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| The "Miss Barbara L." Fujifilm X-T4 JPEG; Pro Neg Std. Film Simulation (click to enlarge) |
I think Fujifilm has retaken the lead in being my favorite camera system to use. Three reasons. First, the controls, second the colors and third, the quality of the JPEGs. The images that come out of my X-T4 are so pleasing to me.
For example, the image above. This is a JPEG using my Fujifilm X-T4 and the 16-55mm f/2.8 lens. I love the colors, contrast and detail. It is a very satisfying image to me. I basically pointed and pressed the shutter.
I am currently conducting an experiment with my three camera systems to see if I can photograph my usual variety of subjects and not use any exposure compensation or other types of exposure change to accommodate lighter or darker subjects, very contrasty ones or special situations. In other words, I put my camera on aperture priority, set my aperture, focal length and focus, then press the shutter, regardless of subject matter. Typically, I'm very picky about my histogram and heavily use exposure compensation to optimize it. This experiment should give me an idea of how well my cameras exposure meters calculate exposure and how well the sensor and image process handle a variety of scenes. I will report on my findings in the near future.
For this image my camera settings were:
RAW + JPEG
Film simulation: Pro Neg Std. (realistic colors and a bit lower contrast)
Aperture Priority: f/16 (no problem with diffraction softening that I can detect)
Exposure Compensation at 0
ISO: 160
Auto White Balance
Noise Reduction: -4 (no additional noise reduction added in Lightroom)
Highlight Tone: 0
Shadow Tone: 0
Sharpening: +1 (no additional sharpening added in this image in Lightroom)
Color: -1 (I like colors that are more subtle and realistic than highly saturated)
That is about it. I cropped this image slightly to straighten the horizon and vertical piling on the left, added a smidgeon of texture, but that is about it. As I said, I find Fujifilm colors and JPEGs very pleasing. More pleasing than any other camera I've had since the digital era began.
Thanks for looking. Enjoy!
Dennis A. Mook
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Hi Dennis,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree - Fujifilm colours, and their jpegs are extremely pleasing. I usually use a RAW workflow, but looking back through my Lightroom catalogue the other day, I was reminded that when I first switched from an X-T1 to an X-Pro 2 a few years back, it coincided with a trip to the South of France. I can't recall why now, but for some reason I must have decided to experiment with shooting jpegs alongside the RAW files, but started having a LOT of fun at the shooting stage by choosing the film simulation and adjusting the contrast, highlight and shadow settings before capture. It was, in my head, a little like shooting large format and having a choice of film stocks in my bag, as well as some different filters. As I looked further through the catalogue, I realised that most of my prints from that trip were actually the jpegs I had shot on location, and I tended to use the RAW captures only if I had very high-contrast situations to deal with, or if white-balance needed adjustment. I intend to try this again - right now, the greatest mystery is why I went back to using RAW solely, as I enjoy very much more being out with my camera and getting the capture right, rather than sitting behind a computer and editing!
Like you, I find Fuji's colours and film simulations much more pleasing than any other digital cameras I have ever owned since I moved over from using film.
All the best,
James
James, good to hear from you. I have always primarily shot only RAW (and still do) except with my Fujifilm cameras. I suspect that is because, like you, unless I encounter unusual circumstances, the JPEGs seem to always look better than the edited RAW files. Adobe just can’t quite duplicate that Fujifilm magic! Thanks for your comment. I appreciate it.
DeleteHi Dennis,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree - Fujifilm colours, and their jpegs are extremely pleasing. I usually use a RAW workflow, but looking back through my Lightroom catalogue the other day, I was reminded that when I first switched from an X-T1 to an X-Pro 2 a few years back, it coincided with a trip to the South of France. I can't recall why now, but for some reason I must have decided to experiment with shooting jpegs alongside the RAW files, but started having a LOT of fun at the shooting stage by choosing the film simulation and adjusting the contrast, highlight and shadow settings before capture. It was, in my head, a little like shooting large format and having a choice of film stocks in my bag, as well as some different filters. As I looked further through the catalogue, I realised that most of my prints from that trip were actually the jpegs I had shot on location, and I tended to use the RAW captures only if I had very high-contrast situations to deal with, or if white-balance needed adjustment. I intend to try this again - right now, the greatest mystery is why I went back to using RAW solely, as I enjoy very much more being out with my camera and getting the capture right, rather than sitting behind a computer and editing!
Like you, I find Fuji's colours and film simulations much more pleasing than any other digital cameras I have ever owned since I moved over from using film.
All the best,
James