miXed zone: X100S wins EISA award, XC 16-50 review, X-workshop in India, Iridient and more

X100S

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The best advanced compact camera according to the European Imaging and Sound Association (EISA) is the X100S. Click here to read the announcement at Fuji’s global site. And while the X100S gets award after award, there are many photographers who are still waiting for a camera that should be shipped in 3 to 6 weeks at AmazonUS.

Workshop

image courtesy: digitaltrekker

SOLD OUT: Rajasthan, India Photographic Trek – Sunday, February 16, 2014 at 8:00 AM – Saturday, March 1, 2014 at 11:30 PM

Travel and humanitarian photographer Matt Brandon and Fujifilm Ambassador and Lightroom guru Piet Van den Eynde are pleased to announce that their 2014 Rajasthan Photographic Trek, a 2 week workshop held in February 2014 in the colorful state of Rajasthan, India, is being sponsored by Fujifim. As leaders Matt & Piet will be shooting only Fujifilm X-series cameras and plan to have a nice selection of the latest X-series gear for workshop participants to play with. Apparently this workshop was highly rated by last year’s participants. Several stated it was the best workshop they have ever attended. Part of this is because Rajasthan is one of the most visually stunning places on earth and part of it is Matt and Piet spend a lot of one-on-one time with each of their participants and they keep the student-to-teacher ratio low.

Workshops with one teacher that knows his way around the Fuji-system are hard enough to come by. A workshop with two knowledgeable Fujifilm-shooters in an exotic location such as Rajasthan is simply unique.

The places for this workshop are already sold out but you can see some beautiful images at thedigitaltrekker here.

Iridient (download ver. 2.2)

vk.photo is one of those photographers who believe that the best software to process X-Trans RAW files is Iridient. See the images and read his thoughts here: “Iridient file is very crisp with excellent colours. Moiré is very well controlled, definitely better than in Aperture. No details “smearing” as in LightRoom/ACR. […] As I have already said, Iridient Developer is an excellent OSX-based raw converter, probably the best for x-trans files as of today.”

X-M1

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image courtesy: rileyjoseph (for people who like to travel light)

rileyjoseph‘s shared with FR via twitter his blog post with his thoughts on the X-M1 and XC 16-50: “The little Fuji that can?” here. The conclusions: “Where does this leave us? I like some things about it. I don’t like other things about it. Would I recommend it to people? Yes. I have friends and family ask me all the time about my Fujis as they want a smaller camera to take with them travelling that isn’t a point & shoot. They go cross eyed when I talk about aperture sings and shutter dials and exposure compensation. I think they would benefit from the X-M1 as it gives them the chance to wade into the X-Series waters. It has auto and scene modes they are familiar with from their p&s or canon rebel.. but it is small, lightweight and has one of the best APS-C sensors ever. As they progress into photography they will be able to transition to the more manual modes and eventually graduate to a X100s, X-E1 or X-Pro1. To advanced shooters and those who already have another X-Series camera I would not recommend it. You’ll be frustrated. I hope it’s targeted segment of buyers find it and take the plunge. Why? Because I am selfish and I want the X-Series line to do well so that Fuji can take that money and use it to develop more amazing XF lenses and eventually a X-Pro2.”

XC 16-50

XC 16-50: [shoplink 13828 ebay]eBay[/shoplink] / WexUK / PCHstore

At admiringlight you can read the full XC16-50 review here: “[…] all things considered the XC 16-50mm is a good lens. It’s not a great lens, but it is better than the average kit lens. While certainly not the sharpest lens in the world, the lens is adequately sharp over most of the frame, allowing you to capture good images in most circumstances. On the other image quality criteria, the lens is quite good. The 16-50mm has very pleasant bokeh and excellent color and contrast, providing a great overall image feel. The extra width over other standard zooms allows the lens to be a little more versatile. Probably my biggest gripe with the 16-50mm is the loss of the aperture ring that comes standard on almost all other Fuji lenses. It’s makes the lens operate differently in the field than other Fuji lenses, which is an annoyance.”

Fuji XF 27mm

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– Tom: “Patrick – I just finished my hands-on review of the Fuji 27mm. It is on my blog with a lot of downloadable sample images that your viewers usually seem to like. It’s a great lens. Here is the link.”

– Noel: “Just took a test drive with the new Fuji 27mm F2.8 Pancake lens. I am very happy with fuji’s spin on compact optics. I posted a few words and several photos on my Blog.” Check it out here.

X-E1

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– C’net posted its X-E1 review here: “It’s not a general-purpose recommendable camera thanks to subpar video and slightly sluggish performance, but for photo-quality-first photographers who want the analog-ish shooting experience, the Fujifilm X-E1 rules in its price range.”

– 8 months with the X-E1 at mikeangphoto here: “It has been 8 months – and counting – and I’m still in love with it. I still keep saying its the best camera I’ve owned. There a lot of things I like about the camera […] it has emotionally brought back the love for photography in me. There’s this “connection” and “magic” that gets to me when using it and at this point I could not ask for a better camera for me :)”

X-PRO1 (and new firmware)

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– DSLR is dead? Read robjohnsphotographer’s real life review here: “I have no regrets buying the X-Pro1, it is the camera that I have been waiting a long time for. It’s an absolute joy to use and the imaging quality is nothing short of sublime. It positively encourages photography because it is small and light and importantly doesn’t draw attention when working in the public. It’s easy to understand why photographers around the world have fallen in love with photography once again and the excitement is real and truly justified. Have I fallen in love with the X-Pro1? Absolutely, but I’m not getting rid of my Canons…….well, not yet anyway!”

– Using Fujifilm’s Newest Firmware to the X Pro 1 In Real Life Use at thephoblographer here: “When the Fujifilm 35mm f1.4 R first was launched, it was perhaps the most problematic lens of the trio. But it had the best image quality. At this point, I think that I can say with certainty that it is the best lens in the lineup. It is sharp, fast to focus, and overall just beautiful. Not only that, but the entire system has drastically improved and they’re only on their first generation of products for the most part! How the heck could someone not be happy? Seriously.”