The Fuji Road Show!
Thursday morning I am headed west to Oklahoma City where I will meet up with my friends to take a tour down Route 66! I did this journey myself last year and enjoyed it so much wanted to share it with some friends! So starting Saturday night we will begin our 6 day adventure together. I also agreed to shoot a picture a day on ths trip and on to the Arches / Canyonlands workshop for Fuji to appear on their Facebook page. Why would Fuji want a picture a day from??!!
A while back I got a pre- production Fuji X-PRO 2 and have been really enjoying it a lot. Fuji just delivered a brand new production model to me about a week go and I plan to shoot the majority of what I do on this trip with this exciting new camera. I love my Fuji X-T1s as my main bodies, but the X-PRO 2 has a new 24.3 mega pixel sensor and a new processor that makes this camera much faster, and the detail and low noise is amazing!
WhenI decided to go with the Fuji X System I felt I was walking away from having a super high resolution camera like the D810, but I soon found that the 16 mega pixel sensor was much more than what I needed, making print up to 4X6 “feet” and they looked amazing. Now with this new camera I am seeing images that take me back to the 36 mega pixel experience from Nikon D800! You may be wondering how that can be?
Consider this, if you pack 36 mega pixels onto to a full frame sensor you can make them a little larger so they can produce lower noise at higher ISO. That was the big attraction to full frame cameras from the start, lower noise because the individual pixel’s were larger. Keep in mind what happened with film, the finer the grain (much like the pixels) the more they could pack on the individual frame and the tighter the detail was and the smoother the images looked! That’s why Kodachrome 25 was so beloved, very, very fine grain, lots of resolution. It was the film version of a high mega pixel camera!
Now take a APS-C size sensor which is smaller than full frame thus the 1.5 lens factor. If you pack 24 million pixels on a smaller sensor they will be smaller and more tightly packed to give equal resolution. Now for some math, if the 24 mega pixels are on a sensor that is 1/3 smaller than a full frame, they will be the equivalent pixel density as a full frame 36 mega pixel sensor, and will thus give resolution that appears very much like a 36 mega pixel full frame camera. Ah, but the penalty is more noise, right? Wrong, not today with the increased progress in learning how to process the file to reduce noise. The Fuji X cameras are considered among the very lowest noise at high ISO performers on the market today, equally, and in some cases even beating the noise out of high resolution camera with much higher mega pixel counts!
This is not theory, it’s fact based on my experience with both the D800 and the Fuji X System cameras! Not bragging, (o.k. maybe a little!), I was one of the very first people in America to see and test the D800 long before the public knew of it’s existence. Bill Pekala, (then head of Nikon Professional Services), and I tested it shooting a motorcycle under a street lamp in Reno, Nevada! I am very familiar with that series of cameras and they’re drop dead spectacular, but so is the new X-PRO 2! I hope to demonstrate it’s many charms in the next few weeks, so stay tuned to this blog for daily posts of what we are shooting and to see how the X-PRO 2 is doing
Thanks for coming along!
Blessings,
the pilgrim
Spiritual Thought for the Day from Brennan Manning; “I am utterly convinced that on judgement day the Lord Jesus will ask one question and only one question, “Did you believe thatI loved you, that I desired you, that I waited for you day after day, that I longed to hear the sound of your voice.”
Jesus comes to you and says, ” I have a word for you; I know you’re whole life story, I know every skeleton your closet, I know every moment of sin and shame, dishonesty and degraded love that has darkened your past, I know your shallow faith, your feeble prayer life, your inconsistent discipleship, and my word to you is this, I dare you to trust that I love you, just as you are, not as you should be, because none of us are as we should be.”
This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 1st, 2016 at 3:13 pm
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Bill,
The specs I’ve seen on DP review put this camera at nearly 3 pounds, whereas my XT-1 is about 15 ounces. Can this be right? Your thoughts on the weight?
Travel safely my friend. God bless you.
Brad
It’s not that heavy I would say only a few ounces more than the X-E1.
I wish the most enjoyable journey down Route 66! May you and the rest of your group have an absolute wonderful, sharing, enlightening journey.
That’s the plan!!! Wish you were going with us!
Hello again,
I hope you have an amazing journey on your trip down Route 66. I was able to take some test shots at the recent Fuji 5yr. celebration in Toronto , and it is a stunning piece of technology!
They had a gallery there set up in a converted brick making factory, and these 24x36inch images were stunning! I am quite happy with my xt10 and xe2s, and these incredible Fuji lenses. I see no need to desire full frame anymore, considering the advancements, Fuji has put forth. I have been shooting for 30 years now, and have spent 25 yrs. in the retail end of the business, and never seen such advancements from a camera company. Way to go Fuji!!!
On a side note, Bll I would like to say that after perusing your galleries, you are a talented and gifted Photographer. I too am very passionate about my hobby, and wanted to say keep it up, and God Bless!
Thanks for the kind words, I love photography and like everyone else I really want to do good work, it’s nice when someone says nice things, thank You!
Hi Bill,
With much respect, you’ve made this statement in two different posts and I’m having trouble with the logic. It leaves me wondering what I’m missing. You say:
“If the 24 mega pixels are on a sensor that is 1/3 smaller than a full frame, they will be the equivalent pixel density as a full frame 36 mega pixel sensor, and will thus give resolution that appears very much like a 36 mega pixel full frame camera.”
Yes, the pixel density is the same so I’m totally with you up until that last comma. After that, it would seem more accurate to say that you get a file that appears very much like a 2/3 crop from a 36MP full frame camera.
Maybe I’m just missing your point. Zoomed in to 100%, image quality on a per-pixel basis should be similar but, taken as a whole, you’re still dealing with 50% more pixels in the full frame image file. Fuji will argue that the X-Trans CFA gives you better quality on a per pixel basis helping an APS-C X-Trans sensor compete with a full frame Bayer sensor but that doesn’t seem to be the argument you’re making. What am I not getting? 🙂
Everything you said is correct but it is the size of the pixels and how close they are together that increases the pixel “density”.
Have a wonderful and safe trip. Will be watching your blog for the shots taken with the X-Pro2.
Thanks Doug!
Have a great trip on Route 66…and I will be looking forward to any and all your images that you share. I am also looking forward to meeting you in Oregon with Jack…and glean from both of you, tips and techniques with our Fuji camera. Be safe.
Thanks so much! I too look forward to meeting you!
Have a great and safe adventure. I’m looking forward to some wonderful reports.
I promise to do my best!
I have a highly non-technical explanation for why images that come out of my outdated, crop sensor, 16MP XT-1 will rival those of a full frame 24 MP camera. It’s magic and I don’t care why. I love the tools that Fuji is making. Waiting anxiously for the XT-2 and I will be first in line to buy one!
I like the magic explanation, works for me!!!!
Hope you have a great trip. If you come through Central Arkansas, swing off I-40 out to Izzy’s (on Highway 10) for a great hamburger. Tell Robert I sent you. If you let me know when you will be there, I will even buy, since I enjoy reading your posts so much. Take care, will look forward to your report on your travels.
Regards, Dennis Yarbro.
I just might do that!!!! Thanks!