Digital Teleconverter | FUJI X WEEKLY

Is the Fujifilm X100VI Digital Teleconverter any good?

*Fujifilm X100VI — 50mm Digital Teleconverter*

Let’s talk about the X100VI Digital Teleconverter! Beginning with the X100F, Fujifilm has included a Digital Teleconverter on each of their X100-series cameras. The X100VI also has this feature, but it works just a little different. What’s divergent and how it might be useful is something I’ll discuss in this article.

The X100VI, like all the previous X100-series cameras, has a 23mm lens, which is 35mm full-frame equivalent, permanently attached to the front. While 35mm is a very useful focal-length, obviously it is also quite a constraint. You have to embrace the one-camera-one-lens philosophy; since limitations improve art, this can be greatly beneficial. Still, there are times when a little additional versatility is appreciated.

*Fujifilm X100VI — 70mm Digital Teleconverter*

To add some versatility to your X100VI, you could use the WCL and TCL conversion lenses, which can be attached to the front of the camera in order to make it more wide-angle or telephoto. This obviously makes the camera bigger and heavier, and you’ve got to carry a lens or two with you. It’s not an ideal situation, but not really any different than if you had an interchangeable-lens model with a few lenses, except probably still more compact and lightweight.

The other option is a feature built into the camera called the Digital Teleconverter. This is a digital zoom that crops the picture to either 32mm (50mm full-frame equivalent) or 46mm (70mm full-frame equivalent). I have mentioned several times that the 40mp sensor makes sense on an X100 camera because of the Digital Teleconverter; otherwise, 40mp is overkill for most photographers—only those who crop really deeply or print their pictures huge need that much resolution. For most people, 20mp is plenty enough. More resolution can cause storage issues and take longer to transfer and all sorts of other things, so sometimes less is more. Anyway, with the fixed-lens limitation, in situations where additional versatility is needed, the extra resolution can come in handy.

For the Digital Teleconverter on the X100F and X100V, Fujifilm did an upscale trick that increased the apparent resolution of the picture to 24mp or 26mp, respectively. Obviously upscaling can’t add details that weren’t there in the first place, but it appeared to do so. Basically, the camera takes the data from the surrounding pixels, and makes new “pixels” in-between from that information, than applies a little micro-sharpness to crisp it up. The reality is that there is only (for example) 6.5mp of data on the X100V using the 70mm Digital Teleconverter, but it appears that there is a lot more than that, perhaps closer to 12mp—that’s clearly not 26mp, but still significantly more apparent resolution than 6.5mp. I thought it was pretty slick, although the 70mm Digital Teleconverter is definitely pushing the boundary of what could and should be done; the 50mm Digital Teleconverter is much more practical. Yes, one can upscale using software, but I always appreciate when the camera can do something for me, so that I don’t have to sit at a computer and fiddle with software—I have better things to do with my time.

The Digital Teleconverter on the X100VI works a little differently. Gone is the upscale; it’s just a crop. The 50mm Digital Teleconverter crops the picture to 20mp, which is still plenty of resolution for most people. The 70mm Digital Teleconverter crops the picture to 10mp, which is fine for social media and web use, but is limiting for prints—12″ x 18″ is definitely the upper limit of how large you can go. I would like an option, which could be enabled or disabled, that would allow the 50mm Digital Teleconverter images to be upscaled to 40mp, and especially the 70mm Digital Teleconverter images to be upscaled to 20mp. I’d probably disable it for 50mm and enable it for 70mm. Unfortunately, this isn’t an option, but I’m sure Fujifilm could include it in a future firmware update if they wanted to, and hopefully they do (but probably won’t).

On the X100F, the Digital Teleconverter only works when the camera is set to JPEG, and you cannot use it with RAW. On the X100V and X100VI, the Digital Teleconverter will work with RAW+JPEG; you can reprocess the RAW file in-camera with or without the Digital Teleconverter crop. The RAW file is uncropped; however, the thumbnail preview of the RAW file is of the cropped JPEG.

One problem that I have with the Digital Teleconverter is that it doesn’t scale Grain size. If you have Grain size set to Small, on the 50mm Digital Teleconverter it will appear more like Medium (which, I know, doesn’t exist—but it should!), and on the 70mm Digital Teleconverter it will appear more like Large. Grain set to Large appears quite massive when using the Digital Teleconverter, especially the 70mm option; while this can be used creatively, it is otherwise not ideal, and I would avoid using Large Grain with the Digital Teleconverters. One day I hope that Fujifilm will figure out how to scale the Grain so that it appears the same size whether or not you are using this feature.

*Fujifilm X100VI — 35mm (Digital Teleconverter Off) — Weak/Large Grain*

*Fujifilm X100VI — 50mm Digital Teleconverter — Weak/Large Grain*

*Fujifilm X100VI — 70mm Digital Teleconverter — Weak/Large Grain*

Invariably, someone will say, “Just carry an interchangeable-lens model.” Of course that’s great advice if 1) that camera plus its lenses can fit into a sweater pocket, 2) it has a leaf shutter and smart fill-flash with high-speed sync, 3) has a built-in ND filter, 4) is weather-sealed, 5) isn’t prone to dust on the sensor, and 6) can change focal lengths as quickly as turning a ring. There are advantages to the X100VI that no other Fujifilm camera can match; however, like every model, there are also some disadvantages. The Digital Teleconverter is a tool to minimize one of the disadvantages.

Someone will also say, “Just accept that it is a 35mm lens, and forget about 50mm and 70mm.” I think in many situations this is a good approach, but not in all. For example, the Digital Teleconverter came in quite handy at a local airshow. Also, I think that using the X100VI as a 50mm camera could be a lot of fun, and 20mp is still plenty of resolution. I believe that some people will use the 50mm Digital Teleconverter regularly just for the fun of it, and I think it illustrates that an X100 camera with a 50mm-equivalent lens would be desirable.

The answer to the question I posed in the title of this article—is the Fujifilm X100VI Digital Teleconverter any good?—is: maybe and sometimes. On the X100VI, it’s just a crop, which you could easily do yourself. The 40mp sensor has so much resolution, that cropping is no big deal. I prefer the concept of the Digital Teleconverter with upscaling found on the X100V more than the non-upscaled X100VI, personally. I had figured that the extra resolution would make it more useful, but this change made it only about equally as useful. Since you can crop yourself without any trouble, you might find that the camera doing it for you is unnecessary; however, you might appreciate seeing exactly how that crop will look. I used the Digital Teleconverter quite extensively at the airshow, but I don’t anticipate using it all of the time. I will likely activate the 50mm option occasionally, but I will likely avoid the 70mm Digital Teleconverter, and just crop myself if I need to.

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Fujifilm X100VI in black: Amazon, B&H, Moment, Wex, Nuzira
Fujifilm X100VI in silver: Amazon, B&H, Moment, Wex, Nuzira

The Upcoming Fujifilm X100VI Raises Questions

Posted on January 25 by Ritchie Roesch

Fujifilm is on the cusp of announcing the X100V successor, which they’ve named X100VI. Thanks to Fujirumors, we know just a little about the camera, including that it will have the 40mp X-Trans V sensor and In-Body-Image-Stabilization (IBIS).

The sensor isn’t surprising to me, because the extra resolution will help improve the Digital-Teleconverter, which is a nice feature to have on a fixed-focal-length camera. It will make this useful feature even more useful. My only hope is that it will scale the faux Grain, something that the X100V doesn’t do, sadly. When you combine the Grain setting with the Digital-Teleconverter, you get some massive-looking grain, which sometimes is preferable, but most often is not. Perhaps there should be a setting somewhere in the menu to enable or disable Grain scaling when using the Digital-Teleconverter. Anyway, I’m not surprised whatsoever about the sensor choice by Fujifilm. Personally, I like the 26mp X-Trans IV sensor just a bit better, mostly because 40mp is overkill and causes storage issues and is slower when transferring files and stuff like that (as Eric Kim used to say, more megapixels equals more problems), but I’d be happy either way, so no complaints from me.

*Digital-Teleconverter combined with Strong/Large Grain*

The IBIS choice is a bit more intriguing. This one surprises me. And it raises a lot of questions. Will the camera be bigger? Will it weigh more? I think it is possible for Fujifilm to squeeze IBIS into the current-sized model, but I don’t think they’ll be able to keep the weight the same. Of course, I think the new sensor and IBIS will certainly require that Fujifilm use the NP-W235 battery, because the old NP-W126 battery would drain much too quickly. The NP-W235 battery is significantly larger, so that most likely means that the camera will be larger, at least a little, to accommodate. It would be some miracle if they are able to keep the size and especially the weight the same. My guess is that the X100VI will be a hair larger than the X100V (edit/note: Fujirumors is now reporting that the camera will be “basically the same size” and only “marginally” bigger, which you might not even notice), and noticeably heavier; however, that is just speculation. Another question that this raises is regarding heat dispersion. The X100V has some heat issues with video and long exposures. I have to think that the X100VI will be just as prone to that, and probably more so. The old saying seems to apply quite well here: be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it. There will be both positives and negatives to adding IBIS.

I know that some will say, “But the Ricoh GR has IBIS, and it’s so small and lightweight and not prone to those issues.” Fair enough, but it is also important to understand that the IBIS inside of the GR III is very basic and not particularly effective. Look, I shoot with a Ricoh GR III, and I have nothing against it whatsoever, but the IBIS in the GR cameras is often very overstated, and not particularly necessary. Most of the time, you could get the same exact shot without it. Someone will say, “But I handheld at 1/15 and it was sharp.” Well, I’ve handheld my X100V with a 1/9 Shutter Speed and managed a sharp picture. I’m sure it makes a small difference occasionally, but the IBIS inside the GR III isn’t anything special, so it’s not a good example for comparison. The IBIS unit in the X100VI will be significantly more robust.

*Captured with a Fujifilm X100V handheld at 1/9 Shutter Speed.*

For still photography, most of the time IBIS isn’t the difference between getting the shot or not, unless you are using long telephoto lenses, which obviously you won’t be doing on the X100VI. In very dim light situations, such as night photography, it could sometimes help you. If you are photographing waterfalls in the daylight and using the built-in ND filter to streak the water, it could mean that you won’t need a tripod (depending on how good or not you are at holding still). 99% of the time, IBIS won’t have any practical benefit to those using the X100VI for photography. Where IBIS will make an obvious difference is with videography. Those using it as a movie camera will be very happy about IBIS; however, the X100V is quite prone to overheating, so it isn’t a particularly good video tool, and the X100VI might be even more prone to it, and even less useful for video. We’ll have to wait and see. I think the inclusion of IBIS will be more of a marketing ploy (that will definitely work), but it won’t have a huge impact for most people, and some tradeoffs are inevitable for it to be included. It is nice to have sometimes, though.

The other question that the inclusion of IBIS raises is the price. Will the camera cost more? I think most certainly it will. I’m not sure how much, but the X100VI definitely will not be $1,400. My guess is $1,700 or $1,800. It could even potentially be as high as $2,000, although I think they’ll need to do more than just 40mp and IBIS to justify that much. A $300 to $400 higher price tag seems about right for the X100VI.

*Mountain Sunset Glow* – Flagstaff, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5 – Reala Ace Recipe

I have no idea about other potential features. Will it have Eterna Bleach Bypass and Nostalgic Neg.? Yeah, absolutely. Will it have Reala Ace? That could go either way, but my bet is that it does (and the X-T5 and X-H2 won’t ever get it). Will it have the XPan aspect ratio? Probably not. I’m sure there will be a few surprises, but mostly the X100VI will be quite similar to the X100V. It will be an excellent camera for street and travel photography, just like the previous X100-series models have been. I’m excited for it, and if it does indeed have Reala Ace, I might just have to buy it (like I did with the X-T5, because it has Nostalgic Neg.). I don’t know if Fujifilm quite realizes the marketing impact and potential of film simulations.

The upcoming Fujifilm X100VI is definitely not a camera that I need. I’d have to give up something else in order to place the order, but it won’t be my X100V—that’s a camera I plan to keep for a very long time. Does it make any sense to have both an X100V and X100VI? Probably not. I might just have to get it anyway.

Fujifilm X100F – Digital Teleconverter + High ISO

Posted on September 27, 2017 by Ritchie Roesch

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I talked about how the Digital Teleconverter on the Fujifilm X100F adds versatility, and I talked about how great the camera does at high-ISO photography, but I never talked about how these two things do together. I’ve noticed some things about using the Digital Teleconverter at high-ISOs that I’d like to discuss.

Does the Digital Teleconverter limit how high you can go on your ISO settings? The answer is simple: yes. But it’s actually a little bit more complicated than that, so let me dig a little deeper.

I’ve already discussed exactly what the Digital Teleconverter is, and I don’t want to spend much time rehashing that, but basically it’s a digital zoom (zoom-by-cropping) that receives some smart upscaling and sharpening to make the file appear to have more resolution than it actually does. It’s a software trick that allows you to print larger than you might otherwise be able to. You can do this yourself with software on your computer, or you can let the X100F do it for you (which is the Digital Teleconverter).

Kepler Cascades – Yellowstone NP, WY – Fujifilm X100F 75mm Digital Teleconverter @ ISO 8000

I’ve also discussed that the practical high-ISO limit on the Fujifilm X100F is 12800, which is very high. Yes, some cameras with larger sensors can go a stop or so higher, but ISO 12800 is way up there, much higher than I ever imagined ISOs going even just 10 years ago.

When using the 50mm Digital Teleconverter (16 megapixel crop) setting, ISO 12800 doesn’t look all that usable. If you want soft and grainy looking black-and-white images, you can get away with ISO 12800 using Acros and the 50mm option. I’ve produced acceptable results this way. However, for the most part, ISO 6400 seems like a more practical high-ISO limit for this situation.

Putting Away The Reins – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100F – 75mm Digital Teleconverter @ ISO 12800

When using the 75mm Digital Teleconverter (12 megapixel crop) setting, anything above ISO 6400 doesn’t look all that usable. ISO 6400 looks alright for soft and grainy looking black-and-white images using Acros. For the most part, ISO 3200 seems like a more practical high-ISO limit for the 75mm Digital Teleconverter.

You might have noticed a trend, and that’s a one stop loss for the 50mm option and a two stop loss for the 75mm option. It’s not that the camera is performing worse, it’s that you are looking much more closely at the exposure (because of the crop). You can more clearly see the degradation in image quality that happens at the higher ISOs. It’s kind of like pixel-peeping–you don’t notice certain things when viewing normally, but they become obvious when you zoom in.

If you use the Digital Teleconverter along with auto-ISO, pay careful attention to the ISO that the camera is selecting. You may need to set it yourself (very quickly and easily done via the knob on top of the camera). My recommendation is to go no higher than ISO 6400 with the 50mm setting and no more than ISO 3200 with the 75mm setting. You can get away with higher sometimes (especially if it’s only for web use), but for best results keep the ISO a little lower than you otherwise would.