Fuji My X-Pro2 Review

In C1 Pro, there are a great many more color tools which could be used to really refine the reds exactly to your, or each person's preference. Unfortunately, the first time purchase of C1 Pro can be costly. Even the upgrade price has gone up. On the other side of that, C1 Pro is at a point for many photographers where it is the only editing software needed. I've been away from Adobe for quite some time, with the exception of occasional testing of new versions. And only use Affinity Photo if I need a content aware brush. Which is rare.

Your article gives a great starting point for getting the look of X-Pro1 files. I don't think that I ever would have thought to try the edits you did to get to the starting point.

thank you very much Bobby,

I know this is a sentiment that you probably won't share.... :-D

But bar the missing perspective correction, I think I actually prefer express as it's simpler and has less repeated functions.

Of course (like you) I have other apps that can do layering and cloning etc if I need them, without these tools I'd probably be more sold on C1 pro (to be fair it would nice to have a one stop app that didn't require a tiff/whatever farmed out to other apps when I needed greater editing tools, but for the cost of C1 I can get by as I am)
 
This week's article is now live, and well it's more of a silly little thing than anything deeply worthy of your time, but time's been a bit scarce for me this week...

SOOC and Capture One Express: Running the same shots through both the camera and the editing software

SOOC and Capture One Express
 
I found that I prefered all of the C1 shots over the sooc. But, having done similar comparisons as you have. Including Lightroom, OnOne Raw, and Alien Skin. As well as sooc, I always go back to C1. It does the best job for my tastes.

Also, I have found that since this newest release of C1 with the true full support of Fuji files. That I have nearly abandoned my working on getting sooc jpgs perfected to my personal tastes.


thank you very much Bobby,

I know this is a sentiment that you probably won't share.... :-D

But bar the missing perspective correction, I think I actually prefer express as it's simpler and has less repeated functions.

Of course (like you) I have other apps that can do layering and cloning etc if I need them, without these tools I'd probably be more sold on C1 pro (to be fair it would nice to have a one stop app that didn't require a tiff/whatever farmed out to other apps when I needed greater editing tools, but for the cost of C1 I can get by as I am)

If I had not bought into C1 years ago when it was much cheaper, and just have to contend with upgrade pricing. Then C1 Express with other apps for layers, etc. would be a more viable route to take. C1 Express plus Affinity Photo is a total one time cost of $50. For an editing package as good or better than anything out there.
 
I've been reading your blog from the beginning, Adam, and have learned many things from you, for which I am grateful.

However, most of the time when you have posted your various comparisons, my reaction has been that there's not enough difference to make a difference. Maybe my eye isn't sophisticated enough to appreciate subtle differences. But the difference in these files is shocking!! In most comparisons the C1X files are shockingly (that word again!) more vivid. I have both the Fuji and the C1X programs downloaded, but I think I'll be sticking to the C1.
 
A question for Bobby T.: How difficult is it to learn Affinity Photo? I would be coming from CS2, which I've never upgraded because it does everything I want it to do. I got my first digital camera and began teaching myself Photoshop in 2003, right around my 66th birthday. It seems that all I've done since then is learn new software and camera operating systems, and I am sick to death of it.

I mostly use just a few tools in Photoship, primarily curves, brushes, cropping, and sharpening. And very occasionally, layers. Would I find Affinity reasonably familiar for those operations?
 
I found that I prefered all of the C1 shots over the sooc. But, having done similar comparisons as you have. Including Lightroom, OnOne Raw, and Alien Skin. As well as sooc, I always go back to C1. It does the best job for my tastes.

Also, I have found that since this newest release of C1 with the true full support of Fuji files. That I have nearly abandoned my working on getting sooc jpgs perfected to my personal tastes.




If I had not bought into C1 years ago when it was much cheaper, and just have to contend with upgrade pricing. Then C1 Express with other apps for layers, etc. would be a more viable route to take. C1 Express plus Affinity Photo is a total one time cost of $50. For an editing package as good or better than anything out there.

I think as well it depends on what one shoots

Landscape/portrait imo has more need for layers, usm, cloning etc

Whereas my street/documentary stuff has less. If (say) layers were something I used a lot my stance on having an expensive one app to rule them all (which is probably c1) would soften

As it stands, I can take about 170 (return) bus journeys into downtown Porto (or the beach) and take pictures for what c1 pro would cost me :)
 
I've been reading your blog from the beginning, Adam, and have learned many things from you, for which I am grateful.

However, most of the time when you have posted your various comparisons, my reaction has been that there's not enough difference to make a difference. Maybe my eye isn't sophisticated enough to appreciate subtle differences. But the difference in these files is shocking!! In most comparisons the C1X files are shockingly (that word again!) more vivid. I have both the Fuji and the C1X programs downloaded, but I think I'll be sticking to the C1.

Thank you very much Dave

I imagine that my lack of experience with how to get the best out of sooc jpegs means my efforts aren’t truly representative of what the camera can do..

...but that said, I think (and others opinions will vary) that you can’t really beat a dedicated editor for tweaking photos. I suspect that the sooc jpegs can be edited in software to look a lot better, but imho, if you’re going to take a file off the sd card and edit it, it might as well be raw

I was impressed with the sooc colours (bar the tram in front of the yellow building one) but not at all with ‘bite’ (I guess contrast is the word I should use) of the sooc files

The main take away for me was that it was a cold grey flat light day. Sooc captured this, but the sw edited raw files were able to add a bit of punch, and that’s reason enough to go that route imo
 
A question for Bobby T.: How difficult is it to learn Affinity Photo? I would be coming from CS2, which I've never upgraded because it does everything I want it to do. I got my first digital camera and began teaching myself Photoshop in 2003, right around my 66th birthday. It seems that all I've done since then is learn new software and camera operating systems, and I am sick to death of it.

I mostly use just a few tools in Photoship, primarily curves, brushes, cropping, and sharpening. And very occasionally, layers. Would I find Affinity reasonably familiar for those operations?

All of the tools are the same in Affinity Photo. The learning curve is finding everything you use in Affinity's layout. And in Affinity, the content aware brush is called the in painting brush. Probably due to copyright on the content aware name. The Affinity layout is more user friendly to me. There is a tool menu on the left side, which you will be used to from Photoshop. On the right, all of the adjustments are right there easy to find.



I think as well it depends on what one shoots

Landscape/portrait imo has more need for layers, usm, cloning etc

Whereas my street/documentary stuff has less. If (say) layers were something I used a lot my stance on having an expensive one app to rule them all (which is probably c1) would soften

As it stands, I can take about 170 (return) bus journeys into downtown Porto (or the beach) and take pictures for what c1 pro would cost me :)

You have never dealt with snooty models who hate the way they look :D
Cloning, layers, chickens, nuclear weapons, and disco balls are all necessary tools. Sometimes a go bag with fake passports and cash help also.
 
Dave, I'm a recent adopter of Affinity Photo after ditching Adobe 12 months ago. From CS2 you will AP very familiar as Bobby says, there is a free trial, plenty of Youtube videos and the price is very reasonable.
 
Better late than never, as the saying goes. I appreciate the work you do every week.

I also preferred the C1 versions. Since the release of C1 12 with the full Fuji film simulation support, I have all but abandoned working on my in camera jpgs.

If you haven't already found it. In C1 there is a B&W panel which does the conversion by checking a box. The panel has color sliders for doing the color adjustments to get the tonal range you like.
 
Better late than never, as the saying goes. I appreciate the work you do every week.

Thank you very much, I'm starting to wonder just how many X-Pro only focused Sunday articles I've left in me tbh... it's been three years and a PHD length text, with only 2 weeks off.

I'm thinking that I might actually prefer to write about photography, which I do... but the 'gear' articles are the most popular.... but I doubt I have much left to say about the X-Pros that are now quite old.

If you haven't already found it. In C1 there is a B&W panel which does the conversion by checking a box. The panel has color sliders for doing the color adjustments to get the tonal range you like.

Yes I normally would do exactly that (use the colour sliders), although I haven't worked out why C1 only gives you about 80% of the colour wheel to play with (forcing you instead to use the hue slider as well as the luminosity ones)

I have all but abandoned working on my in camera jpgs.

See my reply to Dave below (wait a few mins I haven't typed it yet!!)
 
To me, the SOOC conversions look muddy, compared to the C1X versions.

I tend to be quite diplomatic when discussing cameras as my days don't need to be filled with evangelical fanbois whining at me (but if they want to whine, and they have - then let them but that said the feedback I've had has generally been positive)

I've never felt the newer fujis have bested the SOOC jpegs of the original x-trans, I mean they're not bad... but they're not the last word either

The freeware of capture one express (C1E) I think offers a truly superb rendering engine and SOOC Jpegs and all their myriad of possible configurations just becomes a pain in the proverbial compared to working with raw, seeing live changes, effortlessly making different output copies of the same file, while enjoying far greater leeway for sharpening, NR, dodge/burn etc and I think (especially now with the fuji film sims in C1E) that Jpeg is actually significantly more work for tangibly less quality

I mean I haven't really had a camera regularly set to make a Jpeg since about 2016, it's now the ease and speed of working with RAFs via C1E means that's its a no brainer (for me, OMMV) not to bother with Jpegs

But diplomatic hat on... if someone out there simples adores and swears by (say) Classic Chrome and some combination of the in camera settings, then let them forever enjoy their in-camera work flow
 
I'll still read every Sunday morning. Articles about photos, photography, technique, or whatever. The Pro2 has been out quite a while now. And you have covered it very well. As you know well, your articles are a big part of my weekend.

I was referring to this box, Black & White, above the color editor. With the color sensitivity sliders.

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I'll still read every Sunday morning. Articles about photos, photography, technique, or whatever. The Pro2 has been out quite a while now. And you have covered it very well. As you know well, your articles are a big part of my weekend.

I was referring to this box, Black & White, above the color editor. With the color sensitivity sliders.

View attachment 19
 
Thank you very much, I'm starting to wonder just how many X-Pro only focused Sunday articles I've left in me tbh... it's been three years and a PHD length text, with only 2 weeks off.

I'm thinking that I might actually prefer to write about photography, which I do... but the 'gear' articles are the most popular.... but I doubt I have much left to say about the X-Pros that are now quite old.
No, thank you. (y) You've poured so many words into it, made a very competent and revealing X-Pro(2) review. In internet-years it's like your life's work or something. Don't stop now, the X-Pro3 is just behind the corner (we all hope).

But if you don't mind, I for one won't get tired of Fuji vs Leica comparisons. :oops: Perhaps a short series about what would happen if you shot the X-Pro like you'd shoot Leica M? Would it keep up or does Fuji need to rely to features M doesn't have to win the match. Forget all about the gear portion and focus on the photography aspect. :)

If I were you and in a rut, I'd first write a fluff piece about X-Pro2's strengths (in various genres of photography) and then explore some of the weaknesses if you could name some in more detail. Again, not about the gear but more about photography using the tools you so well know by heart.

All I can say is that I envy you. I can't envision myself using and loving a tool so long as you have. I have GAS, I recognize it as a flaw in my character. I can only hope some day I encounter a camera body I'll treasure through the years (at least more than 1.5 years, which seems to be my limit).
 
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No, thank you. (y) You've poured so many words into it, made a very competent and revealing X-Pro(2) review. In internet-years it's like your life's work or something. Don't stop now, the X-Pro3 is just behind the corner (we all hope).

But if you don't mind, I for one won't get tired of Fuji vs Leica comparisons. :oops: Perhaps a short series about what would happen if you shot the X-Pro like you'd shoot Leica M? Would it keep up or does Fuji need to rely to features M doesn't have to win the match. Forget all about the gear portion and focus on the photography aspect. :)

If I were you and in a rut, I'd first write a fluff piece about X-Pro2's strengths (in various genres of photography) and then explore some of the weaknesses if you could name some in more detail. Again, not about the gear but more about photography using the tools you so well know by heart.

All I can say is that I envy you. I can't envision myself using and loving a tool so long as you have. I have GAS, I recognize it as a flaw in my character. I can only hope some day I encounter a camera body I'll treasure through the years (at least more than 1.5 years, which seems to be my limit).

Thank you very much Mike

I just can't think of much more to say about the X-Pro2 (I've written much about its strengths/weaknesses etc)

I'm curious about any X-Pro3, but if it came out tomorrow, sharing the spec of the XT3 I wouldn't buy one (IQ too similar and I'm not fussed about video and better AF)

But I can think of plenty more to write about regarding photography :)

I am toying with a M9 vs XP2 piece... that might be the final one

The other thing I'm noticing on my site is that the blog part is way more popular than the Sunday web articles now, I blog the Sunday articles about 15 weeks after they were first published on a Sunday (which is always funny when the Christmas post comes out in about April) and increasingly more people read them as blog post than they do on a Sunday!

So come what may, I want to move to a blog only model. (which offers more tagging and indexing options in word press)

The 3 cameras I have (XP1, Xp2 and m9) are all fairly close in how they work, so that they pretty much do the same thing, if like me, you like an OVF

The m9 in little things, is almost the opposite of the XP2.

Start up and shutter lag speeds are better on the Leica, but shot to shot and configurability are better on the Fuji

RE actual photography all the cameras are so supremely capable these days, that one should just chose one that one likes.

Sensor size mainly comes into play with the type of photos one wants to make... very hard to get a super wide on M43, very easy on MF for example.

Also for example, 50 F1 on FF has a "look" a look that isn't really available with other formats, simply because the glass doesn't exist! There is no 25mm F0.5 M43 lenses... or 35mm F0.7 lens.

There's not even many MF 63mm 1.2 lenses (approx. maths on that one!!)

So GAS is about choosing what you like to shoot and buying gear around it. (and FF is probably the sweet spot to be honest, unless one likes tele...)

I want to write more about a greater range of photography topics... I want to be a little bit free of having to make a new article each week... as it's quite hard work... not just thinking of it and writing it, but sometimes even getting the source pictures... be that going out with two cameras and trying to shoot always the same thing, or making 50+ screen shots of some editing app.

Originally I was just going to run an eclectic series of articles alongside the Sunday ones.... but it's just fallen off the table and I've managed very few.

It doesn't mean that I'll never write about an X-Pro camera again, just that I don't want to feel I have to do it each week.

So by swapping to a blog specific format I can mooch about between ideas and still put my X-Pro hat on when the mood suits

I'll also planning to ask Fuji if I can borrow a GFX 50R... but I'm scared I'll like it too much, but maybe they're say no

On personal level I'm a little despondent with how photography these days seems more about the brand of the camera than the pictures, but that said I'm a little wary of disassociating myself from a brand (even if not physically)

anyway... cheers thanks for the kind words!
 
Going back to editing B&W in Capture One. I took a different, new route. That while taking a bit longer than my normal editing, I really like. I edited this photo for color, using Eterna. Then I used the B&W module. Checking the box for B&W conversion. Next using the color sliders for final tweaking of the tones.
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