Suncream was the last thing anyone expected to need on the 5th of October but as we made our way from Ballycastle and over Fair Head (Bhinn Mhór) the weather displayed an uncharacteristically summer feel. In an aim to travel light I packed the Fujifilm X-M1, Fujinon 14mm and 27mm lenses into my Millican bag and ventured out.
This was my first outing with the recently released Fujinon 27mm pancake lens. It is an ultra compact lens that equates to 40mm on a full frame camera and in my opinion the size is perfect alongside the Fujifilm X-M1 camera. Most the day I was shooting with the 27mm but switched to 14mm at the top of the cliff when I knew the camera would face less abuse as the terrain levelled out.
There wasn’t time to capture any long exposure photographs given we had thirteen miles of climbing ahead of us but the opportunity was certainly there. This stunning waterfall runs down the side of Fair Head, the closest part of the mainland to Rathlin Island.
The headland of Fair Head rises 196m above the sea and we were following a walkway called The Grey Man’s Path winds around the rugged coastline.
I am loving the little X-M1 as the camera to pack when venturing out into the great outdoors. The camera is powered by the same X-Trans sensor featured in both the X-E1 and X-Pro1 but the camera is smaller and lighter ideal for long walks up steep mountains. I should also note the sense that I am getting more shots out of a single battery charge with the X-M1. I haven’t anything scientific to base this on but over couple of full day shoots I haven’t actually needed to call upon my spare battery.
As I stumbled across something new I was able to snap the scenes as I continued to walk. The pace was fast and there wasn’t time to stop to mull over the numerous photography opportunities. The X-M1 was the perfect powerhouse of portability as we ventured over Fair Head and the long way back to Ballycastle.
It was also great to finally have a camera equipped with wifi so I was able to connect it to my mobile device and log geodata information to the images captured along the walk.
I think out of all the lenses the Fujinon 14mm is quickly becoming a firm favourite, that said I can see the argument for the 23mm f/1.4 lens as I felt the 27mm was just a little too tight for images captured along the coast.
If you have ventured along Fair Head in County Antrim that I highly recommend the walk. It isn’t an easy climb but the view of Rathlin Island from the top is breathtaking.
