Newbie with used Xpro1 and kit lens

Hi all, I got myself a second hand Xpro1 at a pretty decent price a couple of months back to try and get a bit more into photography. I heard some good things about the 18-55 2.8-4 lens so I decided to pick one up along the 27mm pancake. First impressions seem...positive? I feel a little silly asking this, but I went and took some brick wall pictures just to make sure everything is as it should be, but I'm not really sure what I should be expecting from the lens. Would be much appreciated if someone is able to have a look for me.


18mm f2.8




18mm f4.0




18mm f5.6




18mm f8.0




35mm f3.6




35mm f5,6




55mm f4




55mm f5.6



Sorry, I know these threads can sometimes be kind of annoying, I just want to make sure everything is as it should be otherwise I have a shot at returning things if it's not right.

I did also take a few actual photos when I got the lens so I figure I should post some of those too:

















None of these are edited or anything, just all straight out of camera JPEGS. I think I was expecting maybe a little bit more "pop" but some of these seem to lack fine detail. I guess I'm not sure whether it's just me being rubbish, my expectations being too high or something else...

Look fine in my eyes... You can try different JPG settings to get more pop and details, e.g. try the famous film simulations or sharpness. Or you move to RAW (my choice) and work on the things after the shot.

Hello MX5I.


Read this article about film simulations. Take some more photos and try Velvia. Then, take some more photos and try the Pro Neg Hi film simulation.

Stop down your lens a little if you are looking for optimal IQ. Usually apertures between 5.6 and 8 are the sharpest.

markusw said:

Look fine in my eyes... You can try different JPG settings to get more pop and details, e.g. try the famous film simulations or sharpness. Or you move to RAW (my choice) and work on the things after the shot.

Click to expand...

The brick wall shots were all using Provia and the pictures I posted in my second post were mostly shot using Velvia (I think). I expected a bit more sharpness in the final picture I posted of the street, but if that's just what performance is like wide open at 18mm then that's fine, as long as the lens isn't a dud or anything.

nutsandbolts said:

Hello MX5I.

https://suspectphotography.com/2012/05/15/film-simulation-modes-on-fuji-x-pro-1/

Read this article about film simulations. Take some more photos and try Velvia. Then, take some more photos and try the Pro Neg Hi film simulation.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the suggestion, I've only really tried Provia and Velvia (I think most of the images I posted that weren't of the brick wall were using Velvia. I'll give Pro Neg Hi a shot as well

io_bg said:

Stop down your lens a little if you are looking for optimal IQ. Usually apertures between 5.6 and 8 are the sharpest.

Click to expand...

Yeah just realised that the pictures I took are all wide open at 18mm. According to imaging-resource, optimal sharpness is around 35mm at 5.6.

Still though, is that the level of softness I should expect wide open at 18mm? The last picture I posted of the street is really soft...

MX5l said:

Yeah just realised that the pictures I took are all wide open at 18mm. According to imaging-resource, optimal sharpness is around 35mm at 5.6.

Still though, is that the level of softness I should expect wide open at 18mm? The last picture I posted of the street is really soft...

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Seems like that one's out of focus.

Was OIS enabled?

Only the 5 pers. group is in focus but also a little blurred, the rest is already out of focus due to f 2.8.

Watch shutter speed and aperture - you have been taken this photo with SS 1/2000 and f 2.8, 1/500 and f 5,6 and OIS disabled with SS above 1/250 would have given you much better results.

DocetLector said:

Was OIS enabled?

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Yep! I enabled OIS for all the pictures above. I've been doing a little bit of googling after reading your comment and apparently there has been a fair bit of debate about using OIS (especially with the 18-55) at faster shutter speeds. I think I'll try and snap a few more pictures tomorrow when it's daylight again with OIS disabled.

From and oldie with an xpro1 and 18-55 and several lenses. What are you looking for? The lens you are referring to, is great especially for travelling. I myself though like primes on my expro1 where also the hybrid ovf come to use. A lovely camera which I actually use more than my xpro2 and xt1?

MX5l said:

I did also take a few actual photos when I got the lens so I figure I should post some of those too:

Click to expand...

For pop out of camera, quality of light is key. For more pop from an exposure - accentuate by developing.

MX5l said:

None of these are edited or anything, just all straight out of camera JPEGS. I think I was expecting maybe a little bit more "pop" but some of these seem to lack fine detail. I guess I'm not sure whether it's just me being rubbish, my expectations being too high or something else...

Click to expand...

As long as you don't see anything else of concern, you're good to go.

--
...Bob, NYC
.
"Well, sometimes the magic works. . . Sometimes, it doesn't." - Chief Dan George, Little Big Man
.
.

Would be nice if you could post the results tomorrow !

MX5l said:

I did also take a few actual photos when I got the lens so I figure I should post some of those too:









None of these are edited or anything, just all straight out of camera JPEGS. I think I was expecting maybe a little bit more "pop" but some of these seem to lack fine detail. I guess I'm not sure whether it's just me being rubbish, my expectations being too high or something else...

Click to expand...

Both camera and lens seem fine.

When you say the street picture is soft - what did you actually focus on? If using center point then you were focusing straight down the middle into - virtually nothing especially if you used a large focus square. At 18mm f5.6 (say) try focusing with a half press of the shutter button on the group on the left or even the group on the right. Depth of field (approx) extends about 1/3rd in front of the focus point and 2/3rds behind (bearing in mind that the aperture determines total DoF). Also try aiming the camera down (!st pic) so as avoid chopping off the view at the bottom. Point 3 don't point your camera up so much as this will encourage converging verticals. Instead, turn the camera into the vertical and point down until the top of the structes being pictured are just a little way from the top. Don't forget you have a pano mode which works vertically and horizontally for extreme panos.

The pictures appear to be taken when the sun was high which is rarely a good time and the high contrast will affect your results. Get your focusing sorted and the time of day before you worry about changing your jpg settings. I can't help you with those because I shoot raw + jpg and only use the jpgs as quick way to cull the raws.

Good camera, good lens, you're good to go and enjoy yourself.

Vic

--
The sky is full of holes that let the rain get in, the holes are very small - that's why the rain is thin.
Spike Milligan. Writer, comedian, poet, Goon. 1918 - 2002

I looked at the street scene and it looks like it focused on the tree behind the family on the left. The bottom corners look soft at 100%, but I think that has more to do with aperture and focus point.

Please let us know your results turning OIS off. I'd also suggest testing the OIS in an appropriate situation, say 18mm wide open with a SS of 1/30 and 1/15. Take two shots, OIS on and OIS off at the same shutter speed. Take another set @55mm at 1/60, 1/30, 1/15.

From what I'm seeing, your X-Pro1 and kit lens look good. As others have mentioned, as you learn the camera, you can determine the settings that will help achieve the "pop" you are looking for. Part of the problem I think is flat lighting and time of day.

Doug MacMillan said:

Please let us know your results turning OIS off. I'd also suggest testing the OIS in an appropriate situation, say 18mm wide open with a SS of 1/30 and 1/15. Take two shots, OIS on and OIS off at the same shutter speed. Take another set @55mm at 1/60, 1/30, 1/15.

Click to expand...

Only really had a chance to repeat the brick wall shots today, but not quite at the same extreme shutter speeds as the other images


18mm f2.8 OIS OFF


18mm f2.8 OIS ON (MODE 1)


35mm f5.6 OIS OFF


35mm f5.6 OIS ON (MODE 1)

Vic Chapman said:

When you say the street picture is soft - what did you actually focus on? If using center point then you were focusing straight down the middle into - virtually nothing especially if you used a large focus square.

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Embarrassingly....that's exactly what I did :-|

I should probably change the thread title to "Bad photographer blames gear for bad photos"

Vic Chapman said:

At 18mm f5.6 (say) try focusing with a half press of the shutter button on the group on the left or even the group on the right. Depth of field (approx) extends about 1/3rd in front of the focus point and 2/3rds behind (bearing in mind that the aperture determines total DoF). Also try aiming the camera down (!st pic) so as avoid chopping off the view at the bottom. Point 3 don't point your camera up so much as this will encourage converging verticals. Instead, turn the camera into the vertical and point down until the top of the structes being pictured are just a little way from the top.

Click to expand...

These are awesome tips, thank you!

Vic Chapman said:

Good camera, good lens, you're good to go and enjoy yourself.

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That's great to know, thank you

Even with good gear, photography is a skill that takes time to develop. Don’t expect perfection just yet! You’re already in the upper quartile by recognizing the gear is not to blame for the things you’ve noted. ;-)

Enjoy your camera - it is a bit poky but you will make beautiful images with it once you get to know its strengths and weaknesses. That was my favorite sensor by far.

You got yourself a nice camera.Enjoy it! I’m more a prime shooter but with any Fuji lens you can’t go wrong. In my opinion you have (one of ) Fuji’s best camera for street and travel photography. Together with the 60mm you can shoot perfect portraits.

Take your time in learning and knowing this camera and see yourself as a lucky person to own one of these beauties . . .

want to know more of this great camera? I found a lot of interesting information on this site :


That guy is writing about this camera a long time.

Enjoy!

LeicaC said:

Even with good gear, photography is a skill that takes time to develop. Don’t expect perfection just yet! You’re already in the upper quartile by recognizing the gear is not to blame for the things you’ve noted. ;-)

Enjoy your camera - it is a bit poky but you will make beautiful images with it once you get to know its strengths and weaknesses. That was my favorite sensor by far.

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Yep! Perfect post!

My first camera was a Kodak Retina Ib... you had to ESTIMATE the distance, no AF nor split screen or whatever... But it works, sometimes