robvisual - photography

After selling my X-T1 and X100S I bought the XPRO2 and the X100F to work with them in different situations. I love the form factor and the OVF of the XPRO2 and the size and the silent operation of the X100F. With this lineup I can choose the right cam for nearly every situation (I am not a sports photographer). This can happen when you go for a nice reflection-shot (35mm f1.4/XPRO2) How are my feelings after using the XPRO2 for one year and the X100F for three months now? I know that there is no tool in this world that will serve all your needs without a little drop of bitterness. Perfection is a lie and I don't expect a camera (and anything else in life) to be perfect. So I try to be fair and only write about things without falling into that ranting scheme that is all around the web. XPRO2 I love the size and the possibility to use the OVF that allows me to see what is coming into frame. I can also use the 18mm with zone focusing to concentrate on the decisive moment...

As I reported some days ago I had a serious problem with my new X100F. The AF switch was broken and the camera could not be set to AF-S via the switch on the left side. The camera is now repaired and works fine again. There is only one minor thing that bothers me a bit. Back in the days Fuji pulled my camera via UPS for free and now you have to send the camera in on your own bill (except you are a pro how owns more than two cameras). I think that this is okay if your camera is older than two years, but my camera was freshly bought and near mint. The guy I phoned with at Fuji repair was not really cooperative and I had to add another amount of money (delivery with insurance) to the pile of money I've spent on the camera. Sad but true. I don't think that this is the right way to treat customers who bought a premium product. UPDATE 17/05/12: My camera has a new problem now. The silver cell that keeps the settings when you change the battery is now dead. After one to thr...

My X100F is now at the repair facility at Fuji Germany in Kleve because of the broken "AF Mode" switch that stops me from switching the camera to AF-S. I will report about the handling and the results of this little operation at the Fuji-HQ. It is weird how you feel when you miss your photographic tool. I know that a camera is just a thing. It is not about the money value of it, but after using a tool for some time it gains some personality and becomes a part of your life. waiting...

I want to share my further experiences with my new Fuji X100F with you. I had a long weekend in Munich last week and my new camera sniffed some Bavarian air. I tried to capture my daily experiences and the places we went to. Here is a little commented selection of the resulting images. All photos are out of camera with some retouching done with snapseed on my phone. This combination is great to create some great images on the go without the need of a software like lightroom. I don't need to mention again that all Fuji camera have great color profiles that produce great results (even without editing). At my first day in Munich I convinced my wife and friends to go to a third wave coffee place called Gang und Gäbe . We had some great roasted beans from Ethiopia, Honduras and Guatemala and I asked the owner for a portrait and the result can be seen above. I only had a few seconds to take the shot and I wanted to create a little sense of depth by using an open  aperture at f2. The...

If you want to document a certain topic or event you may have different needs when it comes to the camera. For my taste the camera needs to be small, quiet and unobtrusive. The performance in low light should be good because of changing situations. I recently visited a video games exhibition with a friend and I captured some images there. even in this situation Mark wasn't noticing me The first thing to mention is that no one asked me to lock the camera away, because they are not allowed. A good thing to have a camera that doesn't stand out too much. There were some situations were a big and loud camera would also have spoiled the situation. The Fuji was near silent with it's leaf shutter and most of the people were too busy to notice someone holding a tiny thing to his head and looking into their direction. Do this with a big bulky DSLR with that loud shutter. That is why most of the documentary photographers used a Leica over the years. The new X100F is instan...

Time to share my further experiences with Fuji's new model of the X100 family with you. As I wrote in my last X100F article I was coming from the older X100S and the changes for me were huge in terms of the auto-focus, the sensor and the overall speed. a lung-bun (Lungenbrötchen) as we say in Germany  After one week of taking this camera to different places I want to show you some images and share my views about the changes Fuji made in the product line. Auto-focus and EVF/OVF If you're coming from the X100S you will notice the difference, because the auto-focus was really bad back in the early days of this product line but I managed to deal with this flaw. Now it feels fast enough, more accurate and serves my needs as a documentary and street photographer very well. There are faster systems out on the market but this is not the aim of this camera. Most of the time the auto-focus delivered just the way I expected it, even in OVF-mode. EVF is bliss! It is fast ...

Yesterday I got rid of my XT1 and my trusty old X100S in Exchange for a X100F (by adding some extra cash). After a little set-up in the shop the camera was instantly ready to use. When you're a Fuji user this little tool has no real learning curve for you. After leaving the shop I took some photos to test the camera. This is not an in depth review, I will write about my real life experience with this model in the coming days. If you want to know something then just ask me below in the comments or via twitter. Same same, but different I don't need to write about the build quality or the integrated lens because there is no real difference to the predecessors of this model, but the placement of the buttons has changed. In case of the Q-button it was a little misplacement for my taste. It is placed at an area where I rest usually rest the thumb of my right hand. You can lock this button by holding down the menu button for a few seconds so this is not a real problem but ...

Despite the fact that the bigger sensor delivers more pixels for larger prints and higher ISO with less noise, there is no real noticeable improvement in image quality in most occasions. Who will pixel-peep at 100% into every photo? It is the overall look to the photos that does the magic. And this magic is still there since the x-trans-sensor was introduced to the photographic world. I was recently invited to a birthday party that was celebrated in a billiard pub and I took my X100S with me to capture some photos of this event. This small and quiet photographic tool helped me a lot to be invisible most of the time. Back at my mac (nice rhyme) I took the raw photos and applied my black and white tone curve to them. And after turning off any noise reduction I saw the magic in front of my eyes: the sensor noise looks so organic! It looks like an grainy high ISO black and white film. There is no need to reduce that kind of noise. You want it. Trust me! But how about color photog...

Yesterday I told my Fuji dealer (a real shop! support them!) that they should put me on the list for a black model. I own a X100S and I don't regret the long wait. I started with the X100 back in the days and this camera was just too sluggish and painfully slow. I had the great opportunity to trade it for a X100S that is slightly better with the brilliant Trans-X-sensor. As the X100T came out I was not convinced to buy this camera because the only major things that have changed were the OVF (pip) and the in camera WiFi. Too less for a change. The implementation of CDAF and PDAF (auto focus methods) in the X100S and X100T was poor, even in bright light they are inaccurate and slow. So I decided to wait for a model that at least keeps up with the XT1. And now the gap is closed and the new X100F supports the same auto focus system like the XPRO2 what is great because I love to use the OVF on my XPRO2 and it works great. The new button placement and the ISO dial are a good evoluti...