POLL: Vote your Fuji Top Gear 2013!

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Mission accomplished! With the XQ1/X-E2 Fuji’s gear release roadmap for 2013 is complete.

Yes I know, many of us hoped for the XF 10-24 to come this year, too. In fact I’m pretty sure that the announcement was planed for late November, but Fujifilm decided to postpone it. I don’t know if it will be still announced this year, but we will hardly be able to take shots with it earlier than February 2014. It seems that Fuji could release the 56mm f/1.2 earlier than the 10-24 (the 56 should be announced January 6th).

With no new gear released this year, it’s time for us to take our conclusions. Which Fuji product made you say “WOW”? What was the gear that excited you most? The list includes the 14mm, announced late 2012, but shipped only on January 19th 2013.

It’s a pretty long list… Fuji wasn’t lazy at all this year!

You can choose just one product, so think about it carefully.

For Astrophotography I prefer the...

View Results

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Fuji X-E2: [shopcountry 17992] Fuji XQ1: [shopcountry 17996] Fuji X-A1: [shopcountry 17194] Fuji X-M1: [shopcountry 13828] Fuji X100S: [shopcountry 12883] Fuji X20: [shopcountry 12884]

Fuji XF 23mm: [shopcountry 16128] Fuji XF 27mm: [shopcountry 13829] Fuji XF 55-200mm: [shopcountry 12892] Fuji XF14mm: [shopcountry 12888] Fuji XC 16-50: [shopcountry 17197] Fuji XC 50-230: [shopcountry 17198]

Fujifilm 2013: Top 100 Global Innovator (Reuters) + X100S Best Innovation (ephotozine)

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Fujifilm gained two more recognitions: Thomson Reuters and ephotozine awarded the innovatory force of the company.

1) Thomson Reuters named Fujifilm Top 100 Global Innovator 2013 (press release):

The Thomson Reuters 2013 Top 100 Global Innovator methodology is based on four principle criteria: “overall patent volume”, “patent grant success rate”, “global reach of the portfolio” and “patent influence as evidenced by citations”, using Thomson Reuters’ intellectual property and intelligence collaboration platform. Fujifilm was selected as one of the top 100 companies for its particularly high recognition of the “overall patent volume” as well as high ratings for “patent grant success rate”, and “global reach of the portfolio” and “patent influence as evidenced by citations.

2ephotozine declared the X100Sthe best innovation of 2013” (read here).

Split Focus Screen – if you’ve ever used an old film SLR camera with manual focus lenses, then the way to ensure your photo was in focus was to use the split focus viewfinder and line up the image. The Fujifilm X100s (and later the Fujifilm X-E2) re-introduced this feature to digital cameras, and is an excellent way of manually focusing an image.

have a great start in this new week,
Patrick

miXed zone: do you need Full Frame? A7 vs X-E2 DOF comparison, guess the format and more!

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X-E2
USA: AmazonUS / BHphoto / AdoramaDigitalRev / Pictureline / EUROPE: wexphotographicUK / DigitalRev / Fotomundus24 GER / PCHstore / AmazonDE (via DR)

FF vs Fuji / Bokeh comparison

– Vernon wrote me this email: “Hi Pat, I came across this post on Reddit from a website that has a test where they show photos and ask the users to guess the format (full-frame, APS-C, etc) and the show the stats of the results of people taking the test here: http://guesstheformat.com/stats. I sent this to you because we’ve been talking a lot about a rumor that Fuji will announce a full frame compact and there’s a somewhat heated debate on here as to whether they need one or not. According to these results, nearly 50% of people couldn’t tell the difference between whether the photo was taken in FF or APS-C. That might add value to the debate. Take Care, Vernon S.” Now it’s your time to play with it… and tell us your results. Click here and start your game!

Bokeh DOF comparison A7 ([shoplink 19559]specs&price[/shoplink]) with [shoplink 19817]Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 D[/shoplink] vs X-E2 with [shoplink 12889]35mm[/shoplink] both at f/1.4 at Mike Kobal here: “The Fuji XF 35mm […] it can’t blow out the background as well as the 50mm on the FF. But the question is: does it really matter? […] As for my own work, 90% of the time I will be just as happy with the bokeh from the Fuji/35mm combo as I would from the FF/50mm set up. The difference simply isn’t big enough to make a significant difference in how the picture reads, remember 90% of the time, for the other 10% I wouldn’t want to give up that special extra I can get from the full frame and a large aperture lens….”

[UDPATE: Mike uploaded some samples taken with the Nikkor at f/2 so that you can compare also the bokeh between the Nikkor (at f/2) and the Fujinon (at f/1.4).]

I don’t know you, but I’m not sure if it’s worth to pay 70% more to have that 10% special extra bokeh DOF. What do you think?

image courtesy: Mike Kobal

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whatdigitalcamera X-E2 review is online here: “We experienced no issues with colour indoors or out, leaving you to concentrate on your photography without the worry of the final result appearing too warm or too cool. […] unless you’re shooting in exceptionally bright conditions, such as towards the sun, you’ll rarely find exposure compensation needs to be used. […] Though the newly developed autofocus algorithm has improved things, it hasn’t dramatically changed the lock-on speed, which remains slower than its Olympus and Panasonic rivals in the compact system camera market. […]  The X-E2 is to put it simply, a stunning camera that’s up there as one of the most attractive on the market and an absolute pleasure to use.”

– See the shots of Vibranze with his X-E2, 55-200 and [shoplink 12946 ebay]8mm fisheye[/shoplink] lens here,

– Wildlife and Landscape Photography photography with the X-E2 (and 55-200) at casualphotography.net: “Focusing on the animals was quick. I had no issues with the auto focus at all. However, once the birds took flight, it was over. But that’s mainly because my reaction time isn’t that great when it comes to fast animals. Again, I’m no wildlife photographer.”

– “I’m finding more and more that for simple daily shooting the X-E2 and iPad air are a killer combo. If like many Fuji shooters you have began embracing in camera jpeg you know that with minimal tweaking and pre-processing you end up with images that are 95% on spot straight out of camera. Apps like Snapseed, iPhoto, VSCO, etc make it easy to put finishing tweaks on images using a phone or tablet before sharing.” Read the full article ” Old School looks, incredible sensor and WiFi?” at fujishooter here.

– [shoplink 17992]Fuji X-E2[/shoplink] vs [shoplink 17992]Sony A7r[/shoplink] vs [shoplink 15259]Panasonic GH3[/shoplink] DOF and noise comparison at soundimageplus here. For his following post “Sony A7r, Fuji X-E2, Panasonic GH3 – Issues, Irrelevancies and the advantages of diversity” click here. In another post here it’s again A7r vs X-E2, but this time with speed booster: “So is this ‘faux full-frame’ or a genuine alternative? Well I think it is a genuine alternative, if you are happy to use manually focused lenses that is.”

– An updated review of the Fujifilm X-E2 at doncraigphoto here: “Primarily I use focus peaking and zoom in to fine tune. However, the AF is very accurate, and fast, which means that I have also been using it quite a bit. In my non-work life, the AF on the X-E2 has worked incredibly well on fast moving toddlers, sports, speeding boats and distant planes (in case you have that need).”

– Fujifilm X-E2 on the New Zealand trip at bjornmoerman here.

– German review at digitalcamera.de (translation).

– You wanna pixel peep? Then check out this Japanese site (translation). Df vs X-E2 vs A7R vs A7 vs GX7 vs GM1 vs E-M1.

– I got this email from Ari Hallami: “No rumor, but some street photography from Helsinki with X-E2. I must be one of the very first ones to receive X-E2 in Finland so it maybe some good reading for the Finnish readers :). Feel free to post“. You can read it here (translation)

– X-E2 hands on at mirrorlessons here: “Ergonomically speaking, it is close to perfection. Every button and dial was in reach of my fingers. The Q button we all know and love, for instance, has been repositioned to the upper middle of the camera’s rear for improved access.”

Mike Kobal has a new favorite mirrorless camera. It’s the X-E2. See his youtube video here.

Daniel Lovegrove’s studio shots with the X-E2 can be seen here.

f stop lounge, the X-E2 and the speed booster at youtube here.

– X-E2 at boxedlight here: “Good things come in small packages. That saying has never been more true than when I use it in reference to the Fuji X-E2. What an amazing little camera… at a good price point. […] Some may say “But it’s not full frame”… So what? Unless you print huge photos you’ll be saving a ton of money and enjoying this camera for a long time. Just make sure the X-E2 meets your needs. Don’t buy a hammer when you need a saw.”

–  PART I: X-E2: New Zealand test-drive &f flight at bjornmoerman.de here: “Even though, I do have quite a few CONS, some of them can clearly be solved by a relative simple firmware upgrade. The main reason why this camera does still not 100% replace my Nikon D800, is the Autofocus tracking in continuous mode. This is not limited to the Fujifilm cameras but rather seems to be a common problem with all mirror-less cameras, including the latest full frame Sony cameras. […] Will I buy the new X-E2? Since I already own the great X-E1, probably not. I would rather wait and see what the successor of the Fujifilm X-PRO1 will bring. Rumours have it that this will be probably be announced early 2014.” Part II: Shooting the streets of Hong Kong with the Fujifilm X-E2 & 27mm pancake lens at bjornmoerman here: “The better autofocus really has been great while using the X-E2 in Street Photography mode. Sometimes things on the street happen quickly. A split second difference in grabbing the focus often makes or breaks the image! […] After I have used my own X-E1 for a few days again now, (yes had to return the X-E2), the main differences I notice are the improved autofocus and the somewhat faster writing speed to the memory card. I also appreciate the higher resolution on the LCD screen to check my focus after the image has been made.”

X100S
[shopcountry 12883]

Richard Simko wrote me: “Hi Patrick, I have just came back from Bangkok. There are ongoing anti-government protests going on at the moment. I went to some of those demonstrations with my X100S and X-E1 with 35mm lens. I thought I share them with you as I haven’t seen anybody posting this sort of photojournalistic style taken with X series. These are only pictures. No review or anything like that. As far as cameras performance they held up pretty good except one situation when I was following ex prime minister in the crowd. At that point a DSLR with faster AF and more fps would be prefered tool. But for everything else I did not need anything else but my Fuji’s.” See the Bangkok rallies here.

X-E1
[shopcountry 12881]

 – First two parts of a multi-part comparo between the Fuji X-E1 & OM-D E-M1 here at echenique.com. Part I / Part II /

Valéry Villard: “For French readers I have just written an article on my small blog about my passion for the X-E1 and XF lenses. The test is not technical, it just reflect how Fuji and the X-E1 have contributed to strengthen my passion for photography. This device is simply addictive. The entire field test can be downloaded in high quality PDF (150MB). I do not know if anyone interested but when in doubt, I will share;) You can find it here.

Nicolas Datiche: “Hi Mister Fuji Rumors, I’m photojournalist based in Tokyo, recently i bought a Fuji. And i begin to use it for my work, smaller, high quality image… Love it. Usually people say difficult to work in news with this kind of camera, wrong you can. And the new X-E2 AF is faster as enought. A part of my job in Tacloban with X-E1 here (French). Enjoy

X-PRO1
[shopcountry 12882]

V Opoku: “Morning Pat,  I finished an article I have been working on for the last week. It is a step by step guide on how to focus with the fuji x cameras with their optical viewfinder. It covers topics such as parallax, using corrected AF Frame, the range within which the real focus box will appear and many more. There are lots of diagrams I put together to explain it all, I have included one in this email for you to get an idea of things. Have a look, let me know what you think and feel free to share it, I know it is not the firmware update that we were all waiting for, but hopefully this will help some fuji x users to understand how these cameras focus a bit more. There is also a link to back to your site in this article, time for bed now. Speak soon.” Read the article here.

Doug Chinnery and his X-PRO1 in the Artic… how did it perform? Discover it here: “It survived, but had a couple of issues. Its not ideal for these extreme conditions, but it held its own and I am delighted with the images it gave me. (all the images here were shot on it).”

image courtesy: Doug Chinnery

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X100
[shopcountry 15293]

by Tim Allen: “Hi Patrick, love the site and nice to see you feature some great photography. I recently shot a project which became a small book that I sold to raise money for a charity close to my heart [for The National Ankylosing Spondylitis Society (NASS)]. Using Twitter I sold 74 copies and raised over £400 for the charity which I felt very proud of [UDPATE: the sale is now over, all books sold]. The project was shot in two nights at traditional British funfairs and used my X100 which is like a new camera since the recent firmware upgrade. Here’s the link for you: http://www.timallenphoto.co.uk/3balls .
Keep up the good work.
Best regards
Tim. Gallery: http://www.timallenphoto.co.uk/

X-shooter zone: black and white, Fuji at night and travel light!

It’s time to have a break from rumors, deals and comparisons and to focus on what’s all about when you hold an X-series camera in your hands: taking pictures!

So here is another small selection of persons who waited under the rain for the perfect shot, who took the X-PRO1 and hiked through the Bolivian mountains, who translated feelings into images and who looked for the right light source at night before pressing the shutter-release button!

That’s what we have an X for, isn’t it? So let yourself be inspired by the shots of X-shooters in this post and then go out and take some pictures with your X (and if you don’t have it, then buy it! The X-superkit deals run until DEC 24 at AmazonUS, BHphoto and Adorama. You can save up to $1,400 on all XF lenses.)

And if you also have images and stories to share, feel free to contact me via fujirumor@gmail.com, facebook and twitter.

cheers
Patrick

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Carlos Bueno

Hi Patrick,

I have been following FR from the begining. I bought a [shoplink 15293]X100[/shoplink] (wow!!) and after taste the capabilities I decided to buy [shoplink 12882]X-Pro 1[/shoplink] (wow!!^2), while a long pre-order waiting due delays to supply the first units, finally I had it !!. Now after more than one year, I‘m still in love. So, I glad to present trough this time a porfolio www.rawcb.com Almost all photos with the X-pro 1 and a few with the X100.

All the best, and keep on pushing FR!
Carlos Bueno

Carlos Bueno

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Mauro Tandoi

Hi Patrick,

I want to share with you one of my pics taken with x-pro1

Now it’s at the top of 500px hitlist http://500px.com/photo/54102740 – 99.4 point (x-pro1 + [shoplink 12889]xf 35 1.4[/shoplink])

Mauro Tandoi

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Yulana

Hey,
My husband and I went to Bolivia this September and took our Fuji X-Pro1 for a real challenge.  After many years using slr + iphone on the trips Fuji X-Pro1 was very different. Although it is not the lightest and most compact camera, it is a great option for travel photography.

Stealthy look and ability to review photos in viewfinder are really handy (as well as obvious advantages of having all settings visible with camera turned off) in the country where a digital camera worth a yearly salary.

In every aspect the camera was performing top notch with the only exception of battery life. We were getting around 900 shots per charge and had to carry 3 extra batteries (which was barely enough during 4 day backpacking trip). Hope you enjoy this immense beauty as well as we did:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/yulasik/sets/72157637145159586/

Thanks,

Yulana

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Marvin Kleinemeier

Dear Patrick,

I have been an X-Shooter for close to one year now. In December 2012 i got an X-E1 ([shoplink 12887]Kit Zoom[/shoplink] + XF 35) and added a X100 in February. I came from a Nikon system but hadn’t been passionate about my photography for a few years prior to switching to Fuji.

A lot has happened in the last year. I documented everything on my Blog. There were some highlights like a Street/Portrait Workshop with Photographer Alberto Garcia Alix where I only used the X100, which is still my favorite for street stuff. A few weeks ago I also attended one of the Fuji X-M1 Workshops that you promoted on your site and was so energized by the great photographer who gave the workshop, that I set out on a spontaneous road trip to the see.

To make a long story short, of 106 photos in my new portfolio on 500px.com close to 100 were shot with a Fuji camera throughout the last ten months. Right now I am eagerly awaiting the new weather-sealed body and the X-Pro2. Keep up the great work here, I am a huge fan.

For some semi-macro (macro with the 35mm F1.4 is not that easy/effective) click here.

Greetings from Germany,

Marvin (Bob Sala Fotografie)

[UDPATE: Marvin took his X-E2 and 35mm out for a night shots session here: ” All taken with the 35mm almost always wide open, iso between 800 and 3200 and shutter speed between 60 and a 100th, handheld – it was much darker than it seems. […] AF is super fast now, too.”]

X-E2USA: AmazonUS / BHphoto / AdoramaDigitalRev / Pictureline / EUROPE: wexphotographicUK / DigitalRev / Fotomundus24 GER / PCHstore / AmazonDE (via DR)

Marvin Kleinemeier (X-E2 night shots)

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Samyang 10mm f/2.8 announced!

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Finally, it’s here. Samyang officially announced the 10mm f/2.8! Some specs: Weight: 580 g (1.28 lb) – diameter: 86 mm (3.39″) – length: 77 mm (3.03″) – no AFaperture ringDOF scale.

It will be available from the end of January 2014. Suggested retail price of £429.99. More at Samyangs website here (with samples).

The company also said here that all their existing lenses will be available for X-mount in future. Up to now, here is Samyang’s offering for X-shooters:

Samyang 10mm f/2.8 (pre-order check): [shopcountry 19747] Samyang 8mm: [shopcountry 12946] Samyang 300mm mirror lens: [shopcountry 14844] Samyang 16mm f/2.0: [shopcountry 15934] Samyang 24mm f/3.5 Tilt Shift: [shopcountry 15963]

Press release

December 6th 2013 – New 10mm f/2.8 wide-angle lens for APS-C.

The new Samyang 10mm 1:2.8 ED AS NCS CS is an ideal tool for indoor, architecture and landscape photography. It provides an exceptionally wide field of view of up to 109.5 degrees and rectilinear image mapping function. Owing to a fast f/2.8 lens speed you can also use the lens in low light conditions as well as sports photography and photojournalism purposes. The product’s optics comprises 14 elements divided into 10 groups, this includes 2 aspherical AS lenses and one lens made of extra-low dispersion glass.  During development works on the prototype version the lens was fitted with an embedded lens hood which ensures a more compact size and reduces its weight by approximately 160 grams*.
* – applicable to a version with Canon E mount

NCS (Nano Coating System)

The Samyang 10mm 1:2.8 ED AS NCS CS is the first Samyang Optics lens to feature a nano crystal anti-reflection coating system. This technology provides a lower reflection factor than (U)MC system as the coating is now applied more evenly on the surface of the lens. Benefits brought by the nano crystal layer include better light transmission, increased resistance to reflections and higher contrast, and all of this translates into supreme optical resolution of the lens.

The lens will be available from the end of January 2014.
The suggested retail price for the Nikon version is £469.99 inc VAT
All other fittings carry a suggested retail price of £429.99 inc VAT