So, it’s been about a week since I brought the Fujifilm X-Pro1 camera and a couple of the lenses home with me.

To be honest, I was not going to do what I did. I was not going to rush out and buy the camera. I was not going to get sucked into the online chatter. “Don’t believe the hype!” as Chuck D would say.. (and Flava Flav would embellish that with “Yeeeaaaaaaa BOI!!!”). I was going to wait for “official” reviews (granted Sean Reid has one out there but I don’t subscribe to his site, and Michael Reichman’s site has one as well but I try not to read it since the whole Leica M8 debacle; not that I blame him, I just don’t trust his information anymore). Well, I did none of the things that I said, to myself, I was “going to do”.

Once I discovered that my local camera shop not only had a few in stock that were not “spoken for” but also that they had actually put one aside for me, I raced, the same day mind you, down there and had to pick it up to feel it in my hands for myself.

Initial Impressions

The camera feels very good in the hand. Ok, wait, in MY hands. Ergonomics, I have come to realize in my recent years, have become increasingly important to me. I shouldn’t have to feel like I’m “straining” to use the camera. The X-Pro1 has most things right where my fingers want them or need them. The one thing that folks “missed” when the Leica M8 (and subsequent M9) was released was that little place where you could put your right thumb. Anyone who’s owned/used a Leica M body before the M8 knows what I’m talking about. This is the first thing I noticed – the combination of the slight grip on the front of the camera along with the small “bump” just below the exposure compensation dial on the back makes for the perfect feel in my right hand.

The button layout is good. Shutter button right where it should be, the “Fn” function button right beside it is easy to access when your eye is up at the viewfinder. The on/off switch right along with the shutter button makes sense. There’s a few items I wasn’t sure of without referring the manual; what’s the “Q” button for example. The jog wheel is easily accessible but you don’t even realize it’s there – very sublime in my opinion. The button layout is pretty standard for playback and viewing – all nicely labeled and easy to understand for anyone who, say, doesn’t want to read the manual to figure out what the “Q” button does. . .

Image Quality

Using the Fujinon XF lenses (I purchased the 35mm f1.4 and the 18mm f2) I am, so far, pretty impressed. The camera and lenses work hand in hand like most cameras and lenses *smirk* however Fuji’s done a fantastic job with these babies. I’m no lens maker and I certainly can’t claim to knowing how these things are made or what type of magical glass it’s made from but I can say these lenses produce some spectacular images. These were taken over the last couple of days but take a look at these puppies:

Ignoring the content (no, really, trust me and ignore the content) this is the type of quality the 18mm produces on the X-Pro1. This photo is at ISO6400, no flash, “standard” dynamic range and was at 1/90 of a second at f2. Not bad for low light AF.

A little side track before I get to the next image….

Auto Focus Concerns

I have read, many places in fact, that the AF on the X-Pro1 can be considered “not fast enough” for “professional” use. As someone who shoots weddings, mind you I’m not shooting them full time but I have been shooting them since 2001; the AF is, in my opinion, more than fast enough for that sort of work. For sports, probably not, but then again, I don’t believe this camera is made for “sports” but I’m sure some folks out there can use it for such. Now, AF accuracy is another thing. I’ve noted that sometimes there are misses on the AF. I have had misses on my Nikon D700s and, well, to be honest, even more misses on my Canon 5D’s when I had them. I would say that this camera is more like the Canon 5D than it is the Nikon D700 in the AF accuracy department. I don’t have stats on that nor do I claim to know how many shots are missed versus shots hit but I know it misses in both good light and bad/low light. My solution so far, shoot like I do my D700′s or 5D’s when I had them, take more than one shot. So, enough of that and back to …

Oh Ya, Image Quality…

Want to see an image in good light? Low ISO? Take a look at this:

That photo was shot at ISO200, f2 with the 35mm lens and 1/45. Katelyn and Ryan were willing subjects and the 35mm lens performed wonderfully. As a nod to the previous section on AF Concerns, I shot two frames of this image and the with previous one I was physically closer to the two ladies and the AF missed its mark. Like I said, even in good light it can miss and does.

High ISO? Ya Mon…

The camera can, if necessary, be pushed up to ISO25600 – ya, ISO25600. In recent times I have pushed Tri-X up to 25,600 with “ok” results and here, I have a camera that can perform a LOT better at 25,600 than Tri-X ever could. Now, is it “nicer” than Tri-X? That’s a judgment call; the grain of Tri-x (and other films) is random in my opinion. The noise from digital is, again in my opinion, more orderly. This, to me, is the primary difference between noise and grain; and you can’t equate them as being similar. That said, I am extremely pleased with ISO6400 and, if necessary, I can easily see using ISO12,800 and, if necessary, ISO25,600. The camera has a default noise reduction setting of “0″ – this is the baseline NR setting. I’ve turned it down to “-2″ as a standard for the camera. Ignoring the subject matter once again, take a look at another high ISO image – this one at ISO6400 using the 35mm at f1.4:

Easily usable in low light environments and well worth the price of admission. Yes, my D700s can do, probably, something similar or at least that’s the claim but still, the X-Pro1 is not weighing anywhere near the D700 – yes it doesn’t have the lens line up (specifically the longer lenses) but it performs well for the given ISO.

Quirks, Gotchas, & General Weirdness

No camera is “the perfect” camera. Each one has its own brand of interesting features that manufacturers try to pass off as being “unique” to the camera. Sometimes, because it may not be a feature that you wanted or because it was a feature that you actually DID want but wasn’t implemented in the way that you expected, such features end up with you scratching your head and, saying to yourself, “Huh?” The X-Pro1 is no different in that respect.

What I found which was a bit odd was the following:

1. It’s NOT a Rangefinder camera – those looking to make use of the X-Pro1 as a substitute for a “real” (not my quotes please) RF camera such as any Leica M or such may be a bit disappointed. The “framelines” that exist in the X-Pro1 are not accurate enough and there is no double image rangefinder patch so manual focusing is a bit interesting with this camera; not difficult, just interesting.
2. OVF/EVF – The hybrid OVF is quite interesting – just enough overlay and electronic items to make it readable but not so much that it appears cluttered. Mind you, you can, as far as I know, customize the OVF to allow it to be more cluttered if that’s your preference or if you are accustomed to that from flying modern fighter aircraft The EVF is surprisingly decent. A huge leap forward from the old days (say, 8-9 years ago) when EVFs were first starting to be used. I remember the old Konica/Minolta EVFs in some of their early digital cameras – oy… what an advancement the Fuji EVF is in my opinion. The quirkiness comes when you need help in manual focusing. When using manual focus, as so many people may want to do as the Fuji X-Pro1 will be able to have non-Fuji lenses mounted to it (I myself intend on mounting my Leica M lenses to it – even if they may not produce the best quality images due to lack of microlenses on the sensor); the EVF should be engaged for a few reasons:
   • The minimal focus distance for the Fujinon XF lenses are anywhere between 18cm to 28cm – basically between 7 inches and one foot – but you can manual focus these puppies down a lot closer than that – engaging the EVF basically eliminates the parallax that can occur with this “rangefinder like” camera.
   • Focusing at a distance, that is, when someone is maybe 30ft or more away from you in a low lit environment can be tough even with a standard rangefinder camera. With the EVF engaged, you can “zoom” in on the subject by pushing the jog wheel which is just below the shutter speed wheel with one’s right thumb. This allows a bit more accurate way of focusing – effective but still quriky in my opinion
   • The EVF is surprisingly bright even in low light conditions and, as such, actually makes a scene look brighter than it actually is in real life. Definitely a plus when it comes to manual focusing.
3. Shutter Lag ? – There are some comments regarding shutter lag. Mainly I’ve seen these come from folks accustomed to shooting manual film cameras; that is, a camera that is not auto focus or auto aperture. As the Fuji X-Pro1 seems to be aimed at the rangefinder folks I can totally understand why “shutter lag” may be a concern; but to me, it’s not. My standard procedure for any auto focus camera is to aim, focus, recompose and shoot. This usually involves half pressing the shutter button for either retaining the focus point or retaining the exposure. This is how I’ve always shot auto focus cameras. With a rangefinder camera, even the M7, there is no need to “retain” the auto focus point (with the M7 you could still half press to retain the exposure however) because the focus point has been garnered manually by using the rangefinder patch. One simply presses the shutter and “bam” the photo has been captured to film. With just about all modern auto focus, auto exposure/aperture digital cameras pressing the shutter button without a half press to first attain focus or exposure usually results in a slight (some may say very slight) delay in capturing the image. I wouldn’t worry about this if you’re accustomed to modern auto focus, auto exposure/aperture cameras.
4. Those “framelines” – I guess some may want to say “Those damn framelines!!” The overlay in the OVF makes for an interesting predicament. The X-Pro1 and Fujinon XF lenses, when used with the OVF, usually create an image which is slightly LARGER than the existing framelines. So, be aware of this when you’re shooting with the OVF. Those that are coming from a rangefinder background may half expect to be able to adjust those framelines but, to the best of my knowledge, you cannot. At least not without changing lenses. I have yet to use any m-mount lenses on the camera (I’m expecting a third party adapter to arrive within the next couple of days) but it’s my understanding that the framelines do not exist in the OVF when using third party lenses (at least currently with the non-Fuji adapter). It is also my understanding that you’ll need to focus by employing the EVF and its functionality to “zoom” in to a point of interest for focusing ease.
5. It Speaks!!! – ok, maybe it doesn’t “speak” but it certainly “chatters”. The X-Pro1 with the Fujinon XF lenses has a unique, umm, “feature” that has the aperture of the lens consistently opening and closing while the camera is on. This occurs in singular and continuous auto focus but also in manual focus modes. Some people find this annoying. Others may find it mildly annoying. Me, I don’t pay attention to it; much like the infant that inevitably cries during dinner, it’s going to happen, I accept it, and ignore it (since it’s not my child) Do you think you’d find it unnerving? Try it out in the store and see/hear for yourself. It really will depend on what you want to use the camera for. If you’re shooting in museums or funeral homes then it’s likely going to bug you. Most other places, maybe not – again, it depends on your own personal opinion.
6. The AE-L/AF-L Button – what a weird little button this is. Fuji has placed the Auto Exposure Lock and Auto Focus Lock button right below the exposure compensation dial. I half expected this button to work like the auto focus button on my Nikon D700 or my previous Canon SLRs but I”m behooved to understand exactly how the Auto focus lock works since it never “moves” the lens. The Auto Exposure, I get, but the Auto Focus, not so much That said, there’s a bit of an interesting tidbit regarding this button. In Manual Focus mode, and when you’re using the EVF to get closer than the minimal focus distance of the lenses, you can hit that AE-L/AF-L button and it will focus on the subject – even if you’re in manual focus mode – it’s like an “auto focus override” I believe I may just have figured out how the AF Lock works… you still have to use the shutter button with a half press to focus on the subject then press the AF-L button to lock the focus point, then recompose.

Now there may be other little items that I may have overlooked but these, to me, are the ones that stood out the most. Like I said before, no one camera is perfect and you come to either live with some of the cameras “shortcomings” or you move on and look into other cameras as potential tools for your work.

My Conclusion

I say “my conclusion” because, well, to say “conclusion” sounds so final and it’s as though it is the penultimate conclusion; no other conclusions shall be made about this….. and, really, that’s not the case. Everyone will have to draw their own from holding the camera, using it and figuring out if the features, lenses, form factor and ergonomics fits their needs. For me, as someone who uses Leica M rangefinders, has owned a Leica M8 in the past, and has toyed with the concept of a “digital rangefinder” (currently the only available option IS Leica) I believe the Fujifilm X-Pro1 should be a decent “gap fill” solution. The Fujinon XF lenses are pretty decent and, although I have the 35mm and 18mm, I’m desperate to snag the 60mm as well – not necessarily for macro capability but for a nice portrait length. The performance of the camera under low light is pretty incredible in my opinion. The Manual Focus functionality, while not exactly “normal” compared to your standard manual focus ability on other digital interchangeable lens cameras, is not difficult to get accustomed to; at least it hasn’t been that way for myself. As they say, “your mileage may vary”

I am unsure, however, if the camera can be used for “heavy” wedding work. I certainly could see myself using it but I’m not apt to swing my gear to and fro (pardon the innuendo there ) or to fire off 5,000 shots per wedding. I could, however, see myself using it for portions of a wedding day while retaining the heavy DSLR for the longer range, heavier shooting that one may do/need to do during a wedding.

Overall, I really am enjoying this camera and I can’t wait to see what Fuji’s M-mount to XF Adapter will bring – in the meantime I’m awaiting the delivery of the Kipon adapter to see just how “bad” the Leica M lenses will be on this camera due to lack of microlenses at the sensor level.

Here’s a few random X-Pro1 images for ya… (yes, they’re mine.. just snapshots really):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cheers,
Dave