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Fujifilm cameras and sharpness

I’ve now owned the Xpro2 and x100f and cant get the same amount of detail and sharpness out of those like I can with my M43 gear. Is this an Xtrans sensor issue or the camera’s film simulation software making things soft?
 
I'm not familiar with the X series.

I've used a Fuji S 5 for a number of years in the studio. It is razor sharp. Bought it for 2 reasons
  1. It uses 4 aa batteries which are found everywhere
  2. It is a standard Nikor mount so I can use my stable of lenses
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Legion

Staff member
I’ve now owned the Xpro2 and x100f and cant get the same amount of detail and sharpness out of those like I can with my M43 gear. Is this an Xtrans sensor issue or the camera’s film simulation software making things soft?
Could be your settings. Most of the Fujifilm lenses are very well regarded in terms of sharpness. If you primarily shoot JPEG you can adjust the apparent sharpening in your settings. If you are shooting RAW, then the software you are using to convert the files might be causing the issue.

Also, keep an eye on your shutter speeds. Neither the Xpro2 or the X100f have in body stabilisation, which most M43 cameras have these days. It could be a case of motion blur, which you would not suffer so much with a IBIS camera.
 
i had an earlier version, Fuji X100s, and it was great.
sharp, f/2.0 moderate wide angle lens, apsc sized sensor.
cannot speak about M43 camera.
but the X100S was head and shoulders above most other compact digicams in it's day.
never had a problem with prints or moderate crops.

Trumpers Curzon St shops.jpg
 
I have the X-E2 with the kit zoom lens. That combination is astoundingly sharp! It doesn't matter if I shoot JPEG or RAW they are all great.
 
Then is has to be something to do with my settings if it happened to both of those cameras. I find the ergonomics to be better with my Oly, so I may just stick with it. Now to get rid of the X100F to buy more M43 gear.
 
Then is has to be something to do with my settings if it happened to both of those cameras. I find the ergonomics to be better with my Oly, so I may just stick with it. Now to get rid of the X100F to buy more M43 gear.

are you working with raw or jpg output from your respective cameras?
 
not that I dont find Fuji to be the absolutely most overrated gear on the market (except Neopan, RIP my love), but if you aren't getting the results you want the usual answer has to do with post-processing.

especially when shooting raw, different manufacturers have different image processing in-camera for their sensors, and it can result in a pretty noticeable difference in pixel-level contrast before you do your own steps.

if you are noticing an overall lack of sharpness in downsized images, that is at a contrast level significantly more coarse than anything to do with lens sharpness.

I tended to find that sharpening routines needed to vary not just by maker, but by sensor, such that I would apply different techniques between a 5d mkII and III, although typically just values.

btw if you are that concerned about sharp images I would rent a full frame camera and the 3 Otus lenses such that it can be made clear what 'really sharp' actually is and whether you feel you need anything like that. I tend to find that everything under that or Leica or medium format falls into 'good enough'.

YMMV.
 
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