X-Trans files sharpening

thomasfitzgeraldphotography meticulously investigated over several years, how to make the best out of his X-Trans files in Lightroom. I’ve linked to his work several times here on FujiRumors. He now decided to offer all his Lighroom Sharpening presets for Free on his website. You can download the .zip file all here.

And if you use C1, read also “My Workflow and Settings for Processing Fuji Files in Capture One” at thomasfitzgeraldphotography Part 1 & Part 2 /

Classic Chrome on X100S

Will there ever be a firmware update that brings Classic Chrome to the X100S? I have a bad feeling about that. Fuji’s youngest Film Simulation is still limited to the latest camera models… but the X-shooter community is creative and is looking for solutions…

• Classic Chrome on X100S at jasonpitcher (it works, confirms also FXF member Lino in this thread)
• Fujifilm X100S Classic Chrome Enabler at ishootyou
• Here’s another way to get classic chrome working on the x100s at roberthawara

& More

Affinity Photo is now offering a 10 days Free Trial. X-Trans demosaicing has still to be improved, though. Feedback about this new version here.

X-Trans Sensor and Capture One Pro at thewanderinglensman

So here we go, after Episode 1 (covering the X-T10), today I’ll introduce you to two more Fuji gear that are, in my eyes, underestimated in the Fuji X-shooter community:

Go directly to Epsiode 3 here.

Nr 1
Fuji X-T10 (see post here)

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Nr 2

Fujifilm XQ2

This is another camera that never really excited me. I took note that Fujifilm released it, informed you about it on FR and quickly forgot it. Then it happens that I’ve received one at my birthday.

I thought:
Yes, it’s small
Yes, it looks quite good
Yes, it has a nice 2/3 X-TransII sensor
… but I’m not gonna use it!

So I forgot it, until I went on holiday for a week with my buddy and his son in June. I put my X-T1 with 3 lenses in my Rucksack and my Fuji XQ2 in my trouser pocket. It was a long drive to get to our camping, a very nice one, with large meadows and pine trees… so let’s take a picture of this nice camp. And guess which camera I grabbed? Yep, the XQ2. It was there, in my pocket, ready to be used.

I ended up using it more than my X-T1 (heresy!!!) during the week (and stopped using my iPhone 5 at all). It’s a super-small, pocketable & yet powerful camera for quick snapshots & casual photos of friends and family. Nice IQ, Fuji colors, shoots RAW, amazing macro mode… and it has those nice film simulations to play with ;). It would be nice to get the Waterproof case WP-XQ1 for underwater pictures, but it costs almost as much as the camera itself… I rather buy a GoPro ;).

On the contrary, I didn’t use the Fuji XQ2 during my 3 weeks travel in Indonesia, since I wanted the capture that amazing country with the ultimate image quality… and my trusty X-T1 worked a lot there!

Another small, stylish and powerful camera that didn’t sell well was the Fuji XF1. You can now get it for just $199.

Fuji XQ2: USA: AmazonUS / BHphoto EUROPE: AmazonDE / AmazonUK / AmazonITA

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Nr 3

XC lenses

“Am I the only one who likes the XC 16-50?” asks dickbarbour at our Forum. No, you’re not. People, who own this lens, are really happy with it. The problem is, you might be one of few X-shooters, who actually bought it.

Same goes for the XC 50-230. The IQ is great, definitely worth of the “Fujinon-family“. It’s just slower than the XF glass. But slower glass does not mean worst image quality. Read more (and see samples) about “The humble (though honorable) XC 50-230mm f 4.5.-6.7” at our Forum.

There are 2 advantages in having slower glass:

1) Get high Fujinon IQ for a low price: At the moment, you can get the X-A1 + 16-50 + 50-230 for just $600 at AmazonUS. That’s not bargain… that’s a steal!

2) Size: these XC zoom lenses are pretty damn compact! If you want the versatility of a zoom lens in a compact package, then you should give these lenses a try.

Did I mention they come with optical image stabilization? ;)

So, if price & size matters, this is the way to go.

And why not… Would you like Fuji to make a series of compact & affordable XC primes?

XC 50-230mm: USA: AmazonUS / BHphoto / Adorama / EUROPE: AmazonDE / AmazonUK
XC 16-50mm: USA: AmazonUS / BHphoto / Adorama / EUROPE: AmazonDE / AmazonUK

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cheers,
Fuji X Forum, Facebook, Google+, RSS-feed and Twitter

FXF member quincy did it! He put all the available Fuji X-mount lenses (and the upcoming ones) in one amazing post at the Fuji X Forum, including a short comment about all 57 lenses available for Fuji X mount lens:

• Fujinon (20 lenses + 3 to come)
• Zeiss (3 lenses)
• HandeVision (1 lens)
• Lensbaby (4 lenses)
• Meyer Optik Görlitz (2 lenses)
• SLR Magic (3 lenses)
• Zhongyi (3 lenses)
• Samyang / Rokinon / Walimex (21 lenses)

quincy also made a chart, plotting the lenses’ maximum aperture over the focal length. The focal length scale is logarithmic to show the prime area more prominent.

It’s a Work In Progress… so feel free to jump over here and contribute to the collection of data.

Respect, quincy… that was a terrific first post on the Fuji X Forum :)

Here at FujiRumors, we discussed many times about what Fuji could improve via Firmware on current cameras or via hardware in future models. And thanks goodness, Fujifilm has shown many times, that they listen to feedback coming from the X-shooter community.

But, of course, the system is not perfect, and there are still things that could be improved. And since I love what Fujifilm did over the last years and I want future models to be even better than current ones, today I’ll share my main two complaints with the X-T1.

FLIMSY DOOR

I’m pretty annoyed by that flimsy X-T1 accessory door that bends and makes weather sealing useless! And, looking at this FXF Thread here, I’d say that I’m not the only one with this problem.

I won’t send it in for repair, since I don’t know if the new door will be better.

I’d really appreciate if Fujifilm would tell us more about this issue.

• Is this a sporadic problem of certain X-T1’s? I don’t think so, but I’d like to hear Fujifilm on that.
• Did Fuji recognize the problem and do newer X-T1’s come with a better accessory door?
• If I send it in for repair, can I be sure that this problem won’t occur anymore with the new door? Some of us would have to pay for a repair, so please let us know if it’s worth to send it in.

The graphite versions seems to have no issue.

I’ve tried to contact several Fuji services around Europe, but I did not get a clear answer on that. So, Fujifilm, I think we X-shooters should be better informed about the real dimensions of this problem and the efficiency of an eventual repair.

If you have the same problem, I invite you to contact your local Fuji support and, as milandro suggested here, contact also the Fujfilm headquarter and send them the link to this thread.

WAXY SKIN TONES

Don’t get me wrong. Fuji JPEGs are fantastic. More and more of my keepers are OOC JPEGs.

But there is one thing that, IMO, could be improved: Skin tones at hight ISO!

Ok, maybe you like the jpeg engine used in X-TransII cameras and the skin tones at high ISO, so you can stop reading here. But I’m one of those fellow X-shooters, who think there is space for improvement.

That’s not an issue if you shoot RAW. It’s also no problem if you keep lower ISO settings in JPEG’s. The so-called “waxy skin tones” are limited to JPEG at high ISO. The reason? Noise reduction seems to work too aggressively.

The good thing is, this is fixable via Firmware update. Here are two possible solutions:

• allow to turn down noise reduction even more than currently possible
• introduce in the menu the voice “classic jpeg rendering” (or whatever), which will render skin tones at high ISO like the X-Trans I X-series camera JPEG engine! You can then select what you prefer, the X-TransI or X-TransII cameras jpeg engine

To know more about it and see some samples, we have a “Stop the Waxing” thread dedicated to this issue here.

Not a rumor, just asking… ;)

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