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Sunday 5 May 2013

The Fuji X20, fun camera with great results


Are we expecting too much from the Fuji X10/X20? Possibly; because of the very well known X-Pro1 and X-E1 the expectation for this "little" Fuji is very high.

It's easy to forget that it's only a P&S camera.The X10 or the X20 with its sensor size and the high quality lens, produces excellent pictures. Ask your self; which size do you print your photos? I have printed them in A3, and they look very good.

In Germany they say: "lange Rede kurzer Sinn" which means to cut a long story short:

Pick one up, go out, take pictures and have fun.

                     






































against the sun with flash abouve


overexposed recovered in LR






































quick responding


S mode 1/30 ISO 100


































SR+ mode abouve


After a week spend with the X20 I would say that:

This little gem is capable of  capturing  beautiful snapshots, even in low light.
To get the best out of the X20 pictures shoot in RAW Format. (I hope Fuji can change this in a Firmware update).

I liked the Fuji X10 JPG Pictures, because I prefer to photgraph in RAW;
i'm happy with the X20.

ISO 2000 1/30



Portrait mode

































The X10 is still a very good camera, producing very nice photos in JPG, ideal for those who don't care to much about pp in a computer or simpel don't know how to do. 


With this very nice combination, I can use the X-E1 for shooting at higher iso's, or very blurred background, or just having fun with an adapted manual lens.

For everything else the Fuji X10 or X20 are great portable camera; with its quick responding autofocus, the zoom lens (28-112mm), the different settings and the possibility for Macro (close-up) photos.

































TIPS:
Big issue; with the X20 you need 2-3 spare batteries for a day long walk around.
The X20 is a battery devourer!!!

Update:
After some research in the internet found that, to save energy the X20 should work with;
LCD brightness -2, IS only for shooting.

also found some setting tip to save in C1 or C2:

Use the ETTR expose to the right, and recover in PP for less noise in the shadows

quality: Fine + RAW

simulation: ASTIA

iso: auto 800

dr: 100%

wb: AUTO

H-Tone: -1

S-Tone: 0

Color: 0

Sharp: -1

NR: -2

sRGB or RGB (for Print)

Focus one step bigger

FN Button: ISO

Power management: High

Some RAW sharping Tips in LR 4.4 / 5

Sharp                    30 - 70
Radius                   0,7 - 0,8
Detail                     40 - 60
Mask                      45 - 75


If Fuji can improve the JPG quality of the X20 with a firmware, I would change the setting tips and maybe use C2 as B+W fix

Follow me on: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nicoladf/
                        http://500px.com/limage
                        www.limage.pt

I don't make any scientific tests, i´m only interest to take nice pictures and have fun.

10 comments:

  1. congratulations for your images !
    i am currently considering an X20...
    You mention a low jpeg quality but post very good image...
    i am puzzled reading similar comments and sometime seeing very average images, and sometime seeing amazing images like yours...

    Can you elaborate on how you treat/process your images ?

    Tx
    Christophe

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    Replies
    1. Hi, thank you for your interest.

      I know how many hours I spend on the net reading this and that, what fits for me dosen't automatically fits for you. And pictures explain more then tousend words. But hey not all photos that i take are good enough to be used. Some are better some not. And what I have learned is, you have to be very hard with you and your photos. Use only the good one, select and delete the rest.

      Now to your question

      I think first at all you need a good monitor (I don't like to work on Notebooks - mine is a older model)

      I d'ont use twice time the same setting in LR. I treat every photo separatly. Maybe for a Amateur this is fine, not for a Pro they like to work more with batch.

      All the rest i do step by step moving the sliders, and look what happens with the photographie. With time you have an eye for what you have to do. I also use the LR settings that you find at the left side, as a basic and then i change at gusto.

      I treat the RAW files, even the jpg are not bad to recover, but the RAW file are easier.

      At the end some noise reduction, save as jpg 100% quality and then I use a little programm to compress the Fotos for the WEB, not for Print. The Programm is JPGCompressor and you can download and use it for free.

      I hope this help you, any question ask if you like.

      Nic

      Delete
  2. I have had an X10 and have been shooting in RAW, so I don't understand your remark: "I liked the Fuji X10, but because I prefer to photgraph in RAW i'm happy with the X20 now."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for your reply, I have allready change the sentence. The X10 produce nice RAW files too.

      Delete
  3. Congratulation for your new blog and very good photos! I am proud owner of Fuji X100, I am using it since last two years. Here is my work: https://www.facebook.com/pages/AhmedabadHD/105782226238881

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Kaushik, i will have a look, later on

      Delete
  4. Great blog and pictures that clearly show what can be achieved from a camera that is built so well and fitted with an exceptional lens.

    I have been running an X10 since December 2012 and it's the most impressive digital camera I have owned.

    Some examples can be found on Flickr here

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    Replies
    1. Nice shots nice portraits too, i like the giant :)

      Delete
  5. Hi, I am currently using the same camera but I am having a hard time using it because of the noise. It wasnt like this before but for some reason I have a feeling someone played with my settings and I am not able to fix it back because I am not really familiar with the terms. Can you suggest settings that will help reduce the noise in the images without using much help from lightroom? Thanks! -RJ

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi there, my first tough was maybe you are fotografing with a too high ISO setting,
    Or maybe the noise setting is reduced to -2 and you see now more noise.

    Check it with the Q Button an have a look to the ISO and NR setting.

    Are you fotografing in M/A/S/P mode?

    Or in one of the other setting chanched on the big Weel? And so on.

    It can be a lot different reasons. In the wirst send me some picture from your problem Foto.

    I must admid i like to use the B+W setting in jpg so im not so worried about noise, because my noise is on -2. A lot i do in RAW. But without any picture to check out i have no idea. At last Option why you d'ont do a Reset? That should help to go back to the manufactor setting:

    Here's how: "MENU / OK" button , the first page of the main menu choose ( small wrench on blue background with the numeral " 1") and on the menu item "RESET " go .
    Well first the " RECORDING MENU RESET . " select , go to " OK" and confirm by pressing "MENU / OK" button.
    The error still occurs , reenter the menu option " RESET " and now in addition to the "SETUP RESET . " select , go to " OK" and confirm by pressing "MENU / OK" button.
    Then, please check whether the time and date are still set correctly and correct if necessary.

    I hope this helps

    Nic

    ReplyDelete