One of the main reasons I switched from a top Nikon D800 DSLR to my Fuji X-E1 mirrorless is the sharpness and quality of the images it produces. I’m not saying the D800 or my D7000 Nikon produced soft photos I’m just saying the ones I’ve gotten from the lighter, cheaper and smaller Fuji are better. Both the D800 and Fuji X-E1 have sensors without a moire filter. The filters diffuse the original to eliminate the interference pattern (moiré) created between the CCD array and regular, repeating patterns. Since they are optical filters, rather than soft focus, the image integrity and sharpness is maintained. The optics in Fujinon lenses do not have to take a back seat to anyone, not Nikon, not Canon and not even Leica.
Another reason I switch to the Fuji is its response in low light conditions. I feel totally at ease choosing ISO 6400 for my images without worrying that the resulting photography will be degraded or inferior to other cameras or other ISO settings. In full disclosure I do own and use the top noise reduction software on the planet, Topaz DeNoise 5.0. It will virtually eliminate any grain/noise you feel is distracting in a photograph, period, while maintaining detail and sharpness.
Knowing how to use sharpening software and at what point in your post process workflow to apply it is crucial as well. Since I exclusively shoot in RAW format I give myself the best chance of producing the best quality images at any ISO. I simply have more detail to use and manipulate.
So I’m not surprised the photo below came out of the camera as detailed and sharp as it did. I worked on this image for at least 15-20 minutes using all my skill and software tools that include Photoshop CC 2014, Topaz, OnOne & Nik plug-in software and 25 years of editing experience. The name of the game is to pull it off without making it look edited. The photo below has just been added to my National Geographic website. My top vote getting photo of the previous 66 I’ve submitted happens to be another low light lizard photograph. I thought I’d change the species and submit another.
Fuji X-E1 with 55-200mm F/3.5-4.8 lens aboard, handheld, available light only, ISO 6400, F/8.0, 1/25″. I can still hold a camera very steady without a tripod. I guess I’m not too old or feeble yet! 🙂
Final Processed Image

Original Unprocessed Image
