To Share or not to Share?

I’m caught in a dilemma… and maybe you can help me out with this.

As you know, recently Fujifilm announced the Infrared version of the Fuji X-T1 (specs & price here). For the first time in many years, I haven’t published anything about a new Fuji product ahead of its release. But this doesn’t mean I haven’t heard about the X-T1 IR camera. In fact I did got an anonymous hint.

But here is the thing: in all these years I’ve tried to become more and more accurate with the rumors I share, because I do feel the responsibility towards you of what I write. Some of you even make their buying decisions based on my rumors. My careful rumor approach allowed me to have a rumor hit rate of almost 90% in 2015 (and about 85% in 2014). I know the usual trolls will say the ranking is a fake. So I invite you to go through every single rumor, check them, and then tell me your results (and I’ll be happy to publish them on FujiRumors ;) ).

And because I’d like to keep (and maybe even raise) the high rumor hit rate, I was too careful with the X-T1 IR rumor, didn’t publish it and wanted to investigate further.

Before you answer the Poll, consider this:

FAKE RUMORS: In the last 2-3 years, the number of fake rumors send anonymously via rumor box has grown a lot. This made my work very complicated. My deepest gratitude goes to those sources, who shared correct rumors and helped me to sort out the fake ones.

However, the growing number of fake rumors forced me to risk less and be more careful. Plenty of fake rumors never went online in the last 3 years… it would be a fun list to publish one day… at least the Top 20 or 50 fake rumors.

About Anonymous/New sources

And just to be clear: let me express a big Thank You to those Anonymous/New sources, who shared amazing and correct rumors with FR in the past, driven by the genuine will to help me… and there are many of them (just check the rumor section). Luckily in almost all cases I’ve also shared their rumors on FR… almost all, except the few incorrect ones and the X-T1 IR.

I know not everyone is a FR hater and wants to undermine the credibility of this site.

I really appreciate your help and will continue to share your rumors. So keep up sharing them using the rumor box (it would be VERY useful if you’d use a nick-name) or via email at fujirumor@gmail.com.

The Poll

So, the question now is, should I risk more and share more rumors coming from anonymous sources?

This would NOT mean that I’d share every anonymous rumor, since I’m aware that many fakes are send in to try to attack FujiRumors. I’d still keep a certain “rumor-filter”. But after the missed X-T1 IR rumor I’m somehow wondering if I should take more risks.

There is a part in me that says “Hey, you are FujiRumors and not FujiFacts! Risk more!”. But there is a still much stronger part in me that desires to be as accurate as possible.

I’ll think about it and make my decision soon… but I’d love to hear what you guys recommend me to do. So here is the Poll.

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thanks for your time,
Fuji X Forum, Facebook, Google+, RSS-feed and Twitter

Fuji’s Kaizen: X-shooters’ joy is Rico’s sorrow ;)

Rico is working on a second edition of his very popular Fuji X-T1 book. It is now available for pre-order at Amazon here. X-shooters, who already purchased the first edition at RockyNook here, will get a special upgrade offer. More details later on here on FujiRumors… stay tuned.

And who knows if this will be the last edition… according to an anonymous source here, Fuji is already working on the X-T1 Firmware 5.

image courtesy: xuser101

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FXF member xuser101 was a RAW shooter, but since he owns a Fuji, he gravitated more and more towards the JPEG’s. Now, after a year and a half he capitulated and said “OK Fuji… You win. I’ll shoot JPG!”

Here is an excerpt of his story:

“Well, after about a year and a half with the X-T1, I think I’m finally going to shoot JPG only (except for rare occasions).  Why?  I just can’t replicate (in Lightroom) the great color and tones I get straight from the camera.  I’ve tried for awhile now to tweak the Adobe provided camera profiles to my liking, but they always seem to have too much contrast and the color just isn’t quite the same. 

Adjusting white balance in Lightroom?  The X-T1 has the most accurate auto white balance I’ve seen from a camera.  I previously gave that nod to the Olympus E-M1.  So, adjusting white balance for my Fuji files isn’t as important anymore. 

Recovering highlights or lifting shadows in Lightroom?  That’s not as important anymore either because I’ve editing the in-camera settings to my liking so that I don’t have really harsh shadows or highlights.  I can tweak a little here and there as I see fit for the JPG files in Lightroom.”

Personally, I do love the flexibility of Fuji’s RAW files (and the impressive dynamic range). Shooting RAW turns out to be very handy in situation, where I don’t have much time to worry about the right in-camera settings. A graduation party at school? A teachers’ strike? Better focus on capturing the right moment and adjust the settings afterwards in post.

That being said, the colors that come out of the magic Fuji X box are also for me the main reason to try to keep as often as possible the JPEG image or to tweak the RAW file using the build-in RAW converter. And I know I’m not alone to like the Fuji Colors. In fact, as shown in this Poll, the Fuji Colors are one of the Top 3 Reasons for X-shooters to own a Fujifilm camera.

Ok, you got it… I shoot RAW+JPEG. And what do you shoot? Looking at your Fuji X Photo archieve, how many of your images are processed RAW’s or OOC JPEG’s (maybe slightly tweaked in post)?

Feel free to drop your vote and explain us your choice in the commments… and always keep in mind: Fujifilm is Reading you!!! … not kidding ;)

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Bart Simpson should try a Fuji X series Camera ;)

XF90mmF2 WR
USA: AmazonUS / BHphoto / Adorama EU: AmazonDE / AmazonUK / AmazonFR / WexUK  / PCHstore / AUS: Camerapro

ephotozine just published the XF 90mm F2 Review. They end up highly recommending this lens (anyone surprised?). Here is their PROS and CONS list:

PROS
Very good sharpness in the centre at maximum aperture
Outstanding sharpness across the frame when stopped down
Relatively lightweight
Traditional design
Excellent build
Weather sealing
Quick focusing
Low distortion and falloff
CONS
Focus mechanism can rattle as it is free to move inside the lens when not in use – although this is completely normal!

Check out the full review at ephotozine.

More XF 90mm reviews

First Impressions at thephoblographer /Scotland’s National Airshow (most shots taken with the 90mm) at macleancomms / Japanese Review at dc.watch (translation) / Real World Samples at dpreview

XF 90mm FXF discussions

– XF 90mm F2 vs Samyang 85mm F1.4 vs ???
– XF 90mm F2 Vs. XF 50-140mm bokeh?
– 90mm sample pics?
– XF 90mm F2 OOC JPG sample pics

greetz from the Bangkok Airport ;)
Fuji X Forum, Facebook, Google+, RSS-feed and Twitter

As you might remember, back in March Fujifilm USA launched a PRO-Rental Service, where you could rent X-gear for 3 or 7 days.

Well, now you can rent camera and lenses also for 14 or 28 days. Check out the price list for the lenses and the one for the cameras here. More at the dedicated Fuji page here.

Discounted rates will be applied to X-shooters, whose X-gear is send in for repair and need a replacement for uninterrupted workflow.

Here is the Press-Release of March 2015.

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Ok, my plane is leaving very soon. Sadly I have to leave this wonderful country, where I had a great time.
If you want, guess the lens I used for this shot and the place, and then check out the answer here

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Fun… my absolute favorite beach (discover the name here)… and weather sealing works ;)

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Beautiful walks!

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And I also found the perfect room for me… the “FujiRoom” :)

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Kids Love the Instax Printer – never travel without it!

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I’ve tried to give my best with the rumors and X-news coverage, even during my vacation