Tag: Fujifilm

The Fujifilm Baby box

At a time where people mostly use digital cameras for family pictures, with phone becoming more and more the prevalent tool to snap family memories, Fujifilm is trying to bring the instant film back to fashion, outside of the niche market by offering the Baby Box as Tokyo Camera Style is telling us back in November. The Baby box is meant to help you document the early days of your child.

The box encourages parents to take a photo of their child every day to document their first year of life. Rather than just a bunch of digital files on their mom’s iPhone, these lucky kids will actually end up with an actual album of actual photographs to look back though for the rest of their lives.

Let’s hope people realize the importance of the physical picture that generations discover in shoe boxes and albums – and don’t require the complicated maintenance that electronic archive need.

Fujifilm X-E1 and al.

Fujifilm just announced the X-E1. Simply put, it is a cheaper version of the X-Pro1, without the optical-hybrid viewfinder, slightly shrunk down, albeit with a very similar design. In addition it has a popup flash next to the EVF. Engadget has a preview of the X-E1. The camera body only will be around $1000. Comes in silver or black.

As previously announced in the XF lens roadmap, the 18-55mm f/2.8-4 OIS zoom for the X- series will be available at the same time in November, standalone for $900 or as a kit with the X-E1 for $1400. The 14mm f/2.8 will also be available in November for $700.

The speed improvements in the X-E1 seems to have been rolled into the firmware 2.0 update that will be released September 18 for the X-Pro1 ; DPReview had the privilege to get their hands on the update.

While the X-E1 isn’t really for me, as I own a X-Pro1, it is very nice to see that Fujifilm seems to be committed to the system and release more than just one camera. By lowering the price point of the body, and catering to zoom users, they really want to expand their market. And this is good news.

Fujifilm X-Pro1 8000 frame user review

Prophotonut: Fujifilm X-Pro 1 ~ 8000 frame user review, by Damien Lovegrove, where he took the camera on a trip.

The X-Pro1 is a camera that I believe is best suited for street, travel and portrait photography. It’s not at home in a flash lit studio and it’s not fast enough for any sort of action photography. It’s definitely a niche camera and one I will love using on a daily basis.

“I Am NOT Saying the Fuji X-Pro1 Sucks…”

Ctein at The Online Photographer is not saying the Fuji X-Pro1 sucks, but he is saying that several of the flaws from the camera make it a bad choice for him.

The eye level viewfinder is a letdown. I’m left-eyed, which means whenever I use that viewfinder I put a great big greasy nose print in the middle of the LCD screen. LCD screens are my preferred way to work.

Same problem with rangefinder – and actually most cameras since they are all designed for right handed and right eyed people. But what make the Fujifilm X-Pro1 attractive is the optical viewfinder. Given that his preferred way is the LCD screen, it is already moot.

There’s no way to zoom in by more than a factor of two when reviewing RAW photographs. That won’t tell me if my focus is correct, if there’s subject movement, or how noisy the photograph might be. It’s barely enough to judge facial expressions.
[…]
If I capture RAW plus JPEG, I can zoom all the way in. It’s kind of dumb, and I just waste time later throwing away the JPEGs (I have no use for them), but it works.

That’s unfortunate and I indeed wish Fujifilm would fix these.

New X-Pro1 lenses roadmap

Yesterday, Fujifilm gave the roadmap for the X-mount lenses in 2012 and 2013.

For fall 2012, a 14mm f/2.8 wide angle (equivalent to 21mm) and a “standard” 18-55mm (equivalent to 27-84mm) zoom with stabilisation and wide f/2.8-4 aperture.

For 2013, more primes and zoom: the anticipated 23mm f/1.4 (equivalent to 35mm), a 27mm f/2.8 pancake (41mm equivalent) and a 56mm f/1.4 (84mm equivalent), as well as a very wide angle 10-24mm f/4 zoom lens (15-36mm equivalent) and a 55-200mm f/3.5-4.8 (83-300mm equivalent).

No detail on pricing or exact availability, but this looks to be a promising commitment from Fujifilm on the X-Pro1 system. Here is the roadmap as published by Fujifilm:

The Fujifilm lens roadmap for 2012

Source Fujifilm (archived from the original)

Taking apart the Fuji X-100

James Maher took apart his X-100:

Let me give you all a piece of wisdom that I recently learned the hard way. If you go on a fishing trip called ‘Hit em’ Hard’ and the captain tells you that you should take your bag off and put it in the ‘dry container’, what he really means by ‘dry container’ is a place that will fill up with seawater after he accidently clogs the drainage pipe, soaking you and your friends cameras, bags, wallets and cellphones for over an hour in salty seawater.

Just check the pictures if you are curious. Do not attempt!