miXed Zone: AF-performance with FW 3.10, about Kaizen, Fuji Interview, X-Trans + C1… and Max Angeloni’s “holy” Fuji work!

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If you are in Rome in these holy Easter days, don’t miss to check out Max Angeloni’s exhibition about the Way of the Cross in one of the arguably most important baroque churches worldwide, the Basilica di Sant’Andrea della Valle (the exhibition ends on the 8th of April.)

X-Photographer Max Angeloni used exclusively Fuji X gear for this important assignment: the Fujifilm X-T1 and three lenses (23mm, 35mm and 56mm… and two 180 Watt lights).

If you can’t go to Rome, take a look at his work at riflessifotografici (translation).

NEW FIRMWARE 3.10 for X-T1

AF performance with the new firmware at johncaz: “My quick and dirty testing shows that there is an overall small and bearable noticeable boost in AF performance with all three lenses so it’s not a placebo effect.” /

LENSES

X-mount lenses

A very nice ‘in the field’ 50-140 review in pictures at chrisharrisonphotography / Matt Brandon took the 50-140 mm out for a real workout in Komodo, Indonesia and came back with some crazy sharp images of dragons. See them at thedigitaltrekker  / Fuji 16-55mm F2.8 R LM WR Fujinon Lens – Is This The Best Fuji X Lens Ever? at soundimageplus / Fujifilm XF56mm F1.2 APD Lens Aperture Range at brandonremler /

FujiFilmUK just launched a Series of short 1 minute video presentations of the Fujinon lenses. Check out the videos about the 23mm, 60mm, 56mm, XF 55-200, XF 35mm, XF 27mm, XF 18mm, XF 18-135, XF 18-55, XF 10-24 and XF 14mm. See all the FujiUK videos here.

other lenses / Adapter / Extension Tubes

Speedbooster Ultra OM-FX Unboxing at FujiOM’s youtube channel / Samyang 12mm F2 NCS CS with Fujifilm X-T1 at dslrmagazine (translation) /

RAW-CONVERSION

I’m really enjoying the combination of Fuji X-Trans + Capture One at thomasfitzgeraldphotography /

ACCESSORIES

Clip cap battery protection frame designed for Fujifilm NP-W126. See more at vimeo / Sasurai Camera Straps made in Japan… here are the leather straps. Check out their store for other options /

KAIZEN

Crying Wolf… and about Fuji’s Kaizen at olafphotoblog + The Kaizen Contention: Final Thought at olafphotoblog /

INTERVIEW

There is an interview with Fujifilm Japan’s Kunio Aoyama and Hiroto Nakata at mirrorlessons. Here some excerpts (FYI, here are the interviews with Mr. Iida Toshihisa & Makoto Oishi):

– NEW LENSES: “We are trying to understand where the lack of coverage is. For example, tilt-shift lenses or fisheye lenses or extreme telephoto lenses. […] Maybe when we announce the next generation of cameras, we can announce the next roadmap.”

– ORGANIC SENSOR: “We are continuing to develop the sensor. […] The organic sensor itself is designed not only for cameras but also for other applications. So originally the technology and development is not for digital cameras. […] We are trying to figure out if the sensor is best for cameras, video or other hardware products. We are still studying and developing the package.

Make sure to check out the whole interview at mirrorlessons… and just a little note about the Organic Sensor. A Fuji Guy said to bigheadtaco at youtube (minute 13:00) that there are some challenges in the production the organic sensor, but ones these issues are fixed “we are going to see an entire new page of sensor technology!”

The Problem with the organic sensor? As shared in this rumor, it could be due to too much battery drain and heat production..

RENT – SHOOT – RETURN: Fuji’s Pro Rental Service effective NOW in USA! Rent X-gear for 3 to 7 days!

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Fuji’s Pro Rental Service we talked about earlier here is now effective.

You can rent any Fuji X gear for 3 or 7 days. The latest gear will be available 2 months after the market release date. The pricing for the service is now available and varies depending on the lens/camera you are going to rent. Check the price list for the lenses and the one for the cameras here.

Discounted rates will be applied to X-shooters, whose X-gear is send in for repair and need a replacement for uninterrupted workflow.

Check out the FAQ section here.

[UPDATE] NEW FIRMWARE UPDATES for the Fujifilm X-T1 (ver. 3.10) and Fujifilm X100T (ver. 1.10) + Improved OIS for ZOOM LENSES!

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[UDPATE: First Reports at the FujiRumors facebook page say that the X-T1 AF has become faster in low light. Placebo or did you noticed this improvement, too?]

[UPDATE II: Admiringlight comparison NEW Vs. OLD OIS versions. From the conclusions: “Overall, the firmware updates for the Fuji zoom lenses appear to provide some benefit in all cases. These can range from fairly minor improvements, in the case of the 55-200mm, to a nice increase in sharpness for the 18-55mm, and a dramatic improvement with the 10-24mm.”]

[UPDATE III: Please DO NOT follow Fuji’s firmware update instructions… see with your own eyes!]

ORIGINAL POST

A new firmware update for the X-T1 and X100T (ver. 1.10) has just been released. Also, most zoom lenses will now profit from improved OIS.

X-T1 FIRMWARE

X-T1 firmware update: 1. Improvement of the flash function when “MECHANICAL+ELECTRONIC” is selected. 2. Improvement of the Wi-Fi function when “FUJIFILM PC AutoSave” is used. 3. Improvement of the display for the “USB MODE” in the SET-UP menu.

X100T FIRMWARE

X100T firmware update: 1. Addition of the messages when “COVERSION LENS” setting is changed in the FUNCTION (Fn) SETTING 2. Improvement of flash function when “MECHANICAL+ELECTRONIC” is selected. 3. Improvement of the viewfinder display. 4. Improvement of Focus Peaking display in the electronic viewfinder under a dark environment for easy focus setting.

IMPROVED OIS

Also, the OIS has been improved for the following lenses (download link): XF 10-24, XF 18-55, XF 18-135 and XF 55-200.

Happy Download :)

Fujifilm X-PRO2 vs. Fujifilm X-T2 :: The Battle Of The Flagships :: Make Your Choice & Vote The Poll!

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We could call it also HVF vs EVF or Rangefinder vs DSLR style: it’s the decision between the Fujifilm X-PRO2 and Fuji X-T2.

SAME  SAME …

Now, in order to be able to answer today’s poll, we will assume that the Fuji X-T2 will have the same specs (*), as the rumored X-PRO2 specs: 24MP X-Trans sensor, EXR III processor, same AF-performance, tilt screen, 4K…

… BUT  DIFFERENT

The main differences between the Fuji X-T2 and Fujifilm X-PRO2 would remain the HVF vs EVF, Rangefinder vs DSLR-style and some controls/ergonomics (like no ISO-dial on the X-PRO2, better grip on the X-T2 etc.)… and the price, of course. Due the Hybrid Viewfinder, I think it’s reasonable to assume that the Fuji X-PRO2 will be more expensive than the Fuji X-T2.

So here it is, the battel of Fuji’s future flagship cameras… and I’m really curious to see which one you’d pick up between X-PRO2 and X-T2. Personally I have a preference, but I’ll drop it down later in the comments ;)

Imagine You Don't Own a Fujifilm camera, and You Would Get one for Free (3 lenses included)... which One Would you Take?

View Results

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*At the moment I have NO rumors about the Fujifilm X-T2

[UDPATE: 3.0.1 update released ]New versions of the Fujifilm X-Trans film style presets for Iridient Developer 3 are now available!

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[UPDATE: The Iridient Developer 3.0.1 update is now available! A Fujifilm specific fix is included for Extreme Highlight Recovery with X-trans cameras when using DR200% and DR400% modes. Also includes some improvements to the new v3 Luminance noise reduction methods and v3 Color noise reduction can now also be applied prior to monochrome conversion which can lower overall noise levels for monochrome, particularly when using some monochrome conversion methods such as the RGB mixers. Iridient Developer 3.0.1 can now be downloaded here: http://iridientdigital.com/products/iridientdeveloper_download.html]

Brian has just posted improved Fujifilm X-Trans film style presets for Iridient Developer 3. These latest versions include improved results particularly at the extreme (dark shadows, bright highlights) ends of the tonal range. With the Vivid preset in particular dark shadows should be much improved and all color styles should show better results in bright highlight gradations and color saturation. The monochrome presets remain the same as in the previous versions.

The presets are now available also for the compact X-Trans models as well (XQ2, X30, XQ1 and X20).

The downloads include a ReadMe text file with detailed instructions on installation and use.

Film Style Preset Pack 5 for APS-C models (X100T, X-T1, X-E2, X-M1, X100S, X-E1 and X-Pro1) (9.6MB zip file) can be downloaded here:
http://iridientdigital.com/downloads/Iridient_FujiX_APSC_Presets5.zip

and Film Style Preset Pack 1 for compact models (XQ2, X30, XQ1 and X20) (9.8MB zip file) here:
http://iridientdigital.com/downloads/Iridient_FujiX_Compact_Presets1.zip

REMINDER: You can get the Fair Trade Fuji X-shirts here in USA and here in Europe & CO.