Fuji XF 55-200 Revisited, the 18-135, and Other Musings!

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GUEST POST FEATURE
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guest post by Philip Sutton: philipsuttonphotography website + Instagram @finartfoto

Previous guest posts of Philip Sutton

  • Fuji X-T1, X-T2 – A New Way of Seeing! – Read here
  • Fuji X-T2 and X-T1 – a New Perspective on Myanmar in 2017 – Read here
  • Fuji X-T2/X-T1 – Recce in Bali – Read here

As you would have read on my last two blogs, I had recently sold off all of my Nikon gear over the last year or so and replaced everything with Fuji equipment. I have extensively used my 18-135 lens and the marvellous little 35mm f2. The 18-55 I never liked (not sharp or very useful wide open at the 18 or 55 end), so that was sold recently on ebay. However, the 55-200 kind of sat there in no-man’s land and never really got used. I did a commercial shoot last year where I had to shoot over 25 models for our local TAFE (Technical and Further Education). The girls were graduating from their Makeup and Beauty Course, and I was asked to photograph the models for their portfolios. Of course the 55-200 was the perfect choice for that occasion. The photos looked great and everybody was very pleased with the results.

One of the models from the shoot with the 55-200 lens.

After that – I kind of popped the lens back into the camera cupboard and forgot about it. I had thought long and hard about the lenses I would take on the month trip to Myanmar at Christmas, but because the 55-200 lens was not sealed, it did not even get on the short list. I ended up specifically purchasing the 18-135 because of the weather sealing. I had been to Myanmar on two prior occasions and I remembered how unbelievably dusty and dirty it can be over there (especially Mandalay and Hsipaw).

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DPReview Fujifilm GFX 50s Review: “The Best Image Quality We’ve Seen to Date” (Gold Award)

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DPReview just published their full Fujifilm GFX 50S review… and it get’s the gold award.

Here are the Pros and Cons

Pros Cons
  • 51.4MP, 44 x 33mm sensor yields high image resolution
  • Excellent image quality in both Raw and JPEG
  • ISO invariant behavior above ISO 1600 gives increasing amounts of highlight recoverability
  • Contrast Detect AF is accurate and precise
  • Fujifilm color science, and color chrome effect, in larger than APS-C size
  • Direct controls provide for engaging shooting experience
  • AF joystick + touchscreen makes selecting an AF point simple, effective
  • Touchscreen flips vertically and horizontally
  • Weather-sealing and solid build quality
  • Comfortable ergonomics
  • Plenty of custom buttons
  • Dual card slots give flexibility and capacity
  • Electronic first curtain shutter mode minimizes risk of shutter shock
  • Lack of mirror avoids mirror-induced shock other MF systems bring
  • In-camera Raw processing lets you make full use of excellent JPEG engine
  • Easy-to-use Wi-Fi
  • Slow native lenses do not take full advantage of camera’s sensor size
  • Contrast Detect AF speeds can be sluggish in moderate light, often fails in dim or backlit situations
  • No high speed flash sync
  • AF-C is virtually unusable due to constant hunting
  • Moiré is visible in fine detail and patterns
  • ‘Shimmering’ and moiré in the EVF when focus is initiated
  • Unduly rolling shutter in complete (silent) E-shutter mode
  • No way to link minimum shutter speed to focal length with Auto ISO
  • No ISO 100 during video capture
  • No dedicated exp. comp. dial
  • Rear dial can be difficult to turn due to its position
  • Limited lens selection at launch

They also say:

“In principle, there’s a full frame camera that can match the Fujifilm in each of the specific areas in which it might be expected to excel: resolution, dynamic range and noise. […] However, if you aren’t pushing the camera to its limits in any of these respects, then the difference becomes negligible. The GFX’s greatest strength is its combination of all of these characteristics.

[…] And though it does offer the best combo of dynamic range, resolution and noise performance of any camera on the market, it only beats its full frame competition by a small amount.

[…] If Fujifilm truly wants to steal users away from Canon, Nikon and Sony (and they should), they’re going to have to get serious about a few things: releasing faster glass, improving AF, and packing the most modern sensor technologies that smaller formats provide.

[…] But ultimately, for successfully debuting a new system with an all-around lovely camera and the best image quality we’ve seen to date, the Fujifilm GFX 50S takes home the gold. “

Read the Full Review at DPReview here.

Fujifilm GFX 50s: USA BHphoto, Adorama, AmazonUS

And feel free to join our 10,700+ members strong GFX facebook group and to follow the dedicated GFX facebook page.

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Fujifilm X-E3 Confirmed To Be Announced This Year (2017) – Trusted Source

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Fujifilm X-E3 Mock-up
Fujifilm X-E3 Mock-up

Fujifilm X-E3

I can now confirm via trusted source, that the Fujifilm X-E3 will come this year (2017). A new source said it will come fall 2017.

I would like to say thanks to every one of you guys, who helped me to make pressure on Fujifilm and to make them understand that it would be an epic error to kill the X-E line.

And now I’ll go out in rain and make a joyful dance :-)

Fujifilm reads you guys. Your opinions even make it into official Fujifilm meetings with the press or can push Fujifilm to drop plans on cameras like the monochrome X-Pro. So keep up commenting and sharing here on FujiRumors because…

… together we can be stronger than you might think :)

have a Great Day…
Fuji X Forum, Facebook, RSS-feed and Twitter

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Fujifilm GFX 50s Review at PhotographyBlog: “Simply Outstanding IQ, Endless Details and Excellent Noise”

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Photographyblog just posted their full Fujifilm GFX 50s review. From the conclusions:

“Still image quality is simply outstanding, with seemingly endless detail thanks to the 50 megapixel sensor, huge depth of field that makes it easy to isolate your subject, and excellent noise performance from ISO 100-3200. The two new GF lenses that we tested the GFX 50S with are both excellent performers too, if unsurprisingly pricey, with the 63mm proving to be a great walk-around lens and the 120mm very capable for both macro work and portraiture.

The GFX 50S also impresses when it comes to performance and operation. It almost instantly starts up, and the contrast-based auto-focus system is quick enough to keep up with moving subjects, making the GFX quicker and more versatile than the sloth-like Hasselblad X1D. […] we did miss having a dedicated exposure compensation dial, as on the X-T2, and some of the buttons are rather too small for their own good.

In summary, the Fujifilm GFX 50S is a very impressive debut in the embryonic medium-format mirrorless camera market, and perhaps more importantly, it’s simply a lovely camera to use and one which delivers stellar image quality with the minimum of fuss.“

Check out the whole review at photographyblog. And feel free to join our 10,700+ members strong GFX facebook group and to follow the dedicated GFX facebook page.

Fujifilm GFX 50s: USA BHphoto, Adorama, AmazonUS EU: AmazonDE, AmazonUK, WexUK, ParkCamerasUK, PCHstore AUS: CameraPro

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First Look at Picktorial 3.0 RAW Processor for Fuji X Trans Files: “Lightening Fast Editing Speed”

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The more, the merrier they say, right?

Well, then, as announced yesterday here, there is a new player in the RAW converter game: Picktorial 3.0. It uses a unique X-Trans demosaicing… but it is any good?

Luckily the FujiRumors community is huge and helpful, and you guys didn’t hesitate to share your first impressions to Picktorial in the comments to this post. Moreover, even the Picktorial developer himself is active in the comments and gives helpful advices and answers to your questions.

So here is a first feedback:

Paul Elliott: “Not bad, I like that it’s quick to get going, I don’t like that the panels don’t “Solo”, I don’t like that there (doesn’t seem to be) isn’t a global sharpen. RAF rendering is not great to be honest, fine text loses clarity (compared to Iridient), the contrast slider seems to saturate too much.”

Walter Sayler: “I downloaded and tried it out on a series of pictures. Its pretty quick. I was impressed how good the files looked on default. I’m not sure how you apply Fuji profiles ( I assume you can). Skin retouching was really fast and looked better than Lightroom (I find lightroom to be a little heavy handed). It just might be a lightroom replacement for some as it seems to handle necessary day to day tasks really well. Glad to see a new competitor in town.”

These are just two tidbits from the comments. There is more to read and also the devoplers’ answer to some questions in the comments here.

And as always, when it comes to new RAW-processing software for X-Trans files, Thomas Fitzgerald is always happy to test them and share his feedback. About Picktorial he says amongst the others that:

“I have to say, that based on my initial testing, it seems pretty good in terms of quality. I can’t see any kind of artifacts or edge issues that are apparent in other software. There is no direct support for Fuji film simulations, but it does support DCP colour profiles, so you could technically create them for this.

It does support lens corrections for fuji files, the chromatic aberration correction isn’t great, at least based on my testing. Apparently improvements to this are coming tough.

It’s very fast. Editing is lightening fast. They’re clearly making good use of the GPU because I am really impressed with the speed.

There are a few limitations of the software, and it is missing some features that I personally would consider important […]. I’ve been told that these features are planned for a future update though.”

Read his first look at thomasfitzgeraldphotography here.

You can download Picktorial for a discounted launch price of $39,99 (reg. 69,99) at picktorial.com and a free trial is available too.

Full list of supported Fujifilm cameras here.

Picktorial youtube channel here.

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