Sunday 15 April 2012

Fuji X-Pro 1 - More on the raw file workaround

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I've been doing some more work on the raw file workaround that I wrote about yesterday. 

This produces sharper images for me than either the out of camera jpgs. or using the Silkypix / Fuji software. In fact with a combination of this and a slight boost in saturation and contrast, I was able to produce files that resembled those from a certain hand built German camera, very closely indeed.

One extra thing I had to do was make sure that the highlight protection in Silkypix was at its maximum, as the Fuji X-Pro 1 does have a tendency to produce blown highlights.

The other thing that I noticed was that when I developed the files using the Super Neutral preset, at 100% there was some slight moire present, though this was easily removable in Adobe Camera Raw. 

Though this is a process which adds time to raw file conversion, certainly the finished files I get do look more like the files I have obtained from other sensors that have no AA filter. While the jpgs. from the X-PRO 1 are undeniably very good indeed, until now using this process, I hadn't seen that lovely 3-D crispness that it so evident from the Leica M9 and the Sigma Foveon sensor. Now its there and the images on my screen look very good indeed.

There is a very slight amount of luminance noise that occurs because of the extra sharpening I use, but overall the files look great. When I factor in the great high ISO performance from this sensor, then it is indeed a serious contender for the accolade of the best digital sensor. So far!!

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Saturday 14 April 2012

A Fuji X-Pro 1 Adobe Camera Raw workaround + X-Pro 1 is really fast!

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Fuji X-Pro 1 Voigtlander 75mm f/2.5 Heliar

I thought that I could get more out of the X-Pro 1 raw files than Silkypix was allowing me. Here's how. Its not ideal but it works for me somewhat better than just using the Fuji software.

In Silkypix there is a preset for development called Super Neutral, and indeed it does seem to be just that. i.e. a reasonably close version of the actual raw file.


As you can see just doing this has lightened up the shadows as opposed to the out of camera jpg. plus there is more detail in the sky and a more accurate colour.

I then save this version as a TIFF, making sure that there is no sharpening applied to the files.

Photoshop CS6 then lets me open that TIFF file in Adobe Camera Raw 7.

At the present time this is the closest that I can get to a raw file that opens up in a more sophisticated raw converter. It means that I can work with a lossless file and I certainly can get better results than just working on TIFF files in Photoshop. The main reason I like this is that I can use the ACR sharpening parameters. Firstly I like them better than what Silkypix uses, Secondly, I'm used to working with them, so finally I have some idea of what I can get from these X-Pro 1 files.

The first thing to say is that if you think you can get sharp clean images from either the jpgs. or the Silkypix conversions, then you will be amazed at what this can produce.

The "Super Neutral" TIFF is quite low contrast and not bitingly sharp.


However, by running the TIFF file through ACR 7, I'm able to get something thats closer to what I would expect these files to produce.


This is crisper, with a lot better contrast. Now, maybe I could get results similar to this in Silkypix, but so far I've been unable to work out how to do that. The sharpening parameters, in particular, seem a little crude to me, and apart from anything else, this is easier and quicker for me as I know how to get the results I want in Photoshop.

Finally I would say, that now I have some way of (more or less) being able to compare the X-Pro 1 files with every other camera I've used, my impression is that these files are capable of astounding resolution and sharpness. The above Photoshopped file is a 100% blowup, and it looks pretty good to me. I'm not going to say the name, but very reminiscent of a certain German, hand-built camera of my recent aquaintance.

As to the speed issue. I have been whingeing on about the speed of this camera, but yesterday gave me the opportunity to use it as a seriously fast camera. Using a NIKON 28mm f/2.8 lens, set to f11 at ISO 200, and focused on infinity (or using zone focusing / hyperfocal distance), I was able to take these shots as if I was using a point and shoot camera. When the X-Pro 1 doesn't have to focus a lens, the shutter is actually pretty quick. It is of course the way that photographers have used certain hand built German cameras in the past for street photography. Wide-angle lenses and zone focusing have served the Magnum agency well down the years.

So the X-Pro 1 CAN be a fast camera under certain circumstances, but it does require the right lens, the right adapter and the right light, as far as I'm concerned. However since images like the following are typical of what I take, then its a handy solution.

FUJI X-PRO 1 Nikon 28mm f/1.4
All images - Fuji X-PRO 1 Nikon 28mm f/2.8D lens

FUJI X-PRO 1 Nikon 28mm f/1.4

FUJI X-PRO 1 Nikon 28mm f/1.4

FUJI X-PRO 1 Nikon 28mm f/1.4

FUJI X-PRO 1 Nikon 28mm f/1.4

FUJI X-PRO 1 Nikon 28mm f/1.4

So with the combination of this and my Raw file workaround, I'm starting to warm even more to the X-Pro 1. However that doesn't mean that I don't want to see Fuji firstly improve the camera as much as they able to via a firmware update, and most importantly sort out whatever problems they seem to be having with Adobe, Phase One and Apple and get the raw files from this camera supported ASAP.


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Friday 13 April 2012

NEX-7 or X-PRO 1? A sort of conclusion on my X-Pro 1 review.

Sony NEX-7 Nikon 28mm f/2.8D

Sony NEX-7 Nikon 28mm f/2.8D

Sony NEX-7 Nikon 28mm f/2.8D 50mm f/1.8D

Sony NEX-7 Nikon 28mm f/2.8D 50mm f/1.8D

Sony NEX-7 Nikon 28mm f/2.8D 50mm f/1.8D

Sony NEX-7 Nikon 50mm f/1.8D

Got myself a leather case for the NEX-7 from ebay, which is very nice and improves the grip on the camera plus offers some protection. Just to get some perspective on the X-PRO 1 I went out with the NEX-7 and the two Nikon primes - 28mm f/2.8 and 50mm f/1.8.

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I also took a few more shots with the 35mm f/1.4 Fuji lens, since I've been using a lot of MF lenses recently.

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So X-Pro 1 or Nex-7? Well I'd love to be able to take the Fuji sensor and put it in the Sony. Then I really would have my perfect camera. (Or as close as its possible to get to that at this moment in time)

I find the NEX-7 really easy to use, and its also a pleasure. This really is the nicest camera I've ever used. Its combination of small size, light weight, good functionality and handling (improved by the case), AF speed and accuracy, easy and accurate manual focusing, decent battery life and once I had it set up right, simplicity. The image quality is fine. At low ISO's its like everything else really. There's just more of it!!

The X-Pro 1 has some of the above, but in most cases, I find it less pleasurable to use than the Sony. Its small(ish), light(ish), the AF is, well what it is, the MF is OK, but not a patch on the Sony, functionality is again best described as it is what it is, it has poor battery life (though this is much improved by using the optical viewfinder only) and its not that simple.

The pictures I took with it were with the Fuji 35mm f/1.4 lens, and just to see what it was like after using the camera in MF mode for a while I turned everything on. The clicking aperture blades were back, grinding AF etc. I was doing some close ups alternating with longer shots, so I was turning the macro on, then off, then on again etc. Looking at the images later the camera had missed focus several times, despite beeping confidently at me to tell me it was locked on. So much the same as before really, and in line with what virtually every reviewer and user has said.

But then there's these pictures that come out of it. 

And thats the dilemma with this camera. How much can I, and indeed any of us, put up with to achieve this superb image quality? Of course there shouldn't be this dilemma in the first place. None of us are expecting D4 handling and speed here, but some of what the X-Pro 1 does (and doesn't do) is nothing short of disgraceful. Familiarising myself with the clicking aperture blades again, I realised just how noisy they are. 

I read a piece by a wedding photographer who was keen to use the camera but was concerned about the "rattlesnake effect" in practice. He made the good point that yes DSLR's can have noisy shutters, particularly when using a motordrive, but that is a noise that is both understood and at a wedding, expected. The clicking blades are an unusual sound and would attract attention because non-photographers wouldn't know what they were. Drawing attention to your camera is not a good idea. The whole point is to get people to ignore it. 

The problem with this, and the fact that the screen and EVF have a slow refresh rate and the poor battery life, mean that this cameras obvious advantages in low light situations, because of the great sensor, are sabotaged by the inadequacies of the body.

This combined with the slow noisy focusing and the inexusable number of times it either won't focus at all or misfocuses, makes for a flawed camera. And yes I've said it before, but the more times this gets highlighted, the more Fuji will get the message that they really need to fix this, and fix it fast.

If I was asked whether or not I would recommend the camera, I would say yes for the image quality, but be very sure that its faults don't outweigh its advantages for you. (Actually thats probably advantage - singular!!) If you want to be unobtrusive and use AF, then that might not be possible. If you're looking for that "Cartier-Besson moment" then just cross your fingers that it doesn't mess it up.

If you want to use it as a studio, still-life or landscape camera with top quality manual focus lenses then you would get my enthusiastic endorsement. As a street photography camera, quick reaction camera or indeed even as a camera for documenting your family life, I would issue a warning. Something along the lines of, see if it gets some fixes in a firmware update or if not wait for the X-Pro 2. Or going back to the point of this post, get a NEX-7. Or if you need something that works well in low light, a NEX-5n + Viewfinder + Zeiss 24mm f/1.8 is cheaper than the X-Pro 1 body alone.

So how is it for me? Well as previously stated, I'm planning to use it as a manual focus camera virtually exclusively. I will use it when I have the time to get the best out of it. I've written before that its nothing to do with the fact that pictures with this sensor will sell more, because they won't. I just love looking at the images on my screen. In many cases they are really beautiful. I think after its been around for a while, people will stop asking questions like "Is the image quality as good as a Leica?" and start asking questions like "Does x,y, or z have as good image quality as the X-Pro1?" 

I can't actually think of any other camera that produces files that look like this. And another thought has occurred to me. This is possibly the first sensor that produces images that work best in the digital domain. What I mean by this is that you would think that a digitally produced photograph would be a clean, accurate representation of what the camera and lens is pointed at. To a large extent this hasn't happened. The need for AA filters is just one example. With increases in bandwidth speed more and more full-size images are going to be viewable on computer monitors, iPads and the like. The web doesn't have to have only low-res images anymore. The X-Pro 1 sensor strikes me as ideal for producing representations of the world that get the closest to reality that two dimensions can. And while something like a Leica M9 is designed to produce a film-like appearance the Fuji X-Pro1 seems to achieve something different. Ironically it includes film-like simulation presets. Though this to me is just some marketing device to remind us of Fuji's past, since these presets may be attractive to some, but as far as I can see they have little in common with their silver halide predecessors. 

One thing is for sure, this sensor does move things on. I was reading some posts on a Leica forum yesterday, and there were some taking every opportunity to criticise the Fuji. But then I guess if you have recently spent £5000 on a camera you might well try to convince others (and yourself) that this was money well spent. But there were some who were obviously both shocked and impressed by just how good these Fuji files are. Certainly any lingering idea that I might yet regret selling the M9 has disappeared ever since I've had the Fuji.

So this is pretty much the end of this "review" section in my adventures with the X-Pro 1. There will of course be lots more posts about me using it. Probably alternatively getting frustrated with it and impressed with the picture quality. I might be inclined to do a test between the Fuji and Voitlander 35mm lenses, but then I might not since from what I've seen they are both very good indeed, and it strikes me it would probably be too close to call. The Fuji is certainly better wide open and the Voitlander slightly better around f/8-f/11. However the Voigtlander has one overriding advantage. It doesn't make a noise!! 

There are plenty of other reviews and experiences around and many are well worth reading. These often include the two Fuji lenses I don't own.

Chris (CMHHK) wrote a phrase a while ago at the end of his impressions of the Fuji. You can see that post here:-

"If I were only allowed one camera, it would not be an X-Pro. If I were allowed two cameras, then maybe one would be an X-Pro 1."

I can't think of a better summing up of what I think of the camera.

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Thursday 12 April 2012

FUJI X-PRO 1 with NIKON D lenses

Fuji X-Pro 1 Nikon 28mm f/2.8D and 50mm f/1.8D lenses

Fuji X-Pro 1 Nikon 28mm f/2.8D and 50mm f/1.8D lenses

It always surprises me that more people don't use Nikon D lenses when using adapted manual focus lenses. There's always lots of words written about Leica and M-mount lenses but very little about these little black wonders. They are (mostly) excellent lenses with excellent optical performance and many of them are small, light and relatively inexpensive.

The 35mm f/1.2 Voigtlander I've been using with my X-Pro 1 is somewhat heavy, and tends to make a bit of a nonsense of the ethos of the camera system. Using it yesterday, it was the heaviest outfit I've carried around for a while, and while it was enjoyable to use, its just that little bit too much. With the NEX-7 its just about OK, but the X-PRO 1 is a heavier camera. 

I thought I'd try a couple of Nikons out. The 28mm f/2.8 and the legendary (£99) 50mm f/1.8. Both performed very well and as expected. Not quite (though by a small margin) as sharp as the Voigtlander, but pretty close and easier to carry. Plus of course I can use them on my NEX and m4/3 cameras.

Here's a few 100% blowups so that you can see what they are like.

Fuji X-Pro 1 Nikon 28mm f/2.8D

Fuji X-Pro 1 Nikon 28mm f/2.8D

Fuji X-Pro 1 Nikon 28mm f/2.8D

Fuji X-Pro 1 Nikon 28mm f/2.8D

Fuji X-Pro 1 Nikon 28mm f/2.8D

Fuji X-Pro 1 Nikon 28mm f/2.8D

Fuji X-Pro 1 Nikon 28mm f/2.8D

Fuji X-Pro 1 Nikon 28mm f/2.8D

Fuji X-Pro 1 Nikon 28mm f/2.8D and 50mm f/1.8D lenses

Fuji X-Pro 1 Nikon 28mm f/2.8D and 50mm f/1.8D lenses

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Wednesday 11 April 2012

FUJI X-PRO 1 Grip

Fuji X-Pro 1 Voigtlander 35mm f/1.2 Nokton Kipon LM > FX adapter

Fuji X-Pro 1 Voigtlander 35mm f/1.2 Nokton Kipon LM > FX adapter

The detachable grip for the X-PRO 1 arrived yesterday. Provides something a little more substantial to hold on to. Useful with these somewhat heavier m-mount lenses.

Concerning that, this combination is pretty chunky. Its only the same as a Leica etc. would weigh, but after what I've been used to recently it feels quite heavy. 

I have a plan B.

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Fuji X-Pro 1 + M-Mount lenses

Fuji X-Pro 1 Voigtlander 75mm f/2.5 Heliar Kipon LM > FX adapter
Fuji X-Pro 1 Voigtlander 75mm f/2.5 Heliar Kipon LM > FX adapter

THE ADAPTER

At this moment in time the only adapters that I know of are made by Kipon. I got mine via ebay. I have one already for Nikon mount lenses, which was excellent and this one for m-mount lenses is also very good quality. The lenses fits well with no movement and likewise the adapter slots nicely onto the camera and the whole thing feels very secure. 

Also like my Nikon adapter, infinity is infinity. This is very useful, as it allows for accurate zone focusing using the hyperfocal distance with the depth of field markings on the lens. On several occasions yesterday I just set the lens at infinity, confident that what I was photographing would be in focus. 

From my experience with them these Kipon adapters seem every bit as good as Novoflex ones I've bought in the past. They aren't cheap (£60), but then if you are using m-mount lenses, its probably a good idea to get a decent adapter.

THE LENSES

I have two m-mount lenses currently. The recently updated Voigtlander 35mm f/1.2 Nokton and a 75mm  f/2.5 Heliar. This latter lens is an old Voigtlander design and is a screw mount, which I have an m-mount adapter for.

FOCUSING WITH THE LENSES

For anyone who has used MF lenses on the latest Panasonic m4/3 cameras this will seem very familiar as the process is almost exactly the same. There's a thumbwheel on the back of the camera, easily accessible for my thumb while looking through the viewfinder. After setting the camera up for manual focus and turning the SHOOT W/O LENS option to on, pressing this thumbwheel brings up a magnified view. I'm having trouble finding out exactly what this magnification is, but its certainly enough. In good light it works well, but in low light the refresh rate on the EVF is a little slow and there is a fair amount of "smearing" in the viewfinder. However, while not being as clear as a Panasonic EVF, it still works well enough.

There is no focus peaking as with the Sony NEX system, but I haven't found it to be a problem. It even coped with my wearing dark glasses. Non-polaroid, I should mention, as my polarised glasses turn the EVF completely black.

I often had the aperture set to f/8 and f/11 and I was still able to focus accurately on the 35mm lens, without having to open the lens up to get precise focus. The 75mm lens, with its more limited depth of field was really easy to focus at all apertures. I was also able to focus without using the magnificaton on the 75mm lens, though the 35mm was somewhat more difficult.

Without the focus peaking of the Sony NEX-7, NEX-5n, its somewhat slower, but as I said almost exactly the same as the Panasonic system and somewhat better and less fiddly than that on the Olympus Pens.

Fuji X-Pro 1 Voigtlander 35mm f/1.2 Nokton
Fuji X-Pro 1 Voigtlander 35mm f/1.2 Nokton

PLEASE NOTE:- All of the samples in this post are available as full-size samples by clicking on them > flickr > Actions > View all sizes > Original. I am happy for you to view these images, but would remind you that they are copyright and would ask you to respect that.

USING THE X-PRO 1 AS A MANUAL FOCUS CAMERA

All of a sudden this is a different camera or me. All the clicking, clattering and grinding of the AF system goes away. Suddenly you realise that the shutter is actually very quiet. Not as quiet as the X100, but still not intrusive. My 35mm lens is also much heavier than any of the Fuji native lenses and the camera has a very solid feel with it fitted. This is very different to the feel of the X100.

In fact the whole outfit feels very "Leicaesque". It reminded me very much of using cameras like the M8 and M9. I know its just psychological, but with these metal lenses on the camera, the body suddenly developed more "gravitas", but thats just me!!

I indicated yesterday that I enjoyed shooting like this, and that was certainly the case. In a previous post I wrote about using my Nikon mount Voigtlander 20mm and how easy that was. This is similar. I personally enjoy this simplified approach and its going to be how I mostly use the camera.

Its a very personal view, but my X-PRO 1 has changed from being a flawed camera that I struggle to make do what I want, into a nicely balanced picture taking machine that I feel completely in control of. I really do have a problem with noisy cameras. I dislike them. The X-PRO 1 is the most persistantly noisy I've ever used, and the AF grinding makes me think that its going to self-destruct any minute! Using these MF lenses I feel like a photographer again, instead of a technician.

I also love the fact that I do everything through the viewfinder. I compose, focus, change settings and check my results through the EVF. I had the screen turned off throughout most of yesterdays shooting, which considering the poor battery life is useful.

The camera mostly handles very well with these lenses. However I have ordered the grip, which is due to arrive today. I found that using handgrips on both of my Leicas gave me better handling on those cameras. I don't particularly like the "neither one thing or the other" feel of the X-PRO 1 as it is, but I didn't have any particular problems.

THE RESULTS

I'm going to go through some of these pictures individually.

Fuji X-Pro 1 Voigtlander 35mm f/1.2 Nokton
Fuji X-Pro 1 Voigtlander 35mm f/1.2 Nokton

I had the camera set on ISO 320 the whole time. Now I can't tell the difference between this and ISO 200. In fact up to about ISO 640, the images are still amazingly clean. Because there's no IS available, I wanted fast shutter speeds and the smallest aperture I could get. This was taken at f/8 I think and was focused on infinity. This allowed me to keep the boater sharp. If you look at the full size file you will see that the writing on the lock gate is slightly out of focus. 

Fuji X-Pro 1 Voigtlander 75mm f/2.5 Heliar
Fuji X-Pro 1 Voigtlander 75mm f/2.5 Heliar

This is the 75mm at f/4.The bokeh on some Voigtlander lenses is not the "creamiest" but still nice enough.

Fuji X-Pro 1 Voigtlander 35mm f/1.2 Nokton
Fuji X-Pro 1 Voigtlander 35mm f/1.2 Nokton

This shot was taken wide open at f/1.2 on the 35mm lens. If you look at the full size version you will see that very little of it is in sharp focus. However, I discovered that the X-PRO 1 does an amazing thing. On the out of camera jpgs. it "cleans up" CA from non-native lenses. This 35mm lens is very prone to CA and fringing wide open, but as you can see there's none here. We are all aware that in many circumstances, manufacturers use the cameras firmware / software to "correct" lenses, but that is usually with lenses that the camera can "see". However what seems to be happening with the Fuji is that it is making these CA "corrections" on the image itself. Both of these Voigtlanders show both CA and fringing at wide apertures on other cameras, but not here. If it is the case that the Fuji cleans up the image itself rather than applies some kind of preset to a particular lens, then that is a very significant and very useful development.

Fuji X-Pro 1 Voigtlander 75mm f/2.5 Heliar
Fuji X-Pro 1 Voigtlander 75mm f/2.5 Heliar

This was a shot focused without using the magnification and I took quite a few "duck bothering" pictures. Most were successful.

Fuji X-Pro 1 Voigtlander 75mm f/2.5 Heliar
Fuji X-Pro 1 Voigtlander 75mm f/2.5 Heliar

Its in these telephoto shots where the Fuji scores over the Leica rangefinder system. With a Leica its really difficult to see if you have focus when the subject is some distance away. If you have a lens with proper infinity focus then its no problem. I had an old Leica 135mm which didn't and it was very tricky to use.

Fuji X-Pro 1 Voigtlander 35mm f/1.2 Nokton Kipon LM > FX adapter
Fuji X-Pro 1 Voigtlander 35mm f/1.2

Fuji X-Pro 1 Voigtlander 35mm f/1.2 Nokton Kipon LM > FX adapter
Fuji X-Pro 1 Voigtlander 35mm f/1.2

These last two are from raw files. The top one has one of the Velvia presets applied in Silkypix. Its a bit over the top even for me! And of course it looks nothing like Velvia. I'm currently engaged in scanning a lot of Velvia transparencies, so I know what it looks like. It isn't this!

The bottom picture shows just how well these files upsize. This is upsized to 60MB or about 20MP. 

THE BOTTOM LINE

For me this was just what I'm looking for. I enjoyed the process and the results are very good indeed. Chris (CMHHK) has reported some softness in the jpgs. from some of his Leica lenses and I guess it may depend on what you use. Certainly I have no complaints about these two Voigtlander m-mounts, or indeed the 20mm Nikon f-mount lens I used before. I enjoy using the camera a lot more, and though there isn't much improvement using the Voigtlander 35mm over the native 35mm Fuji lens, there is some, and thats worth it for me.

Finally a contentious point. When people were comparing this cameras results to those from a Leica M9, I was somewhat skeptical, and to be honest couldn't see how that could be possible. Steve Huff in his review of the X PRO 1 is very definite that the Fuji can't equal the M9 in terms of image quality. While I take his point, these judgements are based on either jpgs. or an ACR (M9) v Silkypix (XP1) comparison. I'm not sure this is a way to actually make that comparison. Certainly my Leica M9 shots processed in Photoshop are (slightly) sharper than what I can get out of the XP1 + Silkypix. But since I can't use Photoshop for the Fuji shots I don't know what they are capable of. 

However what I can say is that I think I prefer the results from the Fuji. They are certainly sharp enough (somewhat of an understatement!) but the real advantage is that they are free from any type of noise or colour distortions. And this applies to the jpgs. which are far and away the best I've ever seen straight out of a camera. Add in the ISO bonus from the Fuji and I have no reason to change my opinion when I first got this camera that this is the best image quality I have ever seen. 

Anyway, have a look at the full size samples and see what you think.

By the way for anyone who is planning to shoot with alternative and/or legacy lenses on an X-PRO 1, I've started a group for that over on flickr.

Its at:- http://www.flickr.com/groups/1933080@N21/ I'd be happy to see you and your pictures there.

N.B. to see more on the cameras and lenses featured in this post click on the relevant labels (tags and keywords) below.

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