First X-Pro 1 Trip

[David_Manning]

A few images from my first trip with a newly-acquired X-Pro 1 and 35/1.4 XF Fuji lens.

The camera is compact, it was nice to have a roomy OVF. IQ was phenomenal...my outdoor daylight Hawaii shots held all the highlights in the RAW images. I could've used the 18/2, so that's definitely next on my list.

Honolulu (Waikiki Beach), Hawaii...

 

[David_Manning]

Color...

 

[David_Manning]

I used Nik SilverEfex Pro 2 for the b&w film-look conversions, and I added slight film grain from ColorEfex 4 for the color frame. Film grain looks organic and natural to my eye, but noise from light amplification looks terrible.

Thought I'd share some more of my new XP1 experience.

 

[Buzz40]

Nice images. I've had mine for nearly six months now, and the experience just keeps getting better!

 

[texchappy]

Looks like you're getting on very well with it.

 

[matt_mcg2]

To my eyes the black and white conversions don't work that well. That's more grain than I would expect to get using 400asa film, and the grain doesn't look quite right, to me. Maybe it'd work better with a different software preset, or in low light. But that level of grain in bright day-lit photos looks a little false.

No negative comment on the shots themselves intended. They are very nice.

 

[David_Manning]

Matt, I think the more apparent grain from the volleyball shot was from the heavy cropping.

I really try not to ever crop my frames, but there were so many visual distractions that I had to crop tightly to salvage the moment, which I liked. It was cropped after the conversion. Maybe I'll try reprocessing by cropping first, so the grain doesn't get magnified.

To my eye, it looks like Tri-X souped in really warm water.

Thanks for the feedback.

 

[Johnhw]

Glad your enjoying it David...
Nice work

 

[David_Manning]

Two more...

 

[David_Manning]

 

[David_Manning]

Autofocus is handled a bit differently than my X100. On the X100, if you were too close to a subject to induce parallax, it wouldn't focus, requiring you to switch to EVF for an exact framing. With the X-Pro 1, it will let you focus and shoot on just about everything, only stopping you when the lens can't physically focus at a certain minimum distance.

I focused on this gentleman's face, but I was close enough that the parallax-induced error focused on the neck/chest region, rendering his face *slightly* out of focus. I'm still obviously learning how this camera treats certain situations.

 

[Johnhw]

Starting to get a sense of your B&W style already from these photos
Enjoy!!

 

[Johnhw]

Btw...you do have corrected AF on for using your OVF?

 

[David_Manning]

Hi John, no, I don't have corrected AF on for the OVF. It would probably solve the problem.

When I activated that feature on my X100, I found the extra focus box distracting. I suppose with more practice it would become natural, but the whole idea of a nice, bright OVF is to keep it uncluttered...at least in my mind.

Maybe I'll just give it a go again and see if it works for me. Time to dig into the manual...

 

[Buzz40]

From what I understand from reading the manual, the AF correction is for very close range. It was a little distracting and confusing for me, so I've turned it back off.

 

[edge100]

Hi John, no, I don't have corrected AF on for the OVF. It would probably solve the problem.

When I activated that feature on my X100, I found the extra focus box distracting. I suppose with more practice it would become natural, but the whole idea of a nice, bright OVF is to keep it uncluttered...at least in my mind.

Maybe I'll just give it a go again and see if it works for me. Time to dig into the manual...

The parallax corrected OVF solves the issue of shifted framing, as you say, though it doesn't restore the correct spatial relationship between objects at different distances to the camera (which is the more fundamental issue, I think). As long as you're not overly close, the parallax corrected AF spot also works well. IMHO, the OVF is the best feature of these cameras, and while the extra clutter is unfortunate, I still find it to be a highly effective solution.

 

[willie_901]

While implementing the parallax corrected focus region in the OVF will not eliminate the AF locking on an untended region with higher contrast than the desired region, it does help.

One way to keep the OVF uncluttered (no parralax correction) and improve focus targeting is to quickly switch to the 5X or 10X digital zoom. This lets you examine where the AF focused and the focus quality. Of course this assumes you have time to check the focus region. Switching takes no time at all after a bit of practice and with the latest firmware manually adjusting focus (if needed) is practical. You can even take the picture in zoom mode. This is not for everyone, but it is useful in tricky situations.

 

[David_Manning]

Lots of good answers.

For me, I think I just need to learn to judge the point which I need to flick to the EVF to ensure a correct focus point when I'm close. The X100 was foolproof, because the focus box would stay orange preventing focus lock ("switch to EVF, dummy"). On the X-Pro 1, it'll let you "lock" green and shoot. Maybe this is why they have "Pro" in the name 😉

Time for more practice. Glad I like shooting.

 

[GaryLH]

Lots of good answers.

For me, I think I just need to learn to judge the point which I need to flick to the EVF to ensure a correct focus point when I'm close. The X100 was foolproof, because the focus box would stay orange preventing focus lock ("switch to EVF, dummy"). On the X-Pro 1, it'll let you "lock" green and shoot. Maybe this is why they have "Pro" in the name 😉

Time for more practice. Glad I like shooting.

My general rule of thumb for evf at close distance is arms length..time to switch to evf.

Gary

 

[David_Manning]

I'll have to try that Gary.