Have a break, have an X-shot :)… TOP LIKED X-shooter images shared at the FR-facebook photostream!

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Trujillo Jr George: Sheikh Zayed Mosque, Walking the Grounds Fuji X-T1 35mm

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Sorry guys, no DxO scores still, but it seems that X-series cameras are neverthess capable of great shots ;). So here are the top liked X-shots shared over at the Fujirumors facebook photostream. Thanks to all who shared their shot and those who took their time to check them out and vote their favorite ones.

Keep it up, share and vote your absolute favorite X-shot… and here is how to do it:

1) SHARE: go to the Fujirumors facebook timeline and submit your favorite X-shot (and a short description) in the timeline by selecting “Photo/Video” .
2) VOTE & COMMENT: All the images will be displayed at the Fujirumors facebook photostream. You can vote & comment the images there.

NOTE: Next selection will start from those images shared starting from December 7.

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Kt Gravatt‎: I came to El Matador over the weekend hoping to get a spectacular sunset. Unfortunately nature had other plans. What was fortunate was a network failure at work, allowing me the free time to try once more in the middle of the week. I guess the third times the charm, since it was a mostly cloudy day and a fairly low tide. Note: Taken with the Fuji X-T1 with a Tokina 11-16 wide angle lens (adapted with a Metabones Nikon G to Fuji X lens adapter)

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Bob Fugate: Listening to the Cosmos. Very Large Array on the Plains of San Agustin in central New Mexico, USA. Fuji X-T1, 14mm, f/2.8, ISO 6400, 30 sec. The light on the antennas is from the windows of the control building several hundred yards out of the picture to the left. Light in the foreground is from a flashlight.

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OIS is BACK ? XF 16-55mm f/2.8 WR coming “early 2015″… and with OIS (source Fujifilm Magazine)

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Back on the 24th of July (I remember the date, because I worte that specific article while sitting at the back of a rented car between 2 hyperactive kids during my holidays in Tuscany… believe me, a real challange to write it ;-) ), Fujifilm updated the lens roadmap, and, amongst the others, they told us that the XF 16-55mmF2.8 release had been pushed back to spring 2015… and it will be without “OIS”.

Now we have some more information about this lens, shared at the latest issue of the Fujifilm X-magazine (and spotted by attentive FR-reader Dan R Smedra – thanks for sharing at the FR facebook page)

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First: we now have a slightly more precise indication of the release of the XF16-55… it will come “early 2015” (so I’d exclude May/June, and guess it will come around March)

Second: As you might or might not know, the latest official stamtent from Fujifilm (made in September at photokina) confirms, that the XF 16-55mmF2.8 will NOT feature an optical image stabilization (OIS), because of weight/IQ reasons. Many X-shooters were astonished by this news, especially since Fujifilm is right now explaining us that the 5 stop OIS in the XF 18-135 WR lens and 50-140 f/2.8 lens works miracles (and apparently it really does)! I’ve launched various polls here on FR and shared posts on facebook… and it’s pretty clear that the majority of X-shooters do want OIS.

Now, I don’t know if it’s just a typo or if Fuji changed plans, but according to the latest edition of Fuji’s official X-magazine, the XF 16-55 will feature OIS (and come early 2015, as said before). I really hope that this is not just a typo.

stay tuned
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Novoflex BALPRO T/S adapter review: Part 2 – stability and accuracy

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Novoflex BALPRO T/S adapter review: Part 2 – stability and accuracy

guest post by Nathan Wright (ohm-image.net)

In part 1 of this review, I discussed the design, operation, controls, and modularity of the Novoflex BALPRO T/S. In this part, I will focus on the stability and accuracy of the BALPRO T/S system for use in the studio.

Focus

Still life photography requires incredibly tight focus. It requires repeatable results. Just-about workmanship and focus can render simple jobs difficult, and lose clients. Most of my non-magazine work is spent nailing angles, lighting, and reflections. The actual taking of photographs is almost an afterthought. After all, when everything is ready, a photograph only requires the depressing of the exposure button. But at the end of a hard day of cleaning, placing, and endless adjusting, I need a camera system that does its job quickly and with as little fuss as possible.

Suffice it to say that when camera/stage angles are set, nothing must ever move. At macro distances, fine reflections can drastically change from the slightest sag of lens or camera.

This is the single biggest reason I prefer using geared equipment. As I mentioned in part 1, the BALPRO T/S has three geared controls:

1. front standard focus
2. front standard shift
3. rear standard shift

Each runs on metal teeth and gears, and is labelled to the millimetre. Measured and minute movements are easy to make. While no camera movement is labelled in increments smaller than 1mm, it is possible to set up good macro composites with the aid of muscle memory and a good eye, not to mention the proper use of a tape measure and those geometry lessons you had in secondary school.

Lateral shifts move with little pressure, and once set, never fall due to gravity. The focusing bolt on the front standard requires greater torque to turn, and it can be locked. As a result, it is a dream to use, and is far more accurate than the camera I used before, the 4×5 Horseman LD (pictured in part 1), which uses plastic focusing gears.

Of course, because the BALPRO T/S lacks a unified monorail, stacked focus, while accurate, is quick and dirty. If you are a capable mathematician, and very, very careful, you can achieve similar results with a good macro tilt/shift lens. The benefit to the BALPRO T/S is that every forward movement increases distance toward the subject in logarithmic, not exponential increments. That means a faster workflow. And a faster workflow means better dime for your time. And I’m not a mathematician.

I do miss the focusing monorail, but after completing four commercial shoots with the BALPRO T/S, I can say with unequivocal indemnity, that these compact bellows are most capable.

Stability

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RELEASED: Iridient Developer 3.0 beta 4 + Camera Raw 8.7.1

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Iridient Developer 3.0 beta 4

Iridient Developer 3 moves towards final release with a new beta 4 update! This new version fixes all known bugs with the previous beta and adds a few new features to the Detail pane as well. New features include a Clarity adjustment, two new sharpening methods (Iridient “Reveal” and High Pass) and edge masking support for all sharpeners.

The new download can be found here:
http://iridientdigital.com/products/iridientdeveloper_download_v3beta.html

Full release notes can be viewed here:
http://iridientdigital.com/products/rawdeveloper_history.html

Adobe Camera Raw 8.7.1 final release

Adobe just released Camera Raw 8.7.1 for Mac / Windows. Nothing Fujifilm specific this time.

Solving the X-trans Fuji raw conversion problem… at feedback.photoshop :)

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