Latest News

Hi Everyone,

It’s been over a week since my last post mostly thanks to the fact that I am incredibly busy at the moment. I am getting married in January and the paperwork required here in the Philippines is very time-consuming to arrange and obtain. I am also in the process of sorting out visas for my wife and daughter so that we can return to the UK next year. Therefore I have been spending a huge amount of time discussing everything with lawyers, accountants and every other official I can think of to get everything prepared properly.

In between all this I am continuing to work and test cameras.

So what is coming up. As some of you will know I will be interviewing Damien Lovegrove, the acclaimed Fuji X photographer and portrait guru. I also have a Nikon D750 on its way to me as I am going to do a comparison between the Nikon D750, D7200 and the Fuji XT2 to see which one is the better camera. I’ll be testing those at a wedding I’m shooting next week and will try to get the article online asap. I have previously owned and used a D750 so I’m familiar with all three cameras. As the Fuji XT2 and Nikon D750 are in the same ballpark when it comes to price I think it is an interesting comparison to make. Since I currently have a D7200 and it is considered one of the best APS-C cameras on the market I will throw that into the mix too. Don’t forget to check out my Nikon D7200 review and Fuji XT2 review to see what I think of those two cameras.

I’m still waiting on stock of the OM-D E-M1 II to arrive and once it does I’ll be reviewing it over the coming months and comparing it to the XT-2.

I will also have more articles, a few lens reviews and I’ll take a more in-depth look at the auto focus capabilities of the Fuji XT2, particularly in low light.

Have a great Christmas

David

Fujifilm Updates the X-pro 2’s Firmware

Fujifilm have continued their excellent policy of updating their cameras firmware with useful new features by issuing an update for the X-Pro2.

Here are the list of updates that firmware 2.0 includes.

1.The NUMBER OF THE FOCUS POINT has incerased.(*)
The options available are 91 POINTS(7×13) and 325 POINTS(13×25) on the NUMBER OF THE FOCUS POINT of the AF/MF SETTING in the Shooting Menu.
2.Improvement of phase detection AF accuracy.
By employing the new AF algorithm used in the X-T2, the AF accuracy has been improved.
3.AF tracking function has been improved when CONTINUOUS L in the AF-C mode.
4.In AF-C mode, AE function will work while pressing the shutter button halfway.
5.AF tracking function works while CONTINUOUS shooting in the AF-C mode with the Electronic Shutter.
6.AF tracking function works while CONTINUOUS H shooting in the AF-C mode instead of zone AF.
7.STILL IMAGE(single frame shooting) is available when CONTINUOUS L in the AF-C mode.
8.The focus point of Eye Detection AF has been changed to the eye closer to the camera.
9.Compatibility with the Shoe Mount Flash EF-X500.(*)
Additional functions like the multi-flash lighting, high-speed flash sync and so on can be used with the EF-X500.
Accordingly, the FLASH SETTING and the Shooting Menu is dramatically changed.
10.The items that can be assigned to the Quick Menu have changed.(*)
FLASH FUNCTION SETTINGS and FLASH COMPENSATION have been added due to the compatibility with the Shoe Mount Flash EF-X500.
11.The roles that can be assigned to the Function buttons have changed.(*)
FLASH FUNCTION SETTINGS, TTL-LOCK and MODELING FLASH have been added due to the compatibility with the Shoe Mount Flash EF-X500.
12.Addition of AUTO POWER SAVE.(*)
AUTO POWER SAVE option has been added to the POWER MANAGEMENT of the Setup Menu. Select ON to save the power consumption and make the battery life longer.
13.Addition of setting time in AUTO POWER OFF.(*)
15 SEC, 30 SEC and 1 MIN have been added to the AUTO POWER OFF of the POWER MANAGEMENT in the Setup Menu.
14.S.S OPERATION option has been added to BUTTON/DIAL SETTING in the Setup Menu.(*)
Select OFF to disable the shutter-speed fine-tuning using the command dials.
15.Change of the CORRECTED AF FRAME in the OVF.(*)
Specification of the CORRECTED AF FRAME of AF/MF SETTING in the Shooting Menu has been changed.
·OFF:The frame moves according to parallax to show the focus point.
·ON:The CORRECTED AF FRAME in the OVF is fixed on the　recommended value described in the Owner’s manual. If the minimum focus range of the attached lens is greater than the recommended value, the frame is displayed on the position of the minimum focus range.
*Upgrade the firmware of the lenses after the firmware of the camera is upgraded.
16.The phenomenon is fixed that in rare cases the magnification of the OVF doesn’t switch appropriately when a lens is changed.
17.The bright frame movement in the OVF has become more smoothly while zooming in and out.
18.OIS function has been improved while using Electronic Shutter.
19.The phenomenon is fixed that in rare cases frames of live view on a smartphone drop while using the application software “FUJIFILM Camera Remote”.
20.The phenomenon is fixed that exposure sometimes doesn’t change appropriately in Aperture Priority AE while using an M MOUNT ADAPTER.

If you are an X-Pro2 user update your firmware here

Olympus Pen F Review Coming Soon

UPDATE I’ve now added my first impressions of the Olympus Pen F here

With the recently announced Olympus OM-D E-M1 II coming soon (we expect around November) I thought it would be fun to try out the fairly new Pen F and put it up against the OM-D E-M5 II.

I’m just waiting for the two cameras and a few lenses to arrive before testing them.

The Pen F is considered by some to be priced too high, especially when compared to the OM-D E-M5 II so I’m going to see what you get for the extra money and ultimately whether it’s worth the extra cash.

Updates will be posted in a couple of weeks along with the usual sample images and full resolution files on Flickr.

Then when released we will hopefully get in the new Olympus flagship OM-D E-M1 II nearer to Christmas time alongside some of the new range of Olympus Pro lenses like the 25mm f/1.2.
I’ve got a trip to Hong Kong planned for the end of the year so it might be the perfect chance to take the mk ii with me.

Fujifilm GFX50S Medium Format announced

Fujifilm Steals the Show at Photokina

Following on from Hassleblads X1D mirrorless medium format announcement earlier in the year Fujifilm have announced their long rumoured and much anticipated venture in to mirrorless medium format with the GFX50s.

The GFX50s has a 51mp 43.8x 32.9 sensor which is 1.7x larger than full frame DSLR’s yet the body is around the same size as a professional level body from Canon or Nikon.

We are super excited to get our hands on one of these and see if Fuji have translated their X series know how in to the medium format world. With Fujifilms long history with medium format and their refined APS-C X series now maturing in to great all around cameras with the recently released X-Pro2 and X-T2 this might be the mirrorless medium format system to change the game.

Fujifilm also announced 6 lenses will be released during 2017 which is certainly a good start to the G system.

They claim that the camera and 63mm f/2.8 along with detachable (but included in the box viewfinder) will come in at ‘well under $10,000 US’.

For us ‘well under’ would be around the $6-8000 dollar mark so we will have to wait and see how the pricing works out. At the 6-8k mark we think it will seriously tempt affluent amateurs and professionals alike but if it’s pushing $10,000 it might be a bit much to open up a new demographic to digital medium format.

What interests us the most with this announcement is to see the rendering of those superb Fuji colours from a medium format digital sensor.

The camera should be available at the start of 2017 alongside the 63mm f/2.8 (50mm equiv) , 32-64mm f/4 (25-51mm equiv) and 120mm f/4 (95mm equiv), 110mm f/2 (87mm equiv), 23mm f/4 (18mm equiv), and 45mm f/2.8 (35mm equiv).

If as some have suggested the body could retail around the $4000 US mark I think it will gain traction very quickly. I will certainly be interested to see if it is worth investing the money and having APS-C X series for everyday use and the G series for more professional applications.

Especially when you look at the size of it next to a Nikon D810.

Hasselblad X1D Announced.

Mirrorless medium format is here

For some time now Fuji photographers in particular have been wondering if a mirrorless medium format camera was coming to us. We ll it looks like Hasselblad have stolen Fuji’s thunder having just announced the 50mp medium format Hasselblad X1D.

Featuring the same 43.8×32.9mm sensor that is used in the 50c backs for the H6D but with new processing allowing for up to 25600 ISo which is extremely high for medium format.

One of the other main features that we are excited about is the flash sync speed of up to 1/2000.

The new camera also features dual SD cards, weather sealing and a touch screen.

With a price coming in at just under $9000 US dollars this really could bring medium format to a whole new group of users and with rumours of a more affordable Fuji medium format camera possibly arriving at Photokina this year medium format might be about to become mainstream.