Dez
04
Jean-François: Now that I have been using the Fuji X-Pro 1 for 6 months, I’m jotting down my conclusions. I’m really fond of the philosophy that this camera carries, and even more so of the picture quality that can rival that of my previous Canon 5D Mk II DSLR!
Voici maintenant près de 6 mois que j’ai fait le grand saut: fini le Canon 5D Mk II, place au Fuji X-Pro 1 pour lequel j’ai eu “le coup de foudre”, à tel point que je l’ai acheté avant même de l’avoir testé – cf “Le grand switch”. Après 5 ans de « full frame », ai-je des regrets d’être repassé sur un capteur plus petit? J’ai longtemps hésité avant de faire mon compte-rendu du Fuji X-Pro 1 (même si j’ai publié un premier test en septembre chez nos amis de Focus Numérique). Non pas que j’en sois déçu – bien au contraire! – ni que sa prise en main soit compliquée – là encore bien au contraire! Simplement, alors que les articles élogieux pleuvaient, que d’autres se lamentaient de certaines limitations, j’ai pris plaisir de mon côté à voyager avec ce boîtier… tout simplement!
Google Translater (ENG):
http://bit.ly/TENJy3
See on www.digitlife.fr
Dez
03
The XPro-1 has not failed to amaze me every time I pick up the camera. From unbelievable low light capability to those gorgeous Fuji colors straight out of the camera, I simply couldn’t recommend any other small camera system till date. So when Fuji generously gave me the 60mm Macro to test, I prepared myself to get wowed once more.. Full disclosure, Fujifilm isn’t paying me a dime (or fils) to put these words down about their products. I’ve paid the (ridiculously high in this region) price out of my own pocket. Even after my beloved X100 was stolen. Thats testament to one fact. I’m a believer in Fuji and love a great comeback. Its true that Fujifilm Middle East has featured me a couple of times on their social media but thats been with no strings attached. So with that out of the way, I’m going to give you my two cents on the only XF lens I didn’t buy along with my camera during its initial launch. Why you ask ? Why didn’t I just complete the set and get all three ?
….
Absolutely…. I’m going to get this lens. The optical quality to me is stunning. It makes my small bag of the body plus three lenses a complete work-horse kit for when I shoot cars, the streets or absolutely anything else. My D800 only comes out once in a while these days and I’m pretty sure this is going to be great for portraiture as well – (awaiting my next willing subject to explore that genre). Fuji have made sure they keep the trend of improving their existing products with each successive firmware update and I’m yet to see them neglect any of the bugs reported either directly or through any from of media. If you’re considering the X-Series and want to get in close, make sure that this is on your shopping list. I know its on mine.
See full review on bdonphoto.com
Dez
02
Courtesy to Gulf Photo Plus (GPP) in Dubai, I got to take the FujiFilm X-1 PRO for a three day test run earlier this week…
They give the camera on loan, for a nominal fee of 150AED. A no brainer if you are on the fence of buying, especially since they provide a full refund if buying a unit through them! I’ve been on the lookout for a lighter travel/street photography camera for the last 12 months. It was the renown Atlanta based photographer Zach Arias which I first heard talking about this camera at a GPP event earlier this year. The post is by no means a full camera review but rather a collection of some thoughts are having used the camera over a three day period. I suggest you check out the dpreview X-1 PRO review for a full multi page review.
Even though the size of this camera compared to a full frame body like my Nikon D800, is relatively small; it is by no means an ordinary point a shoot! The X-1Pro is a mirror-less camera with interchangeable lenses, that has a large size APS-C CMOS sensor. I got to test all three prime Fuji lenses, 18mm f2, 35mm f1.4 and the 60mm 2.4 Macro/Portrait lens. This allows for a real shallow, DSLR like, depth of field like in the image above! If properly exposed it shows no signs of noise up to ISO1600 and with just a tiny bit of noise reduction images up to ISO6400 are more than useable! Because the camera is that much smaller, one can almost be invisible like in the images above shot at the Dubai Fishmarket and in the Dubai Metro. Most of the images have all been shot in the RAW format. Even though Lightroom does not have the different camera profiles like what is available for the Nikon and Canon DSLR’s the RAW image quality and colour accuracy is extremely good! What surprised me even more is the quality of the in-camera jpeg rendering. Especially the Black and White Film simulation modes… Fuji is known for its Black and White Film and this clearly shows in this digital camera! Even though the auto-focusing is a bit slower than most DSLR’s, it is more than adequate and once focus is achieved, it is right on!
Conclusion:
Will I be buying this camera? No, but I do have a the newer FujiFilm X-E1 with the 18-55 f2.8/f4 zoom lens on order. This camera has exactly the same sensor as the X-1Pro and is even a bit smaller and lighter, due to the lack of the Optical viewfinder (OVF). By the way, on the X-1Pro, I did hardly use the OVF and really like how the Electronic Viewfinder (EVF) works. Will it replace my full frame Nikon D800? No of course not. For the moment there is clearly room for both. The X-E1 will go on my travels whenever I need to go light. I do however believe that the D800 might be the last DSLR body I bought. The future of the mirror-less is surely exciting and I sincerely believe they will eventually replace most if not all DSLR bodies.
More images from the three days can be found here.
See full review and pictures on bjornmoerman.blogspot.fr
Dez
01
The camera is easy to hold and feels good in the hand. It has a good weight, without feeling too heavy but does feel solid and well made. The controls were fairly easy to figure out and after a couple of hours I was pretty much familiar with the controls and their functions. I’ve never used Fuji before so I had no previous experience to help/hinder me. the buttons and dials all feel positive and are well placed, they just “feel” like they are in the right place…after only a few minutes, it felt natural, as if I had been using one for ages…this has got to be good, right? Around 60% of my business is weddings and I could easily use this camera for a whole day and not end up with a sore back as I usually do! Another big benefit is that fact that it doesn’t scream “pro camera!” It’s size and styling make it less obtrusive and obvious and people really don’t take much notice of it. We often do pre wedding shoots, and shots on a wedding day, in public places, and big cameras usually mean some attention from the public. The X-Pro 1 doesn’t have this issue, even the people I photographed, friends and family, felt is was easier and more comfortable for them, and they are used to me and my cameras! You’ll see from some of the images that I went to a cafe bar with my little boy (who is a legend by the way and really puts up with my constantly taking photos of him!). It was really quite dark, I’ll come to ISO performance later… the issue was that it was really busy, with people on the tables all around us and I was taking lots of shots. I can’t remember a single person even taking any notice of me and the little camera. Not sure this would have been the case f I has been using my D800 and 24-70 2.8! My point is this: we specialise in documentary wedding photography, and at a wedding, I think this camera will allow us to get closer to people and capture images without the intrusion a pro DSLR camera/lens combo can often bring. This means more natural images and a less obvious presence of the photographer, this is good!…..
See full review on ianmacmichaelphotography.blogspot.de
Nov
30
Wrestling with whether to keep one expensive camera or buy a different one doesn’t rate on the scale of real problems, but I’ve been torn recently about whether or not to keep my Fuji X-Pro1. I’ve finally decided to sell it, and here’s why. The bottom line is that I just don’t like using it very much. The autofocus is frustratingly unpredictable, even with the latest firmware updates, and to me the camera feels unresponsive and a bit of a struggle. It’s a testament to the quality of the Fuji X-Pro1 that it’s been a hard choice, and it’s a testament to its quirks and frustrations that it had to go. The image quality it delivers when everything clicks is undeniable, but if you don’t enjoy using the camera and feel you’re missing shots, then even capturing great ones some of the time doesn’t help much in the end. I appreciate its retro design, the simplicity of its layout and the lack of extra bells and whistles, but I draw the line at dodgy focusing and an all-round laggy feeling. It came to a head in a well-lit cafe in Taos with my daughter. She was sitting across the table from me and had her back to a window about ten feet behind her. I lifted the camera to photograph her, and I got the red box of uncertainty as I tried to focus. I moved focus slightly, got it again, and then I tried an area of greater contrast, and then the lens went back and forth a couple of times, before it finally focussed for me. But by that time, whatever fleeting expression I’d wanted to capture had gone, and I didn’t want to take the photograph any more. I wanted to throw the camera on the floor. This wasn’t an isolated incident, either. If you find yourself talking to your camera with a slightly incredulous “Oh, come on. Really?” tone to your voice, then things aren’t going well. Online you can compare specs and sample files till the cows come home, but it’s very hard to get a sense of how a particular camera handles for you. Even people who shoot similar subjects to you might do so in a slightly different way, or be more proficient at certain techniques, or not even notice some things that will annoy you immensely. I rented the X-Pro1 before I bought it, and its clear strengths are beguiling. To the point where I enthusiastically overlooked some of its weaknesses. Just walking around taking photographs of things, this camera performs brilliantly, and looks great doing it. But walking around taking photos is only a small part of what I need a camera to be good at. When I photograph events, editorial projects, or children, I need the autofocus to be fast and reliable. I knew this, and hoped the X-Pro1 would work like that for me. It doesn’t – at least, it doesn’t do that enough of the time for me. At a couple of the events I’ve shot where I used it in addition to my DSLR, there were several times when the folks I’d asked to photograph had to stand there for an extra long time as their natural smiles turned forced while I waited for the X-Pro1 to sort itself out. Which isn’t to say that others can’t and won’t do great work with this camera – Kevin Mulllins is doing excellent documentary wedding work with it, for example. But if it’s not working for me in those circumstances, and I can’t trust it to deliver if people are paying me, then it had better be a fun walk around camera for the amount it costs. Which again, for me, it wasn’t, because of the way that I like to walk around. When I shoot casually at home – family shots of whatever we’re up to – I’m after passing moments when my daughter’s looking a particular way, or reacting to something’s that’s just been said (I’m not going to pose her and ask her to hold still). Some of the time I can be deliberate and patient: set things up and wait for the moment – which works with this camera – but some of the time I can’t, and I’ve missed that shot forever. (It’s worth pointing out of course, that you can be deliberate and patient with a faster camera if you want to, but you can’t be fast with a slower camera.)……
See more on www.clearingthevision.com
Nov
28
The one dreaded question asked by anyone who is new into photography is: “Canon or Nikon?”. It’s a difficult question because in this day and age, it really has little to do with the camera brand any more. Heck, many of the amazing photographs we see these days come from various phones running Instagram. Even Time Magazine used one for the cover photo as well as to document Hurricane Sandy….
It really is how one uses the camera.
The first thing you’d notice about the camera is how beautiful it is Really. It’s a work of art. And not only does it look good, but it feels good in the hand; it feels solid, yet fragile all at once. The exposure and shutter speed dials on the top of the body are firm; you won’t be accidentally changing settings. More importantly, they’re easy to reach without having to look at the camera, though of course it’s a matter of habit from one camera to another. Most of my shooting was done through the old firmware, and I only got to test out v2.0 of the firmware on the last day. That said, the autofocus, while “slow”, wasn’t really as terribly slow as people complain about. Again, it depends on what photography you’re doing. Most of my testing consisted of portraits or inanimate scenery. My primary camera is a Canon 5D MKII, so probably that’s why I don’t see the X-Pro1 as particularly slow in focusing. There were plenty of bells and whistles hidden in the menus. Panorama shots. Some bits and pieces of colour options and picture options and dynamic range options and the sort. The panorama mode was decent, though quite frankly the Fujifilm X10 performed better here. Not that the resolution isn’t good; it was a matter of the X-Pro not keeping up with my motion. So I’d be panning and after doing a 180 and stopping I could still hear the camera snapping and trying to keep up on the LCD panel at the back. Anyway, there are plenty of settings to mull over, but shooting in a RAW file renders most of them pretty useless anyway. And what a RAW file it produces.
Beautiful.
See more on photo.jarofjuice.com
Nov
27
I’ve been wanting to do a head to head comparison of these cameras for several weeks. I was hired to do some portraits on Thanksgiving, so it was a good chance to see how they stacked up. Before you look too critically, these will be finished in Lightroom, yada, yada. I am not excited about showing you unfinished files, but I’m trying to be as subjective as possible. By doing it this way you can see what I actually got from the camera and now have to work with.First of all, these are pretty much out of the camera. I did a very slight exposure adjustment to each of them, just to try and get them as close as possible. Nothing more was done. Aside from the obvious saturation differences, I think they are pretty close.
Here are a few things to consider:
- I’ve owned my Nikon for almost two years, and I have had time to tweak the internal color settings to be the best they can be, according to my preferences. As you know, I am not a big post processor, if it can’t be done in Nik and Imagenomic, I am out of luck.
- That said, I am very optimistic that given the opportunity to tweak the X Pro 1 I will be able to get just as close, possibly closer. My favorite skin tones from any digital camera I’ve ever owned were from a Fuji S2. What if I can get it close to that look? If so, and with the savings in weight, I am “all in!”
- Some call the Fuji “pricey” but there is a $300.00 instant rebate on the body when bought with a lens. That makes it not quite so bad in my opinion.I will reduce the amount of weight I carry considerably. I will also reduce the amount of money I have invested in my current system.
- The decision to switch is not a Nikon vs Fuji vs Canon vs whatever. It is about what makes the most sense for ME and me alone. Just like you, I have to buy my cameras, no free gear for me. So I want the most bang for the buck.
- Last step I need to do in my opinion is a studio comparison. That would allow a totally controlled situation, doing custom white balance with non-fluctuating exposure variables. But what I see up to this point I am super stoked about the possibilities this camera system has to offer!
See on nickcoury.com
Nov
17
Premessa. Ormai ci siamo lasciati alle spalle il Photokina anche se il tam tam mediatico, pilotato ad arte, aveva già svelato tutto le novità con largo anticipo. Paradossalmente l’anticipare così tanto l’annuncio dei prodotti fotografici fa sembrare gli stessi già vecchi e superati al momento della presentazione ufficiale e roba da archeologia industriale impolverata al momento dell’immissione sul mercato. Così il Photokina non è stata l’illustrazione degli sforzi prodotti dalle varie case produttrici ma l’inizio del nuovo chiacchiericcio sulle future alchimie tecnologiche che verranno durante il prossimo futuro. E allora? E allora io arrivo per ultimo…come sempre. Come sempre perché questo ritmo accelerato con il quale si parla di quello che dovrà avvenire, fa andare tutti di fretta. Una fretta che non va d’accordo con l’analisi di uno mezzo destinato alla fotografia… o almeno… non va d’accordo se l’analisi vuole essere realmente approfondita… comparativa e obiettiva. Quando leggerete queste righe sospese nella rete, probabilmente sarà già vecchia la nuova CSC Fujifilm X-E1… vecchia, ma ancora lungi dall’essere commercializzata ovviamente. E la XPro1? Non lo so… per molti è un oggetto ormai svelato da tempo immemore… per me un piccolo universo così ricco che mi costringe a riscrivere interi capitoli della mia analisi ogni giorno… in ogni momento che scopro qualcosa di nuovo in questo piccolo cristallo pieno di sfaccettature. Ma andiamo con ordine. Come ho più volte scritto il feeling tra me e le CSC (Compact System Camera) non era mai scattato. Vuoi per i sensori che per dimensioni non consentono né di avere la resa degli obiettivi dei formati maggiori, né la miniaturizzazione delle ottiche delle compatte. Vuoi perché se il sensore è di generose dimensioni il corredo ottiche è scadente…deludente e inappropriato. Vuoi perché una volta manca il mirino, vuoi perché una volta i corpi sono troppo grandi, vuoi perché una volta sono troppo piccoli ma io non le ho mai digerite…..
Nov
10
My first serious camera was a Russian made Zenith EM in the late 1970′s. It was a joy to use, completely manual in operation, delightfully tactile and it did what it said on the tin. Now, over 30 years later, using high-end Fuji Compact System Cameras (CSCs) has re-ignited a passion. Over the last 2 years, when not shooting fine-art landscapes I’ve enjoyed the occasional dalliance with street photography using the Fuji X100. This is a wonderful camera to use, a superb ‘carry around’, and the fixed focal length lens is ideally suited to street photography. Far from feeling restricted by having a fixed focal length lens, it is unexpectedly liberating to be forced into using a set focal length. For an old-hand like me who spent years wet-processing and working exclusively in black & white, the X100 is an epiphany. How refreshing to use a camera with manual selection of shutter speed and aperture using traditional dials, rather than having to suffer the modern distraction of interfacing with electronics. Of course, under the bonnet, there are all the advantages of modern electronics and digital alchemy; it’s just nicely hidden for most of the time. Couple this fantastic experience of image gathering with state of the art creative black & white processing algorithms found in Nik’s Silver Efex Pro, and you have a winner. Miles of enjoyment walking the streets, black & white creative heaven. Despite the life-changing qualities of the X100 for street-photography (it’s quite possibly still the finest street-photography camera available bar none), for other genres there are obvious advantages in having interchangeable lenses. When I first held a Fuji X-Pro1 I was smitten. This was a camera that surpassed the already amazing X100 in specification, with the important addition of interchangeable lenses. The X-Pro1 has an improved APS-C sized X-Trans sensor that mimics the structure of silver halide film and lacks an anti-alias filter to provide the sharpest possible results. Fuji have kept the hybrid viewfinder that allows switching between the more traditional optical or electronic function, similar to that found on the X100….
See more on www.petebridgwood.com
Nov
09
Es gibt Kamerahandbücher und es gibt Kamerahandbücher. Die x-pro1 ist nicht meine erste Kamera und das x-pro Handbuch von Rico Pfirstinger ist auch nicht mein erstes Kamerahandbuch. Was ich aber gleich zu Anfang sagen will, das Fujifilm x-pro1 Handbuch von Rico Pfirstinger ist ein sehr gutes Kamerahandbuch und von denen, welche ich bisher besessen habe, definitiv das Beste. Abgesehen davon, dass Rico die oft falsch verstandene Fuji x-pro1 scheinbar in- und auswendig kennt, so bringt er sehr viel technisches Hintergrundwissen zur Technik im Allgemeinen als auch zur fotografischen Praxis zum anderen mit und versteht es diese sehr gut auch dem vielleicht nicht so bewanderten Leser nahe zu bringen. Wie er selber zu Anfang schreibt, sollte eine gewisse fotografische Grundkenntnis vorhanden sein, aber wer sich für so eine Kamera entscheidet, ist meistens kein Anfänger in der Fotografie. Rico taucht immer wieder tiefer in die Kameratechnik der Fujifilm x-pro1 Technik ein ohne sich dabei in allzu viel Details zu verlieren. Tolle und viele Tipps zur praktischen Anwendung findet in den einzelnen Kapitel und Abschnitten. Vor allem Umsteigern von DSLR‘s dürfte das Kapitel 2.4 „Fokussieren mit der x-pro 1“ sehr interessieren. Rico versucht hier sehr schön die Vor- und Nachteile des Autofokus der x-pro heraus zu arbeiten. Und erklärt gleich zu Beginn sehr klar die Unterschiede, die Vor- und Nachteile gegenüber des Autofokus einer DSLR. Umsteigern von DSLR sei vor allem dieses Kapitel nahe gelegt, bevor man vor Frust der Kamera die Schuld gibt. Obwohl ich meine, dass ich die x-pro 1 mittlerweile ganz gut kenne, habe ich wirklich sehr interessante technische Details als auch wertvolle Praxistipps mir herausnehmen können. Alleine das Kaptitel 2.7 „Weissabgleich und jpeg-Einstellungen“ ist auch für den Profi sehr interessant. Die zahlreichen jpeg-Einstellungen ermöglichen fast unendlich viele verschiedene Einstellungen und ebenso viele verschiedene Ergebnisse, welche man von der x-pro erhält. Das gesamte Buch ist sehr gut illustriert und äusserst angenehm zu lesen. Für alle x-pro1 Besitzer ist dieses Buch eine klare Empfehlung! x100 Besitzer können aber auch viel für ihre Arbeit mit der Kamera und vor allem den jpeg-Entwicklungen herausholen.
See on www.qimago.de
