Ken Rockwell is unimpressed

[stevesurf]

You know what I don't get is Ken Rockwell loved the X-Pro1.  How can you love the XP1 and be unimpressed by the XP2?  Weird. 

 

This is actually what I like about Ken Rockwell - I know it's crazy, but I really like that he has very high expectations for manufacturers in future iterations of their cameras - to keep pace.  This is why, a great deal, he says to stick with what you have, unless certain things really attract you.

 

That said, I love my XPro2, together with both Leica and Fuji glass.  I just simply find Leica cameras simpler, but not necessarily more capable.

 

Which Leica do you shoot with?

 

M9, M8, MM, 50 Lux 1.4, 35 Lux 1.4, 16-18-21 Tri Elmar

[Aswald]

This is actually what I like about Ken Rockwell - I know it's crazy, but I really like that he has very high expectations for manufacturers in future iterations of their cameras - to keep pace.  This is why, a great deal, he says to stick with what you have, unless certain things really attract you.

 

That said, I love my XPro2, together with both Leica and Fuji glass.  I just simply find Leica cameras simpler, but not necessarily more capable.

 

 

M9, M8, MM, 50 Lux 1.4, 35 Lux 1.4, 16-18-21 Tri Elmar

Nice.

 

Coming from an M9, I will say that the Leica "doesn't" really have a menu as it is so simple. So, the XPro menu system would seem "overwhelming", yes.

[Aswald]

Hahaha he is not credible at all.

Have you guys seen his sample pictures?

WB is wayyyyy off!!!!

Ken likes his pictures a certain way.......saturation +4.....some turns out ok on older gears but his sample pictures on the xPro2 had the boys face almost magenta in color.

[Sella174]

Hahaha he is not credible at all.

Have you guys seen his sample pictures?

WB is wayyyyy off!!!!

 

Photography is an art, not an exact science. Thus the white balance can be whatever the photographer feels like at that time. Of course, it is within your right not to like it, but then the inverse is also my right not to like a "scientifically accurate" white balance.

[dol]

Hahaha he is not credible at all.

Have you guys seen his sample pictures?

WB is wayyyyy off!!!!

Hi!

If Kens WB is off,

is it due to the Xpro2 auto WB is not good?

Is it due to Perfectly Clear messing it up?

or

Is it due Ken Rockwell manually setting it wrong?

Is it because

[Viramati]

Rockwell. Who cares

[Aswald]

Hi!

If Kens WB is off,

is it due to the Xpro2 auto WB is not good?

Is it due to Perfectly Clear messing it up?

or

Is it due Ken Rockwell manually setting it wrong?

Is it because

Or monitors may be calibrated wrongly as well.

 

Doesn't matter what the reasons are. If enough people comment, then it's off. Anything published for viewing will be judged.

[johant]

Rockwell. Who cares

Everyone says that, and everyone talks about him.

[epicmirrorless]

Ken is an idiot and I won't click on his website so that he gets no ad revenue from me. I have said this before moving from Canon to Fuji.

 

Just FYI. Thats not how it works    Doesnt get ad revenue unless you click on an AD on his site.     And even then its like 5 cents.

[cosinaphile]

poor ken  fails to see the value of adapted lenses ... but zeiss voigtlander leicas on bessas leicas or nikons are ok, ......strangely with him

....

he was a decent shooter 20 years ago ....now he just vomits color forth in every situation .... high color on everything  like oversalted food......

 

also,....he just dumps uninspired  pictures of his kids all over his site and calls it a day .... a sad diminish from the shooter he was 25 years ago 

 

as far as his x pro 2 opinion ....its easy to ignore   like his absurdly glowing reports of many medeocre cameras .... makes his opinions highly suspect   but not always ....

 

hes still the go to source for nikon lens reviews  imho

Edited July 19, 2016 by cosinaphile

[cosinaphile]

i say this because  i just got the x pro 2   and ken  blase opinion seems like hes been hit on the head with a large  blunt object  ....a canon SLR perhaps?

 

he also slams the new pentax full frame ... a brilliant piece of kit .....ken can be brain dead at times , and truely clueless [ see adapted lenses]

[cosinaphile]

below ive pasted the beginning of ken rockwells new xt2 review .....its really worth reading and in the beginning you may read the real reason fuji cameras both lenses and bodies stand Superior on the build quality materials and control schemes and real ols school engraved dials etc.....kr like no one else out there  has his finger on the pulse of why fuji is a great system and why real shooters are so attracted to them ....he boldly  calls out canon and nikon  on their plasticy lineup and calls leica the equal of leica   build wise ........good for him

 

... ken remains an idiot on the issue of adapted glass and his harsh treatment on the x pro 2.... even if hes righrt about the evf going tooo dark often .....fuji needs to fix this

 

 

kn rock  also remains clueless on the joys of nikon glass with a speedbooster on a fuji body  or contax glass withan adapter

which everyone knows is as magical as a unicorn [ except ken]

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fuji X-T2

24MP, 14 FPS, 4K, 1.5x sensor, OLED finder

 

Fuji X-T2 (17.0 oz./507g with battery and card, about $1,599) and 18-55mm. bigger. I'd get the body at B&H or at Adorama, or the kit with 18-55mm lens at B&H or at Adorama.

This free website's biggest source of support is when you use those or any of these links to approved sources when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live. It helps me keep adding to this free website when you get anything through these links — but I receive nothing for my efforts if you take the chance of buying elsewhere. Thanks for your support! Ken.

 

July 2016    Fuji Reviews   Fuji Lenses   LEICA Reviews   All Reviews

All Fuji Cameras Compared.

Mirrorless vs. DSLR cameras

 

Fuji X-T2. bigger.

 

Fuji X-T2 and 18-55mm. bigger.

 

Introduction         top

Intro   Specs   Accessories   Compared   Recommendations   More

 

 

 

 

I buy only from these approved sources. I can't vouch for adsbelow.

 

Good   Missing    Lens Compatibility

The Fuji XT-2 adds a few nice touches, like a cable release socket and dual card slots, to the already excellent Fuji X-T1 of 2014. They are both what a Japanese camera should be: tiny, tight, precise, fast, quiet, easy-to-use and extremely well made out of all metal. It's not another offshored-to-China excuse made out of plastic. Sadly it still lacks a built-in flash.

See all those dials? They're real engraved metal. It's trivially easy to set ISO, advance mode, aperture, shutter speed, exposure compensation and even the metering mode directly, because each of these functions has its own dedicated, single-purpose dial — just like a real camera!

The XT-2 works fast and easy, as a camera should. You don't need a manual to figure it out; it's all right in front of you. Everything just works as you'd expect it to.

This Fuji X-system is the first serious system designed from the ground-up as digital camera system with no ties whatsoever to film. For instance, the lenses are designed knowing they'll be working with a digital system, and the system automatically works in concert with these lenses to correct lateral color, distortion, light falloff and even diffraction all automatically. There's no way to shoot these lenses off the camera to see how they work without correction; they are intended to work with the camera as a complete system.

The XT-2 has a huge, live electronic finder with eye control, about 15 years ahead of LEICA's plastic EVF on the M typ 240.

Fuji is actually advancing the state-of-the-art in photography, while other brands are just sitting around selling the same old thing. This Fuji actually has dials and a control system that work together, not like the could-have-been-great dials on the Nikon Df.

The X-T2 focuses super fast, and it's super sharp, and unlike a real SLR or rangefinder camera, the XT-2's closed-loop mirrorless autofocus system ensures that focus is dead-nuts perfect every time, especially at f/1.2.

When you use the Fuji, you'll see how they've actually been thinking about how to rethink what a camera should be and add new features that help us get the shot, as opposed to throwing more junk features in our way to help sell more cameras.

The X-T2 has a very different sensor from other brands, and its images look very different. It has no anti-alias filter, so the results are much sharper than from most other cameras.

The X-T2 just shoots, and the results are always super-sharp and well exposed — better than I get from DSLRs, whose exposure and focus aren't always dead-on as they are with the X-T2.

The X-T2 has a wonderful OLED finder, which also doubles for through-the-finder menu setting and playback.

The Fuji X-T2 is a real camera, made of metal, not plastic, for real photographers.

The X-T2 has shutter and aperture dials. Nikon and Canon don't any more.

The X-T2 has a real exposure compensation dial. LEICA and Nikon don't any more.

The X-T2 has a real ISO dial. LEICA, Canon and Nikon don't any more.

The X-T2 has real exposure mode switches. Nikon and Canon don't any more. Better yet, the Fuji, just like Contax, changes its exposure mode automatically as you turn the shutter and/or aperture rings to A when you want them to set themselves. Set both to A for Professional (formerly Program) exposure mode. Done.

[cosinaphile]

to be fair please visit  krs site for the full review .....its excellent ......i hope kr does not mind me sharing a few paragraphs for review and discussion no n commercial use use here at the forum 

[johant]

Why would KR's positive review of the X-T2 be better than his less positive review of the X-Pro2?

[cosinaphile]

personally i believe the x pro 2 and the xt 2 to both be excellent .... as concerns kr i believe he is overly harsh and critical  of the x pro2 ... somewhat unfairly imo .... his review of the xt2 is glowing throughout ... and here i believe he is colrrect .... further  i appreciate his comparison  with the subpar build quality of many dslr systems and their plasticy  aperture dial free lenses ... here as well i think kr is correct in his assessment

[Immanuel]

Ken needs to learn the words 'mostly' and 'sometimes'. His use of the word 'always' is not always that truthful.

[johant]

Ken needs to learn the words 'mostly' and 'sometimes'. His use of the word 'always' is not always that truthful.

Do you think he would make more money if his reviews were more nuanced?

[Immanuel]

Do you think he would make more money if his reviews were more nuanced?

I am not sure of this. Many people like statements which makes choosing easy. Absolute statements makes choosing easier.

[johant]

I am not sure of this. Many people like statements which makes choosing easy. Absolute statements makes choosing easier.

Well, I do think that he attracts more visitors by posting opiniated and sometimes controversial reviews on his site. He gets a lot more publicity this way than when he would only post balanced and factual stuff.

 

And look above; if KR thinks your camera is great, then he is a cool guy. If your camera was reviewed badly, then he is a dinosaur. I bet he is fully aware of how his reviews are received, and judges that this style generates more income for him.

[laddsmith]

Well quite obviously since my very late comment on Ken Rockwell's review, I don't follow him.  However, on balance, and to be fair, I think he makes at least some valid points, and his conclusions about landscape photography are his opinion, and subjective.  I think his comments re: skin tones, especially jpg in Fuji are correct.  I shoot Nikon as well D800E and D700 and my (completely subjective) opinions are that in jpg the Fuji X-Pro 2 wins hands down.  Raw is more difficult-I find the Nikon NEF raw format much easier to work with, so generally if I am doing a lot of raw processing I tend to get better results with Nikon NEF.  Doesn't mean the Fuji is inferior, just, at least for me a little more difficult to get the same results.  The Sony is more of a computer than a camera-that is not meant to be negative, but the Fuji is easy for us old guys that once shot with something called "film", and really only worried about focus, F stop, exposure time, and whatever ASA the film was we loaded.  The Fuji is intuitive for this type of thinking, and I don't doubt the Sony possibly has some advantages if one is more into computers.  Personally, I find the EVF and the OVF fine.  The OVF does not work well with ultra wide or tele, but at 35-50 it is a nice option.  I believe if you actually read his review carefully, it is not as negative as some posters have responded to.  It is a very nice, compact camera, capable of awesome images, using very nice Fuji glass.

[cosinaphile]

Ken is a bit hyperbolic, and his views are often a bit out of touch, but I'm still glad his website exists, for several reasons.

 

- His product photography is top notch, and a valuable resource for me in checking out new gear in glorious detail.

- His "reviews" have info that I can easily glean, that I cannot get in a consistent manner anywhere else. # of aperture blades, consistent flare, sunstar, macro testing, etc.

- He is obviously passionate about what he does, and I can't fault a man for that. Whether his views agree with mine are irrelevant. \

- The target audience for his blog is not you or me, it is for the average consumer. When viewed in this light, his "reviews" make a little more sense. 

 

All that being said though, I will readily agree that his skill is lacking and his views on photography to be head scratching very often. I cringe at the photos he produces, all crunched through Perfectly Clear and totally destroyed. 

 

Also, I'm new to the forum! Hello!

ha  ..... well said