bobcom

I have an X-E1, 18-55, 50-230, an EF-X lens turbo and some adapters. I use these for "light" shooting and for my manual lenses, mainly M42 and Nikon. For the more demanding situations I use my Nikon outfit. I have been thinking of expanding and upgrading to an X-T10 and some additional optics, but lately I read a lot of posts on other fora about the EVF of the X-T10 and (upgraded) X-E2 becoming extremely noisy at low light. Especially with MF and focus aids (peaking) activated manual focusing in low light is said to have become a PITA. Can anybody shed some light on this problem? I would not buy an X-T10 only to discover that it is practically useless for manual focus in less than perfect circumstances - in that case I might as well switch to Sony for manual focus and "light" shooting. So is this an incidental or a systematic problem? Is Fuji doing something about it? Can I safely buy an X-T10 (or X-E2) without jeopardizing my possibilities to use my camera in low light with manual focus lenses?

I can imagine some drawbacks of the system shown by you. First, it has its own optics, and they will not be comparable to a real macro or reproduction lens with flat field correction. Second, most of these duplicators were meant to be used with 35 mm film camera's, so they won't give you full frame coverage on a crop sensor. Thirdly, every second or 3d slide must be placed into the holder, necessitating refocusing with every second or 3d shot. I don't think they'll outperform a slide projector which you can buy for some € 30,- on the net. Don't know of any duplicators meant to be placed before the camera's own optics, but in view of the camera lense's optical properties and minimum focusing distance I am rather sure that image quality won't be stellar - to say the least. To arrive at a 1:1 reproduction you would need either a strong diopter or large distancer in front of your lens or some tubes between your camera body and lens - and neither are helpful to image quality, set-up stability or reproduction reliability. As far as synchronising slide advancement and exposure are concerned - they are not an issue. You use the remote control of the projector to advance each slide, and with the camera remote you activate the shutter for each subsequent slide. You can either control focus of each slide on your camera screen or trust that each slide will have the same focus distance of the former one - a high aperture count (f/16 e.g.) will help in this case. I'm still looking for time and opportunity to try this out on my ca. 6.000 analog slides - I'd probably mount my Kiron 105/2.8 macro lens on my X-E1 body, put it on aperture priority, use my Orion slide projectors' remote to advance my slides and a traditional screw-in remote to activate my X-E1 shutter. I'd regularly check focus using the manual focus enlargement option on the center of the slide, since this will show the largest displacement under influence of the projectors lamp heat. The procedure is clear - now to find the time to translate it into action.

I always refer people asking this question to this youtube movie. Still have to try it out for myself, though.

I've got a Kipon Baveyes which is rather good - no flare, sharpness or distortion problems as far as I can see. I opted for the Eos-FX version, and joined it with an Eos-M42 adapter - am still looking for a Eos-Nikon adapter that will fit, and allow me to use it with most of my MF lenses at their original specifications. More recently I also bought a no-name FD-FX adapter, but this one has a huge blue spot in the center on almost all apertures - both with FD 50/1,8 and 28/2,8 lenses, so it has been a waste of money (not too much, fortunately).

I am thinking about upgrading my X-E1. Since the Fuji X-E1 is my "practical to have with you"-camera, I don't need all the extra's of an X-T1 or X-Pro2 - besides, cost is a factor, too. But the on-sensor phase detection, better LCD screen and additional viewfinder options (e.g. split image - I like shooting manually, either with X- or mf-lenses) are prompting me towards a next step. The one drawback of my X-E1 viewfinder is its sensitivity to diffused light, either coming from behind, above or from the sides. In bright light, I often need to shade my viewfinder with a hand to be able to see my EVF image. Though this makes for some uncomfortable shooting, nonetheless I love the rangefinder form factor. I am wondering if diffused light from behind, above or from the sides is less of an issue with the X-T10. If so, I think I would drop my preference for the rf form factor and switch to an X-T10. If there is hardly any difference (so if it is an evf issue) I could go for an X-E2 - especially with the new firmware, which eliminates most of the differenc between X-T10 and X-E2 Can anybody inform me if the viewfinder image of the X-T10 is substantially more resistant against diffused light and easier to view under brightly lit conditions than the one in the X-E1 (and I presume X-E2)? I have no shop around the corner to try it out (the closest one is 250 km away), so I would be grateful for some hands-on information.