Lensbaby announced Velvet 56mm F1.6 1:2 Macro Portrait Lens. Available for Fuji X in May!

 photo lensbaby_zpsb9n58ooo.jpg

Lensbaby announced the new Velvet 56mm F1.6 1:2 Macro Manual Focus Portrait Lens. It will be available for Fuji X-mount in May for US$499 (src-techradar). More Lensbaby lenses for Fuji X will come this spring… just check out this rumor here.

Here some specs:

  • f/1.6-16
  • 1:2 Macro
  • 56mm
  • 62mm filter
  • Focuses from 5″ from front element to infinity
  • Metal lens hood included with Velvet 56 lenses for mirrorless cameras only
  • Dimensions (DSLR) 86mm at infinity to 112mm at Macro, 71.96mm diameter
  • Dimensions (mirrorless without hood) 94mm Infinity to 120mm at Macro
  • Weight ~400 grams

TOP OF THE SHOTS at the X-Shooter Facebook Zone!

Andy Straw‎: Angry swan. X-T1 + Samyang 8mm fisheye. 1/800th @ f/8, ISO 800. — at The Wolseley Centre.

_ _ _

Here are the most liked images of the Fujirumors facebook photostream… and keep it up, share and vote your absolute favorite X-shot… and here is how to do it:

1) SHARE & DESCRIBE: go to the Fujirumors facebook timeline and submit your favorite X-shot (and a short description) in the timeline by selecting “Photo/Video” .
2) VOTE & COMMENT: All the images will be displayed at the Fujirumors facebook photostream. You can vote & comment the images there.

NOTE: The next selection will start from those images shared starting from March 30!

Enjoy the X-shots ;)

_ _ _

Bernhard Sedlmaier: 10 days old and soooo cute. Shot with X-T1 and 35mm @ 1,4

_ _ _

Massimo Piana: Chioggia. X-E2. XF18-55mmF2.8-4 R. 125 sec. Aperturef/14. ISO 200

_ _ _

Enrique Contreras: Picture of my daugther, for a baby voting contest. Shot with an X-E1 XF18-55. (20mm 1/60 f5.0 ISO 3200)

_ _ _

Fernando Quintino Estevão‎: Porto Moniz, Madeira. Fuji X T1, XF16-55mm F2.8 R LM WR, Lee Big Stopper, Lee ND Grad 0,3 and 0,6 Filters, Bilora Twister Pro Mini tripod

_ _ _

Francis Jay Orbizo: fujifilm xpro1. 56mm f1.2 shot at 1.4. 1/500 sec

_ _ _

Naret Visesvongsa‎: One fine evening at Nai Torn Beach Phuket, Thailand. Fuji XT1, 14mm F2.8, .8 Sec F 16. Sigh Ray Graduate 4 Stop Filter. Convert from RAW in Iridient Developer 3 with final retouch in PS.

_ _ _

Push the READ MORE button, to see more Top Liked images

** CLICK HERE to Read the Rest of the Article **

AWARDED: GS X-T1, X100T & X30 win RedDot Design Award + WANTED: Fuji X-T1 Most Wanted Camera at dpreview

 photo 520_zpsahutk1ee.jpg

RED DOT AWARD

The Red Dot design award is one of the world’s three leading design awards (along with iF design award and IDEA Design Award). This year, companies from 56 countries submitted almost 5,000 products to the Red Dot Jury. 81 of them won the prestigious “Red Dot: Best Of The Best” award, while 122 products got an “Honourable Mention”.

This year, the Red Dot Jury awarded the Graphite Silver X-T1, the X100T and the X30. The official announcement can be read at the Japanese Fuji site here.

Of the three Red Dot Design winners, which is the one you prefer?

The Most Underestimated Fujifilm Camera is? (max. 2 selections)

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...

WANTED: FUJI X-T1

As you might know, dpreview forum members can fill in a wish list of the gear they would like to own. At the top of the Most Wanted ILC Camera ranking we find the Fujifilm X-T1.

Half of the ranking is occupied by Mirrorless Cameras (Olympus E-M1 & the Sony A7 series). Also the Medium Format Pentax 645Z makes it into the wish list.

Oh… and Happy Easter :)

 photo asdag_zpsg9jezke8.png

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

 photo crucis_zpsng82wiml.png

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!

 photo rental_zpsqausuqgc.jpg

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.