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pizzaman

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  1. Like
    pizzaman got a reaction from AZWolf in Leica vs Fuji vs Sony   
    I've used all of them (Leica film, digital, Fuji X pro, Sony A7RII) and I've got to tell you after over a year with the Sony the 'computerness' of it has melted away and it actually feels like a better and simpler camera than the X pro ever felt to me - and professionally are in a similar situation as you. I use it mostly with Contax G lenses and the techart adapter that actually improves on the AF that the Contax G system had, though it is not flaw free it's mostly quite solid, especially with the 45 and 90, which I use most. Combine that with the superior sensor, that makes it's difference known in all of the pictures I've made that couldn't have been made with the X pro - well, I feel like the Sony design gets a bad rap because it doesn't match the nostalgia of old designs -  but in real life use - for me - it actually is quite user friendly over time, has become quite intuitive to where it will not disrupt the flow of any shoots, and the results it gives are just hard to argue with. 
     
    The Leicas are great but yea, the cost / quality equation - no practical justification these days, and the Sony still wins on IQ/resolution anyways. 
  2. Like
    pizzaman reacted to milandro in Convince me not to dump my X stuff   
    you realize that ‘ endless cycle that will not end “ is a tautology?
  3. Like
    pizzaman got a reaction from CRAusmus in REUTERS HAVE BANNED RAW FILES   
    Photographers have different purposes depending on the line of their work or the nature of their assignment.
    It is not 'sad' when a photographer doesn't strive to tell the truth if that is not their job. Photographs are not truth, never have been and never will be. 
     
    Reportage/photojournalism/whatever you want to call it is as much a practice of aesthetic training as commercial portraiture. 35 mm lenses on a Leica, Tri X and dodging and burning for drama were as much a visual style as a 3 light studio portrait with a Hasselblad. The methods of finishing a photograph are different now, but discounting that just reeks of grumpy old person resistant to change. My example of blurring a background was just one in a number of possible ways to manipulate the scene. There is no recreating it. A 35mm lens distorts an image. There is nothing that recreates the reality of a situation. A photograph subjectively cuts out a certain part of a real scene and therefore it already lies by omission. It often strips of context, which is most important. 
     
    See this piece - by a very noted photojournalist - which I believe gets at the heart of some of these issues rather poignantly.
     
    No one is disputing the value of making a good image in camera - and I would say that most times I see examples of manipulate photojournalism it doesn't actually make the photo any better. The classic examples, like the removal of the fence in the Kent State protest are just silly aesthetic elements that have nothing to do with the relevant content of the picture (which is why it is any good). 
     
    I'd also disagree that modern photographers are not capable of making images like the greats of the past. A lot of photojournalists still use the very same lens set up (not that this means anything) and make very strong work. If you can't recognize this I would say you're either romanticizing the past or you're not looking at the work that is being produced today. There are so many good documentary photographers out there risking life, limb and stability and yea, making images that are just at strong as those of the past - maybe even more so. 
     
    Reuters and now World Press are trying to make rules around something that is ultimately a challenge to do. I understand and even sort of admire the motivation, but it doesn't change the reality of the situation in that news photographs have always been manipulated, but it in my opinion it has never really made them any better. Most tone manipulation is in pretty shit taste and heavy handed anyways. A lot of photojournalists don't know the first thing about aesthetic and narrative restraint and actively try to overly dramatize whatever it is they photograph. 
  4. Like
    pizzaman reacted to milandro in Fujifilm X-PRO2 rumors   
    January is a bad month to introduce expensive new products, people have just spent their money.
  5. Like
    pizzaman reacted to Harlem in CONTROVERSIAL STREET PHOTOGRAPHY   
    Shooting the homeless and poor is cliché and don't make their situation any better. In my opinion it's kinda exploitation of poverty. Just my 2ct.
  6. Like
    pizzaman reacted to Patrick FR in Famous X-shooter Collection: Beyoncé, Prince Harry, Annie Leibovitz... and who else?   
    We have a New Entry: Fred Herzog
    https://www.flickr.com/photos/nelsonmouellic/8657222336

  7. Like
    pizzaman reacted to Robin in Famous X-shooter Collection: Beyoncé, Prince Harry, Annie Leibovitz... and who else?   
    Why would I reason that because a famous person uses a Fuji it must be good?
  8. Like
    pizzaman reacted to SOSKIphoto in Fuji "Pro" Repair Center is a Letdown   
    Little back story, full-time working photographer (editorial and wedding) hoping to make the switch from my Canon system to Fuji after falling in love with the X100t.
     
    I hopped on reliable forums and purchased a mint X-T1 and 56mm f/1.2 to test the waters. Upon unboxing, I found out it had the dreaded squishy D-Pad (as opposed to my awesome rental from Borrow Lenses), and "Light Flare" issue. Original owner wouldn't take it back, so I called up the Pro Repair Center in VA for warranty work.
     
    1. 45 minute wait to get direction for an Repair Order Form,
    2. $50 FedEx ground from CA to VA,
    3. 3 WEEK wait before I receive any word from Fuji (no acknowledgement that they received my camera – nothing),
    4. Repair Estimate is $175,
    5. Call them up and they explain they are charging me because free warranty work was done last year, not this year. They also admit that my serial number is affected but they won't fix their own issue.
     
    Moral of the story/rant – Fuji doesn't have their shit together in the repair and support area. I love the cameras, but I can't be in the dark for 3 weeks while trying to earn a living. I have sent many items into Canon's CPS program and love their overly active communication – "We received your item," "Your Estimate is $$$," "We finished your repair," "We are prepping shipment," "Your tracking number is xxx." No matter how great your cameras are, you will never be the heart of my working system if your support is lacking.
  9. Like
    pizzaman reacted to ChatNoir in Convince me not to dump my X stuff   
    I really liked the X-Pro1 concept from day one and in
     
     
    I really liked the X-Pro1 concept from the day it was announced. I really hoped it was a kind of Leica M-competitor, without having to miss the modern convenience of what a Pro-DSLR could offer. There were a lot of good ideas in it, but when I finally owned one, it felt so disappointing. From built quality (I really suffered from issues) to its true, core performance. I've given all chances to Fujifilm and their kaizen-approach, but also to Apple, Adobe, Capture One,... to come with a decent RAW conversion and it just didn't fully happen.
     
    The most important is that Fuji really learned from what the users were saying - that may sound extraordinary, but maybe they didn't even have a choice with such a new system. Once again, going for 'APS/C only' to developing the XF-flange wasn't the most clever choice. I still think Fuji's management has originally with the X100 been looking more for a solution to save their compact camera business and compete with M43 than they were searching to become a true hard-core professional camera manufacturer.
     
    If the X-Pro1 would have received a FF 24MP X-trans sensor (which was available in those days in Sony & Nikon camera's) and a more or less professional AF-servo system - they could have released possible the ultimate winner for the next 3 years - the dream camera for many professionals, the ultimate, standard tool but maybe not something they could sell at at a more elevated price at a wider, advanced shooter audience. But only being APS/C with a disappointing AF and a quite poor low light performance, we all now the X-Pro1 never became a sales miracle.
     
    Well I like the X-T1 but I still don't judge this to be a 'swiss knife'. My own perception remains that the bodies might be close to an advanced expert solution like a D7200, but it's no Nikon FX. Design-wise it looks better and works less disturbing and offensive in many situations, it's lightweight, interesting for travel, has an ideal form factor. And the optical formulas of those Fujinons are excellent.
     
    I don't know what stepping up means for Fuji. Or they have to leave the 'hobby arena' that is business-wise their camera division now and aim to become something like Sony or Nikon is now (which will be a huge challenge and business risk) - or they can stay a relatively small, but niche player making not the best solutions out there, but the ones that holds the middle between a wider range of more affordable solutions in the medium advanced APS/C segment and truly expert kind of stuff.
     
    To say it different I don't expect a Leica M.240 or Sony A7RII concept from Fuji in a near future. The X-Pro2 will have that slightly higher 24MP resolution and get rid of a few hurdles or missing features (like more solid video, where I'm btw myself not waiting for). Still no organic sensor, no world-shocking new technologies, no sensor stabilization. And no high resolution mode.   
     
    To be honest, I don't know I will still consider the X-Pro2 in 2016.
     
    Investing in a second system remains extremely expensive. Despite the X-T1's improvements and competences, the fact it's a more fluent player I keep on reaching for my Nikon gear, my best Nikkors and the new wave of Sigma Art glass, in which I still have more trust on the more critical missions. That's not the best sign, most of all because in the 2016-2017 timeframe we will likely face Nikon (FX?) competition and full Nikon F compatibility in the MILC market and if that ever becomes true, I don't know I can still justify to use Fuji.
  10. Like
    pizzaman reacted to ChatNoir in Convince me not to dump my X stuff   
    "Lugging around stuff" - well of course FX zooms of this type are huge. So primes are not only offering a better IQ, the weight is a lot more acceptable and it's really an exaggeration that the size is so different of the Fuji equals. I've always been using my Nikon F cameras with (the best wave of) primes, just as I do with my X-T1. 
     
    Of course this is the Fuji X forum, there's only one brand that does it all and never has an issue.
     
    But there's really nothing out there that I couldn't have done with my Nikon FX-gear and in quite a few cases, it would have been better too. Where I know that is a sure fact, I won't even care about the weight and 'lugging'.  The Fuji might be an ideal travel camera - but there have been moments in the last three years I really started getting nervous from all the AF-missers, the way to many low light issues, the X-Pro1's shutter lag, the problems with flashes and even transceivers and most of all, RAW-conversion problems (that were in the beginning really dramatic).
     
    I finally dumped the X-Pro1 one year ago in favor of the X-T1 - and that was a major relief, the X-T1 is a credible concept. Fuji evolved a lot in a very short time, but there's still a lot at stake. I don't want to restart this over-and-over discussion again but the X-series are missing the full frame concept and that will gradually render their further penetration in the market extremely difficult.  The A7 and even Leica M.240 might not even had any chance for their supremacy in their market segments if the the X-series and in particular, the X-Pro1 would have received a 35mm sensor & glass from the very start.
     
    A camera remains a tool. I'm not buying a new chainsaw every year, because there is a lot of media-hyped fuzz about a new model. I won't do the same with cameras but things seem to be different in this MILC-world. I feel the mood that a lot of people are excessively changing from cameras and systems in this market - this forum is full of this type of users.  Well, one or years is an extremely short lifecycle - I can't even depreciate over that period of time.
     
    Nikon dealt 55 years with the same concept and I hardly ever felt the need to change a camera after 3 years - I'm still owning film F-cameras and using once in a while in for particular fine art missions. Going three years back with today's knowledge, very likely I wouldn't become a MLIC adopter again - I'm still waiting for the 'better result' that just isn't there, it's just a commercial myth - 'buy a new camera, and become a better photographer' is something that looks pretty much like 'buy a better computer and become an IT-specialist'.
  11. Like
    pizzaman reacted to ranger9 in Convince me not to dump my X stuff   
    [content deleted]
  12. Like
    pizzaman reacted to Trenton Talbot in Convince me not to dump my X stuff   
    From the forum's main page "…my X stuff" part is always hidden, so every time this thread pops to the top, its headline reads like this:
     

  13. Like
    pizzaman reacted to ranger9 in Convince me not to dump my X stuff   
    [content deleted]
  14. Like
    pizzaman got a reaction from CRAusmus in Convince me not to dump my X stuff   
    ...
  15. Like
    pizzaman reacted to Ektachrome in Convince me not to dump my X stuff   
    I'm not sure I agree, having held and used A7ii body - it's a little more heavy than an X-T1, but actually no more than an E-M1. If you use big zooms, the lenses can be bigger, but if you stick with the Batis 25 and 85, and Sony 55 1.8, 35 2.8, 28 2, etc., you still have a pretty compact and lightweight setup. OK not quite X-T1 and primes, but definitely nowhere near FF DSLR and primes either.
     
    Another concern of mine (maybe not to the OP?) is video. The A7rii is pretty much state of the art for a stills camera which also shoots video. I can't see Fuji even trying to compete in this category.
     
    When you add to that the noise (or lack of) and dynamic range being almost at D810 standard, it's a bit of a monster, really.
     
    The only thing I'll miss about my Fuji is its looks, and some (though not all) of the ergonomics, and the brilliant dual split screen manual focus aid, but none of those are enough to keep me with what is increasingly seeming like a system which is falling further and further behind the curve of competing cameras. It pains me to say it, but my love of something with a little 'soul' at some point has to face a reality where the results I can get simply aren't up to another system. My film Leica (M6) had to eventually face that reality, and so now must the Fuji. If I could afford to keep both, I would, but I can't.
  16. Like
    pizzaman reacted to cosinaphile in Convince me not to dump my X stuff   
    well i think the answers been said
     
    i currently enjoy my xe1 and xe2 black bodies with latest firmware with many lenses both legacy and native fuji....... but by far my best legacy experience  is reusing ....with adapters my excellent contax g system lenses .......the   incredibly sharp, yet bokeh beautiful 
    45mm f2 planar,   and lovely 90mm 2.8 sonnar...
     
     
    i find them both  better than any Leica or cosina voigtlander i also love and use .    i us an inexpensive  dedicated adapter for each which stays with the lens   the 3 mf options regular enlarger   focus peaking and digital split image all offer value in different situations  
     
    im a huge fan of contax lenses  on fuji rangefinder styled bodies especially the  xe2 obviously .....the beautiful build quality , and optical excellence and the tactile excellence of the user experience are  truly  a great enjoyment  and photographic benefit to me.
     
     
    im not a fan of SLR styled Fuji  as excellent as they are.  the xe2 s 16mp sensor is aging yes   but its capable of astounding files with class leading iso and quality for its mp rating imho ....lastly the lenses compact  build balances beautifully and gracefully on the fuji body in a manner that no native fuji lens does ,....sadly 
     
     
    cheers
  17. Like
    pizzaman reacted to Ektachrome in Convince me not to dump my X stuff   
    No, there's nothing I can convince you with. I love Fuji bodies and lenses, but X-Trans raw processed files have always been a let-down next to my other cameras. I actually prefer the E-M1 overall, but noise at low ISO can be an issue. I'm probably getting an A7rii and some of the smaller primes.
  18. Like
    pizzaman reacted to ranger9 in Convince me not to dump my X stuff   
    [content deleted]
  19. Like
    pizzaman reacted to Alan Sircom in Convince me not to dump my X stuff   
    Whoa! This isn't DPReview.
     
    The OP's needs are relatively specialist and not easily met, by Fuji or any other mirrorless system, IIRC. No camera system is perfect, and no camera system is ideal for everyone, and what the OP describes is beyond Fuji's flash system as it stands. We should be pleading with Fuji to make a flash system that allows people like the OP to stay in the Fuji fold than patronise people who hit the limits of the system. 
     
    IMO the worst thing a company can do is listen to its fanboys. It's even worse than listening to the detractors, because at least the detractors give you an indication of what might not be that company's finest hour. The OP raised some valid points about AF (that a few of us have addressed if not entirely resolved) and about flash (which no one can fully address). It's that kind of commentary (and the rational responses) that Fuji should be noting.
  20. Like
    pizzaman reacted to tennjed in Convince me not to dump my X stuff   
    The Fuji X-pro 1 is still the closest/only approximation of the Contax G2 in the digital photography world. What would you switch to in order to get closer to that goal? I mean, something like a used Leica M8 would give you an actual rangefinder, but you would lose AF. I assume AF is important to you as the G2 is AF only. I own a G1; the fact that it is AF only is my one big complaint about the camera. With the Fuji X-Pro 1 you get 1) rangefinder style body, 2) OVF, and 3) both AF and MF. I went with the M8 and love it, but, you know, there is always the $ thing associated with that camera.
     
    Thanks for the great OP, it prompted me to join the group. Maybe the X-Pro 2 will flip more of your switches.
  21. Like
    pizzaman got a reaction from CRAusmus in B&W is not supposed to be G&G   
    Yea, or it's a suitable implementation of how a photographer sees the world and wants to represent it with their work and just not to everyone's tastes. 
     
    To be honest, when people talk about fads right now I feel like that is a casual way to dismiss the work they don't like.
    Right now, photographically, it's hard to say there are any dominant fads unless you are only looking at one type of photography consistently. So much good (and crap) photography is out there right now and succeeding, and it's doing so looking any number of different ways. There are so many outlets, it depends what you're into, but everything is arguably in style these days. I even see schmaltzy 80's style photography finding it's place in the right magazines.
     
    Your way doesn't make it the right way. There aren't any actual 'rules' and if you think there are I can guarantee you'll find a strong photograph somewhere that breaks them. 
  22. Like
    pizzaman reacted to CRAusmus in B&W is not supposed to be G&G   
    I wouldn't say this is a new fad, or an old one, just a style.  Some photos are better suited with less contrast.  Even in film days we'd pull our film a stop or two to decrease the contrast, and push it to pump it up.  Photographers have been doing this for decades.  Some photographers just like less contrast, or feel their subject is better suited with less contrast.
     
    There is nothing technically wrong with a photograph that has this lack of contrast.  Some folks don't like it, I get that.  Personally I prefer a more contrasty image with the full range from black to white, but I've seen some lovely photos that don't cover the full spectrum.
  23. Like
    pizzaman got a reaction from Tom H. in Keeping the passion for photography   
    The cameras are ultimately not the point in photography.
     
    You have to know what you want to talk about with your work. You have to have your 'thing' - find and photograph what you care about.
    Everyone I've ever known that liked gear and/or just liked to make pretty pictures gets bored before too long.
     
    If you have that fire - you have a mission with your work - you may get burnt out sometimes but you'll always have that fire to come back to. The great thing about photography is that it intersects with life in so many ways, but you have to have a life and passions outside of it to keep your work interesting.
     
    For instance - are you social justice oriented? Let your pictures speak to that. Interested in astronomy? Let your pictures speak to that? Die hard rock climber or hiker? Let your pictures speak to that. Love the absurdity of watching people mindlessly ramble down the street? (Lots of photographers love this one!) Etc Etc. You need to look outside of photography for reasons to stay inspired.
    If you were a writer, what would you write about? You can never get excited about new gear for writing really, but still, some persist because they have something to say. Pictures are a communication device like words - they just operate differently.
     
    The camera is just the pen. In the end it doesn't matter too much what it is, as long as it gets out of the way and lets you do your job and talk about what's on your mind.
  24. Like
    pizzaman got a reaction from olli in Convince me not to dump my X stuff   
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  25. Like
    pizzaman got a reaction from Sunglass in Convince me not to dump my X stuff   
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