Last month I tested all my Fuji lenses for sharpness across the frame and for de-centring. I had printed off some star charts and the image below shows their layout on my lounge room wall using an idea I got here.
Needless to say all the lenses were without fault and even the “kit” lenses were of a high standard.
Lately the high megapixel race seems to have taken off with Sony, Canon and Phase One leading the charge. Bearing in mind Fujifilm will release the X-T2 this year, I thought I’d run a quick and dirty test to see how much detail I could extract from the X-T1 sensor using one of the star chart photographs from the 50-140mm lens @ 50mm. Exposure was half a second at f/8.
The raw file was processed in PhotoNinja with a little sharpening, but the Lightroom version wasn’t that much different. The file was sent to Photoshop for processing in Topaz Detail (with the layer opacity to 30%) and then Perfect Resize. I wouldn’t normally bother with this last step but I wanted to see how far I could push the image. I guess the whole process took about ten minutes.
Here is a crop of the bottom right hand corner.
I can’t see anything wrong with the amount of detail.
Here is a crop of that crop.
I print on a Canon ipf6300 which is a high end printer with a maximum width of 24 inches. This photograph has detail that is getting near the limit of what I can reproduce in print. It occurs to me that this 16mp camera and lens is good enough for my real needs. Doesn’t seem right somehow but I have to trust my eyes.
Nowadays I feel safe just choosing a camera based on the system’s handling, menu system, dynamic range, lens bokeh, and whether I’m going to throw the camera in the car and enjoy using it or think twice about dragging around a bunch of stuff that makes me tired.
Last time I flew with the Fuji gear my carry-on contained two bodies, 3 zooms and sundries, and I was 3kg underweight. Good.
Will I upgrade when the X-T2 comes out? Oh yes. But I realise there will be no hurry. Maybe wait until Fuji offers a cash-back (fat chance of my waiting that long say my friends).