Using the Fujifilm X-A1 [& X-M1]

by Rico Pfirstinger

Talk to Rico (open forum for questions & feedback)Rico’s Flickr sets – X-A1 sample images set – Mastering the Fujifilm X-Pro1 reading samples (65 free pages) – Pre-order the new book: Mastering the Fujifilm X-E1 and X-Pro1

Update [17/9/13]: Added several Lightroom 5.2 RAW samples to the image set.

It took a while, but Fujifilm finally decided to officially announce the X-A1, the long-planned sister model of the X-M1. Let’s cut right to the chase: There’s little difference between these cameras. They look very much the same, they offer the same buttons and controls, the same processor, the same operating speed/performance, the same features, the same menus, the same build, material and size, even the same 16 MP Sony sensor. Of course, there’s one minor but important difference to mention in the sensor department: The X-M1 features an X-Trans color filter array (CFA) without an anti-aliasing (AA) filter, while the X-A1 uses a conventional Bayer CFA with an AA filter (to reduce/eliminate unwanted moiré). You can have a look at the full specs by clicking here.

So what’s the deal? Well, the X-A1 is by quite a margin more affordable than the X-M1, and it comes with a different set of color options: red/silver, black, blue, black/silver and brown/silver. However, not all color options will be available in all markets. For example, customers here in Germany can only expect to be offered the X-A1 in black, blue and red/silver.

It has also been mentioned that the X-A1 will be distributed mostly online and through large outlets like Walmart or MediaMarkt instead of specialized camera stores. With the X-A1, Fuji is targeting price-sensitive value customers who are interested in upgrading to a compact camera with a larger DSLR-quality sensor. But that’s just the marketing. For many real-world uses, the differences in image quality between the X-A1 and X-M1 will be perfectly acceptable. If they weren’t, Nikon, Canon, Sony, Olympus and the rest wouldn’t be able to sell any Bayer cameras to anybody. Let’s be smart: X-Trans is great, and it certainly has its advantages, but it’s not a requirement for taking great-looking images.

So if you aren’t married to X-Trans, the X-A1 is a viable and quite attractive option with an interesting value proposition. It’s also an affordable way to expand your existing X-series investment with a compact second generation option. It’s small and lightweight, it features a tiltable high-resolution LCD, it’s faster and more advanced (regarding both hardware and firmware) than the X-E1 or X-Pro1, and its Bayer sensor is comparable to current offerings from Nikon ([shoplink 13071 ebay]Nikon A[/shoplink]) and Ricoh ([shoplink 13349 ebay]Ricoh GR[/shoplink]). Please note that the pros and cons I mentioned in my X-M1 First Look article also apply to the X-A1, so instead of repeating myself all over again, I’d rather move along with new material.

I have been using an X-A1 pre-production sample with early pre-production firmware in the past six weeks along with an X-M1, and I have since silently updated the aforementioned X-M1 First Look article with additional findings regarding the pros and cons against the X-E1. So if you haven’t done so very recently, please consider checking out this article again.

Since both cameras share a common feature set and the same capabilities, I want to fill this column sharing my experiences with the X-A1 and X-M1. I have also prepared an X-A1 sample set with 75 images, and I have expanded my X-M1 sample set to more than 160 pictures, including several external RAW conversions. Unfortunately, there was no external RAW support for the X-A1 available at the time of this writing, but I’m confident this will change soon.

Once external RAW support and production samples of both the X-M1 and X-A1 become equally available, I will revisit the topic with a “shootout” between these sibling cameras, so there will eventually be a third part to this story.

Ready, Set, Go!

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

Curtain up for the X-A1 and XC50-230! LIVE-BLOGGING (reload this page)

Please refresh this page continuously to see the latest news about the X-A1

PRE-ORDERS

X-A1 with XC 16-50 ($599): AmazonUS blackblue /BHphoto blackblue / Adorama blackblue / Pictureline blackblue

XC 50-230 ($399): AmazonUS blacksilver / BHphoto blacksilver / Adorama blacksilver

 

PRICE:

X-A1 + XC 16-50 $599

X-A1 + XC 16-50 £529.99

X-A1 + XC 16-50 + XC 50-230 € 749

X-A1 + XC 16-50 €599

First Look

Rico’s first look at the X-A1 here.

Videos

commercial / Fujifilm Italia hands on / whatdigitalcamera first look /

Mixed press releases

German press releases: systemkamera-forum here, / photoskala here / photointern here.

English press releases: ephotozine here / DPR here /

FUJIFILM GLOBAL X-A1 and XC  50-230 press release

FUJIFILM X-A1 Key Features:

16.3 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor
Hi-speed EXR Processor II
Start-up time of 0.5 secs**, shutter lag of 0.05 secs and a maximum burst speed of 5.6 fps(max. 30 frames***)
Ultra compact and lightweight body
Tiltable 3-inch LCD (920K-dots high definition)
Built-in flash with Fujifilm’s Super Intelligent Flash technology
ISO200-6400 in 1/3 step increments (and extended range of ISO100, ISO 12800 and 25600)
Full HD video recording at 30fps
49 point AF positions
Art filters: 8 Advanced Filters plus 5 Film Simulation modes
In-camera RAW processing
Q button for list view of frequently-used menus and smooth configuration
Hot shoe
Wireless image transfer to smart phones and tablet PCs via FUJIFILM Camera App
PC Autosave Wi-Fi®* connectivity to PCs (for easy image backup)
Available in three colors: Black, Blue and Red
Compatible with all FUJIFILM X Mount lenses

XF 23mm first impression (Bert Stephani) + X-pert corner special on September 17 at 05:00 GMT

 

USA: AmazonUS / BHphoto (expected availability already October 03)/ Adorama / Pictureline EUROPE: PCHstore / wexcamerasDE / wexphotographicUK

Bert Stephani came back from Tokyo and wrote about his first impressions of the XF 23mm. Here some extracts:

“What’s one of the first things every photographer does when he gets a new lens in his hands? Test if it’s sharp wide open. And yep, that looks pretty sharp to me. […] Vivid colors, sharp edges and smooth transitions between the sharp and unsharp parts of the image. The lens also lends itself to make natural looking black & white pictures too. […] The autofocus behaved fast and confident, even in dull low light. Out of the hundreds of pictures I shot with the lens only a few came out out-of-focus (and then it probably was user error).”

Read the whole review and enjoy Bert’s great shots here.

[P.S.: And in case you’ve missed it, Rico’s first look at the 23mm can be read here.]

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There will be an X-pert corner special on September 17 at 05:00 GMT about, as Rico told me, “a new X-mount camera“. For those who follow Fujirumors it won’t be a secret anymore which X (and lens) will be probably announced on that day. So be once more the first to have this mystery officially revealed on Fujirumors!

Curtain up for the X-….!

Stay tuned on Fujirumors via facebook, twitter and RSS feed. Fresh rumors, hot deals, latest reviews and news… this is the place where you find them!

have a great day
 photo Patrick_zps381c10d9.png

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FR-readers zone: the black and white post

After the colourtastic (© MJr) images of Sabino, Olaf & Kasia in the travel-X post of yesterday, today I picked out some black and white shots from all the images you sent me. Really, thanks a lot for sharing your passion for photography and the X-series with me and all the other X-shooters who stop by this blog. Keep it up! You can contact me at fujirumor@gmail.com, facebook and twitter.

enjoy your day
Patrick

Brandon

On the Fujirumors-facebook wall Brandon said: “B&W: I have to ask myself, does the color add anything to this image? Frankly, much of the time it does. Maybe another quarter of the time it could go either way. But sometimes it is just clear. The image should be in black and white, plain and simple. Read and see more images here.”

Brandon

 photo matt-brandon-kathmandu-0831-152615-Edit_zpsfd2a87b2.jpg

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Marco

– Hi Patrick, i send you my experience with [shoplink 13828 ebay]X-M1/16-50[/shoplink] and B/W shots of Matera! Thank you so much! … and this is my Group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/fujixclubitalia/ and this is my personal facebook (all images shot with Fuji cameras) Excuse me for my english! :-) Marco Bozzato

X-M1/XC 16-50mm: First Impressions

First of all, i want to thank the Staff of Fujifilm Italy, I had the opportunity to fiddle with the latest arrival in the Mirrorless X Series Fuji, namely the X-M1 with the new lens XC16-50mm!
… I spent 48 hours in Matera where I took over 500 photos, both in daytime and at night and I have to say thatI was not astonished by the X-M1, in fact I was sure I would get the same results with its siblings,the X-Pro1 and the X-E1, since they share the same sensor, so I overlook about the image quality, that we already know.
… the approach to X-M1 is very different from the older sisters, I would define it in style Reflex, considering that the lack of the time dials and the calibration of overexposure and the presence instead of two multifunction dials.
… as you well know the X-M1 and the new 16-50mm are manufactured with a high percentage of plastic and even if you don’t notice any differences for the camera, you will notice the executive differences with the lens, especially if you had the opportunity to use the XF18-55mm.
… the X-M1 has not the viewfinder but it has a tilting monitor, very, very useful for different shots instead of the usual ones, of course under the sun there are some little problems, but everything is resolved with the motion of the tilting monitor.

… other option which I think is very important in some cases it is the Wi-Fi, I tried it with both my iphone 5 and with my iPad and I’d say it works very well.
… so I hope that these improvements will be added to the next cameras Fuji X Series.

In conclusion I think the X-M1 was created in order to have it always with you in combination with the XF27mm, compactness and top quality in a pocket!

http://marcobozzato.wix.com/fujixseriesgallery / http://marcobozzato.wix.com/x-users

Marco Bozzato (from the personal facebook)

 photo BW-05-Matera-By-Night_zpsb7fab145.jpg

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Jean-Luc Fauquier

Hello Fujirumor,
My name is Jean-Luc Fauquier, french photographer, and this is my photo blog showing  “Les Plasticiens Volants”, an internationaly known street theater group working with ‘”inflatables”, giant inflated puppets and objects flying over the audience. I follow them during all their 2013 summer tour and will continue with their future creation on 2014. A “behind the scene” black & white photographic project. I only use my X-E1 with standard 18-55mm and an old Nikon flash for night pictures. We travelled in Nederlands, England and France. Blog is regularly “refreshed” with new photos during all summer. http://enrouteavecplasticiensvolants.wordpress.com/

Best regards,
Jean-Luc Fauquier

If you are interested you can subscribe to the blog to be informed of new posts.

Jean-Luc Fauquier

 photo DSCF5263c_zps143f252c.jpg

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Scott

The [shoplink 13829 ebay]Fujifilm XF 27mm F2.8[/shoplink] night landscape image samples and small users first impressions (click here).

The images in this post were captured using a Fujifilm X-Pro1 and Fujifilm XF 27mm F2.8. This was the first time using this new lens which I received at the beginning of the week. The autofocus was the fastest I have used of all the fuji lens. It worked really well with the new updated firmware and focus peaking addition in low light. I was really impressed with the image quality especially in the centre of the image with some falloff towards the edges. The lack of aperture ring did not bother me at all in fact I preferred changing apertures with my thumb on the rear wheel.

http://www.scotthaskinsphotography.com/blog/

Scott (blog)

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G Dan Mitchell

I have extensively used a Fujifilm X-E1 compact mirrorless system for the past few months and I’ve been promising a review. I finally finished it. Enjoy and share! Click here.

[Patrick: It’s a comprehensive and well made review! Great work Dan and thanks for sharing it via FR-facebook!]

G Dan Mitchell

 photo TurretSkylightSFMOMA20130531_zps85eb3e2e.jpg

First Look: Fujinon XF23mmF1.4 R

by Rico Pfirstinger

Talk to Rico (open forum for questions & feedback)Rico’s Flickr sets – XF23mmF1.4 samples set – Mastering the Fujifilm X-Pro1 reading samples (65 free pages) – Pre-order the new book: Mastering the Fujifilm X-E1 and X-Pro1

DSCF2157

Flickr bravely chose Friday the 13th for a major maintenance downtime, but they were back online with a delay of just one hour. Hoping for the best, I got things  started with this column, but then Flickr  was forced shut down again (well, what did they expect?), causing more delays. And yet, here we finally are, discussing Fuji’s latest XF prime, the fast and quite substantial XF23mmF1.4 R, a much sought-after “35mm equivalent” lens.

DSCF2285

If you are interested in this lens, you might also want to have a look at my previous article about using the XF14mmF2.8 R wide-angle lens. Conceptually, both lenses are quite similar:

  • they offer premium optics and build quality at a premium price
  • they feature a dedicated manual focus mode with analog (engraved) scales indicating distance and depth-of-field
  • distortion is fully optically corrected (no additional digital distortion correction necessary)

DSCF2256 – f/1.4

Size and Specifications

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