Fujifilm offers a range of healthcare products and services that utilize advanced technologies, including AI. These solutions are designed to support medical professionals across various fields such as Healthcare IT, MRI/CT, X-ray, endoscopy, ultrasound, and IVD.
If you think you have the flu, time is of the essence. The sooner you get a sure diagnosis, the sooner treatment can start and the sooner you’ll feel better. Since influenza is highly contagious, early detection is also vital to protect others from catching it.
Up until now, influenza was not detectable early on. But an intrepid Fujifilm researcher took a hard look at the problem, went back over 80 years of film development technology and found a way to identify the flu virus faster. Called IMMUNO AG1, it involves gold and is 100 times more sensitive than previous methods. A special process minimizes false positives.
So now, flu patients can get the right treatment sooner, and flu outbreaks can be contained more easily. Good as gold!
This is a two part blog into the adventures of Tom Corban and his trip through North & Northwest India, if you missed the original post you can view it here.
As the trip went on and the temperature increased, I appreciated not having a rucksack covering my back. I began to realise that I was missing something. It was really brought home to me when we went north into the Himalayas to do some mountain biking. We were cycling downhill on a narrow bumpy mud track with a steep cliff face going up on one side and a sheer drop of over 1 kilometre on the other and I realised that there is only so much weight you want bouncing around on you, irrespective of how you are carrying it. I started fantasizing about my X-E2 with its kit lens, but more about that later.
Spiti Valley, Himachal Pradesh, India. Jo finishing a 26 km cycle ride which started at 3940 m, descended to 3413 m, then climbed back to 3627 m. Quite an achievement at that altitude.
One of the nice things about this trip was that it was a holiday. There was no pressure and no deadline for any images. This gave me the chance to experiment with the Fuji kit without worrying about making any errors. It may sound unprofessional to some people but I have been so impressed by the Fuji Jpegs that I now rarely shoot RAW files. I had not really explored the various film settings and tended to use the Standard and Velvia settings almost exclusively. Having now experimented with the film settings, I am developing a soft spot for the Black and white with a yellow (or in some instances red) filter and I have found that in the right setting the Chrome can be stunning. I had an almost childish delight in finding out what the camera could do.
A man sits on blue steps outside his house in Jodhpur Old City, Rajasthan, India. Jodhpur is also known as the blue city because of the large number of houses and walls painted blue which, according to the locals, repels termites which are a problem in the area.
We had decided to limit our travel to the north and north west of the country, travelling by train, bus and in the more remote areas, camel and 4 wheel drive. I was interested to see how the Fuji kit stood up to the rigour of travel and how it performed in some challenging environments. I was aware that my photography had already changed as a result of using Fuji cameras but it became much more noticeable on this trip. I made fewer images and I have become, on the whole, slower. This is not a bad thing as I find that I am getting the results I want with the Jpegs straight out of the camera.
Delhi, India. India Gate at sunset, The 42 m high archway stands in the center of New Delhi and commemorates the 70,000 Indian soldiers who lost their lives fighting for the British Army during World War 1. It also bears the names of British and Indian soldiers killed in the Afghan war of 1919. The structure sits in a large expanse of green lawns which are popular for picnics and cricket on summer evenings.
Slower behind the camera and then less time in front of the computer suits me well. I have also found that I have fewer “technical” rejects. I find that the focusing on the X-T1 is not as fast as the Canon 5D mk 3 so in some circumstances I have more out of focus shots than I would expect. However, for me this is more than made up for by the fact that I have far fewer unsharp photographs caused by camera shake in low light settings because of the wider aperture of the Fuji lenses, the lack of a mirror and the vibration it causes and the ease of holding the camera steady.
Phul Mahal (The Palace of Flowers) in the Mehrangarh Fort,Jodhpur, India. Built in the mid 18th centuryit was probably used as a private audience hall. A stunning room but with with very little light showing what the X-T1 can do in difficult lighting conditions.
Perhaps if I were doing a lot of fast action work I would be more tempted to use the full frame camera but as things stand the Fuji suits me fine.
In low light settings such as religious services in Varanasi, the Fuji kit showed its strengths. Wonderfully sharp lenses and a camera that I could hold in my hands at slow shutter speeds.
Sunrise on the Ganges at Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. Garlands of flowers and candles given as offerings float on the river as the sun rises.
The weather sealing stood up well in some difficult situations with temperatures of over 50 C in the desert and below freezing in the Himalayas, as well as rain, sand and huge amounts of fine powder dye during the Holi celebrations in Jaipur. There was a little wear on the camera body and the rubber cover that protects the HDMI, remote release and USB sockets has become a little misshapen with the heat but it’s a solid body built to last.
A man bathes in the river Ganges at Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. Hindu’s consider the Ganges to be the most sacred river in India and thousands visit the Holy city of Varanasi to cleans their sins in the spiritually purifying water. Environmentalists are concerned about the high levels of pollution in the river caused by the increase in population and the resultant increase in pollutants discharged into the river.
Did I make the right decision to take the Fuji Kit with me on this trip?
Absolutely. It’s a joy to use. The full kit fitted into a small waist bag with the lens hoods still on the lenses, I had no difficulty keeping the sensor clean, the Jpegs were wonderful straight out of the camera and the film simulations are good (I mean really good). I can also hold it in my hands at low shutter speeds, the lenses are sharp and I had no trouble with chromatic aberrations.
With a kit that performed like that, what more could I possibly want?
Well my X-E2 with its kit lens really.
I said earlier that we had been lucky on this trip. Whilst that’s true, we did have some difficult times. We had a bag with my Fuji X-E2 and Jo’s phone in it stolen on a sleeper train from Varanasi to Agra. I had taken my X-E2 on a various trips around Europe during the past couple of years and was really fond of it. It was the sort of camera and lens combination that you could carry unobtrusively and I loved wandering around new cities with it. Heat, rain, fog – just tuck it under your jacket. As our India trip went on, I found myself wanting it as a second camera. I know that this sounds a bit excessive but the option of occasionally leaving the full kit in the hotel and just spending some time wandering around with a smaller, lighter camera and the kit lens was very appealing and certainly would have been useful when we were cycling.
It had never been an option before as there was never anywhere secure that was large enough to lock up my full frame camera and lenses and, as a result, I would carry everything with me all the time. You do get used to it but it’s an ongoing nuisance and wonderfully liberating when you get home and don’t have to carry a heavy bag everywhere. To my delight, I found that the small safes that hotels all over the world use was large enough to fit all my Fuji kit in and still leave room for a backup hard drive and a few other odds and ends.
It’s a real game changer as it gives me the option of going out with the full kit or just the X-E2. Well it would give me that option if someone had not stolen the X-E2! I will clearly have to replace it. Mind you I have not seen the X Pro2 yet but it certainly looks good on paper and the reviews are encouraging. Now, back in England, I find myself wondering if the X Pro2 will be the camera that finally makes me sell my Canon kit and move to Fuji completely.
Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India. Young women in traditional dress during Himachal Day. Himachal Day celebrates the creation of the State of Himachal Pradesh after independence in 1948. Hima means snow in Sanskrit and Himachal literally means “The land of snow”
And if you’d like to read more from Tom check out: To Glastonbury and beyondfeatured here at fujifilm-blog.com.
Today Bloomberg reported about regenerative medicine in Japan. Four years ago, Shinya Yamanaka, a Kyoto University professor, had won the Nobel Prize for his work in stem cell biology, which has since sparked investment into regenerative medicine in Japan. Companies like Fujifilm and Hitachi Ltd. have also made investments on technology and products using Yamanaka’s discovery. Through an acquisition of Japan Tissue Engineering Co. Ltd, Fujifilm is already supplying patients in Japan with artificially generated skin and cartilage. Read the full interview with FUJIFILM Corporation Mr. Toda, Executive Vice President, and Mr. Ban, General Manager of Regenerative Medicine business. Read more.
Fabio Camandona became a photographer in 2007 during a vacation, twenty years after the thought “I’d like to be a photographer” first entered his head. From there he embarked on an intense independent study of the art, which led to him becoming a Master of the Nikon School in just two years, holding many high-level workshops for the company and himself. He began photographing weddings almost by chance, and with the arrival of his wife Simona Pilolla, he opened a studio called CamandonaPilolla which has had great success across the nation. Member of Fearless Photographers, the official photographer for both the Reggia di Venaria and the Torino Polytechnic University, and testimonial for Fujifilm Italia, he continues to hold numerous workshops despite the many weddings he photographs every year. He defines himself as an extremely simple person who loves life and living it.
“I’ve owned a Fujifilm X-E2 for two full months, one of the most recent mirrorless cameras to be released by a company which gave a raison d’être to the mirrorless sector and managed to win over the market.
I’ve been following this sector for quite some time now. I’ve always harboured great interest in it and have been waiting for the moment when it would become possible to sell all my reflex cameras and continue to work using lighter and less invasive bodies.
I had some requisites that needed fulfilling however:
I didn’t want any significant loss in quality compared to the cameras I was using before. I have a Nikon D600 and D700, both of which are up for sale at the moment. They’re excellent cameras. They’ve allowed me to do things that have satisfied me personally and have helped me to produce images which have received appreciation in various countries around the world. With two great lenses in front of the sensor, I knew I couldn’t accept a decrease in quality. I needed something that was at least equal. Many have asked me, “why don’t you want more?” It is because I believe that there is a limit beyond which I would just be looking for trouble. Keep in mind that I am talking about MY personal photography. With these two cameras I was able to do everything I wanted. They were exceptional.
Reactivity. I do lots of weddings in the Kabul style. What does this mean? It means that our clients know very well that they need not pay any attention to us during their special day. As such, they dart back and forth from one part of the house to another, to the church and to the location, doing exactly what they want while we race behind them. (And rightly so: it’s their day!) For this reason, I need an autofocus that is both instantaneous and precise.
High ISO. Weddings are almost always in the evening. The locations are romantic and dark. High ISO is indispensable and 6400 is the bare minimum. I don’t expect every pixel to come out clean like at 200 ISO but I want my images to be useable. The D600 gave me what I wanted, the D700 didn’t.
Strobism. The technique of using flash controlled remotely via transmitter. I use it almost all the time. For me it’s fundamental.
Resilience. Ah yes, it’s important. Cameras and lenses fall, get wet in the rain and become victims of spilt martinis and flying sushi. It happens.
In short, a mirrorless had to give me everything I’ve listed above. However, I was also looking for a few extra characteristics that a reflex could never provide…
Discretion. Discretion as in not being identified as a crazy paparazzi. Discretion is something that can allow me to take NEW kinds of photographs and this is very important to me. Much more important than a crop or a shallow depth of field created by a Noctilux lens. Enormously important. New photos, new emotions.
Weight. Carrying around two catafalques for 12-14 hours was a lot. They were heavy; during the final hours I was always exhausted and a little bit aggravated. The desire to jump to my feet and photograph the bride being thrown in the air by her friends was purely psychological: my body, on the other hand, would be cursing me. We do lots of weddings but on top of that, we also engage in other services, workshops and of course, personal photography – in other words, a lot of shooting. About halfway through the season last year, I experienced a very strong inflammation of the meniscus and at the end of the season, I was completely burned out.
New incentives like the ones the iPhone gave me two years ago or the Fuji X20 (a super camera but not comparable to a reflex and thus appropriate for other purposes). There is always a need for new incentives and challenges.
Every year I tried the newest releases but there was always a missing link. Last year the X-E2 was released and as the slogan goes: the AF is lightning fast! (Well, more or less.) Interesting. The autofocus was one crucial aspect that Fujifilm always struggled with.
I wrote to Fujifilm, suggesting a one year project and they accepted. It was at that point I pleasantly discovered just how wonderful the company is. A company that keeps its promises. A company that goes above and beyond. I admit that I’m still a bit dumbfounded.
They sent me the X-E2 with three lenses: the 18-55mm kit lens, a 14mm wide-angle lens and a medium 60mm lens. I bought myself a couple of batteries and I was ready to go. I started to search for potential test shoots to verify whether or not my needs could be met.
The first: Its inauguration. A paid event similar to a wedding. The results? Excellent.
The second: A semi-sports photo feature at the Thay Boxe Mania event in Torino. A paid job. Again, excellent results.
The third: My best landscape workshop of the year, Snowscape. We’re talking serious landscapes. For the 14mm I bought ND filters, remote shooting etc. Excellent, just excellent.
The fourth: A photo feature at the fast-paced Orange Battle of Ivrea following the Devils under the floats. Excellent once again.
In between I had a few engagement, landscape and corporate jobs. The X-E2 shone every time.
In short, I’ve realised that I haven’t lost anything compared to my old gear. The images from the Fuji during the tests provided at least the same quality. In some cases, it was even better. Actually, sincerely speaking, it was always better but I repeat, going “beyond” the quality of my old gear simply isn’t important. I’m more interested in other features.
More than anything, I’ve released that I tend to take far more photos during the spare time between one service and another. It’s small, and it’s always on you. You naturally take photos with it.
One of the educational topics I often push at my workshops is just that: the act of taking photos. You have to take lots if you want to improve and this applies to anyone. With this camera, I’ve taken many more photos than I ever did before.
I tested the camera at high ISO speeds. I looked at the reactivity, the robustness, the quality of the files, the portability and its use for strobism. (By the way, the Yongnuo RF603 kit for Canon works just fine with the Fujis.)
But there was one aspect that made me reflect more than anything. I’ve always loved participating in photography groups and sites such as ArtFreelance, Shot Magazine, Full Frame, 500px, loveyourpix and so on. It’s something I do often. I measure the quality of my photos by how many times I am selected by the editors and by their placement in the various galleries some groups use. It’s useful, and the comparison continues. There are some very skilled people in these groups.
Let’s just say that since I started using the X-E2, the number of times I’ve been selected by the editors has doubled.
I’ve come to notice that I shoot much as I used to in some ways, but quite differently in others. I don’t really understand the reason but I believe it is also related to the question of chemistry. The positive attention I’ve received from Fujifilm has surely helped as well. In fact, it’s probably related to a number of things. But in the end, who cares? I’m producing better images for myself and my clients and that’s what counts. Nothing else matters.
Yes, I am selling my entire reflex system. The switch is effective as of now – I’m going mirrorless and the Fujifilm X-E2 is my camera of choice.
P.S. The question of chemistry is a fundamental one. I know many photographers (colleagues and friends) who for various reasons continue to use the reflex system. Reasons include being involved in a particular micro-sector of photography, the need for a large grip or a general indifference towards the gear used. Obviously if it works for them, then that’s fine.
What is the X-Signature range then? Recently, I was made aware of the new “pimping” service of the X-Series of cameras that Fujifilm have launched in the UK and I believe, worldwide. The Service involves having your X-Series Camera skinned with a choice of many different options. Current options include; Racing Green, Burnt Orange, Black Lizard, Blue Lizard, Beige Lizard Emboss, Light Green Lizard, Navy Blue Crinkle, Red Lizard and Red Crinkle Emboss.
Now, I’m a reportage wedding photographer right? Part of my remit at a wedding is try not to stand out in the crowd and to blend in as much as possible. So, with that in mind, I decided to avoid options such as Red Lizard and Burnt Orange (though I’m sure these will be fine choices for certain people!). Instead, I went for Black Lizard. Why? Well, because it’s black….mostly.
The process has been superb. I ordered my “pimping” on Tuesday. On Wednesday morning I received a pre-paid box and padded envelope. I popped my X-Pro1 in the post on Wednesday afternoon. Less that forty eight hours later I receive a parcel from Fuji with my brand new X-Signature Skinned X-Pro1.
For what it’s worth, as you know, I’m an official X-Photographer and a working professional. My cameras do take a battering and I was really keen to see the new skins in action. I chose my X-Pro1 as it’s my oldest work horse and probably, a bit like me, needed a face lift of some kind.
The box arrived. All plush and very very well presented. Inside the lovely box is the X-Pro1 with its X-Signature skin.
Now, the X-Pro1 had a pretty good feel in the hand and I never had the need to “grip” it to avoid slipping in the hand and it’s important that the X-Signature Skins offer that same tactile embrace. And it does. It actually feels better in the hand, and almost gives it a “better quality” feel.
According to the Fujifilm website you can “Personalise your camera by choosing from one of the fantastic customised Signature colours and textures. Whether you already own a camera or are looking to purchase one today, simply select a style to suit your personality and we’ll get your tailor-made camera to you in a flash.”
And pretty much I think that sums it up. Listen, having your X-E1 in Red Lizard isn’t going to make you a better photographer. It’s probably going to make you cooler that me of course icon smile Pimping my Fuji X Pro1 ~ X Signature Skin Ultimately this is about personalisation of your camera. It had to be excellent quality and materials that are good for the rough and tumble of the average wedding photographer.
Good Value? I think so. It’s not going to be for everyone of course but if you fancy being a bit different and adding a bit of quality personalisation to your camera then go for it.
Kevin Mullins is an award winning UK Wedding Photographer specialising in the documentary style of wedding photography. To see more of his work you can follow him on Facebook or follow his blog. Kevin’s non-wedding related Fuji content is on his new Fuji specific blog over at The Owl.
