Everywhere you go

I used to be a Flickr guy, but lately I just can't stomach visiting much. Sure they redesigned the layout but what really has changed is the quality of photographs. I'm not saying Flickr used to be a bastion of Magnum photographers - far from it - but the quality of content was pretty decent and it was an exciting place to be for a while. Today, my Flickr feed looks more like Instagram, clogged with iPhone photos in a square crop and slathered with some horrid vintage filter or other. So what happened?

You know the saying, "The best camera is the one you have with you", well, that happened to Flickr. With a smartphone in every pocket, pictures are now made with phones. Luckily the phones are getting better - I'm licking my lips at you Nokia Lumia - but they still can't hold a candle to the latest large sensor compacts. Call me old school, but I like having a real camera with me as frequently as possible.

Back in the 90's and 00's, before digital had completely taken over the photography world, there were a breed of mighty compact cameras that could take photos with the same super powers of their larger SLR brothers. Then digital came to town and to have the best quality you needed to invest in a big "Full Frame" or "Crop-Sensor" SLR. Until recently, those hulky cameras were the only way to go if you wanted truly excellent image quality. But the times they are a changing amigos.

Now we have compacts like the Sony RX100, Fuji X20 and X100s, Nikon A and my mini monster of choice, the Ricoh GR. Three of these cameras are truly pocketable - that is, a normal, not hipster skinny, pair of jeans. Most have a relatively large APS-C sensor and can deliver results on par with those big SLRs. Some even have Wi-Fi capability so you can take great photos, maybe even apply an in-camera filter, and then upload to your favorite social media platform.

I get it, most people still are going to be happy as a clam to use their phones - fine - but for those of you that are looking to turn the tide on craptastic Instagram photography, do yourself a favor and checkout one of these pocket rockets. There is still a place in our mobile, social media obsessed society for great photography on the go.

Ricoh GR photos here were from a day trip with my boy to a local dam to do some fishing. As you can see, we had an unexpected run-in with a nasty looking water moc. A fellow angler speared it in the water and then proceeded to release it up on the bridge we were fishing on. Don't think I'll be swimming or wading these waters much.

Switching Gears - Fuji 55mm-200mm walkabout

Taking a break from all this Austin City Limits concert coverage, Fuji recently sent me the newish Fujinon 55mm-200mm OIS Zoom to play with on the X-E1. I'll admit that this is not exactly the type of lens that I usually invest in, but I was still anxious to take it out for a spin.

With a 35mm equivalent range of roughly 82mm-300mm, this optic covers a lot of useful territory. in typical Fuji fashion, the construction is impressive and the optical quality outstanding. Metal, plastic, rubber and glass combine to form a substantial lens that feels good in the hand and on the camera. The OIS (Optical Image Stabilization) function helps keep your shot steady and is critical on the long-end when the speed slows down to f/4.8 (still much faster than your typical kit or super zoom). I won't bore you with technical evaluations but take a look at some samples from my walk around Town Lake / Zilker Park, here in Austin TX.

Depending on the FOV and distance from your subject, the bokeh (out of focus areas) can be either smooth or a tad nervous, but I found both to be attractive.

Color rendition is typical Fuji-tastic with greens and blues that pop.

Detail can be stunning. Claims that this lens is soft are way off-base. I found the detail to be almost overwhelming in some images.

What about operational speed? Focus varied from very fast in good light, to some occasional hunting. I wouldn't buy this lens to primarily cover fast action, but with some smart pre-focusing you can certainly come away with your share of keepers. I took the lens to my son's baseball game and was very pleased with the results.

I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised with the 55mm-200mm. Coming from a background of fixed, fast aperture zooms with shallow DOF and creamy bokeh, I was expecting to be disappointed, but that was not the result. The 55mm-200mm Fuji is priced competitively for what it offers and as an all-purpose zoom, it is absolutely capable in almost every regard.

Thank you very much to Fuji for sending the lens so I could spend some time with it and share my thoughts. Please feel free to post comments below and thanks to Thomas Menk for the Scoop It.