Grab The Stick And Tally Ho

Not quite so fast, Biggles. There are still a few things to grasp - the first being the right-hand grip. All kudos to the Fujifilm design team for a perfect hold. There is enough bulk on the front and a very large thumb plate on the back...the camera will hang vertically even with a larger lens on it - your arm may ache but your wrist will not break. Note that the thumb plate has the Q button, a function button and the maddening red/green light that makes you wait while it writes raw files. ( I tried covering up the light with my thumb but it did not speed up the file writing...) The joystick - a feature of many new Fujifilm cameras, will be in constant use as you view your subject - you can use the touch screen LCD to do it, but not if you are over 50 or have stubby fingers...be grateful for that joystick. It works. The hangers for the strap are rather special - they put you in mind of the older Hasselblad or Mamiya quick-release metal clips...except that Fujifilm has incorporated a plastic plug to lock the holder in place - if you elect to use the plug you must unthread the strap to actually clip it off. There is a certain amount of logic and safety in this, but you'll be disconcerted as the strap winds round and round the attachement post all during the day. The big eye-opener is the slide-off EVF that leaves the field clear for the fold-down LCD screen. There is a small button on the side of the screen to allow it to fold sideways too - meaning that you can have the camera in the portrait orientation and still get a waist-level look. If I was a product shooter or tabletop shooter...I would be seriously tempted to leave the EVF off most of the time, swing the screen, and just shoot from there. Out in the open glare the combo of the EVF and the accessory tilting adapter would let you see clearly from the top. And more on the big screen when we shoot in the studio. And finally - an item I did not use in the trials - the vertical battery grip. Holding another battery, natch, and duplicating the important controls and 6 function buttons, it also allows you to do external charging of the battery. I wasn't going to use the big lens in vertical mode, so I opted not to connect it - for the magazine cover shooters it would be invaluable. The model? Jasmine O'Donoghue. The magazine? Out of print since the 1950's...