Image Quality: “why DPReview may be sometimes wrong” + “I was a skeptic but now I’m a believer” (Iridient vs Adobe)

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image courtesy: thevisualexperience

The good news is, Fuji X-photographers now have various options to process their X-Trans files and get decent results out of it. The most popular options are Lightroom, Silkypix, Capture One and Aperture. But there are other software programs like Raw Photo Processor (based on DCRAW), AccuRaw… (check out this X-Pert Corner RAW-comparison post).

But in the last weeks I told you several times of Iridient Developer (Mac 0nly). This is an option which you should seriously consider to add to your workflow (try the demo version). Does the details extracted from the RAW by IRIDIENT really blow out ACR? Could this be the software that finally unlocked the full potential of the X-Trans sensor?

Now, I’d like to share with you the following articles. The first one at thevisualexperience analizes the way dpreview tests the image quality of the different cameras, while in the second post, “I’m a beliver”,  Activatedfx talks of his conversion from LR4.4 to Iridient 2.1.1!

1) Why DPReview may be sometimes wrong

This is how dpreview tests the image quality of cameras (source thevisualexperience):  a) Load RAW file into Adobe Camera RAW (Auto mode disabled) b) Set Sharpness to zero (all other settings default) c) Open file to Photoshop d) Apply a Unsharp mask: 100%, Radius 0.6, Threshold 0 d) Save as a TIFF (for cropping) and as a JPEG quality 11 for download

“DPReview paved the way for “scientific” comparison of camera performances, guiding passionate and professionals in understanding “what is worth to buy” and what is not. […] So ACR is the “meter” used to compare cameras for what concerns RAW. You can jump to the “Image Quality” of each review and use the tools to compare RAW performances.

But now that Iridient delivers such great results with the X-Trans files, thevisualexperience suggest to DPreview:

[…] please start taking into account different RAW processors or, at least, make some claim that the RAW results people are inspecting may be not representative of the REAL POTENTIAL a camera may have (since the meter you’re using is, somehow, not the best).”

2) I was a skeptic but now I’m a believer

And here there is another photographer that was blown away by the Iridient results and posted his comparison… at the great dpreview forum (check it here)!

“The Iridient image has more DR, richer colors, more detail in the sky, and a noticeably SHARPER image with no halos or artifacts. To my eye, it doesn’t look “sharpened” at all. In particular, look at the detail in the background of the road sign at 100%. The pattern is much more distinct in the Iridient image. And it’s not because of more contrast.”

Do you consider to swich or add Iridient to your workflow and you do not own a Mac? Apple just released the new MacBooks with an incredible battery life! [shoplink 14128]Check them here at your Amazon[/shoplink].

all the best
Patrick

Should Fuji find a firmware solution to allow us to control ISO values with front/rear dial?

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Fujifilm X-M1 first impressions at sulantoblog

 

first impressions

Matti Sulanto just posted his first impressions of the X-M1 (pre-production), 16-50mm and 27mm at his website here. Among the other he says that:

“[X-M1] The Fuji X-M1 is very small and probably one of the smallest APS-C size system cameras. […] I saw the first pictures of the X-M1 some weeks ago and I was not impressed by the rear control dial. But, as they say, never judge a book by its cover. Now that I have used the X-M1 a bit, I’m rather happy with the control lay out. […] Shooting with the new Fuji X-M1 is a good experience. The autofocus is fast with the new 16 – 50 mm and the 55 – 200 mm zooms. Not [shoplink 13800]E-P5[/shoplink] fast, but fast. […] The competition is tough in the middle class of compact system cameras, but I think the new Fuji X-M1 stands a fair chance. […]

[XC 16-50] Even in its pre-production form this lens looks as good as the rest of the Fujinons. […] The zoom ring rotates smoothly and the lens extends to almost double length when zoomed from wide to tele. […] The optical performance looks promising, but I’ll wait until I have a real production lens, until I draw my final conclusion. The autofocus is fast and the OIS seems effective. I managed to get sharp pictures at 1/2 s. shutter speed at 50 mm setting, when I concentrated a bit.

[XF 27mm] It is quite small and light, but seems well constructed. […] The autofocus is fast, but makes more pronounced back and forth movement and little more noise compared to the 16 – 50.”

Lightroom 5 or Photoshop? + LR5 up to speed (in-depth look at the new features)

– “Which One? Adobe Photoshop CC or Lightroom 5: An Intro For the Completely New Photographer“. Read this phoblographer review here.

– LR5 arrives, is it worth? Read the answer of fixelpix here. “Having played with the beta and now the full version could I survive without this upgrade. Well, probably but at the cost of time. I see the new tools considerably reducing the time I spend in additional applications. Could LR5 mean I no longer need the additional power of Photoshop?”

– photograper Piet Van den Eynde published his book “Lightroom 5 Up to Speed. Everything You Need to Know About the Adobe Lightroom 5 Upgrade” at Craft&Vision here. It costs just $5 and most of the images in the eBook were shot with Fuji gear! “This eBook walks you through the installation of Lightroom 5, the new Advanced Healing Brush, Upright, Radial Filter, Smart Previews (offline editing), the improvements to Book and Slideshow modules, and almost 30 other changes, big and small. It also gives you tons of suggestions on how to exploit the potential of these features; plus a bonus chapter about the new and improved Lightroom plug-ins.”

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Fuji Guys: X-M1 unboxing and top features video

X-M1 BODY ONLY – USA: AmazonUS (silver–black) / BHphoto (silver–black) / Adorama (silver–black) / DigitalRev / Pictureline (silver–black–brown) EUROPE: DigitalRev / WexUK (silver–black) / PCHstore (silver–black)

X-M1 + XC 16-50mm – USA: AmazonUS (silver–black) / BHphoto (silver–black) / Adorama (silver–black) / DigitalRev / Pictureline (silver–black–brown) EUROPE: AmazonUK (silver–black) / DigitalRev / WexUK (silver–black) / PCHstore (silver–black)

XF 27mm – USA: AmazonUS / BHphoto (silver–black) / Adorama (silver–black) / DigitalRev / Pictureline EUROPE: DigitalRev / WexUK / PCHstore– XC 16-50: WexUK / PCHstore

_ _ _

Check out the latest FujiGuys videos about the X-M1 (unboxing – top features).

have a great weekend
Patrick

unboxing

top features

First Look: X-M1 with New Kit Zoom and Pancake Lens

by Rico Pfirstinger

Talk to Rico (open forum for questions & feedback) – Rico’s Flickr sets – X-M1 sample images – Mastering the Fujifilm X-Pro1 reading samples (65 free pages)

Click here to read Andy Westlake’s excellent preview of the X-M1 on DPR – Click here to jump directly to my set of sample images taken with my pre-production camera and lenses

Edit [16/9/13]: Added additional findings to the “pro” section of this article.

Edit [1/8/13]: Added plenty of new samples, both JPEG and RAW (Lightroom & Silkypix) to the Flickr set. Updated Pro/Con comparison with X-E1.

Edit [30/6/13]: Added several SOOC JPEG portrait samples taken with the X-M1 and the two new lenses to the Flickr set.

Edit [29/6/13]: Added my experiences using an USB adapter to get RR-80 remote controls to work with the X-M1

Fujifilm’s new X-M1 mid-range system camera is targeting users and fans of premium compact cameras (like the Sony RX100 or Fujifilm X10, X20 and XF1) as well as users of entry-level DSLR cameras who do not want to compromise on image quality, but prefer a small, lightweight and still affordable package. It’s important to recognize that the X-M1 was at least as much inspired by the Fujifilm X20 and XF1 as was by its older and more expensive system camera sibling, the X-E1.

In other words: This is as much a smaller X-E1 as it is an APS-C sensor sized system camera version of the XF1 or X20. Believe it or not, but the X10/X20 is actually a little bit larger than the body of the X-M1.

A Little Bit of Everything

This turns the X-M1 into kind of a hybrid system: It features the mode dial, scene modes, additional AF modes (including face recognition and pattern tracking), an additional OIS mode and the “art filters” of Fuji’s premium compact and bridge cameras. At the same time, it records images with the same 16 MP APS-C X-Trans sensor found in the larger and more expensive X-Pro1 or X-E1.

In terms of image processing, the tiny X-M1 even surpasses its bigger siblings with the faster EXR Processor II engine already known from the X100S and X20, with conventional 12 Bit RAW image recording. This turns the X-M1 into a pretty responsive camera (at least in Fuji terms). A 95 MB/s SD card (such as a [shoplink 13681]SanDisk Extreme Pro[/shoplink]) certainly pays-off when used in concert with this camera. It takes the X-M1 just about 2 seconds to copy 3 FINE+RAW images from its internal buffer to the card. With its modest burst rate of 5.6 frames per second, this means that the camera can shoot 13 frames in a row at full speed, even though the buffer is just large enough to hold 10 FINE+RAW images at any given time.

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