Fujifilm Photography in Times of COVID-19 Quarantine, the FujiRumors Lockdown Diary and the Revival of the XF 55-200

I read somewhere, that about 4 billion people are forced to stay at home now to slow down and hopefully stop the spread of the COVID-19 Coronavirus.

In my country, the stunning Dolomites in Italy, we are locked in since over 1 month now. Of course I strictly follow the rules and never leave my apartment, except to buy food 1 or 2 times a week, and to quickly bring out my old dog in the fields just under my home.

Teaching Online

I continue to teach. Just online! With live streaming lessons, videos I upload on youtube [does this qualify me as a vlogger now??? ;) ], material I send to students via email and more. I try to do my best.

But the more I do it, the more I miss it to enter a classroom, write on a blackboard, smell the chalk, but most importantly, interact with my students.

But hey, these days there are people, who live far bigger challenges than me. So no complaint here. Just a wish that everything goes back to normal soon.

Lockdown Photography

The first weeks all went into figuring out how to do this online teaching. Trying different platforms for online live lessons, adapt my material to make it online teaching fit, figure out how to reach the various students best (some have only a smartphone, no computer, no printer, etc), and more practical issues to sort out.

But now that I have some sort of workflow, I can start thinking at my lockdown photography.

In my small rented apartment, I am running out of subjects rather quickly.

What I did now, is I started to take out my Fujinon XF55-200 lens, a lens I hardly use anymore since I own the Fujinon XF18-135mm (which never stops to surprise me, as you can see here).

The goal?

Get a decent shot of the little birds flying around my balcony, and the XF55-200 is the best lens in my arsenal for that. So it gets its revival now!

So far I have failed, though, not for the limits of the gear, but because of my lack of skills. But I have time to practice, improve, and I will upload an image on my instagram if I get a decent shot.

Inspiration

Another thing I like to do, is to check out all our facebook groups, and see how other fellow Fujifilm X and GFX shooters deal with these lockdown days and what they shoot.

I have picked out some images and shared them below. May them motivate you (and me) to stand up, and do the best out of this situation, also photographically speaking.

COVID-19 Image Roundup

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Fujifilm Monochrome Camera Coming, Really?

Fujifilm Monochrome?

I have been contacted, asking to take position on a “rumor” shared by Ken on youtube.

The “rumor” says “Fujifilm is talking about monochrome”.

Now, I hate to be the one that takes away the hype, but just be careful.

Fujifilm has regular meetings, and “talks” just about everything.

In fact, I hear these monochrome “talks” since at least half a decade now.

For example, a Fujifilm manager publicly said back in 2016, that they thought about developing a monochrome camera.

Not only. Fujifilm talks about monochrome and much more. Ideas, concepts and what not. Some become real, others not, others change.

So, take a grain of salt. At the end it’s the same source, who said about the Samsung 28MP Fujifilm X-T3 sensor… so be careful with some rumors.

What we want to know, is if Fujifilm decided to make a monochrome camera.

And looking at the survey below, you guys would love to see a monochrome camera.

Should Fujifilm make a Monochrome Camera?

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Which camera line is best for a monochrome sensor?

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Documentary: How Fujifilm Creates Our Cameras – X-Pro3 Not a Product of Logic and About Managers Who Don’t Like Digital Cameras ;)

Fujifilm X Photographer Mindi Tan created a 90 minuted documentary, giving us a behind the scenes to the secret process behind the Fujfilm X-Pro3 creation.

It gives us a very close and also intimate look at Fujifilm’s camera creators and managers. The documentary reveals its team dynamics, beliefs and history inside the company with lots of exclusive interviews and footage.

It also features nine popular X-Photographers from all over the world who open up in their home environments to discuss what being a photographer and being connected with Fujifilm means today.

Down below you can find a summary of the video, but before that, I’d like to leave you with quick impressions I had.

It’s clear to see from the documentary, that behind our beloved Fujifilm cameras, there are not cold managers thinking at specs and profits, but really passionate photographers in the first place.

In fact, top manager’s Toshi Ilda first hobby was photography, and when his father asked him, what he wishes for his successful graduation, he said he’d like a camera.

Also, another top manager, Takeshi Ueno, deeply loves film photography, and straight out says he does not like digital cameras.

I guess this passion for the good old photography reflects perfectly in the vintage design and controls of Fujifilm cameras.

However, it comes even more surprising, that Fujifilm completely denied this “manual” DNA on the Fujifilm GFX100, which is the first Fujifilm camera I ever hold in my hands, that was not intuitive (for me) to operate, and required a look in the manual, to understand how it works.

I am sure there will be many, who love the more “modern” layout of the Fujifilm GFX100, and that’s perfect. I can understand. But it’s just not my style, not my preference.

I think Fujifilm should continue to offer what makes them unique, and part of that is not to give up vintage controls. And with the X-Pro3, they pushed this concept to its limits, by even hiding the LCD.

Also interesting:

They say the X-Pro3 is not a product of “logic”, but of instinct. In this case they did not listen to what the market dictates, but their intuition, that it was the right thing to do with the X-Pro3.

And that’s why I love Fujifilm.

If they would be like Sony for example, and just listen to market logic, Fujifilm would just offer one camera body. The same for everybody.

But Fujifilm knows photographers are not all the same, and so they offer niche products, that will never really become that profitable. By doing so, Fujifilm honors its photographic culture and heritage, it’s photo-DNA.

It’s a very lovely documentary, that I invite everybody to watch.

Video and Summary

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The Rumor Year 2019: The Right, the Wrong and the Still to Come!

The Rumor Year 2019

As you know, I am a teacher, and usually it’s me, who has to judge and give votes to others.

But not today, as it’s time for our yearly 2019 rumors check, and to see if I did my homework well or not.

Also, there will be an accuracy rating of those rumors, that still could not be verified.

Keep in mind, there could be further rumors before the end of the year, in which case I will update this list!

Ready? Cool, so let’s start,

But be warned: I will be incredible severe to myself, as I will include in the wrong rumor section, rumors that were actually correct at the time of sharing, but just turned out wrong because Fujifilm changed plans.

It’s the case for example of the new lens roadmaps. In fact, just a few days after our rumor, top Fujifilm manager confirmed here, that indeed there would have been new roadmaps in 2019, but 2019 is now ending, and nothing came. So I was wrong, but so was the top Fujifilm manager.

  • 52 rumors shared
  • 14 rumors still to be verified
  • 34 correct rumors out of 38 verifiable rumors
  • 4 wrong rumors out of 38 verifiable rumors
  • 89,4% correct rumors

Follow FujiRumors on Facebook, Flipboard, RSS-feed, Twitter, Youtube and Instagram

Rumor Overview with Accuracy Rating

HIGH RATING*
* 75% to 99% correct

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Fujifilm X-Pro3 Reviews: HDR Plus Sample Images and Enjoying the Feel Rather than Pixel Peeping

Godon from Cameralabs shows the HDR Plus feature on X-Pro3

Fujifilm X-Pro3 – The Miracle ;)

Here a roundup of Fujifilm X-Pro3 reviews.

Notice how that they mostly focus on shooting experience, rather than pixel peeping. And honestly that’s kind of refreshing, as we usually are bombarded with charts, crops and comparisons when a new camera comes out.

Seen from this perspective, the Fujifilm X-Pro3 already achieved what it’s ment for: focus on feel and experience, rather than technical specs.

In case of Gordon (Cameralabs), he says the hidden screen helped him to review images and access menus way less than he normally does. He says:

Previously I always preferred the X-T series over the X-Pro series. But with the X-Pro3 I was surprised just how refreshing and enjoyable I found the experience, how little I worried about settings or features and how much I’d like to shoot with it again.

The Features

With that said, of course the reviewers also go over the new features of this camera.

For example, Gordon from Cameralabs shows samples of the new HDR plus mode, a feature that Gordon says “makes a really good job”. Press the shutter once, and the camera takes three images and combines them into one HDR image (see images below). It works used handheld.

Oh… and Gordon LOVES the new Classic Negative film simulation.

Now let’s cross fingers that all the X-Pro3 firmware goodness on the X-T3, X-T30 and GFX100.

Sure, I have been told that Fujifilm is working on it, but it never hurts to remind Fujifilm how much we’d love to have a Kaizen update ;).

The Viewfinder Tidbit

One more thing worth to notice.

As you know, the optical viewfinder on the “old” X-Pro2 had a build-in 0.36x and 0.60x magnification modes. So, when you use let’s say a 35mm lens, in order for your frame not be too small in the viewfinder, you could switch to the 0.60x magnification.

This is no longer possible with X-Pro3, as it has a fixed OVF magnification of 0.52x.

However, Gordon says that the overall much bigger optical viewfinder on the X-Pro3 helps to compensate for the lack of 0.60x magnification.

For your convenience, down below I have extracted and overlayed both viewfinder frames at 23 and 35 so you get a clear idea how big the difference really is.

With all that said, check out the Fujifilm X-Pro3 review roundup below.

JOIN: Fujifilm X Pro User Group

Fujifilm X-Pro3: BHphoto, AmazonUS, Adorama, FocusCamera

The Reviews

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Fujifilm X-Pro3 Stories #3: Aged or Damaged

Fujifilm X-Pro3

Fujifilm published the third episode of its Fujifilm X-Pro3 stories series, called “Aged or Damaged“:

JOIN: Fujifilm X Pro User Group

Fujifilm X-Pro3: BHphoto, AmazonUS, Adorama, FocusCamera

#3 – Aged or Damaged

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JOKER Images Taken with FUJIFILM, Leaving Lightroom for Capture One, Fujifilm X-H2 Concept – Top October Articles

Here are the top articles on FujiRumors for October.

I hope you enjoyed reading FujiRumors in October, and I will give my best to give you an interesting Fuji-November ;).

  1. No Joke: Official JOKER Movie Images taken With Fujifilm X Series Gear ;)
  2. It Was Inevitable: I am Leaving Lightroom for Capture One Pro
  3. New Fujifilm X-Pro3 Hands On Images
  4. Fujifilm X-Pro3: Facts and Compared to Fujifilm X-Pro2
  5. Magnum Photographer David Hurn Shoots Fujifilm X: “Photography has Just Two Controls: Where You Stand and When you Press the Button”
  6. Fujifilm X-Pro3 Specs and Images Leaked: Improved Autofocus at -6EV, HDR Shooting and Lots of Firmware Improvements
  7. Fujifilm X-H2 Mockup – Ideas to Set it Apart from Fujifilm X-T4
  8. Fujifilm’s Classic Negative Film Simulation Coming via Firmware Update to X-T3, GFX100 and X-T30
  9. One Year After Leaving Full Frame and Shooting Weddings with Fujifilm X-T3 – Did it Work?
  10. How to Fine Tune Your Fujifilm Film Simulation to Get the Ultimate Vintage Look

And…

Cracking the X-Pro3 Classic Negative Film Simulation Look on Your X-T2 (and other Fuji Cameras)

The ONE trick Fuji doesn’t want you to know.

Cracking the Classic Negative look

Hardly any other company puts that much effort in creating really beautiful and useful color profiles like Fujifilm.

Fujifilm calls them “film simulations”: inspired by the look of old film stock, they try to bring some of that magic into the digital era.

In fact, Minami-San, the Fujifilm employee responsible for colors back in the film days, is still today working at Fujifilm and in charge of the digital film simulation development. You can see his story here.

One more nice thing: Fujifilm film simulation can be fine tuned ad libitum:

  • read here – How to Fine Tune Your Fujifilm Film Simulation to Get the Ultimate Vintage Look
  • read here – This Guy Fine Tuned his Fujifilm Film Simulation Settings Inspired by the Work of Great Film Photographers. See “Chrome Eggleston” & More
  • read here – Fujifilm X-Pro3 Development Story: Classic Negative Film Simulation – Learning from Film

And now we come to the Fujifilm X-Pro3.

  • X-Pro3 offers more in camera editing options than any other Fuji camera
  • X-Pro3 offers a new film simulation called Classic Negative (inspired by Superia)

Of course we all demand for this firmware update, which should give us Classic Negative and other X-Pro3 goodness also these Fuji X/GFX cameras.

But some can’t manage their impatience, and tried to emulate the Classic Negative film simulation look, as it’s the case of Jean-Pascal Remon.

How to get the Fuji Classic Negative Look to your X-Pro2/X-T2
And save yourself to buy a new camera.

by Jean-Pascal Remon – website – instagram – blog

From what I’ve seen, the new Fuji Classic Negative film simulation is generous on the blue and green level, while remaining somewhat warm and keeping a low contrast.

Here is how to achieve this look.

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