X-F1 review at photographyblog

rotate to 25, pull, step 1, step 2, rotate until it clicks, pull… is it all too complicated?

We have already posted the link to the 49 sample JPEG photos at the end of this post (click here). Now the photographyblog.com posted the full review (click here). This time no translation is needed :-).

I know, “De gustibus non est disputandum” (literally “In matters of taste, there can be no disputes”). And in this case there is no dispute. Every review I’ve read, every comment, simply agrees: this vintage-styled camera looks great. Also photographyblog says: “The Fujifilm XF1 is a classically styled camera with a beautiful retro design that can’t fail to impress everyone that sees it. In an age where digital cameras are virtually ubiquitous, the Fujifilm XF1 stands out by a country mile thanks to it uniquely clean styling and solid build quality, not to mention a wealth of photographer-friendly features.” It’s a “very well-built camera, with absolutely no flex or movement in its chassis.” Only the supplied wrist strap isn’t quite as luxurious as the rest of the package.

Also this camera has his PROS and CONS and the conclusions of photographyblog are:

Although not quite on a par with the X10 and X100, the XF1’s build quality is very good, and the image quality from the large 2/3-inch CMOS sensor is markedly better than virtually all other compacts. Noise is noticeable only by its almost complete absence from ISO 100-800, with the faster full-resolution settings of 1600 and 3200 also being very usable. The 4x lens is commendably sharp and distortion free at both ends of its focal range, while the f/1.8 maximum aperture at 25mm makes it easier than most compacts to creatively throw the background out of focus (although it does quickly slow to f/4.9 at full telephoto).”

The manual lens ring didn’t convince the testers. Although they appreciate the possibility to zoom quickly and set the focal length by turning the ring with a short and tactile movement they say that “we’d much prefer a simple on/off button to the frankly convoluted way of turning the camera, with the Standby mode feeling redundant.” It only adds complexity to the handling of the camera.

The auto-focus is pretty quick. According to Fuji the camera focuses in 0.16 seconds. “In practice there’s a very slight delay as it locks onto the subject, but it’s more than fast enough for everyday shooting.”

So whereas the Fujifilm X10 got the combination of retro style and a photographer-friendly approach largely right, the new XF1 feels a bit less well-realised. Not to say that it’s a bad camera – and it is also the cheapest X-series model in the now extensive range – but overall the Fujifilm XF1 doesn’t have quite the same appeal as the rest of the range…

Read much more in the detailed review (click here).

The X-F1 is still not available in USA. We will inform you immediately when we find this camera in stock. In the meantime you can pre-order it here:

Amazon US: (preorder here) / Adorama (preorder here) / B&H (preorder here)

 

X-F1: in stock at Jessops and on eHome (through Amazon UK)

The X-F1 is in stock at Jessops (click here) for £370 and on eHome (through Amazon UK) there are just 9 bundles (camera, spare battery, 16GB SD-card) available of the BLACK version (click here) and 10 bundles of the BROWN version (click here)  for £380. eHome, a shop in Birmingham, has a very good feedback rating on Amazon UK.

You can take a look at a lot of images shot with the XF1 at photographyblog.com (click here), with images of the same subject taken from ISO 100 to ISO 12800 and much more. More images at pocket-lint (click here).

 

 

X-E1… “for everyone who celebrates photography”! digitalliving review

image courtesy: Fujifilm (X-E1 sample images)

In the jungle of reviews of the new X-E1 (there is really much interest around this camera), sometimes there are really good ones. And here it is another one, made by the the Swiss digitalliving.ch (click here). It’s in German. If you have good command of this language, just jump to the review on their website (click here). Otherwise here is a short summary and translation (I think my translations are better than the google ones… but I’m open for critics ;-) ), and then look at the test pictures on digitalliving.ch. The question here is:

 Is the X-E1 (click here) the little sister of the X-Pro1 (click here) or the biggest rival?

 As the reviews of luminouslandscape and stevehuffpost, also this one is really enthusiastic about the X-E1.

ISO

PROS: ISO is very very good. You can shoot acceptable images with ISO 6400, so that you don’t need a flash at twilight.

CONS: If you use the ISO-automatic, you cannot adjust the shutter speed. And if you let the camera adjust automatically the ISO, the X-E1 chooses a too slow shutter speed and that causes often blurred images. But Fuji could solve this problem with a firmware update, so that the ISO-automatic could benefit of the big potential of this camera. In the past, many aspects that photographers criticised on the X-PRO1 had been solved from Fuji by firmware updates (faster autofocus, for example). The tester is sure that Fuji will also work on the ISO-automatic problem.

The body

PROS: A lot easier than the X-Pro1, and the camera feels easy also with the 35mm lens on it. The tester suggest to change the ordinary and simple strap of this camera with the much more comfortable and nice Street Strap (click here), or maybe this Joby 3-camera Way strap (click here) (for further information about how comfortable this strap really is, read the phoblograher post here).

CONS: /

The EVF and Display

PROS: The electronic viewfinder is very good and rich in contrast, with a high image frequency. There is no hybrid viewfinder, and so the camera competes with the Sony Nex-series (click here) and the Olympus OM-D E-M5 (click here). The X-E1 is cheaper and easier than the X-PRO1 also because of the renunciation of a hybrid finder. The addition of a diopter in the EVF is a really nice feature.

CONS: A flippable display would be a nice feature. No hybrid viewfinder like on the X-PRO1.

The X-Trans-Sensor and RAW

PROS: We have talked a lot about this sensor, and digitalliving confirms: the sensor beats rest of the APS-C competitors. A beautiful “analogue” colour reproduction. The quality is the same as the X-PRO1: simply great! The new technology reproduces better colours and prevents also the Moiré pattern (click here for more. This effect happens for example when you take images of geometrical patterns, like sometimes on clothes).

CONS: As we know (click here), there is a lack of software-support for RAW-files of the X-Trans sensor.

Image quality of JPEGs

PROS: The digitalliving tester says, that once you have seen the jpegs that this camera shoots, then the RAW-problem seems immediately much smaller. He says you have to use all the superlatives you have to describe them: fantastic, incredible…”.

CONS: /

Handling and Menu interface

PROS: The camera is really easy to handle, if you know the basic correlation between ISO, shutter and aperture (the exposure triangle… click here). The camera can adjust these settings automatically. The tester says, that this kind of adjustment, using the wheels, brings back that joy in photography, that the digital era has taken away from us. There is a dedicated button “Q” that once pressed, shows you the 16 most important functions on the display. The camera puts the most used function automatically on the FN-button, so that you can access there immediately. All in all, a very good handling and interface makes this camera easy to use.

CONS: The 16 most important menu functions do not include the film-function. You have to jump to the second page of the menu. But, if you want, you can “sacrifice” the FN-button for the video-function. Would you?

Autofocus

PROS: As on the X-PRO1, also the autofocus of the X-E1 isn’t the fastest, but there was an improvement and now it is fast enough for the normal use. So, it’s not the fastest, but once the camera focuses, pictures are very very sharp.

CONS: Not that good for action and sport photography.

Film

PROS: The camera films in Full-HD with 24 fps . There is a stereo-microphone and a microphone jack (no jack on X-PRO1)

CONS: Most of the other cameras of this price range have 30 fps. But sure, film is not priority in this camera.

The flash

PROS: A nice feature of this camera is that you can use the build-in pop-up flash to control your studio flashlight-system.

CONS: Well, it’s a built-in flash, don’t expect it to illuminate a whole room!

Verdict

All in all, the X-E1 beats the X-Pro1 in every aspect, apart from the hybrid viewfinder. Cheaper, easier, and same image quality. This camera is for everyone “who celebrates photography”, but not for sport-photographers. It’s fun to shoot pictures with this camera, easy to use, and apart some little things, this camera satisfies every wish.

that’s all folks!

PS.: for those lucky ones that already have or tested the X-E1… add your own PROS and CONS in the comments!

Zeiss lenses for Fuji X mount to be sold from April 2013

I guess you still know that at Photokina Zeiss announced the development of three new prime lenses for the Fuji X system: The 12mm f/2.8, 32mm f/1.8 and 50mm f/2.8 with a price of around 1.000 Euro. We know got a rumors from a good source saying that these lenses will hit the market on April 2013!

These lenses will have full electronic support for aperture and autofocus. More info about the lenses at Zeiss Blog.

P.S.: Also the Sony E-mount version will be available in April.