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| Merchant's Millpond State Park, NC. (click to enlarge) |
I very much like using and working with different cameras. I always have, but…
It seems no matter what camera I use, no matter what format, pixel count or features a camera may have, I always end up coming back home to my Fujifilm X-T5.
The X-T5 is the camera is the camera that has the looks I love in a camera. To me, it looks like I think a camera should look.
The X-T5 is the camera that feels best when I pick it up.
The X-T5 is the camera that is not too big and not too small. My “Goldilocks” camera.
The X-T5 is the camera is the camera that has just the right heft for my taste.
The X-T5 is the camera that has the buttons and dials I enjoy and most like to use.
The X-T5 is the camera that has the buttons and dials just where I want them.
The X-T5 is the camera that has a 3-way tilting rear LCD screen that works better for me than any other I’ve used for photography.
The X-T5 is the camera is the camera that doesn’t have too many nor too few features, but just the ones I need and use. Not too many, not too few.
The X-T5 is the camera whose menu system just works with my brain.
The X-T5 is the camera that has the speed that fits my photographic needs.
The X-T5 has an excellent sensor that I believe is the best compromise in format.
The X-T5 has a sensor that has just the right number of pixels for my edification.
The X-T5 is the camera that gives me the image quality that satisfies me. Nothing lacking, no overkill.
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| Cotton field at sunset. (click to enlarge) |
Whenever I use other cameras, as much as I enjoy them, as good as they are and as many features as they may have, I always end up going back to the X-T5. I just get more satisfaction using the X-T5 than any other camera I've used. It has become a tried and true trusted friend that never lets me down. As I mentioned, for me it is the "Goldilocks" camera.
Thanks for looking. Enjoy!
Dennis A. Mook
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Dennis, I know that you already talked about it, but how Lightroom is working with X-Trans files nowadays? I use Capture One but this week they made some dubious decisions and I'm looking for alternatives.
ReplyDeleteSaw some people saying that it is working better with the 40mp sensor than with the old 26mp sensor (I have a X-S20, 26mp). How is it working for you, the color shifts and the "worms" in the image dissapeared?
Thanks.
Dennis, how Lightroom is working with X-Trans files nowadays? I've got some mixed answers - is better, more for the 40mp than the 26mp ones (my case); that with the Enhance feature is much better, but it consumes time and storage...
ReplyDeleteHow is your impression? I'm using Capture One, but they made a very dubious decision this week and I'm looking for alternatives.
Thanks.
Marcio, thanks for asking. I think Lightroom Classic’s raw file conversion for Fujifilm’s X-Trans files is better than it has been in past years. A lot better than when the X-T1 first was introduced. I’m not saying it is as good as it should be or as good as other software programs but I’m fine using it for editing my “average” images. In other words, unless I want to get the very best out of a file, I’ll use LR and the files look just fine. If I want to get the very best out of a file or I want to crop in significantly, I will convert file using DXO PhotoLab or Iridient X-Transformer. I don’t use Capture One, but everything I read is that program produces excellent raw conversions. I did see where they are changing their business model. But for everyday files and ones I post on the blog, Lightroom does fine. Also, I think it does better with the 40mp files. That said, in my past experience, the worms appeared if a) you try to apply too much sharpening and b), you use the same sharpening technique as you would use on Bayer files. I’ll use one of two methods, depending upon which looks better for a particular file. I’ll either slide the Detail slider all the way to 100% and then add just a little of the Amount slider until the file looks sharp or I’ll set the Detail slider to 0% and then move the Amount slider up around 125130 or so, again to taste. It depends on the image. Sometimes one way works a bit better than the other depending upon the file. Not sure why. I have not used the Enhance feature to convert the Fujifilm files enough to cast judgment. Also, I use Topaz Photo AI and that does a good job sharpening and reducing noise in one step. I find it very valuable, if needed. Hope this helps. Try Lightroom as it is not the same program that we have been used to in the past. The Adaptive Masking is amazing and the new Background Blur is as well. Photoshop’s Generative Fill and new Erase tool are also amazing. I’m glad I didn’t delete subpar image files from the past as now I can correct them turn them into ones I can display. I hope I answered your questions. All of this is my opinion and others may disagree, but we all see things differently and have different needs.
DeleteHello Denis! Congratulations on the article and I fully agree with you and extend this opinion to all Fuji X-T and X-H cameras.
ReplyDeleteAnd it's for the reasons you list that, despite the shortcomings of the autofocus that we've been talking about by email and the way Fuji has opted for autofocus, I always end up returning to Fuji.
At the moment I have the Fuji GFX 50S II and the Fuji X-T5 and they are cameras that give me great pleasure when I shoot with them.
I'm even keen to buy an X-H1 as it's an excellent camera and now on the second-hand market it's at a low price and you can find examples with very few shots. It was a camera I liked better than the X-T4 and I sold it because of the focusing problems common to all Fuji cameras, just as I've sold many other Fuji cameras but I always end up buying a Fuji again!
Merry Christmas to you and your family and keep giving us great photos and great articles.
Jorge Gil de Almeida
Jorge, thank you so much for the Christmas wishes as well as your comment and insight. I wish you and your loved ones a wonderful Christmas and next year is your best ever! ~Dennis
DeleteThe light on that cotton field is simply gorgeous. I found your website a few months ago Dennis and I have enjoyed your thoughts and observations since, thank you. I have been with Fuji for many years now and am somewhat yearning for the 40 megapixel sensor - though I know it will make very little real difference to my photos!
ReplyDeleteGuy, thank you very much for your kind words and your comment. I think of having more pixels than I really need is like having a spare tire in my car. Having a spare brings peace of mind and its there when I need it. My head says I don’t need more than 20-24mp but I really enjoy ‘punching in’ and seeing that tiny detail in my images. There is some kind of satisfaction I get from seeing everything in my photographs that I saw in real life—or maybe couldn’t see in real life! Nothing blurred or missing. I think it’s okay to want and/or buy a high pixel count camera without actually ‘needing’ it. All things considered, at the end of your time here on this planet, the money spent on a camera won’t have made a difference in the money you leave behind.
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