X-PRO 1 RAW file processing

As you all aware there is an issue with with X-PRO 1 raw files. Lightroom creates a watercolor effect and provided Silkypix converter creates washed out images and it is too cumbersome to use. But  I was and still am extremely happy with OOC jpeg files. Images are clean, colorful and sharp.
Today I tried a new workflow published by Kinematic Digit on Flickr and it works really well. Here is my comparison:

01_JPG.tif  - OOC jpeg
02_RAF_KD.tif  - raw file converted using KD's method
03_RAF_LR.tif - raw file converted with LR standard settings
04_RAF_SP.tif - raw file converted with Silkypix

Results are very good but I still can't still justify an extra work.

Cheers,

vkphoto

Pictures from the cottage - X-Pro 1

Couple shots from the cottage country in Haliburton (Ontario) area. The weather up there is still pretty good and unusually warm, but no colours yet.

Stormy Lake. Fujifilm X-Pro 1 + MD ROKKOR-X 85MM 1:1.7

More pictures are here:

Shooting with Kodak DCS 520

Once the the camera was revived I took it for a real life test.

By modern standards it is bulky and heavy but well balanced. It works well with all  my Canon lenses, supports AF/IS functions, controls are very simple to navigate. Sensor is CCD type, 2 million pixels (1728 x 1152) 2:3 aspect ratio and 1.6x focal length multiplier. Considering that NASA is using 2 MP camera for mission to Mars specs are not bad at all.
The pictures are captured in a RAW (proprietary TIF) format which is fully supported by LR/PS. Converted to TIFF the file size is 6 MB.

I was shooting mostly with EF 70-200 1:4 L and 24-105 1:4 L lenses in aperture priority @ ISO 200 with -2/3 EV expo correction. All images were post-processed in LR to my liking.
Enjoy!

Reviving Kodak DCS 520C

Wikipedia: Kodak DCS
=================

Kodak DSC 520 (Canon D2000) was introduced in 1998 at MSRP around $16,500 (according to DigiCam History Dot Com). Today you can find it on eBay for about $250 or less. The camera is based on professional Canon EOS-1N body and Kodak 2 million pixel CCD. As per Phil Askeys' excellent review  (1999) it was "Most, Hugely, Very, Highly recommended. The best image quality, high resolution, colour and gray balance. A "reference camera". There were several versions produced including colour, monochrome and infrared (to be confirmed).  *Update: Kodak DCS 520 was produced as colour only (520C), no other variants.
When couple weeks ago I saw Kodak DCS 520C on eBay for $199 I just grabbed it:)
The package included camera body (in almost mint condition with less than 1500 actuation), battery and camera AC adapter.

I was extremely excited to find out how this, one of the first professional DSLR, performs and took it for a test. But...

Picture of the day (2012-08-26)

Man in the hat.

I am still working on my "non scientific" review of some old Kodak digital cameras. But I couldn't resist to publish this one ahead of time.

Kodak DCS 520C, Canon 70-200 1:4 L

This shot was taken just before dawn, at ISO 200.

Thanks,
vkphoto