Fujifilm Unveils the New X-T2, the Ultimate Mirrorless Camera with New Autofocus System and 4K Video

AlanF

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Re: Fujifilm Unveils the New X-T2, the Ultimate Mirrorless Camera with New Autofocus System and 4K V

retroreflection said:
Please provide a link verifying that Canon is using die-cast.
I will not. I will say, as a Metallurgist with 20 years of industrial experience, that the combination of detail, section depth, and production volume guarantees that die casting is used by Canon. A few final machining steps are included, undoubtedly. As a hexagonal close packed crystal, magnesium is a limited slip system metal, thus exhibiting poor formability. Therefore these parts are not stamped or forged. As a high cost metal, it makes no sense to machine these parts from billets and deliver less than 10% of the raw material into finished parts. An investment casting could be used, but substantial waste streams from the wax and investment material would add to the cost. Since the wax pattern would have to be injection molded to meet these volume and precise dimensional targets, and the melting point of magnesium isn't that much greater than wax, die casting is basically the same, just more straightforward.
You seem to have some apprehension about the die casting process. While crappy die cast parts can certainly be made, with due care it is capable of extracting the full potential of cast magnesium. Which, by the way isn't much. It is more than typical high end plastics, and the low density helps reduce the energy from dropping a camera. Although anything can be broken.
[/quote]

Very interesting. Is investment casting the modern form of the centuries old "lost wax" method?
 
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Jan 29, 2011
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Re: Fujifilm Unveils the New X-T2, the Ultimate Mirrorless Camera with New Autofocus System and 4K V

1 Series Canon cameras break pretty easily if dropped on a solid surface, the metal cracks. In my experience the plastic bodied cameras can survive a much more severe drop.

As for the Fuji, I just saw this on PetaPixel http://petapixel.com/2016/07/07/fuji-x-t2-raw-files-crazy-dynamic-range/

Link to original here http://www.blamethemonkey.com/the-fujifilm-x-t2-camera-first-look-hands-on-review-details

It kinda made me spit my coffee laughing.

Here is a screenshot of a 7 year old Canon file with the same LR Develop settings at 100% .........
 

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Oct 16, 2010
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Re: Fujifilm Unveils the New X-T2, the Ultimate Mirrorless Camera with New Autofocus System and 4K V

Refurb7 said:
I got suckered by a few Fuji-affiliated pros who claimed it was good for demanding work.
Not sure what your version of demanding work is, but the quality and standard of most reviewers these days leaves a lot of room for improvement. They carry no responsibility for their views and you've got to be hyper-vigilant to ensure that you're getting the complete story. But every brand is the same. On this forum you'll how "the system" makes Canon the best. On Nikon forums its the sensors and MPs. On Fuji forums its the lenses and reduced sizes. I don't know much about Sony and Pentax but I'm sure their users are also biased towards their own gear. The answer is to take things with a grain of salt. If you're considering a big change / purchase borrow or rent the item beforehand and make up your own mind.

FWIW, I use Fuji camera 90%+ of the time, with an X100, an IR converted X-E1, an X-T1 and a GA645. They're perfect for what I do - portraits, architecture, landscapes and phototravel (a lot of which is tripod based). Where they fall down is wildlife and sport But even then, they're not "bad", its just that a good DSLR/lens combo is clearly better. The fact that Fuji has only recently released their first lens longer than 230mm should be a warning bell to say this isn't going to be a direct replacement to someone's 1DX2+500mm+2x teleconverter.
 
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YuengLinger

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Re: Fujifilm Unveils the New X-T2, the Ultimate Mirrorless Camera with New Autofocus System and 4K V

retroreflection said:
Please provide a link verifying that Canon is using die-cast.

I will not. I will say, as a Metallurgist with 20 years of industrial experience, that the combination of detail, section depth, and production volume guarantees that die casting is used by Canon. A few final machining steps are included, undoubtedly. As a hexagonal close packed crystal, magnesium is a limited slip system metal, thus exhibiting poor formability. Therefore these parts are not stamped or forged. As a high cost metal, it makes no sense to machine these parts from billets and deliver less than 10% of the raw material into finished parts. An investment casting could be used, but substantial waste streams from the wax and investment material would add to the cost. Since the wax pattern would have to be injection molded to meet these volume and precise dimensional targets, and the melting point of magnesium isn't that much greater than wax, die casting is basically the same, just more straightforward.
You seem to have some apprehension about the die casting process. While crappy die cast parts can certainly be made, with due care it is capable of extracting the full potential of cast magnesium. Which, by the way isn't much. It is more than typical high end plastics, and the low density helps reduce the energy from dropping a camera. Although anything can be broken.
[/quote]

Ah, well, the proverbial axe to grind, apparently.

Metallurgist? How fortunate for the discussion at hand. I love role playing too! Isn't the Web the perfect place for it?

Thanks, PBD, for a sensible reply regarding magnesium. I'd never really thought about it until the Fuji blurb specified die-cast. I had always taken for granted that those Canon sleek metallic shells were stamped. Kind of a let down to learn otherwise. Looking up info, found that Detroit is trying to improve magnesium alloys so they can be stamped more easily.

That reviewer at blamethemonkey has a bio that reads almost exactly like the lead character in the British sitcom, CUCKOO! Kind of looks like Andy Samberg too.
 
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Re: Fujifilm Unveils the New X-T2, the Ultimate Mirrorless Camera with New Autofocus System and 4K V

There should be a number of comparisons up over the next few days. Here's one - http://fujilove.com/fujifilm-x-t2-vs-x-pro2-sportster-vs-hipster/ But to complicate things, there is also a firmware upgrade coming to the X-Pro2 in a few months that should make both cameras more similar from an AF perspective.

The main difference is that the X-Pro2 has an optical viewfinder in addition to an electronic viewfinder. I'm sure you're familiar with looking through the viewfinder of your DSLR and looking at the LCD on the back of the camera. With the X-Pro2 you can switch between both views in the viewfinder to give you the best of both worlds (although the X-Pro2 has to deal with parallax issues, which you don't have with a DSLR). With the X-T2, it only has an electronic viewfinder, so the scene through the viewfinder is similar to what you'd see in liveview on your DSLR's LCD.

The other difference is just the body styling - rangefinder vs SLR. The X-Pro2 is a nice looking camera. Whereas I think the X-T2 design looks more function driven. Also, the X-T2 comes with an articulated screen and can be configured to use three batteries at once (whereas the X-Pro2 can currently only use two). This is important if you're shooting a lot as you might only get about 500 shots per battery.
 
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Re: Fujifilm Unveils the New X-T2, the Ultimate Mirrorless Camera with New Autofocus System and 4K V

YuengLinger said:
I wonder what the battery life is like...

And does die-cast magnesium tend to crack relatively easily?

CIPA Battery life is 340 shots, typically poor for mirrorless cameras.

Magnesium is strong, and does not crack easily when properly done. Canon pro bodies are magnesium as are all the other pro cameras.
 
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Re: Fujifilm Unveils the New X-T2, the Ultimate Mirrorless Camera with New Autofocus System and 4K V

The worst part is I know that Fuji will release something with similar IQ at nearly half the price next year...
...and that Canon, Nikon, Sigma, and Sony will all be showing a Megaton worth of stuff at Photokina.

And so the waiting continues, at least September isn't too far off.
 
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YuengLinger

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Re: Fujifilm Unveils the New X-T2, the Ultimate Mirrorless Camera with New Autofocus System and 4K V

Mt Spokane Photography said:
YuengLinger said:
I wonder what the battery life is like...

And does die-cast magnesium tend to crack relatively easily?

CIPA Battery life is 340 shots, typically poor for mirrorless cameras.

Magnesium is strong, and does not crack easily when properly done. Canon pro bodies are magnesium as are all the other pro cameras.

Battery life then is better than the Olympus equivalent, but some of that may be in-body IS. Some would be the battery size, right?

I'm sure it's a good system, but I've got, Lord willing, some more good years of being able to lug around dSLRs. As that changes, I'll happily go to smaller and lighter. Even now, though, it's very tempting, but I don't want to invest in a whole new eco-system.

And for street, I guess the smaller the camera, the less threatening, noticeable.

Hopefully by the time I'm ready, in-body IS and better batteries...
 
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RGF

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Re: Fujifilm Unveils the New X-T2, the Ultimate Mirrorless Camera with New Autofocus System and 4K V

Hillsilly said:
There should be a number of comparisons up over the next few days. Here's one - http://fujilove.com/fujifilm-x-t2-vs-x-pro2-sportster-vs-hipster/ But to complicate things, there is also a firmware upgrade coming to the X-Pro2 in a few months that should make both cameras more similar from an AF perspective.

The main difference is that the X-Pro2 has an optical viewfinder in addition to an electronic viewfinder. I'm sure you're familiar with looking through the viewfinder of your DSLR and looking at the LCD on the back of the camera. With the X-Pro2 you can switch between both views in the viewfinder to give you the best of both worlds (although the X-Pro2 has to deal with parallax issues, which you don't have with a DSLR). With the X-T2, it only has an electronic viewfinder, so the scene through the viewfinder is similar to what you'd see in liveview on your DSLR's LCD.

The other difference is just the body styling - rangefinder vs SLR. The X-Pro2 is a nice looking camera. Whereas I think the X-T2 design looks more function driven. Also, the X-T2 comes with an articulated screen and can be configured to use three batteries at once (whereas the X-Pro2 can currently only use two). This is important if you're shooting a lot as you might only get about 500 shots per battery.

Thanks. Interesting to see the difference. For me it is hard to justify investing in new camera system (body, lens, ...) After a while this all adds up to serious $$ and takes up even more space that i don't have
 
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Re: Fujifilm Unveils the New X-T2, the Ultimate Mirrorless Camera with New Autofocus System and 4K V

I've been a long time lurker here. Checking the rumors and reading the forum drama while drinking my morning coffee has been a routine for a few years now. I also took advantage of the grey market deals that were posted here to get a 5D Mark III and a few L lenses to go with it. I have thoroughly enjoyed using Canon's best body and lenses and have a library of over 40k photos in Lightroom to prove it. But, my time with Canon is coming to an end because Fuji just made the camera I've always wanted.

I have always said that if I ever were to go mirrorless, I would go with Fuji. Great sensor, beautiful lenses, and those film simulations are gorgeous. The only thing that was holding me back was autofocus performance and that looks to be solved with the X-T2. I'm not a video guy but I might get into it because that oversampled 4K with in-camera grading looks amazing as well.

So, I'm selling off my 5D Mark III and all my big L lenses and replacing it with an X-T2, 16mm f/1.4, 23mm f/1.4, and 56mm f/1.2, plus a pile of batteries and that battery grip. I'll let you guys know how I like it when it's finally shipped late August or early September.
 
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Re: Fujifilm Unveils the New X-T2, the Ultimate Mirrorless Camera with New Autofocus System and 4K V

luminaeus said:
I've been a long time lurker here. Checking the rumors and reading the forum drama while drinking my morning coffee has been a routine for a few years now. I also took advantage of the grey market deals that were posted here to get a 5D Mark III and a few L lenses to go with it. I have thoroughly enjoyed using Canon's best body and lenses and have a library of over 40k photos in Lightroom to prove it. But, my time with Canon is coming to an end because Fuji just made the camera I've always wanted.

I have always said that if I ever were to go mirrorless, I would go with Fuji. Great sensor, beautiful lenses, and those film simulations are gorgeous. The only thing that was holding me back was autofocus performance and that looks to be solved with the X-T2. I'm not a video guy but I might get into it because that oversampled 4K with in-camera grading looks amazing as well.

So, I'm selling off my 5D Mark III and all my big L lenses and replacing it with an X-T2, 16mm f/1.4, 23mm f/1.4, and 56mm f/1.2, plus a pile of batteries and that battery grip. I'll let you guys know how I like it when it's finally shipped late August or early September.

Do report back later what you think of this change. That's a big change. Did you do any testing before selling off your cannon gear?
 
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Re: Fujifilm Unveils the New X-T2, the Ultimate Mirrorless Camera with New Autofocus System and 4K V

luminaeus said:
... plus a pile of batteries and that battery grip.
I think some previewers have stated that the XT-2 has USB charging. If so, this is a killer feature. I use my portable USB charger/battery with my A7RII and I rarely have to switch out batteries.
 
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Re: Fujifilm Unveils the New X-T2, the Ultimate Mirrorless Camera with New Autofocus System and 4K V

quod said:
luminaeus said:
... plus a pile of batteries and that battery grip.
I think some previewers have stated that the XT-2 has USB charging. If so, this is a killer feature. I use my portable USB charger/battery with my A7RII and I rarely have to switch out batteries.

It does have USB charging & tethering via USB 3.0 connection. The grip batteries are hot-swappable, although I can't really think of any situations where you need to change batteries and shoot at the same time.
 
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Re: Fujifilm Unveils the New X-T2, the Ultimate Mirrorless Camera with New Autofocus System and 4K V

YuengLinger said:
Mt Spokane Photography said:
YuengLinger said:
I wonder what the battery life is like...

And does die-cast magnesium tend to crack relatively easily?

CIPA Battery life is 340 shots, typically poor for mirrorless cameras.

Magnesium is strong, and does not crack easily when properly done. Canon pro bodies are magnesium as are all the other pro cameras.

Battery life then is better than the Olympus equivalent, but some of that may be in-body IS. Some would be the battery size, right? ...

Be careful comparing CIPA battery life. Olympus OMD-EM10II is rated at 320 shots with IBIS on using CIPA standard; however, it jumps to 750 shots, IBIS still on, but using 'Quick Sleep' mode versus the default 3 minute sleep time still following the CIPA testing standard (camera is still on and reacts instantly to shutter push, just the rear monitor display goes dark) . CIPA standard has some interesting requirements, but it does not require IBIS, or in-lens, stabilization be active. If there is a built-in flash every other shot has to be at full flash power (EM10II has built-in flash). If there is a power zoom lens, the lens has to be run through a full zoom range in one direction for each shot.

I do like the fact that the Fuji grip adds two batteries for a total of 3. That extends shot life to roughly 1000 shots. Much better than Olympus which only adds one battery in the grip. However, with the grip the Fuji is not what I'd consider a small camera.
 
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Re: Fujifilm Unveils the New X-T2, the Ultimate Mirrorless Camera with New Autofocus System and 4K V

luminaeus said:
The only thing that was holding me back was autofocus performance and that looks to be solved with the X-T2.
You've picked the best lenses to start off with. The 90mm is also getting some rave reviews. Just be wary of some of the AF claims. With the X-T1, the AF is ok for most things you'll come across. I'm sure the X-T2 is better. But it still won't be as fast as a DSLR. (Although, it should be more accurate.)
 
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Re: Fujifilm Unveils the New X-T2, the Ultimate Mirrorless Camera with New Autofocus System and 4K V

Hillsilly said:
luminaeus said:
The only thing that was holding me back was autofocus performance and that looks to be solved with the X-T2.
You've picked the best lenses to start off with. The 90mm is also getting some rave reviews. Just be wary of some of the AF claims. With the X-T1, the AF is ok for most things you'll come across. I'm sure the X-T2 is better. But it still won't be as fast as a DSLR. (Although, it should be more accurate.)
AF has always been the sore spot for me with Fuji. They have been one of three brands of rigs that I have maintained over the last several years so I've gone through the xe2, x100s, xt1, and now the xpro2. The one recurring claim that is made by Fuji every time a new release or major firmware comes out is that AF will either be stated as "best or fastest" which has basically never been true. I have, over time, learned to adapt and make the best out of it so it is not an issue for me. However, even with the xpro2 which will be largely the same as the xt2 with regard to AF performance, it still leaves much to be desired when compared to my Sony rig. I used to make concessions and excuses for the shortcomings of the Fuji AF performance since I hadn't used a mirrorless system that did any better. This was until I picked up the Sony A7R2 last year. I have been shooting the systems side by side for exactly a year now. I preordered the Fuji xpro2 and have been shooting it next to the Sony for about four months. The Sony absolutely crushes the Fuji with regard to speed, accuracy, and consistency. Don't get me wrong. The xpro2 is an improvement. But it is by no means going to win any awards in the AF department.

Regarding your plan for Fuji lenses. Unless you really really can't be without a 35mm equivalent, I wouldn't bother with the 23. The 16 is much better for various reasons which I won't get into here. But there is the obvious difference in FL. Also, Fuji will be releasing a super compact 23/2.0 soon which might be a better option. It will be cheaper, weather resistant, have updated optics/focusing, lighter, compact, and be a bigger departure from the 16 as a walk-around option as opposed to having both larger primes that are pretty close in FL.

The 56 is great and much more useful than the 90 for general purpose. But optically, the 90 is simply amazing. The 56 is a better FL and has a much more pronounced "look" to its rendering. But it is a little older so it is slower to focus, not weather resistant, and nowhere near as sharp as the 90. All things to be considered depending on what your needs are.

I have the 16, 18, 23, 35, 56, 90 and a couple of zooms. FWIW, the ones that get the most use are the 16, 18, and 56.
 
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Re: Fujifilm Unveils the New X-T2, the Ultimate Mirrorless Camera with New Autofocus System and 4K V

JohnDizzo15 said:
Hillsilly said:
luminaeus said:
The only thing that was holding me back was autofocus performance and that looks to be solved with the X-T2.
I have the 16, 18, 23, 35, 56, 90 and a couple of zooms. FWIW, the ones that get the most use are the 16, 18, and 56.

I'm already losing low light performance by going to a smaller sensor, I feel like the f/1.4 primes will help mitigate that. Also, they tend to be sharper than the smaller weather resistant lenses, especially in the corners stopped down.

The only one that actually needs weather sealing is the 16mm as that's the one and only lens I will be taking on backpacking trips.

I'm sure AF won't be as fast as I'm used to on the 5D3, but as long as it's reliable I'm okay. I have an IR converted EOS M3 that is very pedestrian but it is generally very accurate. The Fuji can't be any worse.
 
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