Ottawa Fall Colours, Fujifilm X-E5 and ProGrade

Gallery (30 photos): Ottawa with the Fujifilm X-E5

I have now been living in Ottawa for about two months and have had some time to wander around, taking numerous photos with my new Fujifilm X-E5. For those that didn’t catch the announcement of my move, please see our September newsletter! In short, I will continue working remotely for Beau Photo and look forward to still helping all of you out as I have in the past!

My introduction to Ottawa has been wonderful, with record setting temperatures reaching well over 30ºC even in early October! At the same time, evening temperatures were mild as well, staying in the high teens and even low twenties. September has been the driest it’s been in over 40 years, and we have had plentiful sunshine! However the dry weather means the fall colours perhaps aren’t quite as vibrant as in other years, although I’ve still managed to capture some nice shots I think. Now, temperatures are far more seasonal and the late summer heat-wave is over.

I bought my own Fujifilm X-E5 kit, with the new XF 23mm pancake, just before I left for Ottawa and I’ve been enjoying the new kit immensely. If you remember my previous review article on the X-E5, I had mentioned buying a SmallRig hand-grip as well as a thumb-grip and I wasn’t sure at the time if I would keep the thumb-grip. However I have gotten used to rotating my right hand upward to access the exposure compensation dial with my thumb, and the thumb-grip is simply so comfortable and adds such a feeling of security when using heavier lenses, that I definitely will be keeping it.

For the X-E5, instead of reusing my older SanDisk or Sony memory cards, I am using a new ProGrade Digital 64GB UHS-II V90 ‘Cobalt’ SD card with 300MB/s read and 250 MB/s write speeds. With only that single card slot in the X-E5, a fresh reliable memory card was a must for me. Even though I already had a ProGrade 128GB SD, I asked if they had any specials on 64GB cards, and in reply to that, ProGrade generously sent me a 64GB card for long-term testing at no charge. I had the 128GB card since I wanted something larger than my existing 32GB cards for my tests of Fujifilm’s GFX100RF, and I also then thought I’d just use the 128GB down the road once I got a 40MP sensor equipped X-system camera. However, I decided I’m a bit hesitant to use such a large card on a camera without a second backup slot, since a card failure could mean the loss of a huge number of images (over 1,800 raw+fine JPEGs on a 128GB card in the X-E5), so I figured a 64GB would be a more comfortable size for me; 900 image pairs in the X-E5 is okay, since I was getting just over 700 with a 32GB card in my old X-Pro2.

I also already had one of Prograde’s dual-slot SD card readers, and that combination is nice and speedy, theoretically maxing out at up to 1.25 GB/s. The ability to run ProGrade’s excellent diagnostic utility (Refresh Pro) and their image recovery software (Recovery Pro), should I ever need to, also adds peace of mind. So far, using the ProGrade card in the camera has been snappy and, as expected, no reliability issues of course. I compared the speed of camera operation with the ProGrade card to my older Sony 32GB UHS-II V90 SD card, which theoretically has a faster write speed (299 MB/s) but after a few tests and switching between cards, I honestly can’t say I noticed a difference. Shooting rapidly enough to fill the buffer and then timing things with a stopwatch would have likely revealed differences, but I generally don’t shoot that quickly. Note that ProGrade now does have a faster ‘Iridium’ class SD card as well.

Refresh Pro software allows you to run diagnostic tests on your memory card, update the card’s firmware (I just updated my 64GB card in fact) and perform a factory format/refresh, however it only works in conjunction with ProGrade’s own cards (of course) and more importantly, only their “R” certified card readers. You cannot use any other brand of card reader since I am guessing that the ProGrade reader and ProGrade card use a special protocol to perform the Refresh Pro’s advanced functions. One nice feature with the ProGrade readers, is that they have a strong magnetic base, and they come with a thin metal plate that can be stuck to your desk or in my case, to the base of my NEC monitor. You can see the plate in the above photo, just behind the reader. This anchors the reader very securely and you can insert and remove the SD card without the reader sliding around on the desk.

Fujifilm X-E5 with XF 23mm f/2.8, ISO 800, f5.6 and a 1/2 second exposure handheld.

Image quality with the X-E5 has been absolutely superb and on par with what I had seen with the X-T5 that I borrowed from Fujifilm for my 2024 trip to the US Southwest. The dynamic range of the new 40MP sensor is noticeably higher than the old 24MP sensor in my X-Pro2 and even high ISO shots are impressive. The in-body stabilization means I can handhold shots down to quite slow shutter speeds and the rear tilting LCD display is great for low angle or high angle shots, both features that are a big step up from my X-Pro2 as well. The new XF 23mm f/2.8 pancake lens has seen a lot of use too, not only because it is so compact and unobtrusive but also to allow me to familiarize myself with its performance, and also simply because it is actually quite a sharp little lens. For some slow shutter speed samples, both taken handheld with the new 23mm, see the above and below shots that I took inside the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, QC. You can click to see larger 4000 pixel wide versions too.

Fujifilm X-E5 with XF 23mm f/2.8, ISO 800, f5.6 and a 1/3 second exposure handheld.

I love the ergonomics of the very compact X-E5 body and it has even allowed me to downsize from my 10L Peak Design Everyday Sling, to a 6L version and still carry most of my kit. To carry all my prime lenses, and to be able to put the camera away with any lens mounted, I do still need to use the 10L, but if I leave my somewhat seldom used 8mm lens behind and put the 23mm pancake on the camera, it all fits in the 6L, so my Fujifilm 14mm f/2.8, 18mm f/1.4, 23mm f/2.8, 35mm f/1.4 and 56mm f/1.2, X-E5 body, spare batteries and cards, cable release, iPad Mini and a few more bits and bobs. The 6L is much more compact and feels less bulky when I am squeezing through crowds and such. As an added bonus, the 6L comes in lots of cool colours. I chose the new Coyote tan coloured one, which not only looks much less like a camera bag than the usual black or grey, but also uses “X-Pac Ocean Edition” fabric made from 100% recycled fishing nets. Cool. Note that most of the new, special colours of the Peak Design Everyday Sling would be special order items.

Click the link below, or the one at the very start of this article, to see many more photos from around Ottawa and Gatineau with lots of fall colours, and also some more inside photos at the Canadian Museum of History which I visited on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

Gallery (30 photos): Ottawa with the Fujifilm X-E5

Lastly, here is a large stitched panoramic (click the image for the full 6000 pixel wide version), looking towards the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, from a viewing platform at the east end of the Alexandra Bridge in Ottawa…