Review: RAW processing with Oloneo PhotoEngine

oloneo photo newconverter_zps94881c5e.jpg

image courtesy: thistonybridge.com

I’ve found this interesting review made by Tony Bridge (read here) about the Oloneo PhotoEngine (click here). Antoine Clappier, the principal developer, said to Tony Bridge that

“Our goal is to set Oloneo as a recognized provider of professional software products for photographers. Looking at our customers today, we see that we have a large proportion of professional photographers. This is rather unusual for HDR and Tone Mapping products! Our competitors’ focus is to deliver images with a heavily processed “HDR look”. This can please the hobbyist but certainly not the pros. Our goal is exactly the reverse: creating natural images with invisible processing. The fact that many pros have added HDR/Tone Mapping to their workflow thanks to PhotoEngine shows that we are heading in the right direction!”

Click here to read the whole, comprehensive review. From the conclusions:

“If you are Fuji film X series owner, then you are going to want to have a hard look at this application. It seems to exhibit none of the bad habits prone to its competitors, yielding smooth tonal transitions, remarkable rendition of micro-detail, and superbly natural sharpness and edge detail. You can create a file which is both true and natural, or take its HDR abilities to the max. Files I made with the X-Pro1 show a level of quality so far unmatched by the Big Two (Adobe and Capture One).”

You can purchase the Oloneo PhotoEngine (website) for $149 / €125 or download the free trial version here. (no Mac version available. :-( d’oh!)

(thanks Paul for telling me of Oloneo via facebook)

miXed zone: SLR Magic 35mm T1.4, Speed Booster and more

phoblog photo Phoblo_zps96c3cfea.jpg

image courtesy: thephoblographer.com

SLR Magic

– I’ve already posted Steve Huff’s review about the SLR Magic 35mm T1.4 (specs&price). Now, let’s go over to the next one, made by thephoblographer (read here).

Well dampened and easy to turn focus and aperture ring, very good build quality, operation is smooth and easy-going, the image quality is amazing (““this looks like I took it with my Leica M8 and 50mm Zeiss Planar“), some slight softness wide open, very pleasing bokeh…. ok, let the test shots speak from now on! Click here to see them and to read more.

SLR Magic 35mm T1.4 at Adorama or here on slidoo.

Here is the email that Fujirumors reader Yves received form Sales dept at SLR Magic :
“Dear Yves. We have 3 lenses that can be used on Fuji X mount cameras. The SLR Magic 35mm T1.4 lens in X mount is ready now, and you can order with us.  No adapter is needed. The SLR Magic HyperPrime CINE 35mm T0.95 lens is in M mount, only for use via adapter for M to X mount, M to mFT mount, M to E mount.  This lens has APS-H coverage and it does not work on M mount cameras.  This lens will be available around March 2013. The SLR Magic HyperPrime 23mm f/1.7 lens in X mount.  This lens will be available by March/April.”
Thanks Yves. Click here to see his Flickr album.

yves2 photo nikon_zps78938828.png

Speed Booster

… and here a speed booster review at youtube of AFMarcotec.

… and more

– “If pricing has made you hesitant to enter Fujifilm’s X-Series, the X-E1 might be just the thing to draw you in. And if you’re just looking for a really nice rangefinder-style ILC, you should give the X-E1 a try. We think you’ll like it.” popphoto X-E1 test (Click here)

image courtesy: popphoto
XE1 test photo xe1test_zps017d3c30.jpg

– Is it to love or to hate? Here is another X-E1 review. “With the X-E1, YOU are the photographer and the artist. There are no Instagram magic, that makes a dull picture exiting. You have to think up what you want to show in the scene you capture, you have to be an artist and a photographer. And that is why I like it so much. I do believe it forces me to be a better photographer.Read it all here.

– If you want to join a new x-forum, just click here to go to Xtogs. They give away a X20.

-Exploring Time Lapse with the X-E1. Read how it works, step by step, from the images to the final video, by clicking here.

– photographytalk posted 6 tips to make photographing in public easier. First tip: 1) Keep it small… the X100 is perfect! Read 5 more tips here.

-Mike Kobal’s night shots with the X-E1 and 35mm (specs & price) / 18mm lens (specs &price)… See them here!

image courtesy: Mike Kobal

mike kobal photo mikekobal_zps75d24725.jpg

 

 

IBelux 40mm f/0.85 lens for X mount coming this summer for $1,000.

The Chinese-German partnership between Kipon and IBE Optics produced the fastest lens of any digital mirrorless system, the Ibelux 40mm f/0.85. This lens will be sold this summer for around $1,000. It will be available for all current digital mirrorless cameras and that includes of course the X-mount. Don’t know if a lens fast as this is really needed. I don’t expect a great image quality at full aperture. You will have to stop down to get a decent image. The 35mm f/1.4 Fuji lens is certainly the better deal. The German IBE is also known for their video lenses and that is likely the goal of this lens, to be a fast video lens.

 

 

XF18-55mm photozone review

 photo 18-55_zps6a60faea.png

image courtesy: photozone

photozone published his technical review of the XF18-55 zoom lens (read it here).

The Fujinon XF 18-55mm f/2.8-4 R LM OIS may be the hottest reason to enter the Fuji system. It is amazingly sharp throughout the zoom and relevant aperture range. The amount of lateral CAs is generally quite low with the exception of 55mm @ f/4. The Fujinon is not without flaws, of course. Technically it suffers from a high barrel distortion at 18mm and the vignetting is a bit too high at max. aperture. However, these aspects are taken care of either by the camera itself or external RAW converters so you don’t need to worry from a user perspective. The quality of the bokeh (out-of-focus) blur is pretty good for a standard zoom lens but it cannot rival the best prime lenses, of courseIn a nutshell – you can’t go wrong with the Fujinon XF 18-55mm f/2.8-4 R LM OIS

This was just a part of photozone’s verdict about the 18-55 zoom lens. Click here to read the whole review.