Work or Play? FUJIFILM x Mitch with FUJINON XC13-33mmF.3.5-6.3 OIS (XC13-33mm)
In photography, not every shoot needs a creative brief, a moodboard, or a massive gear bag. Sometimes, the most refreshing creative moments come from grabbing one lens, heading out the door, and just seeing what happens. No shot list, no pressure – just the simple desire to create. That’s exactly how this shoot unfolded: two friends, a bike, an e-skateboard, and the XC13– 33mm paired with the fast and small X-S20. I wasn’t aiming to create a magazine cover. I wanted to push the lens, to find its limits in real-time, and maybe find some new creative edges of my own along the way.
My name is Mitch Wiesinger, a Canadian from Saskatchewan, who moved to Denmark to pursue love, and ended up with not only a beautiful family, but also a newly found career. I was an educated trade worker, but during COVID 19, I decided to fully pursue my longtime hobby of photography, and was about to turn my small business, MW Media, into my full-time job. Currently, I work in the sport and action industry, and help tell the stories of professional athletes and brands worldwide, as well as holding the titles of a Red Bull Photographer and a Fujifilm Creator.
Recently, Fujifilm asked me if I would like to test out the new XC13-33mm and see what I, as a professional, could do with a primarily amateur lens. The focal length piqued my interest immediately, as I often shoot with wide and medium lenses. I called up my good friend Carl, a cyclist, and asked if we could hang out for a half day to see what type of shots we could come up with. One lens and one body. “Keep it simple” was the motto.
As soon as I got my hands on the lens, I was immediately shocked at how light and small it was. And pairing it with FUJIFILM X-S20, I barely noticed I had a camera hanging around my neck. The lens felt “easy”. Maybe a strange word to describe a piece of camera equipment, but that’s what comes to mind. Although the housing is plastic, it still feels strong and sturdy, and the manual zoom ring is fast and smooth. Let’s see what this thing can do!
The weather had been rainy for days, but I guess that’s no surprise in Denmark, but I was hoping we could get lucky with a bit of sunshine. I met Carl out of the city in a rural area where we had some space to work, and the first thing I wanted to test was “rolling shots” – something I would consider my speciality. A roller is basically a panning photo, except, instead of standing in a stationary position and panning with the subject, you move parallel WITH the subject. This is a type of shot I’ve been trying to master for years in both sports and automotive photography. I’m always trying to shoot with the slowest shutter speed possible, to show the “whoosh” effect as I say, or a sense of speed by creating motion blur in the background. Since the XC13-33mm has 4 stops of OIS, I decided to see what it could handle. Carl on his road bike, and me beside him on my E-skateboard.
For 40 mins we powered down the road as I experimented with different shutter speeds as well as testing some handheld video shots. My first thoughts? I was actually shocked how sharp the lens was! Not only did it handle the micro shake of me riding on my board at 35km/hr. while shooting as slow as 1/15 sec, but the photos looked just as good as what I’m used to shooting on my XF lenses. Fujifilm glass just doesn’t lie.
Next, we moved into a scenic nature park, followed by the city centre of Odense. I wanted to be able to use the entire focal length, and experiment with the different feelings and styles it could produce. I shot wide photos at 13mm to show the context and environment, and I also punched into 33mm to shoot some portraits and detail shots. And to top it off, the sun made an appearance.
After a coffee and a piece of carrot cake, I said goodbye and Carl headed home. But I wasn’t quite finished. I was really enjoying having this little setup hanging around my neck, and I wanted to see how the lens held up with some street photography.
I walked for an hour through the city and just took photos of what caught my eye. Being a full-time photographer can lead to seasons of losing the passion of what led me down this road in the first place, but I felt the passion here. Having the challenge of only one lens to capture what I imagine was actually fun.
So, in closing, I was surprised by this little lens. The 4 stops of OIS, the minimum focus distance of 20cm, the focal length, and the fact that the lens is extremely small and lightweight make it an “all in one” in my books, especially for amateurs and beginners. And it was a good reminder that sometimes, leaving the house with a simple setup is the best way to enjoy the process and simply – play.
