Trek of Joy

Higher bitrate, Flog internal, DCI, 120fps, better controls, bigger grip, touchscreen, high spec EVF - they're making great strides considering its only been a little more than a year and a half since 4k first appeared in a Fuji body. And they're finally releasing the MK Cine lenses in X-mount. Chris

Cinema 4k, wonder if it'll have a smaller crop than UHD? I'm still shifting one of my XT2's for the XH1. And I'm hoping the IBIS and other improvements are good enough for me to leave Sony for good. Good times in Fuji land. Chris

Can anyone read German? There's a PDF of a press release with all the specs and details. I think it says 5.5 stops with IBIS and a 3.69 million dot EVF. If so, nice. Also 4k30p only. Though 120fps and 4k is available in 200Mbit. Spec sheet also has a 2048x1080 HD mode. 673g weight and its still using the 126s battery, so no to the GFX battery. Price, $1899 USD. Sweet. https://www.fujirumors.com/fujifilm-x-h1-full-german-press-release-specs-leaked-price-1899-fujfilm-x-t20-gfx-firmware-coming/#disqus_thread

The same could be said for many things, but that's pretty irrelevant. I'm sure they could build a better car than Tesla, but they're not going to. Read Samsung's financials and what they're focused on moving forward - strengthening their core businesses and expanding into automotive markets, digital health and industrial automation - all of which make heavy use of cameras and processors for cutting edge tech. I still call BS on this rumor. That's all I'm going to say on the matter. Enjoy your camera. Chris

Nobody is underestimating anything, the same could be said for Apple, or Microsoft, Volkswagen or even BP with the cash reserves they have - but they still wouldn't be buying a hugely profitable division. Nikon and GoPro are ripe for a buyout, yet there's no interest. A one off halo camera works for someone like Leica because they have well heeled customers that buy them as camera jewelry lifestyle products - like women with $3000 purses. Nobody is doing that with Samsung. Remember the flop when Hasselblad added wood to Sony cameras and doubled their price? A small run doesn't add to Leica's cost structure because their production levels annually are less than what Samsung probably builds in one day with the Galaxy. Any camera prototypes IMO are to demonstrate capabilities to Nikon, Panasonic, Huawei, Oppo and others where they can sell something they already produce from existing sensor fab factories - not to start making an entirely new product line. If they were going to release a super-spec NX2, don't you think it would come before the Olympics in their own backyard with the whole world watching? As in right now? Any other time in the future makes absolutely no sense from a marketing standpoint. I don't think people are looking at it logically or from a purely business standpoint. Their halo product is the Galaxy phone, plain and simple. Chris

It will take years - if ever to turn a profit in a declining camera market with zero brand recognition. Its not about filling every possible segment with a product just because they can - much like Sony tried and failed to do (notice how they spun off TV's, home audio, computers, tablets and phones, because they were all losing large amounts of cash) - its about being able to produce a product at a profit. Sony refocused on core products and is now turning a healthy profit. Given how quickly they dumped the NX1, its clear their R&D/marketing investment didn't meet the expected returns so they dumped it and move the resources to the phone division. The camera market is in a steep decline, Sony, Olympus and Panasonic lost money for years - CaNikon is up and down - its very volatile. Samsung can't just release a camera and instantly turn a profit, regardless of spec, because enthusiasts like those on this board aren't enough to sustain a product line. You need the general buying public to also buy into the system (which means budget models that sell many times more than top end models), and that will take years to build a lineup, repair their reputation, and convince customers that you're in it for the long haul. Few will be willing to buy into a system with an uncertain future - and even fewer will buy a single high spec body with little hope of a future, especially after rampant denials from Samsung about exiting the camera market before shuttering the NX. Sony is making billions from their sensor fab division, this is a piece of the pie I'm willing to bet Samsung wants to eat into, as they have the tech and engineering might to be competitive. And unlike cameras at retail - there's massive growth in sensor fab moving forward. They've restructured their staff and business focus since the scandal with three divisions - IM (IT & Mobile Communications), CE (Consumer Electronics), and DS (Device Solutions) - a camera line really doesn't fit with any of those. Cheers

This is good, and there are many other tests showing great color and a lot of shadow info that can be pulled up in post. For higher contrast stuff Flog gives you some extra room and cuts banding. The XH1 will have Flog internal and double the bitrate of the XT2, so that will certainly improve on what we see now. This test made me rent the XT2 for a weekend trip to see what its all about. I bought two and a slew of Fuji lenses in the weeks that followed. Chris

First leaked images on FR. Its gained quite a bit size-wise, I'm holding out slim hope the much larger grip means the GFX battery. And 4k60p. No further specs. https://www.fujirumors.com/leaked-first-fujifilm-x-h1-images/

Once you get use to doing things the FCPx way, every other NLE I've used - Premiere, Avid and Grass Valley - is just so slow in comparison. The above video Axel posted is one of a few I watched after the 10.3 update that convinced me to spend some time really learning FCPx after working with the others for years. Now I can't go back. Resolve just doesn't jive with me at all either. FCPx is my do-it-all solution. YMMV. Chris

IBIS has me very interested in this camera as well. Supposedly AF is dramatically improved and EVF has a reduced blackout - though some of the rumored improvements seem odd since the sensor/processor is also rumored to be identical to the XT2. So ether there's a lot of untapped power in the XT2 (and a future FW update will really unleash the beast) or rumors are bunk. And you didn't mention another rumor - the bitrate for 4k has supposedly doubled. Either way I'm shifting one of my XT2's and getting one - my favorite lenses - the 16-55, 23/1.4 and 56/1.2 will get instant stabilization andI don't need an external recorder or Flog. Whether its good enough to get me to part with Sony for good remains to be seen. IBIS is one of the reasons I haven't been able to shake Sony. One other point, this seems like an odd release at this time, a year ago it would make more sense, but the XT3 is supposed to be announced in another 6 months with a new processor, new sensor and so on. Seems like the XH1 with its range topping price tag will have a really short shelf life once the XT3 drops. If it were the camera that rolled out the new sensor/processor that would make a lot more sense IMO. Just seems odd.... Chris

One thing I find ironic - the Japanese camera makers are going all in to run out new tech during the Tokyo Olympics which are still over two years away, and Samsung bailed a couple shortly before the Olympics returned to Korea. The next couple weeks could have been their halo-camera moment with the world watching, instead it'll just be a showcase for their phones and talking refrigerators. But at least Nikon is there with a few million $$$ in cameras/lenses and a full support staff. https://***URL removed***/articles/3807540845/pyeongchang-2018-behind-the-scenes-with-nikon-professional-services Check out all the fat tele's. Nice. Chris

I'm not confusing anything, other releases specify two applications for Exynos that will make Samsung tons of cash - mobile and auto infotainment. A NX-whatever is not a money making proposition, it would take years for Samsung to make a ILC that could turn a profit no matter how much of the fantasy-land spec from the original post they could actually make a reality. And profitability will never happen in a declining market when they're starting from scratch with their lack of commitment to actually staying in the game. As mentioned in previous posts, perhaps there's a prototype as a showcase for other camera manufacturers, but they're focused on growth, and after killing the NX that's not an area of growth. Chris

Phones.... no to the NX2. https://news.samsung.com/global/samsungs-isocell-dual-software-solution-enables-dual-camera-features-in-a-wider-range-of-smartphones

This is true. Its the best raw convertor for Fuji RAF's since they its the only one that doesn't have to reverse engineer the debayer of the goofy X-Tran array. It would be nice if Fuji/Panasonic and others would chip in some real cash to update the UI, make it faster and more user friendly. It really does a great job of pulling detail out of Fuji files that Lightroom loses, but man its a PITA to use. Chris

Yes, prototypes to test tech and demonstrate capabilities to Nikon, Fuji and the m43 world - companies that are all reliant on Sony. Sony's sensor division does huge business, cutting into that pie and eating a competitors lunch makes sense for another giant electronics conglomerate. A NX-whatever simply doesn't in any way.

It has been awhile since I've had the 16-50s, my mistake. I bought one after release and sold it when the whispers of them shuttering the camera division first started. I found the 30/45mm to be odd FL's on APS-c - and outside of the 85 (which is great), Samsung was really lacking in the prime dept. And there will never be any additions, ever. As a system Fuji is more complete - its 10-24 UWA is better - wider, stabilized and constant aperture, the 50-140 is easily the equal to the S with some of the best OIS of any lens I've ever used, and there are no lenses like the 1.4 and 1.2 primes, the 14mm, the 16/1.4, the 90mm, the 80mm macro, the 100-400 and the upcoming releases - and so on, and so on. And Fuji is cleaner at ISO's above 1600, which always was/is the NX1's Achilles heel. The 16-55 may not be stabilized, but with the IBIS body coming that's not an issue, and its still a very sharp lens. I can give up the fractions of a stop since the Fuji is a better low light camera, just bump the ISO and SS. Plus there's pretty robust trigger/flash support for Fuji, next to nothing for Samsung. Don't care about the NX500 either, since non EVF cameras don't appeal to me at all. The NX1 is a great camera and if it serves your needs that's cool. For me - I need more lenses and a full system, the NX remnants just don't work for me. I shoot a lot of natural light stuff and I'm frequently at 6400, I prefer the files from my XT2 or the a7r2. They were on to something, another generation of improvements to the NX1 and 5-6 more lenses, including the 300/2.8 they showed off before killing the NX, and they could have had a killer system. Cheers Yes, even CaNikon will have to play catch up when they drop a FF mirrorless. The advantage they have over Samsung and everyone else is the two largest - by far - user groups to draw from and the two most recognized photography brands.

Fuji has a stellar 16-55 and 50-140/2.8's (both sell used for about the same as the S zooms, they're easily found for under $1,000 US) and a slew of primes of various apertures and sizes. The 8-16mm and 200/2 are coming as well. The S 16-50 is only f/2 at 16mm, at least mine was, the second I touched the zoom ring it jumped to 2.8. Samsung was heading in the right direction with the NX1 and S lenses, but sadly we'll never know where it was going.

This. And I'm betting all this chatter is just R&D for future Galaxy phones. Samsung isn't about to re-enter the same space they abandoned a couple years ago with little/no chance of turning a profit. Even if they could reach 10% market share - which would take years, that's still only a few hundred thousand units. Sony is killing it with high price/high margin bodies and lenses - but they also make sensors for most of the other camera manufacturers, which is why they're so far ahead of Canon in most respects - the costs of sensor development doesn't have to be recouped by selling cameras. Samsung can't just drop a $3,000 body and a few $2,000 lenses and instantly become a big player. Nor can they release a NX2 - or whatever you want to call it - and resurrect the old lenses to say "we're back", too many will ignore them because of their past. Casual photographers will still buy plastic Canon Rebels because that's a name they know. Outside of gear heads chasing the spec, it would be a complete flop.

Was running El Capitan. If they got it better sorted with Sierra/High Sierra, cool. But it seemed like a hardware limitation, since some monitors would only run at 30hz. The newer machines with TB3 don't seem to have the same issues. The number of monitors compared to the official Apple support is annoying as well, some like BenQ and Philips are never mentioned. AFAIK my iMac will also run another 4k display without issue - I'm considering something like the LG you mentioned as a playback monitor while using the iMac for my timeline, just to get a less glossy screen. Chris

Definitely do a little research on your particular monitor before pulling the trigger on a trashcan - I had issues with three panels - couldn't tell you which as its been a couple years, but thankfully Amazon's return policy saved me. I used the official list and various forum posts, just was never happy with the performance. The 2013 video cards struggled at 60hz, and if you had to revert to 30hz there was a lot of cursor lag - nothing was real time. My solution was to wake my machine and turn off sleep mode until the end of the day - which still meant fixing the icon/text size every day it decided not to see the monitor when waking from sleep. It didn't always happen, but it happened enough for me to throw in the towel. Didn't know the i5 is quieter. If I could get the 8gb card, I'd be all over that. For what I paid I'm happy with its performance, the 2017's will cost significantly more at the moment, the minimum spec with the 1tb SSD and 580 is $2900, that's $1000 over what I paid. My machine is fast rendering 4k video, and fast editing photos - I'm amazed at how fast it stitches panos in LR. I edited my first 4k video on a 2009 MacBook Pro with a dual core processor, 8gb ram and a 512mb video card - I feel spoiled by the power my current machine has. 42mp photos from the a7r2 come alive when you sharpen them, I love the 5k display. I do wish there was a matte option, loved that on my old MacBook Pro. I've never tried a hackintosh, I just can't put in the time to solve driver issues when a factory Mac has none and everything always works with every new update. Its one of the reasons I'll never go back to windows or Premiere. Chris

I had that exact machine. Sold it for a 2015 iMac. After testing a 4ghz model with the 4gb video card and just 16gb ram - it was much faster than my MP and had a much, much nicer monitor. I sold the trashcan and bought a loaded late 2015 off craigslist for about half the price of new. My current machine has the 27" 4ghz i7, 32gb ram (easy upgrade from OWC, don't pay the apple tax for stock ram), 4gb video card and a 1tb flash drive. The problem with the trashcan is the display lag and how it scales text and icons - the older video cards performance with 4k monitors is only so-so, and there are few supported monitors. 2013 was really the beginning of 4k display support, so performance isn't great. There are better monitors now, but the hardware is going to be a bottleneck - its just not great with a 4k monitor. I tried mine with a few different monitors and it consistently wouldn't see the monitor when waking from sleep or from startup if there was any sort of power outage (I live in Florida when not traveling, thunderstorms cause frequent power outages), so I had to plug an old 1080 monitor into the trashcan and open the monitor settings to re-establish the connection. Scaling text and icons was a constant struggle too, I had to keep changing sizes of everything when re-doing the connection to the 4k monitor because every time it made a new connection, it would revert back to the stock settings of impossibly small icons and text. It was a royal PITA to have to do this on a regular basis. The late 2015 iMac update quietly added a wide gamut P3 monitor, its the sweet spot in the recent iMac lineup. You can find a fully loaded machine like the 4ghz model I bought for under $2000 US - some are selling in the $1700 range on ebay, and it'll wipe the floor with the trashcan. Just my 0.02 Chris p.s. It was/is the quietest computer I've ever used though, how they achieved that much power without the crazy cooling PC towers use is amazing. Still, it wasn't enough for me to keep it.

Looking at the Amazon sales rankings, its low end DLSR's are still king. The Rebel T6 - not sure what its called in the rest of the world - is #1. https://www.amazon.com/Best-Sellers-Electronics-Digital-Cameras/zgbs/electronics/281052 I've been to 52 countries in the last year an a half, and visited hundreds of tourist sites, CaNikon DSLR's are still big with casual photographers. Chris

Great test Andrew, these videos really help with buying decisions. The more I see the harder its getting to resist the a7r3 - and I say that as a a7r2/s2 owner. Hopefully we see the a7mk3 and a7s3 soon, I could live with 24mp. Thanks. Chris

For DSLR's yes, Nikon is tops. But IMO the benchmark is really the A9, which in many cases outclasses even the D5 (accurate AF-c and no blackout at 20fps). So we're also talking about a new stacked sensor with a readout rate capable of far more in terms of speed than the sensors Panasonic is currently using. Relying on Sony for top spec tech seems unlikely, they must have something else in the works. Either way, A9 or D5 - it doesn't really matter, Panasonic just needs a dramatic overhaul of its AF system since by 2020 we'll also have a D6, a slew of Canon's with DPAF and more A7's and A9's - along with new offerings from Fuji, Olympus and so on.

With the Tokyo Olympics coming in 2020, seem like a GH6 is a given - along with other Panasonic cameras likely to get updated before that event. I'd imagine the G9 successor would drop as well since its their fast photo body. PADF seems like a given if you're going to be shooting sports, I'm really surprised we haven't seen a hybrid AF camera from Panasonic to this point since it'll take time to refine the algorithms in real world shooting conditions. They're really behind the curve compared to Canon and Sony and falling further behind with each new DFD release.