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F30 field study report

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Kim Letkeman said:
Kim Letkeman wrote:
NR should always be applied first. Two reasons:

1) You should be using a good set of device profiles that have been
created from references images so you don't have to try to profile
an image that may have no detail-free areas in it. To use device
profiles successfully, you need to use them before you do anything
to the photo that would changes the noise characteristics.

2) When you reduce the noise, subsequent operations will create
fewer artifacts that interrupt smooth areas. This makes a huge
difference after a few operations, especially application of curves
or shadows and highlights, both of which can really amp up the
noise.
Click to expand...
IF you do noise reduction last, you have to build a custom noise profile for the image, you can't use the F30 profile. I've sometimes done noise reduction after other post processing succesfully. It depends on the image and other processing that you do. But as a general rule, noise reduction is best done as the first action in your post processing workflow.

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pics: http://www.pbase.com/arn
 
when shooting a test target at wide angle setting. The AF didn't lock nearly so well, when I used f/6.4 or smaller. I'll have to check more closely if this had anything to do with the phenomenon. This only happened at wide angle, when I zoomed in, the AF was more reliable at f/6.4-f/8. Still, the initial results were pretty clearlt that the sharpness was reduced at all focal lengths when using the smaller apertures. Of course, sometimes you need to use them to get the DOF you want.
Roberta F. said:
Roberta F. wrote:
Arn,
Very well done- thanks!!
I was surprised that you found sharper results at larger apertures.
I was trying to shoot at f8 yesterday but now I'll stick to larger
apertures. I will reshoot a few pics using the tripod. Also I
will get closer to gain sharpness by using the wide end of the
lens. I enjoyed reading your notes. Great info on WB too.
Click to expand...
Glad you liked it :) I'll be updating the text too, when I have free time to test and write (and take pics).

--
pics: http://www.pbase.com/arn
 
I will try to continuously update the field report as the days/weeks go by.

I will probably add in the future:

complete noise comparison ISO 100-3200 with Neatimage processed samples and possibly comparison to Canon 30D DSLR. I will also share Neatimage settings that I've found best for different ISO's. Maybe I'll also upload resolution chart examples of different focal lengths and settings if I'll see enough difference in the resolution.

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pics: http://www.pbase.com/arn
 
Thanks Arn, I am using the settings at the link below, but I am by no means an accomplished post production artist. Kim mentioned above wrote the F11 profiles and two other guys that post in the forum wrote the F10 + F30 profiles. (sorry guys cant remember your names)

I dont use it very much and I am using it alot less with the F30 and so this what I have come to so far with the few images I have done, but appreciate any input anyone has on neat image settings. In general I have reduced noise and sharpening levels from what I used for the F11.

http://www.pbase.com/poochdp/image/64338273
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and God said; Let there be Light...and there was light....Gen 1:3



Galleries: http://www.pbase.com/poochdp
 
Roberta F. said:
Arn,
Very well done- thanks!!
I was surprised that you found sharper results at larger apertures.
I was trying to shoot at f8 yesterday but now I'll stick to larger
apertures. I will reshoot a few pics using the tripod. Also I
will get closer to gain sharpness by using the wide end of the
lens. I enjoyed reading your notes. Great info on WB too.
Click to expand...
When you use a lens wide open, you will get some blur from abberations in the lens (they all have abberations), which are controlled well by stopping down. At a certain point, you will get diffraction, which is the effect where light spreads when it passes through a small hole, so blur will be introduced at some point from that.

This is usually expressed as abberation limited and diffraction limited ... or so I have read.

The key is that really small sensors (11mm diagonals for example) are abberation limited and diffraction limited at the same point, f4. They can never really achieve the ultimate in sharpness. But luckily, the sensor is a tad larger on the F30.

The F30 and its Fxx brethren are diffraction around f8. This is why you see photos losing razor sharpness at f8 and have to apply more USM. They are also softer wide open.

The sweet spot for sharpness is widely quoted as f5 for these sensors. I've noticed that Hugo tends to shoot A-prio at f5, and I think that this is no accident.

This page gives a ton of interesting info:
http://www.normankoren.com/Tutorials/MTF7.html

--
http://letkeman.net/Photos
 
Kim,

Thanks. That makes sense. I guess f8 doesn't seem that small of an aperture compared with a DSLR but since it's the smallest aperture on the F30, the loss of sharpness would be similar to what happens at f22 on a DSLR. I noticed that Hugo was shooting at f5 on the pics he posted a few days ago. Great tips!!

Best,
--



Roberta
http://www.pbase.com/roberta
Fuji F30, Canon 1D Mark II, Canon 10D, Sony H-1, Canon A80, Sony 717, Nikon FM
 
Thanks, Arn, for your very interesting evaluation of the F30. I'll be checking back to see what else you come up with. Interesting point about the spot metering limitation. Thanks for that.
--
Jeff
 
Quite a lot of text and samples.
  • Table of Contents with linking to appropriate chapter
  • complete noise comparison ISO 100-3200 with Neatimage processed samples
  • also noise comparison to Canon 30D DSLR ;D
  • a closer look at sharpness at different apertures and focal lenghts
I will include Neatimage Filter presets for ISO 100 to ISO 3200 in few days.

the field report:
http://www.pbase.com/arn/fuji_f30

--
pics: http://www.pbase.com/arn
 
You can click this for discussion about the character of noise
in the F30 and the noise reduction settings with Neatimage:
http://www.pbase.com/arn/fuji_f30#A11b

Or here for the beginning of the article and Table of Contents:
http://www.pbase.com/arn/fuji_f30

Some small updates have been made throughout the text in addition to the Neatimage settings chapter during the last week. Though probably nothing so major in the small changes department as to rattle your socks. :)

--
Fuji F30 field report: http://www.pbase.com/arn/fuji_f30
pics: http://www.pbase.com/arn
 
Arn,

That is SUCH required reading for owners of this camera...

I've read through it twice...and slowly...but it would seem it's time for another refresher...

thanks again,

Chris
 
You mean that there is no comparison between F50fd and F30 or if used well the F50 fd can do best picture?
 
robyfor said:
robyfor wrote:
You mean that there is no comparison between F50fd and F30 or if used
well the F50 fd can do best picture?
Click to expand...
Well, that all depends. If you use ISO 100, it looks like the F50fd produces the best picture. If you have to use ISO 800 or ISO 1600, the F30 works best. Image stabilisation doesn't help either, if you need to stop motion (moving people, cats, etc). IF they had kept the F30's sensor, I'd say that camera would produce the best pictures...

--
Fuji F30 field report: http://www.pbase.com/arn/fuji_f30
pics: http://www.pbase.com/arn
 
Arn, congratulations for the report and photos. For your report that you have done for F30 is also applicable to F50fd or it is different technologies and in any case F30 remains over F50fd?
 
Hello. Sorry for the late response. Some parts of the review apply on the F50, but for most parts I have to say that I have no idea. To my understanding the F-series cameras after the F30 do not overexpose the images so easily in the "multi metering" mode (but someone who knows better is welcome to give more accurate information on this). I use average metering on the F30, because that works best.

Apparently contrast and in-camera sharpening are slightly lower in the f31fd, (which is a good thing) so I suppose that is also the case with the F50. The F50 has (presumably) the exact same lens as the F30, so many aspects of image quality are the same. Except that the F50 uses in-camera software to remove purple fringing from the images (as noted in DPreview's review) so, in that way the F50 produces cleaner images (although you can remove the PF in post processing from F30 images as noted in my text)
robyfor said:
robyfor wrote:
Arn, congratulations for the report and photos. For your report that
you have done for F30 is also applicable to F50fd or it is different
technologies and in any case F30 remains over F50fd?
Click to expand...
--
Fuji F30 field report: http://www.pbase.com/arn/fuji_f30
pics: http://www.pbase.com/arn
 
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