Opticallimits Viltrox 23mm f/1.4 AF Review: “Not as Good as the Fujinon 23mmF1.4, but Better Value for Money”

Opticallimits (former photozone) published its Viltrox 23mm f/1.4 Fujifilm X mount lens review.

The Fujinon XF23mm f/1.4 (btw., my most used lens during my home-teaching vlogging career) won’t be dethroned in terms of image quality, but given that the Viltrox costs a fraction of the price of the Fujinon, it is better value for money, according to opticallimits.

From their conclusions:

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Pure Travel Photography in Sri Lanka with the Fujifilm X-Pro3 and No Display

guest post by Andy Gawlowski – worldwidewax.ch

Back than in 2016 it was FUJIFILM X-Pro2 which I was able to test for my travel photography in Morocco (Article FUJI RUMORS) . I was so impressed by the camera that I sold my entire Canon full frame system and switched to FUJIFILM. The camera was small and light, it looked damn good and took simply great pictures. Especially the compact form factor was an unbeatable argument for my travel photography. One of the pictures I took in the port of Essouira even made it into the Top 50 in the “Travel” category of the Sony World Photography Awards 2017.

In autumn 2019 FUJIFILM released its successor the X-Pro3. The announcement immediately caught my attention. Especially, when I heard about the unusual design concept. At first glance the camera doesn’t have a display on the back where you can review your photos. The X-Pro3 has a rear display that you first “cumbersomely” have to open to see and use it. The intention behind it is relatively clear. FUJIFILM wants to encourage photographers to focus more on the process of taking pictures rather than constantly looking at the display to review their images. This is very reminiscent of the days of analog film photography and is also a concept that was already been tried by Leica. By the way this constant checking of photos is called “chimping” and can lead to losing attention and reference to the scenery in the current photographic moment. It’s something I used to observe with myself for quite a while but was luckily able to turn off. With time you simply get more self-confidence in your abilities and therefore you have to look at the display less often.

FUJIFILM Switzerland was kind enough to lend me the X-Pro3 with the FUJINON 14mm f/2.8 lens for my two-week trip to Sri Lanka. I intentionally limited myself to only one lens in order to give my full attention to the camera itself.

First impression

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DPReview Fujifilm X-T4 Review – Gold Award: “Attractive Images, Superb Video Quality, $2000 Full Frame Threat but APS-C offers…”

DPReview just published their Fujifilm X-T4 review, and it gets the Gold Award with a rating of 88%.

From their conclusions:

It’s a really good stills camera, it’s a really, really good video camera, but the thing it excels at it switching back and forth between being both. We’re not sure there’s another camera that offers such a strong combination.

The thing that threatens to overshadow the X-T4 is the ~$2000 full frame mirrorless camera

The Sony a7 III and Nikon Z6 both offer in-body stabilization and similarly sized bodies, and are old enough to sell for near the X-T4’s price. Full frame can offer undeniably better image quality if you use lenses that are equivalent or faster, which can’t be ignored. But APS-C offers a different size/weight trade-off, allowing smaller, perhaps more manageable body/lens combinations which don’t necessarily give up too much in image quality. In video, the Fujifilm more than holds its own. If you’re shooting a scene and need to maintain a minimum depth-of-field, the Fujifilm’s 10-bit footage will have similar IQ and be more gradable.

What we like What we don’t
  • Excellent image quality
  • Wide choice of attractive color modes
  • Very good video quality
  • Effective and customizable ergonomics
  • Image stabilization allows hand-held video shooting and more stable stills
  • 15 fps shooting with mechanical shutter and >100 shot JPEG buffer
  • Fully-articulating screen great for video
  • Good separation of stills and video to enable fast switching
  • Separate stills and video menus simplify things even for stills-only shooters
  • Good battery life
  • Can be charged and used with USB power but an external charger is also supplied
  • Extensive customization of buttons and interfaces
  • Strong range of video tools (peaking, zebras, punch-in while recording, corrected preview for Log shooting)
  • 10-bit internal Log capture with selection of useful LUTs provided
  • Autofocus performance is heavily subject-dependent
  • No AF subject tracking in video
  • AF performance highly lens dependent
  • Face/eye detection is awkwardly integrated and not as dependable as rival systems
  • IS system not great at identifying intentional movement (can give ‘grabby’ results)
  • Buffer lasts less than 3 seconds for Raw at 15fps
  • Need to retain USB-C dongle to attach headphones
  • Fully articulating screen may not be your preferred option for stills shooting

You can check out the full review at dpreview here.

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Cameralabs Fujifilm X-T4 Review

Gordon from Cameralabs published the full Fujifilm X-T4 review.

I know many of you will probably see this in a hurry on their smartphones, so I will provide the full written summary below.

  • same form factor of X-T3
  • in terms of size, the biggest difference to X-T3 is the thickness, due to IBIS and more powerful battery
  • a bit heavier
  • more comfortable grip hold
  • controls look familiar to X-T3
  • movie mode now has its own switch
  • Fujifilm is gradually understanding the needs of videographers
  • now camera is much easier and practical when switching between stills and video
  • luckily it keeps the D-Pad
  • hard to press Q button accidentally, that’s good
  • articulating screen, a delight for vloggers
  • more rigid eye-cup
  • viewfinder has a boost option for clearer low light view
  • removable SD-card slot great if you work on a cage
  • headphone jack is gone, but you can adapt it via USB-C port
  • new battery is very welcome, rated for 500 shots
  • he exceeded the given battery life, by taking  550 shots using mechanical shutter and IBIS enabled and a few minutes with IBIS stabilized 4K video clips
  • he filmed 3.5 hours clips in 4K 25p with IBIS, with battery expiring 18 minutes and 40 seconds into the 4th clip
  • after the first clip, the X-T4 became very warm, but only became a little bit hotter as the test proceeded
  • at no point it overheated or became uncomfortable to hold
  • total of 109 minutes of 4K25p video on a single charge vs 62 minutes with X-T3
  • X-T4 IBIS is more effective on almost all lenses compared to X-H1
  • X-T4 is slimmer than X-H1
  • on of the best benefits of IBIS is having a stable view while composing your image with non stabilized lenses like the XF16-55mmF2.8, XF56mmF1.2 and XF90mmF2
  • he got sharp results at 1/5th of a second using XF16-55mmF2.8. Without IBIS he could have shot only at 1/80th of a second. That’s 4 stops of compensation (a bit less than what Fujifilm claims, but still great results)
  • IBIS + DIS (digital stabilization) applies 1.1x crop at all video formats, except for 4K@50/60p, where the crop is 1.29x
  • he does not notice any additional advantage using DIS
  • If you use IBIS with Boost mode (best used with static subjects), you see a small improvement over IBIS only. Applies no crop
  • impressive 15 fps mechanical shutter
  • quieter shutter than X-T3. It is incredible silent
  • eye autofocus does a good job, but maybe not quite as sticky as the latest Sony cameras, but certainly now amongst the best out there
  • no animal face/eye detection
  • Eterna bleach bypass is ideal for stylized video
  • annoying: the large color array (where you select your color temperature) can be navigated only with D-Pad (no joystick). It would have been better if one could use the joystick for faster selection
  • images have plenty of detail, but it’s the colors and tones that continue to be a highlight of owning an X series camera
  • X-T4 will be one of the last, if not the last model to use the X-Trans IV sensor
  • recording times: 30 minutes at 4K/30p and 20 minutes at 4K/50-60p
  • X-T4 support ExFAT (does not split longer video files in multiple clips)
  • ETERNA is a great allround use film simulation for video
  • during panning IBIS is easy to catching up on itself, delivering some jarring stumbling effect. To be fair, this effects also many other stabilized systems, but it is something to be aware of
  • walking while filming is more successful (compared to panning)
  • autofocus while filming is OK, but with occasional hunting or overshooting, and lacks the ultimate confidence of Sony and Canon latest systems
  • might not be the best in class AF in video, but it is still pretty good
  • overall the X-T4 is a compelling high-end option for vloggers
  • having 24o fps slow motion is rather impressive, when most rivals top out at 100 or 120 fps.
  • 240 fps footage looks softer than 120 fps. Horizontal resolution is essential the same, but dramatic reduction in vertical resolution
  • Fujifilm Japan confirmed to him, that 200/240 fps use only about half of the vertical data
  • this is not an unusual technique, as lots of other cameras do the same at higher frame rates. Actually, few rivals even offer more than just about half of 240 fps
  • 4K/60p quality is as good as his full frame 4K in his resolution tests.
  • 4K/60p maintains sound
  • Fujifilm says the X-H line will continue
  • Gordon suspects the X-T4 will be the last body to use X-Trans IV sensor. But the X-Trans IV sensor is only 1.5 years old and delivers great results
  • the 6×6 X-Trans filter array makes it hard to implement pixel shift than the 2×2 Bayer pattern (which is what the GFX100 will get)
  • high end APS-C cost about the same of mid-range/budget full frame bodies. The Canon EOS RP costs less (even with lens) and the Canon R costs the same. But neither of those full frame cameras has IBIS, dual SD-Card slot nor 4K/60p video
  • Nikon Z6 and Sony A7III (no 4K/60) are priced a little bit higher, but still within reach of the X-T4
  • Personally Gordon would not trade a bigger sensor for the overall feature set of the X-T4 at least at this price point
  • Fujifilm enhanced a popular mode without compromising its charm
  • arguably the best crop sensor camera to date

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DPRTV Reviews Fujinon GF45-100mm F4 on Fujifilm GFX100

DPReview TV has published their Fujifilm GF 45-100mm F4 OIS review. Here is what they think about it:

  • basic general purpose everyday professional lens
  • it’s rugged and has OIS
  • it’s like a 35-80mm on full frame
  • Chris would like something wider
  • for landscape he prefers the GF32-64mm
  • the 35-80mm full frame rage however gets into portraiture territory, too
  • but overall there is a lot of crossover between the GF32-64mm and the GF45-100
  • what Fujifilm needs to release is something that goes from 20 to 35mm in full frame terms
    [NOTE: FujiRumors leaked an old internal GF lens roadmap, and it showed a GF 20-36mm F3.5-4.5, which would be a 16-30 in full frame]
  • at 100mm he can handhold shots at about 1/30 of a second and still get very good and usable resolution. That’s very impressive
  • build quality feels excellent. Well build high quality lens. The weight is acceptable
  • excellent in containing chromatic aberration. No real chromatic aberration even in high contrast scenes
  • great job in controlling flair issue
  • optically a fantastic lens
  • sunstars are OK, but not great. But that’s classic for zooms
  • bokeh exhibits a little bit of onion rings, maybe a bit harder on the edges of the bokeh balls. Not as much cats eye in the corners wide open as he would have thought he’d get, and completely goes away if stopped down a bit
  • he shot handheld with the Fujifilm GFX100 IBIS, and he got very usable resutls at 1/15 of a second. So Chris is impressed
  • this lens would be awesome also for the Fujifilm GFX50R. It has OIS, and makes it a great walk around lens
  • has linear motor and focus incredibly fast paired with Fujifilm GFX100
  • easily delivers the sharpness you need even on 100 megapixel body
  • very consistent and high sharpness
  • in video, there is a fair amount of focus breathing. But besides breathing, it’s a nice lens for video
  • Chris says it’s still not the most versatile lens for him. He can’t rely just on this lens. He feels he has to take with him some other lens too, like the excellent 23mm prime lens or the 32-64 zoom
  • if you go with larger format zooms, this is a compromise you need to do. You can’t get same focal range easily like you get on a smaller sensor
  • depth of field equivalent of a f/3.2 on full frame. Gives you a lot of nice soft background
  • fantastic general purpose zoom

Fujinon GF 45-100mm f/4: BHphoto, AmazonUS, Adorama, Focuscamera
Fujinon GF 32-64mm f/4: BHphoto, Adorama, AmazonUS
Fujinon GF 23mm f/4: BHphoto, AmazonUS, Adorama
Fujifilm GFX 100: B&H Photo, AmazonUS, Adorama, Focuscamera

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