In 2017, I photographed the Zenpukuji River cherry blossoms with a new camera. After my Pentax K3 died, I moved to Fujifilm. I bought an X-T2. And the lens was the XF 16-55mm f 2.8. The results were very pleasing.

The session? In the beginning, I only intended to walk around my neighborhood and take a few snaps and learn the controls. In the end, I walked to Zenpukuji River Park, which is one or two kilometers from home. The park gave me a delightful surprise as the cherry blossoms were still looking good.

The flowers were definitely on the way out, but I was pleased to see them. I wouldn’t say Zenpukuji is a must-visit place, but, in spring, its trees are very nice. It’s a local type of place.
As for the camera? The quality of the pictures was good, actually more than good. They were completely awesome. The camera surprised me, though.

I found more dials and knobs on the camera than my old Pentax K-3. So some learning and adapting needed to be done. That was quite okay, but one thing about the X-T2 impressed me.

It was my first camera with an electronic viewfinder (EVF)! That changed my world. I used to think they were gimmicks, but how wrong I was!! Why? What you see on the screen is a preview of the picture you will get. It’ll be the same.

My K3 had an optical viewfinder. When I took pictures, I never knew how they would look. I only knew when I saw them on my computer screen. An EVF lets you know on the spot. It made things so easy. The screen got a little laggy, but attaching the booster grip and enabling boost mode sped it up.

And the 16-55mm lens? Never before have I had such a sharp lens. I read reviews on the internet and watched many videos about it on YouTube. My initial experience was what I heard. Yes, it was big, heavy and had no onboard image stabilization. You lose any weight and size benefits that mirrorless cameras provide with it. After seeing my pictures, I didn’t care because it was so good. The 16-55mm was exciting and worth every penny. But I didn’t tell my wife how much it cost!


Where is Zenpukuji River Park?
It is between Hamadayama (Keio-Inokashira line) and Minami-Asagaya (Metro Marunouchi line) stations. There are three ways to get there:
- Walk from the stations. It is a little far, but possible.
- Use the Sugimaru bus, which you can catch at those stations.
- Use the Kanto bus, which you can catch from either Kichijoji or Nakano stations.
Here is a map:
If you have any comments or opinions about the flowers or the camera, please leave them below! And if you own the 16-55 mm, what do you think of it?
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