Fuji X-T1 Thoughts & Samples

Hi Ray, how about trying an e-bike. http://www.stromerbike.com/en/us

I'm still waaaaaay too much of a traditionalist for an e-bike. I really love being the engine myself. i don't even want electronic shifters and they're getting to be pretty ubiquitous on higher end road bikes these days... Maybe someday if I completely give up on getting this asthma back under adequate control, but I'd probably go all the way to a scooter or small motorcycle before I'd go for an e-bike. That town bike I'm on IS a "neo-650B" though, even if it's not called that. The frame was built in the past 7-8 years and the wheels are 650B... My road bikes are 700c though...

-Ray
 
There's one other advantage of the x-pro: the OVF. Which is really helpful in bright sunlight (despite the fantastic EVF of the X-T1), especially when you wear glasses like me. On the other hand, I love the handling of the X-T1 and the tilt screen.



Ray, how comfortable is the lens compared to the 14mm? It looks huge. A beautiful series. My favorite is #3 (I assume it;'s 10 or 12mm?). I am amazed how Fuji reproduces Turquoise colors!

Yeah, the OVF on the X-Pro is really nice IF you're using lenses it works well with. It's great with the 18 and 35, OK with the 27 and 23, but not too great on most of the other lenses. And it wouldn't work at all with the wide end of the 10-24. Even the 14mm extends beyond the frame of the OVF. I'd sort of thought of buying a used one myself but I'm mostly using the 14 and 23 with smaller doses of the 10-24 and very small doses of the 50-230. Of those, the only one that really works well at all with the OVF is the 23 and it's frameline is pretty small in there - not as bad as the 60, but it's really caught in between the two magnification levels of the OVF. So, I decided not to. If there is some sort of X-Pro 2 and it somehow expands the capabilities of the OVF to handle more lenses, I'll give it a look, but I'm not terribly optimistic. I think the system kind of out-grew Fuji's original calling card...

The 10-24 is not a small lens, but it's not too bad, depending on what you're used to. It really doesn't appear much larger than the Olympus 12-40 which I have on my EM1 a lot of the time. It's wider out at the front end, but I'd say the experience of walking around with the XT1 and 10-24 is quite similar to walking around with the EM1 and 12-40. I prefer smaller primes mostly, but I don't mind the 10-24 for the role it will play...

-Ray
 
Thanks, Ray. I also use OVF for 35mm max. It wasn't very useful with the 60mm, let alone the 55-200.

I don't think the 10-24 will be in my bag soon.

Just out of curiosity: did you use the 14mm with the latest firmware? The frame is pretty good with the current firmware version (just checked). Of course, the lens blocks the bottom right corner.

Even the 14mm extends beyond the frame of the OVF.
 
Just out of curiosity: did you use the 14mm with the latest firmware? The frame is pretty good with the current firmware version (just checked). Of course, the lens blocks the bottom right corner.

No, I sold the X-Pro quite a while ago, and picked up a cheap used XE1 to use with the 14mm, because that was the only Fuji gear I'd held onto for quite a while. So I used the 14 with the X-Pro only when the 14 was relatively new. I'm not sure how it could change though? The magnification levels in the X-Pro OVF are done by hardware, not software. The frame at the wider magnification (optimized for the 18mm) was not quite wide enough to cover all of the 14mm image. I remember switching back and forth between the OVF and EVF to get an idea for how much of the scene was missing in the OVF. So I'm not sure what firmware could do - it can't widen the widest physical level of magnification... I'm not saying it wasn't useable - I just had to remember that the image I was going to get was going to be larger than what I could see in the frame. The same thing happens with the X100 or X100s when you put the 28mm adapter on it. The OVF isn't wide enough and instead of showing a frameline to define the approximate limits of the actual scene, it shows arrows pointing out toward the four corners to let you know the sensor is seeing more than you are through the OVF....

-Ray
 
More thoughts...

The XF 14 lens:
13696671313_9f88d12093_c.jpg


So this is a good example of the distortion in the corners that you get with something this wide. It's sometimes useful, sometimes not. I have to be careful with it, not to get faces too near the corners. I like this level of it - it's distorted, but I don't mind this amount. This was shot straight into the sun with nothing but a UV filter on it, yet the colors and exposure came through wonderfully.

A cropped 14 shot:
13696635935_a0370b79e3_c.jpg


This crop was about 85% of the total image, and I found myself doing that with many of the 14's shots in post. It's not too burdensome, and I'm glad I have the full width when I want it, but it's a strong hint that I'd have been happier having something more like my X100's 35 equiv as a knock-around "default" lens, only to dig out the wide and long stuff here and there. Later in the day this was confirmed when I put on my friend's 27 f2.8 pancake XF lens, looked through, and said "oh GOD yes, that's what I'm looking for." The 50 equiv was often too long, and the 21 equiv was often too wide. More on this later...

The 35 f1.4:

13696991224_08394b5afc_c.jpg


...renders so wonderfully. This was an over-exposed shot that I tone mapped and then pulled back down, and I love how airy it looks, yet it still has Jon exposed nicely (holding his lady's Soma, as he had just tweaked her gears to give her back her granny gear).

The XF 14 2.8 lens, all 3 SOOC:

13697000444_6fe3a56655_c.jpg


13696999454_7430fdbd9f_c.jpg


13696673623_5b08a5f7fb_c.jpg


We finished a 25 mile ride, hit the beer store, and went straight to a party.


XF 27 f2.8 pancake lens:

13696989954_f9a53cd45a_c.jpg


13696676323_d7785aa6ca_c.jpg


My buddy has the XE-1, the kit 18-55, and this pancake. I love the size of it, but before I used it I figured it was too slow and optically not up to par with the big fast primes. Plus I have the "50," so a "40" is redundant, right? Wrong. I want it, now. It's just that touch wider that would make a 50 twice as usable for just knocking around. It's friggin' TINY. It might even focus faster than the 14, which I had heard was the fastest Fuji lens on the X-T1. I used it for an hour, and I didn't want to give it back.

I can see a difference between it and the 35. It washes out easier, it isn't quite as crisp. But it's MORE than crisp enough for the shots I would use it for... when I have the camera slung on my back and suddenly think "oh I should take a picture of that." Both these 2 shots have had a little contrast added.
 
Of those, the only one that really works well at all with the OVF is the 23 and it's frameline is pretty small in there - not as bad as the 60, but it's really caught in between the two magnification levels of the OVF. So, I decided not to. If there is some sort of X-Pro 2 and it somehow expands the capabilities of the OVF to handle more lenses, I'll give it a look, but I'm not terribly optimistic. I think the system kind of out-grew Fuji's original calling card...
-Ray

I am ok w/ the 60 on the xp1. It is pretty small w/ the 60 but if u use the built-in mag feature of the ovf. This is sufficient for me. But I use the 60 mainly for macro work and the evf mostly.

W/ the zooms, I only have the 18-55, I tend to just use the evf.

W/ the ovf, I mainly use it w/ the lenses I own between 18 to 35 primes myself.

Gary
 
No, I sold the X-Pro quite a while ago, and picked up a cheap used XE1 to use with the 14mm, because that was the only Fuji gear I'd held onto for quite a while. So I used the 14 with the X-Pro only when the 14 was relatively new. I'm not sure how it could change though? The magnification levels in the X-Pro OVF are done by hardware, not software. The frame at the wider magnification (optimized for the 18mm) was not quite wide enough to cover all of the 14mm image. I remember switching back and forth between the OVF and EVF to get an idea for how much of the scene was missing in the OVF. So I'm not sure what firmware could do - it can't widen the widest physical level of magnification... I'm not saying it wasn't useable - I just had to remember that the image I was going to get was going to be larger than what I could see in the frame. The same thing happens with the X100 or X100s when you put the 28mm adapter on it. The OVF isn't wide enough and instead of showing a frameline to define the approximate limits of the actual scene, it shows arrows pointing out toward the four corners to let you know the sensor is seeing more than you are through the OVF....

-Ray

I compared EVF and OVF but I will look more closely. I'll also try to make comparison shots.
 
I may have mentioned it before but its owner, Jon, does those crazy 900-miles-in-4-days sorta rides on that thing. Like, he'll adjust the seat down 2 millimeters if he has on long underwear to comp for the added height. And yet he is as easy going, mellow, and humble a person as I've ever met. Just LOVES being out on a bike, period.
 
XF 27 f2.8 pancake lens:

My buddy has the XE-1, the kit 18-55, and this pancake. I love the size of it, but before I used it I figured it was too slow and optically not up to par with the big fast primes. Plus I have the "50," so a "40" is redundant, right? Wrong. I want it, now. It's just that touch wider that would make a 50 twice as usable for just knocking around. It's friggin' TINY. It might even focus faster than the 14, which I had heard was the fastest Fuji lens on the X-T1. I used it for an hour, and I didn't want to give it back.

I can see a difference between it and the 35. It washes out easier, it isn't quite as crisp. But it's MORE than crisp enough for the shots I would use it for... when I have the camera slung on my back and suddenly think "oh I should take a picture of that." Both these 2 shots have had a little contrast added.
i think it's a great fov. pick one up, and join us, here: Fuji

(Sent from another Galaxy via Tapatalk.)
 
I have a month-long road trip coming up in August. We're taking a mix of car / plane / mostly train to see Montreal, Madison WI, Minneapolis, friends in Montana near Glacier Nat'l Park, more friends in Leavenworth WA, then Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver. Wife started a website about bike travel, so we'll be on two folding bikes, mine with the 4 yr old girl in front of me (that Brompton is another kind of serious compact!), and I'll be shooting a ton of pictures both for our own use and for the routes on the website. I'm thinking about borrowing my buddy's 27, maybe trading him one of my primes for the month, if he'll do it. He may not - he says the 27 gets WAY more use than his 18-55.
 
i was just up in minneapolis and duluth last month. i love the PNW especially portland area. i was just in milwaukee last week.

i definitely use my 27 more than the rest of my lenses. and it's just so easy to carry as a spare lens or to throw a body with it into my windbreaker pocket. it's just rad, man. rad.
 
I have a month-long road trip coming up in August. We're taking a mix of car / plane / mostly train to see Montreal, Madison WI, Minneapolis, friends in Montana near Glacier Nat'l Park, more friends in Leavenworth WA, then Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver. Wife started a website about bike travel, so we'll be on two folding bikes, mine with the 4 yr old girl in front of me (that Brompton is another kind of serious compact!), and I'll be shooting a ton of pictures both for our own use and for the routes on the website. I'm thinking about borrowing my buddy's 27, maybe trading him one of my primes for the month, if he'll do it. He may not - he says the 27 gets WAY more use than his 18-55.

The 27mm is not a focal length I see well with (in APS - in full frame it's an entirely different story!), but the Brompton I can way relate to. I have one that doesn't get much use anymore, not because of IT, but because I just don't often need a folding bike lately. But I know if I ever sell it, I'll find a zillion reasons to wish I hadn't.

So, this is not a bike tour, right? More of a planes, trains, and automobiles kind of a trip with folding bikes in the trunk so you can ride around once you get to a destination?

7019329445_8a073143a0_b.jpg


-Ray
 
If you've never seen one of these folding or unfolding, it's a pretty amazing little feat of engineering and design. I've done it in about 10-15 seconds after riding up JUST in time to catch a train. Here's what it looks like fully folded:

7019329361_4180b1bb9c_b.jpg


-Ray
 
I'm amazed by the engineering, and I kinda like the homely purpose-built look. But it looks ungodly uncomfortable, but then a lot of you serious riders ride uncomfortable tiny hard-seated bikes. Grandpa here likes a cruiser.

Kyle, I'm looking forward to your shots.
 
Trip: We're driving to Montreal, then driving to Wisconsin to drop off our dog at my wife's folks' place. He'll stay there for the month while we carry on. After WI, though, it's all bromptons-on-the-train until we have to fly from the end of the run back to WI. Then we drive the dog back to Boston. So for the majority of it, we'll be hopping off a train, unfolding the bikes, tossing the panniers onto the bikes, the girl will climb up onto her little saddle mounted in front of mine, and off we'll go to whatever AirBnB we've booked to stay in. During the 2-5 days we spend in each spot, we'll be riding the route/s we've planned to show for each city, making notes on the route, and shooting images for it. Also we'll be making contacts with future route ambassadors for that city, hotel owners (revenue model depends in part on them), brewery owners, bike shop owners, and local bike advocate groupy types.

Ray: There's basically no reason to ever sell a Brompton as far as I can tell, though I'm glad people do... both ours were bought used off Craigslist (Texas and Minneapolis - good thing they fold up small and light for shipping!). I love the green. Both ours are boring black, but both also got tricked out by their previous zealot owners. Both came with generator front hubs for permanent battery-free lights, quick disconnect bag mounts and a total of 4(!) bags to choose from, and somehow both have the titanium forks and swing arms to save weight. And the kid seat mount bar thing... just happened to come with the second one. And a tool kit that hides in the frame, and spare tubes, and a top-shelf NYC u-lock, and and and. Gotta love buying someone's well-sorted kit at a discount.

Lenses: Right now I'm struggling little bit with the X-T1. I think I'm a primes kinda guy, but in practice I keep swapping between the 14 and the 35 like crazy. I probably should've gotten the 23, because I know and love that length, but I thought "no I have the X100 for that." Meanwhile, I'm basically trying to get the 14 and the 35 to BE the X100. I still see in that length, new lenses be damned. So the idea of the 27 being a little longer than what I expect (but not too much longer), and being so physically small, seems like a home run. These are expensive decisions to dither over. Meanwhile in the mail here comes a 56 1.2... I'm thinking I need to take a week, lock one prime onto it, go shoot every day at lunch, and rewire my brain into seeing new lengths better.
 
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