miXed zone: X20 and street photography, ghost town, admiringlight 55-200 review and more

X-M1

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 – Some shots taken with the X-M1 in Bilbao. See them here at Reality Scanner’s Flickr.

– Hands on preview of the X-M1 at lensvid here. The bootom line: “Although we should emphasize again that we did test a sample camera and not a production one, we can say that if you are looking for a small and not extremely expensive mirrorless camera with the highest image quality currently on the market at this budget – the X-M1 is a very appealing choice. However if AF is a dominant factor (if you are shooting a lot of moving objects for example), if you have large hands or just can’t live without a viewfinder – there are better options on the market for you.”

X100S

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-FR-readers Olaf and Kasia were in Montana’s Ghost Towns with the Fuji X-series (X100S and X-PRO1). “Composition, light and creativity must always come before technical considerations.” So enjoy his pictures here.

threeguyswithcameras did a review that covers the [shoplink 12883]X100S[/shoplink], the [shoplink 13071]Nikon Coolpix A[/shoplink], and the [shoplink 13349]Ricoh GR[/shoplink]. The first part is here, and part two will be coming shortly. Check it out here.

X20

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image courtesy: riflessifotografici

Street photography (with the X10/X20): Another gratification for riflessifotografici and strepher Donato Chirulli (theartofphotography1). Italian readers can now read at the well known Italian magazine fotocult.it an interview in which Donato explains his way to deal with Street Photography and, in particular, on the use of compact cameras such as the Fujifilm X10 and X20. For a review of his latest book “discovering street photographyread this interview here (translation).

 X-E1

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– Old lenses, new tricks: using m42 lenses on the X-E1 at lightpriority.net.

– Ronmartblog’s X-E1 first part of his review (and many samples) can be read here. “This is a special camera that is extremely well built, and I really enjoy it!” And here is part two of his review. From his conclusions: “Overall, I give this camera a guarded recommendation to those who can afford to pay for the wonderful quality body and very good sensor that it offers. It’s sure to please as long as you keep yourself in good light and stay out of situations that require ISO > 800.

lenses

admiringlight XF 55-200 review here. “Overall, Fuji has created a truly outstanding zoom lens with the Fujinon XF 55-200mm f/3.5-4.8 R LM OIS. It’s a lens that is not only sharp throughout the range, but has excellent color rendering, beautiful bokeh and good control of lens aberrations.”

– findingrange published his Zeiss Touit 12mm review… a lot of PROS but also some CONS can be read here: “[…] optically, this lens is simply fantastic.  It renders very nicely, and it’s so incredibly sharp.  Optically, I don’t really think you could ask for more from a lens.  A super wide angle lens like this takes some time to get use to, so if you’re not sure if this is a lens for you, go to a good local dealer […], and ask them if you could try it out.

– FR-reader Tjeerd shared via FR-facebook his Zeiss 12mm fotoshoot and review. You can check it out here. His conclusions: “The Zeiss Touit 12mm f/2.8 is a very high quality lens. It’s fun to use and gives you a lot of creative options. It’s ultra wide and should fill in the gap where the 18mm or 35mm can’t reach. It’s quite light, compact and feels very durable.  Even though 2 mm doesn’t sound like much, on a wide end it makes quite a bit of difference I presume. Should you get this one over the Fuji 14mm? Well with a price difference of 220 euros, it’s up to you if the extra 2mm and the Zeiss logo is worth it.”

X-PRO1 (and firmware 3.01)

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– Xavier: “Hello Patrick, Thank your for your great blog, It’s my first read each day :) I contact you because of a problem I have with my X-Pro1 since firmware update 3.0 (and still with the 3.01). It’s seems that there’s a little community who have the same issue, and I’m surprised that nobody talks about it on your website. It’s a problem of freezing when taking a picture, and the only way to shut the camera off, or to continue to use it,  is the removal of the battery. Then, when the battery is back in, and the camera switched on, it works normally. Until the next freeze. This happens very often. I say you that because of the impact your blog can have on Fuji, perhaps if you mention it, Fuji will give a look at the problem and work on a new update that fix it. Who knows… Thank you for your time, and thank you for your so useful blog ! Xavier (flickr)”

– “The Fujifilm X-Pro1 – A Year in Review” at binaryframe here: “The Fujifilm X-Pro1 has been an important camera in my life. It has fundamentally altered my lifestyle to the extent that I am now immersed in the art of photography. It is my constant companion for documenting life and carries the responsibility of capturing memories with the same vivid expression that I recall in my mind. In this task it succeeds spectacularly.”

NEW Mitakon Lens turbo Pentax K Lens to Fuji X mount adapter.

If the Speed Booster is too expensive for you than you may be glad to know that Mitakon just launched the next brand new [shoplink 15593 ebay]Lens Turbo Pentax K to Fuji X mount adapter (Can be found here on eBay)[/shoplink]. It does exactly the same as the Speed Booster but without any electronic contacts.

thanks Khanh for sharing this information with Fujirumros

organic sensor patent

A couple of time ago Fuji and Panasonic announced a new partnership and said that they are developing the first organic sensor together. The new technology promises among the others “Industry’s highest dynamic range of 88dB”, “higher sensitivity than conventional sensors” and “ faithful color reproduction“. Now at freepatentsonline.com you can read 19 pages of technical explanation how this works.

To read again the press-release click here.

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travel-X: “One year, one lens, one camera – MANY countries!”

It seems that more and more photographer appreciate the IQ and the lightness of travelling with the Fuji X-cameras… especially if you travel like Nate: non stop around the world! Here is his story:

[do you also have a travel-X story to tell and you’d like to share your very best travel shots with the FR-community? Then write me an email at fujirumor@gmail.com or contact FR via facebook or twitter. Tell me your story and send me your favorite shots]

Nate

Hello Patrick,

Just wanted to say I check your site *very* regularly. I have an interesting non-rumor for you.

My name is Nate Robert, and I have been travelling around the world for just on a year (so far) –  with a single camera, and a single lens – the X-Pro1 with the 18mm. I’m a photojournalist from Australia, and I think your readers would get a kick out of my blog – www.yomadic.com, where every single photo I take, is with the same Fuji combination – and has been with me through three continents – from the panoramic views of New Zealand, to the streets of Tehran in Iran, and many places in between. One year, one lens, one cameraMANY countries!

I do a lot of street shooting, and have put many articles up on the “mean streets” of cities around the world – including Belgrade, Budapest, Melbourne, Tehran, Hong Kong and more.

I gave up both a Nikon DSLR and a Leica kit before leaving one year ago, and could not be happier with the Fuji. To me, it is the best travel camera that mankind has ever created.

My one wish? A 23mm pancake! In the meantime, I will continue debating over whether to switch from the Xpro to the X100S ;)

Hope you can include me in your regular round up of news, and keep up the good work. I’m counting on you to break the 23mm pancake news first!

Cheers,

Nate Robert

Nate

FR-readers zone: top 10 (part 2), photos fuji can’t take, bokeh-licious, wish list for Fuji’s next flagship

It’s your time. Thanks for all the stories and images you share with Fujirumors. Keep it up and share them via facebook, twitter and email fujirumor@gmail.com.

Lawrence

A couple of weeks ago I posted the top 10 selection of Lawrence after a month with the X-E1. If you missed it, then I recommend you to check this FR-readers zone here. Now another month passed and Lawrence wrote:

“Hi Patrick, last month you posted a link to my “first month with the Fuji x-e1” series of photos. Here’s my followup with month #2. Feel free to link / include / post on FR. Here is the link. BTW love your site – believe it or not, it’s the first website I check in the morning as I’m catching up on news. As a quick thank you, I just used your affiliate links to get a 14mm f2.8. Cheers!”

Lawrence

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photos fuji can’t take

I don’t know if you’ve seen this website, but back when I first got my X-Pro 1 last year, I kept reading about how unusable it was due to the focusing issues and lack of a minimum shutter speed in auto ISO. I was surprised because I was able to get results that I was quite happy with. So I started a Tumblr blog with examples of the types of photos that people said you couldn’t take with the Fuji X-Pro 1.

http://photosfujiscanttake.tumblr.com

Most of the commentary is entirely sarcastic. I mention this only because a lot of people think I was being serious.

I thought I’d let you know about it since with the new firmware updates, the whole issue of Fuji X series cameras being too slow seems to be falling by the wayside, but I like to think my blog served its purpose.

photos fuji can’t take
The firmware 2.00 update clearly did nothing to help getting sports photos with the 60mm lens, which is still slow as a dog.”

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Oli

“Good morning Patrick :-)

Just wanted to send you a brief note telling you that while I’m feverishly checking online every day for an estimated availability date for the 55-200, I also had quite a bit of fun with the XF14mm lens.

At first I wasn’t sure whether I should invest, the price being quite steep after all, considering that I’m 110% satisfied with the 18-55 (once again: this is NOT your average “let’s throw it into the bundle”-kit lens!!!) , but the numerous rave reviews about its optical qualities made my G.A.S. (Gear Addiction Syndrome) kick into overdrive and I finally decided to treat myself to a three months early birthday present ;-)

If you have a spare moment, please feel free to check out this short set here:

http://500px.com/OliGlod/stories/91244/going-wide

I continue to be wowed by the Fuji quality and can’t wait to get my hands on those 55-200, 10-24 and 56mm lenses :-)

Best regards and keep up the great work,”

Check out also Oli’s thoughts about the XF 60mm here (Love at second sight). ” I turn to the Fujis for fun, quality and “soul”… Oh, and can you spell BOKEH-LICIOUS? :-)”

Oli

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Byron

“Thanks for the fujirumors website. It’s always fresh, and it’s the only camera-lusting site I have time to indulge in. Here’s what I’d like to see adapted to Fujifilm’s newest flagship camera.

A square sensor. It’s my understanding that 35mm SLR cameras produce 2×3 ratio images because the mirror needs to flip up without contacting the rear element of the lens. Because the x-series is mirrorless, the option of shooting square (and in doing so bringing the mega-pixel count to a cool 24) would be a godsend for fashion photographers and art-documentation/product photographers. This IS a professional camera after all, right Fuji? Those who used to shoot 120s with a [shoplink 15463 ebay]roliflex[/shoplink] understand square obsession. Ideally all classic ratios would be Q menu options.

More focus options on analog switch. My [shoplink 15464 ebay]S5pro[/shoplink] ([shoplink 15465 ebay]Nikon D200 body[/shoplink]) and 85mm f1.8lens was the best combination going for candid portraiture. Fuji renders skin tones like no other, and the grain at 3200 was somehow pleasant in its film-likeness. But best of all, there was a switch at the back of the camera to choose AF modes. A closest subject or face-grabbing focus option switch at the back of the X-Pro 2 would appeal hugely to photo journalists and wedding photogs. The X-pro looks like a quick camera, it might as well start acting like one.

I understand that a dual processor is being introduced to greatly decrease EVF lag [admin: no trusted source told me ever about it]. This is essential. For a sensor that excels in low light, the x-trans deserves a viewfinder that can keep up with it. Good tweak Fuji! Let’s hope it delivers.

Manual controls in video. We know that it’s not primarily a video camera, but please just let us choose a frame-rate or lock down the shutter speed and ISO. The video has an RCA handycam-like auto exposure. And also, what’s with the dynamic range loss in video mode? I feel like I’m recording at SLP on my Maxwell VHF tape. I mean, I know it’s a retro styled camera, but really… ;)

The shutter dial is lovely, but I find that real-estate could be better used. I’d love little half clicks between 30, 60, and 125. Quite often the required shutter speed is 1/45sec or 1/90sec. Would those be delightful options to click to.

Also, when processing in-camera RAW, if the jpeg would appear with the same name + R it would slot itself after it’s parent file for easy reference and organization.

The panorama-swipe mode is a gadget. Get rid of it I say. Panoramas are better made with the camera held still and stitched in post. And please bring double-exposure to a Drive menu. That shit’s dope.

On a curiosity note. Ive always loved Sensia slide film, but I’d never heard of Astia. But they seam to render similarly. Is this a weird Canadian thing? but then “S” represents Astia as a quick-menu icon. What gives?

Thanks again for the wonderful website. I check it everyday. Have a look at mine for a Fujifilm fix. All photographs are from X-E1’s and S5pros. www.byrondauncey.ca

All the best

Byron

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