If you are tormented by the question “Which X-series camera should I buy?”, then you should right now go straight to Zack Arias’ latest blog post at dedpxl and check out his big Fuji X camera Buyer’s Guide.
Oh, and guess which camera Zack Arias would save, if his studio was going up in flames? The answer can be found at dedpxl.
guest post by Nathan Wright (ohm-image.net)
In part 1 of this review, I discussed the design, operation, controls, and modularity of the Novoflex BALPRO T/S. In this part, I will focus on the stability and accuracy of the BALPRO T/S system for use in the studio.
Focus
Still life photography requires incredibly tight focus. It requires repeatable results. Just-about workmanship and focus can render simple jobs difficult, and lose clients. Most of my non-magazine work is spent nailing angles, lighting, and reflections. The actual taking of photographs is almost an afterthought. After all, when everything is ready, a photograph only requires the depressing of the exposure button. But at the end of a hard day of cleaning, placing, and endless adjusting, I need a camera system that does its job quickly and with as little fuss as possible.
Suffice it to say that when camera/stage angles are set, nothing must ever move. At macro distances, fine reflections can drastically change from the slightest sag of lens or camera.
This is the single biggest reason I prefer using geared equipment. As I mentioned in part 1, the BALPRO T/S has three geared controls:
1. front standard focus
2. front standard shift
3. rear standard shift
Each runs on metal teeth and gears, and is labelled to the millimetre. Measured and minute movements are easy to make. While no camera movement is labelled in increments smaller than 1mm, it is possible to set up good macro composites with the aid of muscle memory and a good eye, not to mention the proper use of a tape measure and those geometry lessons you had in secondary school.
Lateral shifts move with little pressure, and once set, never fall due to gravity. The focusing bolt on the front standard requires greater torque to turn, and it can be locked. As a result, it is a dream to use, and is far more accurate than the camera I used before, the 4×5 Horseman LD (pictured in part 1), which uses plastic focusing gears.
Of course, because the BALPRO T/S lacks a unified monorail, stacked focus, while accurate, is quick and dirty. If you are a capable mathematician, and very, very careful, you can achieve similar results with a good macro tilt/shift lens. The benefit to the BALPRO T/S is that every forward movement increases distance toward the subject in logarithmic, not exponential increments. That means a faster workflow. And a faster workflow means better dime for your time. And I’m not a mathematician.
I do miss the focusing monorail, but after completing four commercial shoots with the BALPRO T/S, I can say with unequivocal indemnity, that these compact bellows are most capable.
Stability
It was a long wait for the Nissin i40 to be in available also for Fuji X cameras. The delivery has started in Asia at the second half of November, then in EU, and finally also in USA (In stock at BHphoto, AmazonUS (via thrid party) and Adorama).
We now have some first samples and reviews about this new flash for Fuji X.
1) colinnichollsphotography says in the conclusions that:
” overall it’s a great piece of kit and really fun and easy to use. I’ve just completed a wedding using this flash and it was great, used mostly in manual in place of my usual Yongnuo’s the lighter option is much better, images to come soon.”
2) Some more samples here at thephotographyhobbyist.
“I’m very impressed with the build quality and features (having used Nikon flashes in the past). I’m also happy to see it comes with a built-in diffuser , bounce card, pouch and flash stand.”
NOTE: X-T1-owners, who plan to buy the Cactus V6 flash trigger with TTL Pass-Through will be disappointed, because the Nissin i40 will not work in TTL Pass-Through on the X-T1/ V6. You can read more at cactus-image. (thx “angry X-T1-V6 user“)
XF 50-140 Shipping
BHphoto has received the next batch of lenses and is right now shipping them to those who placed their pre-orders… hopefully they got enough units to fulfill all pre-orders. For now the lens is marked as “IN STOCK: shipping olny”. The XF 50-140 is out of stock elsewhere in USA, or available overpriced at AmazonUS via third party seller.
XF 50-140 IN STOCK CHECK USA: BHphoto / AmazonUS / Adorama / EU: WexUK / WexDE / PCHstore / AUS: CameraPro
XF 50-140 hands on review
MUST READ: Rico’s First Look at the 50-140 f/2.8!
image courtesy: Tom Grill
1) Tom Grill just completed a full hands-on review of the 50-140mm zoom and included plenty of high res samples for downloading so that you can judge the quality by yourself. The whole article and the samples can be checked out at aboutphotography-tomgrill. Here an excerpt:
2) Preview of the 50-140 at mikemander:
“So… I don’t know about you, but I’d say that lens is pretty darn sharp! In fact, I actually ended up reducing the default level of sharpening in my PhotoNinja workflow from what I normally have it set to, since this shot was simply rendered far too sharp then. Focusing was silent and very snappy and the image-stabilizer seemed extremely effective as well. The bokeh was nice as long as the background was substantially blurred as in the above shot. With only a slight blur, there is some nervousness (outlining) to high-contrast details, as can be seen in the slightly out-of-focus beard hairs in the above photo.”
X100T
USA: BHphoto / AmazonUS / Adorama / EUROPE: WexUK / WexDE / PCHstore / AUSTRALIA: CameraPro
BHphoto also started shipping the silver X100T again. The camera is available in black at pictureline.
CONFESSIONS OF A FUJI FANBOY
Confessions of Fuji Fanboy at olafphotoblog: “Unfortunately, this zoom [XF 50-140] turned out to be really, really good. Damn Fuji! Because of you I had to write another superlative review, which I agree with my forum friends, is totally over-the-top. Micro-contrast? Are you kidding me? I should have known better! What’s even more calamitous is that I dared to publish a few holiday-themed shoots of children at Christmas. How unprofessional! I totally forgot to include MTF data, vignetting info and a scientific evaluation. But the fact that I didn’t include a photo of the wall at 300% is unforgiveable.” Read more at olafphotoblog.
XF 50-140
USA: BHphoto / AmazonUS / Adorama / EUROPE:WexUK / WexDE / PCHstore /
image courtesy: randallcipriano
– Comparing the XF50-140mm to the XF56mm at randallcipriano /
X100T
USA: BHphoto / AmazonUS / Adorama / EUROPE: WexUK / WexDE / PCHstore / AUSTRALIA: CameraPro
bigheadtaco X100T youtube review
– Fujifilm X100T review at photoxels: “Head or heart, you can’t go wrong with the Fujifilm X100T. You will have in your hands a finely crafted camera with excellent image quality, excellent build and ergonomics, and it is an even more delightful camera to use now in its third revision.” / French X100T review at k-pture (translation) / Bigheadtaco Goes To Hong Kong with the Fujifilm X100T, the Leica T and the Ricoh GR at bigheadtaco / Fujifilm X100T laboratory First Shots posted: How do you top the X100S? at imaging-resource /
XF 56mm f/1.2 APD
USA: BHphoto / AmazonUS / Adorama / EUROPE: WexUK / WexDE / AUSTRALIA: CameraPro
– THE REAL DIFFERENCE: XF56 vs XF56 APD vs FF at randallcipriano /
– Graphite Silver: My X-T1 review part 2b at jonasraskphotography / Fuji X-T1 graphite silver: electronic shutter distortion at wimarys / A Fuji Guys unbox the graphite silver X-T1 on youtube here /
Classic Black
David Alan Harvey, Magnum photographer and aslo National Geographic photographer…look at the camera he use in this youtube video :)
48 hours. New York Stories. (X-T1+23mm) at laroquephoto / Nikon D800 and my Fuji X-T1 at jlmphotos / Five things I like about my Fuji X-T1 at jackgrahamphoto / WIldlife Photography with the Fuji XT-1-GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK at jackgrahamphoto / The Fuji X-T1 on African Safari – How Well Did It Work? at daveburnsphoto / Sigma DP1 Quattro vs Fujifilm XT1 JPEG quality at camerlabs / Fujifilm X-T1 Has Pro Appeal and Fits Modern Needs at news360 / Fuji X-T1 – A hands On, Multiple Exposures and Long Exposures at fstoplounge / Fuji X-T1: A Revelation Indeed at daveyoungfotografia / Fuji X-T1 (and X-A1) in Norway at flipbook / Coffee in Tokyo arslan / Price comparison of the X-T1 worldwide at fujifilmindex / Fuji X-T1 Custom Settings & Tips at cliftonbeard / Olympus E-M1 vs. Fuji X-T1 – after using both for a longer period of time at fotodesign-rs / Los Angeles with the X-T1 at stockografie / Fuji X-T1: my favourite camera for travel at wimarys / Day 2 With the Fuji X-T1 at rivalsvs /
Fujifilm X30
USA: BHphoto / Adorama / AmazonUS / BestBuy / EUROPE: wexUK / wexDE / PCHstore
– Fujifilm X30 thumb-rest at the Japnases site dc-watch (translation) / Is the third time the charm? – The Fujifilm X30 Complete Review at mirrorlessons /
X100/S + Converters
[shopcountry 12883]
– “Smaller is better […] Try an X series Fuji. Seriously, try it.” wemakepictures / Photography: Freedom of a Single Focal Length at ditchitall / Fujifilm TCL-X100 tele-conversion lens review at amateurphotographer / Shooting Stitched Panoramas with Fuji X100 Cameras at ianmacdonaldphotography /
Welcome in the X-club to Fuji X Shooter Kenneth Reitz, who is also a Top 15 developer on the mega social coding site Github, as well as being the product owner of Python at Heroku and a fellow at the Python Software Foundation, both significant positions in the software community. kennethreitz.org/camera-equipment.
other X-series cameras
– Westfjords Day 1: Keflavik to Ísafjörður (X-E1/X-M1) at photo.stjeanm / first images with the X-Pro1 at alexandregilbert / All The Fun of the Fair (X-PRO1) at veritymilliganphotography / Fuji X-Pro1: Set-Up for Street Photography – Part I at eyebeamimages / Street Beats – Toronto with the X-Pro1 and Some Scary Mean Dude at petetakespictures / 10 days in Japan with the X-E2 at thomasdlh.exposure / X-E1 vs D800, or David vs Goliath at jiriruzek /
lenses
X-mount lenses
– Wide Angle Wizardry :: Fujifilm XF 10-24mm f4 at derekclarkphotography / Fujinon XF 23mm review at johncaz / FujiFilm XF23mm 1.4 at schoolboycouture / A Review of Fuji’s X-trans CMOS II Sensor and X-mount Lenses at borrowlenses / A Review of the Fuji XF 14mm 2.8 at lightstalking / XF 56mm review at colinnichollsphotography / Fuji 10-24 mm f4 lens at mikecroshaw / Fuji XF60mm f/2.4 R Macro: A Lens Re-visited at daveyoungfotografia / Fujifilm XF18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 Review and Gallery at photomadd / Fuji X-T1 – 18-135mm Zoom Compared To 23mm And 56mm Primes at soundimageplus / Leica T (Typ 701) + 18-56mm Zoom Compared To Fuji X-T1 + 23mm And 56mm Primes. The Appeal Of The Leica T System For Me at soundimageplus / Fuji XF 56mm f/1.2 R: A stunning, ultra-fast portrait lens for X-Series at macfilos / Fujifilm X-T1 + 23mm f/1.4 Lens Review at thephotobrigade / Bringing 1:1 macro to the Fujifilm X system: The Zeiss Touit 50mm Macro Full Review at mirrorlessons /
adapted lenses
London with a 35 year old Yashica 50mm f2 at timallenphoto / Mitakon 24mm f/1.7 lens for Fuji X – First Impressions Review at simonsphotographyblog / Fuji XE2 + OM 28mm F2.8 Lens / Abandoned Slate Quarry in Wales at colinnichollsphotography / A Tale of Two M Lenses (Part 1 of 2 Parts) at findingrange / Zeiss Announces New 35mm f1.4 Lens for M Mount Cameras (which you can use with Fuji’s M-mount adapter) at phoblographer / The New Standard: 56mm at fotografiainc / Can you Really Use Manual Lenses on the X Pro 1? at fstoplounge youtube /
RAW-conversion / processing
Maj: “Hi Patrick – I am sure you are interested in Adobe improving RAW support as much as other Fuji users. I noticed in the comments to an earlier post that someone linked to a lightroom blog and asked users to comment with their dissatisfaction on Adobe’s support of X-Trans RAW files; and it seems it got a fairly good response. The problem is that this isn’t the place to comment as Adobe developers won’t read it. The correct place is here: http://feedback.photoshop.com/photoshop_family/topics/fuji_x_trans_support and people need to +1 the problem on that site which will raise the issue to the top of the problems list and hopefully, just hopefully, Adobe will do something about it and match the great results users are getting with other RAW developers. I wonder if you can promote this in a post some time? We all have a vested interest in improving RAW results so hopefully it’s something you can support.”
Also. check how many comments are all about the Fujifilm X-Trans support from Adobe (Lightroom) on the blog post for the new 5.7 Lightroom here.
– My workflow for natural looking HDR photos at ucphoto / An Improved Starting Point For Fuji X Series RAW Images in OS X at thephotosexpert /
Switch to the X… or mirrorless
– Switching to Mirrorless: Embracing Fujifilm X at danielkorzeniewskiphoto /
Acessories
DiCaPac WP-S3 Underwater Housing For FujiFilm X-T1- XPro1 at capturemyimage /
a bit of everything – New X Book & more
– Lifestyle Campaign preview shot exclusively using Fujifilm X-Series at Alex Lambrechts facebook page here.
– Just Released: A User’s Guide to the Fuji X-System at billfortney
– Fujifilm named a Thomson Reuters 2014 Top 100 Global Innovator (see here) / A night at the museum ~ Lighting sets at prophotonut / Welcome to Classic Chrome at olafphotoblog / A Photo Found on a Fuji X100S That Paid a Visit to the Fuji Repair Facility at petapixel / That Classic Feeling – Classic Chrome at jonasraskphotography / In this video of the song “do they know it’s christmas?, at around the minute 2.57 appears the back of a fujifilm camera… guess which one ;) / Fuji current and future macro solutions at macfilos /
