Fujifilm X-Pro1 v2.0 :: What We Got - What We Need

Christmas has come early with the release of firmware version 2.0 for the X-Pro1 and all the X Mount lenses. There are a few things we still need, but this is by far the biggest jump in performance Fujifilm has made in any firmware release.

WHAT WE GOT Focus has been improved by a long way. It really is amazing what Fuji has done with just a firmware upgrade, it feels more like a hardware upgrade! I'm seeing the biggest jump in the 18mm f2 lens. It used to be slower and could hunt a bit, but it's now fast and locks on really quick, even in rooms with bad lighting.

Manual focus is now really really really good and now has 3x as well as 10x magnification. I can now manual focus quickly and accurately through the viewfinder even without using the magnified view. It feels more like I've had laser surgery on my eyes that a firmware update! Things pot right into focus with less turning of the focus ring, although I would say that slightly less again would be even better. That said, I'm not complaining in the least.

The speed at which the files are written to the SD card has doubled, but the thing that is most noticeable is the speed you can flick through photos on the LCD, it's super fast and no longer pauses every few images when you hold the pad down.

Auto ISO now goes up to 6400, but that leads me to the one thing that's missing and what we really need. So Fujifilm is you're reading this, thanks for making the X-Pro1 and lenses even better, but here is a list of what we need IMO.

WHAT WE NEED

• 1. Minimum shutter speed limit when using Auto ISO (like in the X100).
• 2. The ability to use the Exposure Compensation Dial in Manual Mode.
• 3. The option to set Macro from the Quick Menu and have the four way pad constantly active for moving focus points without pressing the AF button first (like on a Nikon DSLR).

When shooting these cameras, it is crucial that they can be operated without having to press any of the left hand buttons (i.e. To select focus points), it's very slow and causes shots to be missed. Focus points are moved a lot more than Macro Mode!

Again, this is a huge leap for the X-Pro1 and I'm now looking forward to the X-E1 even more.

Fujifil X-E1 :: What It Holds For Photographers & Fuji?

The Fujifilm X-E1 is the newest member of the X family and is more like a baby X-Pro1 than the successor to the future classic X100. Although the body is almost the same size as the X100, it's looks and features are closer to the X-Pro1, plus it shares the amazing X-Trans sensor so the quality will be exactly the same. What it doesn't share though is the Hybrid viewfinder that was one of the biggest selling points with the other two cameras. It only has an electronic viewfinder, but the resolution has took a big leap in this body. But I don't want to make this post about the features as you can find them all over the web. Instead I'd like to talk about what this camera will do for Fuji (especially the X-Pro1) and for photographers.

I'm wondering if the new beast will kill a huge chunk of the X-Pro1 sales due to many improvements. The biggest of these being that the focus time is reported to be 0.1 seconds and the shutter lag will be .005 seconds, But these times are only available with the new 18-55mm f2.8-f4 R LM OIS lens due to it's new linear motor. I'm not sure yet if the new 14mm f2.8 lens has the same motor and performance, but as there isn't much info, I'm guessing not. There is a firmware due to be released for the X-Pro1 on the 18th of September (the start of Photokina 2012) and the rumours say that there will be a big improvement in focus speed, but this might be with the new zoom lens. I don't use zoom lenses so I'm hoping that there will be an improvement with existing lenses and that all future lenses will have the new linear motor too.

In fact the only drawback from buying this over the X-Pro1 would be the lack of an OVF. The new 2.3 million dot EVF almost makes up for it, but there's something special about an optical viewfinder, although the X-Pro1's is not as good as the big bright OVF found in the X100. So apart from the lack of OVF, the X-E1 has a much better EVF, fast autofocus (at last), almost no shutter lag (that's fantastic too) and this new model comes in both black and silver. Silver is lovely, but the black is more stealth, it all depends on your intended use...or taste.

So for Fuji this could either turn out to be the most amazing camera that proves that they are up there with Canon and Nikon and posssibly the leader when it comes to sensors, or it could end-up killing off their flagship camera that hasn't even been out for a year. Time will tell, but I really hope that Fuji reap the rewards for coming up with game changing cameras, maybe even life changing!

But what about us photogs? For me it could mean that I finally move away from DSLR's altogether. The main reason I've been using both the X-Pro1 and a DSLR was because moving subjects (especially coming toward the camera) were near impossible to capture with the X-Pro1. But shooting with the X-E1 as a second body might be a perfect duo. As I was about to make the jump from Nikon to Canon this could save me a fortune.

So if you're new to the Fuji X's and you can do without an OVF and you don't mind the small size of the body, then the X-E1 looks like the way to go. But if you want an OVF and a bigger body then it's the X-Pro1, but auto focus speed and shutter lag is something you will have to live with. If you already have an X-Pro1 and need a second body, then it's a no brainer...as long as the auto focus lives up to the hype (remember they said that the AF on the X-Pro1 was smokin' fast). I really hope for our sake and Fuji's that the X-Pro1 firmware update will take a big leap in focus performance, I'd hate to see the camera being killed by it's own brother.

If the X-E1 is as good as they say in the focus department, my camera bag might look like this next year:

• X-Pro1 Body with the 35mm f1.4 (50mm in full frame speak)
• X-E1 body with the 23mm f1.4 (35mm in FF and due in 2013)
• 18mm f2 (27mm in FF).
• 56mm f1.4 (84mm in FF due in 2013)
• EF 42 Flash (just in case)
• 

I'd like to say that it's not about the gear, but in the case of the X100, X-Pro1 and now the X-E1 (I'm leaving the X10 out as it's a point and shoot) it is sort of about the gear. The X cameras have thrown a lot of our worlds upside down, they are game changers. they change the way you shoot and in a lot of cases what you shoot. I kinda wish I had been around in the early Leica days when guys like Bresson, Robert Frank and Frank Cappa were trailblazzing small 35mm cameras. It's a romantic era in photography, but in some ways Fuji are giving us that same thing back with a jacket on. It's an exciting time for photographers, but even more so for street and documentary photographers as these small cameras give us all the good points of a Leica, but without the price tag.

X-Pro1 At 3200 ISO:: Belladrum Festival

There's no fear at shooting 3200 iso with the X-Pro1! There's also no fear shooting at wide apertures, you just simply compose and let the camera do the rest. This first shot was at f2 and 1/60 of a second. I was shooting the performers in the background playing with fire, but I found the foreground more interesting.

The photo of the crowd (above) was shot at f2.8 and 1/125th of a second. As Travis performed on stage, whipping the crowd into a frenzy, the X-Pro1 performed on the ground.

I don't know the name of this comedian, but he was a pretty funny guy. If only the crowd were as good!

I could have shot photos of this comedian all night long.

Not something you see everyday...not on this planet anyway.

This shot was taken at f 1.4 and 1/30th of a second. With a full frame eqivelent of a 50mm,  1/30th is half the shutter speed that you would need to shoot this on a DSLR. Another great reason to shot mirror-less cameras.

This last shot was taken with the 18mm at f2 and 1/30th of a second. I wouldn't dream of shooting this sort of event with a DSLR, not with mine anyway! Have a look at more black and white 3200 iso shots on my street photography blog 35mmStreet

Second Shootr v1.2

In March 1976 Francis Ford Coppola started filming a little movie called Apocalypse Now. Filming was set for five months, but due to all sorts of problems and delays it was three years before a version was first shown, a version that wasn't quite what anyone involved in the movie expected or the promised end result. In the end, it's arguably one of the best Vietnam Movies to come out of Holywood. So what does this have to do with an iPad app?

Second shooter is an iOS app that helps photographers get and stay Organized? It has been available for the iPhone and iPod touch for a couple of years now and it's a very useful app and the best of its type I have tried on the iPhone. Second Shootr 1.1.1 was released back in June 2010 with version 2.0 being mentioned on the SS blog as far back as Feb 2011. But there has been long gaps with only the occasional blog post to reassure users that v2 was on it's way and that it would include an iPad and desktop version that could all be synced together...it sounded perfect.

An update to Second Shootr has now been released and is available on the App Store, but it's not the promised v2.0, it's v1.2. The great news is that it's now made to work on iPad as well as iPhone and iPod touch and it takes advantage of the Retina Display. The iPad version is really nice and it's very tempting to start using it exclusivly. Entering data is so smooth and intuitive that you acctually enjoy typing in new client data.  Sadly there is no desktop version, but the apps makers say that SS v2.0 is still in the pipeline and will be coming in the near future. In fact their photography business Plinkk Photography has been put on hold so that more time can be spent on the big SS update.

So the big dilema for me and I expect for a lot of other uses now, as iPad & iPhone/iPod Touch versions can't be synced, is to go with one of three options.

1. Start using the iPad version, which is much easier to input data.

2. Ignore the iPad version and stick to the iPhone, as the phone is the device that goes everywhere with you.

3. Input data twice and use both devices.

Well done to the people behind Second Shootr for getting this great app finally on to the iPad, but please please give us the ability to sync between OS devices. A Desktop version would be the icing on the cake!

If you haven't tried Second Shootr yet, go to the app store download it...it could make your life easier! Well worth £4.99 (uk).

The Vanguard Heralder 38 :: Bag Review

If you are in the market for a large modular camera bag that holds a lot of equipment and is easy to work from, then the Heralder 38 from Vanguard deserves your undivided attention. The 38 is not a bag you would carry around with you everyday, it's a bag you would take on a shoot, especially if you need everything but the kitchen sink. This review is a little overdue, but I really wanted to give the 38 a proper field test to see just how good it was. When Vanguard sent me this bag, I was a bit surprised how big it was. I had expected something smaller, but as soon as I opened the box I was impressed with both build quality and features.

Exterior The outside surface of the bag is made of a tough black nylon that should wear well through the years. The zips have heavy duty black tabs with a single orange stripe on each that means seeing the zippers in the dark won't be a problem. The rear of the bag has a zipped pouch that contains a rain cover tethered by an elastic cord. The rain cover struck a chord with me as I recently had a shoot in heavy rain and the bag I was using got soaked right through. The 38's rain cover pouch is also big enough for an iPad. Another welcome feature on the back is the built in strap that allows the bag to be slipped over the handle of larger rolling camera bags or suitcases. There are also ICS compatible D rings and loops to tie the bag down.

  

On one side of the bag there's a large neoprene pouch that could easily be used to store accessories or a place to keep a water bottle. I found it to be most useful as a lens pouch for swapping lenses on the go. Round the opposite end there are three handy straps that can take lens pouches with slip lock attachments. I tried attaching a couple of mine and they were very safe and secure. I would recommend lens pouches with double velcro locking. I'd love a slip lock attachment for my Zoom audio recorder so that it could hang it on the side of the bag and collect ambient sound.

The top lid functions in two ways. The first is a zip that runs across the length of the bag and is used for quick access and probably the one that you would use most when shooting with the bag on your shoulder (see photo at the top of this post). There's also a magnetic flap to secure the zip when closed (photo above). The second way the lid functions is to lift it right over, which gives complete access to everything inside. To open it this way, you unclip the plastic fastener and then open the zip that runs from the back of one side to the back of the other side. The zip is also under the flap of the lid, which although makes it a little awkward to find, it does add a large amount of weather proofing. I tend to use the clip when I'm shooting but also close the zip when the shoot is complete.

One of the best features on the outside of the bag is a tripod holder that tucks away when not in use, in fact you wouldn't know it's there. My tripod is old, large, chunky and heavy, but the 38 carried it without any problem. This feature alone would make it a great bag for landscape photographers.

Interior Inside the Heralder 38 is a four section memory card storage pouch on the underside of the lid. There is also a section at the front that would take an iPad, some pens and some odds and ends in a transparent zipped pouch. The rest of the inside consists of two padded sections that can be removed if you need to utilize as much space as possible. I would liked to have seen more padding on the bottom of the bag when the inserts are removed, although to be honest it can't say I'd ever use it without inserts.

The insert at the rear is big enough to take a 15" laptop and also has a flap that can be closed and secured by Velcro, so you could easily use this as a separate carry around case for your laptop. The main insert can be divided into eight sections that are deep enough for a 70-200 f2.8 lens. The padded dividers Velcro to the sides of the insert, so the configurations are vast. My one gripe with this bag is that if you shoot with primes (as I do), a 35mm and a 50mm could fit stacked in one compartment. So my one wish for this bag would be for Vanguard to include eight small square dividers and two oblong ones. Then smaller lenses could be stacked on top of each other with these smaller inserts attached by velcro between them without the risk of scratching or denting. I tried it out with pads from another bag and it let me pack even more lenses. Similarly, oblong pads could be used to sit on top of camera bodies to allow light items to be placed on top.

It's amazing how much equipment the Heralder 38 can hold, but it's also amazing how comfortable it is to carry. This is mostly thanks to the heavily padded shoulder strap. There's obviously a lot of thought went into designing and manufacturing this bag. If you're a wedding photographer, it's a great bag to keep all of the days kit in the back of the car and use it to feed a smaller bag for different parts of the wedding.

The photo above shows the gear that I was carrying in the Heralder 38, but it was by no means full. The 70-200mm f2.8, 85mm f1.4 and the 35mm f1.4 are quite chunky lenses. In fact I have a couple of bags that won't accept the 85mm because of the diameter. So to come back to where I started. If you're in the market for a large camera bag, The Heralder 38 is definitely worth checking out. You can see more of this bag and others like it at the Vanguard website and you can buy it from Amazon UK or from B&H in the US.

Gariz Leather Half Case For Fujifilm X-Pro1

I just received the Gariz leather half case for the X-Pro1 and I have to say it's pretty cool. The orange one looks awesome but doesn't really fit in with the cameras stealth looks. So I opted for the black one and I'm really pleased with it.

The half case attaches to the Base of the camera via a small screw that fits into the tripod mount. There's been a lot of criticism on the web because the tripod mount on the X-Pro1 is off to one side (it has to be as the lens mount is so close to the bottom of the camera) so those people will love that Gariz have put a tripod mount in the centre. Another great feature is that the battery and SD card are both accessible without removing the case, thanks to a hole in the metal base plate. Speaking of the base plate, the brushed metal looks fantastic and the engraving adds a touch of class.

The top part is all leather with holes cut out for the focus selector switch (front) and the pc sync flash socket (side). The back part is completely open with no leather strap above the LCD screen to get in your way (unlike some eBay knock-offs). There's also an embossed logo on the side that stops it from looking bland and also provides a bit of grip under the right palm. As the case attaches via the tripod mount there are no annoying straps wrapped around the strap hooks, so the strap is able to move freely.

If you're in the market for an X-Pro1 half case, then this is probably the one. Before you even see it, you can tell from the packaging that it's a quality item and for those that think the camera is a little Iow in weight, this adds just that little bit of heft and even makes it feel more solid. I would be quite happy to buy another Gariz half case for my X100, although I do like the ability to quickly snap on the top part of my Fuji case. But the fact that I need to remove the bottom part of my present case to change battery or SD card means that there's a good chance of a second Gariz coming my way.

The Gariz XS-CHX1PM Half Case for the X-Pro1 is available on eBay from Gariz and is the best way to buy it as their website is in Korean. I paid £75 and opted for the paid for postage, rather than the free one as I wanted to protect my X-Pro1 as soon as possible. I bough mine on ebay HERE and it was delivered within a few days.

View From My Keys :: 29th April 2012

This installment of View From My Keys is based around guitar machine heads. For those that don't know one end of a guitar from another, machine heads are those 6 (in this case) knobs that are used to turn gears, that in turn twist the posts that hold the strings. As the strings are tightened the pitch rises.

From a photography view, these were all shot with the X-Pro1 at 1/60th of a sec at f1.4 and 1600 ISO. I edited the three photos in Lightroom 4 using a split tone preset that I made recently for my wedding photography.

These shots were taken at AM Rehearsasl which is one of the best equipped and spacious studios in Scotland.

Fujifilm X-Pro1 & Nikon DSLR Wedding :: Part 2

I arrived in Glasgow on Saturday at around 6:40am, but as my train to Aviemore wasn't due until 7:15am, I ventured outside and took a few shots for my 35mmStreet blog using the X-Pro1 and the 18mm f2. I highly recommend taking a walk around this or any other city while most people are still in bed. There's an eerie feeling when a place that's always full of hustle and bustle is strangely quiet and empty. If you've seen the movie '28 Days Later' you'll know what I mean.

I arrived at Aviemore at 10am. The train station looks more like something out of a cowboy film, rather than Scotland's main skiing town. I used to ski here regularly and in fact, often stayed in the hotel where today's reception is being held. The train journey had only been 2hrs 45min, but it was much colder here and it was raining...not the best day for a wedding! My camera bag was very heavy, but I decided to go for a walk to kill some time before heading to the reception venue.

When I arrived at the venue, I decided to shoot some table details using just the X-Pro1 and available light. I started with the 18mm f2 and got some wide shots of the room and tables. The 18mm (27mm equivalent) was a nice focal length for getting right into a corner and cramming in the full room. I then switched to the 35mm f1.4 and shot some close-up details of the tables. The camera was doing fine on Aperture Priority mode, but I did set Custom White Ballance using the ExpoDisc (more about the ExpoDisc later). The X-Pro1 was doing a good job with the details and all from natural window light, so I didn't take the Nikon out of the bag. In fact, if I had been using my D300s at this point I would have been shooting with flash to achieve a low ISO...result for the X-Pro1!

After a short lunch break to fuel up for a long day shooting, I made my way to the Groom's hotel room to shoot some candies of the guys. The room was tucked away at the back of the hotel and was small and dark with light coming from just one window. Again I used the X-Pro1 at high ISO's rather that the Nikon with flash. Even the Fuji was struggling with such low light and my shutter speed was a bit lower than I would have liked, but it still got the job done and I knew I would be converting these shots to black and white...another result for the X-Pro1!

I broke-out the DSLR and flash to shoot in the foyer of the hotel, which again was pretty dark (hotel people don't like to make photographers lives any easier). At one point I had to shoot groups of four or five people in a small vestibule in the front entrance to the hotel. I had to use the Nikon 24mm f2 and I wasn't happy with the results. When the Groom and the two best men were about to leave in one of the vintage cars, I grabbed a few shots of them on the back seat with the Nikon, but changed to the Fuji so I could use a higher ISO. The thing I hate about using flash for car shots is that more often than not, I'm trying to work around the light hitting the roof of the car and creating a big shadow across the subjects face. Again the Fuji was doing well. So far I had been using the Fuji lot's more than I had expected and the thought did cross my mind a few times that I was maybe using it too much. After all, it was the first time I had used it at a wedding and this was really a test. All might be looking good for the X-Pro1 at this point, but I was missing more shots than I would have with my DSLR's due to the auto focus lag. People moving in low light is not the best scenario for the X-Pro1!

I grabbed a few quick shots of the bride and her bridesmaids in her room (again using the X-Pro1), but as time was really pushed I didn't get to try out anything worth talking about. In fact it was a case of snap snap, let's go. It was so much of a rush that I left my camera bag in the brides room. Now in my defence, I don't usually have a bag when shooting at weddings. I usually have a double BlackRapid strap with a DSLR on each side, a prime lens on each body and another one in a lens case on my belt. So after shooting the Bride and Bridesmaids getting into the car (mostly X-Pro1), I jumped into my pre-booked taxi and shot off to the church to take some photos and catch the bride arriving. It was only after travelling a few miles in the taxi that I realised my bag was still in the bride's room back at the hotel. So it was a choice of going back to the hotel and screwing-up the plans or making the most of the equipment I had, which was a Nikon body with the 35mm f1.4G and the X-Pro1 with the 18mm and 35mm. Of course although I had three lenses, I only had two focal lengths which would mean I would half to shoot the Fuji mostly with the 18mm. I had been planning on shooting with the 35mm on the X-Pro1 most of the day. I would at this point like to praise BlackRapid, as the RS-5 strap that I was using for my DSLR has a front pocket that held three spare X-Pro- batteries and zipped inside pocket with my extra memory cards. My Nikon had a battery inside and one in the grip, so I knew all I had to do was work around two focal lengths.

Inside the small church was dark, but that wasn't the only problem. Just as the bride was about to walk down the isle, the minister told me that I couldn't take any photos during the service. There was no time to clarify the boundaries or reason with him, so I had to wing it. As I was behind the minister, I shot during the singing with the X-Pro1. At this point, I really wished I had brought the X100. I could have shot as much as I liked with it's awesome silent mode. When it came to exchanging the rings and the first kiss, it was open season and I shot what I wanted, it was too late to stop me.

I used both the Fuji (no flash) and the Nikon (with flash) to capture the couple walking down the isle. I shot with the X-Pro1 and the 18mm until the couple got close and then moved quickly to the Nikon with the 35mm for waist up shots. When we got outside I had no option than to shoot the group shots with the Fuji 18mm. I hadn't noticed how much lens distortion the 18 produces round the edges, at least not until I had people at the edges! This wasn't ideal, but remember my bag was back at the hotel. The 35mm on the Nikon was ideal for head shots of smaller groups as it ended up being a 50mm.

Back at the hotel and the X-Pro1 was doing what it did best, low light reportage. The couple had a guest book close to the window and I knew that it would make great high contrast black and whites. After that, I used both the Nikon and Fuji for some formals on the hotel staircase and then it was time for the first dance.

The first dance was scheduled for 8:30pm and my train was due to leave at 9:02pm. I've never shot a wedding where the first dance was on time and I was non-stop clock watching. So I was somewhat relieved when the first dance started at 8:35 pm and I also shot the second dance and I was done by 8:45pm. I packed my gear back into the bag, said goodby to the wedding party and I was off like a shot. Luckily the train station was just across the road from the hotel, so I made it with time to spare.

Conclusion I ended up shooting more with the X-Pro1 than the DSLR, which was a surprise and not what I was intending to do. The Fuji shines in reportage style shooting and people really don't take that much notice of you when mingling amongst guests with this camera. I've never been happy shooting these type of shots with flash, and my Nikon D300s & D300 are not great at high ISO's. The 18mm f2 is nice to get wide shots at the alter, showing the church environment, but I wouldn't want to use it for group shots (35mm is wide enough). The 50mm in my opinion, could be left on the X-Pro1 90% of the day. I'm now leaning towards buying the Fuji 35mm when it comes out in 2013, but there's plenty of time to change my mind before then. I'd be happy to use the X-Pro1 and the X100 in situations where the light was low (bride and groom hotel rooms) or where I needed to be more discrete (mingling with the guests or during the ceremony). But I wouldn't want to shoot a full wedding with these cameras due to the lag between focus and firing, far too many important shots could be missed.

Will I Continue To Shoot Weddings With The X-Pro1? All this leaves me with a problem. As I mentioned before, I usually shoot with a double BlackRapid strap with a DSLR and prime lens on each side. This allows me to move quite fast as I don't need to carry around a camera bag. There's no doubt in my mind that I need to go full frame, my lenses are geared toward it and I need the low light capability. The D800 is just overkill for what I'm doing, so I'll probably be changing my D300 for a D700. But I need to decide if I'm going to stick to two DSLR's or a single DSLR and the X-Pro1 and X100. If the later is the way I'm heading, focal lengths would probably be (full frame sizes) the X100's 35mm, X-Pro1 with the 50mm and a D700 with the 35mm 1.4G and 85mm 1.4G

Case For Fuji Lenses I bought a Lowepro 1M Lens Case for my X-Pro1 glass. I did intend getting the 8cm x 6cm, but when I went to the camera shop (yes a real brick and mortar store), I spotted the 1M. I thought there was a good chance of a lens falling out of the smaller case, plus the 1M is just deep enough to take the 35mm X-Pro1 lens with the lenshood attached. The Lowepro cases have a SlipLock double Velcro attachment to fix them to your belt or camera strap. They also have a couple of loops that could be used to attach a lanyard if preferred. It turned out to be essential on the day and I would recommend picking one up if you have the 18mm and the 35mm combo.

Using Custom White Balance On The X-Pro1 My shooting method this weekend was to go full manual as much as possible and use the ExpoDisc to set exposure and custom white balance. I also wanted to cut down on the amount of flash that I use. Setting custom white balance on the X-Pro1 is almost as simple as on a Nikon, as long as you set the Fn (Function Button) to White Balance, which isn't a big deal as the ISO is so easily set using the Quick Menu button. If you have the camera set to Custom White Balance already, it only takes 4 clicks to set WB. Press Fn ~ OK ~ Take a shot ~ OK. Obviously you would place your ExpoDisc or grey card in front of the lens before you take the shot.

ExpoDisc A wedding day is so hectic, so although my intentions were good, I didn't use the ExpoDisc as much as I had hoped. This was partly due to time and partly due to me forgetting. I will try to use it as much as possible on future shoots. I did find the X-Pro1's Auto WB actually done a better job in mixed light sometimes, but that would not keep everything consistent from shot to shot.

X-Pro1 With Flash I did use the X-Pro1 with the EF-20 flash a few times, but it wasn't reliable. When the flash did fire, it gave nice natural results (especially with the flash power set to a minus EV. The problem was that the flash would turn of and sometimes it took two or three pushes of the on button to get it to work again. The re-cycling time is also slow and you end up with more shots where the flash didn't fire than when it did. The camera won't focus until the ready light ins at least flashing.

After The Update To Firmware v1.01 I've just had a chance to test the auto focus focus after the latest firmware update and there is a huge difference in speed and accuracy. I tested it in a room that has given me the most problems with the AF. The walls are all cream and the lighting is Flouresant tubes. The focus is now locking on much faster and there is a lot less lag. Obviously this depends on how far the lens has to travel. Four feet to infinity is still not going to be "smokin' fast", but if the lens is focusing a short distance, say shooting portraits or taking shots of different people in a group, then it's much quicker and much improved. I've noticed with the X100 firmware updates that Fuji make tweaks to the camera performance and don't mention it in the contents of the firmware update. I look forward to many more updates to the X-Pro1

Less Of The Chatter You Lot :: X-Pro1 Firmware v1.01

The nice people at Fujifilm have released v1.01 firmware for the X-Pro1 and all three available lenses. Yes that's right firmware for lenses...it's a first for me as well!

This update is essential as it get's rid of the annoying lens chatter. I honestly thought that we were stuck with the clicking as it seemed more of a hardware thing. You do have to update the firmware in the camera and then each of the lenses for it to work. Don't bother resetting the clock or your settings until you update the firmware in the camera and all your lenses, as it resets the camera each time. The chattering is almost inaudible now, I think it's even quieter than the X100.

Here's a list of the improvements in v1.01

• 1.Reduction of chattering noise from iris of lenses in shooting mode.
• 2.Improvement of phenomenon that parallax compensation does not work under condition of manual focus with OVF bright frame mode.
• 3.Improvement of phenomenon that OVF quality as low visibility due to too bright OVF under the condition of power save mode during pressing the shutter button halfway.
• 4.Improvement of phenomenon that delete function does not work after viewing continues shooting mode images.

Fuji X-Pro1 & Nikon DSLR Wedding :: Part 1

I have a wedding on Saturday and will be taking the Fujifilm X-Pro1 along with my usual Nikon DSLR kit, well minus the 2nd DSLR. I'm not sure how this dual kit set-up will work, but I hope it's smoother than packing my camera bag. I'm using my trusty Lowepro CompuTrekker AW, which has been my main bag for the past 3 years and I've never had the urge to change it. As you can see from the photo above, the Fuji kit is much smaller than the Nikon kit...but will it be up to the task? I guess I'm about to find out and so will you in part 2.

My bag is pretty full and there's even more stuffed in the front pocket and inside pockets, including BlackRapid straps, Gels for the Speedlights, Flashbender, chargers, memory cards...etc. Although not in the photo, I've decided to take my X100 along for the ride too, just incase I run out of battery power on the X-Pro1. I'm trying not to take too much gear as I'll be traveling by train for 3 hours either way and I'll have to carry this stuff all day. It will be interesting to see how this set-up works out. I'm wondering if it would be possible to shoot with two lenses for each body, with the spare lenses in a couple of Lowepro lens cases on my belt. I'm thinking 35mm equivalent focal lengths of 27mm (Fuji), 35mm (Nikon), 53mm (Fuji) and 85mm (Nikon). A nice selection of focal lengths which would give me something wide for each body and also nice portrait lenses for each too. Another plus point would be the apertures, one f2 and three f1.4's...nice!