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Battles: X100S vs Nikon Coolpix A + X-E1 vs OM-D vs GH3

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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:

Should Fujifilm postpone the XF120mm launch and release the XF23mmF2 WR first?

View Results

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 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

X100s + X20 test shots

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.

Updated X-Photographers websites (with X100s and X20 samples)

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 (blacksilver) / BHphoto (blacksilver) / Adorama (blacksilver) / AmazonUK (blacksilver) / ebayITA /  / AmazonDE / AmazonITA /

X100s full size samples and X20 manual

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The users manual for X20 can be download from fujifilm.eu at this link here. (thanks Leo)

… the X100s manual is available here.

And for the X100s JPEG sample shots go to Fuji’s webiste here!

X100s: AmazonUS / BHphoto / Adorama / AmazonUK / AmazonDE /

X20: AmazonUS (blacksilver) / BHphoto (blacksilver) / Adorama (blacksilver) / AmazonUK (blacksilver) / ebayITA /  / AmazonDE / AmazonITA /

X100s sample shot at Fuji’s website

Fujifilm Used Gear Holiday Savings at BHphoto

BHphoto has some nice savings on used Fujifilm (related) gear. Some ar marked as “used holiday savings“. I’m not entirely sure what that label specifically means, but I guess it likely indicates a limited-time discount available during the holiday period.

These are just some of the used offers. The full list can be checked out here.  There are also the Holiday 2025 Head Start deals running.

X Lenses

X Cameras

GFX Gear

Firmware Update Breaks Camera and Photographer Gets Asked $700 for a Fix… and a Fujifilm Bug Reports Article

The Flawed Firmware

A firmware update was released, and after some users installed it, they noticed the firmware was flawed and the camera is now buggy. So far, nothing new. This just happens.

But when one of these photographers contacted customer service, the representatives acknowledged that the issue could have been potentially caused by the firmware update. Despite this, they are asking customers to send in their cameras for repairs, which will cost (at least) $700.

That’s a shame and should not happen.

And luckily it does not happen to Fujifilm shooters, because this is what happened to a Sony shooter, whose Sony FX3 got apparently broken by firmware 5.00 (see video below).

The video made by Camera Nerds Media runs you through this unreal experience (including recorded calls with customer service).

Camera Nerds Media also went on various Sony forums and he saw that many other FX3 users got the same issue with firmware 5.00. He ends up saying:

I don’t think users should be responsible for faulty firmware updates. That is crazy. […] Now my camera does not work and I lost lots of functionality and I am required to pay for that.

[…]

I posted about this on a bunch of Sony Forums, and the overall theme is that nobody updates the firmware on their Sony cameras because it is historically unreliable and a lot of problems can happen”

To be clear: Camera Nerds Media is a Sony shooter and not a secret agent paid by Fujifilm or Canon or whoever to trashtalk Sony.

Sh*t Happens

Why this intro?

Well, it’s simple: we are used to look at our own garden (the Fujifilm world) and we rightfully moan when something goes wrong there.

For example when a firmware in April made Autofocus worst. Of course we did report about it on FujiRumors and said this is very annoying and Fujifilm released a bug fix firmware in June which certainly vastly improves things, but still is not on par with the situation before the faulty firmware as we reported here.

But here is the thing: we are so focused on our own world, that we don’t see what’s going on elsewhere.

The Sony issue we reported about today is just one of many. I saw posts with freezes on Sony camera and users have to remove the battery to make the camera work again.

The Canon R series “Err. 70 unable to shoot” freeze and lock-up issue is apparently so popular that it even got its own meme.

So yes, it’s good to moan, when something goes wrong in the Fujifilm world. But we should be at least aware that modern cameras are high tech computers with lots of complicated coding inside, and that every brand stumbles on that. That’s just normal.

What really matters is how brands react to those issues.

Fujifilm releases free firmware updates to fix errors, whereas in the story we shared today, we can see that this is not always the case with Sony cameras.

Fujifilm Bug Reports

But let’s go back to our little Fujifilm garden.

When I posted the article about a rare bug that drives me nuts, other fellow Fujifilm X shooters wrote me with their own bug reports.

And because I pay full price for my gear and have no connections to Fujifilm, I can freely report about those bugs here on FujiRumors, in the hope Fujifilm Japan will read this (they will), and possibly even release a fix in the near future (of course for free ;) ).

If you have your own bugs to report about, feel free to drop it in the comments.

by Michele – The Cause of the Freeze

I have the GFX 100S II and it happened to me it froze too a couple of times in the past month and yesterday I found when it happens:

Using the camera in portrait mode, but turning it 90 clockwise, not counter clockwise (as natural it is)

I know it happened in other models like the GFX 100 II, do you know if that bug has been resolved?

UPDATE: I took the camera to the store where I bought it and the seller said he would contact the Fuji rep about that. Then he sent the camera to be repaired. It Looks like there is an electronic problem, that is what he said to me a few days later. Hopefully the camera will be back soon.

by Cipulot – The Disappearing Indicators

I am sharing with you a pretty interesting thing that is happening with my X100VI with the latest 1.11 fw.

In particular, out of nowhere, in the OVF mode, the indicators stopped being shown even if I had them selected in the settings (video below).

Funnily enough, though, if I enable large indicators, they still do not show up, but if I half-press the shutter, they pop up and then go away as soon as I take a shot/release it.

I tried disabling them, re-enabling, power cycle, and even removing the battery, but the issue persists.

I forgot to mention that even when pressing the DISP BACK button multiple times, the issue persists, even tho that should fix it usually.

UPDATE: As a last effort I reinitialized the camera and it went back to working order. [if you encounter this issue too, reset your camera]

by Alan – the Silent Focus Priority Override in AF-MF

Your July 10, 2024 post entitled “This (Rare) Fujifilm Bug Drives Me Nuts…” got me thinking about the one Fujifilm bug that most bothers me. Actually, mine is more than a bug… because mine interacts with a known Fujifilm autofocus issue that can produce more out-of-focus images than expected. Combined, the bug and issue have the potential to badly effect the AF experience of users and, I expect, reviewers.

The Bug: With AF+MF* enabled, the camera will, without warning, override FOCUS/RELEASE PRIORITY** if it has been set to FOCUS.

Always, the camera will tacitly be in RELEASE mode if AF+MF* is enabled (Fujifilm acknowledges this, see attached screen shot from page 158 of the Fujifilm X-T5 Owner’s Manual).

Potential Bug Remedy: At the very least, Fuji should grey-out the RELEASE/FOCUS PRIORITY menu option when AF+MF is enabled.

The Issue and its Importance: The potential advantage of AF+MF* is paradoxically counterbalanced by the potential disadvantage of RELEASE PRIORITY**.

Fujifilm’s competitors allow their users to manually fine tune autofocus (with focus aids such as peaking and magnification), while maintaining control of when the shutter will release in AF-C or AF-S modes (ie, with or without autofocus confirmation/acquisition).

For example, if AF-C loses a bird amongst leaves, manual override will be necessary to regain focus. The rest of the time, when manual override isn’t necessary, the camera should be allowed to acquire focus before releasing shutter, should the user so desire.

Please feel free to post my note on FujiRumors if you think that it would be of interest.

* XT-5: MENU > AF/MF SETTINGS > AF+MF = “OFF
** XT-5: MENU > AF/MF SETTINGS > RELEASE/FOCUS PRIORITY

Not Only Amazon Prime: BHphoto and Adorama Strike Back with Their Own Huge 2 Days Only Deals

Beyond Amazon Prime

Amazon Prime Deals are now running.

But BHphoto and Adorama decided to strike back and offer their own 2 day only deals.

So let’s run over the best deals on each store, starting with Amazon.

Best Amazon Prime Deals

FUJIFILM Related Amazon USA / CA / EUROPE Deals

HUGE ADOBE DEAL at Amazon USA / CA / EUROPE

Instax Deals at Amazon USA

More Amazon USA Prime Deals You Should Not Miss

Amazon Prime General Deal Pages

Best BHphoto Deals

Top Selling Product on FR of 2023 Now Rebated 

BHphoto Fujifilm Related Deals

BHphoto Apple Deals & Related to Apple

BHphoto Mixed Deals

BHphoto Storage Media Deals

Best Adorama Deals

Selected Adorama Deals

Amazon Prime Deal Pages

Which Fujinon GF lens do You Want Next?

All deals end January 8

I Solemnly Promised Myself… (and Failed)

** CLICK HERE to Read the Rest of the Article **

New Year, Old Deals and One Week Left to Resist to GAS

Fujifilm X-T5 in Stock Check

Fujifilm X-T5
→ 
USA
: BHphoto / AmazonUS / Adorama
→ Worldwide: AmazonCA / Amazon of Your Country
UKAmazonUKWexUK / ParkCameraUK
→ EU:AmazonDE / AmazonIT / AmazonFR / AmazonES  / CalumetDE / FotoErhardt / Fotokoch / PCHstore

Official Fujifilm X and GFX Deals
WorldWide Editioin

The deals run for one more week. Stay strong and keep up resisting to GAS. But if you fail to resist, then to the best out of it and enjoy shooting with your new gear ;)

USA DEALS

CANADIAN DEALS

EUROPE

Save Big on Tamron 18-300mmF3.5-6.3 and Tamron 150-500mmF5-6.7 for Fujifilm X Mount

It’s time also for Tamron to drop some holiday savings on their Fujifilm X Mount lenses.

First to mention is a $100 rebate on the Tamron 18-300 f/3.5-6.3. You can get it now for $599 instead of $699.

Another deal is on the Tamron 150-500mmF5-6.7 at AmazonUS here, but that one is available only at Amazon for now and only via US retailer Beach Camera located in Edison New Jersey. They sell it for $1,199 here and the regular price at B&H and Adorama is of $1,499. But again, I don’t know that particular retailer. All I can say is that at the moment their rating is 95% positive on Amazon.

Fujifilm X and GFX Deals

USA DEALS

CANADIAN DEALS

** CLICK HERE to Read the Rest of the Article **