First Look: Fujifilm XF1.4x TC WR Teleconverter Lens

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First Look: Fujifilm XF1.4x TC WR Teleconverter Lens

by Rico Pfirstinger

Talk to Rico (open forum for questions & feedback)

Rico’s Books at Rocky Nook – Fuji X Secrets Workshops – Rico’s Flickr Sets

Rico’s XF1.4x TC WR Full-Size Sample Images

X-T1 with XF50-140mmF2.8 R LM OIS WR + XF1.4x TC WR
(shot with X-T1, XF56mmF1.2 R APD)

By attaching Fuji’s new 1.4x teleconverter between the XF50-140mmF2.8 R LM OIS WR zoom lens and any Fuji X-mount camera, you can expand its focal reach to 70-196mm. In “full-frame” terms, this equals a maximum focal length of almost 300mm.

X-T1, XF50-140mmF2.8 R LM OIS WR + XF1.4x TC WR, 196mm, f/4, Lightroom

By expanding the original focal length by a factor of 1.4, we are basically cropping the image that’s captured by the host lens, so only 50% of the light that’s entering the lens is actually transmitted to the sensor. This means that the speed of our lens+teleconverter combo is going down one stop: our fast XF50-140mmF2.8 lens turns into a slower XF70-196mmF4 zoom lens.

X-T1, XF50-140mmF2.8 R LM OIS WR + XF1.4x TC WR, 196mm, f/4, Lightroom

In order to communicate correctly when a teleconverter is attached, the lens and the camera both require firmware updates to transmit the correct EXIF data and to make sure that the electronic distance and DOF scale remains accurate. The new firmware files are supposed to be available on October 29. Fuji says that for things to work correctly, we have to first update the camera body and then the lens.

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First Look: Fujifilm XF90mmF2 R LM WR

 

First Look: Fujifilm XF90mmF2 R LM WR

by Rico Pfirstinger

Talk to Rico (open forum for questions & feedback)

Rico’s Books at Rocky Nook – Fuji X Secrets Workshops – Rico’s Flickr Sets

XF90mmF2 R LM WR Official Specs and Information

Rico’s XF90mmF2 R LM WR Sample Images – Rico’s XF90mmF2 R LM WR Bokeh Test

My XF90mmF2 R LM WR pre-production sample is probably the most amazing lens I’ve every used. This is weird, because in their notes accompanying the lens, Fujifilm emphasized that hardware, firmware and image quality weren’t quite final. Well, if this ain’t final—how in the world are they going to top it?

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First Look: Fujifilm X-T10

First Look: Fujifilm X-T10

by Rico Pfirstinger

Talk to Rico (open forum for questions & feedback)

Rico’s Books at Rocky Nook – Fuji X Secrets Workshops – Rico’s Flickr Sets

X-T10 Official Specs and Information

Rico’s X-T10 RAW/Lightoom Sample Images — Ricos’s X-T10 SOOC JPEG Sample Images – Rico’s X-T10 AF Tracking Samples

As of today, the new X-T10 is Fujifilm’s most important camera release in 2015, and it’s clearly targeting both the mainstream and enthusiast market alike. Basically, the X-T10 is a smaller, lighter, cheaper version of the X-T1, even adding a few features that the X-T1 (with firmware 4) can’t offer:

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First Look: XF16mmF1.4 R WR

First Impressions Review: XF16mmF1.4 R WR

by Rico Pfirstinger

Talk to Rico (open forum for questions & feedback)

Rico’s Books at Rocky Nook – Fuji X Secrets Workshops – Rico’s Flickr Sets

Specs – Rico’s XF16mmF1.4 R WR Sample Images – Deutsche Version

^ X-T1 with XF16mmF1.4 R WR

As you might already know, my new book featuring 111 tipps for X-T1 users is now available as an eBook and as a conventionally printed edition. If you are still undecided, click here to download 47 free sample pages. If you like my book and can afford the time, please leave a review at Amazon.

^ X-T1, XF16mmF1.4 R WR, f/1.4, Capture One Pro

Fuji’s latest lens addition has “high-end” written all over it. The XF16mmF1.4 R WR is a fast, weather- and dust-sealed wide-angle prime lens with Nano-GI coating (to eliminate flare and ghosting), a 0.21x magnification close-up capability with a minimum focus distance of only 15 cm (thanks to two floating focus groups) and nine aperture blades for a smooth bokeh with circular blur discs.

^ X-T1, XF16mmF1.4 R WR, f/2.0, SOOC JPEG (Pro Neg. Std)

The lens also features two aspherical elements and two ED (extra low-dispersion) elements that minimize spherical and chromatic aberrations to surprisingly low levels and deliver corner-sharp images even at the widest aperture setting of f/1.4:

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Film Simulations in RAW File Converter EX Version 2

Film Simulations in RAW File Converter EX Version 2

by Rico Pfirstinger

Talk to Rico (open forum for questions & feedback)

Rico’s Books at Rocky Nook – Fuji X Secrets Workshops – Rico’s Flickr Sets

Fuji Film Simulation Sample Images

My new book featuring 111 tipps for X-T1 users is now available as an eBook. Please use this link to get a PDF version and an ePub (Apple iBooks) file and the Kindle version for just $11.99, all DRM-free. If you are still undecided, click here to download 47 free sample pages. If you like the book and can afford the time, please leave a review at Amazon.

On Thursday (26FEB), Fuji will release a new version of its free Silkypix-based RAW File Converter EX converter for Windows and Mac OS. It isn’t much different from the previous version, with one notable exception: RFC EX 2 supports Fujifilm’s original film simulations Provia, Velvia, Astia, Classic Chrome, Pro Neg. Hi, Pro Neg. Std, Monochrome, Monochrome+Yellow filter, Monochrome+Red filter, Monochrome+Green filter and Sepia. Only those simulations will be available in RFC EX 2 that are also available in the respective camera. So if your camera doesn’t support Classic Chrome, neither will RAW File Converter EX 2 when you are processing a RAW file from this camera.

Once the release version of RFC EX 2 is available, you can find your free download here. Initially, the software will offer Fuji film simulation support for X-T1, X100T, X-A2, X30 and XQ2 cameras. Film simulation support for older X models will be available later this year through a free update.

As of now, it’s unclear if the current commercial version of Silkypix 6 will also be updated to support Fuji’s film simulations. I certainly hope so, since Silkypix 6 is more advanced than RAW File Converter EX 2, which is still based on an older release of Silkypix (probably version 4).

Compared to the previous version of RFC EX, sharpening and noise reduction algorithms have been enhanced. However, there is still no Retina display support for Mac OS users.

During the past three weeks, I was able to preview a beta release of RFC EX 2. Since the feature set of version 2 remains mostly unchanged, I concentrated on the new film simulation aspect and compared several straight-out-of-camera JPEG samples with their respective film simulations in RFC EX 2. I also compared shots that were recorded with varying dynamic range settings (DR100%, DR200% and DR400%), and I looked at differences regarding highlight clipping and rendering.

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