miXed Zone: look through the X20 OVF with digital Trans Panel… and more

Share

naples photo napoli_zps4f15e812.jpg

image courtesy: riflessifotografici

X-PRO1, X-E1 and X100

Massimiliano and Donato from riflessifotografici.it posted some nice shots. The first one, Massimiliano, took his X-PRO1 and walked through the streets of Naples (translated version), while Donato, with the X-E1, shot some portrait images using ambient light (translated version)… and if you want become a better photographer, riflessifotografici offers some courses (in Italian). Choose the course you’d like (basic, advanced or workshops). Start to learn more about photography and to shoot even more beautiful images.

Visit Sean Lee’s website to see his shots with the X-E1 and the X-100.

X100s (AmazonUS)

“It’s a wish list come true!” Focus peaking, Split image focusing, the AF button on the right side… and one desire: let a magic firmware swap all this improvements to the X-E1 / X-PRO1. It’s like Fuji’s next generation cameras. “An X-Pro2 with this new hybrid phase/contrast AF system has the potential for serious disruption. I’d most probably sell the X-Pro1 in a heartbeat for this upgrade.” This are just some thoughts extracted from laroquephoto.com (read here)

XF14mm

Now that he sold the looser of his trinity comparison (the X-PRO1), Alexander put the brand new 14mm on his X-E1. Here are his first impressions.

Here is the link to Roel’s 14mm test. Lot of PROS and very very few CONS… and he confirms what Rico already said in here: almost distortion free!

Will it be wide enough? Mike Kobal’s answer can be read here. Distortion free, fast but the image stabilisation could be better. This are just some of the PROS and CONS he noticed.

Speed Booster

Metabones Speed Booster adapter gives lenses an extra f/stop and nearly full frame focal lengths on APS-C sensors. Mat Gallagher explains how it works and posted some sample images here at dslrnewsshooter.com.

MJR linked this site in the comments. Metabones Speed Booster + FujiFilm X-E1 + Zeiss CP.2 35mm T2.1.

Best at CES / X20

Which was the best digital camera presented at the CES this year? techradar has no doubt. It’s the X20! See it here. And for the first impressions click here.

X20: OVF and Digital Trans Panel

Jump over to minute 35:30. CameraDiner introduces the X20 and X100s. And if you want to look through the OVF with the Digital Trans Panel (an ultra-thin LCD that provides some shooting information), go to minute 38:50. (Thanks Rob for the link)

Share

Remains of the Day

  • News
Share
  • Imaging sensors out of spray (German)  –> read it here, or here translated
  • Fuji [shoplink 6136]X-Pro1 (specs&price)[/shoplink] | The Fujifilm [shoplink 678]X-E1 (specs&price)[/shoplink], a Photographer’s Camera | Brian Dougher –> read it here
  • The Phoblographer This Week in Photography History: Fujifilm Was Founded (1934) –> read it here
  • STEVE HUFF PHOTOS My first shots and impressions of the Fujifilm FinePix X100 by Lee Craker –> read it here 
  • Daily Inspiration #388 by Jan Brunaes (X-E1) –> read it here 
  • [shoplink 678][/shoplink]
  • The Phoblographer Review: Fujifilm [shoplink 678]X-E1 (specs&price)[/shoplink]

    • Pros
      • Lighter and smaller than the X-Pro1 but still ergonomic and devilishly sexy
      • Vastly Improved EVF over the X-Pro1
      • Pop-up intelligent flash! I know this camera really shines with an external flash, but in a pinch this is a really big asset
    • Cons
      • Not the greatest EVF in its class
      • AF is not the best in its class
      • Not a major update over the slightly older X-Pro1, but it does save you some bucks because of that.
  • 1
  • Fujifilm FinePix SL1000 review and samples –> read it here
  • SkullFilms Productions: CaptureOne 7.0.2 and the FujiFilm [shoplink 678]X-E1 (specs&price)[/shoplink] short words.. | Daniel Blasko –> read it here
Share

Raw Converter Showdown By DPreview (LR4, Capture One Pro 7, DxO Optics Pro 8)

Share

Raw Converter Showdown By DPreview

DPreview posted an exhaustive review comparing three RAW converters: [shoplink 6524]Adobe Lightroom 4[/shoplink], [shoplink 6525]Capture One Pro 7[/shoplink] (which is the only one that yet supports he X-Trans format) and [shoplink 6526]DxO Optics Pro 8[/shoplink]. The following features are examined:

  • Speed
  • Image quality and editing tools
  • Imaging workflow
  • Output options
  • Asset management
  • Additional features

The review goes deep. DPreviews conclusion:

[…] the choice of which of these raw converters to use comes down to how you work. Shoot primarily in the studio and need robust tethering capability? Then you’ll be very happy with Capture One Pro 7. If you work on a relatively small number of images and/or already have an existing asset management system in place, DxO Optics Pro 8 offers perhaps the best starting point for your edits. And if you’re all about workflow efficiency, need tight integration with Adobe Bridge or Photoshop and want the most feature-rich cross-platform app on the market, Lightroom 4 can fit the bill. As raw-shooting photographers we’ve really got an embarrassment of riches at our disposal right now. You can create some great images no matter which one you choose.

Adobe Lightroom 4 price check: [shopcountry 6524] DxO Optics Pro 8 price check: [shopcountry 6526] Capture One Pro 7 price check: [shopcountry 6525]

C1

[via dpreview]
Share

Film Days Heritage Leads To Digital Sensor Innovation

Share


 

This is probably not new to our readers here, but it is nice to see how the technological innovation Fuji is pushing gets featured on The New York Times gadget blog. The talk is about the X-Trans sensor. As most of you probably know, with its X-Trans technology Fuji is trying to overcome a limit of modern digital sensor: moirè artifacts.

How does moirè become an issue? For this reason:

A camera’s light sensors are made of an array of tinier photo sensors usually set to detect red, green or blue light. Those smaller sensors are most often laid out in an orderly grid pattern called a Bayer array.

That causes a problem. When the orderly array of sensors takes a picture of some equally orderly patterns, say, a houndstooth jacket, or close parallel lines, an irregular wavy shadow or rainbow seems to appear over the image. That is called a moiré pattern.

That's a problem in a lot of settings, and no one likes visible moirè on his or hers killer shot. There are obviously various methods to avoid or to correct such artifacts, for instance via software processing. But wouldn't it be much smarter if you can avoid moirè by implementing a different sensor design, i.e. a sensor that does not rely on the Bayer array?

Fuji did that. And they did it taking inspiration from their knowledge about film. Moirè has never been an issue in the good old film days. The (simple) reason: the crystals on a film and photo paper are never placed in a regular, grid-like way. Hence, build a sensor where the photo diodes are positioned in a random way, effectively replicating how crystals are laid out on film, and you can avoid that pesky moirè.

Designing a sensor that way means you can avoid to put a low-pass filter on the sensor. That, on the other hand, means an increase in resolution. Unfortunately there is a little drawback: With the exception of [shoplink 6525]Capture One Pro 7[/shoplink] and Silkypix all current RAW converters and photo editing software are coded to work with images taken with sensor that implement the Bayer technology. That means you either shot JPEG or have to use Fuji owns software to prepare RAW files for further processing.

The X-Trans sensor is featured on all new Fuji cameras, starting from the $600 Fuji X20, on the X100S (price & specs) and the [shoplink 6136]Fuji X-Pro1 (price & specs)[/shoplink]. Fuji explains the technology here.

Fuji X100s pre-order options: Amazon | B&H | AdoramaFuji X20 pre-order options: Amazon | B&H | AdoramaFuji X-Pro1 price check: [shopcountry 6136]

[NYT, via PetaPixel]

 

Share