MSW

I’ve just been trying out one of these. The good— Price is very modest Image quality is better than acceptable, maybe that’s an understatement Fit is tight. Focus ring(s) action is smooth and not at all sloppy Construction seems sturdy Better an 1:1 using second focus ring More distance between from of lens and subject than Giji’s 70mm The not so good— No AF Takes very little motion to change focus from infinity to close up. This means using as a general purpose telephoto is clumsy The second focus ring for magnification greater than 1:1 is clever but I’m not sure it is all that worthwhile aperture ring is located right behind the front lense ahead of the focus rings and also turns in the opposite direct from the normal Fuji lens. Works but feels wierd. Rather heavy. Focus peaking doesn’t seem to work real well with the lense. Not enough contrast? I don’t know Overall: Valid choice if you can’t afford Fuji’s 80mm macro. Valid choice if 1:1 is a requirement even though could afford the 60mm. If 1:2 is all you need/want stick with 60mm If you CAN afford Fuji’s 80mm macro and need 1:1 go with that

I have printed 18x12 from a cropped image made with an X-E1. I do not see any shortcoming with respect to resolution. I think you will just fine with the X-T2. In fact, now that I'm using an X-PRO2 (same sensor as X-T2) it's not the additional pixels that continue to surprise, it's the dynamic range that is the biggest deal. Situations that previously called for HDR now only need LR's Dhadow and Highlight sliders.

Agree. In fact that is the only substantial complaint I have about the X-E2. Any other suggestions I have had are "better this", "faster that" but they are not of the same seriousness. The eyecup situation can result in instances where is becomes nearly impossible to frame and compose a photo - almost like shooting with your eyes shut

I had similar situation. Reset of the shooting menu fixed it. I may be the case that a reset is a good idea after any major firmware up date.

The X-T2 was bulked up from the T-1 in part to accommodate the heatsink needed to accommodate 4K video. But if the link below speaks truly, 4K is already old tech - 8K is the future. Absent some big improvement in thermal efficiency, an X-T(next) will need an addition bulk-up. Maybe that will come the the super/ultimate x-trans model that is rumored to be in the pipeline. Perhaps it is time to revert to separate still and video cameras rather than the current digital Swiss Army Knives (DSAK's)? Opinions. https://petapixel.com/2017/04/17/rise-8k-pros-cons-adopt-asap/

In response to original post - Spent the last couple of days using the camera after installing the new firmware. Definitely NO problems with RAW vs JPEG vs RAW+JPG. All work. I comparred my LCD to your images and mine don't have anything greyed out. I would try RESET and follow up with as reinstall. An to my recent experience with the new software. My subject matter so far is things that don't move or at least not much so I can't comment on AF enhancements. --The AUTO setting for minimal shutter speed when using AUTO-ISO seems to do just what I was hoping it would - it's interesting (and cool) to watch the shutter speed change automatically when zooming. It seems to make about the same choice I would if I were doing it manually. One more thing to remember to disable when using a tripod! -- The new AE bracket is nice - up to 9 exposures with increments up to 2 stops. This is great for hardcore HDR among other things but ironically I resort to that far less than in the past thanks to the DR of the new sensors.

I hope that in manual focus mode it will use a direct mechanical rather than a focus by wire mechanism. Reason - because focus stacking is very common when shooting at macro distances and I can say from experience with the XF 60mm that making many small progressive focus increments can get a little vague at times. I particularly miss a hard stop at minimum distance.

It will need to be more than just a minor update as the 18-55mm when at 18mm is only slightly larger and opens to nearly the same aperture while having OIS. Version II will need to be a lot sharper than the zoom without growing bigger and heavier.

I'll take any combination of the above provided no weight or dimensional increase over X-E2. Ease of lugging is what distinguished the X-E2 from X-pro1, X-t1 ans X-t10. Don't mess with that!

Biggest wish -- DO IT SOON !! Like by year end 2017 at latest.

I think the the following is and will be true for any of the new bodies: the 24mpx sensor is a big improvement over the older 16mpx for several reasons but to me the most important is the improvement in dynamic range. It's ver obvious to me when I compare processing in LR.

I can't think of anything about the fuji bodies that bug me excepr lrns hoods, lens cap (front and Rear) and the diopter control. The diopter thing could be improved if there was a way to lock in the setting (and also I tend to poke myself in the eye when adjusting it). None of these are serious and I had complaints about Nikon diopter adjustments that were similar.

I'm not real excited about any of the lens hoods (or front and rear caps) that Fuji makes. I'm comparing them to the Nikon equivalent to which I had been accustomed. Every brand has some special area of weakness and this is Fuji's. Not a reason to abandon the rest of the system but it is an area of constant annoyance. [At least in the case of front lens caps, when a replacement is needed a Nikon of the same size is a definite improvement.]

Yes, as opined by several posters buy the heios for its faults not its virtues. If resolution is the issue I'm pretty sure even an XC 16-50mm would win out! I tend to use my Helios with the aperture wide open as I'm usually looking for the softness. .

Agree. I have a 44-2 that gets a bit of use when I want a certain look. Based on photos I've seen made with other vintage or resurrected vintage lenses, the Helios seems to be less "in your face" the peculiar swirly bits are there but not so strong that the draw the eye away from the subject. I also wish Meyer-Goerlitz would get moving with the Trioplan re-release so as to drive down the price of the older originals to my price range.