Film Days Heritage Leads To Digital Sensor Innovation


 

This is probably not new to our readers here, but it is nice to see how the technological innovation Fuji is pushing gets featured on The New York Times gadget blog. The talk is about the X-Trans sensor. As most of you probably know, with its X-Trans technology Fuji is trying to overcome a limit of modern digital sensor: moirè artifacts.

How does moirè become an issue? For this reason:

A camera’s light sensors are made of an array of tinier photo sensors usually set to detect red, green or blue light. Those smaller sensors are most often laid out in an orderly grid pattern called a Bayer array.

That causes a problem. When the orderly array of sensors takes a picture of some equally orderly patterns, say, a houndstooth jacket, or close parallel lines, an irregular wavy shadow or rainbow seems to appear over the image. That is called a moiré pattern.

That's a problem in a lot of settings, and no one likes visible moirè on his or hers killer shot. There are obviously various methods to avoid or to correct such artifacts, for instance via software processing. But wouldn't it be much smarter if you can avoid moirè by implementing a different sensor design, i.e. a sensor that does not rely on the Bayer array?

Fuji did that. And they did it taking inspiration from their knowledge about film. Moirè has never been an issue in the good old film days. The (simple) reason: the crystals on a film and photo paper are never placed in a regular, grid-like way. Hence, build a sensor where the photo diodes are positioned in a random way, effectively replicating how crystals are laid out on film, and you can avoid that pesky moirè.

Designing a sensor that way means you can avoid to put a low-pass filter on the sensor. That, on the other hand, means an increase in resolution. Unfortunately there is a little drawback: With the exception of [shoplink 6525]Capture One Pro 7[/shoplink] and Silkypix all current RAW converters and photo editing software are coded to work with images taken with sensor that implement the Bayer technology. That means you either shot JPEG or have to use Fuji owns software to prepare RAW files for further processing.

The X-Trans sensor is featured on all new Fuji cameras, starting from the $600 Fuji X20, on the X100S (price & specs) and the [shoplink 6136]Fuji X-Pro1 (price & specs)[/shoplink]. Fuji explains the technology here.

Fuji X100s pre-order options: Amazon | B&H | AdoramaFuji X20 pre-order options: Amazon | B&H | AdoramaFuji X-Pro1 price check: [shopcountry 6136]

[NYT, via PetaPixel]

 

Update – Quickstart Lightroom 4 iPad App Temporarily Free

 

Update: it was a limited time offer, the app is no longer free. :-(

If you are using Adobe Lightroom 4 for your photographic workflow, then this may be of your interest. Quickstart Lightroom 4 is an iOS app that usually is sold for $5.99, It’s free today so grasp it while it lasts clicking here.

A few user reviews:

  • Excellent overview – a real help. I wish I had this program earlier.
  • Another wonderful app from Serge Ramelli. Worth every penny. It’s to the point hands on training. App includes the raw files so you can practice. Knowledgable, funny and charming teacher. I’ve paid over $100.00 for training and learned more from these apps. Keep up the great work.
  • This is great. A tutorial made by someone that actually uses the software and doesn’t assume other end users are not complete idiots.
[via theappwhisperer]

Readers Lens Reviews Round-Up (Fuji 35mm f1.4, XF 60mm)

The first review, about the [shoplink 384]Fujinon XF60mm (price & specs)[/shoplink], was made by George Greenlee. He used a X-Pro1. The AF speed of the XF60mm has some controversial reviews. George writes:

The Fujinon XF 60MM focuses quickly in when there is lots of contrast even in low light like the night shots below, not DSLR speed but fine for candid work and I would have no hesitation in recommending it for that purpose.

He also has a tip to avoid AF hunting in low light:

There is just not enough data for the AF system to make a decision […] Fortunately the solution is quite simple, just use more focus points and make sure to fill the frame. You do this by hitting the AF button and rotating the selector dial left to increase the number of focus points. For night time candid photography I have found that rotating it two clicks left from the single focus point setting works really well.[…]Overall I am really enjoyed using this lens. It does not deserve a bad rep, you just need to find your own rhythm with it.

His review comes with a good selection of sample shots. Check them out.

Image courtesy: George Greenlee

The short video review below, about the [shoplink 386]Fuji 35mm f1.4 (price & specs)[/shoplink], was made by Adam (YouTube user FuzzyWasHeBear). He writes:

After a few weeks with the lens I show you my results and thoughts on this beautiful lens.Link to flickr images:http://www.flickr.com/photos/adampiper/

He also made a video with an in-depth look at two 35mm lenses on the [shoplink 6136]Fuji X-Pro1 (price & specs)[/shoplink]. Fuji XF 35mm f/1.4 R and Voigtlander 35mm f/1.4 Nokton (price & specs).

Fuji X-Pro1 price check: [shopcountry 6136] Voigtlander 35mm f/1.4 Nokton price check: [shopcountry 6437] Fuji 35mm f1.4 price check: [shopcountry 386] Fujinon XF60mm price check: [shopcountry 384]

 

The Fuji X-E1 Is The One

[shoplink 678][/shoplink]

Sometimes it is good to read someone who confirms what you already were thinking.

I am talking about the [shoplink 678]Fuji X-E1 (price & specs)[/shoplink]. Got an email by Fuji Rumors reader Rey Spadoni. He pointed me to a review he wrote about the X-E1. And he writes:

The newest X-mount body from Fujiflm is a dream come true.  It solves just about every problem I encountered on the X-Pro 1 and then, for kicks, goes even further up the tickle-my-fancy meter.  This is the camera I had been waiting for.  This is The One.

And the auto-focus…?

Much, much improved.  That’s a function of some software updates along with a built in motor within the exceptional, and I mean exceptional, kit lens.  It’s faster and sharper than any other kit lens I’ve used […]

Yes, the lens is a so-called “kit lens”, but it is fast and sharp, and you can control aperture on the lens. Ok, let’s see what Rey thinks about the image quality:

The image quality is indistinguishable to me from the X-Pro 1 and that’s a very good thing.  It seems to be the latest fad for manufacturers to remove the anti-aliasing filter  and Fujifilm’s sensor array seems to prevent moire and other concerning artifacts completely.  I saw no such problems.

Jump over to Rey’s review (click here) to see sample pics and get all of his thoughts about the X-E1.

Fuji X-E1 price check: [shopcountry 678]

Image courtesy: Rey Spadoni