It is been a year and 7 months since a viral pandemic exposed the craven liars who are in charge of our public health organizations, their absolute fealty to “Big Pharma” and disregard for the welfare of the common man. 

The indoctrination of the citizenry into fear of a viral respiratory infection has been accomplished through a supplicant news media.  The more weak-minded individuals who are their acolytes, are now in conflict with more skeptical folks, who notice the discrepancies in what they’re being told, and refuse to submit.  I guess at this point, I stand with the latter group.

I am absolutely infuriated over the draconian vaccine mandates imposed by the current administration.  Both Anthony Fauci, and CDC head Dr. Rachel Walinsky have publicly stated that the vaccine does not prevent spread.  In multiple reports, viral titers in vaccinated patients with recurrence, are as high as, or higher than those of unvaccinated patients.  As I have stated multiple times, the value of the vaccine is to reduce the severity of your illness, which may get you safely through a Covid infection, towards much more potent natural immunity.

Over the last several weeks, I have been touched by this in my personal life.  The small community where I live has a social organization and a fairly lively schedule of events.  One of my favorites is a dinner that occurs in early October, which serves as a fundraiser.  Typically, my wife and I will invite 3 other couples to join us, filling a table.  The event could not occur last year, and we were excited to see it return.

Unfortunately, when the invitation came out, it was accompanied by a new rule: Vaccinated only.

Now people involved with this dinner, read my articles.  They are aware that I have been infected and thus have not been vaccinated (my wife who was never infected, has had her two inoculations).

So, my group and I were not invited.  I know some others in the community who, based on this rule, were also excluded.  A couple of days ago, the dinner, apparently not a draw this year, was canceled.  What is sad is that, given the failure of the vaccine to prevent spread, making it mandatory for the event was useless and counterproductive.

The problem is you can’t reason with people.  When I am in the Adirondacks, I enjoy stopping into a small private club in town.  I was there a couple of weeks ago and stopped off only to find a sign on the front door, with a “vaccination only” message”.  I was told that the Board of Directors had decided on this policy.  Later in the week, I encountered one of the board members (a pretty nice guy by the way).  I made the argument above, which I think frustrated him.  He finally ended the discussion by saying: “We had to do something about Covid!”. 

There you go.  I moved on to another topic.

Dr. Fauci is really in need of retirement (and indictment?) at this point.  His arrogance and his blatant dishonesty are constantly on display in the media.  He was recently asked by Margaret Brennan, moderator of “Face the Nation”, whether we can “gather for Christmas, or it is just too soon to tell?’  Now this is a stupid question on a lot of levels.  His reflexive answer was “it’s just too soon to tell”.   This to me speaks volumes about the control these people believe they should have on our behavior.  Now in fairness, he has backpeddled rather aggressively after a nasty response on social media, but for a minute we caught a glimpse of his mindset.

A much more infuriating comment was made in an interview with Dr. Sanjay Gupta at CNN. Fauci was asked a question, referencing recent data out of Israel suggesting that natural immunity is much more potent than that induced by the vaccination.  He responded: “I don’t have a really firm answer for you on that” he went on to question the durability of natural immunity versus that from “the jab”.

This is literally unbelievable.  This is a man who is in charge of all responses to Covid.  He would, or at least should have knowledge of the published material on this topic.  No really firm answer?  If that is not a deliberate lie, then he is incompetent.

  The CDC estimates there are likely as many as 120 million people that have recovered from Covid.  These people deserve a well-reasoned answer to the question of whether to be vaccinated.  Given the amazing amount of data, from well-designed well-controlled studies that consistently show more complete and durable immunity can be achieved naturally, one is definitely available.  He is undoubtedly the reason why, the NIH and CDC recommend post-infection vaccination even though there is a large increase in adverse effects, many serious, in this group.

I do think the vultures are circling for the good doctor. First, Francis Collins, Fauci’s boss and the longtime head of the NIH resigned. Then the NIH releases a letter to the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, essentially admitting to the fact that indeed they funded indirectly, gain-of-function research on bat viruses in the Wuhan lab. This directly contradicts testimony given under oath by both Fauci and Collins.  Here’s the story, from that notorious right-wing publication Vanity Fair.

Finally, there is the topic of molnupiravir, Merck’s new antiviral currently in trials for the treatment of Covid 19.  In a preliminary study of 385 early Covid patients (vs 377 placebo), it dropped hospitalization rates from roughly 14 to roughly 7% credited as a 50% improvement.  The tablet, which is said to cost $70 a tablet, and was given as 4 tablets, twice a day for 5 days.

Enter Dr. Fauci again.  After the results of a single Merck-sponsored study, he proclaimed: “the results of the trial that were just announced yesterday and the day before are really quite impressive”.  Think back now to spring 2020, and his skepticism of promising early results on cheap and readily available hydroxychloroquine.  Not much difference in the quality of data but a big difference in his enthusiasm.

Of course, there is Merck’s old off-patent drug Ivermectin, or in CNN usage book: “horse dewormer”.

A recent meta-analysis in the American Journal of Therapeutics rigorously evaluated the 60 or so available Ivermectin papers and ended up screening down to 24 randomized control trials, looking at mortality as an outcome.  On average the studies showed a 62% decrease in mortality for ivermectin versus placebo.  There were also improved severity outcomes also though they were not a primary endpoint.  What was the reaction from Dr. Fauci… crickets?

 The cost of Ivermectin?  The drug is somewhat in demand now and has gotten more expensive.  I looked on GoodRx and found that the standard course for treatment of Covid costs between $29 and $60 depending on the pharmacy, and whether you had coupons. In developing countries, the cost of a course is under 2 dollars

Here’s the best part. The government has committed to purchasing $1.7 billion of molnupiravir, should it get past the FDA. This is after spending billions more on its development. This was done despite the fact that we have a cheap, safe, repurposed drug that appears to be just as if not more efficacious.

It should be clear now, that this tapestry of lies woven by public health officials, Pharma, our elected officials, and the press, is rather obviously unraveling:

The vaccines are not really vaccines, and they don’t prevent spread. At best, they function as marginally effective therapeutics.

 Our monovalent (one protein) vaccines are likely facilitating the emergence of new variants.                                                                                                                                                                             SARS-CoV-2 was a product of gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Lab and was funded illegally, by the NIH/NIAID.

Federal and state governments continue to impose draconian vaccine mandates, despite the fact that they are useless, likely unconstitutional, and immoral.

And perhaps worst of all Big Pharma used its extraordinary influence to suppress cheap, effective therapy for this pandemic, costing likely hundreds of thousands of lives for the sake of profit.

What scares me the most is that as a society, I don’t know whether we will ever have enough insight, and integrity, to sort through all of this, and to punish those who are responsible.

If not, God help us.

As usual, I’d be honored if you’d share this post

Header image : Fisherman on Black Pond (Fujifilm XE3, XF 18-55mm f2.8-4)

Well, here we are in week 8 of the coronavirus shutdown. For those of us in Luzerne County, there is essentially no end in sight. Clearly, we had been a hot spot in the state.   But our numbers have stabilized or decreased despite the vastly increased testing available.

This feels promising compared to the situation where testing was less scarce but our growth in cases was exponential. Something is happening. It’s likely not all because of mitigation.

It is worth noting however that here, in Luzerne County, 82 of 112 deaths have come out of nursing facilities. Sad, but these vulnerable souls are not representative of the working public.

In Pennsylvania, there are now 3 phases of existence. Until recently most of our state, no matter how few cases there were, was in the red phase. We are ordered by fiat to stay home. We can actually be questioned and cited for “nonessential travel”. So-called “essential” businesses are open. We have been permitted to visit our grocery stores, beer distributors, hardware stores, big-box stores, and gas stations. With masks and social distancing, we seem to have been able to control the spread of this virus.

If we are deemed to be worthy, we may someday get to the yellow phase where we can open other retailers, but still cannot gather in a group larger than 25, or visit bars or restaurants. It appears that this viral purgatory will be denied to us until at least June 1.

Does this mean that churches will still not be able to open? What happened to freedom of religion?

Green phase, where things return to basically normal almost seems like a dream.

The problem is, I remember what we were told at the beginning of this. Remember: “two weeks to flatten the curve”? Well, we damn well flattened the curve. So much so in fact, that hospitals who have been curtailing other services, threaten to lay off workers because of low volume. Only modest percentages of hospital beds have been needed for coronavirus patients. There are plenty of ventilators. Yet two months later we remain locked down.

Looking at the number of new cases in Pennsylvania, the curve is noisy but is clearly trending downward.

Even more disturbing to me is the attitude of the state government. It appears for the Wolfe administration, the new default position for our commonwealth is “closed for business”. We only get to open if we are properly respectful and deserving. He seems little inclined to relieve our misery.

This feels unconstitutional. Given the crisis, we gave our state government some leeway and submitted ourselves to rules (not laws) that go against the basic freedoms of society. This was done for one purpose, which was realized. Now as others have pointed out, Gov. Wolfe has moved the goalposts from the field to an undisclosed location. And he does this without explanation.

The administration might want to study data from states that have reopened. Georgia is a case in point. Their numbers prior to late April were not the most favorable, yet since opening their new cases are declining. Hopefully, this is because to an extent, this virus is running its course as the season progresses.

We are now living in a society where state agencies in the state police are being used to suppress our freedoms and our commerce in a way that will damage our economy for months if not years.

Warren County in northwestern Pennsylvania is an example. As of this date, they have had exactly one case of coronavirus with no deaths, yet they were under severe lockdown for 2 months. How lovely for them that they will now be permitted to move to a slightly less damaging state of existence? And much of the rest of the state, many counties with single- and double-digit case numbers are similarly oppressed. This is ridiculous.

I have been uncomfortable thinking about this idea, but I now have to wonder whether this is political. As a swing state, a damaged economy might be helpful in moving Pennsylvania towards a democratic challenger. And yes, politics is that ruthless.

I think at this point Gov. Wolfe has jumped the shark. What started as a reasonable response to a bad situation has morphed into tyranny. An increasing number of counties are declaring that they no longer will submit. This rebellion includes a lot of South-Central Pennsylvania including Dauphin County, where Harrisburg is located.

In answer to this development, the Governor has doubled down. He referred to counties and businesses threatening to open as “cowards” and “deserters”. He threatens to use weapons such as state licensure, access to federal funds, and business insurance as retaliation for this behavior. His words suggest he has no compassion for those who are struggling financially in these times.

To quote him: “in the end, the ultimate goal is to defeat this virus”. Except that we can’t defeat it by hiding. The goal should be to get through this pandemic with the least amount of medical and psychological morbidity, and economic damage.

At this point, we have all the tools for dealing with the pandemic. We wear our masks, wash our hands, and observe social distancing. We’ve been practicing for 2 months.

Governor Wolfe has a perverse concept of cowardice. He believes that a small business owner, who desperately needs to reopen to avoid insolvency is a coward. He considers that people who are in dire straits and are willing to face exposure to feed their families as cowards.

Meanwhile, Wolfe, and his vast state executive, are paid biweekly and doing fine, thank you.

Lockdown was sold to us as a temporary strategy for extraordinary circumstances. It has worked.

But now if we are to avoid economic devastation, it needs to end.

As I have written before, I like snow. This makes me somewhat of an outlier among my friends in northeastern Pennsylvania. Sadly, at least for me, this winter is panning out to be a bust in that regard. Even in the highlands where I reside, we have been experiencing tepid little 1 to 2-inch snowfalls, which will melt before becoming part of a snowpack potentially useful for recreation.

The lack of winter scenery makes photography rather unrewarding. I need to find snow.

In Pennsylvania, that means traveling north and west where the climate is colder, and the high terrain, closer to the Great Lakes can capture the lake effect precipitation. On a whim, I packed my car with gear and set my nav system with the destination of Wellsboro Pennsylvania in Tioga County.

Now I used to spend a lot of time in Wellsboro as it is located in the middle of an absolutely glorious wilderness area where I have mountain biked, skied, and backpacked. My children will remember camping there, to visit Pennsylvania’s “Grand Canyon”, also known as the Pine Creek Gorge.

Now I have always felt the former moniker was a bit pretentious, as there are equally dramatic features, in other parts of the state. I think of the Loyalsock Gorge at World’s End State Park, not to mention our own Lehigh River Gorge. Nonetheless, someone in Tioga County had the marketing chutzpah to grab the name and so it stands.

In the last 10 years, I’ve unconsciously I think avoided traveling the back roads of northern Pennsylvania. During much of that time, the fracking boom caused enormous traffic congestion as legions of tanker trucks bringing water to the fracking sites made travel unpleasant. As much of the fracking is over, I felt comfortable that a trip might be pleasant.

A trip from my home to Wellsboro, is about more than the destination, as the intervening scenery is also rather beautiful. It becomes important to resist the navigation system’s first impulse which is to keep you on route 80 W. It is better to use one of the more scenic state routes. In this case, I drove north to Route 118 which goes almost to Williamsport, and a short stint on Interstate 180, then to route 15 for most of the way to Wellsboro. The inefficiency of this route caused my navigation system to complain for a surprising amount of the trip before it finally caught on.

My camera gear for the trip was all Fujifilm, in this case, the X100F for street style shooting, and my XE3 with multiple lenses for landscape work. Both cameras recharge from USB and are light and compact.

The drive on Route 118 takes you through first forest areas, as it tracks south of North Mountain, arguably the southern front of the high Allegheny plateau. As you approach Williamsport, the altitude drops and the land flattens out to the vast farmland, so prevalent in the center of the state.

A short trip on route I-180 takes you to route 15 N, where you begin a pretty dramatic climb into the “endless mountain” region of the state.

Feeling hungry, I stopped at the town of Morris Pennsylvania, nestled in a creek valley among the overlooking ridges. I love small-town bar/restaurants and the Crossroads Inn is a wonderful example. Rustic but clean, it featured a robust menu that reportedly draws people from as far south as Williamsport, particularly for the roast beef. I share a lot of interests with the locals there, and the conversation turned to deer hunting, timbering and trout stocking.

I arrived in Wellsboro, as I planned about 2 PM to a hazy sky and the temperature in the mid-30s. Not wishing to waste time, I drove west out of town to Leonard Harrison State Park, which is the eastern overlook to the Gorge. My hope was to grab a tripod and photograph the multiple small waterfalls on the “Turkey Trail”, a path that leads from the rim to the floor of the canyon, but there were ice and snow present and thus the trail was closed for fear of injuries. As I was alone I elected not to poach. As the afternoon light improved, I shot images from the observation areas (I had no snow scenes of the canyon from the past).

As pretty as the canyon is, there’s also beauty to be found along the way. To the west of Wellsboro is an area of high rolling farmland that extends almost to the rim of the canyon itself. I remember many years ago hiking in the remote wilderness of the “West Rim Trail” along the gorge while watching a farmer cutting hay on the opposite side.

There are lovely old farmsteads on this network of back roads along with a smattering of churches of similar vintage.

At sunset, I returned to town, to claim my room at the Penn Wells Lodge, a very nice modern facility. My outside entrance room cost all of $87 and included a free breakfast.

Dinner was at a highly recommended restaurant called the Wellsboro House. I had a great meal and a lot of fun with a lovely crew of servers and wait staff.

The next morning once fortified, I took a walk around town to see what changed in the years since I’ve last visited.

Wellsboro itself is a wonderful self-sufficient town, the kind that often develops when there is no bigger city nearby. Though a tourist destination because of the canyon, it is obviously a full-service place of residence, with clothing stores, a furniture store, and a department store that all appear locally owned.

Heading out of town west, there is a neighborhood of beautiful old homes, some of which serve as bed-and-breakfasts.

Even in the dead of winter, the town is neat and clean, the historic storefronts, for the most part, occupied and decorated. There are a number of bars and restaurants, which from my experience in the past serve solid food in generous portions. There is a sense of civic pride, and apparently an interest in the arts, as there appeared to be multiple facilities dedicated to the pursuit.

I’m still not sure why there is a statue in the town park dedicated to the poem “Wynkin, Blinkin, and Nod”, rather than to some town founder or local military hero. Maybe I just lack a sense of whimsy.

I was looking forward to the trip home. To complete the scenic loop, I had decided to use State route 6 for the eastward leg of the trip home. This drive is one of the most beautiful in the state, as you travel past areas of rolling farmland, and scenic overlooks.

Unfortunately, fracking is still occurring and I got stuck behind two tanker trucks who drove annoyingly slowly, and far enough apart that it was unsafe to pass.

Driving along Route 6 there is a phenomenon I’ve noticed in the past. As you drive it seems that every other small town appears extremely rundown and impoverished, while the others are charming and well-maintained. It does remind one how fragile the economy can be in rural Pennsylvania.

My travels finally brought me to the town of Dushore, where I could finally part company with my buddies in the trucks. Here I turned south on to route 487 over Red Rock Mountain back to Route 118. Somewhat ironically it turned out that at the top of the mountain, at Ricketts Glen State Park, there was ample snow for recreation at a location roughly 40 minutes from my home.

Writing travelogues is not my usual deal. But in point of fact, the “Endless Mountain” region of Pennsylvania, stretching across most of the north is a spectacular destination easily reached by a large portion of the population of the Northeast. It’s not all beautiful, but for the most part, the scenery is gorgeous, rivaling places like Vermont and Maine. It’s well worth the trip.

Just watch out for tanker trucks.

When you live in an area long enough, you eventually will run out of novel places to photograph. Though I strive to find new settings to explore, my daily exercise “hikes” tend to center around a limited number of trails that are close to my home whether in Pennsylvania or the Adirondacks.

Now I agree that every season brings its own peculiar “touch” to the landscape, but after 30+ years, I’ve seen most of the variations. For this reason, on a familiar trail, it’s tempting to either forgo bringing a camera at all (relying on my cell phone for any photography) or bring lighter kit, like my small Sony RX 100 pocket camera. Though the latter is capable of good imaging, I get nowhere near the quality for instance, of one of my larger sensored Fujifilm X cameras.

A couple of Saturdays ago, I visited a local state game lands. One attraction is the “Pear farm” a historic orchard that in the 1920s occupied a ridge overlooking the Nescopeck creek valley.  By the sheerest of coincidences, it also overlooked a dense woodland shrouding an illegal still.

I walk this frequently and have obtained some good photography there over the years. I have never found any sign of the still, which said to have been destroyed by “revenuers” before prohibition ended.

 The Pennsylvania Game Commission maintains the property by mowing the field and planting grasses that are apparently a rich food source for a variety of wildlife. But on this particular day, the sky was gray, and there was only a light coating of snow. There had also been some timbering done which I was eager to see. I did not anticipate much in the way of photographic opportunities. Nonetheless, the only camera bag in the car was one containing my Fujifilm X 100F and X E3. More to add weight and thus burn calories, rather than with any hope of photographic opportunity, I shouldered the bag, grabbed a monopod and began the hike up the mountain.

The timbering, as it turned out, was extensive. To my eye, what looked like several hundred acres had been cleared, with only a few spindly seed trees left to repopulate the land. I know from conversations with game commission foresters, that such timbering is done for habitat restoration, In this case, the goal was reestablishing a mixed oak forest, albeit one I will never see. In the meantime, forest succession will provide a variety of habitats for game animals.

It early in the year, the sun angle was low, and in the late afternoon with clearing to the west, there were already red highlights in the gray sky. The clouds, far from a uniform white, were more complex and foreboding. The timbered landscape created a stark, slightly disturbing scene. As it was on a weekend, the timber crew was off and the machines idle which opened up my options for access.

Most intriguingly, the rather aggressive timbering had actually opened up a pleasant view scape down the Nescopeck Valley to the distant farmland of Butler Township.

From my point of view, what I assumed would be a rather mundane walk for exercise, turned out to have enough visual interest to stimulate my photography gene.

Every once in a while something will change a familiar landscape into something delightful. It may be a new angle to the light, strange atmospheric conditions, or in this case a physical change to the land. Nonetheless as a photographer, one probably ought to consider packing sufficient quality gear that you don’t miss out on opportunities when they present.

Your choice of camera often influences the way you use lenses; particularly in the Fujifilm camera universe.  Though the SLR-like bodies such as the XT-2, and XT-20 are very popular, I came into the X series by shooting their rangefinder styled products, and for the most part, continue to do so.

My main interchangeable lens body is an X Pro 2 (which I use along with my X100f). To me, going back to the M series Leica film cameras, rangefinder-type bodies like the X Pro 2 are shot with prime lenses which tend to perform better anyway. Thus my XF zooms have tended to languish at the back of the cabinet.

 Several weeks ago I was traveling to the Adirondacks, and selecting the photo gear that I would bring along.  Years ago I would pack 2 or 3 bodies (Fuji and Nikon), and several bags of lenses.  Maybe because I have been photographing there so long, and perhaps in my dotage, I’m getting a bit lazy. My tendency now is to streamline things a bit with perhaps 1 or 2 small camera bags.  Along with the X100, I will usually bring the X Pro 2 with several prime lenses, perhaps the 14 mm, the 56mm, and a 90 mm.  This works out fairly well given that the X100 has a fixed 23 mm lens.

 

One complaint I have about the XF lenses is that the lens pouches are virtually identical, without any exterior labels to indicate the lens within.  It’s thus easy to grab the wrong lens.  Rather than the 14 mm lens I was looking for, I found that I had pulled out the 18– 55-millimeter zoom which has similar bulk.  I hadn’t used the lens in some time so I thought: What the hell, let’s give it a try with the bigger sensor of the X Pro 2  and see how it holds up from an image quality standpoint.

In the “Dacks” I shot the lens and liked what I saw.  So I left it on the X Pro 2 for the next several weeks after returning home.

In photo workshops when I am teaching beginners, I’m a big proponent of prime lenses.  This is not only because their image quality tends to be superior (especially for the price).  I also think it’s important for people to understand and then characteristics of individual focal lengths to their photography

If they do utilize a zoom, I suggest that they avoid the habit of zooming to frame an image, and instead treat the lens like a collection of primes.  I have had to remind myself to do the same.  With the zoom mounted, I look at the scene and determine what focal length would be desirable in terms of foreground/background relationship and depth of field.  I then choose a focal length.  Putting my eye in the viewfinder.  I can then step backward or forward when possible to adjust the framing. That’s a lot easier than changing lenses constantly.

Another issue I have had with the X Pro 2 is camera shake.  Perhaps I have been spoiled by the very soft leaf shutter of the X100 series.  I find that I get a fair number of images with the X Pro 2 and it’s more robust shutter action, where there has been movement artifact.  The image stabilization in the little 18-55mm is a big help with this, noticeably reducing the problem.

 

I have forgotten how nice the image quality is.  Used as I am to some of the high-quality lenses in the Fujinon line, I am delighted with the look of images shot with this modest lens.  It’s got good contrast and handles the 24-megapixel sensor of the newer cameras with ease.  It’s capable of obtaining lovely detailed 3-dimensional images, although at the 18 mm end, it  is slightly soft until it’s stopped down.  And like all of the XF lenses it has a solid feel and lovely built quality.

In the weeks since returning home, we’ve seen a variety of weather here in Northeastern Pennsylvania, including bitter cold,  then a sudden thaw that led to severe ice damming and flooding on the Susquehanna River in the Wyoming Valley.  The residual of this has been bank ice of a size and volume I’ve never seen before.

Now, in the mountains, a  winter snowpack is finally building, which for us more and more, seems to be a February/March event.

There was even some snow at Nescopeck State Park for their Winterfest event, something we haven’t seen in some time.  It was fun to see the sled dogs finally get to pull their sled.

I’m aware that there are better short zooms in the XF series lineup, including the 16-55mm f2.8, which is said to be very sharp indeed.  Unfortunately is quite a bit larger and heavier (though it is weather resistant) and has no optical stabilization.  And at $1100, it’s significantly more expensive than the $700 18-55.  And there isn’t an image I have shot over the last several weeks that makes me pine for a more exotic lens.  If I need more sharpness, I will go back to the primes.

I forgot how much I like this little lens.  Like the 60 mm f2.4 I wrote about here, I’m moving it to the front of the cabinet.

Faithful readers of this site are aware of my affection for the Fuji X series cameras, both the X100 and the X Pro 1.

I think perhaps the one characteristic shared by both cameras is the very high quality lenses Fuji has designed for both devices. This includes the fixed 23 MM lens on the X100, and the three original prime lenses offered with the X Pro 1.  Still and all, there are times when a zoom lens is helpful, particularly in circumstances where “zooming with your feet” is impossible.  And although these cameras seem to have less propensity for motion blur then say, a digital SLR with the big moving mirror, it still an issue. It is particularly a problem when I use the cameras while hiking, when my vigorous cardiac contractions can cause camera shake.  With all this in mind, I was very eager to try the 18 -55 mm f2.8-4 image stabilized zoom lens Fuji announced with the X E1.  I was hopeful that the high quality of the prime “XF” lenses, would carry over to the new zoom.

I finally received word several weeks ago that the lens was in stock at B and H so I ordered one.  I’ve been shooting with it in a number of settings and would offer these observations.

Obviously this is less than a formal review.  There’ll be no resolution charts or other such technical data (I lack both the equipment and the inclination).

The lens arrived in the usual black Fuji packaging.  Included with the lens, is a scalloped lens hood and a pinch lens cap.  Unlike some of the prime lenses, the hood and lens cap function much like more conventional lenses (the hood can be reversed and stored on the lens).  The lens also comes with the familiar XF mount lens pouch which is larger than the lens, and closed by folding the end flap over itself (I’d really rather a drawstring).  Happily the build quality of the lens seems identical to the prime lenses.  The lens is mainly metal with very precisely machined ridges on the zoom and focus rings. Happily it is not much bigger than the 35 mm prime with its rectangular lens hood.

Unlike the prime lenses, the aperture ring has no markings and the aperture is determined by looking at the viewfinder, or rear LCD.  There is a separate switch which determines whether the aperture ring functions, or whether the aperture is set to automatic (allowing shutter priority shooting).  The movement of all the rings is very smooth.  I don’t use manual focus very much but the amount of travel required of the focus ring to go from near too far, seems fairly modest.  In my experience autofocus with this lens is fairly quick, perhaps roughly as good as the 35 mm.

One great feature of this lens is that it is image stabilized.  It’s always hard to know how well this feature works.  I become fairly adept at shooting the non-image stabilized Fuji lenses without much motion blur.  Reportedly the feature is good for keeping the image sharp for 3-4 stops of longer exposure.

This lens is really meant to be used with the electronic viewfinder.  At shorter focal lengths, the optical viewfinder can be useful, but as the lens is zoomed, the bright frame delineating the actual image, shrinks to a point where is roughly the size of the focus box, and thus essentially useless for framing.  I just keep the viewfinder set to electronic, which for me works fine.

I had the lens with me for a recent model shoot, and for a trip to the Adirondacks.  It is fairly fast (maximum aperture at 55 mm is f4.0).  For portrait work, I obviously used the long end of the zoom, but even with the slightly tighter aperture, background blur, I think was quite pleasing and the lens was very sharp.  I would have to say however, that the 60 mm f2.4 really shines in this setting.

The lens really comes into its own for landscape photography.  Fitted to the X Pro 1, the combination easily fits in my small Mountainsmith fanny pack.  Particularly in the middle of its focal range, the lens is fairly sharp corner-to-corner and quite contrasty, much like its prime brethren.

I was curious to compare the lens to a known standard.  Unfortunately the only lens that I have in the XF line within the zoom’s focal length range is the 35 mm f1.4 so I shot them against each other using my usual tabletop scene, both at f3.6.

These crops are taken from the periphery of the image, as I think the center image is fairly close between the two lenses in terms of sharpness.  I think you’d have to agree that the 35 mm is better at the periphery, hardly a surprise.  I would say however that the 18-55mm has many of the same positive attributes, of the 35mm, and 60 mm I already possess.

It will be tempting to leave it on the camera most of the time.

With this lens I have no burning desire to obtain the 18 mm prime lens.  The 14 mm f2.8 and the upcoming 23 mm however still interest me, and I will look to acquire them.

In summary, this is a really nice addition to the XF lens line.  It appears to continue the reputation of the Fuji lenses for great optical quality at a very reasonable price.  If I had to do over, I might have bought an XE 1 with this lens (which makes the lens an even better bargain) and then acquire the primes over time.

Adding it to my X Pro 1 has made the system a lot more versatile and fun.