You can see some more Zeiss Touit sample shots here at systemkameraforum (translated version).
Preoder the 55-200: BHphoto / Adorama / AmazonUS / AmazonUK / DigitalRev / PictureLine (USA) / PCHstore Brussel
Pre-order the Zeiss Touit 32mm f/1.8 lens (Adorama / BHphoto / Uniquephoto / PictureLine (USA) / PCH Brussel)
Pre-order the Zeiss Touit 12mm f/2.8 lens (Adorama / BHphoto / Uniquephoto / PictureLine (USA) / PCH Brussel)
BHphoto expected availablity for the 50mm f/2.8 Zeiss lens is October 01 (click here). The price is not yet available.
Pre-oder the 55-200 at BHphoto, Adorama, AmazonUS, DigitalRev, PictureLine (USA), PCHstore Brussel
Pre-order the Zeiss Touit 32mm f/1.8 lens (Adorama / BHphoto / Uniquephoto / PictureLine (USA) / PCH Brussel)
Pre-order the Zeiss Touit 12mm f/2.8 lens (Adorama / BHphoto / Uniquephoto / PictureLine (USA) / PCH Brussel)
image courtesy: sulantoblog
X-photographer Matti Sulanto is running one of the most popular camera sites in Finland. Right now he is testing the pre-production 55-200 mm and has some sample photos on his site (only in small size, because full size is not permitted yet). The site is in Finnish, but everybody can understand the photos with technical data.
Read his posts and see the samples in this post here (translated version) and this post here (translated version)
These are his first impressions, he sent me via email:
– bit bigger than I expected, but still relatively compact and not heavy
– very fast autofocus
– impressive OIS
– image quality seems very good indeed
– I like the lens already, even though the pre-production version is not the same quality as the final production version will be.
Preoder the 55-200: BHphoto / Adorama / AmazonUS / AmazonUK / DigitalRev / PictureLine (USA) / PCHstore Brussel
The lens should be available (at least in Europe) in the beginning of June.
FR-reader Roger just told me that AmazonUS finally takes pre-orders here (XF 55-200). He said that “there appears to be no order activity yet as there is no sales rank posted. If this is correct, one could order now and be high on list.” UK-readers can preorder here at AmazonUK (“this item is due to be released on June 14, 2013“)
Preoder the 55-200: BHphoto / Adorama / AmazonUS / AmazonUK / DigitalRev / PCHstore Brussel
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BHphoto estimates that the new Zeiss lenses will ship in 6-8 weeks. So they should be in stock in late June / beginning of July.
Pre-order the 32mm f/1.8 lens (Adorama / BHphoto / Uniquephoto / PCH Brussel)
Pre-order the 12mm f/2.8 lens (Adorama / BHphoto / Uniquephoto / PCH Brussel)
image courtesy: luminous landscape
1) Luminous landscape tested the [shoplink 11808]X100S (specs&price)[/shoplink]. The reviewer says among the others that although the AF is still not as fast as the [shoplink 11210]OM-D E-M5[/shoplink], it’s fast enough for “pretty much any application this camera will be put to“. The really great thing is that the AF sees in the dark: “Walking the streets of NYC at night, I was able to focus readily on passersby, in conditions that would have been a real challenge with the best rangefinder. You will run out hand-steadying ability four or five stops before you run out of AF. This is truly impressive. […] It’s a DSLR killer for a lot of serious shooters (like Zack Arias whose review is linked here)“.
“A truly modern camera focuses quickly, accurately, often with little light, and at the spot in the frame where the photographer wants it to. The X100S does that. Case closed. […] The best thing that could happen on the next-gen Fuji is a serious simplification of controls. AND, spending another $25 a camera on buttons. Nice buttons. Expensive, metal-feeling buttons. That small step would take the Fuji to a real “premium” level. […] It’s a real photographers’ camera.”
Check out this nice review here.
2) laroquephoto has the opportunity to test the XF 55-200. As it’s still a pre-production model, Fuji doesn’t allow anyone to post full size sample images (there are still improvements that will be made).
“The contrast, sharpness and highlight rendition is right up there with the 35mm f/1.4. My initial feeling is that it even surpasses it. The OIS feels like a Steady-Cam; Manual focussing follows in the footsteps of the 14mm and 18–55mm and keeps me eating my own words about fly by wire. And when mounted on my X-Pro1 the entire kit feels like it’s at least half the weight of my old [shoplink 11786]Nikon 70–200 2.8[/shoplink] on its own.”
Read it all and see the sample pics here.
Preoder the 55-200: BHphoto / Adorama / AmazonUS / DigitalRev / PCHstore Brussel
Check the pre-orders in your country: [shopcountry 10575]
image courtesy: laroquephoto
Do you remember the crazy X-superkit deals here? You missed them? Don’t worry. I’ve the feeling that we could enjoy them again in future ;). This time the 2 lenses in offer should be the [shoplink 10279]XF 18-55mm[/shoplink] and XF 55-200mm. So, if you plan to switch to the Fuji X-series, this could be an interesting deal: buy both XF-zoom lenses and you’ll grab the X-E1 for a significantly reduced price.
I don’t know the price and when the zoom lenses kit deal will exactly be launched, but I’m looking forward to it. Lemme see if I can tell you more about it soon.
cheers
Patrick
Talk to Rico (questions & feedback) – Rico’s Flickr photosteam
Considering the lively discussion that is going on about Apple Camera Raw and Aperture finally supporting Fujifilm cameras with X-Trans sensors, earlier reports about Aperture’s death appear to be a bit premature. As was to be expected, most of the discussion focuses on heavy pixel peeping, so this is what I am not going to talk about in this edition of my X-Pert Corner column. That’s because with all the pixel peeping, it’s easy to lose sight of the big picture. There’s more to processing a RAW file than looking at perceived artifacts in 100%-400% magnification modes. Let’s instead focus on the following:
If you open a “standard” (that is DR100%) X-Trans RAW file in Apple Aperture using the latest Apple Camera Raw, chances are it won’t look that much different from a standard Provia SOOC JPEG file. Why bother, then? We could just use the JPEGs from the camera (maybe with additional tweaking in its internal RAW converter) and carry on with our lives, right? Yes, we could, at least in many instances. However, there are situations that the camera’s built-in JPEG engine cannot handle. This is where external RAW processing options shine—at least some of them, because not all external RAW processors are equally well-suited for specific tasks, such as highlight recovery.
Let’s have a look at a practical example. This is a (cropped to taste) SOOC JPEG image I recently recorded with a XF55-200mmF3.5-4.8 R LM OIS prototype lens:
You can immediately see that the dynamic range of this subject grossly exceeds the range of the JPEG: shadows are blocked, highlights (clouds and sky) are blown-out. No matter how you deal with this RAW file in the camera’s internal converter, you won’t get a balanced result showing the full tonal range of the scene. For example, redeveloping the JPEG in-camera with soft (-2) shadow and highlight tone settings won’t rescue the clouds:
Neither will “pulling” the image -1/3 or -2/3 EV using the built-in converter’s push/pull function:
-1/3 EV
-2/3 EV
It is important to note that both -1/3 EV and -2/3 EV versions shown here don’t induce any any clipped highlight warnings, neither in the camera’s “info display” view nor in Apple Aperture. This means that no matter how much further I might pull the RAW in-camera, the texture in the clouds won’t magically re-appear. The internal RAW converter simply cannot rescue this shot. However, a state-of-the-art external converter can.
I shot this sample using the basic “ETTR exposure technique for RAW shooters” that I am recommending in my book. This means setting the camera to DR100% and using the live histogram to set the “right” exposure, clipping the relevant highlights in the histogram just so much that they can still be recovered in Lightroom/ACR or, in this case, Apple Camera Raw and Aperture.
Here’s what the standard import of the RAW file looks like in Apple Aperture:
image courtesy: Tony Bridge (Fujifilm X-E1, Fujinon 55-200mm)
It’s autumn in New Zeland, and Tony Bridge went with his pre-production 55-200 to his favorite place to take some pictures in the dawn. Read the in field test of Tony Bridge at his website here. I’ll post just a short extract:
“Fitted to either an X-Pro 1 or X-E1, it sits nicely in the hand and balances well, and the fit and finish is Fuji-superb […] The stabilisation really works, and I found myself able to handhold at 1/50 second in damp and unpleasant circumstances. […] The scene I photographed is rich in micro-detail, including power pylons, farmhouses, trees of various species and fine lines from intense agriculture. They are guaranteed to test any lens, and I wondered if the lens would deliver what I was the asking of it. It did. […] the lens is sharp right out to the corners, and contains a remarkable sense of three-dimensionality. The files required little or no sharpening, and micro-detail requires little or no extra work. If anything the lens is a little too sharp, and I found myself applying softening in places to create a greater sense of distance-reality. Colouration too seems a little on the cool side, but it is particularly responsive to reds and yellows. […] I was more interested in how the lens would cope in the field, how it would resolve detail, its flare and contrast characteristics, and above all whether it had that indefinable X factor, that sense of character and colour and light and space which marks a truly great lens. It has all of them. In spades.”
Preoder the lens at BHphoto, Adorama or DigitalRev.
Check the in stock status in your country: [shopcountry 10575]
image courtesy: riflessifotografici
Good news! Times are over, when google translator put together some words in English and tried to translate the great riflessifotografici reviews (btw, thanks google for this useful tool). From now on, Luca Petralia will write the English versions of their articles. I wish Luca good work and would like to express thanks for all the effort he’ll put into the translations. Read the offical announcement here (with the first translations – X20 first impressions and X100S first impressions).
And for the first XF 55-200mm sample shots click here (you’ll see also the 100% crop of the image above).
check the in stock status of the 55-200mm lens (preorder at Adorama (click here), BHphoto (click here): and DigitalRev (click here).
have a great sunday
Patrick
You can now preoder Fuji’s new zoom lens at Adorama (click here). (BHphoto click here)
Adorama has now also the SLR Magic 50mm f/0.95 for Fuji X-mount in stock. Check it out here!
cheers
Patrick
