Road Trip! The Supreme Fuji X-T2 Test

Canadian Pacific Steam Locomotive #3254 under repair in the shops of Steamtown in Scranton, Pa (click to enlarge)
Fuji X-T2, 16-55mm f/2.8 lens @ 36.5mm; 1/40th sec. @ f/5.6; ISO 800
It was very dark inside the roundhouse with bright direct sunlight falling upon the front of the engine and number plate.  The
X-T2 handled this scene easily.

It's time again for a road trip.  Taking a road trip is one of my favorite activities and, due to some family circumstances as well as being called out of retirement for eight months last year to help a locality, we have not taken one in almost two years.

When taking a road trip my wife and I generally have not specific itinerary.  We have no timeline and our journey is toatally flexible.  We try, as much as we can, to stay off interstate highways and take two lane roads through small towns and the countryside stopping when we see something of interest. We never quite know where we will end up each day and where we will be the next.  Also, we like to eat in small local restaurants, meet ordinary hard working people and see the real America.  I will tell you almost all of the hundreds and hundreds of people we have met and talked with over the years are fine, caring reasonable human beings, unlike the fringe presented to us by the news media.  My faith in the goodness of ordinary American people stands firm.

I call out way of travel, "no stress" travel since we don't have to be anywhere or back home at any specific time.  We have an overall sense of where we will be going or things we want to see but it is more spontaneous than planned.  As the title of this blog reflects, we like to wander.

The key, in my mind, to "not stress" travel, is extensive planning before leaving.  Take a look at my previous three blog posts for an idea of how I plan.

Drive wheels of the #2124, Steamtown, Scranton, PA (click to enlarge)
Fuji X-T2. 16-55mm f/2.8 lens @ 21.3mm; 1/35th sec. @ f/8; ISO 200

Disclaimer: I can't exactly vouch for the color balance and luminance of the images I post on this trip as I'm editing them on my laptop and it is not my usual editing computer and monitor.  Please bear with me if the images or slightly off color or too dark
or too bright.  Thank you.

This year our travel is just a bit different in that we have a partial agenda as we will be meeting friends in the woods of coastal Maine.  They have rented a house that backs up to Acadia National Park and we will spend a week with them and two other couples.  We are giving ourselves four days to get there so don't have to drive straight there and then we will take another two weeks or so wandering around New England in the autumn before slowing working our way back home.

Okay we're off.  Back after getting on the road.

An easy day's drive took us to Scranton, Pennsylvania.  In Scranton, we visited Steamtown, as since childhood I have been a fan of steam locomotives.  On day two, again because of a love since childhood, we spent time in Cooperstown, New York visiting the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

From there, we head north and east slowing heading for the coast of Maine, stopping and seeing whatever strikes our fancy.

I've done a bit of internet research on the most picturesque towns on Upstate New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine as well as the most picturesque harbors in Maine.  That gives me an idea of some places we may want to visit and, of course, photography is a part of all of this.

Moreso than picturesque harbors and pretty lighthouses, I think I'm more interested in photographing working harbors with lobsterman, lobster boats, working docks and such.  Pretty and picturesque is fine but I also want to get into the real Maine.  I look forward to spending time in Acadia National Park as I've heard so much about it and it is one of the few large national parks I have yet to visit.

Getting ready for a road trip is exhilarating for me.  It gets my spirits high and I get excited about going to new places, exploring, seeing things I've never seen and making photographs and memories.

The Main Hall of the National Baseball Hall of Fame (click to enlarge)
X-T2, 10-24mm f/4 lens @ 10mm; 1/25th sec. @ f/8; ISO 400
This is an edited JPEG file.  The far gallery was extremely bright and the closer galleries on the left and right were very dark.  I
don't exactly know how this will look on the web, but the JPEG file capture all of the highlight and shadow detail with no problem.

For this trip I am taking quite a bit of camera gear so I can photograph in any situation I may encounter.  We will be traveling in an SUV so space is not an issue.  I am primarily using my new Fuji X-T2 with the X-T1 as a backup camera.  This journey will be an excellent test for the X-T2.  My expectation is that this new camera will come through the test admirably.  But we'll see.

I have used the X-T2 enough before this trip to feel comfortable with it so there should be no surprises.  I am taking a variety of lenses;  the Fuji 10-24mm f/4, the 16-55mm f/2.8, the 50-140 mm f/2.8, the 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6, the 1.4X tele-converter and two primes, the 23mm f/1.4 and the 35mm f/2.  I brought a polarizing filter and a 6X and a 10X neutral density filters.  Of course I have a lightweight but sturdy tripod, the X-T2's booster grip, about 6 extra batteries, spare battery charger, lens and sensor cleaning paraphernalia as well.

More travelogue and comments on how the X-T2 performs as we travel.

Thanks for looking. Enjoy!

Dennis A. Mook

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