Fuji Introduce An Air Force And A Navy Version Of Their Camera

Well that was a flat-out lie, but you must admit from the look of the things that one looks as though it is land-based and one looks as though it flies off a carrier. The truth is a little more complex.

The silver camera is the Fuji X-M1 fitted with their 16-50 mm f:3.5-5.6 OIS lens - a beautiful all-round piece of glass. The lens delivers the same angles of view that we would expect from a 24-75 lens on a full-frame camera. It is very well built.

The X-M1 is based around the new Fuji X-Trans sensor with a slightly different arrangement of the colour sensors on its surface from the standard Bayer-array that other manufacturers fit. Users can see an increase in colour fidelity and low-noise sensitivity even in jpeg images.

Here I must put a personal note in - I use a Fuji X 10 camera and have never even bothered to shoot RAW with it - though it does do RAW - as the jpegs were so good right from the start. Anyone who gets any of the Fuji cameras would be well advised to test out the jpeg for themselves before switching to RAW. You might find it does all you need without using up extra memory.

Any road, the Fuji X-M1 with that lens is about the $ 1049 mark, give or take an argument
or two.

The blue Navy version is actually the Fuji X-A1. Same body, I think, and same lens, certainly - but the sensor in this one is the more conventional Bayer-array. I'll have to refer you to DP Review to see the complexities of that but it may be that your photo needs would be well met by this level of light handling.

If so, pocket the difference in price - the Fuji X-A1 is about $ 849 - or spend it on a second lens for the camera. I'd pick the 14mm myself, but then I'm a studio and closeup shooter and I'm biased.

Not biased about the Navy or the Air Force, though. Both fine services.

Stereoscopic Low-Light Lenses - Newest Development

News just in from Rochester about the development of new lenses for stereoscopic work.

Apparently they have developed small lenses with a focal length of about 22mm that can be remotely controlled to change their shape to focus on close objects. An electrical signal is fed into the lens and the actual curvature of the lens can be changed. This will eliminate the need for manual focussing helixes or stepping motors in the application.

The lenses are currently limited in their aperture range from about f:2.1 to f:8.3, though one researcher says that the maximum aperture is closer to f:3. The lenses are being paired with dual-element sensors that can be dialled up to a considerable ISO. Unfortunately when the ISO approaches the maximum the colour information is switched off. So far the maximum resolution of the experimental sensor is only 5 megapixels but this may be increased  - it is understood that funding is being sought from private investors to do this.

Up until now the maximum shutter speed of the test rig has been about 1/50 of a second.

Apparently there is a 20-stop dynamic range with the sensor, but the monochrome limit applies at the lowest light levels.

One interesting thing I saw in the photos of the test rig was the automatic tracking mechanism that allows the cameras to go from a straight lock for infinity to a slight inward tilt for closeup objects. This can give a sort of three-D effect.

So far these lenses and sensors are in a developmental stage but already the marketing boys are adding their input - the iris diaphragms come in grey, green, blue, and brown.

Note: apparently they are also thinking of equipping each lens/ sensor assembly with automatic covers that close over them for about 8 hours out of 24.

A Guide For The Perplexed Pixel

I noted recently that my little 3-D stereoscope - I got it as a child - has been repeating itself over and over. I think it is a Déja-View Master... Those of you old enough to appreciate this will also like the next bit.

We get all sorts of service calls here for repairs and maintenance to digital cameras. One of the most frequent worries is material contaminating the sensor and showing up in the image.  Here is a little guide to understanding what you see and what to do about it.

1. Vague grey blobs on an even grey ground are dust particles on the sensor - they shade the surface and thus it is darker, with a fuzzy outline. You may see a crescent-shaped item - likely a hair on the sensor.

You can clean the sensor yourself with a number of commercial brushes and swabs, but in the hands of the ham-fisted, this can carry a real danger of scratching the delicate surface. Ruin the sensor and you might as well buy a new camera...

Better plan is to let the technicians here at CE clean it for you. They do not ruin sensors, and the cost and time required for this service is not excessive. $44 for a small mirrorless camera, $55 for an APSC sensor, and $77 for a full frame DSLR.

2. The well defined grey blob with eight legs is a spider in a bathtub. Don't scoff - in 40 years in the trade I have seen a number of film and digital cameras infested with mites and crawlies of various types. Insecticide fumes and a mechanical cleaning get rid of them. If you discover a Huntsman in your mirror box, don't take off the lens, whatever you do...

3. We were asked how to get rid of this irregular-shaped mark on the image. If it is just one-off I would suggest Photoshopping it out with the clone tool. If you get a have a lot of these recurring, get yourself a Mossberg .410 and a box of No.7 shells.

4. This is harder to get rid of. And you get yourself in real trouble with the DCA if you try. Best idea is to turn away from it and photograph another bit of the sky. These marks rarely intrude themselves into interior shots or family portraits...