Review of Fuji X-E1 on DPReview

DPReview just published a review of Fuji X-E1. While the conclusion is very much in line with a "common knowledge" about the camera, it is very solid block of information from people who handle and test essentially every current camera except for low end point-and-shoot models. The test shorts and sample photos are also available. I am a bit surprised with the described "camera/button freeze" 'cause my X-E1 behaves just fine. Maybe it is just faulty camera.

I am agree with their opinion on panorama and movie mode. I like panorama on Fuji X10 but cannot get the same smoothness with the X-E1. The banding in skies is quite strong in panoramas from X-E1. The movie… Let's say, I do not shoot movie much.

Some ambiguous rumors are floating around the web regarding a new X camera with interchangeable from Fuji in April this year. It can be just an echo of predictions for 2013 published in Japan. It is a wild web :) It would be logical for Fujifilm to add a more affordable body in class of E-P3 or NEX-5, with the zoom kit priced around $1000 or slightly below.

photos from Fuji X20

Images from Fuji X20 on flickr: link
Another link

Sample photos from Fuji X100S

Fujifilm UK posted on flickr 15 images / sample photos taken with Fuji X100S.

Current prices on Fuji X-system

In Brisbane Fuji X-E1 with XF18-55mm lens is available for ~1,250$, while the lens alone is priced at ~730$. The body only in the same shop is listed for ~1090$. I don't know if it os the lowest price, but Digital Camera Warehouse is a very competitive shop.

The good thing is that Fuji X-E1 is priced identical to the competitors such as Olympus OM-D E-M5 and Sony NEX-6. The bad thing is the price difference between the kit and separate items. Buying the body and lens separately requires extra 570$. Similar difference for Olympus is "just" 250$, for both E-PL5 and E-M5. 

Adobe updates the support for X-trans RAW

Adobe released Lightroom 4.4 and ACR 7.4 with improved support of X-Trans sensor from Fujifilm. The comparison with previous version of the Adobe RAW converter, in-camera JPEG and Capture One converter (Capture One Pro 7) is already posted by the DPReview team (check both pages).

Watercolor appearance is gone, and the color smearing is also significantly reduced. The test was done on X-Pro1, but X-E1 has the same sensor.

The release includes support for Fuji X100S and X20. It seems Fujifilm is working with Adobe because X100S is just appeared in shops, and I am not sure about X20 (in Australia it is expected in March). This is very good practice. I mean an advanced support of RAW conversion, not late shipping of the camera in Oz :)

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Another informative post on X-Tras RAW conversion from SoundImagePlus blog.

Another wet day is coming to Brisbane

Small rain cell at outskirt of Brisbane, February 24, 2013 | Fuji X-E1 & XF18-55mm

According to the weather forecast, Brisbane is about to get ~100-200mm of rain in next 24 hours, and  some area along the coast may receive up to 300mm. It is smaller than ex-cyclone Oswald but still significant. And it is not 2011 when some places around Brisbane got 250+mm for couple days in a row, on top of several rainy weeks. It is not windy yet. When the ex-cyclone Oswald hit the city a strong wind trashed local power lines.

This wet season is a bit strange. Brisbane have not got much rains in November, December and first half of January but at the end of January the cyclone brought heavy rains.

Both pictures were taken from the lookout at Mt Coot-tha, a very popular place with nice view of the city.

First rain of the wet season 2012-2013, September 24, 2012 | Fuji X10, in camera panorama

Olympus 75mm f/1.8 lens

I use Olympus digital cameras for more than 10 years. I still have Olympus E-30 with couple mid-range ZUIKO lenses but do not use it frequently. I do like Olympus camera, so I follow news on m4/3 system. Kirk Tuck recently wrote a short post on Olympus 75mm f/1.8 lens for m4/3. Olympus had one of the first  mirrorless system cameras, and the company also released some very good primes for the m4/3 system including some affordable primes such as 45mm f1.8 (review on photozone). 

Hibiscus

Japanese Lantern Hibiscus | Fuji X-E1 & XF18-55mm

I took the picture of Japanese Lantern Hibiscus a few weeks ago on very windy day. Imagine how such flower behaves on windy day. This species is less popular in Brisbane than the nearly ubiquitous Hibiscus rosa-sinensis pictured below. The red channel looks over-saturated in Fuji image, but I like the picture.  After all, it is not indented to be a comparison of two cameras.

Few interesting things happen in the camera world. Nikon had announced D7100, very significant upgrade from the previous model. Interestingly, sensor in D7100 does not have an anti-aliasing filter. It is also rumored that Nikon may produce a compact camera with fixed lens and APS-C sensor, sort of Nikon version of Fuji's X100 / X100S. Not much known in term of specs but it seems that the focal lens will be similar to that on Fuji X-E1.

Yesterday Olympus posted a teaser with OM-D camera on Facebook. I was surprised to see so many comments from people demanding a new Olympus 4/3 DSLR. Actually, I do understand these people: just look on the picture below. Olympus can update sensor and anti-shake mechanism in Oly E-5 and keep the body. At least people can get an updated model if they need to replace their cameras. Fuji keeps the same body for X100/X100S and X10/X20, Nikon does the same thing with D7000/D7100. Numerous rumors predict a new camera with better compatibility with 4/3 lenses but some people need/prefer DSLRs. While I am not in this group, I would be glad to use my ZUIKO lenses.

It seems that Adobe will release a new version of Lightroom with better support of raw conversion for Fuji's X-Trans sensor.

Hibiscus rosa-sinensis | Olympus E-30

Entry level mirrorless camera from Fuji

According to Mirrorless rumors, Fujifilm will announce X-M1 mirrorless camera in next couple months. The name X-M1 was appeared on the web during announcement of X-E1 (~ five month ago). Considering that cheap tiny models without viewfinder and limited external controls are among the most popular mirrorless cameras, it is reasonable to expect for Fujifilm to add product in this segment. So, X-M1 probably will be similar to E-PLx / E-PMx style cameras, and presumably would not cost an arm and leg. Little brother (or sister?) of X10/X20, XF1, is a very appealing camera for some people.

Fujifilm has 55-200mm lens in their roadmap scheduled for release around this time, so it might coincide with the release of the new camera. It would make sense to release the camera with the latest autofocus system (the latest X-Trans sensor first appeared in X100S). Olympus did this with its PEN E-PL5, and created very attractive and affordable camera. If Fuji will keep its traditional button layout and replace fixed rear screen with tiltable / articulated version - that would be a good camera.

The same source predicts update for both X-Pro1 and X-E1 later this year. Obviously, Fuji want to add a fast hybrid autofocus on their mirrorless cameras, so it is not surprising.

Back to the X10

Royal Children's Hospital, Herston, Brisbane | Fuji X10

I was unable to use Fuji X10 for a couple months and hence did not visited the Fuji X10 group on flickr for quite some time. It is very active group, thanks to it's admin and some other active members (I enjoy this group, so consider it as a promotion :)). Anyway, I decided to upload a couple old pictures from the X10 and replace some other with hi-res variants. I was surprised to see that within last two-three months number of members of the group went over 3,000. That is 50% increase! From what I remember, the group rapidly got ~2000 early adopters, but this number was quite stable for several months. There was some growth, but not substantial.  I guess it might be related to ORBs / white discs debacle,  and the situation was changed with the sensor replacement / update in X10.

The name of the group was changed to X10 & X20, in anticipation of the new camera :)

Lace Monitor, or Goanna | Fuji X10

(updated with image at the original resolution)

Usual grumbling, or why I don't need a new camera

I came across a blog with a short preview of Fuji X20 and X100S written a couple weeks ago. According to the author of the blog, autofocus on both cameras is very fast. This is consistent with observation of DPReview team. With new sensors, new viewfinders and new autofocus units both cameras represent a big upgrade from the previous models.

Anyway, Fuji X100S is already available in Japan, and X20 is expected to be available in Australia next month, hence comprehensive reviews will appear in nearby future. The X20 is priced ~650 in couple camera shops in Brisbane (Digital Camera Warehouse and CameraPro), fairly attractive price considering new features. Personally I am not interested in X100S, and I would have hard time to justify acquisition of X20: our "family camera" X10 is is fairly new. But at least on paper (and from small bits of info from around the web) the X20 looks very attractive. Not that X10 is bad camera, the specs of X20 are better.

However, I  happy with the autofocus speed on Fuji X10. Generally I would consider myself as a limiting factor, not the camera :) The resolution of X10 is also "plentiful" for my needs. The viewfinder was / is a major disappointment, first for lack of any information including focusing points, second, it turned to be very painful to my eyes. I have this problem with several optical viewfinders including DSLR's but not on Fuji X-E1 (which was a pleasant surprise). So, I probably would not benefit from the new otical / hybrid viewfinder on X20. The quality at high iso is already good on X10 but it depends on amount of light. I wish X20 would have build-in ND filter and non-fixed screen but even these features would not be sufficient for me to justify the new camera.

Leopard tree

Leopard tree: flowers and leaves | Fuji X-E1 & XF18-55mm

I was confused with this tree. It's trunk is blotchy and looks similar to some eucalypts but it is not described in books dedicated to native plants. Flickr and Google were very helpful, as usual. At least I got some hints. The tree resembles Leopard tree, native to South America. It is popular cultivated tree in Brisbane.

After the Oswald

Brisbane river two days after the ex-cyclone Oswald, January 29, 2013 | Fuji X-E1 & XF18-55mm

Oswald dumped over 300mm of rains in couple days, and Brisbane got flooded in next two days. It is not as bad as in 2011 but some suburbs got houses inundated. The main damage to the city was done by strong wind which left many people without power for several days. We did not had an electricity for couple days but otherwise had no any issues.

Morning after the Oswald, ANZAC park, Toowong, January 28, 2013 | Fuji X-E1 & XF18-55mm

Main Range national park

View of Mt Mitchell | Fuji X-E1 & XF18-55mm

The Main Range national park is located in about one hour drive west of Brisbane. Cunningham highway (one line each way) climbs up into Great Dividing Range, and the entrance to this section of the park is located at the Cunningham gap, at the very crest. To most popular walks in this area are to the Mt Mitchell (above) and to Mt Cordeaux.  Walk to Mt Cordeaux is mainly in rainforest, so it is a bit cooler there during summer heat. The fairly short and easy track (less than 5 km one way) goes to very nice lookout at Mt Cordeaux. Couple more km - and you will end up at Bare Rock. At one place the track goes through the dry grassy vegetation on the crest, and snakes are very common there.

View from Bare Rock | Fuji X-E1 & XF18-55mm

Bare Rock has a couple lookouts, all within dozens meters from each other, providing nearly 360 degree view.

Forest at Main Range nation park | Fuji X-E1 & XF18-55mm
View from Bare Rock

You can rest in shade, have lunch, and watch magnificent forest with high araucarias (Hoop pine I guess), with birds of pray flying over your head.

Bended trees at Bare Rock, Main Range NP | Fuji X-E1 & XF18-55mm

One slope of the Bare Rock is covered by bizarre forest with bent trees covered in moss. The place has high elevation, and I suspect it is frequently covered by clouds, so it is relatively wet there. 

Review of Fujinon XF18-55mm

Photozone recently published review of Fujinon XF18-55mm lens. Surprisingly, the lens shows significant amount of distortion at 18mm but it still has good resolution at the frame borders. I thought a software correction of the distortion should affect the resolution...  But according to Photozone XF18-55mm has more resolution at borders than XF35mm f/1.4. Vignetting is also strong on XF18-55mm but autocorrection takes care about this, too.

Will Fujifilm turn the wheel of fortune in 2013?

Fujifilm makes nice cameras but its imaging group is in red for some time, ironically because of digital cameras (link to Thom Hogan's post)

It is hard to make money on compact cameras now: the sales and the prices are down. Fuji betted on advanced X models but the company was hit by sticky blades on X100 and white orbs in X10 (the latter issue was hugely overblown IMHO by energetic enthusiasts). In both cases the company fixed the problems at no cost to the users. The Fuji X-Pro1 was expensive when first released, so the sales probably were not very high in numbers. The X-E1 was released at the end of 2012 and its sales would have small impact on the financial results in 2012. But now the company got very popular model without any obvious issue plus several lenses including recently released 14mm f/2.8. Release of X-E1 is boosted sales of primes such as an excellent 35mm f/1.4 (see interview with Fuji rep).

On top of this, sales of new cameras with fast hybrid autofocus, X100S and X20, is about to start. The release of second zoom lens is planned for the first half of the year, and I suspect the updated models (either X-Pro2 or X-E2) with new autofocus and updated viewfinder will follow shortly. However, on mirrorless cameras the autofocus speed depends both on camera and lens, so it is hard to predict what  improvement in autofocus speed on new bodies will be achieved with available lenses, especially primes.

Anyway, the company has:
1) popular mirrorless model with several good lenses
2) updated version of very popular "big sensor" compact with improved autofocus that should be bugs-free
3) updated version of compact camera with fast autofocus and increased resolution, with unique lens and viewfinder.

Would it be enough to make the imaging group profitable? While Fujifilm can sustain the losses in imaging department for some time the situation cannot last forever.  

Another interesting post from Thom Hogan

Thom Hogan wrote an interesting article "dissecting" interviews with leading camera makers published by DPReview team. I hope the camera makers would read his post. If indeed many people buy DSLR with just one lens, why produce two items not one? I bet it is possible to make a compact camera with 1" sensor and bright collapsable lens, sort of Fuji X10 / X20 on steroids, with decent macro option. The camera will be smaller than any standard DSLR zoom kit.