bradsarno

When in auto modes, the EV compensation dial will choose various combinations of aperture and shutter speed and ISO to increase or decrease the exposure. When in manual mode as you suggest, the only variable left for the EV dial to control exposure is the ISO. So in that case they are virtually doing the same thing, but only in that particular situation. If in aperture or shutter priority or fully auto modes, that exposure compensation dial will control more variables than just ISO. Also, I believe that in this case you describe, the EV dial will only have an effect if it's set to Auto ISO. If it's set on a particular ISO value putting you in FULLY manual mode, the EV dial will not do anything. B

Other than the obvious issues relating to a smaller sensor and shooting in very low light, the X30 is spectacular, will be quite valid for a few more years to come. My wife shoots one and constantly gets asked what camera she used for her photos she shares. She's even been offered a wedding gig based on the image quality, and she's an amateur. The X30 is just stunning. I still think it's perhaps the best compact camera out there. I'd pick it over the RX100's and LX100 and G5X, for a number of reasons. It may not win every category over these larger-sensored cameras, but the whole experience combined with the stunning image quality has it at the top. I'm still waiting for a better compact camera option to come out. B

I think the X30 is hands down the best kept secret in the high-end compact world. Smaller sensor, yes, but image quality and shooting experience are arguably better than the 1" offerings out there. It's a stunning camera. B

I hate, hate, hate the yearly subscription business model. It's a no sale for me.

Great idea with the eyelet!! Thanks, Brad

more pic's

I just couldn't find the right strap for my Fuji X-E1. The hand crafted leather ones look so great, but they tend to be a bit skinny and uncomfortable on a long hot day, especially with a heavier lens on it. Many of the comfy straps just have too many buckles and adjusters and clutter. So I went to the local outdoors sporting goods store and headed to the rock climbing department. I bought 5-feet of 3/4" black webbing at 37-cents per foot. Then at the hardware store I bought a pair of chrome steel key rings. I took one end and cut the corners round. Then I folded it in half and used a lighter to melt it together in that folded position. Then I took a small soldering pen that I use for electronics work and melted a perfectly round hole right thru it. I took a small cutter to snip away any stray nylon after the soldering iron melted the hole. Then I ran the key ring thru the hole and then mounted it on one side of the camera. Then I ran the webbing over my neck and held the camera at the exact length I wanted it to hang. Then I cut the other end of the nylon webbing - committing to the length at this stage. Then I did the same end treatment to the other end and hooked it on the camera. Viola. This is the perfect strap for me; perfect length, very comfortable, very easy to wrap around my hand for wrist-strapping, no adjusters or buckles to get in the way. And all for about $3.25 and 10 minutes of work.

All said, I still love this lens and use it daily - in-camera JPEG's with slight adjustments in LR. It takes wonderful shots and I don't think much about this detail stuff. But its quirks are worthy of conversation. I see many Fuji X shooters that consider this their #1 go-to prime lens, me included. B

Interesting discovery. While Fuji seems to overstretch the outer edges when correcting for distortion in this Fuji 18mm lens, Lightroom seems to get it right, MUCH nicer at the edges where Fuji kind of gets it wrong. While Lightroom is not the best X-trans RAW converter when it comes to detail and sharpness, for some reason or another, their lens correction algorithm appears to be better than Fuji's own. Generally I don't sweat this stuff because it's only at the far edges that this correction by Fuji overstretches a bit. Anyway, it was interesting to see this at work with LIghtroom 4.4. Now if only Fuji could adopt Lightroom's lens correction profile and let us update the firmware to handle it properly in-camera, that would be great. Brad

Thanks!

Good to know. Keep this topic alive. My X-E1 exhibits this discrepancy too. B

The BIG issue with the edges on this lens seems to have EVERYTHING to do with the lens correction profile that Fuji developed for it. While it fixes the central barrel distortion issue quite nicely, they seem to have overstretched things at the very outer edges. If you open a RAW file from this lens in a program that doesn't automatically apply this profile, you can actually see how much sharper and LESS distorted it is at the wide edges. Importing a RAW into LR looks different at the edges too compared to an in-camera JPEG. Then in Raw Therapee or Iridient, you can also see how the lens correction varies from place to place. Surprisingly, the worst edge stretching happens in the camera with Fuji's own correction. So my great wish is that Fuji would fix this issue somehow, perhaps with camera firmware, perhaps with the profiles they've submitted to Adobe and others. The lens is optically better than Fuji's correction would lead you to believe. In the middle it's wonderful and wonderfully corrected. But at the wide side edges, they seem to have paid less attention when refining their correction algorithm. But again, this is only at the wide edges that it's an issue. For most photographs, this is not an issue. I've got thousands of wonderful in-camera JPEG's with this lens, and I hardly ever find myself bothered by this. But it would be nice to nail it better - c'mon FUJI!!! It's still a gorgeous lens, great contrast, great rendering, nice 3D, very sharp, wonderful colors... It's my go-to. B

Perhaps the camera in live view simply can't fully analyze and process the image to properly calculate white balance and apply all image and film simulation processes. Also, I believe that in live view, the camera operates with a wide aperture for focusing reasons and then stops down for the shot. This different amount of light coming in would also suggest that the camera is not providing a fully accurate exposure and depth of field during live view. I notice this same thing with my X-E1 on its latest firmware. It may just be the nature of things... Not sure though. Good topic for discussion. B

I just got it working. I had to shoot RAW and when importing into Lightroom 4.4 (Mac) - it had to remain RAF, and NOT converted to DNG. I just instructed it to "COPY" on import. Then the homebrew Classic Chrome profile appeared as a selection for my X-E1. B

I'm interested in hearing more people chime in about the "magic" factor. I'm in the same boat, trying to decide between the 1.4 and the 2. After reading comments everywhere, cruising endless pages of flickr, I find myself pretty enamored by both. I try to shift my mind and my gaze into a sort of zen state when viewing the shots, relaxing and just seeing which images come to life and take on a magical 3D quality. I often get a kick out of this realism and dimension that some famous Leica lenses offer. Some say it's about micro-contrast. Some say it's the way the in-focus plane transitions into the out of focus and the bokeh. I'm not that technical and a surely don't care about corner sharpness issues. We're WAY WAY past being sharp enough these days. I also understand that the 1.4 isn't as fast at focusing and that its motor is noisy, that the f2 is mechanically better. But I'm interested in the magic. What I think I may be finding from viewing hundreds and hundreds of photos is that the XF35 f1.4 seems to more often demonstrate this special factor I seek where the subject feels real and 3-dimensional and sort of jumps out and has shape and depth. I've also seen plenty of that with certain XF35 f2 shots, but the f1.4 seems to be more consistent with this magic pixie dust factor. And I'm not talking about the 1.4 advantage. This is observed with shots at f2.8 on up. Is it just me? Anyone? B

I think this 18mm f2 lens has something very special going on with it. My only gripes have to do with what happens at the far sides with the digital distortion correction, that could have been done by Fuji just a bit better. So avoid group people shots with faces at the extreme edges. And sharpness, well, this lens is plenty sharp, often VERY sharp where it matters. That's a non-issue for me. People should make more photos and stop peeping. Sharpness is generally not what gives a lens its character and special qualities. What I love about the little 18 is its look, how it renders a well placed subject. Shooting with an 18mm on a cropped-sensor is an art. It's easy to take boring shots if you don't make your subject and your viewpoint interesting, easy to make everything seem blandly distant. But when done well, this lens really has a special pop to it, a nice 3D realism. I also love its color and contrast and a certain liveliness about it. Even it's bokeh is nice. And don't forget, f2 is fast. That's a real factor to consider. It focuses quickly too. It's affordable, especially used. It has a fairly close near focus distance, not quite macro, but nice and near. It's small and light and has a great hood. It has the nice aperture ring and focus ring. I think it's quite the special lens, often misunderstood, tragically underrated among the XF collection. A well kept secret actually. Highly recommended.

My X-E1 with the cheap K&F adapter using a beat up $20 Super-Takumar 50mm F1.4, probably at about F2.8 or so.