mirrorless, Author at Mirrorlessblog

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Fuji X-T1 or wait for X-PRO2?

Jan 202014

Now it is official, on 28th of January Fuji will release a new mirrorless camera: Fuji X-T1.

We are not sure about the specs but on sites like fuji rumours there are a lot of informations about this wonderful camera.

Weather sealed, super fast autofocus, big and great EVF, much better AF tracking, and hi iso capability (51200 if we believe the rumors).

I think Fuji X-T1, even if is not the X-PRO1 successor it will temper the expectation of the much awaited successor.

There are almost two years since Fuji X-PRO1 hit the market. Soon we will find out if Fuji X-T1 is the best mirrorless camera on the market.

Teaser: http://fujifilm-x.com/teaser140128/en/

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F1.2 Battle: Panasonic Nocticron 42,5mm vs Fujinon 56mm

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Jan 072014

The mirrorless camera portrait lens F1.2 Battle has begun! Panasonic Nocticron 42.5 vs Fujifilm 56mm.

The main actors are: Panasonic Nocticron 42,5mm vs Fujinon 56mm. Both of these camera have an effective focal length of 85mm (if we consider the crop factor). I believe both of these lens will deliver great images for both Fuji and m4/3 users (Olympus and Panasonic). But what makes them special?

IMAGE STABILISATION:

The Panasonic has Power O.I.S stabilisation VS. Fujifilm has no image stabilisation.

We must not forget that no Fuji mirrorless camera has in body image stabilisation and this may be a problem for some users who want to lower the iso sensitivity in low light. On the other hand in m4/3 world only Panasonic bodies have no image stabilisation. Olympus on OM-D E-M1 and E-M5 has a great 5 axis image stabilisation.

ELEMENTS:

Panasonic has 14 elements in 11 groups VS. Fuji has 11 elements in 8 groups.
Panasonic has one ED (Extra-low Dispersion) VS. Fuji has two ED
Panasonic has 9 blades VS. Fuji has 7 blades

Both have special Coating and other aberration and correction elements for the perfect picture.

AUTOFOCUS

Both lens incorporate silent, superior and fast inner focus system

PRICE

Panasonic costs 1600 VS. Fujifilm that costs 1000$

So, in the end who wins?

It is up to you to decide.

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Most wanted mirrorless camera portrait lens – Fuji 52mm f1.2

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Jan 062014

Most wanted mirrorless camera portrait lens – Fuji 52mm f1.2.

Finally Fuji released the most expected portrait lens, 56mm f1.2 (85mm equivalence on FF).

Slowly but Surely, Fuji is offering some stellar lens that will make every passionate photographer happy. Now you have the opportunity to build a nice system on Fuji having great sensor (even though bloggers like Steve Huff do not like them) and great lens.

Even though it costs almost 1000$ I think this lens will be a success and will capture great portraits.

Fuji 56mm lens has 11 elements in 8 groups. Image quality is guaranteed through the „two extra low-dispersion elements and one double-sided aspherical element, plus four elements with a convex surface facing the subject, which combine to reduce spherical and chromatic aberrations and by Fujifilm’s proprietary HT-EBC coating.”

For the bokeh fans, this lens has seven-blade rounded diaphragm.

No worries about autofocus (fuji x-pro1 and x-e1, before firmware updates were known as having slow auto focus) because Fuji guarantees fast autofocus and silent operations.

More details on: http://www.fujifilm.com/news/n140106_07.html

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New mirrorless cameras expected at CES 2014

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Jan 052014

New mirrorless cameras at CES 2014.

Las Vegas will be in a 2 days the centre of technology. CES 2014 will bring us new mirrorless cameras and lenses.

All Fuji users are expecting the long awaited Fuji 56mm f1.2 that will raise a lot of interest. A new Fuji X100s Black is also expected. I am not sure if Samsung will unveil other mirrorless camera than the, already announced, NX30 and the new 16-50mm f2.0-2.8 lens. Olympus fans are expecting the new OM-D E-M10, the successor of E-M5.

Stay tunes for updates.

2014 will belong to the retro mirrorless cameras

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Dec 302013

Retro mirrorless cameras are quite popular these days.

At the beginning of 2012 Fuji announced X-Pro1 (January) and Olympus the OM-D E-M5 (february). Later, the X-E1, and in 2013 X-e2, Olympus OM-D E-M1, and Panasonic GX7 followed the retro-styled trend.

Even Nikon launched a full-frame retro looking dslr (Nikon DF).

I believe that this retro looking style will continue in 2014 too.

There are rumors on the internet (http://www.fujirumors.com/weather-sealed-x-with-better-af-than-x-e2/) that Fuji will launch at the beginning of 2014 a new mirrorless camera, probably a retro looking design too.

Maybe Sony, that has always a modern look (NEX series) will consider this direction too. I think the center viewfinder of Sony A7 is looking a little retro.

And there are on the market a lot of accessories (like soft buttons or leather half-cases) that will make your digital camera look like a film SLR.

If Fuji and Olympus were pioneers of the camera „fashion” (if I may say so), I believe that in 2014 we will see more retro-styled mirrorless cameras.

Image source: Eva K. (wikipedia)

Olympus OM-D E-M1 vs Sony A7 / You Can’t Have It All

Cameras, Inspiration, News No Responses »

Dec 292013

2013 brought us new mirrorless cameras:

Sony Alpha 7, 7R, NEX-5T;

Samsung Galaxy NX, NX300;

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GM1, DMC-GX7 ;

Olympus OM-D E-M1, PEN E-P5;

Nikon 1 AW1 ;

Fujifilm X-E2, X-M1.

Some of you have upgraded your mirrorless camera body, some of you have changed the whole system, convinced by the new added features or improvements.

But some of you are still fighting against the well known GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome).

If some manufactures built their new cameras patching or solving of the lacks of previous versions or upgraded the hardware based on the market trend, there are also new and innovative cameras.

At the end of 2013 Olympus and Sony acquired a lot of attention based on their new mirrorless cameras: OM-D E-M1 and A7/A7r. Both of these cameras are great, have a lot of fans, cost almost the same, and both of them offer features that combined would make the perfect camera, but you can’t have it all.

Olympus om-d e-m1 vs Sony a7 is the ultimate mirrorless camera fight in 2013 and you must know what you want before buying these cameras. Below you have some advantages and disadvantages of these cameras (not all of them, only some of the differences).

Sony A7

Advantages

Full frames sensor (gives you better iso sensitivity, shallow depth of field, better image quality)
More details in pictures due to the 24 Megapixels.
Weather sealed body

Disadvantages

Only a few lenses available (no fast lens yet)
Missing image stabilization
For some: loud shutter

Olympus OM-D E-M1

Advantages

Weather-resistant body
A lot of customizable buttons
A lot of lenses available
The best image stabilization 5 Axis ( reduce blur on different occasions, allow you to take sharp images on slower shutter speeds etc)
Great image quality – Despite the smaller sensor.
Fast autofocus
Faster continuous shooting (up to 10fps), Live Bulb

Disadvantages

You need fast lens to achieve a shallow depth of field (crop factor compared to Sony a7 is 2X)

Conclusions:

So, despite the small sensor, Olympus OM-D E-M1 delivers great image quality (for some compared with APS-C sensors). It has a lot of features, but for full-frame fans this will not be enough. I think Olympus (or Panasonic) fans are very happy with this camera. It is the top of the m4/3 system.

On the other hand, Sony breaks the supremacy of full frame mirror-less Leica (which is more a Rangefinder) but we are not comparing these two. A lot of mirrorless camera users were expecting since the beginning of 2013 a full frame camera. Sony was the first to deliver it.

I think in 2014 there will be other manufacturers trying to keep up with this trend. This does not mean that m4/3 will disappear. The top image quality for the size of the sensor and the high iso capability will please a lot of users in the future, users who did not caught the full frame virus.

It would be nice to have an Olympus E-M1 with full frame sensor, but keeping the size of the camera and lenses. It would be nice to have a Sony A7 with the image stabilization of Olympus and the variety of lenses… but this is impossible, for now.

As I wrote before, unfortunately you can’t have it all, not now, and maybe never, if we consider that our needs will always grow directly proportional to technology evolution.

We must never forget that cameras are only tools and having the best camera on the market will not guarantee you the best pictures too.

In the end, I recommend that you critically analyze your needs and choose the best mirrorless camera for you looking at all the brands on the market.

If you are pleased and happy with your current mirrorless camera, then please send us your thoughts. We will publish your story. Thanks.

Merry Christmas!

News No Responses »

Dec 242013

I wish you all Merry Christmas! Hoping that Santa brought you your favorite mirrrorless camera!

Manual vs Autofocus: Samyang`s new Sony A7 lenses

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Dec 202013

Manual vs autofocus..

…has a long history in the photographic debate.

Despite the fact that that there is no auto-focus, Samyang produces great quality lens and the glass they use is high class.

But who buys manual focus lens? I know for sure that weddings photography need fast and accurate focus and this is a real challenge. Not everybody dares to shoot with manual focus. There are also photographers who are not comfortable with manual focus because of their eyes and the ability to be precise. There are also sports photographers who prefer a fast auto-focus even though there are a lot of great pictures done with manual lens. I think it is up to you if you feel better with auto-focus or not.

But one thing is for sure. Samyang lenses are great, the images are sharp and the prices are very good.

Sony A7 users have a great focus peaking options and this will help you a lot to have sharp and focused images.

Samyang released five full-frame lenses fitted with the bayonet Sony E-mount. These lenses are:

• Samyang 14mm f/2.8 ED AS IF UMC

• Samyang 24mm f/1.4 ED AS IF UMC

• Samyang T-S 24mm f/3.5 ED AS UMC

• Samyang 35mm f/1.4 AS UMC

• Samyang 85mm f/1.4 AS IF UMC

No info about prices.

So, what do you think about manual focus lenses in the Era of super fast autofocus?

Source: Samyang press release http://samyang-europe.com/index.php/new-products/samyang-full-frame-lenses-with-sony-e-mount

Pimp your mirrorless camera – softbutton, thumbrest, straps

Accesories, Inspiration, News No Responses »

Dec 192013

You can pimp not only your car or bike but your mirrorless camera too.

There are on the market so many accessories that make your camera unique and special. Today we will look a bit into the world of accessories for pimping your mirrorless camera.

No.1 Soft button - not all the cameras allow you this option. Fuji (because they have a retro-styled look they give you this opportunity, and because there is the possibility to use a Shutter Release Cable like on the old cameras).

xe1_silver_back No.2 Thumbrest - I believe all mirrorless cameras have a flash hot shoe that can be used to install the thumbrest and, as the name already says, it puts your thumb to rest and gives you a better grip.

Some mirrorless camera like Olympus OM-D E-M5 already have a built in thumb rest.

There are some high quality thumbrests like this one in the picture, from lensmateonline, or cheaper ones, but lower quality.

The thumb rest (higher quality) is not destroying your hotshoe and does not leave scratches on the camera.

No.3 Leather half case

It`s for protection, for a better grip but also for a better stylish look.

Some of them are simple and they do not offer you many options, or some do not even allow you to use a tripod when the case is mounted (the original leather case for Fuji X-e1, x-e2). But other are well custom made and do not restrict you from using all the options, connections ports, tripod etc.

Some of them are really well made, like this one in the picture. It`s from Gariz. It is not cheap buy you will have high quality. Gariz is a well known brand for this kind of accessories giving you the opportunity to choose a lot of colors and textures for different kind of mirrrorless camera brands.

No.4 Mirrorless camera grips.

For a good example you can see my previous post.

No. 5 Leather straps

Like this one below from gordyscamerastraps that is „elegant and rugged all at once” and handmade.

Image sources: Thumbrest and soft button: lensmateonline.com Leather half case: gariz.com Leather strap: gordyscamerastraps.com

So, in the end I would like to know your opinion about how you personalize your mirrorless camera, if you pimp it or not and what accessories do you buy.

Thanks!

Mirrorless camera users – to grip or not to grip?

Accesories, News No Responses »

Dec 182013

Fujifilm new grips announced

Excepting the new Olympus OM-D E-M1 most of the mirrorless cameras do not have a great grip.

Fuji X-E1/E2 is not the most comfortable to use.

Adding a leather case is much better but if you are not pleased you have now a new new handgrips that gives you „enhanced performance when using a tripod”.

The main product features, according to Fuji press release are:
(1) High quality X Series design
(2) Optimum balance
(3) Allows battery and memory card access without removing the grip
(4) Enhanced operability with a tripod

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