Apr

08

Fuji X100s Review | Robin Schimko

Fuji X100s / Reviews / Sample Images / 0 comments

Since the original X100 was announced back in 2010 I was eager to get one. That thing is looking damn sexy and at that time it was unique and the only company that makes something similar is the one with the red dot. But as you might know, they are freaking expensive and so are their lenses. And of course the lack of autofocus is something I don’t want to deal with every day. Don’t get me wrong I am used to manual focus on my DSLR rig and I’m loving it. But sometimes it can be really convenient to let your camera doing the work. So when Fuji came up with a rangefinder styled body but with all the features of a modern camera I was completely sold. My plan was to take the x100 with me on a trip to Korea, but unfortunately it took six months till the x100 hit the shelves. Finally I couldn’t get one before my trip so I ended up bringing the DSLR rig. A couple of months later I had the opportunity to try out the x100 and I was somewhat disappointed. The AF felt a little sluggish and the camera wasn’t as responsive as I expected, so I decided to wait till something else is in the pipeline. Now two years later Fuji came up with the x100 replacement and a bunch of improvements as well as a new sensor, an updated version of the one you can find in their x-mount cameras. Early previews mentioned that the camera feels much more responsive and the autofocus is a big step ahead over the original x100. The x100s seemed to be the camera I was looking for and I wanted to give it a try and preordered shortly after the announcement. (Now) two weeks ago the camera arrived and I was really excited about it, but that weekend the weather was really bad and I had no chance to go out and shoot. That was frustrating and when you think it can’t get any worse it actually does. So after taking some indoor shots I noticed that some pictures look really grainy and after checking the EXIF data I realized that my brand new x100s was already broken. In aperture priority the camera sometimes switched automatically into manual mode without me hitting any button. For example the camera chose 1/4000 instead of maybe 1/50 while pushing the ISO up to 6400. A couple of days later I talked to my dealer and he told me that he would get another camera within one week. And now here it is and it works just fine…

See on www.fotodesign-rs.de

Apr

08

Pre Dawn Shooting With The X-Pro 1 – It Must Be Love! |
Roxanne Sahlin

Fuji X-Pro1 / Sample Images / 0 comments

Let me say right now, I am so not a morning person! I need heavy infusions of coffee, toothpicks to hold my eyes open (until the caffeine kicks in) and a quiet atmosphere to survive early alarms. I have to get up before 6:00 AM for my work days and I need a good reason to crawl out for a sunrise shoot that requires us to  arrive at our location at dark and wait for the light to arrive when I have a precious day off! We got up at an time so obscene that I can’t even write it down and were in place while the street lights were still on at our first shooting location this Sunday morning. There was prediction of heavy fog and I love shooting in it so much that I was willing to crawl out of bed and stumble out of the door in search of the elusive stuff. We started our shoot at a local marina and while there was a misty look in the distance….no fog to speak of. In fact, due to the cloud cover there was also no pretty sunrise to alleviate the pain of having gotten out of bed at such a rude hour for no good reason. That’s what it felt like at the time anyway! As it turned out the clouds provided us with a wonderful light diffuser for our early morning shoot and unlike us, the fog slept late and instead of arriving as early and dissipating by 8:00 AM (as predicted by the weather folks), it slept late, had coffee and rolled in later in the morning. The wonderful cottony blanket of mist arrived while we were shooting at another waterfront area that we like. Finally it was here! We had a wonderful shoot, a delicious breakfast afterwards and memory cards filled with images to play with on our return home. Bliss!

See more pictures on dougplusrox.com

Apr

08

A Journey Through Venice: The Fuji X100s Review | MirrorLessons

Fuji X100s / Reviews / Sample Images / Travel Photography / 1 comments

What I like about the Fuji X100s

  • Wonderful design, excellent build quality
  • The aperture ring on the lens, the shutter speed dial like old film cameras
  • The hybrid viewfinder
  • Amazing quality of the RAW files
  • Beautiful colour rendition, especially with the Astia Film Simlation mode
  • Great dynamic range
  • Tiny, lightweight, quiet, it is a perfect tool for street photography

What I don’t like about the Fuji X100s

  • Autofocus still needs some improvements
  • Poor battery life. I highly recommend buying a second battery if you plan to be out all day.
  • Video mode only automatic, quality could be better given the great X100s sensor;
  • The lens isn’t extremely sharp at f/2 (but is still usable) and has some distortion. I had hoped that Fuji would have improved on it.

Despite a few weak points, I really enjoyed using the X100s and it is definitely a camera that I will bring with me for day-to-day photography. It is fast, silent and discreet, and you can even choose to silence the shutter button. No one will notice you when you use it. However, at the same time, it will never become my main camera system. The reason is probably personal, but if I were to visit a place for the first time, I would probably miss a wide angle lens and a medium telephoto lens as I like to diversify my shots and represent a place from different angles and perspectives.

I liked shooting with it in Venice as I had already visited the city. Moreover, thanks to the Fuji X100s’ fixed lens, I was able to concentrate on one single type of photography (street photography), and this proved to be a very good exercise. As I said before, it is a niche camera – you have to know why you are buying it and for what you intend to use it. If street photography isn’t your genre of choice, the x100s probably isn’t the best camera for you. I have to admit that I am not an avid street shooter, and sometimes all I wanted was to be closer to my subject (I did some cropping in a few pictures). The RAF (Fuji RAW) files are another aspect that really impressed me. The dynamic range is huge and the amount of detail you can recover in both the shadows and highlights is stunning. I rarely work with such good RAW files coming from a camera like this one. You can really see the quality of the X-Trans sensor. High ISO images have little noise and an overall filmic “look” that is quite pleasant to the eye.

See more oictures on www.bestmirrorlesscamerareviews.com

Apr

06

Fujifilm X-series studio comparisons updated with new ACR 7.4
raw process | Digital Photography Review

Firmware & Software / Fuji X-E1 / Fuji X-Pro1 / Fuji X100s / 0 comments

Following the recent public release of Adobe Camera Raw 7.4, we’ve updated our studio comparison database with new raw conversions of files from the Fujifilm X-Pro 1, X-E1 and X100S. We’ve been using the release candidate version of ACR 7.4 for some time, which contained significant improvements to Adobe’s treatment of files from Fujifilm’s X-Trans sensors. The official public release version of ACR 7.4 brings some further (very minor) tweaks. Follow the links below to the studio comparison pages in our X-Pro 1 and X-E1 reviews, and X100S preview, now with final ACR 7.4 raw conversions.

See on www.dpreview.com

Apr

05

One Woman’s Incredible Journey to Africa (photo essays with Fuji X-E1) |
Kasia Sztaba

Fuji X-E1 / Sample Images / Travel Photography / 0 comments

Very often I find women’s approach to photography much better than men’s. Men view cameras as toys. We cherish cameras; we talk about them and even argue about them. Unfortunately this technical approach often keeps us away from what is really important in photography. Immediately after my wife, Kasia, took our Fuji X100 into her hands, I knew this camera was special. She never reached so eagerly for our Nikon or Canon gear unless she really had to. She disliked everything about those cameras. They were heavy, complicated and uninspiring. This time was different. She picked up the X100 and never wanted to let it go. She had her three favourable dials at her disposal. She didn’t worry about the sensor or lens rating. Kasia didn’t care about RAW conversion or all the other nuances – she went straight to what she does best – painting with light. She viewed this camera as just a tool to realize her vision. When Kasia decided to travel to Senegal, her choice was Fuji X-E1 with the XF 18-55mm F2.8-4 R LM IS zoom. It had all the key elements of the X100 plus zoom, which covers her usual focal length. She took the camera, played with the controls and she was ready to go. Kasia saw the camera as a way to transfix the moment and capture her travel experiences. It wasn’t the usual touristy trip. She went to raw Africa with a group of women with whom she had worked to help women in Senegal over the last few years. Kasia documented the beauty of this continent along with its struggles. She saw human suffering but also tremendous and authentic joy and hospitality. And she captured all her experiences on camera. I was privileged to help my wife to organize her photographic work and after viewing it numerous times, I have to tell you what an incredible body of work it is. This type of imagery requires total dedication to the place and subject. Kasia really cares about the people and places she photographs and you can see it!  In the next few blog entries, Kasia will be publishing her account of this trip and her experiences of shooting with the Fuji. Here is a photo teaser of what’s to come. Stay tuned.
 
All images taken with Fuji X-E1 with the XF 18-55mm F2.8-4 R LM IS zoom and B&W UV filter. Processed in Capture Pro 7 and Lightroom 4.

See more great pictures on olafphotoblog.com

Apr

05

Fuji X100s Review | Adam Lerner

Fuji X100s / Reviews / Sample Images / 0 comments

As much as I loved my Fuji X100, the X100s is that much better and is quite possibly the best camera I own. Fast, responsive, amazing color, tack sharp, great handling, spectacular low-light capabilities, flash sync to 1/4000 sec, all in one amazing little package. As most of you know, I’ve been an X100 fanboy for some time. It’s been my go-to camera for everything from portraits, to streetshots and a lot in between. It was always with me and now it’s been replaced! As great as the X100 was, the X100s is just that much better. Every gripe that I had with the X100 has been addressed with the X100s. It’s nimble and quick. Okay, not Nikon DSLR quick, but so much quicker and more responsive. The focus is fast and tack sharp. This was a huge problem with the X100. Many people were turned off with the slow and quirky focus, but Fuji nailed it with the X100s. Close focusing. I can now focus within 18 inches of my subject!!! This may be the single best feature of the camera for me! The X100 was cool for portraits – so long as you were at it’s minimum focus distance of 2.6 feet. Not quite ideal for portraits with a fixed 35mm equivalent lens. Previously, it was considered the poor-man’s Leica. I think now it’s the modern man’s Leica! Many journalistic Leica shooters favored a Leica with 35mm lens. Tack sharp and good for most type of shooting from portraits to environment. Now, the Fuji with reliable auto-focus, extreme ISO sensitivity, tack sharp optics affordable price tag may just be the replacement. I don’t want to piss off any red dot enthusiasts, but there is something sweet about having all of that AND auto-focus! However I don’t want to digress, so lets stay on topic. Right now, I’ve got just 3 digital cameras. My Nikon D3s for when I need to shoot and focus really fast – whether it be stopping action or shooting a lot of frames quickly. My Hasselblad for when I want that insane resolution and that medium format three-dimensional look. My Fuji X100s for everything else. I had the Fuji X-Pro 1 for a little bit. As great as that camera system may be, I only liked the 35mm f/1.4 lens. So, to just have that body and lens, it was too much to carry around. That and I found the focusing system to be a bit odd and not as intuitive as the X100s. So I let it go. Just like I felt the D4 was only an evolution to the D3s and let that go. Sometimes you need to put a camera to use to get a sense of how it works in your shooting style. I am not a collector and really only have gear that I need and use. I will use the X100s for just about anything and everything. Would I use it on a job? Absolutely! It’s that outstanding of a camera. Will it replace my Nikon or Hasselblad? No, it’s just different, but fills a very important niche. Can I live without it? Hell no! …

See on adamlerner.net

Apr

05

Exmoor Villages | Andrew Hobbs

Fuji X100s / Sample Images / 0 comments

Today, I found myself in the somewhat unusual position of having nothing planned. The sun was out, I didn’t want to be inside and I wanted to play with my X100s. So I decided to take a drive over the moor and visit some of the villages on Exmoor. The idea was to take photos in each village of their notice boards, something I have been pondering doing for a while. As it turned out, the boards weren’t as interesting as I’d hoped, so I decided to just take a photo of whatever jumped out at me. This then left me with the question of what to do with the photos, so I have decided to give you a brief history lesson for each village. So, in no other order than the order I visited them, here they are: The village of Simonsbath began life in the mid 19th century with the purchase of land by the Knight family who wanted to convert the Exmoor forest land into a vast agricultural centre. Their vision was sadly not to be fully realised but the building of St Luke’s Church in 1856, along with the opening of a nearby mine, meant that residential houses swiftly followed and a small hamlet began to take shape. Here too, is a sawmill, built by John Knight in the early 19th century, which ran on water power from the nearby River Barle right up until the 1950s. Lottery funding has since enabled the sawmill to be restored into working order and a group of volunteers provide regular access to the public so visitors can see a Victorian sawmill in action once more. Withypool takes its name from the willow trees, or withies, that grow alongside the nearby River Barle. The village surroundings have a long history behind them with settlements stretching back to the Bronze Age. Withypool itself is mentioned in the Domesday book and during the 14th century, it had the honour of being looked after by Geoffrey Chaucer in his role as forester for the North Petherton estate. The local public house, the Royal Oak Inn, also has a few claims to fame – R.D Blackmore wrote Lorna Doona whilst staying here, and artist Alfred Munnings had a studio in the attic. Prince William also dined in the Royal Oak in 2006 after attending a nearby Tetrathlon……

See more pictures on hobbs.photium.com

Apr

05

Review Fujifilm X-E1 | CameraStuffReview

Fuji X-E1 / Reviews / 0 comments

We already published a few Fujinon XF lens reviews (Fujinon XF 60mm macro and the Fujifilm XF 18-55mm), but this Fujifilm X-E1 review is our first Fujifilm camera review. The Fujifilm X-E1 was announced in 2012, just before the Photokina. This camera is in many aspects very similar to the early 2012 Fujifilm X-PRO, but the X-E1 is more economically priced. This price advantage is due to the omission of the hybrid viewfinder, in favor of an electronic viewfinder with a higher resolution. Also, the screen on the back of the camera has a lower resolution. The Fujifilm X-E1 is, like the Fujifilm X-PRO, a high-end camera. The target audience for this camera consists of passionate amateur and professional photographers who want a handy camera, but with an exceptionally high quality…..

Conclusion Fujifilm X-E1 review

The Fujifilm X-E1 is a beautiful, solid and easy to use camera with high image quality. In terms of resolution, dynamic range and signal to noise ratio, this camera equals a professional SLR camera with a full frame sensor. It is an ideal camera for travel photography or street photography. Your presence will be much less obtrusive than with a professional SLR camera. But the image quality will be of the same high level. The image quality of the jpg files is so good, that for almost every photographer there’s no real need to shoot in RAW. The Fujifilm X-E1 is a camera that gives you the fun in photography and lets you forget all the technology that comes with it. The measurement results for this Fujifilm X-E1 review are shown in the Fujifilm X-E1 test report.
 
See on www.camerastuffreview.com

Apr

05

Moods Of Spring | Michelle George

Fashion Photography / Fuji X-Pro1 / Sample Images / 0 comments

I’ve been planning to do a spring themed editorial shoot with Ali Tate at Milk Management for a while now, but due to London’s current awful weather conditions we have been holding off a little; however last weekend we decided to take a leap of faith and head down to Columbia Road Flower Market  with the Fuji X pro 1 in hand…it took all of 15 mintes to discover that it was just way to cold to either conceive of an on location shoot and get a spring like feel. So using our noodle we decided to purchase a few flowers from the market and head back to the studio…Despite the cold it was still light so I managed to get all the shots using purely natural light from my patio doors with the Fujinon XF 35mm lens open wide at F1.4. See the results below…..

See on creativelondonphotographer.wordpress.com

Apr

05

Fujifilm X100S – “the pocket-XPro” | Patrick Braun

Fuji X100s / Reviews / 0 comments


 
Never wanted to write one of this “it’s been a little quiet here” posts, but it actually was a little quiet here 2013 has been busy so far, since I started to earn some money with my photography besides my main job as a sales manager. My respect goes to all those brave freelancers and full-time professionals out there, I just dipped my toe into the pro-water and am soooo glad to have that financial backing of my main job. Furthermore its kind of nice to switch to “non-photographic” thoughts now and then. By the way, that’s why I also have some changes/updates regarding this website on my agenda – but filed this under “Priority: C” at the moment…
 
Anyway, I guess almost 80% of my photography will still be private pleasure and so as casual as it’s always been. The only challenge will be to find enough spare time for that. Speaking of private-pleasure-photography, I’m totally in love with Fujifilms X-system. This company exactly knows what some of us highly GAS-infected photographers want. The X-Pro1 is…ahh…I just love it! Period. Nothing feels better than grabbing my (black) dothebag Mono 06 with all those Xquipment inside (actually, the X-Pro1, her 4 Fujinon primes, an EF-X20 flash and stuff like the X-Pro Hand Grip, batteries/SD-Cards etc. fits in there nicely), and heading downtown to enjoy some hours of shooting with this awesome pieces of kit. But in spite of the fact that an X-Pro1 with a Fujinon XF prime isn’t actually a large/heavy camera (compared to a DSLR that’s capable of a similar output quality), it’s still that little bit to hefty to just slip it over your shoulder and take it with you everyday/everywhere.Yes, I know:  there will be a Fujinon XF pancake lens later this year, and yes, there already is the tiny little Fujinon XF 18mm/F2.0 R with its pancake-like design; but I neither wanted to wait for the pancake, nor am I one of those (enviable) photographers that can manage to shoot everything with just a 28mm (FF equiv.) lens. Even 35mm (equiv.) is still a wide affair to me, since I already confessed to be a “50mm-guy”. But I have to admit that something between 35 and 40mm would be the perfect focal length for everyday-everywhere-use. That’s why I still used a trusty old Olympus PEN E-P1 with the lovely Panasonic LUMIX G 20mm/F1.7 ASPH pancake (40mm equiv.) for this purpose. After falling in love with the X-system last year, I was already thinking about replacing the PEN with a Fujifilm X100 - especially when Fuji released that extremely sexy ”limited” Black Edition – but I couldn’t justify spending 4-5 times the price of the PEN (a good second hand E-P1 comes in for less than € 170,- on eBay & Co, and even the “PanaLeicake” isn’t that expensive anymore) for an everyday camera with more quirks than the X-Pro and the PEN together, and even without that beloved X-trans awesomeness. But just 1 year later, it’s here. The thing that pulls the € 1.200,- out of my pocket easily. The facelift of the X100. Fuji listened to their customers feedback and made everything right (imho). No dramatic design changes, no revolution, no mainstreaming of the concept/look. I’ll stop here with tech/spec-stuff about the X100S since there are so many blogs and reviews out there, praising and testing the heck out of the new model (my personal favorite is Zack Arias’ “a camera walks into a bar”). The only thing Fuji didn’t give me (and many other photographers), is a black version of the X100S. But I guess they’re preserving that for another (even more expensive) “limited” Black Edition, and I guess I’ll even buy that BE version as soon as it becomes available. Anyway, I have a small and light “pocket-XPro” for my everyday-use now. And the Easter Weekend gave me at least one hour of acceptable weather to shoot the X100S between two familial obligations in Frankfurt/Main. This isn’t a wannabe-review, just some thoughts of someone who enjoyed taking a few casual (and unspectacular) shots with his new toy…

See full article on patrickbraun.net

Page 12 to 168« First...1011121314...203040...Last »