Problem with xt-3 or maybe with me?

[Alex8686]

Hi,

I have xt3 from few months and I have a problem with the final quality of photos. Watching different profiles, you can find beautiful photos and that was the reason for my investment and change from an old Nikon SLR camera to Fuji. From the very beginning I had reservations about the quality but I thought it was a photographer's matter, so mine. And so I began to learn about the handling and manual settings but there is still a gap between my photos and the quality of others. I know I know they probably have equipment 4-5 times more expensive but there are also beautiful photos from XT-3 that can be found with not one photographer so something must be wrong with me... Finalizing the greatest disproportion I see in portraits - my some flat, out of focus, not so stylish but for example here:

https://www.instagram.com/creteforlove/?hl=pl

It looks beautiful. I am asking for tips if there is a possibility that I have problems with the camera or maybe it is a matter of processing to get such clarity and flash of the photo. Below a few jpg straight from the camera.

My lenses: Fujinon 23mm 2.0, Fujinon 56mm 1.2 and Viltrox 85.

I use capture one express to process portraits but I am very far from the look of the photos as given in the link

I am sending a few photos to check the quality of the camera.

p.s

I am sorry that he doesn't show these portrait photos, but these are my private photos and I don't want to make them public, but if any of you have time and willingness to help, I will be happy to make private contact.

 

[Erik Baumgartner]

Just looking on my phone, so I can’t see a lot of detail, but your images don’t look bad to me. The photos you linked to were definitely processed with a more vintage looking color and tonality which creates a very different vibe than what you’ve done with yours, though. I’m sure you could pull off a similar “look” with a different processing approach. If you’d like to send a link to a RAW file my way, I’d be happy to have a go at pointing you in the right direction.

 

[alphaZ]

Hi,

I have xt3 from few months and I have a problem with the final quality of photos. Watching different profiles, you can find beautiful photos and that was the reason for my investment and change from an old Nikon SLR camera to Fuji. From the very beginning I had reservations about the quality but I thought it was a photographer's matter, so mine. And so I began to learn about the handling and manual settings but there is still a gap between my photos and the quality of others. I know I know they probably have equipment 4-5 times more expensive but there are also beautiful photos from XT-3 that can be found with not one photographer so something must be wrong with me... Finalizing the greatest disproportion I see in portraits - my some flat, out of focus, not so stylish but for example here:

https://www.instagram.com/creteforlove/?hl=pl

It looks beautiful. I am asking for tips if there is a possibility that I have problems with the camera or maybe it is a matter of processing to get such clarity and flash of the photo. Below a few jpg straight from the camera.

My lenses: Fujinon 23mm 2.0, Fujinon 56mm 1.2 and Viltrox 85.

I use capture one express to process portraits but I am very far from the look of the photos as given in the link

I am sending a few photos to check the quality of the camera.

p.s

I am sorry that he doesn't show these portrait photos, but these are my private photos and I don't want to make them public, but if any of you have time and willingness to help, I will be happy to make private contact.

Can you explain a bit what you don't like about the images?

 

[DarnGoodPhotos]

I can guarantee that none of the instagram photos you like were just camera JPGs. Simplest thing you can do is buy/download some processing presets you like and start there.

--
www.darngoodphotos.com

 

[FujiJon]

Hi,

I have xt3 from few months and I have a problem with the final quality of photos. Watching different profiles, you can find beautiful photos and that was the reason for my investment and change from an old Nikon SLR camera to Fuji. From the very beginning I had reservations about the quality but I thought it was a photographer's matter, so mine. And so I began to learn about the handling and manual settings but there is still a gap between my photos and the quality of others. I know I know they probably have equipment 4-5 times more expensive but there are also beautiful photos from XT-3 that can be found with not one photographer so something must be wrong with me... Finalizing the greatest disproportion I see in portraits - my some flat, out of focus, not so stylish but for example here:

https://www.instagram.com/creteforlove/?hl=pl

It looks beautiful. I am asking for tips if there is a possibility that I have problems with the camera or maybe it is a matter of processing to get such clarity and flash of the photo. Below a few jpg straight from the camera.

My lenses: Fujinon 23mm 2.0, Fujinon 56mm 1.2 and Viltrox 85.

I use capture one express to process portraits but I am very far from the look of the photos as given in the link

I am sending a few photos to check the quality of the camera.

p.s

I am sorry that he doesn't show these portrait photos, but these are my private photos and I don't want to make them public, but if any of you have time and willingness to help, I will be happy to make private contact.

My first comment is that you are using a very wide aperture (f number) which will give you a very narrow depth of field. Compare the last photo with the one above it: in the last one the tree is in focus but not much else, whereas the one above (f5.6) is better (my opinion I know). The one with the woman in the field is pretty good, ask her to turn around next time

Unless you really need the narrow depth of field, stop you lenses down a bit (f5.6 or 8 maybe) which will likely give you a bit more sharpness and a less critical depth of field.

Good luck.

EDIT to add. Try shooting RAW+JPEG. The JPEGs will give you a "baseline" if you want to do your own post processing on the RAWs, and in many cases the JPEGs may be good enough, so you can save time on RAW processing

--
If at first you do succeed, try not to look surprised.

 

[eric333]

The woman standing in the field is a perfectly lovely photo.

 

[Bobo Hodls]

I too see nothing wrong with your examples. But I also have rarely felt a photo out of my own cameras couldn't be improved upon with some degree of post processing (which is why I mainly shoot RAW). The light on a scene or subject often enough may be lovely, but not ideally so throughout.

 

[a_c_skinner]

+1. Smaller aperture, slower shutter, higher ISO. The colours and lighting are all OK. Shoot JPGs for a while as raws will just confuse the issue - you will always wonder if it is your processing. (Shoot raw as well, but leave them to one side for the time being. Lots of wedding pros shoot JPGs to get the proofs out quickly.)

--
Andrew Skinner

 

[Pennyfan]

Hi,

I have xt3 from few months and I have a problem with the final quality of photos.

You need to either know how to post process your raw photos, or simply you do not know how to take photos that look like what you want.

From the examples you showed, they are more high key style, Fuji camera tends to underexpose a little, so you can try keeping your exposure compensation to +1 or more, and apply the right film simulation.

(Your photos look good to me, so I reckon it's not the quality but the style).

 

[Greg7579]

I hear you Brother.

Alex, I know how you feel. I want to check the quality of my GFX 100 every time I see the images that my friends post daily or the superstars like like Jonas Rask post every week.

I saw some B&W images on Flickr today taken with an XT-2 last week with an old 18-55 from somewhere in Holland that are better than any images I have ever taken in my life.

I know the feeling Man.

Keep on shooting and keep on trying.

You may end up like me and never get there, but you can enjoy your equipment and have a lot of fun. Don't give up. You are going to take a few winners and probably already have.

And remember, al lot of those guys are posting their very best stiff - one of a thousand shots. And they shoot raw and know how to work the image.

Oh, by the way.... Don't be so hard on yourself. Your images are pretty darn good.

--
Greg Johnson, San Antonio, Texas
https://www.flickr.com/photos/139148982@N02/albums

 

[enigmatico]

Your camera looks perfectly fine to me. If I didn't know better, I'd think your camera was giving you much better images than the photos in the link you sent. Those wedding shots are too white; the highlights are blown in many of the pictures. The "white theme" is popular but I have seen much better examples of it than the ones that you linked to.

Your Fuji camera can produce many different film looks, which is why many Fuji users choose the brand. Plus you can further adjust the image settings to customise the look even more. But a look like the one you after is best done in post processing. Because if you over-expose like that in-camera you will give yourself a much harder time later and many shots may be unusable.

As others have suggested, you can download some presets for whatever photo app you use. They can be a good starting point from which to make a few additional minor adjustments. I did a Google search for "Lightroom Presets for white effect" and found a few. However I can't recommend them because I don't use them - perhaps another member can help to recommend a good preset product.

 

[Tom Schum]

Hi,

I have xt3 from few months and I have a problem with the final quality of photos. Watching different profiles, you can find beautiful photos and that was the reason for my investment and change from an old Nikon SLR camera to Fuji.

Did you get better results from your old Nikon SLR? Can you post a couple images from it?

The quality of the light in the two above looks quite nice to me.

--
Tom Schum
Copper: Mankind's favorite electrical conductor

 

[a_c_skinner]

Can I make a serious suggestion? Do a factory reset; set it to save JPG and raw. Put everything on auto. That may not be the settings you want but take a load of snaps like that and use the JPGs. Go to the raw files if you need to adjust the light a lot. Study the settings that produces and see how you go on.

Secondly I think more knowledge would help. Buy a good book on photography basics and work through it systematically. I often suggest this one. There is a companion advanced book. Book beats internet because it is systematically written with an editorial process.

 

[biza43]

Problem is not the camera. Seems you know what you want to achieve, but are still on the learning curve.

Imaging workflow starts with visualizing the scene, the end result, what the objective is. A good exercise is before taking a photo, just write down why you want to take it, what you think you need to take it - in terms of light quality, subject interest, etc.

Practice, practice, and then practice some more. If you enjoy portraits, why not take a dedicated workshop?

 

[io_bg]

Alex, these are some fine photos. It takes a while to master your camera so just keep shooting and exploring its abilities (though it can also help a lot to read your manual).

Keep in mind depth of field can be quite thin on large apertures coupled with long lenses like the 56 and 85. Additionally, even though your lenses are quite sharp at large apertures, if you require higher image quality you might need to stop down to, say, f/5.6 and focus carefully to maximize depth of field.

 

[Alex8686]

Thank you all for suggestions and opinions. Moving on to the activities, I send you a converted picture in C1 (photo no. 5 of course from the RAW file). I still think that I am divided by the abyss from the sharpness and splendor of the pictures from the link given earlier and now I do not know myself how much % is my improper work in capure one, and how much % is a weaker camera ... unless someone wants to take a moment to rework this photo and prove it is my fault. Will gladly share a RAW file.




oryginal JPG


after processing the RAW file in C1

 

[DarnGoodPhotos]

You're not going to master the skills in a day; that's not how photography works. You don't have to rely on C1 for everything. You can get the exposure how you want in it and then use another program for a special effect, even if its an app on your phone..

Just keep at it, and you will develop your skills with practice.

PS - If you wanted ultimate sharpness you should have bought the Fuji 90 instead of the Viltrox 85.

 

[Miguel-C]

Thank you all for suggestions and opinions. Moving on to the activities, I send you a converted picture in C1 (photo no. 5 of course from the RAW file). I still think that I am divided by the abyss from the sharpness and splendor of the pictures from the link given earlier and now I do not know myself how much % is my improper work in capure one, and how much % is a weaker camera ... unless someone wants to take a moment to rework this photo and prove it is my fault. Will gladly share a RAW file.


oryginal JPG


after processing the RAW file in C1

Would you mind sharing the RAF with me? I would like to play with it.

--
Cordial Regards

 

[Alex8686]

I sent you link on priv

 

[Alex8686]

DarnGoodPhotos napisał:

Nie opanujesz umiejętności w ciągu jednego dnia; nie tak działa fotografia. Nie musisz polegać na C1 we wszystkim. Możesz uzyskać ekspozycję, jak chcesz, a następnie użyć innego programu, aby uzyskać efekt specjalny, nawet jeśli jest to aplikacja na telefon.

Po prostu trzymaj się tego, a będziesz rozwijać swoje umiejętności poprzez praktykę.

PS - Jeśli chcesz uzyskać najwyższą ostrość, powinieneś kupić Fuji 90 zamiast Viltrox 85.

Thank you for the advice and I will certainly learn photography but I wonder where the quality is because it makes the portlets look totally traceless and it makes me wonder? (In your photo I see flashes and the detail)
ps

apart from viltrox I have a fujinon 23 2.0 and 56 1.2 and there is a similarly poor effect after processing portraits ... skin and clarity is indistinct and pixelated