made, with thick padding that is both soft and firm enough.  The belt wings are stiff enough to let the weight sit on my hips.  I find the pack comfortable enough if I don't overload it; If I completely fill the camera section with lenses, it feels heavy.   It does not have an internal frame, but is stiff enough that I don't think that matters for how I use it.  It holds its shape whether fully loaded or empty.

The padding on the shoulder straps and back is thick and well-cushioned, with nice mesh to let some air flow and wick moisture.  It doesn't breathe quite as well as a good hiking pack, but it isn't bad.

The zippers are high quality and easy to use.  The big zipper pulls make opening and closing while wearing gloves easy.  Access to the camera compartment is as quick as it gets and you can see everything at once when open.

Being a smaller pack, it does not fit my back perfectly, nor does it have load lifters, and so it can't replace a serious hiking backpack.  For reference, I have an 18" torso.  I believe the Backlight fits a 16" torso. 


Space
I measured the Backlight at about 18" tall, 10.5" wide, and 5.5" deep (interior dimensions). This is usually more space than I need. However, it is nice to be able to hold my 100-400 mounted with 1.4x and lens hood in the ready position (then again, to be ready you really need the camera in your hand), and still have room along the sides for extra lenses and filters.

It has a lightly padded laptop sleeve inside the front pocket, away from your body. I like this light padding because it doesn't add much thickness to the pack when it isn't used.  It also has an un-padded sleeve just outside the laptop sleeve that will fit a large tablet, and a couple of shallow organizer pockets.   Overall the front pocket is large, deep and expandable.  I can fit thin layers in it like a rain shell, but at the expense of other items. It works well as a travel bag.

The two side stretch pockets are very deep and completely swallow my 18 oz water bottles.  This actually makes it hard to pull the bottles out while the pack is on my back, but the bottles have never fallen out. 

Cons
While the camera compartment layout is great if you have a longer lens or two, that means the accessories pocket is on the front.  You have to change the bag orientation to get to it.  It is deep and shallow and you can't see everything, so you have to feel around for items.  Also, if the items you put in there are small and all fall to the bottom, you can't lay the camera completely flat when you get into the camera compartment.  It also means that soft items like a sandwich will get squished when you access the camera compartment.  This is the result of the design choice.  Everything is a trade-off in design.

The organizer pockets are too shallow for a mini-maglight, which I always carry.

The camera compartment opening has a loop inside which is meant to go around your neck and hold the camera compartment open when the backpack is on your waist, slung in front of you to change lenses.  Neat idea.  I expected it would have a hook to stow it when not needed.  No such luck.  It just floats around loose and gets in the way.  Every time I zipped the bag closed, I had to push the loop out of the way.  I ended up removing the loop.

The top pocket is too thin for all but the smallest items.  I've stuffed small tools like my hex and star wrenches, and AAA batteries in it.  Not much else will fit.   If I were to design a mark II version, I would move/remove the tripod carrier and make this pocket more like a "brain" used on hiking packs, with a rear opening and more space.  I asked Mindshift for this feature in the next iteration.

It is a good thing that I rarely use my backpack to carry my tripod.  The built in tripod carry system puts the tripod on the front of the pack, away from your body, making the bag hard to set down when you need to access your camera gear.  I prefer side carry... but honestly I usually just carry my tripod in my hands.  

$250 is pricey for a pack this size.


Summary
If you need a backpack this size with the features it has, it is a great pack.  

I've started using it on my commutes since I sometimes need to carry my laptop to and from work, and I like photographing flowers and sunrises on my way in.  With the stiff hipbelt, it carries the laptop and camera much better than my old student pack (shoulder straps only).

I use it for travel, short walks around small lakes, and urban trips such as zoo visits.

I am still searching for a great hiking pack that can carry my camera gear comfortably and has easy access.  Finding the balance between all the things I need has proven difficult.

Since buying this pack, Mindshift has released two other sizes of this pack, an 18L and 36L.  For simple zoo outings, the 18L would work just fine, though I'm not sure about the fit and comfort vs my 26L.  The 36L is meant for pro DSLRs and I don't need that much depth.

Update:  Mindshift and Thinktank have remerged (Thinktank is the parent company), and came out with a 45L Backlight.  I like the feature set but have to try it on for size. 

Hejnar lens support

I noticed my new tele zoom had a little wobble at the lens collar.  Enough so that I thought longer exposures in wind would probably suffer loss of sharpness.  I thought about several designs I could make myself, given some aluminum and equipment.  I thought back to when I read one of John Shaw's photography books in which he described making a brace for his Nikkor 300mm, and other articles where people braced their telephotos, sometimes with 2 tripods.  Dual tripods work only if you are focused solely on a single spot, such as a bird's nest.  If you need to move around, forget it.  So the single brace obviously has more general appeal.

As I gave each of my ideas more thought, I remembered Hejnar photo store having some interesting contraptions, so I headed over there and found not only several parts I could use, but a telephoto support specific to my lens.  After a little thought, mulling over my options, and a conversation with Mr. Hejnar, I bought one.

It arrived quickly, much faster than I expected... just a couple of days.

Inside were a few parts:  The main foot (a 4" long Arca-Swiss style base), a small clamp to fit on the end, tools, an anti-rotation pin, and a roller/support. Everything is precision-made and obviously of high quality with attention to detail.

The parts (it included more hex wrenches)

Putting it together was like playing with legos.

The entire Hejnar support system

Anti-Twist flange and safety stop

In use

Another angle

The bottom line is, it works, and works better than I expected.  It eliminated the wobble at the lens collar.

The magic comes from tightening the roller in the clamp up against the lens; this puts pressure on the front of the lens, a second point of contact that eliminates the wobble.  The fact that it has rubber lined wheels means you can focus manually and rotate to vertical on a tripod without any trouble, without scratching the lens barrel.

Clamp holding the support tightly against the lens

Support removed

Beyond serving its main purpose as a brace, it is long enough that it makes a great handle for carrying the lens; much nicer than a standard Arca-Swiss plate.

The length means you can balance your camera and lens more easily on your tripod.

Two potential downsides exist, only one of which I noticed in real use:

1. It adds some bulk, and takes up a little more space in the bag (not a problem for me).
2. To reverse the lens hood, I have to remove the roller.  If you can store the lens hood in shooting position at all times, this isn't a problem.

Hood in reversed position requires removing the support/roller.

It works, it is well-made, and I am a happy customer.  I won't hesitate to buy any other parts I need from Hejnar.  His body and lens plates are less expensive than some other brands too.

If you need something like this, but he hasn't made a specific brace kit for your lens, he has many parts you can put together yourself.  And Mr. Hejnar is friendly, helpful, and quick to respond to questions... so if you have doubts, just ask him for help.

A custom variation I considered was this:  keep my standard lens plate on the lens collar, add a clamp to a Hejnar bar to connect to the plate, then add a small 1" clamp to the other end of the bar and use a taller support/roller.  This would have meant the lens itself would store more compactly, but I'd have to remove the support every time I put it away, and have to dedicate another spot in the bag for the support.

Diffraction: Friends don't let friends use f/22

Diffraction.  You likely learned (or will learn) about it in freshmen physics.

As a physics student, I think diffraction is fascinating.

As a photographer, I think diffraction sucks. We can't stop it, but we can minimize the badness.

Diffraction softens the details in an image and has a noticeable impact on the image quality of your photos.   I remember reading about diffraction in an old copy of Modern Photography magazine (1980s I think).

In a nutshell, the smaller the aperture, the more diffraction will impact your image.

There is a point in stopping down where your images stop getting sharper and start losing detail.  That's diffraction taking over.  To avoid diffraction, just avoid stopping down that far.

How far?  How low can you go?  Instead of doing a calculation, do a simple test.  An open camera test.

Grab your tripod and your favorite lens.  Find a detailed subject.  The closer your can get - the higher the magnification you use for the test - the easier it will be to see diffraction. My macro lens is my favorite, so I'm all good here.  Really though, just shoot whatever you want because it will tell you what you can tolerate in your normal use case.

Focus carefully.  Keep the camera rock-solid on your tripod. Use your best ISO setting. Use a remote release.  Use mirror lockup if you have an SLR (live view!).  Use electronic shutter if you have a mirrorless body.  Or use a flash to keep the speeds up and avoid vibration.  In other words, use good technique to make sure you aren't seeing other problems like vibration or bad focus.  Aperture priority is easiest.

Start with your aperture wide open, and make an image at every stop until you hit the smallest aperture on the lens.  

Evaluate the results.  Here is what you should expect from most lenses:  The details will sharpen as you stop down, you'll see an "optimal" aperture for the lens, and then the details will soften beyond that.  In APS-C and "full frame" cameras, what I see is optimal sharpness usually at f/5.6 or f/8, still good but a little softer at f/11, more softening at f/16, and downright soft at f/22 and smaller.  I usually don't go past f/11.  When I want to slow down the shutter even more, I use ND (neutral density) filters.

Note that no matter what camera I have used, the apertures above have always been the answer I've found.  I'm happy up to f/8, I'm okay with f/11, and I avoid smaller apertures most of the time.  That has been true within the limits of the cameras I've used... regardless of sensor size (APS-C or 'Full-frame'), film vs digital, or pixel density.  Some people perform calculations for DLA (Diffraction Limited Aperture) but using your eyes is the only way to tell what you can tolerate.  

Check out the progression from f/8 to f/22 on this coin (all at 100% magnification):

f/8:

f/11:

f/16:

f/22:

So naturally, I didn't know if I should laugh or cry when I saw someone comparing two brands, had one stopped down to f/22 (and the other not!) and complained about the f/22 image being soft.  His conclusion was that the lens wasn't sharp. Sigh.  The reality: we have no idea how sharp that lens was because at f/22 there was zero chance of a sharp image.

Friends don't let friends use f/22!

For more details, read this:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffraction