FR-readers roundup: X-E1 top ten photos, night photography, niggles and wedding

The Fuji Guys posted part 1/3 of their X-M1 first look at youtube here. For a deeper look at the top features and the new lenses (16-50 / 27) we have to wait for part 2/3 and 3/3.

pre-orders

X-M1 (body only or with 16-50mm) – USA: AmazonUS / BHphoto / Adorama / DigitalRev / Pictureline EUROPE: DigitalRev / WexUK / PCHstore

XF 27mm – USA: AmazonUS / BHphoto / Adorama / DigitalRev / Pictureline EUROPE: DigitalRev / WexUK / PCHstore XC 16-50: WexUK / PCHstore

FR-readers roundup

Lawrence: “hi Fujirumors. It’s been a month since I got my Fuji X-E1. Here’s my top 10 photos so far! Feel free to link to it”

Lawrence

– Brandon: “Hey there, Been reading your site every since I found out about the various new cameras that Fuji has been working-on– keep up the good work! I know the X-E1 is not exactly the newest camera at this point, but I’ve not seen very many examples of night photography taken with it.  I put it to the test this past weekend and thought maybe your readers would be interested in seeing some night photography shots (click here).”

“Overall, I came away VERY impressed with how the Fuji lenses and sensor performed when used for night photography.  The accuracy of the auto white balance in the X-E1 is simply in a category of its own.  The combination of Fuji lenses and its sensor produce amazingly colorful and sharp photos that to me are quite impressive.  Most night photos in color don’t do much for me but these blew me away in color. I would not hesitate to recommend the Fujifilm X-E1 and 14mm & 35mm lenses for night photography.”

Brandon

– Andrew: “Hi, […] some thoughts on the X Pro 1 from an old pro.
Don’t get me wrong, I love the camera, but there are too many BUTS at the moment and not enough people are mentioning them.
I know 3 other pro’s using this camera and I am not alone in my frustration. So I hope you will print this to elicit some decent conversation. And by that, I don’t mean a whole lot of net trolls whinging about my Leica comments.
cheers Andrew.

With a little time on my hands the other day, I decided to drop into see the friendly Leica dealer on Ave Beaumarche in Paris and with SD card in hand, try a few shots with the new Leica M (240).
I’m no pixel peeper, so I won’t bore you with my results, but what struck me right away was how well it worked as a camera and how much quicker it felt than my X Pro 1. I do own an M6, but all the same, this camera felt intuitive in my hands.
Heresy I hear you Fuji owners say, but let me explain. I’ve been pounding the pavements of Paris this last few weeks and daily taking many hundreds of photographs in what I would call a street style. I’ve had some good success, but I’m bothered by the amount of shots I’ve missed whilst the camera is getting up and going or deciding on it’s point of focus. Street photography is by it’s very nature reactive and quick and I admit, that after 40 years in the business and a number of eye operations, I am slowing down a bit.

What struck me when using the Leica, was the speed, manually focussing and all, between seeing and shooting. So I thought I would make a few observations to Mr Fuji about his sometimes wonderful machine.

The positives of the X Pro1 we all know well, a great feeling camera, well made and with some great glass, as good as a Leica, I’m told. Compact, lightweight, a good optical/digital viewfinder and a great future lens roadmap. It’s a seductive list and it seduced me to lay out for the body and 4 prime lenses.

So, why aren’t I completely happy? Well here is a list of things that bother me that I feel should not be happening.
Battery life is woeful. I rarely use the EVF or leave the rear screen on and am constantly getting caught out with a flat battery. Ever owned a Canon 5D mk 2 or 3, then you will know what great batteries can be like. You can just about shoot all day with 1 Canon battery and I cannot see why the X Pro 1 with only a single processor and no mirror cannot match this performance. I’ve been caught out so many times by sudden battery death and I never leave home without them fully charged.

Whilst on the subject of batteries, why are all the Fuji models using different sized ones. There must be a heap of pros and advanced amateurs shooting both X Pro 1’s and X100’s and I bet it frustrates the hell out of them, having to run two sets of batteries and chargers. And who was responsible for designing a battery that could be put in backwards rendering the camera inoperable? DESIGN 101, a bit of forethought would have gone a long way.

Now we come to my real bugbear, the menu layouts. Is it just me or does everyone find themselves all of a sudden shooting away, only to find that the camera setup has changed, the auto level has gone, or the EVF won’t shut off. What the hell is going on and why does it have to be so hard???????
I’m an Apple Mac user and despite what my jealous PC mates tell me, I use Macs not because they look so much nicer than a PC, but because of their functionality.
Macs work, simply, efficiently and generally with little fuss, once you get the swing, there is an obvious logical workflow to using them and it’s that obvious logical workflow that seems to have gone astray with the X Pro 1….. It shouldn’t have to be so hard. Software engineers seem to think, that because they understand the logic of a process, their customers will too. Well using the X Pro 1 can be a bit like recording your favourite program with the TV remote and I’m sure you all know what I mean here.
Hey Fuji guys, why not second a few of those Apple software designers for a few months and rebuild the interface from the ground up. I’m feeling decidedly unsure of explaining myself properly here, but I know in my heart things can be a lot better.

And finally, is there any point to having a whinge about autofocus speed? You betcha there is. If we are going to have a serious contender as a street camera, then things have got to change. I know there is a rumoured X Pro 2 in the wings with a rumoured twin processor inside it, but there must still be a fair bit of latitude via software upgrades to improving things on the current model (the same goes for battery performance I suspect). Well, we shall wait and see what next July brings with it’s rumoured upgrade. Those of us who have put their faith in the X Pro 1, should not have to put our hands back into our pockets when the X Pro 2 arrives, just to get what we thought we were getting in the first place! [admin: read the updated rumor here. The X-PRO2 won’t come before late 2013, early 2014] When you look at the heritage of Leica cameras, even the 1939 model 3A I have still works so well, albeit a bit bruised and battered.

Fujifilm is hardly a small company with little resources available to sort out these teething issues. So, finally, what’s in all of this for Fuji? Well, they are sitting on the edge of greatness here with their cameras and they need to start asking themselves the hard questions. Do they want to play in the big sandpit with Mr Canon, Mr Leica and Mr Nikon, or do they want to be consigned to the trashcan of camera design history, just another camera manufacturer that nearly made it, a could have been…..  The ball’s in your court guys. Greatness awaits.

Andrew

– Craig: “In case you can use this on the Fuji Rumors”… Fujifilm Xpro-1 – Wedding Photographs – The Beauty of Black and White here.

Craig