Some years ago, after I started using the X-Pro1, I wrote an article saying you were one step away from my dream camera. Partially you satisfied me with the firmware options of the X-Pro2 but still something is missing for me. I am satisfied, I sold all my Canon and I have no regrets but a tilt and shift wide angle. But something is missing from my ideal small format camera, not in the quality of the images produced but in the handling.

So here my hopes for the X-Pro3 to make it the perfect camera for me and I’m sure a lot of other users. The most important is the last, so keep reading.

First of all, keep the hybrid viewfinder. It is the essence of the X-Pro series and I really don’t get why people happy just with the EVF don’t buy the X-E or the X-T…

Second, keep the ISO/Shutter speed dial exactly as it is. A lot of old dinosaurs like me love it. It is what we were used to and what we really like.

Third, find a way to put a lock on the diopters dial. It really sucks when it changes taking the camera out of the bag.

Fourth, when I press MENU I want it only on the back LCD… I hate to have to change the view mode to adjust parameters! On this I have the doubt that is already possible to set somewhere… in case, my fault.

For all the rest I have enough trust in you to improve all the parameters of the image and I’m really happy with what I have. So no suggestions here, I do not need millions of ISO, eventually I would love very low ISO like 12 to use wide apertures in the sun. I do not need to make movies and so on. I need a camera to take images. And I need it simple.

So FIFTH, BUT MOST IMPORTANT, please add a switch so I can turn on the camera on a personalized setting without looking at the menus.
It can be a third option on the on/off switch, as it was on an old Pentax… sorry, I do not remember the model.

The position must be OFF, ON and USER.

On the user settings I dream to be able to choose what buttons and dials to keep active or turn off. Something that can be done now via menus.

For example I would love to make inactive the exposure compensation dial, all the buttons on the back, excluded the play button, and keep active only the front OVF/EVF switch, ISO and Shutterspped.
Nothing else for me personally for 90% of the photographs I take, but I would love to be able to set my preferences with a switch, not having to use a menu every single time.
I want to turn on the camera and know I have not to worry about anything but ISO, Shutter speed and aperture.
I want to be sure I did not forgot other settings hidden in menus from a previous shooting.
I really would love that switch.

For the other 10% of pictures I will use the standard ON mode.

Dear Fujifilm, if you insert an User switch I will really be a very, very, very happy man! Ok… just camera happy… but I do not suppose the reader is a shrink or willing to donate me 10 million dollars so I limit myself to this matter…

I’m tired, with all the digital cameras not only Fuji, I always have to check tons of parameters and go thru menus and sub-menus just to check if I forgot something.

I want a simple camera. I know a lot of people want a camera that will also make coffee, but is not me and not a lot of other people. With a switch to turn on the camera with the user settings we decided, everyone will be happy. They can even set the USER mode just for the coffee if they like it. It will be the perfect personalized camera, also a good starting point for the modular concept you are developing for the GFX.

It will be easy to go back and forth from a personalized setting and a generic one, for that percent of pictures requiring unusual settings. And mostly will be easy to go back and avoid mistakes thanks to forgotten parameters in the previous shooting.

Please, please, please, dear Fujifilm, make me camera happy!
And in case there is, between the readers, a good shrink or a billionaire willing to donate… I do not matter more happiness in my life!

BTW, if you wonder about my mental status when I think about the USER switch, I have found the perfect scene from a movie to describe it. It is from What About Bob?, a very fun movie..

Thanksgiving, a holiday I learned to celebrate. Thanksgiving is not an Italian tradition so I grew up without it.

Thanksgiving is one of my preferred holidays. Every year, also when I’m in Italy, I celebrate it. I dedicate a day to think about the blessings I had in my life, I try to quit my complaining and enjoy at the fullest what I have.

Today I was looking thru my parents belongings and I found a typewriter, so I celebrated thanksgiving playing with it.

I let the images speak.

And  here the letter I wrote to remember what I’m thankful for.

It is always great to be published in a beautiful magazine with other extremely talented photographers.

In the meantime I just developed a roll of Fuji Acros taken with my Hasselblad 500C/M and the 80mm f2.8.

More later…

You can read the article here

https://fujilove.com/bovisium-infrarubra-infrared-photography-with-fujifilm-x-series/

Enjoy the reading!

The world is divided in two… always, that is why there is people making a lot of money selling t-shirts for opposite points of view!

The users of mirrorless camera are not different, photographers loving the optical viewfinder and photographers loving the electronic viewfinder and hating each other.

Since Fujifilm introduced the hybrid viewfinder with the X100 and the XPro we can have the best of both worlds and decide what to use for every picture.
It is surprising for me to see, on various blog posts and comments, Fuji users hoping to have a future release of those cameras without one or the other option when Fuji made the most intelligent move leaving the choice to us. But this is not the point of this article, here I want to concentrate on what I think is the philosophical difference between the OVF and EVF.

Personally, on my Fuji XPro1 I use both but mostly the OVF.

When we look at an EVF we look at the camera representation of the subject on a display, when we use the OVF we look at the framed reality. Basically people that like to preview and create the image in their mind before taking the picture prefer the OVF, people that like to see the world as is seen by the camera choose the EVF.

The mental process is very different. Seasoned photographers that learned to shoot with film are not very influenced in their mental workflow by the camera because they formed it before the existence of the displays, but younger photographers are forming their workflow based on what the camera offers.

Saint Pierre Castle, Aosta Italy. Linhof Master Technika 4×5 with Ilford FP4

The EVF shows the picture with the dynamic range, color balance and contrast of the camera, and gives to us a filtered scene. With the EVF we are looking at a display and the image is already done, we can take it but we do not make it because we are no more looking at the reality and having feeling and emotions created by the real moment.

The dynamic range of reality can be 100,000:1, the best displays can give 400:1 and a print is around 100:1. The art of photography is not only composition but also to interpret the reality so we can communicate the feeling of the very high light differences and the very subtle shades on a medium with a very limited dynamic range.
The same applies for the color gamut and contrast.
Looking at a display or EVF we limit ourselves to its specific characteristics.

Some time ago I was watching the sunset from a pier, I step few feet back from the railing and observed all the people, specially young, looking at the sunset in their smartphone, ready to click every few seconds. They forgot the reality around, what they were watching was a limited frame of reality interpreted by their phone.
There were two groups of teenagers, one males and the other females, spring, beach warm weather and small swimwear at the age when hormones are crazy and they were so concentrated to watch the sunset in the display and share the moment on the social media with their distant friends that they forgot to look around at each other, share the moment with the real people, smile, know each other and have the option to meet and perhaps fall in love!

I see the same limit in the images created by the display/EVF extremists, they forget the reality and what can make a picture great just because is out of the frame or out of the characteristics of the display. This is absolutely evident in prints because the image is not taken thinking at the final printed result but the click is created on the display. You see the images in small size on the social media and are very good, when printed become ugly and boring with a lot of defects and the limits of the display transferred to the print.

Personally I use the OVF to frame the image I had in my mind watching the reality and I use the EVF only sometime to check some parameters as the histogram or the precise composition in case of situations that can procure a parallax problem.

My preference come form the way I learned to photograph with film and my preferred cameras: Linhof Master Technika and Hasselblad SWC. Both of them had an external viewfinder I used to frame the subject and there was not a way to see the final image until the film was developed and printed.
My usual workflow was to walk in the scene, look around from many different point of view, than get the viewfinder from my pocket (yes was detachable from the camera) to refine my choice with the angle of view of the lenses I had in the bag and only then taking the camera off the bag and positioning it in the right place.

Grandparents kitchen, Occimiano, Italy. Hasselblad SWC with Ilford HP5 film

With the Fuji my workflow is the same, just more comfortable in size, weight and speed.

The average person spends 4 hours a day on internet watching at their computer or smartphone display. Photographers now spend a lot of time watching a display to elaborate pictures. We are modifying ourself to adapt to a display and a virtual reality. As photographer we are looking to produce images that will be good on the social media and will produce a lot of “like”.

The mental process used to create photographies is changing and images are no more created by the mind and sensibility of the photographer but by the camera. Blog articles and tutorials talking about the tools get more views and likes than articles and videos talking about the philosophical and aesthetic aspects.
Take a look at the B&H Youtube channel (I love their event space and the quality of the speakers and content!) a lesson of Sam Abell, one of the best photographer and speaker that made a very inspiring class, has around 22 thousands views in 11 months, the first look at different tools have more than 40 thousand views in 2 or 3 months. If we look at less known speakers (most of the time equally interesting) the difference is even wider.

My suggestion for the new “always digital” photographers is simple: sometime use the OVF, cover the display and take pictures in the old school way. You will improve, discover a real world and make your life better, and perhaps you will be able to see the woman/man close to you looking the sunset and exchange a real smile.

Last year I bought a new Fuji X-Pro-1, it was a great deal few days before the XPro2 was on the market, I bought it as a camera to keep in my pockets not really as a serious option but I loved it since I started to take the first pictures. I even bought a second one used and converted it to infrared.

The quality of the RAW file is incredible and so the quality of the lenses. I really enjoy the OVF and the option to switch to EVF sometime. Low or high ISO the quality is superb and I started to bring the camera with me always, something that I was not doing with the much bigger and heavier Canon 1DSMkIII I own. Every single time I develop the RAWs I like it a little more.

So I cannot be happier and I hope I will get the X-Pro-2 very soon.

But… I hate absolutely all the buttons and wheels that get pushed and moved anytime I take the camera in my hands from the bag. The macro function seems made only to make me worry that the OVF/EVF switch is broken every time I push it accidentally and I get stuck in EVF. The exposure compensation get always out of the zero and I under or over expose pictures because I do not like to have always the display on to check… all the buttons soon or later get pushed accidentally. It makes me crazy!

So, dear Fuji, why you do not put an option in the firmware to disable the buttons and dials? I know, I’m a dinosaur in the modern photography because I need only shutter speed, aperture and ISO, 90% of the time. But Leica made money with a model without even the display!
Some line of code in the firmware and we will be able to personalize the camera, turning off all the buttons we want and the camera could go back and forth, from normal to limited function, with something simple as pressing one of the annoying buttons for more than 3 seconds or something similar.

Personally I would be happy with all the buttons and dials inactive but play, shutter speed and aperture. Other people can have other needs but I think that can be easy to customize with a menu similar to the menu used to choose what to display in the OVF.
The fun part is that this can be done on all past, present and future models.

Dear Fuji, I already love you but with that option you will save me a lot of money for couple therapy because I start to curse when I accidentally push you the wrong button!

Please, dear Fuji, listen to me… I even have a ring ready for you to make this relationship stable in time!

Whit love and a little hate.

A little update few days later… someone made me notice that pressing the OK/MENU for two seconds lock the selector avoiding to go accidentally in macro mode. I missed that in the manual, my fault ooooops, but still I would love to turn off also the other buttons and the exposure compensation dial… but this is better than nothing.

Infrared with X Pro 1

I always enjoyed infrared photography, starting with the Kodak Infrared film I always had great satisfaction exploring the infrared part of the spectrum.

When I switched to digital photography I forgot infrared for a while until I got my Canon 5D converted to infrared by LifePixel. The conversion was great, the support was perfect but when the camera was sent back to Italy the italian customs asked me to pay the taxes not only on the modification but also on the value of the camera. At the end of the game I had to spend around 700 Euros for a conversion that costs usually $300.

I decided to convert a Fujifilm X Pro 1 to infrared and this time I decided to try to do it myself buying the filter directly in Italy from Adriano Lolli Costruzioni Ottiche Meccaniche and avoiding all the import costs.

The choice of the X Pro 1 was very simple. I had bought a new X Pro 1 with the 18mm when the new model came around, I did it because was really a great deal (450 Euros included an extra battery, a memory card and the leather bag, since than the price went up a lot and I see now X Pro 1 new body only around 700 Euros on the net). I bought the camera as a “toy” to keep with me always, just to have a light camera comfortable in my pockets. It turned out I really love the camera. The quality of the images is absolutely great, the optics are very sharp and as I was used in the past with the Hasselblad SWC or the Linhof Technica I have again an optical viewfinder and I love it. The optical viewfinder (with the option to check with the EVF) brought me back to a more rational way to look at the subject, I have to think the image and not just watch it on a display and this fits perfectly my style.

As filter I went for a standard 720nm filter. I use it only for black and white and there is still some color that can be used in post processing to enhance some areas and make masks.

So I had some free time and decided to buy a used X Pro 1 and convert it to Infrared. The advantage of an infrared mirrorless over a DSLR is that the focusing and the exposure are measured directly by the sensor, so the focus shift does not affect the autofocus and the exposure is calculated correctly also in auto modes. If you were used to infrared film, guessing the focus on the lens red dot and the exposure based on the feeling of the sun on your skin, you can understand that the option of everything automatic seems like a paradise!

To have an idea of what the project involved I followed the DIY instruction on Life Pixel website. The instruction are pretty detailed and miss just few details. My initial idea was to buy a camera with the viewfinder glass broken, but when I saw it got sold on ebay for few bucks less than a working one in perfect conditions I went with the working one. Since I imagined to have to repair the viewfinder glass and I had no idea if the task was easy or complex, I bought online for $12 the X Pro 1 service and repair manual. It was worth the money!

In the DIY instructions on Life Pixel there are few things missing.

The first is that there are some elements between the sensor and the sensor support, they have different thickness and quantities and must be removed and reinserted in the same exact position because are used to align the sensor perfectly to the focal plane.

The second problem is that when you arrive at the step when you are supposed to unscrew the sensor there is a screw not accessible and covered by the viewfinder support so the viewfinder must be removed.

Third It’s easier to remove the speaker from his place than to desolder the cables.

Fourth and most important, I did not desoldered the anti dust glass but simply flipped it to the right with the sensor and I was able to put it together again.

Fifth, if you have a 1mm IR filter you can detach the old seal from the original filter, very carefully (!!!) and reattach it on your IR filter. In this way you can have the anti dust system working perfectly.

The steps to do this were almost all easy except for the desoldering and soldering.

I had to disassemble the camera first to take the measures of the original anti IR filter because the supplier did not have them. So after I disassembled the camera I had to place all the elements in clean plastic bags (the one used to freeze food are perfect) and wait a week before I had the new filter.

I was afraid to forget the correct place for the screw so I used a method learned from Wheeler Dealers where the mechanic, Ed China, used it for engine parts. It is very simple, just take a piece of paper and draw a simple scheme of the parts you are disassembly, for example the back of the camera, draw a spot correspondent to the position of the screws, do a little hole in it with a cutter and when you take off a screw insert it in the paper. In this way you will remember exactly where every single screw needs to be and you will not loose them. All the papers with the screw inserted can be put in order in a box, when you mount back the camera just take the papers in order and it’s done! And you will be able to do the reverse process also after months.

To be sure to have no dust stuck between the sensor and the IR filter I cleaned all my desk perfectly and waited rainy days, very humid both for disassembling and assembling so there was less dust flying around.

I was very surprised when I tested the camera and I found no dust at all on the sensor, or better I found some dust but was on the outside part and went away with a simple cleaning.

And… when you reassemble the camera check twice to have reattached all the connectors or you will have do do as I did… disassemble agin few parts and insert the connection you forgot!

Since I decided also to change the skin of the Fuji with some more fun red leather I was not very careful to preserve the original leather. I used the skin bought from Aki-Asahi Camera Covers, very easy to use following the instructions on their website and the final result seems to be appreciated by a lot of people. I sure like it!

To complete I found on Amazon a red thumb support and I bought from PrintArteMagazine the Sailor Strap.

I do all the postproduction with CaptureOne 9 and there are no problems for the white balance as with other software. You can see here a tutorial on how to use CaptureOne for infrared photography, and you can download a trial version form the PhaseOne website and if you like it you can use the coupon code AMBBARBANO to get a 10% discount on it.

I tested on the IR camera the 18mm and really is not usable for the center hotspot, the 14mm and it is absolutely perfect, the Samyang 12mm f 2.0 and is not usable at all. I played also with an old Pentax 50mm 1.4 that is working well and the Hasselblad 80mm that is perfect.

The total cost for the operation, included the camera, was around 350 Euros. The satisfaction to not have to pay to the customs some money I did not owe to them because the camera was already mine and not imported… it has no price!

Below you can see a 5 minutes video of my Fuji X Pro 1 conversion.