XF 23mm pre-order
The bokeh-licious (great word Oli ;)) XF 23mm can be pre-ordered here: USA: AmazonUS / BHphoto / Adorama / Pictureline EUROPE: PCHstore
X100 super-firmware
The French site focus-numerique shared a press release with some more details about the upcoming X100 firmware here (translation). It confirms that the FR-source was right… the firmware will be amazing!
Camberalabs posted a comprehensive X-M1 review. They compared also the AF (“the X-M1 AF is responsive and accurate. In terms of speed it’s not quite up to the standards of the PEN E-P5 or the Lumix G6, both of which where marginally quicker“) resolution, noise, RAW’s etc. to that of the [shoplink 13800]Olympus PEN E-P5[/shoplink] and the [shoplink 14918]Panasonic GF6[/shoplink]. So there is a lot to read and to see at the Cameralabs review here. From the final verdict:
“[…] if Fujifilm wants to widen the appeal of its X-series to consumers I think it has a bit more work to do if it’s to compete with the likes of Olympus and Panasonic, not to mention Sony, Nikon, Samsung and even Canon. Once again there’s no touchscreen, no auto-panoramas, no built-in timelapse shooting, and you can’t apply effects, like the miniature mode, to movies. And while the built-in Wifi may let you transfer images to your phone, you won’t be remote controlling the camera with it and the geo-tagging implementation is odd to say the least. The absence of these features may or may not be deal-breakers for you personally, but it is unusual not to have them on a camera aimed at consumers.
Basic feature-set aside though, the X-M1 is a solid performer that remains fun to shoot with and won’t let you down – it’s also the cheapest way to enjoy the superb X-Trans sensor and the small but high quality range of X-mount lenses. But aside from picture quality there isn’t really any one area in which it sparkles, no one feature that’s new and innovative. More than anything, the X-M1 leaves me wondering what Fujifilm has lined up for its second mid-range X-Series system camera. In the meantime, purely on the grounds of its excellent image quality and high ISO noise performance and not forgetting its excellent handling, the Fujifilm X-M1 is a model Cameralabs is happy to recommend, but for the reasons noted above it falls short of our highest award.”
PRE-ORDER
X-M1 (body only or with 16-50mm) – USA: AmazonUS / BHphoto / Adorama / DigitalRev / Pictureline EUROPE: DigitalRev / WexUK / PCHstore / AmazonITA / AmazonDE
XF 27mm – USA: AmazonUS / BHphoto / Adorama / DigitalRev / Pictureline EUROPE: AmazonDE / DigitalRev / WexUK / PCHstore / AmazonITA XC 16-50: WexUK / PCHstore
[On June 25 Fujirumors will follow the announcement live. Follow us on facebook, twitter and subscribe the RSS feed, and you won’t miss anything!]
Maximilian was so kind to create a “quick and dirty size comparison” between the X-M1 and X-E1 and I’m glad to share it with you all. Thanks a lot!
And also MJr made a comparison between the X-PRO1, X-E1, X20, X100S and X-M1. Thanks a lot MJr!
X100S vs Nikon Coolpix A
Mike Kobal posted a “mini-review” where he compares the [shoplink 10075]X100S[/shoplink] (with [shoplink 10069]wide angle converter WCL-X100[/shoplink]) and the [shoplink 8820]Nikon Coolpix A[/shoplink] (both feature an APS-C sensor and don’t have an optical low pass filter).
Among the others, Fuji “scores” because its faster AF, better handling and ergonomics, while the Nikon has a better battery life and lens (“This lens/sensor combo delivers the sharpest shots I have seen from an APSC sized sensor. Scary sharp, really.“) And which sensor is better? Hard question. “I love the X trans sensor and I love the D800e sensor and now I also love the Coolpix A sensor :) where will this end? Getting rid of the AA filter paid off again, mind blowing detail, if you like your images ultra sharp, then this sensor is for you. My personal choice is the X trans. 1:1 Fuji/Nikon (subjective)“
Check out Mike’s whole review here. Here is his bottom line… and keep up the good work Mike!
“Anyone who needs to pack light and small for whatever reason (expedition, extreme sports, etc), can live with the 28mm equiv FOV, has no choice, the Nikon A is the one. Unlike us purists, with both feet solid on the pavement, we do have a choice, Leica or Fuji X100s. :)”
Fuji X100S: [shopcountry 10075] Nikon Coolpix A: [shopcountry 8820] Fuji WCL-X100: [shopcountry 10069]
And who’s the winner for you? Just vote this poll:
Loading ...X-E1 vs OM-D vs GH3
Admiring Light compared the Panasonic GH3 (with [shoplink 8220]Panasonic Leica 25mm f/1.4[/shoplink]) with the Olympus OM-D and the Fuji X-E1. As we already heard from other reviews, they conclude that:
“Well, the X-E1 is a camera with fantastic image quality, that much is certain. Not surprisingly, it produces cleaner images throughout the ISO range and retains great detail. Is the Fuji the best of these three cameras then? In pure image quality from the sensor? Yes. In other ways? Not so fast.”
Read it all and see ISO comparison here at Admiring Light.
Fuji X-E1 [shopcountry 8215] Panasonic GH3: [shopcountry 8219] Olympus OM-D E-M5 [shopcountry 8520]
image courtesy: Admiring Light
We are all hungry for real X100s and X20 reviews. I check the web every day!
The good thing is, I’m not alone in my daily search. Fujirumors reader Jonti spotted this webiste (translated version) that seems to compare x100 and x100s shots.
thanks Jonti
_
Click here to see X20 sample shots on Flickr or click here for another X20 Flickr photostream.
P.S.: you can preorder the X20 in Belgium, at the PCH store in Brussels. They received a sample of the X20 and took some images of the camera here. For the unboxing video click here. Preorder in silver here, and in black here. They were told by Fujifilm Belgium, that the delivery estimation in Belgium would be March.
P.P.S.: FR-reader M. received an email from the main Fuji Dealer in Ireland. According to the dealer, they will get the X100s on Friday or Monday. Also at AmazonUK the X100s should be released on the March 1. And FR-reader G. emailed me this: “My mate is a fuji dealer and speaks to fuji uk a lot…he told me today that fuji wants us in the uk to have our x100s in our hands in time for the focus on imaging show.. That show runs march 3-6, he says this Friday they should ship and he would be surprised if I did not have cam for Monday.”
image courtesy “just zis guy” on Flickr: “Noise is also pretty good up to ISO 3200 and 6400 is not great but usable if you crank the noise reduction up to the max (+2). 12800 is unusable and only offered so they had say they have it.”
Hi
First of all, let me say that the contest for the £50 voucher is closed. I’ll inform the winner as soon as possible.
Before I go back at work, here are the first links with feedback about the LR4.4 and ACR7.4 release candidates… now it’s your turn, Apple!
[Reminder: Rico Pfirstinger updated his RAW converter comparison with LR4.4 samples (click here). Also dpreview posted first impressions.]Soundimageplus (click here):
Thomasfitzgeraldphotography (click here):
“The raw conversion engine no longer suffers from the dreaded water-colour effect and is as good if not better than Capture One, and pretty much on par with the Fuji Jpegs. Where as previously any amount of sharpening would cause the raw files to fall apart, now you can sharpen away. Adobe have done a great job…”
comparison LR4.3 vs LR4.4 RC at thomasfitzgeraldphotography
frontallobbings (click here)
“I’m please to inform everyone that the dreaded watercolour, or colour smearing issue has been abated in this version which is very welcome… Although details are still not as good as some of the other RAW processors that I’ve thrown at it, it is improved over the previous versions. One of the more notable details is in the shadow details. LR4.3 lost a lot of micro details in the darker or shadier areas. LR4.4RC improves that dramatically. But as you can see, the Capture One details are still surpassing what both default settings are putting out in this case… Is it perfect? No it isn’t, but its improvements are dramatic“
image courtesy: frotallobbings
The source was right! Now start downloading and leave your feedback in the comments. Download LR 4.4 here. or Adobe Photoshop Camera Raw RC 7.4 here.
Rico Pfirstinger updated his RAW converter comparison with two samples that were processed with Lightroom 4.4RC. Click here, read the article, and see the images.
There is also the first dpreview test: “In the ACR 7.3 rendering, the foliage takes on a distinct ‘watercolor’ appearance, and the white text of the sign is ‘filled-in’ green. As you can see, the new processing approach in ACR 7.4 RC offers substantial improvements in both areas.” (thx MJr)
Lightroom 4.4 Release Candidate and Adobe Photoshop Camera Raw 7.4 include a correction to the demosaic algorithms for Fujifilm cameras with the X-Trans sensor. This specifically impacts the following cameras:
Download and discuss on Fujirumors.
And many thanks to the source!
I know you are all waiting for the Lightroom 4.4 release candidate. In response to the comments here, my source didn’t confuse the C1-express 7 version with the LR 4.4 RC. It’s just, I should have been more precise: it should be released Monday in the USA, and Tuesday in Europe (obviously because of the time difference).
In the meantime Capture One released the Express 7 version with Fuji support for €69 or $99 or download the trial version here.
thanks for the link, Albert.
dpreview (click here): “A stripped-down version of Capture One Pro, Capture One Express 7 gains features including HDR processing, lens correction and a new digital asset management tool. Express doesn’t support tethered shooting, but images can be viewed remotely and wirelessly using either the Capture Pilot iOS app or a web browser on other devices.” thanks again, MJr.
To be frank: the X100s and X20 sample shots at Fuji’s website are not that good. I agree with MJR, who said in the comments: “I’m sorry Fuji but these are the worst samples ever. (at photographers fault) 
I’m heading back to http://fujifilm-x.com/photographers/en/ to feel better.”
So, take a look at the dedicated X-Photographers pages (with X100s and X20 samples) here. Just look worldwide for them!
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X100s: AmazonUS / BHphoto / Adorama / AmazonUK / AmazonDE /
X20: AmazonUS (black – silver) / BHphoto (black – silver) / Adorama (black – silver) / AmazonUK (black – silver) / ebayITA / / AmazonDE / AmazonITA /
This is a looong expected rumor!
A trusted source told me that on Monday Adobe should release Lightroom 4.4 RC with better support for X-TRANS RAF-files! Let’s hope that Adobe finally unlocked the potential of the X-Trans-files.
