From what I've read on though, the X100S is is not capable of actually synching at anything faster than 1/1000 if it's wide open. You can set a faster shutter speed, and the camera will fire, and the exif will record it, but the camera is limited by physics and so if it's at f/2 the shutter will compensate and only operate at 1/1000 (still not shabby). If you want to synch at faster speeds, you need to stop down - which kind of defeats the purpose. Has to do with the outer edges of the leaf shutter getting less exposure due to the properties of the shutter once you get to 1/1000s (way oversimplified).
HERE is a strobist article on the X100S and high speed flash synching. When you go through the math you realize that even the little built-in flash can make a big difference when wide open using the ND filter.
HERE is a cool article on petapixel with slow motion analysis of flash synch at regualr and high speeds.
Anyway, enough gear head talk. It doesn't take anything away from those awesome shots. Just wanted to share that you really can't go any faster than 1/1000s synch, and the camera is designed to compensate for that.
Not quite true. You can't go any faster than 1/1000 at f2.
If you're happy taking a photo at f5.6 then you can sync at 1/4000 if the flash is on a cord. You won't get full flash power but it works fine at close range.
Went out yesterday for my first full day's shooting with the x100s, having used an x100 for the last couple of years. I was shooting on ProNeg Hi which I found gave me very nice colours and contrast and will replace Standard Provia for me. All my (indoor) shots were at ISO 1250 and on JPG. Overall result: the x100s provides sharp files and is much easier to use, esp while choosing/moving the AF point. At no time did I see the reported tendency to underexpose.
As for subject matter, I decided to concentrate just on the aircraft markings as the planes were so close together that a full length shot always involved bits of 5 other planes.
So, I think I'm starting to get it now. The thing with this camera is that I really am taking it everywhere and it just makes me want to take pictures. I believe this is the most important feature of this camera. It's cool. It makes me shoot.
Just a quick few snaps from this morning. I love how she holds the bar of her play-pen and sucks her thumb at the same time.
The bizarre thing is I think the B&W jpeg sooc are a little sharper than the colour files. I don't know if I'm just seeing things but I wonder if the processing algorithms for B&W do something differently with the sharpness.
ct8282 wrote:
So, I think I'm starting to get it now. The thing with this camera is that I really am taking it everywhere and it just makes me want to take pictures. I believe this is the most important feature of this camera. It's cool. It makes me shoot.
Just a quick few snaps from this morning. I love how she holds the bar of her play-pen and sucks her thumb at the same time.
The bizarre thing is I think the B&W jpeg sooc are a little sharper than the colour files. I don't know if I'm just seeing things but I wonder if the processing algorithms for B&W do something differently with the sharpness....Show more →
Those are nice, like the last one best as well.
I just discovered that I can keep shooting RAW, and then develop with the different styles in camera after the fact. Pretty cool, allows you to apply different styles to the same shot, and still have the RAW.
I've figured out how to either shoot RAW and then develop or shoot RAW+JPG, and with a card reader take the files right from the card into my tablet for uploading....great for when traveling.
Thanks Robert - yes, I agree that SOMEBODY is watching over college kids ... I drove to Houston and College Station so many times from Austin when I SHOULDN'T have - but somehow came out just fine. I must have driven through La Grange 500 times and never once gave it a second thought. Now, I can't imagine moving back to the city EVER. Lovely little place this is ...
Katie,
I didn't look at your profile till later, but the moment I saw the courthouse, I knew it was Texas. Must be a 100 counties in TX and all the little ones have a beautiful old courthouse like this in the town's center square. Passed thru Bastrop and La Grange more than once in my University days as we made the kamikaze run to Mardi Gras. (Non-stop down, drink for 24 hours in the streets, non-stop back. Must be angels that cover fools and college boys.) Lovely shot.
Ian Boys wrote:
Not quite true. You can't go any faster than 1/1000 at f2.
You are mistaken. It will fire (and sync with fast enough triggers) at 1/2000 and even up to 1/4000 at f2. The only negative, and the reason Fuji makes the numbers red when you go above 1/1000 is that the bokeh gets a little bit funky. If the shot doesn't have a strong bokeh (like christmas lights in the background) shoot away at 1/2000+.
brett maxwell wrote:
You are mistaken. It will fire (and sync with fast enough triggers) at 1/2000 and even up to 1/4000 at f2. The only negative, and the reason Fuji makes the numbers red when you go above 1/1000 is that the bokeh gets a little bit funky. If the shot doesn't have a strong bokeh (like christmas lights in the background) shoot away at 1/2000+.
everything I've read and seen indicates that even though the camera will show it is synching at higher speeds (it will fire when set, the exif shows it), that the engine in the camera limits the shutter to 1/1000s when open to f/2.
Take a look at THIS article. You can actually see the shutter takes approximately 1/600s second to close when set wide open at f/2, and then you can see when you synch at 1/1000 the shutter actually has already started to close when the flash fires. When set to 1/4000, the shutter is almost halfway closed when the flash fires - which means you're' around f/2.8 but with a funky shutter-shaped aperture instead of the nice round one. It seems the fuji engine compensates for any shutter speeds above 1/1000 with flash by making the shutter start to close early. So yes, the shutter speed was faster than 1/1000...but the shutter being partially closed explains the "odd bokeh", and you not really at f/2.
1/1000s @ f/2 is the sweet spot. Any faster, and you might as well just stop down - because that's effectively what the camera is doing for you anyway by partially closing the shutter before the flash fires.
I must have driven through La Grange 500 times and never once gave it a second thought. Now, I can't imagine moving back to the city EVER. Lovely little place this is ...
