miXed zone: a little bit of everything

– “Following the recent public release of Adobe Camera Raw 7.4, we’ve updated our studio comparison database with new raw conversions of files from the Fujifilm X-Pro 1, X-E1 and X100S. We’ve been using the release candidate version of ACR 7.4 for some time, which contained significant improvements to Adobe’s treatment of files from Fujifilm’s X-TRANS sensors. The official public release version of ACR 7.4 brings some further (very minor) tweaks.” Check it out at dpreview here.

– I already told you months ago about the Kage Collective: “The KAGE COLLECTIVE is an international group of independent photographers focused on visual storytelling, essays and documentary projects… Our body of work is exclusively captured using Fujifilm X-Series cameras. We have chosen this system as a common baseline for its impressive image qualities, its soul and its stealth.” Just look at the results here!

– The question is, “Fuji – just another camera company?” Interesting article of Dave Kai-Piper. Check it out here!

image courtesy: Dave Kai-Piper

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X100S

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– Brian sent me his review called “The Fuji X100s – The New York test. (If it can make it here, yadda yadda yadda).” via twitter. There is an “unscientific” comparison between the following cameras: The X-E1 (“I had a love/hate relationship with the X-E1 […] But hated the electronic viewfinder.” The AF was sluggish, so he borrowed the OM-D EM5 (“I had the opposite experience with the Olympus. The autofocus was so freaking fast, it practically locked in before I even thought about taking a picture. But I didn’t like the ergonomics of the camera“). His next camera was the Sony Whatever It’s Called (“I picked it up at B&H Photo. I hated it. I put it back down and walked away“). He then took the X100 and finally the X100S (“I’m still not sure the AF is quite as fast as the Olympus, but we’re talking milliseconds difference. This camera (the X100s) just makes you want to go out and make pictures. I’m antsy to go out again tomorrow. It’s a joy to use.). Read the whole post, and see his shots, here at walkamileinmyunderpants.

image courtesy: walkamileinmyunderpants

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–  “Retro Design Meets Modern Technology“. In case you are interested in ratings, the X100S gains 4.5 out of 5 stars at the digitalcamerareview. Class leading image quality, fast autofocus, leaf shutter lets you sync flashes at a super high speed are just a few of the reasons for this high rating. But there are some quirks. So, the flash has some seriously weak game, lens cap is easy to come off and focusing in low light can be frustrating. But check it out by yourself here.

– FR-reader Mike posted Valis’ review in the comments. I checked it, and appreciated it. Read it here. “Overall, I do like this small camera A LOT ! According to all those reasons above and also to the good images it will motivate to take. I said “motivate”, not “help”. I’d love that those of you reading such reviews understand that NO camera, no matter how good it is and appreciated by other photographers would help you taking great images. The photographers themselves are responsible for this matter. And that means studying, experimenting and most important the LOVE for this beautiful form of art called PHOTOGRAPHY!”

X20

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– X20 video review at digitalcameraworld (click here).

– mingthein has to make a choice: buy the [shoplink 8820]Nikon Coolpix A[/shoplink] or the Fuji X20 to replace the [shoplink 10254]RX100[/shoplink] ? “Quick first thoughts – Nikon Coolpix A and Fuji Finepix X20“. Read here.

“[…] The X20 has the weakest image quality by some margin and is neearly as large as an OM-D, but it’s also the most fun to use, has a built in optical finder, mechanical zoom, a mechanical exposure compensation dial, and the fastest and most accurate focusing. The Coolpix A leads the pack on image quality and UI, but lags on focus speed and VR/IS. I think the dissonance comes from what I think I want (small, fast prime, high IQ, fast AF, optical finder) vs. what I actually tend to use (small, flexible lens range, taking my time to frame and shoot precisely using the LCD, high IQ). Honestly, perhaps the trouble is I like them both – but for different reasons. My heart says ‘buy both’, my wallet says ‘pick one’. Choices, choices…MT”

X-E1

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– “Now that Adobe have (for the most part) sorted out their issues with the Raw conversion of images using Fuji’s X-Trans sensors, I decided to bite the bullet and step back into the fuji ring. Since selling my X-Pro1, I’ve missed the wonderful colours that Fuji cameras produce.” Read more and see Dublin in Fuicolour here.

– And here is the X-E1 camerastuff-review. “The Fujifilm X-E1 is a beautiful, solid and easy to use camera with high image quality. In terms of resolution, dynamic range and signal to noise ratio, this camera equals a professional SLR camera with a full frame sensor. It is an ideal camera for travel photography or street photography. Your presence will be much less obtrusive than with a professional SLR camera. But the image quality will be of the same high level. The image quality of the jpg files is so good, that for almost every photographer there’s no real need to shoot in RAW. The Fujifilm X-E1 is a camera that gives you the fun in photography and lets you forget all the technology that comes with it.” They tested also the [shoplink 10276]Fujinon XF60mm[/shoplink] here and the zoom lens review [shoplink 10279]XF 18-55mm[/shoplink] can be read here.

X-PRO1

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-Testing a [shoplink 10291]nikon adapter[/shoplink] with the X-PRO1 at laroquephoto (click here).

– After two weeks with the X-PRO1, fadedandblurred says: “Look, I could go on and on about how incredible this camera is on paper, and while things like pixel density, dynamic range and the ISO vs noise graph are important to digital photography, they aren’t very important to photography, which is what this was all about for me in the first place; to find a tool that would help me to reconnect to the process of seeing and making pictures. The X-Pro1 is definitely not the camera for everyone. It doesn’t look, feel or behave like the DSLR you are probably used to, but, for me, that’s exactly what I was looking for.” Read the whole review here.

FR-readers roundup: X-series podcast, colours of Africa, X-E1 + fisheye, full spectrum X-PRO1 and a Taiwan story

– Piet Van den Eynde: “Hi Patrick, please allow me to introduce myself: my name is Piet Van den Eynde and I’m a Belgian freelance travel photographer and author of books on photography and Lightroom. I just came back from being a guest instructor on a workshop in India, led by travel photographer Matt Brandon. A longtime Canon user, Matt exclusively used his X-Pro 1, 18 & 35 mm on this workshop and I predominantly used my X-Pro 1, X-E1, 14, 18, 35 and 18-55 lenses on this trip. In this blogpost, you can see some of the shots we made during our Rajasthan workshop and there’s also an audio podcast where we talk about our experiences with the system (needless to say, they’re mostly positive). I think this might be interesting content for your blog (click here).”
thedigitaltrekker

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– Olaf: “Patrick, Thank you for doing incredible work on your website. I keep sending a link to your site to everyone interested in Fuji cameras. My wife, Kasia Sztaba, just returned from Africa with some incredible imagery taken with the Fuji X-E1 and the XF 18-55 F2.8-4 IS lens. We just published the first set of images on our blog […]” See the colours of Africa through the eye of the X-E1 here.

“It wasn’t the usual touristy trip. She went to raw Africa with a group of women with whom she had worked to help women in Senegal over the last few years. Kasia documented the beauty of this continent along with its struggles. She saw human suffering but also tremendous and authentic joy and hospitality. And she captured all her experiences on camera.”

Olaf

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– Toby: “I was at a local shop picking up a [shoplink 9694]Samyang 8mm Fisheye[/shoplink] for my Fuji and came across two new items from Kipon.  One is a flange distance adjustable adaptor for Leica to Fuji, the other a Nikon to Fuji Tilt/Shift adaptor. There are some photos on my Flickr if you want to check it out click here (Flickr)”

Toby

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– Mark: “I just had my X-Pro 1 converted into a full spectrum camera. The benefits of course are being able to shoot IR more easily but a side benefit to full spectrum conversions that many people don’t know about is the nice black and white images you can get with minimal post processing (desaturate, black point and white point adjustment that’s usually it) plus the black and whites have a very, very black and white film look about them in the way the shadows are recorded. Check out my set on flickr (click here). Also here is a set of infrared shots from the camera as well (click here). Still trying to track down just the right enlarger lens and when I do I’ll also be doing some UV photography as well with my X-Pro 1. Not many places to my knowledge convert X series cameras to IR or full spectrum. I had mine converted at Kolarivision. The service is excellent and llija was fantastic at getting back to me with my questions. I don’t think that their website has the X-Pro 1 conversion listed yet (mine was the first they’d ever converted) but they’ll be offering the service for $300. Cheers Mark (markdphotoguy)”

Mark

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– Sean Marc Lee: “Hey hey! Just wanted to share with you that I recently shot a story here in Taiwan for The Wall Street Journal completely with the Fuji X-E1 and an X100 (click here)! keep up the great work! I get ALL my fuji news from you. -s. Sean Marc Lee”

Sean Marc Lee

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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
Fuji X-E1: [shopcountry 10259] Fuji X-PRO1: [shopcountry 10261]

miXed zone: X-settings, X-reviews, X20 promotional video… and Leica or Fuji?

FR-reader Thomas wrote me an email: “hi patrick, longtime fan of fujrumors! I’ve created a commercial set of lightroom presets at http://lightset.co based on x-trans raws […]. cheers, thomas”

Deal

$1,169 for the X-E1 kit at CameraLand (click here)

Settings

– Everyone has it’s own “best” settings. Here are those of Kevin Mullins. He shoots with the X-PRO1 over a year now and this is his configuration (click here). Just an example, here is his Menu 2: “WHITE BALANCE – AUTO.  Always for me.  If I was in a studio situation then I would set white balance manually of course but for documentary wedding photography the AWB does an amazing job out of the box. SHARPNESS – +1.  I like to work with the jpgs and I find the default sharpness to be a tiny bit plasticy. NOISE REDUCTION – -1.  Again, because I work with the JPGs I prefer the noise reduction to be slightly less than the default out of the camera.  The images at 6400ISO are mind blowing good and with that in mind, and the JPG configuration this seems to work best for me.”

– How to set up your Fujifilm X100S for street photography? Mike Kobal reveals his settings: “Since I received my X100s I haven’t touched anything else. I know the camera pretty well by now, shooting everything except jobs with it. Here are my settings for street shooting: […]” Well, to see them, check out Mike Kobal’s page here. And for some actions shots click here. (Mike compared the AF speed of the X100S and the Nikon Coolpix A in this post here.)

image courtesy: Mike Kobal

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X100S

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– thephoblographer X100S review is online here. They also highly recommend this camera. Excellent sensor performance, quite good built quality, the AF could be better in low light. But overall a rather exceptional camera.

“This camera’s autofocusing is a mixed bag. First off, Fujifilm cameras let you enlarge or shrink the size of the autofocus point. The smaller the point, the more fine-tuned the focus will be and in turn the slower it will go. The larger the point, the less fine-tuned the focusing will be and the faster it will go. Switch the camera into EVF mode and it will focus significantly faster than it can in OVF mode. […] In all honesty, this camera’s RAW file performance had me looking at my Olympus OMD EM5 and thinking to myself that its raw files just weren’t up to standard. Indeed, the Sony sensor inside the OMD far outperformed by the X100s. Granted, that is a Micro Four Thirds sensor, but it is one of the best in the mirrorless camera segment. With that in mind, we’re bound to get questions of whether someone should get a mirrorless camera or the X100s–and this little camera is wiping the floor with Micro Four Thirds options right now in terms of sensor performance. […]“

– “To summarise – the X100s is not going to be perfect for every photographer but as an everyday, walk around camera I don’t think there’s anything out there that matches it in terms of it’s size and what it is capable of producing. Beg, borrow or steal one to have a play with and see if it’s for you!” Read lightstalking’s first impressions here.

– From FR-reader Robin: “Hey Patrick, first of all thank you for the good work you’re doing. I check fujirumors at least once a day! :) Yesterday I posted my review about the x100s on my blog and people seem to like it, despite the fact, that this is my first review I’ve ever did. Now I was wondering, if you could post it on fujirumors? That would be great! :) all the best, Robin” Sure Robin! Read his review here! Nice shots Robin.

“When you are in macro-mode and get very close, pictures will be significantly softer if you are shooting wide open. Stopping down to f/2.8 will increase sharpness dramatically and from f/4 onwards there is nothing left to worry about. Unless you want that dreamy look I wouldn’t recommend shooting at f/2. […] The Fuji x100s is exactly what I was looking for, it is compact, lightweight, looks gorgeous and is able to deliver breathtaking images. The focal length gives you enough flexibility for most occasions. I would use it for travelling, weddings, reportage, street and especially environmental portraits. The only thing it’s not perfectly suited for is close up head shots, but that’s something I can perfectly live with.  And in case you need something wider, you can pick up the wide angle adapter and convert the 35mm lens into a 28mm lens which should be wide enough for most usage.”

Robin

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X20

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I suppose I don’t have to tell you who riflessifotografici are. I’ve found some of my favorite X-series reviews (and other brands too) on their website. Therefore I think Fujifilm Global made a good choice to take one of the riflessifotografici-guys for the X20 promotional video. Donato Chirulli talks on the new compact camera walking through the fascinating streets of Venice. You can see a sample shot and go to the video here at riflessifotografici.

[I’d like to remember you that Massimiliano Angeloni and Donato Chirulli will run the first events in Naples (13 April) and Rome (14 April) of the eXperience tour, the photographic roadshow (only in Italy) organized by Fujifilm. You can test Fuji’s X-series cameras, make some studio shots (with a model) and participate to the street photography workshop all for free. Just reserve your place at the event you want to participate, and enjoy your Fuji-day at the eXperience tour (click here).]

image courtesy: riflessifotografici (Donato Chirulli/X20 Jpeg OOC Toy Camera Effect)

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FR-reader Jonas wrote an X20 review on his blog. I’m glad to share it with you (click here). “I would NOT go above ISO 1600 with this camera, regardless of what PR reps, salesmen, and the likes tell you. Compare this to other 2/3′s and the x20 is a MUCH better performer. Compare it to the Sony RX100…. not so much!” SOME PROS: Really sturdy build quality – It’s FAST! Fast AF, fast menus, fast write times. – OVF Overlay – The noise in high ISO’s is VERY good looking. Almost film-like. SOME CONS: Not the ISO performer its made out to be. The sensor size shows here! – Battery life is ridiculous. – No ND filter built in, like the x100/x100s.

image courtesy: Jonas

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Leica or Fuji?

Leica or Fuji? That is the question! Everyone has its own answer. You can read the point of view of nicole-struppert here:

“I will stick with Fuji! They make a brilliant job! Using the xpro1, x100 etc. is fun, it is light, fantastic lenses and the IQ is awesome […] I am looking forward to I stick with Fuji – for two reasons: First of all they make fantastic cameras and lenses and secondly they hear what customers say! They improved the X100 after getting feedback from Pro photographers and customers and worked together with Adobe to solve the RAW Processing problem. I just purchased the new x100S and I’m very curious to find out about the faster AF and improvements! […] Is Fuji the new Leica? In my opinion, NO – Leica will always be Leica. These are 2 different camera systems and brands… Owning a Leica is much more than owning a camera or a tool to take pictures with. You’ll get a hand crafted camera with soul. It is a lifestyle and everyone who ever owned a Leica knows what I try to say. “

Oh, and don’t forget the price difference. (check the Leica M9 price and specs: [shopcountry 10090]

Battles: X100S vs Nikon Coolpix A + X-E1 vs OM-D vs GH3

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X100S vs Nikon Coolpix A

Mike Kobal posted a “mini-review” where he compares the [shoplink 10075]X100S[/shoplink] (with [shoplink 10069]wide angle converter WCL-X100[/shoplink]) and the [shoplink 8820]Nikon Coolpix A[/shoplink] (both feature an APS-C sensor and don’t have an optical low pass filter).

Among the others, Fuji “scores” because its faster AF, better handling and ergonomics, while the Nikon has a better battery life and lens (“This lens/sensor combo delivers the sharpest shots I have seen from an APSC sized sensor. Scary sharp, really.“) And which sensor is better? Hard question. “I love the X trans sensor and I love the D800e sensor and now I also love the Coolpix A sensor :) where will this end? Getting rid of the AA filter paid off again, mind blowing detail, if you like your images ultra sharp, then this sensor is for you. My personal choice is the X trans. 1:1 Fuji/Nikon (subjective)“

Check out Mike’s whole review here. Here is his bottom line… and keep up the good work Mike!

“Anyone who needs to pack light and small for whatever reason (expedition, extreme sports, etc), can live with the 28mm equiv FOV, has no choice, the Nikon A is the one. Unlike us purists, with both feet solid on the pavement, we do have a choice, Leica or Fuji X100s. :)”

Fuji X100S: [shopcountry 10075] Nikon Coolpix A: [shopcountry 8820] Fuji WCL-X100: [shopcountry 10069]

And who’s the winner for you? Just vote this poll:

Should Fujifilm postpone the XF120mm launch and release the XF23mmF2 WR first?

View Results

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 X-E1 vs OM-D vs GH3

Admiring Light compared the Panasonic GH3 (with [shoplink 8220]Panasonic Leica 25mm f/1.4[/shoplink]) with the Olympus OM-D and the Fuji X-E1. As we already heard from other reviews, they conclude that:

“Well, the X-E1 is a camera with fantastic image quality, that much is certain.  Not surprisingly, it produces cleaner images throughout the ISO range and retains great detail. Is the Fuji the best of these three cameras then? In pure image quality from the sensor? Yes. In other ways? Not so fast.”

Read it all and see ISO comparison here at Admiring Light.

Fuji X-E1 [shopcountry 8215] Panasonic GH3: [shopcountry 8219] Olympus OM-D E-M5 [shopcountry 8520]

image courtesy: Admiring Light

dpreview: XF14mm review!

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image courtesy: dpreview

And here it is! The XF14mm review of dpreview is online. The reviews we’ve read until now praised the new Fuji-lens, justifying its price. And also dpreview says that:

“[…] it turns out to be an exceptionally good lens. At the apertures you’d most often shoot a wideangle it’s exceptionally sharp right across the frame, and it’s almost perfectly-corrected for distortion and chromatic aberration. […] In the case of the XF 14mm F2.8 R, the exceptional cross-frame sharpness at normal working apertures, and almost complete lack of distortion or chromatic aberration, substantially outweigh the soft corners and vignetting at F2.8. Ultimately, the truly excellent image quality that it’s capable of delivering earns it our top award.”

Check it out here.

Fujinon XF14mm: [shopcountry 8628]