Winter is settling in with its grey skies, threat of rain and flat light so I decided to try out some of the Leica camera sensor profiles supplied with DxO PhotoLab Elite and DxO FilmPack Elite as a plug-in.
I liked the Leica M camera sensor profile best as it remained me most of the warm colours and excellent microcontrast of the results from my Leica M System analog camera and lens days when photographing onto colour transparency films.
Photographing with a Fujifilm X-Pro camera and 75mm-equivalent Fujinon lens and processing their raw files as if they were coming from a Leica M camera?
B&H Affiliate Link –Click here to research and purchase or pre-order your choice of cameras, lenses and accessories for stills photography and video production whatever your genre and subject matter.
DxO – website – PhotoLab, FilmPack, ViewPoint, PureRAW, Nik Collection – Our #1 choice in raw image processing and editing software.
The Fujifilm House of Photography in Park Street, Sydney, is becoming a defacto friendly regular gathering place for photographers and videographers with its (mostly) twice-monthly free workshops on a wide range of aspects of photography and videography.
Attendees don’t even have to own or use Fujifilm cameras and lenses and there’s always plenty to learn regardless of which manufacturers’ gear you love and use or which genre of subject matter you favour.
I attended Fujifilm Australia’s X-H2S and X-H2 hybrid APS-C X-mount camera touch-and-try event and documented it with our Fujifilm X-Pro2 and a Fujinon XF 30mm f/2.8 R LM WR Macro “Fujicron”-style prime lens kindly loaned by the Fujifilm House of Photography, the lens equivalent in 35mm sensor terms to 45mm.
One of my ambitions for the photographic documentation of these events is to do them in a slightly different way each time whether via different cameras, different lenses or different choices in raw image processing software and film simulations or other colour grading treatments.
I’ve been intrigued by the 45mm-equivalent Fujinon XF 30mm f/2.8 R LM WR Macro since its release in late 2022 and the X-H2 and X-H2S touch-and-try event presented the perfect opportunity given the Fujifilm House of Photography wasn’t filled with as many attendees as usual.
That meant I could physically get a little closer and my usual medium-wide and super-wide lenses were less necessary in order to document the look and feel of the proceedings.
Using our Fujifilm X-Pro2 with a borrowed Fujinon XF 30mm f/2.8 R LM WR Macro lens
I’ve loved and relied upon “perfect normal” focal length lenses for many years now since acquiring one for my 4″x5″ sheet film cameras and equip new cameras with perfect normal lenses whenever possible.
Perfect normal is slightly wider than standard normal and it produces the most naturalistic perspective, the relationship between near and far that’s closest to human vision, of the two.
Despite the common assumption that “normal” is standard normal – 50mm for 35mm sensors, 33mm or 35mm for APS-C and 25mm for Micro Four Thirds – for me at least perfect normal is, well, more normal – 40mm to 45mm for 35mm sensors, 27mm to 28mm for APS-C and 20mm for M43.
That may be why some cameras and lens makers have chosen perfect normal focal lengths in the past, from Ernest Barnack when making the first three Ur-Leica cameras to Leica and Minolta for their CL and CLE compact 35mm rangefinder film cameras, by Zeiss and Yashica for the G1 and G2 35mm t film cameras, and before that by Minolta for its 35mm single lens reflex cameras.
Arithmetically 30mm in APS-C is a little longer than 40mm and a little shorter than 50mm but in practice its look and feel is closer to perfect normal than standard normal and the ease with which I used it for the images above is testimony to that.
Some APS-C & 35mm sensor perfect normal lenses or near enough to it
The legendary 28mm prime lens for moviemaking is the so-called Hollywood 28 and I’ve written about it at length here:
Given that available Hollywood 28-style lenses are almost always vintage, and are now unsupported by their manufacturers if repairs or maintenance are needed, is there a new equivalent or even near-equivalent?
Perhaps Cosina’s Voigtländer brand may provide an answer with the company’s Voigtländer 28mm f/2.0 Ultron Vintage Aspherical VM Lens Type II in combination with its Voigtländer VM-X Close Focus Adapter II for FUJIFILM X?
Vintage and vintage-style lens expert Phillip Reeve has an in-depth review of the Voigtländer 28mm f/2.0 Ultron and its variations:
Optics like the Voigtländer 28mm f/2.0 Ultron Vintage Aspherical VM Lens Type II are best described as “character lenses” as opposed to the more optically correct Fujinon XF 30mm f/2.8 R LM WR Macro and thus may be more suitable for narrative moviemaking than for documentary stills photography.
Some perfect normal lenses for APS-C & 35 sensor format cameras including 3 “Hollywood 28” primes
Fujifilm Fujinon XF 30mm f/2.8 R LM WR Macro prime lens. Image courtesy of B&H.
Fujifilm Fujinon XF 27mm f/2.8 R WR with Fujifilm LH-XF27 lens hood. Image courtesy of Fujifilm Australia.
Cosina Voigtländer Ultron 27mm f/2.0 for Fujifilm X Mount. Image courtesy of B&H.
Irix 30mm T1.5 cinema prime lens. Image courtesy of B&H.
Leica Summicron-C 40mm f/2.0 lens for Leica CL 35mm film camera. Image found on ebay.
Voigtlaender Nokton Classic 40mm f/1.4 MC for Leica M-Mount. Image courtesy of B&H.
The three legendary Minolta M-Rokkor prime lenses for the Minolta CLE: Minolta M-Rokkor 28mm f/2.8, M-Rokkor 40mm f/2.0 and M-Rokkor 90mm f/4.0. Image found on ebay.
Bundled lens set for Contax G1 & G2 analog film rangefinder cameras: Biogon 28mm f/2.8, Planar 45mm f/2.0, Sonnar 90mm f/2.8. Designed & made by Zeiss & Yashica.
Minolta MD Rokkor 45mm f/2.0 prime lens. Image found on ebay.
Minolta Chiyoko Super Rokkor 45mm f/2.8 prime lens. Image found on ebay.
Ernst Leitz Wetzlar Mikro-Summar 42mm f/4.5 brass-barrel triplet three-element perfect normal lens as used by Oskar Barnack in one or more of his three Ur-Leica cameras.
The Ur-Leica, invented by Oskar Barnack of Ernst Leitz Optische Werke in 1913, the first Leica 35mm rangefinder camera. Image courtesy of Leica.
Voigtlaender 28mm f/2.0 Ultron Vintage Aspherical VM Lens Type II. Image courtesy of B&H.
Voigtlaender VM-X Close Focus Adapter II for FUJIFILM X. Image courtesy of B&H.
Optical diagram, Voigtlaender 28mm f/2.0 Ultron Vintage Aspherical VM Lens Type I.
The legendary Hollywood 28: comparing the optical design and MTF curves of the Zeiss Distagon ZF 28mm f/2.0 ZF.2 with the Contax Distagon 28mm f/2.0.
Carl Zeiss Distagon T* 28mm f/2.0 “Hollywood 28” Nikon ZF.2 F-Mount. Image found on ebay.
Nikon Nikkor Ai-S 28mm f/2.0 Nikon F-mount prime lens with “Hollywood 28” optical design licensed from Zeiss. Image found on ebay.
Contax Carl Zeiss Distagon T* 28mm f/2.0 AEG “Hollywood 28” Contax-Yashica C/Y-mount. Image found on ebay.
The Fujinon XF 30mm f/2.8 R LM WR Macro’s field of view is close to that of the XF 27mm f/2.8 R WR “pancake” lens and our Panagor PMC 28mm f/2.8 Auto vintage lens, so much so that I visualized images, framed them then made the exposures quickly.
Usually when using an unfamiliar focal length it takes a little time to learn to visualize, frame then expose quickly but that wasn’t the case this time.
Compared to the other two lenses as well as our now non-functioning XF 27mm f/2.8, the XF 30mm f/2.8 was fast and sure in autofocus and manual focus modes and the focusing ring was easy to use with just a fingertip.
Fujifilm’s choice of a linear motor hence LM in the name was a wise one for the Fujinon XF 30mm f/2.8 R LM WR Macro and the company should extend that to all new lenses, especially those that’ll be used for documentary stills and video as well as photojournalism.
I concentrated on stills this time but am sure that the lens would be just as sure, fast and easy to use when making videos.
The XF 30mm f/2.8 is the first “Fujicron” lens to feature a lockable aperture ring allowing you to set it to A for auto and stay there without drifting off.
I’d like to see this as a standard feature for all of Fujifilm’s Fujinon lenses from now onwards.
Other features I appreciated while using the lens are its sturdy construction and tapered front but 43mm filter diameter that can be stepped up to 52mm for neural density filters.
I used it without its cylindrical plastic lens hood as that didn’t seem to be available at the time but its optics and coatings very effectively guarded against flares from in-frame light sources.
Fujifilm USA’s tech expert Michael Bulbenko recommends the Fujinon XF 30mm f/2.8 R LM WR Macro as “best choice for your first Fujifilm X-Mount prime lens” and I couldn’t agree more.
Although I didn’t use it in full macro mode at 1:1, just the fact that I had that option was comforting.
As the photographs above attest, it performed admirably whatever distance I was from the subject and I’d feel very comfortable carrying it day after day as my default prime lens especially on an X-Pro camera or the coming X-S20, for stills and video.
It wouldn’t be out of place on an X-H2S or an X-H2 flagship DSLR-style camera given its 40 megapixel sensor readiness.
Fujifilm X-H2S with Fujinon XF 30mm f/2.8 R LM WR Macro prime lens. Image courtesy of B&H.
Fujifilm X-H2s with Fujinon XF 30mm f/2.8 R LM WR Macro prime lens. Image courtesy of B&H.
Fujifilm Fujinon XF 30mm f/2.8 R LM WR Macro prime lens with bundled lens hood. Image courtesy of B&H.
Fujifilm Fujinon XF 30mm f/2.8 R LM WR Macro prime lens. Image courtesy of B&H.
Fujifilm Fujinon XF 30mm f/2.8 R LM WR Macro prime lens. Image courtesy of Fujifilm Japan.
Fujifilm’s flagship APS-C/Super 35 hybrid cameras, the X-H2 & X-H2S
Fujifilm X-H2S. Image courtesy of Fujifilm Global.
Fujifilm X-H2. Image courtesy of Fujifilm Global.
Fujifilm X-H2S with VG-XH vertical battery grip and Fujinon XF 16-80mm f/4.0 R OIS WR zoom lens Image courtesy of Fujifilm Global.
Fujifilm X-H2S with VG-XH vertical battery grip and Fujinon XF 16-80mm f/4.0 R OIS WR zoom lens Image courtesy of Fujifilm Global.
Fujifilm X-H2S with VG-XH vertical battery grip and Fujinon XF 16-80mm f/4.0 R OIS WR zoom lens Image courtesy of Fujifilm Global.
Fujifilm X-H2 with VG-XH vertical battery grip. Image courtesy of Fujifilm Global.
Stephen Pierce makes photographs and videos for a range of prestige clients mostly located overseas in Europe and the United Kingdom with subjects ranging from architecture through travel to live performance and he relies on a number of Fujifilm cameras and lenses in the company’s APS-C/Super 35 X and medium format/large format GFX ranges.
He has often shared his appreciation for the large sensor size and high megapixels count of Fujifilm’s GFX cameras and the 40 megapixel sensor in the X-H2 and X-T5, allowing his clients the option of heavy cropping to suit a range of layouts and usages.
He also expounds the virtues of recording video in 8K and 6.2K when the option to crop is useful in post-production.
I’m yet to have the opportunity of using the X-H2S and X-H2 for video cannot comment on their capabilities there but have borrowed an X-H2 to document the first Fujifilm House of Photography workshop in January 2023:
As usual Stephen Pierce presented an in-depth run-through of both X-H series cameras’ capabilities and benefits, and if we had the means we’d have plunked the cash down for one of each.
I’m not currently working on commission from Australian or foreign clients as I used to, on stills or videos, but if I were then my core kit would comprise an X-H2S and an X-H2 for stills and video and two X-Pro cameras for immersive documentary stills photography as I find rangefinder-style cameras work best for me there.
I’d add vertical battery grips for both X-H series cameras for ease in shooting in portrait aka vertical orientation and for long battery life from all three NP-W235 batteries in this combination.
The form factor of Fujifilm’s compact aka “Fujicron” lenses works well with the X-Pro series’ optical viewfinder – which I rely upon for most of my documentary work – but Fujifilm needs to radically extend the range of focal lengths in this range and upgrade some existing compact lenses to Fujicron optical quality and mechanical functionality.
Given Fujifilm is now taking video production seriously the company needs to upgrade its Fujinon XF prime and variable focal length lens range to parity in stills and video performance, taking full advantage of the company’s legendary Fujinon Cinema lens design expertise.
Let’s see what Fujifilm has to announce in its coming X Summit in Bangkok!
FUJIFILM X Series – X Summit BKK 2023 / FUJIFILM – “May 24th at 9 AM GMT is the day of X Summit! This time X Summit will be held in Bangkok.”
Image notes
I made the photographs with a Fujifilm X-Pro2 digital rangefinder camera and Fujifilm’s Fujinon XF 30mm f/2.8 R LM WR Macro prime lens.
The X-Trans raw files were processed in DxO PhotoLab Elite with DxO FilmPack Elite and DxO ViewPoint as plug-ins, all using DxO’s DeepPRIME XD – for extra detail – denoising and demosaicing feature as well as the Kodak Portra 160VC – for vivid colour – film simulation.
Links
B&H Affiliate Link –Click here to research and purchase or pre-order your choice of cameras, lenses and accessories for stills photography and video production whatever your genre and subject matter.
Breakthrough Photography – Brass Step-Up Ring – We use and recommend this San Francisco company’s filters, accessories and especially its knurled brass framed step-up rings. Attaching wider filters to lenses with small filter diameters may require stacking two step-up rings but the coated brass rings do not bind like aluminium rings do, and the Traction frame knurling gives you plenty of solid grip.
DxO – website – PhotoLab, FilmPack, ViewPoint, PureRAW, Nik Collection – Our #1 choice in raw image processing and editing software.
Fujifilm X Global – Fujifilm launches FUJINON XF30mmF2.8 R LM WR Macro – “Its standard 30mm focal length provides the angle of view perfect for portraiture and snapshots that take advantage of natural perspectives…. It is designed compact and equipped with fast, accurate and quiet AF for high mobility.“
Fujifilm X Global – XF30mmF2.8 R LM WR Macro, Setting a New Standard – “Photography is constantly evolving. The modern creative requires a lens suitable for both stills and video across a broad range of applications. XF30mmF2.8 R LM WR Macro responds to these needs by offering a versatile focal length, 1:1 macro capability, fast inner focusing and minimal focus breathing, all in a compact optic suitable for daily use. This is the standard lens for a new generation.”
Fujifilm X Global – X-H2 – “Fifth generation imaging technology brings high resolution and speed to the next evolution of X Series. Equipped with a new 40.2-megapixel sensor, X-H2 offers unrivaled image quality for both stills and video, unlocking a world of creative possibilities far beyond what any previous APS-C format camera has ever done before.“
Fujifilm X Global – X-H2S – “Never miss a decisive moment. Featuring a stunning 5th generation X-Trans CMOS 5 HS sensor and X-Processor 5 in a beautifully designed body, photographers and filmmakers alike can now create at the pace of life and the speed of their imaginations.”
Mark Wieczorek – What I think about when I think about Focal Lengths – “Now that we know that 43mm is the true normal lens, perhaps we can re-think why we like the 50mm field of view so much — it’s ever so slightly telephoto.”
Mark Wieczorek – What is a Normal Lens — 35mm, 50mm, 43mm. – “The diagonal of a “full frame” sensor is 43mm. The diagonal of an APS-C sensor is 27mm (though APS-C sensor sizes vary). The diagonal of a Micro Four Thirds sensor is 22mm. The diagonal of a Fuji GFX sensor is 55mm. The diagonal of a larger Hasselblad sensor (there are several) is 67mm. Therefore the “normal” lens on each of these sensors would be about that focal length — 27mm for APS-C and 22mm for m43 and so on.“
Urth – We use and recommend Australian Urth brand filters, especially those in the company’s Plus+ range for professional work. We use their fixed and variable neutral density filters and circular polarizing filters which come in a wide range of filter diameters. Stephen Pierce uses a low-value fixed ND filter alone or in combination with a circular polarizing filter rather than variable ND filters.
Wikipedia – Normal lens – “In photography and cinematography, a normal lens is a lens that reproduces a field of view that appears “natural” to a human observer. In contrast, depth compression and expansion with shorter or longer focal lengths introduces noticeable, and sometimes disturbing, distortion…. ” – This entry used to define perfect normal versus standard normal but seems to have undergone heavy re-editing unsupported by citations lately.
There was a saying going around some years ago amongst documentary photographers that the most interesting images are to be made before and after an event and not so much during it.
That was the case to some degree during this Fujifilm Australia workshop presented by Stephen Pierce on how to best look after your cameras, their sensors and your lenses with a free sensor clean for each participant thrown in for free when they’d normally cost around AU$100 depending on the condition of your gear.
As usual Mr Pierce shared much of his hard-won in-depth knowledge and if I’d had a free cameraless hand I’d have been taking copious notes as some audience members were doing, but I did my best to commit as much as I could to memory.
I’ve been thinking about video production quite a bit lately while researching the late, great and forgotten Australian feature film cinematographer Robert Krasker in preparation for writing up a treatment for a documentary or a series of short movies about him and his many achievements.
That may explain why I felt compelled to photograph this event in more of a cinematic way or was it the presence at the event of some terrific Fujifilm hybrid cameras such as the X-H2S and the X-H2 and more video-oriented lenses like the Fujinon XF 18-120mm f/4.0 LM PZ WR, Fujinon MKX 18-55mm T2.9 and Fujinon MKX 50-135mm T2.9.
Add a Fujinon XF 14mm f/2.8 R to the 18-120mm f/4.0 and the X-H2S along with a Tascam CA-XLR2d-F audio adapter and you’d have the core of a powerful, versatile documentary stills and video production kit.
Fujifilm X-H2S. Image courtesy of Fujifilm Global.
Fujifilm X-H2. Image courtesy of Fujifilm Global.
Fujifilm VG-XH Vertical Battery Grip. Image courtesy of Fujifilm Global.
Fujifilm FT-XH File Transmitter Grip. Image courtesy of Fujifilm Global.
The control interface. Tascam CA-XLR2d-F XLR Microphone Adapter for Fujifilm cameras. Image courtesy of Tascam.
Fujinon XF 18-120mm f/4.0 LM PZ WR stills + video zoom lens with lens hood. Image courtesy of Fujifilm Global.
Fujinon XF 14mm f/2.8 R ultra wideangle prime lens. Image courtesy of Fujifilm Australia.
Fujifilm Australia’s series of free ‘Discover Fujifilm’ workshops is a good demonstration of free being better than fee.
They may be motivated by the need to get feet in the door of the Fujifilm House of Photography in Sydney and to get Fujifilm cameras, lenses and accessories into the hands of customers for try-before-buy, but they’re also an example of sharing the benefits by conveying knowledge that isn’t available all in one place and for the price of just showing up.
No other camera and lens brand does that here in Sydney.
The quality and volume of the knowledge that Fujifilm Australia has been sharing, thanks to presenter Stephen Pierce and his decades of professional experience in photography and videography, is beyond anything I experienced at university art school and TAFE colleges where what was taught was not worth the cost.
Free sensor clean and more
This workshop went one step further with free sensor cleaning for one camera from each participant and it looks like every one of them brought a camera.
The sensor cleaning was done by Fujifilm Australia camera and lens technician Zaffer and he went further than the sensor, cleaning the rest of the cameras and attached lenses.
Here is Zaffer cleaning our Fujifilm X-Pro2 and Fujinon XF 14mm f/2.8 R:
Fujinon XF 18-120mm f/4.0 LM PZ WR stills + video zoom lens on Fujifilm X-H2S. Image courtesy of Fujifilm Global.
I made these photographs with our venerable Fujifilm X-Pro2 digital rangefinder camera with a Fujinon XF 14mm f/2.8 R and XF 23mm f/1.4 R then processed the X-Trans raw image files with DxO PhotoLab Elite, DxO FilmPack Elite and DxO ViewPoint using the Kodak Portra 160VC colour negative film simulation and DeepPRIME XD.
I rarely if ever used colour negative films during my analog photography days preferring to give my corporate and magazine clients colour transparencies to eliminate the extra step of printing from negatives and to keep more control over the result.
The wide and ever-growing range of accurate film simulations in DxO’s software tempts me to try out films I have never used and it’s fun to apply various film simulations to a series of short projects made in the same place under similar lighting to see what they have to offer.
Fujinon XF 14mm f/2.8 R ultra wideangle prime lens. Image courtesy of Fujifilm Australia.
My default film simulation is Fujifilm Astia for its subtly accurate skin tones but lately I’ve been enjoying trying out some Kodak and Fujifilm colour negative simulations that have more pronounced ways of rendering colour and particularly skin tones.
Another variation I’d like to try in these projects soon is in focal lengths.
I love Fujifilm’s Fujinon XF 14mm f/2.8 R and 23mm f/1.4 R for their manual clutch focus rings and their speed and ease for manual focusing given the age of our X-Pro2’s autofocusing capability.
A variable focal lens may help produce a very different way of documenting these events especially if it offers a reasonably long focal length range, with my ideal being from 14mm through to 180mm, the range I’m most used to for documentary stills and video as well as portraiture ai the longer end.
Fujinon XF 18mm f/1.4 R LM WR “Fujilux” prime lens. Image courtesy of Fujifilm Australia.
That’s why I’m keen to put the Fujinon XF 18-120mm f/4.0 LM PZ WR to the test with a Fujifilm X-H2S.
Its f/4.0 maximum aperture should not be a problem as I usually follow the old news photographer’s rule of “set f/5.6 and be there”, stopping down to f/8.0 for deeper focus in crowds.
Supplement the 18-120mm f/4.0 with the 14mm f/2.8 and you have all the focal lengths you could wish for, the first on the X-H2S and the second on the X-Pro2.
If required to photograph in available darkness, say during an in-studio lighting demonstration, then the best choice might be the Fujinon XF 18mm f/1.4 R LM WR Fujilux prime lens.
Fujinon XF 50mm f/2.0 R WR “Fujicron” prime lens. Image courtesy of Fujifilm Australia.
I’m hoping that Fujifilm will see fit, though, to create a worthy successor to the old pancake-style XF 18mm f/2.0 R in the form of a Fujicron XF 18mm f/2.0 R WR, a focal length perfectly suited to the coming X-Pro4 so long as it offers 18mm bright-lines in its optical viewfinder and X-Pro2-style OVF dual magnification.
For a classic two-camera, two-lens documentary combination I can’t think of a better companion to a Fujicron XF 18mm f/2.0 R WR than the Fujicron XF 50mm f/2.0 R WR, an incredible lens too-often overshadowed by its larger, flashier sibling the XF 50mm f/1.0 R WR.
Links
B&H Affiliate Link –Click here to research and purchase or pre-order your choice of cameras, lenses and accessories for stills photography and video production whatever your genre and subject matter.
Days like this demand a different approach to colour so I chose a DxO film simulation I wouldn’t in sunnier days, Lomography X-Pro Slide 200, and combined it with the selenium and gold split-toning that I’d normally reserve for monochrome.
If these dark days continue I’ll explore this look further and see where it takes me.
But then there’s this approach, applying a movie rating preset named Moody Dark Green from DxO’s Cinematic Films collection from photographs made at an amateur radio club event in honour of Dick Smith.
The light in this little old hall is mixed and dim with several different types of bulbs in a mixture of fixtures and shadowy as well due the lack of a ceiling to cover the rafters and bounce the light around more evenly.
I’ve been reading how many users of DxO’s DeepPRIME XD have been getting great results from choosing much higher ISOs than they normally would so I shot all of this set with an ISO of 6400.
My usual maximum ISO is 3200 but these images in deep space demanded a small aperture and a different approach to colour due to lack of detail in the low values.
These colours remind me of rustic scenes painted by Pieter Breugel the Elder though he wouldn’t have used as much green as this.
Links
B&H Affiliate Link – click here to research and purchase or pre-order your choice of cameras, lenses and accessories for stills photography and video production whatever your genre and subject matter.
When Patrick DiVino of Fuji Rumorsshared the image of a Fujifilm X-Pro3 with a three-way tilting LCD screen instead of the camera’s hidden LCD screen with its reportedly fragile ribbon cable I wondered if somebody at Fujifilm Switzerland had gone off the reservation.
We chose not to invest in an X-Pro3 after trying one out and being less than thrilled with some of the design and manufacturing decisions made by Fujifilm in its quest to make the third X-Pro model into a camera for “pure photography” by “street photographers”.
Fujifilm would have been better advised to choose another word than “pure” given purity’s connotations in eugenics, religion and politics and we hope that the X-Pro4 will return to being a solid, reliable, innovative and versatile precision instrument for professionals, documentary photographers and photojournalists as well as enthusiasts seeking a unique optical viewfinder experience not possible with SLR-style cameras.
Fujifilm X-Pro3 with non-standard 3-way tilting LCD monitor screen, Fujifilm Switzerland. Image courtesy of Fujifilm Switzerland.
Screenshot, Fujifilm X-Pro3 with hidden LCD screen in place of previous non-standard 3-way tilting LCD monitor, Fujifilm Switzerland.
As for the term “street photographers”, we may photographically document life in the streets every so often and even produce what might be described as “street photographs”, though there’s more to be seen in them than a street or, for that matter, a lone figure flitting between between sharply defined shafts of sunlight and shadow.
Like most photographers our interests extent beyond one genre, one subject, one style or even one strictly-defined set of design and content rules and regulations.
The thing we like the least about our beloved Fujifilm X-Pro2
Whatever our subject or approach, one of the things we like least about our X-Pro2 is its old-style fixed LCD screen and we would have preferred a fully-articulated or even a tilting screen instead.
When we needed good quality video for volunteer work at a human rights charity, we invested in Panasonic cameras with their fully articulated screens and found how useful they are for stills photography when working in tight spaces and needing to be discreet in potentially risky situations.
Since DxO added DeepPRIME XD to its support for Fujifilm X-Trans raw files in DxO PhotoLab Elite and related software we’ve been carrying our X-Pro2 almost every day instead of our Panasonic Lumix GX8 and we miss the latter’s fully-articulating LCD.
Then there’s our Lumix GX8 & DxO’s amazing software
When we absolutely must have the GX8’s tilting EVF and fully articulating LCD then of course that becomes our daily carry for the duration, or we attach the tiny Panasonic Lumix G Vario 12-32mm f/3.5-5.6 Aspheric Mega OIS lens instead of its default Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-40mm f/2.8 Pro and carry it in our waist-pack alongside our X-Pro2.
DxO’s recently added support for Fujifilm X-Trans now means we can now process Bayer and X-Trans raw files from different cameras with the same film simulation or camera sensor profile and it is next to impossible to tell which camera shot what image.
We can choose from DxO’s Fujifilm-specific film simulations in the Color Rendering/Digital Films collection or from a vast range of other analog film and sensor simulations derived from DxO’s years of testing every piece of hardware and film stock upon which they can collectively lay their hands.
We can make our images look like they’ve been shot with, for example, an oldie-but-goodie Minolta 7D or a long list of other new and old digital cameras, or an almost as long list of colour transparency, colour print, black-and-white or cross-processed colour films and movie grading effects.
Our default choice continues to be DxO’s Fujifilm Astia film simulation for its excellent rendering of skin tones and colour transparency look and feel, at least for the time being.
Then depending on the specific look and feel a given project demands we may choose from amongst some of our favourite colour negative film simulations such as Fujifilm Superia in its several different versions or Kodak Portra 400 or 160VC.
We’ve been waiting for all this for so long and we’re ecstatic it’s now possible and that it works so well.
The real Fujifilm X-Pro3 with hidden flip-down LCD screen
Fujifilm X-Pro3 with MHG-XPRO3 grip and Fujinon XF 35mm f/2.0 R WR prime lens.
Fujifilm X-Pro3 with hidden flip-down LCD monitor screen. Image courtesy of Fujifilm Australia.
Fujifilm X-Pro3 with hidden flip-down LCD monitor screen. Image courtesy of Fujifilm Australia.
Fujifilm Fujinon XF 18mm f/1.4 R LM WR on Fujifilm X-Pro3. Image courtesy of Fujifilm Australia.
Fujifilm Fujinon XF 18mm f/1.4 R LM WR with Fujifilm LH-XF18 Lens Hood on Fujifilm X-Pro3. Image courtesy of Fujifilm Australia.
The tilting LCD monitor on the Fujifilm X-Pro3 digital rangefinder camera. Still frame from live streaming video of Fujifilm X-Pro3 from Fujifilm X Summit on 20th September 2019.
What we’d like to see in the X-Pro4
In-body image stabilization aka IBIS.
40 megapixel sensor.
Larger, brighter optical viewfinder aka OVF.
Dual magnification OVF.
OVF bright lines for 18mm through to 56mm: longer than that, switch over to the EVF.
OLED electronic viewfinder aka EVF instead of X-Pro2’s TFT EVF.
Durable fully-articulating or tilting LCD monitor for working discretely in difficult situations and no failure-prone ribbon cable.
Up to Cinema 4K recording on par with X-T5 – we prefer C4K’s 17:9 cinematic aspect ratio to television’s 16:9.
Top-class autofocus.
Larger battery than X-Pro2 so we don’t have to carry two spares for day-long documentary projects.
Better, deeper built-in grip.
Optional accessory hand grip for even more security in holding it.
Dual SD card slots with UHS-II compatibility.
D-pad for fast programmable access to functions instead of over-reliance on touchscreen gestures.
HEIF – 4:2:2 10-bit.
5:4 and 4:3 aspect ratios for magazine and portrait photography and other commissioned work.
Pixel-shift multi-shot images.
Less reflective, darker and more durable black coating – I have no use for fingerprint-magnet Duratect coatings and colours.
Monochrome live view option for the EVF enabling focus peaking to better be seen regardless of film simulation – on Panasonic Lumix cameras I use red focus peaking in monochrome live view and it’s very effective.
We’d like to see Fujifilm become the second hybrid mirrorless camera maker to adopt the EL Zone System formulated by Edward Lachman, ASC, after Sigma added it to the firmware of its Sigma fp and fp L 35mm sensor cameras.
Panasonic was first cinema camera maker to add EL Zone System to the firmware of its VariCam cinema cameras and a growing list of other companies making hardware and software for video production and post-production have already done so or are in the process.
Any hybrid mirrorless camera would benefit from the EL Zone System for accurate exposure and wouldn’t need traditional video exposure aids like scopes and waveforms.
Fujicron compact prime lenses for X-Pro4, new, improved & all rated for 40 megapixels
Fujifilm’s current Fujicron prime lenses are well-suited for use with X-Pro series digital rangefinder cameras due to their narrow front ends that minimize intrusion into the lower right of their optical viewfinders.
Haoge’s front tapering lens hoods help reduce the sometimes annoying OVF intrusion by longer plastic hoods while being more protective of the lens’ front element due to their aluminium construction that better protects than plastic.
Fujifilm Fujinon XF 30mm f/2.8 R LM WR Macro prime lens with bundled lens hood. Image courtesy of B&H.
Fujifilm Fujinon XF 50mm f/2.0 R WR with Haoge LH-X50N metal bayonet-mounted lens hood. Objects are not to exact scale. Image objects courtesy of B&H and Haoge.
The recently-released Fujinon XF 30mm f/2.8 R LM WR Macro lens is spot on with its aperture ring lock and we like its fast autofocusing via linear motor so we’d like to see one or both added to revisions of current Fujicron lenses.
We’d also like to see Fujifilm round out its Fujicron compact lens collection and consider filling the gap between the currently unreleased 9mm and a possible new 14mm lens to replace the current non-compact 14mm.
XF 9mm f/3.5 – Yet to be released at time of writing but would be useful for architecture and landscape photography.
XF 14mm f/2.8 R WR – Current version is sized more like a Fujilux fast aperture lens and has manual clutch focus, which I love, but a smaller Fujicron version would complete this set.
XF 16mm f/2.8 R WR II – I’d almost forgotten this one altogether as it’s far from my favourite focal length but current version needs an aperture ring lock.
XF 18mm f/2.0 R WR – Previous pancake version was optically and mechanically compromised and the f/1.4 Fujilux version is not a replacement but an alternative better suited to larger cameras.
XF 23mm f/2.0 R WR II – Current version has optical shortcomings close-up and needs aperture ring lock.
XF 27mm f/2.8 (f/2.0) R WR III – Version II pancake lens suffers from same propensity as version I of its focusing mechanism to fail requiring costly repairs that may fail yet again: needs redesigning as a Fujicron lens with sturdy lens barrel and focusing mechanism as well as aperture ring lock, and should be upgraded to f/2.0 maximum aperture.
XF 30mm f/2.8 R LM WR – First in the series to gain aperture ring lock and so far it looks promising as a 45mm-equivalent perfect normal lens slightly longer than 27mm (40.5 equivalent) perfect normal.
XF 35mm f/2.0 R WR II – Needs aperture ring lock.
XF 50mm f/2.0 R WR II – Needs aperture ring lock.
XF 70mm f/2.0 R WR – Classic 105mm equivalent for portraiture, documentary and photojournalism but not as large and heavy as an f/1.4 Fujilux version would be: if f/2.0 maximum aperture leads to oversized lens then f/2.8 may be acceptable.
The compact size and affordability of these lenses also makes them attractive for owners of the Fujifilm X-T5 and other more affordable non-flagship cameras as well as older, smaller Fujifilm cameras.
Links
B&H Affiliate Link – click here to research and purchase or pre-order your choice of cameras, lenses and accessories for stills photography and video production whatever your genre and subject matter.
Digital Camera World – Fujifilm X-Pro3 review – “The Fujifilm X-Pro3 brings back an old way of shooting in the new digital world, but it’s likely to divide opinion!”
This past week has been stressful, challenging and packed with things we’d rather not be doing so it’s delayed us in processing the raw files from Fujifilm Australia’s ‘Discover Fujifilm’ Video Workshop at Fujifilm House of Photography in Sydney last Saturday the 25th of March 2023.
Our apologies!
Given this free workshop was about videography we somewhat subconsciously shot it more like a short movie than an even shorter photoessay hence more images than usual.
Presenter Stephen Pierce did an excellent job of introducing those of us new to hybrid camera video and those of us more experienced in this two-hour seminar and shared some insights unique to his many years as a globe-trotting photographer and videographer.
Image Creation
We made these photographs with our trusty Fujifilm X-Pro2 digital rangefinder camera and two older Fujifilm lenses, a Fujinon XF 14mm f/2.8 R and a Fujinon XF 14mm f/2.8 R.
Neither of these lenses are rated by Fujifilm as getting the best results for its new generation 40 megapixel sensors in camera including the X-T5 and X-H2 and we have yet to try them out on an X-H2.
Their image quality is perfectly fine on the 24 megapixel sensor in the X-Pro2 and should be equally good on the 26 megapixel X-H2S.
We love using both lenses not the least for their excellent manual clutch focusing rings that we wish were also on all other Fujifilm prime and zoom lenses in the way that Olympus saw fit to add manual clutch focus to all its M.Zuiko Pro lenses.
We’ve been astounded at how well DxO supports Fujifilm X-Trans raw files especially with the recent addition of DeepPRIME XD.
DxO profiles thousands of combinations of sensors, cameras and lenses and these profiles are called down by its software to refine how images made with them render so even images from old cameras and lenses look excellent.
We note that the late, great photographer of the Vietnam War, Tim Page, relied on a two-lens combination in his latter years comprising a 21mm lens and a 35mm lens on his 35mm sensor-equipped Leica M Series cameras.
The equivalent in Fujifilm APS-C terms is 14mm and 23mm.
Image Processing
We processed these images in our default raw processing and editing software collection comprising DxO PhotoLab Elite, DxO FilmPack Elite and DxO ViewPoint.
We chose the Kodak Portra 400 colour negative film simulation and our new default demosaicing and denoising setting of DeepPRIME XD.
Small JPEGs like these benefit from DeepPRIME XD and full-size JPEGs and TIFFs even more so.
We can’t recommend DxO’s software too highly and encourage you to try them out by downloading trial versions right now.
Even if you currently prefer other raw file and image processing and editing software then we suggest trying out the new DxO PureRAW 3 to first process your raw files then open the exported files in your current favourite software.
The difference can be stark.
We usually choose Fujifilm Astia as our default film simulation as we almost always used colour transparency aka colour reversal films during the analog era but for these images we thought we’d give Kodak Portra 400 a go.
Becoming used to a new film simulation can take time as does learning how get the best out of it.
Both film simulations, like the films upon which they’re based, are designed for portraits and photographs where people are a prime part of the picture, but they render skin tones in slightly different ways.
We chose to push the look of these images a little more toward that of prints on Kodak photographic paper than we would normally, a look remembered from jobs decades ago where we processed and printed colour and monochrome films and prints.
Before we even open DxO PhotoLab Elite we do our selects, rejects and tagging in FastRawViewer which exports an .XMP file alongside to import into PhotoLab to transmit our labels and ratings.
We still yearn for the long discontinued Apple Aperture software that we loved so much but the combination of FastRawViewer plus DxO software works well.
Gearing up for video? Consider Fujifilm X Series & third-party hardware & accessories.
RØDE DeadCat VMP+ artificial fur wind shield for RØDE VideoMic Pro+. Image courtesy of RØDE Microphones.
Wooden Camera FUJIFILM X-H2S Unified Accessory Pro Kit (V-Mount). Image courtesy of B&H.
RØDE VideoMic Pro+. Image courtesy of RØDE Microphones.
Irix has released its affordable but top-class cinema prime lenses in Fujifilm X-Mount versions in focal lengths from 11mm through to 150mm. Image courtesy of Irix.
RØDE Wireless GO II Kit. Image courtesy of RØDE Microphones.
SmallRig Cage for FUJIFILM X-S10 Camera 3087. Image courtesy of SmallRig.
Fujifilm Fujinon XF 18-55mm f/2.8-4.0 R LM OIS kit zoom lens. Image courtesy of B&H.
Links
B&H Affiliate Link – click here to research and purchase or pre-order your choice of cameras, lenses and accessories for stills photography and video production whatever your genre and subject matter.
DxO – website – PhotoLab, FilmPack, ViewPoint, PureRAW, Nik Collection – Our number 1 choice in raw image processing and editing software.
FastRawViewer – website – “FastRawViewer opens RAW files extremely quickly and renders them on-the-fly, instead of just displaying embedded JPEGs. It allows a photographer to see the RAW exactly as a converter will “see” it, without any delays or waiting time, guaranteeing the possibility to sort and cull RAW images lightning fast and based on the quality of the RAW itself, not JPEG previews.”
After processing a set of colour photographs made in Sydney after the Fujifilm House of Photography workshop on manual photography, it seemed like a good idea to find some similar monochrome photographs to run through DxO PhotoLab Elite 6.4 with DeepPRIME XD to see what benefits its advanced denoising and demosaicing might bestow.
Rather than searching the archives for some old monochrome photographs, I took our X-Pro2 and Fujinon XF 56mm f/1.2 R prime lens into a local high street for some quick and dirty grab shots outdoors and inside a café.
The original XF 56mm f/1.2 R has slow autofocus and its manual focus is even slower while its optics are often described as “quirky” or “characterful” making it more suitable for slow-paced portraiture than fast-moving documentary work like this.
Processed in DxO PhotoLab Elite 6.4 with DeepPRIME XD, 2048px JPEGs
Fujifilm has not rated the XF 56mm f/1.2 R as suitable for getting the best results from its new generation of 40 megapixels cameras but I’m keen to see if DxO PhotoLab Elite 6.4’s DeepPRIME XD for Fujifilm X-Trans raw files can at least reveal extra detail in lower megapixels cameras like our X-Pro2 and the X-H2S as well as the X-Pro3, X-T3 and X-T4.
On the other hand the Fujinon XF 56mm f/1.2 R WR that Fujifilm released alongside the Fujifilm X-H2 in 2022 would have been a better choice than our old XF 56mm f/1.2 R as the flaws of that lens are evident in the snapshot of an ever-present queue for train replacement buses.
I focused on the youth wearing Calvin Klein shorts while hoping the shoppers in the middle of the frame might be sharp enough despite the lens’ rather long focal length.
I prefer our 40MP-rated Fujinon XF 50mm f/2.0 R WR “Fujicron” lens for this sort of work as its autofocus is fast and accurate even though its manual focusing is slow.
The lens’ 75mm equivalence in the 35mm sensor format is often a better choice for documentary work such as singling out individuals at protests and rallies.
Processed in DxO PhotoLab Elite 6.4 with DeepPRIME XD, full-size JPEGs at 90%, 4.0MB & 3.0MB
The full-size photograph of the couple in the café shows how much extra detail can be revealed by DxO PhotoLab Elite 6.4 with DeepPRIME XD.
Look at the finely rendered type in the middle ‘All Day Menu’.
Pity the woman just happened to blink as I made the exposure but I had no choice as I wanted to capture the younger woman and the man framed well in the mirror behind them.
I’ll probably be carrying the XF 50mm f/2.o R WR and XF 14mm f/2.8 R lenses when we go into the city later this week though I might also pop the XF 56mm f/1.2 R into the bag as well.
If the days are as gloomy as today then mushy bokeh behind limited XD-sharpened details might make the images a little more interesting despite probable dim lighting, grey skies and rain.
Links
B&H Affiliate Link – click here to research and purchase or pre-order your choice of cameras, lenses and accessories for stills photography and video production whatever your genre and subject matter.
DxO, French image processing software and camera and lens testing company under the DXOMARK brand name, recently released version 6.4 of its flagship raw image processing application DxO PhotoLab and its premium version DxO PhotoLab Elite including DeepPRIME XD support for Fujifilm X-trans sensor cameras.
We’re so impressed with what DxO has achieved in its X-Trans raw image support that we held off on processing these images until we installed DxO PhotoLab 6.4.
Our aged pre-Apple M1 and M2 production computer doesn’t process these images rapidly when DeepPRIME XD is applied but the quality of the results are so worth it and we can’t help but recommend DxO PhotoLab Elite and it’s smaller and more affordable sibling DxO PureRAW 3 which also supports DeepPRIME XD for Fujifilm X-Trans raw files.
Processed in DxO PhotoLab Elite 6.4 with DeepPRIME XD, 2048px JPEGs
Fujifilm Fujichrome Astia 100F Professional (RAP 100F 120) in 120 rollfilm format. Image courtesy of B&H.
I made these photographs in record time while walking rapidly from Fujifilm House of Photography in Sydney to Town Hall Station via a couple of stores to check if they were still there after the predations of the pandemic.
I was carrying our Fujifilm X-Pro2 and Fujinon XF 14mm f/2.8 R superwide lens and minimally processed the X-Trans raw files using DxO’s Astia film simulation and the new DeepPRIME XD denoising and demosaicing algorithms.
Documentary photography is about the right visual information recorded well with enough detail to reveal the essentials and to intrigue viewers enough to look deeper within the image and themselves.
The latest DxO software has done a marvellous job at supporting those needs and we’ll be using DeepPRIME XD as our default from now on.
Processed in DxO PhotoLab 6.4 with DeepPRIME XD, full-size JPEG at 90%, 5.8MB
Mamiya 7 II interchangeable lens 120 rollfilm rangefinder camera. Photograph courtesy of Japan Camera Hunter.
We’re due to visit Sydney again at least twice this week and weekend and hope to make plenty more photographs to explore the expressive possibilities of DeepPRIME XD when applied to Fujifilm X-Trans raw files.
Our way of seeing has already been transformed for the better by having this capability now and the difference reminds me of when I bought my first Mamiya 120 roll-film rangefinder camera and wide-angle lens.
The Mamiya 6 was a 6x6cm 120 roll film interchangeable lens rangefinder camera while the Mamiya 7 and 7 II were 6x7cm 120 roll film cameras with the option of loading 35mm film into a panoramic adapter.
A more apt comparison would be Fujifilm’s long series of 120 roll-film analog under the Fujica brand, few of which ever found their way outside Japan and none to where I lived.
The Fujica GW690 II and its siblings are often referred to as Texas Leicas and they’re the cameras I would have preferred to Mamiya’s analog rangefinders with their superb lenses but less than incredible mechanical construction.
Fujifilm’s Fujica 6x9cm Texas Leicas for 120 roll-film
Fujifilm Fujica GW690 I 6×9 Professional 120 roll film camera. Image found on ebay.
Fujifilm Fujica GW690 III 6×9 Professional 120 roll film camera. Image found on ebay.
Fujifilm GSW690III Professional 6×9 120 roll-film camera with Fujinon 65mm f/5.6 lens. Image found on ebay.
Fujica GW690 120 roll film rangefinder camera, image kindly released into the public domain by Jfriedl.
Fujifilm GFX 50R with Fujinon GF 45mm f/2.8 R LM WR lens, equivalent to 35mm in 35mm format. Image courtesy of Fujifilm Australia.
Fujifilm’s Fujica cameras look to be sturdier than the Mamiya 6 or 7 and are part of a long lineup of 120 roll-film cameras made by the company in formats from 6×4.5cm through 6x6cm, 6x7cm, 6x8cm, 6x9cm and 6x17cm.
With its heritage of reportedly excellent analog medium format rangefinder cameras, it’s a shame that Fujifilm discontinued the GFX 50R digital medium format rangefinder camera.
Imagine applying DxO’s DeepPRIME XD to Bayer raw files of similar photographs in the gallery above but made with GFX 50R or GFX 100R cameras instead of my much smaller-sensored X-Pro2 APS-C camera.
Fujifilm GFX100S with Fujinon GF 20-35mm f/1.4 R WR. Image courtesy of B&H.
Until then, if and when Fujifilm revives its GFX R – R for rangefinder-style? – large sensor cameras, I’d also like to see what DxO PhotoLab Elite 6.4 with DeepPRIME can do for Bayer raw files from the GFX 100S camera.
Another question, too, concerns Fujifilm’s 40MP-rated Fujinon XF lenses versus its older 20+MP-rated optics.
DxO is unique in analyzing a vast number of sensor and lens combinations to create downloadable profiles for use with its raw processing software to obtain optimum results instead of simply going with whatever camera-makers may have written into raw file metadata.
The big question is how does an older lens compare to a newer version of that lens when raw files are processed with DxO PhotoLab Elite and DeepPRIME XD?
For example, the Fujinon XF 23mm f/1.4 R compared to the the XF 23mm f/1.4 R LM WR.
A secondary question is how does the same lens on a 40 megapixel Fujifilm camera compare with a 20+ megapixel camera when their raw files are processed with DxO PhotoLab Elite and DeepPRIME XD?
Speculation is one thing but the real proof is in the photographs.
Links
B&H Affiliate Link – click here to research and purchase or pre-order your choice of cameras, lenses and accessories for stills photography and video production whatever your genre and subject matter.
DxO PureRAW 3, the groundbreaking RAW photo enhancement software, gives photographers incredible image quality thanks to DeepPRIME XD
March 15, 2023
Together with innovative DeepPRIME XD — eXtreme Detail — denoising technology, this major new version of DxO’s award-winning RAW processing software delivers greater control without reducing the ‘one-click’ functionality that users love. It also features pivotal upgrades to the user interface, making workflow even smoother.
Paris (France): DxO Labs, the company which kick-started modern RAW processing and lens correction, today announces the immediate availability of DxO PureRAW 3, its revolutionary RAW enhancement software. PureRAW 3 optimizes the quality of any RAW image by eliminating noise, improving color, enhancing detail and correcting lens flaws.
DxO PureRAW 3 now features DxO’s latest artificial intelligence technology, DeepPRIME XD, delivering industry-leading noise reduction and RAW image enhancement; greater control over which corrections are applied through DxO’s renowned Optics Modules; and user interface modifications that offer improved integration with every photographer’s workflow.
DxO DeepPRIME technology gets even better — and for Fujifilm photographers, too!
DxO PureRAW set the standard for noise reduction and image improvements – but the introduction of DeepPRIME XD pushes performance even further. By using a larger neural network than regular DeepPRIME, DeepPRIME XD delivers greater levels of detail, improved color accuracy, and smoother, noise-free bokeh when shooting at even the highest ISO levels.
With DeepPRIME XD, photographers report improvements of more than 2.5 stops in noise performance. For example, images shot at ISO 4000 more closely resemble those captured at ISO 500 in terms of noise, color, and clarity.
Because noise reduction is performed as part of the RAW conversion process, DeepPRIME XD can also improve the dynamic range of an image, giving photographers greater flexibility when shooting in challenging situations where light is limited. The original DeepPRIME mode remains part of DxO PureRAW 3 for images that demand less enhancement or where faster performance is required.
“DeepPRIME almost surprised us when we first saw the results,” explains DxO’s VP of Marketing and Product Strategy, Jean-Marc Alexia. “We quickly realized that a larger neural network could boost performance, and that’s what we’ve delivered with DeepPRIME XD. This technology pushes the boundaries even further, and DxO PureRAW 3 will revolutionize any photographer’s images — and without disrupting their existing workflow.”
Until today, DeepPRIME XD did not process RAW files from cameras with an X-Trans sensor. However, with DxO PureRAW 3, Fujifilm X Series photographers will be delighted to learn that their cameras are supported, a development reflected in DxO PhotoLab 6.4, also released today. As a result, X-Trans images can undergo incredible noise reduction, remarkable detail enhancement, and the restoration of accurate colors, especially when shooting at high ISO levels.
Power is nothing without control
As well as greater performance, DxO PureRAW 3 gives photographers a new level of control. The software’s updated interface now offers options for levels of lens softness correction, as well as the ability to toggle vignetting and chromatic aberration corrections. Furthermore, photographers can access the whole image area captured by the sensor, avoiding the crop enforced by other software when correcting deformations.
Interface improvements for a smoother workflow
DxO PureRAW 3 also introduces a number of improvements when it comes to workflow. Users can create multiple queues when batch processing large numbers of files, with the option to edit, re-order, and prioritize both images and queue lists while processing is underway. In addition, photographers can now choose to export files in TIFF format, alongside the existing JPEG and Linear DNG options.
Finally, the user interface has been revamped, bringing it closer in line with other DxO software.
About DxO PureRAW
DxO PureRAW is the only software of its kind, making unprecedented enhancements to RAW files at the beginning of a photographer’s existing workflow and therefore giving them the best possible foundations on which to edit.
Breaking with convention, the software uses convolutional neural networks to perform the demosaicing and denoising processes of RAW image conversion simultaneously. Having been trained using billions of image samples, the network is able to produce results that far exceed those made by human-designed algorithms, giving users Linear DNG files that have all of the flexibility of the original RAW file, but with the best possible image quality in terms of color, noise, and fine detail.
In addition, DxO PureRAW uses DxO’s highly regarded Optics Modules, a database of well over 80,000 lens and camera body combinations that provide the highest levels of corrections to lens softness, geometric distortions, vignetting, and aberrations. Updates in March 2023 bring support for a number of cameras and lenses including two popular Nikon Z zoom lenses, an RF prime from Canon, and a selection of cameras from Panasonic.
About DxO
For over 20 years, DxO has blazed a pioneering trail in the fields of photographic science and digital image processing. Built on principles of technical rigor and ceaseless innovation, we were at the forefront of bringing RAW development to photographers, and continue to build the most powerful and versatile software on the market, all designed to offer the greatest image quality and creative freedom. Along with its exacting Optics Modules, available in all our products, we publish DxO PhotoLab, which won the EISA 2020-2021 award for Best Photo Software and the TIPA award for Best Imaging Software in 2020, 2021, and 2022; the award-winning RAW preprocessing and noise reduction software, DxO PureRAW; and Nik Collection, the renowned suite of creative plug-ins for Adobe Photoshop®, Lightroom Classic®, and DxO PhotoLab.
Images
DxO PureRAW 3.
DxO PureRAW 3.
DxO PureRAW 3.
Commentary
At last, versions of DxO PhotoLab and DxO PureRAW that support Fujifilm X-Trans raw image files as well as Fujifilm Bayer raw image files, and a myriad of Bayer raw files by many other camera makers too.
We’re looking forward to putting DxO PhotoLab Elite 6.4 and DxO PureRAW 3 to the test with some newly-made photographs in the coming days.
Colour us very, very excited.
Links
B&H Affiliate Link – click here to research and purchase or pre-order your choice of cameras, lenses and accessories for stills photography and video production whatever your genre and subject matter.
That was the question we asked ourselves this morning while stopping for a coffee break after running through the pelting rain.
We’ve been carrying our oldest and lightest mirrorless hybrid camera and lens combination for the past few days when going about these suburbs where little ever seems to happen to see what we can make of minimalist moments like this one.
Lumix GH4 and Lumix G Vario 12-32mm f/3.5-5.6 Aspheric Mega OIS Bayer raw file processed with DxO PhotoLab Elite 6.3 & Fujifilm Astia film simulation
When I got back into photography and video with the accidentally revolutionary Canon EOS 5D Mark II DSLR camera, I went back to covering events as I had with a range of cameras during the analog era ranging from a Crown Graphic sheet film camera down through the film sizes to several Leica M System rangefinder cameras.
With its kit lens the 5D Mark II proved heavy, unwieldy and slower to focus than I liked and I found myself pining for my Leica cameras and lenses but film and processing had become too expensive and environmentally imprudent.
I was pleased when Fujifilm released its just as revolutionary Fujifilm Finepix X100 digital APS-C rangefinder camera and then I discovered even more benefits to the Micro Four Thirds format when I discovered a more agile camera for video work in the Panasonic Lumix GH4.
M43 and APS-C are the sweet spot for deep focus documentary photographs like this compared to 35mm sensor aka “full frame” – I hate that silly marketing man’s terminology – cameras where one struggles to get all the essential image information razor sharp from near to far.
The two smaller sensor sizes make photography fun again and I love M43’s default 4:3 aspect ratio which is easier to design beautiful images within than the often too-narrow 2:3 aspect ratio of 35mm.
The Lumix GH4 and Lumix G Vario 12-32mm f/3.5-5.6 Aspheric Mega OIS camera and lens combination is also handy for quick video footage given the lens’ stabilization and with a Urth ND8-128 37mm variable neutral density filter attached to its pointy end, using the camera’s Cine D profile.
Links
B&H Affiliate Link – click here to research and purchase or pre-order your choice of cameras, lenses and accessories for stills photography and video production whatever your genre and subject matter.
Leeming LUT Pro – website – “Leeming LUT Pro™ is the world’s first unified, corrective Look Up Table (LUT) system for supported cameras, designed to maximise dynamic range, fix skin tones, remove unwanted colour casts and provide an accurate Rec.709 starting point for further creative colour grading. The Pro III LUTs are designed for perfect Rec.709 colorimetry and have a linear luma curve, with an average measured dE(2000) of less than 1, meaning they are visually indistinguishable from reality to the human eye. Athena III LUTs are a brighter version of Pro, designed around how the eye sees, while retaining the same perfect colorimetry as Pro.
UNITITLED.NET 