Mitakon 35mmF0.95 version II

Mitakon Zhongyi Speedmaster 35mm F0.95 version II on X-E2

Mitakon 35mmF0.95 available at Adorama

First Impressions, Q&A and Samples at fuji-x-forum / Review at photobyrichard / Fujifilm X-T1 + Speedmaster 35mm F0.95 II at dc.watch (translation)

Fujifilm X-Pro2

USA: BHphoto / AmazonUS / Adorama / CANADA: AmazonCA / EUROPE: AmazonDE / AmazonUK / WexUK / PCHstore / AmazonITA / AmazonFR / AmazonESP / AUSTRALIA: CameraPro

Fujifilm Fuji X-Pro2 Preview at alessandroiasevoli / Video with the Fujifilm X-Pro2 by Kevin Mullins on youtube / Fujifilm X-Pro2 – Fujifilm finally gets the rangefinder right at hardwarezone / My first outing with a production Fuji X Pro 2 at imaginegnat / X-Pro 2 + XF100-400mm in Dalanzadgad, Mongolia at williamchua /

X-Pro2 Threads from the Fuji-X-Forum :: X-Pro2 initial bug report / Problem with my X Pro2 / Xpro-2 and Leica & Zeiss ZM lenses / X Pro 2 Issue – Shutter Stuck? with Lens 18 – 55 / Acros settings? / Weather Sealing Permanently Compromised? X-Pro1/X-Pro2 Sync Terminal Cap Replacement Problem / Quick format SD card / X-Pro2 DR expansion settings used in RAW? / X-Pro 2 with XF 55-200 issue / X-Pro2 Freezes / 35mm 1.4 Issues on X-Pro 2 / X-Pro2 RAW LR Conversions: Darker than JPEG /

Fujinon XF100-400
USA: BHphoto / AmazonUS / Adorama / CANADA: AmazonCA / EUROPE: AmazonDE / AmazonUK / AmazonITA / AmazonFR / AmazonESP / PCHstore / WexUK / AUSTRALIA: CameraPro

XF100-400 + 1.4 Teleconverter Bundle deal now also at AmazonUK here /  Fuji 100-400mm lens — a hands-on review at aboutphotography-tomgrill /

Other X-series cameras

X-T1 + XF 50-140: Motocross World Championship… Chrisitan was the only Fuji user in a sea of reflex. See his images at instantart

X-T1: Fun, Fun, Fun Fest Highlights: Shamir, Chromeo & Neon Indian at bullettmedia / Fuji X-T1 28 days later at leiaphoto / X-T1: As I walked to my car this morning… at xshooters / X-E2s Review at techradar / Fashion Shoot at Beltcraft with the X-T1 at mikecroshaw / Fujifilm X-E2s Review at ephotozine / London’s City Hall with Fuji X-T1 at androloria / Is the Fuji X-E2 The Best Value X-Mount Camera Available Today? at daveyoungfotografia /

X100/S/T + TCL/WCL

One year (and a bit more) with Fuji X100T. A personal diary using the camera at alessandromichelazzi / X100S in Istanbul at fujilove /

Lenses

X-mount lenses / Teleconverter

XF 90mm Review at engdahlphotography / Portraiture with the Fujinon XF35 F2 and XF90 F2 + A bit of Canon 6D and Sigma 35mm Art Action at caveiraphotography / Fuji film black and white portraiture with the Fujinon 90mm & 35mm – portrait and street Photographer Apeldoorn at glamourkidz / Memories of Summer Sunset, an experiment with Fuji at miksmedia / Real Australia with the FujiFilm X100T and XF90 at caveiraphotography / 90mm review at engdahlphotography / Providence Color with the Fujinon 55-200mm at photo.stjeanm /

other lenses / Adapter / Extension Tubes

Helios 44-2 58/2 at nrviphotos /

Acessories / Flash / Bags

sereneautomation just entered a distribution agreement with OmegaBrandess for his RoboSHOOT TTL Radio based flash trigger for Fuji X cameras. Press Release on Dropbox. More at sereneautomation / $1 DIY FUJI all-weather shooting MOD at Theoria Apophasis youtube / Battery Clip cap now with free shipping at shapeways / launch of Lenspacks – Press Release /

a bit of everything

image courtesy: Markus Klinko

My Fuji X Series In-Camera Settings at thomasfitzgeraldphotography / Fuji X Cameras | JPEG or RAW ? at ricklewisphotography / Thoughts about the successor to Fujifilm’s X-T1 at engdahlphotography / Why I love you so much Fuji in French at capturesdigitales (translation) / The 5th Anniversary Fujifilm Book at ideasandimages / Back to the past design mania: The newest Fujifilm X-Pro 2 and Olympus Pen-F (and all other rangefinder style cameras) at photodanielm /

Fujifilm X-Pro2
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_ _ _

Mirrorlessrumors calls it “the battle of the Giants“. And sure, in the APS-C world, these are the two hottest cameras of the moment: the Fujifilm X-Pro2 and the Sony A6300!

Both cameras seem to winner for the respective brand and sell like hot cakes at AmazonUS. But which one performs better in terms of Sharpness (both cameras sport a 24MP sensor)?

Cameralabs compared the X-Pro2 with the (currently discounted) XF10-24mmF4 and the A6300 with the Zeiss 16-70mmF4 zoom. They say that “both lenses used are high quality and shouldn’t limit the sensor in each camera.”

The difference is overall quite noticable. Camerlabs mentions 3 reasons for the better results of the X-Pro2 (except the last crop, the Palm): 1) X-Trans 2) Lens Quality 3) Internal Processing. Here an excerpt:

“The Fuji architecture [X-Trans] allows it to deliver typically crisper results than most rivals, especially when coupled with a quality lens like the XF 10-24mm. This is most obvious in the first two rows where the Sony crops look comparatively soft in comparison. I’d say some of this is due to differences in optics towards the edges of the frame – where the Fuji lens is clearly performing better – but also in terms of the sharpness delivered by the Fuji sensor and its subsequent processing.”

As you judge the remaining crops towards the centre of the frame where the optics perform more similarly, there’s roughly the same degree of detail recorded by all three models. Certainly the Fuji sensor and processing are delivering a crisper-looking result using the default settings, but I wouldn’t say there’s more detail in there – it’s more that Fuji’s in-camera processing is doing a better job at delivering a crisper result, if of course that’s what you want. I reckon you could get a similar result from all three if you adjusted their in-camera JPEG settings or processed a RAW file with similar parameters.”

It’s really true when they say: “We buy cameras, but we invest in good glass“. As for many of you, the Fujinon Glass always was for me the main reason to stick with the X-series.

X-Pro2 IN STOCK at BHphoto and Adorama

HUGE Fuji US-X Sale now also at BHphoto & Adorama (save up to $400)

In the meantime, I’ve finally had my first 30 minutes flirt with the X-Pro2… that little thing is pretty damn hot!

X-Pro2 + 35mmF2 now $100 off – More here

Fujifilm X-Pro2
USA: BHphoto / AmazonUS / Adorama / CANADA: AmazonCA / EUROPE: AmazonDE / AmazonUK / WexUK / PCHstore / AmazonITA / AmazonFR / AmazonESP / AUSTRALIA: CameraPro

The Fujifilm X-Pro2 is shipping, and I guess many X-shooters will know exactly what to do this weekend: shoot, shoot and shoot!

One of the aspects you can now finally test by your own, is if the X-Pro2 AF-speed is really better than on the X-T1. From the first feedback I’d say definitely yes. And it’s not only about the wider Phase detection pixel area. Also Contrast Detection AF (CDAF) has been improved, which is very important, since in low light the Phase Detection pixels do now work well. So it is of crucial importance to improve CDAF, and fujifilm-x explains how Fuji achieved this improvement:

“In order to enhance the contrast AF performance of X-Pro2, the system as a whole has been looked over.

First is the X-Trans CMOS III sensor. To read the contrast, it drives at the speed of 384fps. This is double the speed of the X-Trans CMOS II, 4 times faster than the original X-Trans CMOS. And the readout signal are processed, in a timely manner, by the X Processor Pro.

Next are the lenses. In order to work with the readout and the processed signals, the microcomputer of the lenses need to be updated. 

The physical parts (optical design and mechanical design) also need to be compatible with the fast readout that are driven from the microcomputer. In essence, the fast and accurate focus lens unit and actuator are required. With all this in place, fast contrast AF is realized. 

Unfortunately, there are only 5 XF lenses that can receive the benefit of the fast contrast AF: XF16-55mm, XF50-140mm, XF90mm, XF35mmF2, and the XF100-400mm.“

And here is the AF-improvement, measured according to CIPA standards:

More X-Pro2 Reviews

Becoming Lawless with the X-Pro2 at olafphotoblog / Test at dc.watch (translation) / X-T1 or X-Pro2 at the Spanish site quesabesde (translation) / Arcos Samples X-Pro2 at ipernity / X-Pro2: the Game Changer at ehnamour / The Perfect Combo: Fujfilm X-Pro 2 and XF35mmF2 WR at fujilove / Why should you buy the new X-PRO2? at robvisualfuji / The Fuji X-Pro 2 Feels Like Home at digitalrev / X-Pro2 test in Spanish at natan (translation) / Unboxing and First Impressions at Nils Pickert youtube

Fujifilm X-Pro2
USA: BHphoto / AmazonUS / Adorama / CANADA: AmazonCA / EUROPE: AmazonDE / AmazonUK / WexUK / PCHstore / AmazonITA / AmazonFR / AmazonESP / AUSTRALIA: CameraPro

_ _ _

Recently TheCameraStoreTV said in their X-Pro2 review, that Fuji’s new flagship is just not really better than the X-T1 in terms AF-speed (more in terms of AF-handling – Joystick/More AF-Points)

Once again they proof not to be afraid to say what they think… and that’s great we have guys like them out there.

And yet, what TheCameraStoreTV said, doesn’t quite fit with what we could read so far on the web. I’m not saying somebody is wrong. I just notice that there is an inconsistency regarding the AF-speed comments of reviewers so far. So I’ll still wait before making any final conclusions.

In the meantime, here is some new feedback:

AUTOFOCUS

We have already seen, how lab tests of lesnumerique (extremely popular French site) show that in Low Light the AF of the X-Pro2 beats any other mirroless camera. And focus-numerique says it also outperforms some DSLRs! Also Cruz.ae says: “the Fuji X-T1 post firmware 4.0 is already quite fast and reliable, but the X-Pro2 takes it to another level, specially in low ligh“.

And what about AF-C? macleancomms tested it at a Rally in the forest: low light, bad weather and fast cars… can the X-Pro2 deal with it (with 90mm, 50-140 and 100-400)? Here some excerpts:

“I used the 50-140mm f2.8 and with the camera set manually to 1/500 @ f2.8 ISO1600 I took a set of images as the first car came towards me in along the forest track. The X-Pro2 followed the car perfectly, producing a set of eight images all perfectly sharp.

I decided to switch to the XF100-400mm and set the X-Pro2 to 1/250s @ f4.7 ISO2000 with the focal length at 125mm. The results were pretty impressive considering the very poor lighting conditions, the camera only losing the lock on one of the nine shots taken in the sequence.

The X-Pro2 produced some great images in some very challenging light and weather conditions. I ran the X-T1 alongside the X-Pro2 and I have to report that the AF on the X-Pro2 did a better job of following the cars.“

Another one who tested the AF of the X-Pro2 with the XF100-400 is Simone Raso (youtube). He’s one of those photographer that you always see standing on the border of the soccer fields.

This time he took his X-Pro2 and XF100-400 to the game Real Madrid Vs. Rome. Will the X-Pro2 be able to track and focus on the fast and unpredictable movements of superstar Cristiano Ronaldo?

Apparently yes, since Simone Raso says at the end that “at this point, it doesn’t make sense anymore to lug around 10 kg of gear… and I say this without any fear that somebody can contraddict me. You’ll see all the pictures, and judge by yourself.” He worked often at high ISO since he never used a shutter speed slower than 1/500 and the XF100-400 is F5.6 at the long end, “but the X-Pro2 allows me to shoot at ISO 6400, since the files look good… no problems.”

Simone Raso’s video is in Italian and can be seen here on youtube (enjoy the live google translation tool).

Honestly, I can’t think of the X-Pro2 (or any mirrorless camera) being ready to replace a High End DSLR for sports… but apparently there are some guys out there, who are already using it for such a purpose.

Fujifilm X-Pro2
USA: BHphoto / AmazonUS / Adorama / CANADA: AmazonCA / EUROPE: AmazonDE / AmazonUK / WexUK / PCHstore / AmazonITA / AmazonFR / AmazonESP / AUSTRALIA: CameraPro

10 Reasons Why the Fujifilm X-Pro2 Surprised me… and Why the ACROS Film Simulation will (sadly) never go to X-T1 (& Co)

Fujifilm X-Pro2
USA: BHphoto / AmazonUS / Adorama / CANADA: AmazonCA / EUROPE: AmazonDE / AmazonUK / WexUK / PCHstore / AmazonITA / AmazonFR / AmazonESP / AUSTRALIA: CameraPro

MUST READ: X-Pert Corner X-Pro2 First Look

Fujifilm XPRO2 Review – The Reality at bokeh-monster / Top 10 questions about the X-Pro2 at olafphotoblog / Review at photoreview / Climbing Slieve Donard with the Fujifilm X-Pro2 at flixelpix / X-Pro2 does 1978 at kagecollective / Vancouver Moments with the ACROS film simulation at olafphotoblog / X-Pro2 – Vintage’d at jonasraskphotography / Fuji X-Pro2 review at techradar / Fuji X-Pro2 Review Part Three: Vancouver Cityscapes, Long Exposures, and Street Photography at ianmacdonaldphotography / Fujifilm X-pro2 in Slovenia , Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina at williamchua / Magnum photographer Alec Soth has been using a X-Pro2 – instagram /

Fujifilm X70
USA: BHphoto / AmazonUS / Adorama / CANADA: AmazonCA / EUROPE: AmazonDE / AmazonUK / AmazonITA / AmazonFR / AmazonESP / PCHstore / WexUK / AUSTRALIA: CameraPro

MUST READ: X-Pert Corner X70 First Look

Fujifilm X-E2S – Hands-on Preview by Cameta Camera youtube / Exploring Austin, Texas with the Fujifilm X70 at Precision Camera & Video youtube / Review at photographyblog / Touching The Touch Screen Gestures on Fujifilm X70 at Yuxian Lin youtube / Fuji X70 First Shots: See how the little brother to the X100T stacks up in our test lab at imaging-resource / impressions and thoughts after a week of use at keegansreviews youtube /

HUGE FUJI US-X SALE
X-SERIES CAMERAS

X-T1 + 18-135 (save $300): BHphoto / AmazonUS /  Adorama
X-T1 + 18-55 (save $300) BHphoto / AmazonUS / Adorama
X-T1 Black Body (save $300): BHphoto / AmazonUS / Adorama
X-T1 Graphite (save $300): BHphoto / AmazonUS / Adorama

X-T10 body (save $150): BHphoto / AmazonUS / Adorama
X-T10 + XF 18-55 (save $150): BHphoto / AmazonUS / Adorama
X-T10 + XC 16-50 (save $150): BHphoto / AmazonUS / Adorama
X-T10 + XC16-50 + XC50-230 (save $350): BHphoto / AmazonUS / Adorama

X-T10 + 35mmF2 (save $250): BHphoto / AmazonUS / Adorama
X-T10 + 35mmF2 + 18-55 (save $250): BHphoto / AmazonUS / Adorama
X-T10 + 35mmF2 + 16-50 (save $250): BHphoto / AmazonUS / Adorama

X100T (save $200):  BHphoto / AmazonUS / Adorama / Pictureline

X30 (save $100): BHphoto / AmazonUS / Adorama / Pictureline

XF LENSES

XF 56mm APD (save $400): BHphoto / AmazonUS / Adorama

XF 90mmF2 WR (save $200): BHphoto / AmazonUS / Adorama
XF 10-24mm (save $200): BHphoto / AmazonUS / Adorama
XF 16mmF1.4 WR (save $200): BHphoto / AmazonUS / Adorama
XF 23mm (save $200): BHphoto / AmazonUS / Adorama
XF 56mm (save $200): BHphoto / AmazonUS / Adorama
XF 50-140mmF2.8 WR (save $200): BHphoto / AmazonUS / Adorama
XF 18-135mm (save $200): BHphoto / AmazonUS / Adorama
XF 60mm (save $200): BHphoto / AmazonUS / Adorama
XF 14mm (save $200): BHphoto / AmazonUS / Adorama
XF 18-55mm (save $200): BHphoto / AmazonUS / Adorama
XF 16-55mmF2.8 WR (save $200): BHphoto / AmazonUS / Adorama

XF 18mm (save $100): BHphoto / AmazonUS / Adorama
XF 27mm (save $100): BHphoto / AmazonUS / Adorama
XF 35mmF1.4 (save $100):  BHphoto / AmazonUS /Adorama

XF100-400 + 1.4x TC (save $350): BHphoto / AmazonUS / Adorama
XF50-140 + 1.4x TC (save $350): BHphoto / AmazonUS /