On 1/18/2015 7:42 PM, Mike Gordon via olympus wrote:
Comparative Moose writes:
For all but very large, perfectly executed display sizes, there's no practical difference. From a processing
standpoint, I find the Oly files easier to get right.
Indeed a very nice analysis--hats off to CM--thanks.
And thank you for saying so. :-)
One other thing that I think has been mentioned of why Bayer files can be
easier to get right:
Color filter arrays (CFA) have trade offs by nature. Xtrans designed so the "green" raw channel has more coverage but
less positional symmetry than in a Bayer sensor and as a direct result there is less high-frequency luminance
"miscalculations" in the interpolation, giving lower noise in raw conversion-(thus placing a premium on performance at
high ISO's over base ISO). The larger B to B and R to R distances necessitate a large chroma smoothing radius
resulting in "watercolor" effects or artifacts--balance seems different with different converters.
I'm afraid none of this was in my thinking when I said that. What you say could indeed explain the overall softness,
although I'd no go so far as 'watercolor effect'. My comment was far more empirical. Using deconvolution to 'recreate'
details just seemed like more work than using NeatImage to push down noise and resharpen a little. Could be as much
about my personal experience as anything.
Accuraw allows one to adjust the balance though have never used it and have not looked into this issue for well over
6mos.
https://sites.google.com/site/accuraw/
The whole converter business seems confusing to me. As I understand it, Fuji cameras come with SlikyPix, which gives
pretty good detail, but doesn't reproduce the JPEG color/contrast/etc. qualities FujiFans like so much. Then Adobe has
worked closely with Fuji to match the desirable JPEG characteristics, but don't, at least according to some, resolve as
much detail.
I've tried recent SilkyPix that came with my Pannys. Reasonably capable, except for highlight recovery, but quite
different than what I'm used to and a little cludgy seeming, to me. Then again, highlight recovery can be a big deal,
and it seems the XTrans sensor systems allow a lot of it. Phillipe's sample Raw image required either -100% Highlights
or - 3 stops of exposure to recover the highlights in ACR, but they came out quite nice, no odd grays or obvious false
color.
Fussing around with minor players seems a lot of trouble. Even if inexpensive, one uses a lot of time developing
expertise in using them. Then will they be around long? Not a big deal with some kinds of programs, but with new cameras
coming along unendingly, a favorite app could become obsolete.
Windoze Moose couldn't use Accuraw. I wasn't wowed by Capture One when I last tried it, and it's not cheap. Then my
second favorite converter, DxO, stays out of XTrans.
Sorta makes me glad I've not gone Fuji XTrans.
That be said the ergonomics and appearance of the Fuji's are often wonderful and the lenses usually have superb
rendering as well.
I seem to have a bit of both a difference in ergonomic preferences and a flexibility in practice, from the average. All
those buttons and wheels just don't seem all that big an advantage to me. I do like two control wheels for some uses.
Otherwise, if I can easily change aperture, EV comp. and switch MF on and off, I mostly don't need anything else for the
vast majority of my shooting.
OTOH, I used the E-PM2 on our trip, and I still like the option of no mode or other wheels to get bumped off my
settings, touch screen turned off and the one little rear control wheel disabled. Put it in and out of bag or pocket,
handle clumsily, and so on, and it's still set where I want it. In that configuration, it does the three things above
handily. I was recently shooting out airplane windows. With some occasional turbulence, some quite severe, and all the
other stuff, I more or less tossed it into and grabbed it out of my bag under the seat in front of me many times. Never
lost a setting.
How can anyone know a lens has 'superb rendering' until they use it quite a bit? What does that mean? I know different
lenses have different characteristics beyond the clearly measurable, but surely different people prefer different qualities.
Wish I were smitten by Xtrans, Mike
Glad I'm Not
--
What if the Hokey Pokey *IS* what it's all about?
--
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