Where Shadows Fall ... There’s Light, Merry Xmas!

First off, with this post I’d like to wish a merry Xmas to my faithful followers, and to any of youse who’ve visited my site thank you for looking by! Also a special thanks to all of youse who’ve left positive and critical comments here over the last year, by that giving me the opportunity to learn & improve my photography! For today I wanted to share some thoughts on how the fall of shadows manifests the existence of light, and how that’s also a good analogy for life (… a fitting topic for the season, don’t you think?). Anyways if interested please read on!

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Deck chairs sparkling in the sun, captured on X-Pro2 with XF18mm F/2 @F/8, 1/150 sec, ISO 200

I discovered the above motif while enjoying a few days vacation with my wife in our beloved Italy (isola d’Elba to be precise): It was early in the morning and the first rays of the sun were just coming over the mountains, lighting up these old deck chairs around our B&B’s pool and casting their first light into the dark shadows with the promise of a lovely day to come. Of course you never know if that day’ll really turn out nice but it don’t harm to think it will & look forward to a great day with a smile on your face regardless! I wanted to animate people looking at my image to always think positive & look eagerly forward to what’s to come … To create that analogy my exposure was based on the bright reflections of the sun on the metal bars, thereby plunging the shadows into deep blackness (i.e. I was actually underexposing by about 1.5 stops vs. a ‘correct’ exposure). Trust Fuji X-Trans! The impressive dynamic range of that sensor ensured I didn’t loose all detail in the dark areas of the image and I could easily recover sufficient detail in post by upping the shadows slider!

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Bicycle wheel shadowcast, seen on X-Pro2 with XF18mm F/2 @F/8, 1/550 sec, ISO 200

For me the above image goes the opposite route. Whereas in the deck chairs image the first sunlight was carving details out from the darkness, the shadows in the above image are actually covering them: Look at the pavement - the low angled sun’s rays are revealing every detail of the cobblestones. Only where the shadows of the bicycle’s wheel fall the details are obscured. The life analogy to this is for me that there are some dark sides to every situation. Be aware of them but don’t stress too much over them and especially don’t let them spoil your day! So in this image I actually over exposed a bit and then used the highlight slider in post to bring detail back into the highlights. Of course that works best in RAW but being an old (Fuji ACROS-R) JPEG aficionado I found that Fuji’s JPEG’s have sufficient dynamic range to pull that stunt off!

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White sofa in the afternoon sun, discovered with X-H1 and XF23mm F/1.4 @F/5.6, 1/550 sec, ISO 200

Finally, in the above image I was confronted with quite an extreme contrast but wanted to still see details in the shadows and the highlights. So I exposed for average grey (ignoring that my histogram was freaking out on both sides) and hoped that my JPEG’s dynamic range would still cover it (knowing that I’d still have the RAW file to save my a** if it wouldn’t have been enough 😉). Luckily it was still OK (barely) and I could recover some detail in the darkest shadows and brightest highlights by maxing out Lightroom’s shadow and highlight sliders. So it’s the JPEG you see here, actually quite amazing! As I’d already said many times I just love Fuji JPEG’s in combination with the ACROS-R film simulation because of that simulation’s tonality dependent grain effect, which is very similar to what I was used to in the old days when using film (remember Tri-X? Man the images shot on that film had such beautiful grain!)

OK, with that I’d like to wish y’all a very merry Xmas (crazy how fast time’s flies, it was ‘just’ Xmas yesterday and now it’s the 25th again 🙃!) … and of course I wish youse a great start into the new year - may your photographic (and other 😉) dreams all come true and may you have all health, fun and success in 2020!

If you got any questions, or wish me to cover a specific topic in one of my next posts, please leave me a message in the comments section below or on my ‘about’ page - your email will not be disclosed & I promise to answer every single message! Thanks so much for visiting and wish y’all a wonderful holiday season,

Best regards,

Hendrik

If you like you can support me by sending me a small donation via PayPal.me/hendriximages ! Helps me run this site & keeps the information coming, many thanks in advance!

Picktorial - A New Kid on the Block for Fuji Fans!

Hi! Stumbled over this: Picktorial v3 post processing software (Mac only - special introductory offer!). Many thanks to Fujirumors (good place to get the latest Fuji news) and Thomas Fitzgerald (where I always go for expert image processing advice) for pointing me to it! The main reason I´m now starting to use it for all my post processing is coz for the first time there is ONE SIMPLE, intuitive platform for image management AND processing, compatible with Fuji JPEG and (compressed / uncompressed) RAW images, please read on how so!

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Candles in Church, Fuji X-T2 and XF 23mm / f2, ACROS JPEG processed in Picktorial

As mentioned before here I mainly use ACROS JPEG´s & rarely do RAW anymore. So, a couple weeks ago I was in an awesome Russian orthodox church with my lovely wife & fancied capturing the rich gradations and tonality of this scene. Then I would´ve developed the ACROS JPEG with Lightroom CC (LR) and resorted to Capture One (CO) in case I´d want to try any fancy RAW processing ... But I really don't like hulking for hours behind a computer. Nope. And, using different bits of processing software means I need to have all kinds of directories on my Mac to save intermediate versions of my images (I´m kinda paranoid about losing my work ...). On top of this both LR and CO use catalogues, so I need to manage and back up those too ... I tell ya, I could've become an IT expert (who maybe gets to take a photo now and then ;-). No sir, not good. Not good at all!

Picktorial has an intuitive, fluid & simple user interface (look & feel very similar to Apple´s legendary Aperture, which was unfortunately discontinued). Overall it´s very minimalistic: No jumping around between library and develop panes as in LR. It works directly in your image capture folder and stores your image edits in the image file (for JPEG, TIF, DNG) or in a XMP sidecar file (for RAW) w/o changing the original image. By this non-destructive workflow you can backtrack your work anytime (even taking out single steps) and save your image as often as you want without any image degradation. If you want to transfer your images just be sure to copy the whole directory (images incl. the XMP files), then you can just pick up from where you left off!

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Russian Orthodox Mural, Fuji X-T2 and XF 23mm / f2, ACROS JPEG processed in Picktorial

Another great Picktorial feature is the luminosity masks (yes, photoshop has those too, but it´s much easier to use with Picktorial), please check out this great instruction video from Eric Marcs at findingmiddleearth.com (I´m still a learner on how to do that properly ;-)

The only additional feature I could wish for is to have a mobile version for my iPad which can sync with the desktop version (like Lightroom mobile), that would be awesome!

Picktorial offers an easy, fluid, and seamless experience and is much faster than Lightroom, I love the simplicity and intuitivity of the user interface!

Last but not least I compared the results with my until now preferred applications:

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RAW file processed in Picktorial

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RAW file processed in Iridient Developer

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JPEG file processed in Picktorial

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RAW file processed in Capture One Pro

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RAW file processed in Photo Ninja

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JPEG file processed in Lightroom CC

Summarizing the results I can recommend Picktorial as an easy & fast processing tool for those who want to minimise post processing effort & get best possible results w/o a lot of effort

Many thanks for visiting & please leave me a message in case anything is unclear or is you´ve any questions, best regards

Hendrik

I hope this post was helpful / interesting for you - If you like you can support me by sending me a small donation via PayPal.me/hendriximages ! Helps me run this site & keeps the information coming, many thanks in advance!

Fuji X100F Review - 3 Reasons why "F" spells Freedom !

X100F ... ? So, what´s this "F" stand for ? Fuji says it means “the Fourth" iteration of the X100 series. Or maybe it´s to say the "Force" is with her ... (yes the X100F´s a she ;-) or it stands for Fantastic ... Hey, probably it´s a bit of all those! Well, for me the "F" on Fuji´s fourth iteration of the X100 refers to "Freedom". Freedom from the technicalities of photography, from weight, bulk, choices and complexity. Freedom to Focus on the image! Please read on to learn how the combination of the right camera, software and workflow can liberate your photography & boost your creativity:

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F stands for Freedom! Me & Irene, myFuji X100F, with 23 mm / f2 @f5.6, 1/40 sec on ACROS-Y

Disclaimer: If youse expecting a traditional type review full of geeky tech details I gotta disappoint you (I´m sure you'll find loads of technical / feature reviews on the web). Here I´d like to focus more on how the X100F handles in everyday practical use!

I remember the day like yesterday: 2016/4/13 - the day I traded my beloved X100T for a new X-Pro2. I wanted the 24 MP resolution bump. With that and the increased processing power came ACROS - Oh boy, did I fall in love with Fuji´s ACROS Film simulation! But even though the X-Pro2 was great, I somehow could never seem to be able to come to terms with the for me too low viewfinder magnification (0,36X with 23 mm vs. 0,5X on the X100 series): looking thru that one made me feel kinda claustrophobic ... In practice I also discovered that the X-Pro2´s increase in size (vs. my X100T) was quite substantial ... How many times since then did I wish for a reincarnation of the 24 MP ACROS goodness in a smaller form factor? Well now, it´s Finally here (another "F" ;-) in form of the new Fujifilm X100F!

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Mirrors on the Walls, seen with Fuji X100F, with 23 mm / f2 @f5.6, 1/60 sec on ACROS-Y

For me the advent of the Fuji X100F has finally brought together 3 key building blocks which have liberated my digital photography, giving me a déjà-vu back to my film days! I see 3 reasons why the "F" of the X100F means Freedom:

1. Freed of Ballast: The X100F is a compact prime lens camera delivering exceptional image quality. Working with only one prime lens on a compact camera can be very liberating: No more lugging around a big bag of kit, juggling lenses to find the best fit to the scene while the opportunity passes. With the X100F you will instead focus more on image composition, lighting, and mood and “zoom with your feet” to find new / more interesting perspectives. Chase Jarvis once said "The best camera is the one that´s with you ..." - Ok, he was referring to iPhones, but in essence this quote invokes the "Law of Inverse Proportions": The smaller your camera/lens, the higher the probability that you will (always) take it with you, have it ready when needed and get to take pictures you didn't expect to find. This will for sure boost your creativity and improve the impact of your images!
    
2. Freed of RAW: The X100F has sufficient resolution & processing power to realize the ACROS JPEG film simulation. The resulting JPEG´s are awesome, with beautiful smooth gradations and a subtle, tonality dependent grain effect (only possible with Fuji´s 24 MP X-Trans CMOS III sensor & X-Processor Pro technology). No way you can replicate this “analogue film-like look” by RAW processing, or by applying post processing filters! For me this is a strong incentive to mainly focus my workflow on JPEG´s! Only downside of the higher resolution is an increased risk of camera shake blurring your images (approx. factor 1.5x vs. what you were used to on Fuji´s 16 MP sensor)
    
3. Freed from the Desk: Focusing mainly on JPEG´s allows me to predominantly do my post processing on my iPad Pro using Lightroom Mobile. ACROS JPEG´s are so good that I only need some minor curves tweaking and maybe some local dodging/burning. Edits done on the iPad are automatically sync´d to Lightroom on my MacBook Pro. By this I significantly reduce time spent on post processing or behind PC´s, and I can do that while travelling or during lunch. By setting file saving to JPEG-F+RAW I always have the RAW files as back-up to later either (re)develop in camera with different settings or convert them in Capture ONE in case of critical lighting conditions where more fancy post processing is needed (to be honest this rarely happens btw ;-)

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Evening drinks, with Fuji X100F, 23 mm / f2 @f2, 1/25 sec, +1EV compensation on ACROS-Y

I would like to point out three additional aspects of the Fuji X100F, which make its use less obtrusive and invasive:

• Main photographic settings (aperture, shutter speed, ISO and exposure compensation) are visible at one glance and can be adjusted via dedicated analogue dials, without needing to look thru the viewfinder or diving into menus
   
• Autofocus user interface, accuracy and speed are (finally :-) fulfilling my expectations. I mainly use zone AF setting with face/auto-eye detection ON when taking people images
   
• Flexible hybrid viewfinder: I use the OVF (Optical View Finder) mainly for people images where I want to concentrate on facial expressions and background environment. For street / landscape / storytelling photography, where composition, perspective, contrast and hi-light & shadow tone are important, I prefer the EVF (Electronic View Finder) which allows me to pre-visualise the image as it will be captured (eg. in ACROS film simulation) before even pressing the shutter release. So, no need for the dreaded "chimping" after taking each image ...)

This means, especially when photographing people, that you only need to bring the camera to your eye for a short moment just to take the picture: Check framing, press shutter, done - max 2 secs. The combination of this short time in front of your face, the fact that the camera is quite small and only covers part of your face due to its rangefinder-esque design, and the X100F being totally silent means people rarely even realize that you´re taking their picture. This results in very natural, un-posed images (try that with a DSLR! ;-) ... as example the below image I took of my lovely wife while we were relaxing on our patio:

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Relaxing on our Patio, with Fuji X100F, 23 mm / f2 @f2, 1/60 sec on ACROS-Y

On that note I´d gotten the impression that people tend to act more relaxed around the silver version of the X100 series. Maybe a black camera´s perceived as kinda sneaky, or as "wannabe PRO" (I dunno, my X100T was black ...). At the end I decided to order a silver X100F. IMO apart from that one´s more classic "retro" look it´s got so much more character! In fact so much that this is the only camera I felt needed to be given a name: "Irene" (sounds better than "X100F", coz that could be anyone´s ;-)

Summarizing:

The "F" in Fuji´s X100F really gives you Freedom, Fuji has finally fulfilled the promise of the X100 series: A small, inconspicuous camera with a widely usable medium wide-angle focal length, delivering stunning images and able to cover most photographic applications. So you can leave all your bulky gear at home! Its compact, classic rangefinder-esque design begs you to go out and enjoy capturing images of life around you, experimenting with composition, light and perspective rather than bothering with the technicalities of photography! Furthermore the quality & beauty of Fuji´s JPEG´s (especially of ACROS) allow you to avoid having to spend hours of RAW processing in Lightroom

If you´re interested I´ll cover my improved mobile workflow in a next post, please let me know in the comments section and/or leave me any comments, suggestions or questions you may have! Many thanks in advance, I´ll answer you as soon as possible

I hope you enjoyed the read - I can only advise those of youse not yet bitten by the Fuji X100 bug to try one out soonest and experience it for y´self!

Many thanks & best regards, wish y´all good light & success

Hendrik

I hope this post was helpful / interesting for you - If you like you can support me by sending me a small donation via PayPal.me/hendriximages ! Helps me run this site & keeps the information coming, many thanks in advance !

Forget RAW and go ACROS - The Definitive Review !

For all those of youse love fussin´ with RAW files I got news: Forget RAW and go ACROS! If you want your images to look less "canned" (i.e. digital) and more real (analogue-like), that is. As a bonus you get to spend less time hulking in front of a computer & can go out shooting ! Why ? Please read on if interested ...

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First spring sun in Bayreuth, Fuji X-Pro2 with XF 23 mm / f2, SOOC ACROS JPEG

Don´t dare to shoot only JPEG´s ? No problem, just select RAW+Fine JPEG image quality! Then you always have both & can stop worrying (like I do, but ever since my hard-drive´s filling up with unused RAW files ;-) But hey, I kid you not: There´s just no way you can get Fuji´s unique in camera ACROS analogue film like appearance from post-processing!

So, what´s all this ACROS excitement about ? See Fuji´s website for details: During in camera JPEG conversion a subtle random graininess is selectively added to image areas the darker their tone is. This effect is amplified the higher the ISO setting is, giving the images a wonderful analogue film-like aura (in contrary to the "digital" grain effect applied uniformly during post-processing on the computer, resulting in the ubiquitous, artificial "processed" look). This can only be achieved with Fuji´s X-Trans CMOS III sensor & X-Processor Pro technology!

To demonstrate what I mean I´ve prepared a number of comparisons at ISO 200, 800 and 2000 using the in camera RAW converter vs. post processing in Lightroom (apologies for the somewhat mundane image, but it includes many details and textures to better compare the grain effects ;-)

1. Monochrome-R JPEG film simulation in camera w/o any grain application:
I find that w/o any grain effects the images tend to have a "synthetic, digital" look!

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ISO 200, Mono-R w/o Grain

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ISO 800, Mono-R w/o Grain

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ISO 2000, Mono-R w/o Grain

2. Monochrome-R JPEG film simulation with separate grain effect "Grain=Low" added in camera:
The uniformly added in camera grain effect makes the images look even more artificial (even at "Low" setting) IMO ...

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ISO 200, Mono-R, Lo Grain

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ISO 800, Mono-R, Lo Grain

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ISO 2000, Mono-R, Lo Grain

3. RAW files developed in Lightroom with post processing ACROS-R film simulation applied:
Trying to add grain in post processing using Lightroom´s ACROS-R preset appears to add an additional layer, not at all comparable to Fuji´s in camera applied film simulation ...

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ISO 200, Acros-R in LR

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ISO 800, Acros-R in LR

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ISO 2000, Acros-R in LR

4. ACROS-R in camera film simulation, using Fuji´s unique differentiated grain application:
Fuji´s in camera ACROS film simulation definitively creates an analogue, "Film-like" look, achieved by differentiated grain application to darker image tones and amplified at higher ISO settings!

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ISO 200, Acros-R in cam

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ISO 800, Acros-R in cam

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ISO 2000, Acros-R in cam

I hope this post was an interesting read & has brought some light into the mystery of Fuji´s amazing ACROS film simulation! The fact that no external RAW converter can achieve a similar analogue film-like look is for me an additional incentive to focus on using JPEG´s (on top of the already simplified and faster workflow)!

Please let me know if you have any questions, I´d be most happy to help and learn from your comments & critique!

Have a relaxing Sunday eve, best regards

Hendrik

I hope you enjoyed reading this post - If you like you can support me by sending me a small donation via PayPal.me/hendriximages ! Helps me run this site & keeps the information coming, many thanks in advance !

Capture ONE Pro 10 for Fuji - A First Look !

When I jumped ship from CaNikon to Fuji a couple years ago I didn't find ANY integrated RAW converter / image management solution able to deliver the full potential outta Fuji´s unique X-Trans sensor. Only way out was to use a standalone external RAW converter (eg. Iridient) requiring a 2 step workflow. Then, earlier this year Adobe launched a major Lightroom CC upgrade delivering results very close to the till then Best-in-Class RAW converter Iridient (see my comparison here). Finally on December ONE Phase ONE launched Capture ONE Pro, version ONE-O. Hey, with so many ONE´s popping up I thought I´d take a look and see, please read on for my initial impressions !

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Street in the winter sun, captured by Fuji XF 23 mm f/2 WR on X-Pro 2, developed in CO Pro 10

I decided to try out the newest version 10 of Capture One Pro after being intrigued by Thomas Fitzgerald´s excellent blog post describing latest improvements & features, please go here to discover them ! For me the above image has a wonderful glow to it and it took me only a couple minutes to get there - impressive how fast & easy I could get a really good result ! Furthermore Capture One Pro allows me to change any parameter at any time in its logical and clear dashboard (see left side of the screen grab shown below):

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Capture One Pro 10 User Interface with logically grouped intuitive setting panels

What I liked most was the fluid interaction between Exposure, Levels, Curve, High Dynamic Range and Clarity settings. In contrast Lightroom IMO has a more linear (chronological) workflow which feels less intuitive and kinda "old fashioned" ...

Concluding, the PRO´s of Capture One Pro 10:

• Great results. At least at a first glance I couldn't detect any disadvantages vs. my previous favorite Iridient in eg. highlight/shadow recovery, color rendering, detail rendering, sharpening, noise, etc (but I´ll come back here with a more detailed comparison soon)
• Lens optimization finally working (incl. purple de-fringing !) - this was missing in previous versions of Capture One Pro
• Fluid, logical and intuitive user interface allowing changing of all parameters in any order
• NO more external standalone RAW converter needed ! Capture One Pro combines RAW conversion and image management. Strictly speaking this is no advantage over Lightroom

And the CON´s:

• Capture One Pro 10 can´t read Fuji´s compressed RAW´s (yet). Now this one is really a bummer for me coz Fuji´s uncompressed RAW´s eat up memory at twice the rate compared to the compressed RAW´s (50 vs. 25 mB a pop !). C´mon, Phase One, give us the compressed RAW reading capability, you can do it !
• Pricey - nearly 300 US$ ain´t a bargin (even though you get a lot for it). Ok I have a CO Pro 8 license so it´ll cost me 105 US$ to upgrade. Still a lot ... but at least it ain´t a subscription rip-off like CC (if you can live without Photoshop CC that is)

Here another "glowing" Capture One Pro image:

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Contre Jour in the park, seen with Fuji XF 23 mm f/2 WR on Fuji X-Pro2, developed in CO Pro 10

If you have any questions or would like any advice, please leave me a message in the comments section or on my contact page ! Many thanks for your kind support, interest, liking & sharing ! Herewith wishing y´all a lot of fun trying out Capture One Pro 10 ! Enjoy your December holiday season, all the very best & good luck !

Yours, Hendrik

I hope you enjoyed reading this post - If you like you can support me by sending me a small donation via PayPal.me/hendriximages ! Helps me run this site & keeps the information coming, many thanks in advance !

How to Get Best Image Quality Out of Fuji X-Trans III RAW´s

Hey I got something for those of youse who REALLY wanna get the very best possible image quality out of Fuji´s new X-Trans III image sensor (as currently used on Fuji´s X-Pro 2 and X-T2 mirrorless APS-C cameras). Yeah I know ... Said some posts ago that Lightroom´s all you´ll need ... Basically that still holds true but it all depends on what you expect from your photography, please read on to discover how:

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Portrait of my lovely wife: Fuji X-Pro 2 with 35 mm f2 WR @f2.8 1/125 sec

Portraits seem to present quite a challenge regarding image quality (apart from the obvious challenge to capture the right facial expression reflecting persona & character of your model ;-) ! Working on a portrait series I discovered that different RAW developers produced subtle variations in the results. So I thought I´d share them here, starting off as baseline with Fuji´s very good SOOC JPEG rendering. This already delivers an overall pleasing result, however finest details are lost during in-camera conversion:

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SOOC JPEG using Fuji X-Pro 2´s X-Trans III 24 mp sensor

Then I tried RAW conversion using Affinity Photo, a relatively new kid on the block (many thanks to The Lightweight Photographer for pointing me to it !). With this one I do get a very nice contrast, which I initially liked a lot (for me nearly the most pleasing off the bat). But on closer scrutiny I discovered it dissolves finer details even more than the JPEG and also produces some unwanted artefacts (see the line between the cornea and the lower eyelid):

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RAW conversion using Affinity Photo

This is not the case with Adobe´s latest version of Lightroom CC. Better fine details than the JPEG´s and a fully integrated workflow to boot (no external RAW converter, so no additional exporting / importing needed). However ACR does seem to slightly exaggerate high contrast fine detail - the eyelashes seem to look a bit thicker / heavier than perceived (I learnt a lot from Thomas Fitzgerald´s excellent X-Trans guides & used one of his sharpening presets, they´re really good !). To further optimize this I may need to experiment a bit more in detail with the sharpening settings:

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RAW conversion using Adobe Camera RAW in Lightroom CC

Last but not least the most balanced high quality result came out of Iridient Developer: Extremely fine details are retained and beautifully rendered (using default "Iridient Reveal" sharpening). No artefacts, no exaggeration, IMO the very best result I could achieve (with a reasonable effort - I really want to minimize the time spent in front of my Mac, of course ;-)

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RAW conversion using Iridient Developer

Concluding I have to say that Fuji shooters have a lot of choices nowadays: Need a fast result w/o hassle ? You can use the SOOC JPEG´s without any problem, they´re amazing ! Want to go RAW for a really good result with an integrated workflow ? Lightroom CC ain´t gonna disappoint you ! But if you want the very best image quality & don't shy away from some extra workflow integration ? Use Lightroom CC for image management and Iridient for RAW conversion (it can be easily integrated into your workflow - excellent "how to" advice available here)

Hope y´all liked today´s post & could find some guidance & information for your own work ? If you´ve any questions, comments or ideas - please leave me a note in the comments section or on my "Contact" page ! Many thanks for reading, for your continued interest & support, and hope to see you here again soon !

Good luck & best regards,

Hendrik

I hope you enjoyed reading this post - If you like you can support me by sending me a small donation via PayPal.me/hendriximages ! Helps me run this site & keeps the information coming, many thanks in advance !

Fuji X-Pro2 System Meta Review 3xF - Behind Every Shadow there´s Light !

Weird title, huh ? But it´s true, I had ´em all - Minolta, Nikon, Hasselblad, Leica, then digital ... again Nikon, jumped ship to Canon ... then I 3xF: Finally Found Fuji ;-) ! Yep, I know it´s the photographer that makes the image, not the camera ! Well ... not quite, I beg to differ - please read on for a "meta review" of the Fuji rangefinder system !

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Contre Jour in the Park - Visualized with XF 16 mm f1.4 WR on X-Pro2

There are 3 steps in the image creation process which all consume time until you can review your results and learn from them:

1. Image visualisation and framing (moving around, finding right perspective & selecting lens)
2. Image capture (using camera controls to set exposure to get visualised result & focussing)
3. Image processing (developing image to a reviewable result on screen and/or print)

The faster this process, the shorter are the learning cycles and the faster you improve your photography. Let´s look at the above steps in more detail and see how the choice of a camera system can & does influence them !

1. Image Visualization:

True, a camera can´t make the blind see, it can´t replace the intuition, creativity & perception of the photographer, it can´t help those inspiring images find you (yes, images find you, not the other way around !) ... But I kid you not, the camera viewfinder can sure as hell block your creative photographic process and throw rocks into the path of capturing and creating the image you visualised ! I always struggled with those SLR viewfinders - seemed kinda like sticking a haze filter in between my eye and the scene !

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Trees casting diagonal shadows - Seen with XF 35 mm f2 WR on X-Pro2

Then I "fund" Leica (pun intended - damn thing cost me an arm & a leg) - the "transparency" of
it´s rangefinder cleared up the fog in front of my scene & seeing beyond the frame made photography feel like being able to carve my image out of reality. However what came after that was a pain in the butt ...

2. Image Capture:

The Leica´s fiddly, not always reliable manual focussing & centre weighted exposure metering are simply not well suited for fast focussing and balancing lighting with the limited exposure latitude of film (using Zone System). This cost me a lot of time during image capture. And then ...

3. Images Processing:

It still took ages till i could review the images - no "quick-check-and-redo-if-not-happy" with analogue photography, no sir ! Then along came digital - instant WYSIWYG (what-you-see-is-what-you-get) ! No more processing delay but i was again stuck with that "hazy" SLR viewfinder (no rangefinder style digital cameras available at that time ...). Another disadvantage was size & weight of DSLR´s - so, unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me often ... below image only "happened" coz i had my compact Fuji with me !

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People casting diagonal shadows - Found with XF 35 mm f2 WR on X-Pro2

So, then I Finally Found Fuji !

it must´ve been a very clever person at Fuji who got the inspiration of combining modern digital technology with a clear Leica-esque rangefinder and traditional "photographer´s" control dials (and all that at a reasonable price too !)

For me the Fuji X-Pro2 & lenses is the ONLY camera system with minimal impact on my creative process - it kinda never gets in my way:

1. Fluid Image Visualization by transparent optical rangefinder viewfinder, allowing me to also see the larger context of the image outside the frame-lines (OVF)
2. Lightning Fast Image Capture by reliable autofocus and multi zone metering or intuitive at-a-glance exposure adjustment using traditional manual dials for the 3 original exposure elements (ISO, aperture and shutter speed)
3. Immediate Accurate Final Result Review using Fuji´s amazing film simulations (especially like the ACROS one with red filter !): SOOC JPEG´s are immediately useable and have an amazing film-like quality !

So, what more would I want ? Well if you askin´ me like that a short 70 mm f1.4 WR (105 mm FF equiv.) telephoto and a more compact 16 mm f2 WR would just be fan-tas-tic, c´mon Fuji you can do it ;-) !

Why ? IMO the 50 mm telephoto (75 mm FF equiv.) Fuji is planning is too short (had that on my Leica and didn't like it) and the amazing XF 90 f2 WR (135 mm FF equiv.) is too long - flattens faces too much. On the other hand a 90 mm f1.4 would´ve turned out too bulky, but that f1.4 70 mm would really hit the sweet spot ! Anyway with Telephotos I usually use the EVF (could never do that on my Leica ...)

As for wide-angles I prefer to use the OVF to see "around" my scene - great to capture the best context and cut out of the scene ! So my XF 16 mm f1.4 for me blocks too much of the OVF, a 16 mm f2 would be more slim, comparable to the XF 14 mm f2.8 & less intrusive !

View fullsize

Modern wheel vs. old pavement - captured with XF 35 mm f2 WR on X-Pro2

I hope y´all liked my "3xF Finally Found Fuji" meta review, thanks for looking by ! If you´ve any questions and/or remarks please leave a comment, I´ll answer ASAP ! Wish you a great Sunday and the best of luck for your photographic endeavours,

Best regards

Hendrik

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