Some tips

– 9 Tips for becoming a better travel photographer at photographytalk here. “7. Pack lighter: […] I’m also in favor of advanced compact cameras. I love those things because you hardly draw any unwanted attention to yourself. My favorite used to be the Fuji X100, but the X100s is now out and the new features look delicious.“

– What makes a good photographer? mingthein gives his answer to this question here in his blog. An original, unusual vision, inspiration, high observantness, but low observability, curiosity, consciousness of the light (don’t focus just on the subject and start looking for the light instead!), ability to work fast… there is much more to read here. Is there something you’d have added to mingthein’s list?

– Why, when, and how to use Lens Hoods in this youtube video. (via digital-photography-school)

X100S

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FR-Reader sgoldswoblog send me his X100S review, and I’m glad to share it with you (click here). Here a foretaste: “The minor quibble is that the switch to 14 bit RAWs seems to have caused some minor issues in RAW files at 100%. I’m pretty sure (since this isn’t an issue with X-Pro1 and X-E1 files) that this is quickly solvable. Everything else about this camera is a distinct improvement or no worse than the X100. This won’t be a camera for everyone, I’m pretty sure that most people would benefit more from an ILC with a range of lenses if that were their only camera. But as a conscious choice of fixed focal length or as a second camera it is magnificent. The new sensor really improves the output and gives more latitude around exposure and the lens remains outstanding. There is very little to dislike here!”

image courtesy: sgoldswoblog

X20

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– “first photos with the X20 – So far, so good :)” That’s what FR-reader Mat wrote on twitter. See his images here.

– focus numerique posted his full French review. For everyone interested in ISO-comparisons with many other cameras and more, just click here (translated version).

image courtesy: focus numerique

X-E1

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– You wanna see how the X-E1 performs with the [shoplink 9774]Sigma 12-24mm[/shoplink]? “Focusing was OK. The adapter has an aperture adjuster, but there is very little travel in it and selecting an aperture is pretty much guesswork. Images were sharper than I was expecting.” See the shots at soundimageplus here.

X-PRO1

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“Late Night shoot with the effortlessly stunning Chloe-Jasmine Whichello… As this was a very unplanned shoot, in fact  zero planning whatsoever,  Chloe-Jasmine found ourselves shooting one evening as I still had the Lingerie with me from a shoot the day before. The Fuji X-Pro1 always is with me and it was lucky that I also had my Nano Lighting with me also. Totally loved how well it all came out in the end!” See Dave Piper’s beautiful shots here.

image courtesy: Dave Piper

XF1

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– Digitalcamerainfo posted his XF1 review here. From the conclusion:

“Can the XF1 compete on even footing in the marketplace with [shoplink 9888]Canon’s S110[/shoplink] and [shoplink 9891]Panasonic LX7[/shoplink], or even Sony’s higher-priced [shoplink 8524]RX100[/shoplink]? The answer is that it doesn’t have a chance. It simply doesn’t do enough to overcome the huge brand-recognition advantage those companies have, and it possesses some unfortunate (if well-intentioned) design missteps. That doesn’t mean it’s a bad camera—in fact, it’s quite good from an image quality standpoint. Stills from the XF1 are just as good as those from the upmarket X10, which is to say they’re among the best results you can get from a compact that isn’t the RX100. (You just can’t beat that 1-inch sensor). If you can get over the camera’s operational quirks, it’s a solid shooter at a very attractive price—just $389 from reputable sellers at press time.”

And to all FR-readers out there, Happy Easter!

DigitalRev X100S Hands-on Review is now online (click here). Thanks to Fujirumors reader Andrew who send me this video via email. FR-reader Jay summarized (on facebook) the review saying: “Entertaining but not very informative.”

X100S: BHphoto / Adorama / AmazonUS / AmazonDE / AmazonUK / AmazonITA / DigitalRev / your ebay / your Amazon
X20:  BHphoto (black – silver) / Adorama (black – silver) / AmazonUS (black – silver) / AmazonUK (black – silver) / AmazonDE / AmazonITA / DigitalRev / your ebay / your Amazon

– The photographyblog X20 review is now online. Defintily passed the test. It gained five out of five stars, again! (also pocket-lint assigned five stars here, calling the camera “the new champion of the high-end compact cameras”)  But now read the photographyblog review here.

“We ran into some issues in bright sunlight when shooting in aperture and shutter priority modes, where the top shutter-speed limit of 1/1000th second at f/2 or f/2.8 often caused under-exposure. Unlike the X100S, the new X20 still doesn’t feature a built-in Neutral Density filter (something that we complained about with the X10), so you’ll have to stop-down the aperture and sacrifice some depth-of-field to avoid blowing out the highlights. […] Fujifilm have cleverly made the focusing ring more sensitive to how you use it – turn it slowly and the focusing distance changes slowly, but turn it more quickly and the camera quickly moves through the distance scale. It now takes less than 2 full turns and a couple of seconds to jump from the closest focus distance to infinity, a big improvement on the X10. […] Shutter lag is virtually non-existent on this camera, so once you have set the focus, you’ll never miss the moment because the camera can’t fire the shutter quickly enough. […] The Fujifilm X20 is a much faster version of the original X10, with a few handling tweaks that make it even more intuitive to use. […] The Fujifilm X20 produces images of outstanding quality […] an excellent performance for a camera with such a small sensor.”

– The German site digitalcamera posted his review here (translated version). A bit too big for a compact camera. The image quality is more or less what you’d expect from a 2/3 sensor. With the new technologies inside the X20 (X-Trans, no low pass filter…), they had a bit higher expectations.

– Now something for our Spanish readers. dslrmagazine posted the review here (translated version).

X100S: BHphoto / Adorama / AmazonUS / AmazonDE / AmazonUK / AmazonITA / DigitalRev / your ebay / your Amazon
X20:  BHphoto (black – silver) / Adorama (black – silver) / AmazonUS (black – silver) / AmazonUK (black – silver) / AmazonDE / AmazonITA / DigitalRev / your ebay / your Amazon

VSCO Film 01

Vsco Film 01 now with custom camera profiles for Fuji! check it out here.

X100S
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PROS: Excellent resolution and detail in photos – Low noise up to ISO3200 and above – Excellent colour reproduction – Unique – optical hybrid electronic viewfinder – Aperture / Shutter controls – Excellent build quality – Silent shutter sound – Bright f/2.0 lens. CONS: Quite high price – Fixed focal length – RAW not available with “Advanced Filters”. Read the whole ephotozine review here. They “highly recommend” this camera.

“Using the Fujifilm X100S for Street Photography” at thephoblographer here. The full review has still to come.  “The cold can really destroy battery life, but the X100s has held up extremely well and I have been able to have it on for a remarkable 14 hours or so until it finally died. No, I’m not joking. I dimmed the screen though, so keep that in mind. Plus the camera was turned off at certain points. This battery life rivals Canon’s.“

DPreview added 3 pages of studio shots with the X100S. Click here to get lost in comparison. Page 5: ISO JPEG’s, page 6: HIGH-ISO JPEG’s, page 7: RAW. Compare, but be careful, don’t get addicted ;). About the X100S RAW’s DPreview says:

“Processed through Adobe Camera Raw 7.4, raw files from the X100S look great at low-to-medium ISO settings, with the exception (as with the JPEGs) of some obvious artifacts in areas of extremely fine horizontal and vertical detail, and a slight lack of definition in the very low-contrast feathers at lower-right compared to more conventional sensors. In general though, organic textures are rendered nicely, and overall detail reproduction is very good. Compared to the best of its competitors, the X100S does well, but moiré is a factor in areas of very fine detail, and it is possible that Adobe Camera Raw is not yet quite making the most out of its sensor (we will update our conversions if and when Adobe tweaks its plugin).”

X20
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Techradar posted his X20 review (click here). From the conclusions:

“With the X20, Fuji continues its dominance in the corner of the market reserved for high-end compact cameras with superb image quality that exude retro cool. The fact is, no other manufacturer manages to mix those two qualities together quite so well as Fuji, and for that, the company should be applauded. As a premium compact, the Fuji X20 is a delight to use and will be surely appreciated by those looking for a great backup model for their DSLR or CSC. If you already own a Fuji X10, there’s not quite enough here to warrant an upgrade just yet, though there are obvious advantages to this over the previous version of the camera.”

image courtesy: techradar

FR-reader Hinrich send me this video (vimeo), made with the X20. He wrote: “Short late afternoon walk with my friends new Fujifilm X20 around my barrio. Old man hand-held, no stab. no editing. The camera looks beautiful and fits ergonomic perfect into my hand. But I think the quality of my Sony RX100 photo and video files are better. Thank you”

X-E1
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Cameralabs highly recommends the X-E1. Read why in their comprehenisve review here. An extract: “The X-E1 is a great follow up model to Fujifilm’s X-Pro 1 providing most of what the more expensive flagship model offers at a significantly lower price point. For purists, an optical viewfinder on a rangefinder style camera will be a must-have feature and the X-Pro 1’s hybrid viewfinder is a technological wonder. But if you can live without an optical viewfinder, the X-E1’s EVF is one of the best around and is arguably better suited to an interchangeable lens camera.”

image courtesy: cameralabs

PS. In the meantime FR-reader Frank is anxiously awaiting his X100S. Everything is ready, as you can see in the next image…