Fujifilm X-Pro1 Quickie Impression

<p>I've always liked rangefinders and have been shooting film RFs for a long time. When this camera was announced I had immediate interest because it was getting to be time for me to simplify my photographic life and step away from the dozen or so film cameras that had offered so much fun, but were now more than I wanted to deal with as we continued our downsizing. Ok, that's the backdrop.</p>

<p>My friend bought a complete kit with all three lenses, and extra batteries too. He was very enthused and loved the pictures. He was teasing me all the time to get one. I resisted to see if people would discover bugs or reasons to not like the camera. After three months, my friend called it quits. He just didn't like rangefinders. He loved the pictures, but was never comfortable with this style camera. "I'm an SLR guy and I can't change," he said, and then offered me his camera at a nice discount. Time to put up or shut up. It would be the most expensive kit I have ever bought, but after spending the day with it, I liked it enough to give him the dough and go home with a new kit.</p>

<p>I used the camera for the first three days without any reading of the manual, just to see if I could be comfortable with it, and how easy or hard it would be to learn. I give it a solid B for ease of use and ergonomics. But....I am a guy who loves the rangefinder and I love manual wheels and dials. I found the camera extremely easy to use and was taking nice pictures in all modes, at all ISOs and using "most" of the features, such as shooting in RAW with Velvia simulated JPGs simultaneously. After a few days I read the manual and discovered a few things I hadn't known how to do.</p>

<p>The kit includes a wide angle, normal and short tele lenses (18mm, 35mm, 60mm macro). They all have nice hoods, and they are all fast. A clean and simple kit that is light and simple to carry around. My entire photographic world can now fit into one shoulder bag of a few pounds. That's what I was after. I'd like a wider lens, and maybe it will come out soon. I don't care too much about zooms.</p>

<p>The IQ can be evaluated on the technical review sites and some will like it, some won't and so on. I am very happy with the IQ so far and have no complaints there. I shoot RAW and convert to B&W in Lightroom, and then print on my Epson 2400. I am normally making prints like 11 x 14. I am very happy with the results thus far. The images are miles better than my 10MP pocket camera, or my old Nikon D60. Of course, that's not saying much, but the difference was easy to see.</p>

<p>The three things I like most are: The old school dials and controls and the general ergonomics of size and weight; the combination optical and electronic viewfinders; the "Q menu" (Quick menu) which present the 25 most common settings in a grid that can be easily scrolled and selected. What I like least is: there are still some fiddly buttons you can hit grabbing the camera; you can't zoom the live view; the wide lens isn't really wide enough for my taste.<br>

The hardest question to answer is the <em>value</em>. This is the most expensive kit I have bought and I feel a little shaky about spending that much money on a camera that will lose value on the steep slope that devalues digital cameras. I better use it a lot, huh? Because in 2 or 3 years I will have lost a couple thousand bucks. OTOH, I have simplified my life. Well, I will when I get all those film cameras sold!</p>

What I've heard is that the image quality is superb, even with Leica M lenses. I like my NEX-7 with Leica Ms but many say

that your camera give you better image quality with them. But they have less complementary things to say about the

ergonomics (controls/menus). Glad they suit you though. I have a few issues with the NEX but it's a great camera for me

on manual. I love the EVF and the focus magnification and the focus peaking and it's small and light with an APS-C sized

sensor (essentially half-frame to put it in film terms). It reminds me a bit of my Leica M2. I'm having a blast with all kinds of

adapters (Contax/Yashica, Contax RF, Leica M, Minolta MC/MD, and Sony/Minolta A-Mount or maxxum as it used to be

called). It's a lot of fun to walk around with the NEX-7 and the old Contax IIA 35mm/2.8 lens mounted on it.

Good news. The 14mm should be

announced this fall according to Fuji's

lens roadmap. A 10-24 zoom for next

year also. I shoot lots of macro and

zoom live view all the time by pressing

the rear command dial. I don't own any

of Fuji's lenses yet but I have adapters

for EF and M mounts so all I do is

manual focusing and zoom in the live

view or EVF for precise focusing.

<p>m, I wouldn't worry about losing a couple thousand dollars in two or three years. If the X-Pro-1 suits you in terms of IQ, why not keep it longer? Think of those who in 2009 or later put 7 or 8 thousand dollars in an M9 or a top level Nikon. They will "lose" proportionately, and absolutely, even more when a new model provides better performance this year or possibly in a little more than three years time. If the IQ is good enough of those cameras or the X-Pro-1, the camera system you have should be good enough for many many years.</p>

Thanks Arthur. You are probably right. I am very delighted right now with the IQ, and the handling. I hope to get

many years of pleasure from it. I showed my first prints from it today, and my fellow artists were enthusiastic.

<p>On digital cameras losing their value: I also think we're past the point where we need upgrades. The XPro1 sensor in particular seems to be an excellent sensor from the samples I saw.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>What I've heard is that the image quality is superb, even with Leica M lenses. <br>

</p>

</blockquote>

<p>I double-dog dare you to post that sentence in any Leica forum. :)</p>

<p>Thanks for the hands on report. On the up side, you bought it at a discount so you are already ahead of the game. Besides, most of that money is wrapped up in the lenses so they can carry over if you decide to upgrade the body in a few years. You did good.</p>

<p>>m stephens<br>

Thanks very much for the report about the Fuji X Pro-1.<br>

I am also in a quandary about downsizing my photo gear. I have finally decided to cease using film since the cost for 4x5 film has risen and I no longer want to pay the price nor carry the heavy gear even though I have a light Chamonix 4x5. <br>

Currently my digital kit is all Canon and with bodies and lenses it weights in over 60 pounds!<br>

I've pretty much decided to opt for the Olympus OMD EM5 m4/3 system but I may also eventually pick up the Fuji X Pro 1 with 1 or 2 lenses to use as a light walking around camera for street photography.<br>

I am a bit concerned about reports that the lenses are slow to focus manually and AF maybe a bit laggy.<br>

Anyway enjoy your new rig, it sounds like you have made a good decision, especially since you bought at a discounted price.</p>

 

<p>Don Bryant,<br>

As to the autofocus, I think it is average. I have had some cameras that were slower, and I have a camera that is very fast. The fastest I have is a Canon EOS-1v film camera with UltraSonic lens. I don't shoot sports and high action stuff, so I have no real complaint on the Fuji. Probably a little more concerning to me is the "get ready" time. I keep the camera "on" as I am just using my eyes and not looking through the camera. If I do that for a minute or so, the camera drops down to a sleep type mode. Therefore, when you bring it to eye and depress the shutter half way, there is a delay of perhaps 2-sec before the frame lines appear and the AF is even engaged. Once engaged, I don't think it is terribly slow as I move from one focus point to another. </p>

<p>So, if I am street shooting, I give the shutter a depress every minute or so if I am walking or standing with camera at side or in the sling. If I am setting up a landscape, the slowness is no issue at all. </p>

<p>As I get more time with it, I am enjoying the way it works over all. And, I am very happy with the IQ. </p>