Bill - thanks so much for those words. I'd much rather read what you have to say than a Fuji fanboy, so cheers for that.
The line about manual use interests me greatly. I'm using the A*85/1.4 and Voigtlander 15/4.5 on the X-E1 and manual focus is absolutely fine with that, especially with the 85mm. The form factor of the X-E1 and 2 don't ideally lend themselves to heavy glass on the front but I suspect the X-T1 with a battery grip will. I intend to lose the X-E1 in due course, pick up an X-T1 and an X100s and then start looking at the Fuji glassware. Haven't been this excited about gear since I got my first Pentax LX. That was a revelation, and a fond memory. Appetite duly whetted, thanks again. Cotty On 7/3/14, Bill, discombobulated, unleashed: >Well, at least I can talk about it now. My pusher got a couple of them >in on Wednesday and immediately called me to tell me the news, and of >course, I wend down and picked the thing up. Unfortunately, they jumped >the gun, and weren't supposed to release them until today. I got a call >from them that afternoon asking me to keep quiet about it because my >camera was not officially released yet. >Such is life. > >Anyway, the thing is really small. It is slightly taller than an MX, >about the same width and significantly less thick. The build is solid, >but not to the point of making the camera overly heavy. >Robust is the best word I can come up with right now. > >The menus are typical Fuji, no surprises there, and coming from Pentax, >very easy to understand. The camera is very customizable, including six >(yes, you read that right) buttons that are customizable for function. >All four buttons on the four way controller can be customized, as well >as the Fn button (it defaults to WiFi, and is marked as such) and a >button on the front, eerily placed like as if it is a depth of field >button (and that is what I use it for). There is an instant movie button >just to the right of the shutter, which I would prefer to be >customizable as well since I don't use the video function often. > >Perhaps I'll start shooting internet porn and get more use from it, but >that isn't likely. >Fuji has dome a great job of placing the major functions onto buttons, >so dumpster diving into the menus doesn't seem like something that will >be all that necessary. There are a number of custom functions, so the >camera can be set up to cover a variety of specialized scenarios, which >the user can get to very quickly. > >On the subject of WiFi, the Fuji seems to be happier about it than the >Pentax emulation. It is easier to get a connection, though with both >systems, it seems very easy to drop the connection as well. The Fuji >WiFi is definitely faster, and I prefer the interface with the Fuji. >It's not that the Pentax is bad, but the Fuji definitely has an edge. I >suspect they are close enough that someone else might very well prefer >the Pentax version. > >The rear tilting screen is wonderful. It's something I have missed from >the couple of P&S digitals I have owned. In some ways I would still >prefer a full articulating screen, but this, combined with the ability >to use my smart phone as an external viewfinder will work well. > >The EVF is a very nice EVF. I like the size of it (it is quite lovely >that way), and the image is very clean and bright. I don't think a >person will have problems with viewfinder lag in general shooting >situations, though if you are into motorsports or BIF images, it might >be an issue. I have a K3 for those times, so it isn't a big deal. What >is a big deal is the viewfinder. > >I am pretty much an EVF convert. I can still see where they can improve, >but in this camera, it is definitely good enough. It is really nice to >not be looking through an amputated viewfinder again. >Regarding manual focus (this camera is definitely meant to be used as a >full manual camera), the use has the choice of a plain screen with no >focusing aids, a decent focus peaking in a variety of designer colours >(the focus peaking on the Olympus OM-D is better), a digital split >image, or an extreme magnification, looking at just the area the focus >point is looking at. > >The focus point can be moved pretty much anywhere on the screen, though >not right to the edges. The focus choice area is much larger than on the K3. >The AF does seem to hunt a bit, but it is very quick. > >I am still figuring out what a few of the buttons are for. At some point >I will need to read the owners manual. There are a couple of things in >the menus that are more than a little inscrutable. >So far, the only way to do a RAW conversion seems to be with the built >in software. Adobe hasn't released an update for the camera yet. I >suspect I will have to update Lightroom from version 4. Hopefully they >will catch camera raw up soon. >I miss Pentax's native DNG. Moving from camera to camera with Pentax has >been very painless for the past few years because of their use of the >DNG format. It's really a pity that more manufacturers don't get on board. > >The Fuji lenses are charming. They are very nicely built, and very, very >good quality. Their lens coating isn't quite up to Pentax standards, but >the glass is really sharp, and they have lots of aperture leaves. These >lenses appear to be designed for bokeh. They have a lot of the three >dimensionality that the older Pentax Limited lenses have (the 77mm comes >to mind), but I do think they are slightly sharper, especially wide >open. This might just be because I am really lax about dialing in the AF >on my Pentax lenses though. > >The lenses seem like a really good complement to the Pentax lenses. I >really think that someone at Fuji looked at what Pentax was making and >decided to fill in the blanks in the Pentax system. While the Pentax >Limiteds are very good, and compact, they are also quite slow. The Fuji >glass is a stop or more faster than the Pentax glass (though also a lot >larger). I bought into Fuji to have access to the 35/1.4, which is a >gem, I bought the X-T1 with the 23/1.4 (2.5 stops faster than the 21 >Ltd) and enabled myself into the 14/2.8 yesterday (a stop faster than >the Pentax). I have the 56/1.2 on the way, they should be in Canadian >release by the end of this month. I expect that will round out my Fuji >system for me, though I will probably also pick up the 60mm macro as >well. Apparently it is superb, and should give a working distance that >is comfortable. > >More when I start taking pictures with the thing. > >bill -- Cheers, Cotty ___/\__ Broadcast, Corporate, || (O) | Web Video Production ---------- <www.seeingeye.tv> _____________________________ -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
