Some Thoughts on the Announcements from Nikon and Fujifilm at CES

If you don't know already, the annual Consumer Electronics Show is happening in Vegas right now and several prominent camera makers have chosen to use the event to launch their latest wares. I won't go into everything that was launched. For that you can pay a visit to DpReview which have been doing a good job on reporting the happenings. Instead, I want to share my thoughts on a few things that piqued my interest. Fuji X100s and Fuji X20

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I'm a big fan of the X100. While I was disappointed with the X Pro 1 and eventually sold mine, I missed the Fuji look and eventually got an X100, which I absolutely love. One of the things that I really like about the X100 is the fact that you can process its raw files in just about any software, and they always come out pretty damn good. Well, kiss that option goodbye with the newly announced replacement, the Fujifilm X100s because they've put in the same X-Trans sensor from the X-Pro1 in the x100s. I'm sure that most fuji fans think this is a heretical comment to make, and that this is a great leap forward, but I much prefer the X100 files over the post processing hoop jumping that you have to do if you want to get the best from X-Pro1. On the plus side though, perhaps with more cameras using the propitiatory sensor design a few more companies might add support to their raw converters (I'm looking at you Apple) and maybe Adobe might finally accept that they need to improve Lightroom's handling of the X-Trans files. There's lots of other nice features in the update though, including improvements to autofocus, and a very interesting digital split image focus aid. I'm very keen to see that in real life.

The other big news from Fuji is the X20, the successor to the X10, will also get a new tiny cousin of the larger X-Trans sensor found in the bigger cameras. The results should prove interesting. Again, same caveat as the x100s. This means that you can expect far fewer third parties to support the x20s Raw files. Then again, you never know. Fuji are certainly doubling down on their unique sensor technology, so maybe that will spur better support.

Oh, one cool thing about the X20 is that they've now added some information as an overlay in the optical view finder. That was something I found sorely missing when I tried out the X10. It looks like a nice camera but to be honest, I can't see anything competing with the Sony RX100 until someone else decides to up the sensor size.

Nikon 1 Series

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Nikon announced two new cameras in their mirrorless range. The "J" series now reaches its third incarnation with the J3, and they also introduced a new "S" series, which is a lower end model. The Nikon 1 series has taken a lot of flak from camera enthusiasts, and yet, for the people who use it and take advantage of its unique features, it's giving them great results. The biggest surprise for me regarding the Nikon 1 series was recently reading that it was the biggest selling camera in Japan in the lead up to christmas. I guess Nikon knew what they were doing after all. I have to say, anything I've seen shot with it looks great. The only problem is getting narrow depth of field shots, but then that isn't everything. In fact some photographers would benefit from learning to stop down and give us a sharp image the odd time.

On the subject of the Nikon 1 series, I really home that the next version of the "v" line goes back to the original design. The V1 was lovely, but what the hell were Nikon thinking when they released the V2. It's bloody hideous. If there was an award for the ugliest camera of the year, it would clearly win. It's just that the V1 (and the J series) are beautifully designed, especially the white ones.

Galway in Fuji Colour

One of the things I really love about Galway city is the colour. Many of the buildings are painted in rich vibrant colours and are ideal photo fodder. So when I had the opportunity to spend a little time there this weekend, it was the ideal opportunity to try out my new Fujifilm x100. While I had issues with the X100's bigger brother the X-Pro1 and eventually sold mine, I did miss Fuji's superb colour reproduction. Fujifilm cameras capture colour in a way that can only be described as unique. I'm not sure you would consider it particularly accurate, but it leads to rich vibrant images that really do get your attention. Considering Fuji's heritage in the film world I suppose this isn't much of a surprise. So, when an opportunity came about to take another shot at a fuji camera I decided to give it a go. I have to say, I really do like the x100. It's a great little camera. It doesn't suffer from as many of the quirks as the X-Pro1 does, and more importantly you can open its raw files in just about anything. In fact, they work brilliantly in Aperture which renders them very faithfully. In my opinion it does a better job with raw files from the x100 than Lightroom does.

The other thing was that I wanted to travel light, so again the X100 was an ideal companion. There's the temptation to think that having a single fixed 35mm equivalent lens would be limiting, but if anything it was liberating. Sure there were times when I wished I had a telephoto to zoom in and pick out some detail, but it's an interesting exercise being without a a zoom. Anyway, before this becomes to techie, lets get to the pictures...

As I mentioned earlier, Galway is awash with colour. The shops along the aptly named "Shop Street" in Galway all have amazingly vibrant paint jobs. You could be cynical and say that it's just a ploy to appeal to tourists, but it does make for some great photo fodder!

As you can see the colour of these buildings really does come across brilliantly with Fuji's sensor. And it was a pretty dull day too, so the light didn't favour the situation. As well as the shop fronts, there are plenty of interesting characters along this stretch too..

The All Ireland hurling match was on this weekend to and Galway were finalists so the city was decked out in local flags and colours to show its support:

On the subject of colour, we made an interesting find out by the marina. Well, I knew it was there, but it's the first time I've gone over to actually photograph it. What is it I'm talking about? Why, it's a pile of garage. Or, crushed metal parts to be precise:

As someone who loves texture and detail I could have stayed there all day although I probably would have passed out from iron oxide poisoning. The stench was unbearable.

All in all I got some nice photos that I was pretty happy with, which isn't bad considering I hadn't set out to take pictures in the first place. They're not award winning by any means, but I like them. As for the X100 it's a very enjoyable little camera. It still has a few foibles but it's mostly a pleasure to shoot with. Here's a few more random photos of Galway:

You can see the full set of images over on my google plus page.

Fuji X-Pro 1 Support Comes to Lightroom. A Quick First Look

X-Pro 1 Support has finally come to Lightroom and Camera Raw. Many people have been eagerly awaiting this and now that it's finally here I took a little time this morning to have a look and see what it was like. I've kept all the raw files from everything I've shot so far, so it was simply a matter of going back and loading them into Lightroom. So what's it like? Unfortunately it's a good news, bad news kind of situation. On the one hand, it handles highlights much better than Silkypix. I was able to recover highlights much better than I ever could using the supplied Raw converter. The overall tonality is quite nice, and colours are handled pretty well. They're a little different from what the camera produces in JPEG, but this is normal. They're also a littler different from what Silkypix produces, but nothing too onerous.

On the down side, there are two issues. One minor, the other major. The minor one is that they didn't provide camera profiles like they did on other cameras, so they haven't profiled the various modes (i.e. Velvia etc) It's not that big a deal but it would have been nice.

The major problem is the way it handles fine detail. It get's completely smeared to mush. here's an example:

Click on the image above to view full size (you might need to download it if your window is small). The one on the left is from Lightroom. The one on the right is from Silkypix. The wall is completely smeared and the fine detail in the bricks on the buildings is gone. The whole effect is like a painterly filter has been put over the image. It doesn't look too bad when you just see an excerpt like above, but when you see the whole thing on a 27" display, it stands out. It's very disappointing.

There was no noise reduction on either, in case someone decides that it musty be my own fault (as is the way on the internet when someone points out something wrong)

Anyway, I'll explore some more and do a full report later, but initially, I have to say, I'm very disappointed.

Initial Impressions and Hands On With The Fuji X-Pro 1

After months of deciding and going back and forward in my head as to whether to get the Fuji X-Pro 1 or the Sony Nex 7 I finally came to a decision. I'm now the proud owner of a shiny new Fuji X-Pro1. While the Nex7 is a more than capable camera, in the end just couldn't get excited about the prospect of shooting with the Sony. but I really wanted to see why everyone was raving about the Fuji. I've only had it for a few days now, but I'm beginning to understand. And yes, I know that the photographer takes the picture and not the camera (apparently some people believe that to such a degree that they seem to suggest that no one should ever buy a new camera, ever, because that's a crime against the art) so let me explain my reasons for wanting it. I like taking street pictures and cityscapes. They're probably my main subject at this stage, but I've found that lugging around a full DSLR with a decent lens gathers unwanted attention (and thanks to the wonders of tabloid journalism, increasingly so.) The other issue is one of weight. A full DSLR kit is heavy, especially when traveling. With a small camera, you're far more likely to always have it with you. I've always loved small cameras, and I currently own a GF1, which is great but it wasn't cutting it in the image quality department. Sure you can take great shots with it, but it has its limits.

When the Fuji was announced I was intrigued. I've always loved the rangefinder style of camera and it was clear that Fuji has done something very interesting with the X-Pro 1. I've followed the roll out of the camera with eager eyes, and when it started getting into the hands of some talented photographers the results were remarkable. Anyway, all that aside, if you're reading this, you're probably more interested in my thoughts on using it rather than my thought on what other people have thought!

I've only had it a few days, so these are just my first impressions. I'll post a detailed review once I  spend more time with it.

First off, let me say that build wise the X-Pro1 is a beautiful camera. Its retro styling is absolutely stunning and it's really solid to hold. Unlike a lot of modern DSLRs it feels like a solid chunk of metal. The lenses are very well built too, although I do have one minor issue which I'll get to in a second. I also got the optional case too and this gives you a nice leather surround on the camera even when the cover is off, much like what you used to get years ago.

One of the things I really like about the lenses is that they have manual aperture rings. The only down side is that they're a bit loose and easy to tun. The camera has a really clever way of setting modes too. If you set the aperture ring to "A" and the shutter speed dial to "A" the camera is in program mode. Set the Shutter Speed to "A" and turn the aperture ring and you're in aperture priority mode. Do the opposite and you're in shutter priority. It's so simple it's brilliant. The shutter speed dial is really solid too, and you have to press down on the little button to release it before you can turn it, so you're not likely to turn it by accident.

The viewfinder is interesting to say the least. After using the X10 for a little bit recently, I was expecting to hate the optical viewfinder, but I didn't. In fact I really liked it after a while. It makes all the difference in the world having visible feedback, particularly the focus confirmation light (focus point turns green when focus is locked). One thing I found really frustrating though,  it is that it can be quite difficult  to get your image level at times. What appears level in the viewfinder is frequently quite a bit off. I suspect this is due to the positioning of the finder and the distortion compared to what the sensor sees. You can turn on the artificial horizon which gets overlaid in the OVF and this is a great aid, but I frequently found myself having to turn the camera more than felt right or comfortable to get the final image straight. Its a bit odd but I suspect I'll get used to it. The other big issue with the OVF is parallax errors. The camera shows you frame lines so you'll know where to frame your image, but the accuracy is not great, especially as your subject gets close. I'm not talking, macro close either, but even 2 meters away the frame lines are off. Again, it's something that takes a bit of getting used to, and I'm already getting better at judging it.

Switching the viewfinder into EVF mode you can get perfect framing and accurate feedback as to what's in focus. The problem I found with the EVF is that sometimes, for no particular reason it seems very dark. I suspect it's an ambient light thing but I'm not sure if I'm missing something or it's just a bug.

I have to say, I really enjoyed the experience of shooting with the X-Pro1. It has it's quirks for sure, but it's a very enjoyable camera to use. You also feel substantially less conspicuous than you do wielding a big DSLR and lens. Of course at the end of the day it's all about the image quality, and my initial reaction on seeing the results was "wow". My second ration was "Holy Crap". My third reaction was….well, you get the idea.

There's something about the images that it's hard to put your finger on. There is an almost three diminutional feel to them that you often hear Leica owners talking about. When its sharp it's really sharp, and the out of focus areas are milky smooth. I know this is a good deal to do with the superb lenses too, but the lack of anti-aliasing filter on the sensor definitely makes a difference. The biggest problem is lack of raw support in any of the major raw conversion programs. Initially I was just working with the Jpegs but I had shot Raw+Jpeg just so I had the files. The JPEGS straight out of the camera are pretty good. Here's a few untouched jpegs so you can see for yourself (as best you can in a small web view). These really don't do the camera justice though.

While I wasn't unhappy with the JPEGS, there are still some failings in the format and I knew that they would be better if I converted them from RAW, so I tried the supplied RAW software, sillypix. I was expecting to hate it but it's actually quite useable. I went through everything and recovered any stray highlights, and fixed any over exposures, then bath converted everything to TIFF for importing into Lightroom for some further manipulation. While it adds a good bit of work to the process, it's worth it because the raw files are stunning.

Oh, one more thing before I leave you with some pictures to peruse… Much has been said online about the focus speed on the X-Pro1 or rather the lack of it. I haven't found this at all. Compared to my GF1 it is way faster. It does occasionally fail to lock on, but most of the time it's fast and accurate. If you are expecting it to be DSLR fast then you might be disappointed, but compared to other mirror less cameras, it's pretty fast.

Anyway, I'll have lots more detail in a full review in a little while, but for now here's some more images. Just one last thing, we've had really terrible weather here, so the light was very dull and flat. I've processed the images to make them look good, so I'm trying to show what you can do with this camera, rather than what the camera can do on its own. They're not the greatest shots in the world, but you get the idea. More to come!

This is the RAW version of the shot above. Do you see the difference?