So here we go, after Episode 1 (covering the X-T10), today I’ll introduce you to two more Fuji gear that are, in my eyes, underestimated in the Fuji X-shooter community:

Go directly to Epsiode 3 here.

Nr 1
Fuji X-T10 (see post here)

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Nr 2

Fujifilm XQ2

This is another camera that never really excited me. I took note that Fujifilm released it, informed you about it on FR and quickly forgot it. Then it happens that I’ve received one at my birthday.

I thought:
Yes, it’s small
Yes, it looks quite good
Yes, it has a nice 2/3 X-TransII sensor
… but I’m not gonna use it!

So I forgot it, until I went on holiday for a week with my buddy and his son in June. I put my X-T1 with 3 lenses in my Rucksack and my Fuji XQ2 in my trouser pocket. It was a long drive to get to our camping, a very nice one, with large meadows and pine trees… so let’s take a picture of this nice camp. And guess which camera I grabbed? Yep, the XQ2. It was there, in my pocket, ready to be used.

I ended up using it more than my X-T1 (heresy!!!) during the week (and stopped using my iPhone 5 at all). It’s a super-small, pocketable & yet powerful camera for quick snapshots & casual photos of friends and family. Nice IQ, Fuji colors, shoots RAW, amazing macro mode… and it has those nice film simulations to play with ;). It would be nice to get the Waterproof case WP-XQ1 for underwater pictures, but it costs almost as much as the camera itself… I rather buy a GoPro ;).

On the contrary, I didn’t use the Fuji XQ2 during my 3 weeks travel in Indonesia, since I wanted the capture that amazing country with the ultimate image quality… and my trusty X-T1 worked a lot there!

Another small, stylish and powerful camera that didn’t sell well was the Fuji XF1. You can now get it for just $199.

Fuji XQ2: USA: AmazonUS / BHphoto EUROPE: AmazonDE / AmazonUK / AmazonITA

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Nr 3

XC lenses

“Am I the only one who likes the XC 16-50?” asks dickbarbour at our Forum. No, you’re not. People, who own this lens, are really happy with it. The problem is, you might be one of few X-shooters, who actually bought it.

Same goes for the XC 50-230. The IQ is great, definitely worth of the “Fujinon-family“. It’s just slower than the XF glass. But slower glass does not mean worst image quality. Read more (and see samples) about “The humble (though honorable) XC 50-230mm f 4.5.-6.7” at our Forum.

There are 2 advantages in having slower glass:

1) Get high Fujinon IQ for a low price: At the moment, you can get the X-A1 + 16-50 + 50-230 for just $600 at AmazonUS. That’s not bargain… that’s a steal!

2) Size: these XC zoom lenses are pretty damn compact! If you want the versatility of a zoom lens in a compact package, then you should give these lenses a try.

Did I mention they come with optical image stabilization? ;)

So, if price & size matters, this is the way to go.

And why not… Would you like Fuji to make a series of compact & affordable XC primes?

XC 50-230mm: USA: AmazonUS / BHphoto / Adorama / EUROPE: AmazonDE / AmazonUK
XC 16-50mm: USA: AmazonUS / BHphoto / Adorama / EUROPE: AmazonDE / AmazonUK

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FXF member quincy did it! He put all the available Fuji X-mount lenses (and the upcoming ones) in one amazing post at the Fuji X Forum, including a short comment about all 57 lenses available for Fuji X mount lens:

• Fujinon (20 lenses + 3 to come)
• Zeiss (3 lenses)
• HandeVision (1 lens)
• Lensbaby (4 lenses)
• Meyer Optik Görlitz (2 lenses)
• SLR Magic (3 lenses)
• Zhongyi (3 lenses)
• Samyang / Rokinon / Walimex (21 lenses)

quincy also made a chart, plotting the lenses’ maximum aperture over the focal length. The focal length scale is logarithmic to show the prime area more prominent.

It’s a Work In Progress… so feel free to jump over here and contribute to the collection of data.

Respect, quincy… that was a terrific first post on the Fuji X Forum :)

Here at FujiRumors, we discussed many times about what Fuji could improve via Firmware on current cameras or via hardware in future models. And thanks goodness, Fujifilm has shown many times, that they listen to feedback coming from the X-shooter community.

But, of course, the system is not perfect, and there are still things that could be improved. And since I love what Fujifilm did over the last years and I want future models to be even better than current ones, today I’ll share my main two complaints with the X-T1.

FLIMSY DOOR

I’m pretty annoyed by that flimsy X-T1 accessory door that bends and makes weather sealing useless! And, looking at this FXF Thread here, I’d say that I’m not the only one with this problem.

I won’t send it in for repair, since I don’t know if the new door will be better.

I’d really appreciate if Fujifilm would tell us more about this issue.

• Is this a sporadic problem of certain X-T1’s? I don’t think so, but I’d like to hear Fujifilm on that.
• Did Fuji recognize the problem and do newer X-T1’s come with a better accessory door?
• If I send it in for repair, can I be sure that this problem won’t occur anymore with the new door? Some of us would have to pay for a repair, so please let us know if it’s worth to send it in.

The graphite versions seems to have no issue.

I’ve tried to contact several Fuji services around Europe, but I did not get a clear answer on that. So, Fujifilm, I think we X-shooters should be better informed about the real dimensions of this problem and the efficiency of an eventual repair.

If you have the same problem, I invite you to contact your local Fuji support and, as milandro suggested here, contact also the Fujfilm headquarter and send them the link to this thread.

WAXY SKIN TONES

Don’t get me wrong. Fuji JPEGs are fantastic. More and more of my keepers are OOC JPEGs.

But there is one thing that, IMO, could be improved: Skin tones at hight ISO!

Ok, maybe you like the jpeg engine used in X-TransII cameras and the skin tones at high ISO, so you can stop reading here. But I’m one of those fellow X-shooters, who think there is space for improvement.

That’s not an issue if you shoot RAW. It’s also no problem if you keep lower ISO settings in JPEG’s. The so-called “waxy skin tones” are limited to JPEG at high ISO. The reason? Noise reduction seems to work too aggressively.

The good thing is, this is fixable via Firmware update. Here are two possible solutions:

• allow to turn down noise reduction even more than currently possible
• introduce in the menu the voice “classic jpeg rendering” (or whatever), which will render skin tones at high ISO like the X-Trans I X-series camera JPEG engine! You can then select what you prefer, the X-TransI or X-TransII cameras jpeg engine

To know more about it and see some samples, we have a “Stop the Waxing” thread dedicated to this issue here.

Not a rumor, just asking… ;)

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Today I’d like to introduce you to a mini-series of 3 posts, covering those Fujifilm products, that are probably underestimated by many X-shooters. And just to be clear, I was one of those, who initially thought: “Why the heck is Fuji doing this?”

But the more reviews I’ve studied, the more feedback from X-shooters I’ve read at our Forum, and the more I had the opportunity to actually test (and in part also own) these X-gear, the more I realized that I was plain wrong with my initial impressions.

So I apologize if, for the lack of enthusiasm towards some gear, I missed to adequately cover those products on FujiRumors after they were launched, and I hope to make it good again with this little series of 3 Episodes.

Today we start with the X-T10, in episode two I’ll cover 1 camera and 1 lens, and in episode three again, 1 camera and 1 lens… and now you can guess which one ;)

Epsiode 2 here / Episode 3 here

Nr 1

Fujifilm X-T10

When I started sharing the first rumors about the Fujifilm X-T10, most FR-readers had big doubts if such a camera makes sense… and I admit, I was one of those. And the closer the release arrived, the more rumors I shared, the more people seemed to be disappointed. Just read the comments of the X-T10 rumor posts, and you’ll not find a lot of love for it.

Yes, at least amongst FR-readers, the X-T10 had a really difficult start.

But then the various reviews came out, and they mostly talked very positive about this camera. Let’s take dpreview:

“So who should buy the X-T10? Anyone looking for a digital camera that feels, handles and shoots like, well, an actual camera and not an electronic device. The a6000, the D5500 and the O-MD E-M10 might seem more appealing or capable. […] But from my experience having shot with all of these cameras, the X-T10 is hands down the most pleasurable of the bunch to use. Fujifilm makes cameras for people who love cameras, not specs“

Now, recently I went to my local store and asked for the X-T10. They let me play a while with it… and I tell you: this was enough to sweep away many of the perplexities I had.

And probably, if I would not already own an X-T1, I’d go for X-T10. Why? Here some PROS and CONS

– NO ISO-DIAL: The X-T10 has no ISO dial. And I actually prefer it. Why? As X-guru Rico said at our Forum here:

“[On the X-T10] you can change ISO with any command dial, front or back, or you can also use the up and down selector keys. You can use any of the 7 Fn buttons to pull up the ISO setting in order to change it. You can also use the Quick Menu to pick a new ISO setting. Additionally, you can store different ISO settings in your 7 Custom Settings, so changing ISO by selecting a different custom set is also an option. Obviously, the X-T1 is much more limited “thanks” to its manual ISO dial. Hence no ISO in the custom settings and only one global Auto-ISO choice.”

Evidently, there is no right or wrong, it’s just a matter of personal taste. So here is a poll. Let’s see what FR-readers prefer.

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– FULL AUTO MODE with Scene Recognition: I think I would rarely use the Full Auto mode, but it’s handy to have. If I’m super-lazy and just want to take a quick snapshot or give my camera to friends, who are not into photography, the Intelligent Auto Mode is the way to go.

FXF member jeremyclarke wrote at the X-T1 or X-T10 topic: “The full auto switch seems like a really smart idea to me that will help both hardcore professionals and hardcore amateurs.” Why? Check it out here!

– PRICE: That’s probably the biggest PRO of this camera. The X-T10 costs $799. That’s 38% cheaper than the X-T1 (regular price $1,299). An amazing price for what you get.

– LOOKS: In real life it looks good. Much better than the rendered internet images suggest. Still, the X-T1 looks even better, but the X-T10 is definitely something I’d be happy to carry around!

– BUFFER: If you shoot often in CL and CH mode, then you better go for the X-T1.

– EVF: X-T1 has a bigger EVF. In my opinion, this is the biggest PRO of the X-T1. That said, the EVF of the X-T10 just works great, too.

– WEATHER SEALING: For many this is a must have feature. Not for me. If I can save 38% of my money by getting a non weather sealed camera, which built quality is good (and the X-T10 is defintely well made) and delivers the same IQ of the weather sealed one, well, then I go for the cheaper camera (especially if things like this happen).

Of course there are more differences… the X-T10 is smaller, the X-T1 has a more pronounced grip, it’s not so easy to accidentally turn the drive dial on the X-T10 and what not…

Overall there would be just one thing I’d really miss from the X-T1, if I’d switch to the Fujifilm X-T10… the bigger EVF. If you are fine with the EVF size of the X-T10, this camera could the best choice for you.

This was the first part… there are still 2 cameras and 2 lenses to come. Make your guess about what will come as next.

Fuji X-T10 – USA: AmazonUS / BHphoto / Adorama EU: AmazonDE / AmazonUK / AmazonFR / WexUK / AUS: Camerapro

cheers,
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