The Fuji X Pro 1 is here!! - First Impressions

So the camera still hasn't arrived in US stores. However, last Friday it got to Canada. On Monday I ordered mine, and today (Thursday) it arrived, much to my pleasant surprise!

Although my wife has a D-lux 4 (fancy point and shoot), this is my first real digital camera. (Real = better than a camera phone quality)

I think I'm hooked, but I must say, I'm glad I waited for this camera. I'm not sure if I would have been happy with other earlier digital releases. I haven't done a side-by-side, but I bet this camera's quality at least beats the $8,000 cameras of a few years ago (Nikon D3).

First impression after a night of shooting? This camera rocks!

Performance: The photo quality at high ISOs is amazing. At screen resolution, I can't see noise at ISO 6400.

Jpegs: Look fantastic. Can't see how I could improve with shooting Raw.

Autofocus: It's fast and snappy when there is a reasonable amount of light, at about a Light Value (LV) 8 or higher). At LV -3, it was quite slow, perhaps 1-2 seconds.

Using M lenses: I was a little slow in focusing, but I think it will improve over time. I didn't exactly focus an optical rangefinder quickly the first day I picked it up. You can use magnification to get correct focus if your subject is sitting still. Regardless, I was able to focus without any real issue.


The camera with the Fuji 35/1.4:


The following with the Fuji 35/1.4

ISO400 at f/1.4:


ISO640 at f/2.2


ISO3200, at f/1.4


ISO12800, at f/1.4 and 1/7 shutter speed, hand held. This is a Light Value of -3


ISO25600 - this is the level of noise seen at ISO 800 on many vintage 2007 digital cameras, and for the grain of Fuji 1600 color film (now discontinued).


The camera with a Kipon M mount adapter and a Leitz Summicron 50/2 DR:


The following with Summicron 50/2 DR

ISO 3200 at f/2


ISO2500 at f/4




Film simulation:

I like the film situation modes as I have a reference to the look I want. I need to try out Velvia on a nice sunny day and see if the colors are as punchy as the film. Right now I see a small difference in color saturation, but may not as different as the film.

Astia:


Velvia:
 


Black and White:

The camera has settings for not just black and white , but "B&W plus yellow filter, "B&W plus green filter" etc. I'm still not a huge fan of digital black and white, but I think it has made some improvements

Pulling Provia 400x

 So we were headed to the zoo, I grabbed my Rollei and a roll of Provia. Only after I finished shooting did I realize it was Provia 400. Doh! I shot the roll at ISO 100.

I sent it to the developers requesting them to pull it 2 stops. They said they only could do a one stop pull. So I said okay as I had little other choice.

The results were not that bad. There is definitely a color shift toward magenta, but the images were saved with the help of Photoshop (Elements 8)

Original Scan:

 

After Photoshop

Remaining Film Stock

Going digital, I decided to take stock of my inventory of film. I have a total of 62 rolls, plus some 2x3 sheet film

Digital will replace all of my 35mm color negative work, but I still intent to use film for B&W and some slides. I imagine I won't shoot any film for several months after I get my new camera, but then come back to it a little.

Remaining Rolls:

Film	B&W	Color Negative	Slide
120	14	5	10
35mm	20	6	7

HTML Tables

The End of Ektachrome

Kodak, now in bankruptcy protection, has discontinued all slide films. I have several rolls in the freezer, but I am started to think that if I wasn't voluntarily moving to digital (based on lack of time), then I would be forced there soon anyway.

That leaves only the following slide films: Provia 100/ 400, Velvia 50/100/100F (by Fuji) and Rollei Digibase CR200 (copy of Agfachrome RSX II 200)

Within the last several years there has been several notable films discontinued:

1. Kodachrome 64 (June 2009)
2. Neopan 1600  (December 2010)
3. Astia (December 2010)
4. Ektachrome 200 (February 2011)
5. Plus X (March 2011)
6. Ektachrome 100 (March 2012) 

I imagine B&W film will be around for a long long time, but color film may not be. The plus side of B&W film is that you can easily develop it yourself... meaning that if they do discontinue it, you can load up a freezer full.

Wait?!?!?

I've never pre-ordered anything, but I pre-ordered the Fuji X Pro-1 on the day it was available for pre-order, Jan 31st. Since then I've been waiting impatiently. As Tom Petty once said, "the waiting is the hardest part"

The Fuji came out in Japan on Feburary 18th (which was the announced date), and is in stock at Amazon Japan.
It seems odd that stock would languish in Japan while customers willing to buy overseas.

However, us folk in the US have to continue to wait. Till when exactly, I don't know.  Sometime in mid to late March.

• Amazon and Adorama have no information
• B&H has changed their date from March 20 to March 7 to March 28
• I've heard the generic "March" at several other places

Crop Sensors & Depth of Field

 

Smaller sensors narrow lenses angle of view. Plenty has been written elsewhere on crop factors and sensor sizes, but what is underappreciated is the impact of DOF (depth of field).

 

As sensors get smaller, the focal length that will provide an equivalent field of view to a 50mm lens on 35mm film will shrink. Shrinking along with the focal length is the ability to seperate the subject from the background.

Portraits really stink if the background is also in focus (or close to it). At shorter focal lengths, DOF is greater. Add on top of that, many point and shoot cameras have a f/3.5-5.6 lens, meaning that you will have, at most, a maximum aperature of f/4  at a "normal" focal length. Sharpness doesn't immediately fall off beyond the DOF range either. For example, the background of the Canon at 8 ft will look distractingly in focus.

This is why the Fuji is acceptable. While they have a crop sensor, their 35/1.4 lens makes up for it.  Sony's widest angle lens for their NEX-5 is f/2.8 and that is for an equivalent 35mm lens. Otherwise, you get their slow kit zoom. While Olympus offers similarly slow lenses for the E-P3, Voigtlander has come out with a 25mm f/0.95. However that lens is $1200.

 

Camera / Format	Sensor Dimensions (mm)	Crop Factor	1/2 ft. DOF at 6 feet	DOF at 8 feet, f/4 with 50mm equiv.
6x9 Medium Format	84 x 56	0.43x	105mm, f/4	0.95 ft
Full Frame, 35mm	36 x 24	1.0x	50mm, f/2	1.86 ft
APS-H (Canon, Leica M8)	27 x 18	1.3	38mm, f/1.8	1.94 ft
APS-C (Fuji, Sony, Nikon)	23.6 x 15.8	1.5x	35mm, f/1.4	2.57 ft
Sigma Foveon	20.7 x 13.8	1.74x	29mm, f/1.1	3.45 ft
Micro 4/3rds	17.3 x 13	2.0x	25mm, f/1	3.92 ft
Nikon VI	13.2 x 8.8	2.8x	n/a	5.9 ft
Fuji X10	8.8 x 6.6	3.9x	n/a	...
Leica D-Lux 4	8.07 x 5.56	4.4x	n/a	8.5 ft
Canon Elph	6.17 x 4.55	5.6x	n/a	15.7 ft
iPhone	3.56 x 2.68	9.7	n/a	Infinite

HTML Tables

 

1. To determine crop factor, divide the diagonal of the 35mm frame by the diagonal of the sensor

Repairing Light Leaks in Folder Bellows

The downside of old folding medium format cameras is that their bellows may develop pinhole leaks. Some brands are worse than others: Ansco and Agfa cameras are almost guaranteed to have leaks. Check before you buy! These are impossible to see with the naked eye, so your "I don't know anything about cameras" seller on ebay may not do a sufficient job.

 In order to tell if you have light leaks, open the back and shine a powerful flashlight  in towards the lens. If you have light leaks, you should be able to see tiny spots of light. When I say powerful flashlight, I use my Fenix high power LED with 235 lumens. Your mini-mag is likely not be sufficient.

Replacing the bellows:
Option 1: If the bellows are littered with leaks, the best thing that can be done is to replace the bellows. This can be moderately expensive and time consuming. It may cost more than camera is worth. The replacement bellow on my Ansco Speedex cost $55 and the repaired cameras is probably only worth $40.  I bought the replacement bellows from Dennis Workman. He has some instructional You Tube videos, but it still takes a few hours.

Option 2: RTV black silicone can be used to patch a smaller amount of holes. I think it would be easiest to apply the silicone with your finger (with a latex glove on). Of course, you are going to have to keep your flashlight on during work so you remember where the leaks are. Leave the camera open until the silicone dries!


My Zeiss Ikonta A (circa 1930) currently has some light leaks:


Effect of light leaks on photos:

Photos may look washed out:

You also may get ghostly streaks:

If the ambient light is low and you only quickly open and close your camera, you may not see a huge effect: