Review of the Boutique and Now Affordable Fuji X-Pro1 Camera

in #photography6 years ago (edited)

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Fuji is known for producing great film, but did you know they have been making digital cameras and cinematic lenses that are cutting edge too? I won't get into boring details about their factory in Sendai, Japan; but I will give you the hard skinny on a camera that came out in 2012 that shook the photography world...it's called the X-Pro1.

I will also tell you about Koreatown where this was shot at the end

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Fuji shamelessly attracted the high end market when they unveiled the X-Pro1 at Photokina in Cologne, Germany...I was there and I admit to having fantasies about one day owning one of these lovely creatures. It's stealthy like a Leica and the prime lenses that accompany it have wide open apertures like the Leica as well. But Fuji did an amazing job in outperforming the Leica in so many ways, I know there are purist out there who will be cursing me for even saying such blasphemy. But I don't give two fucks...this camera is sexy and Fuji nailed it with their X-Trans CMOS sensor (don't ask me what that means because I don't know). I do know this, there's some mojo sauce inside it to get as close to a film camera as possible.

Want to see the results? I shot in the worst possible sunlight today and you're about to see the performance. I'll also give you my notes on why you should buy this camera.

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Hold on there rubberneck, the images of the Fuji camera were taken with my crappy iPhone 6. I ain't got two X-Pro1 cameras. Read on for the Fuji images...

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Fuji provides a minimalist layout and took out all the horse-shit menus that you'll find in DSLR's. I get lost when searching through miles of menus with my Canon. Fuji gives you the stuff you really need to be creative. It's well thought out.

I acquired this camera from Craigslist this morning. It's 2018 and the prices of the original X-Pro1's have dropped to $300-$350 which is a steal in my opinion for such a fine piece of ass...I mean machinery. All metal body, 16 megapixels, controls on top for shutter and an exposure compensation wheel...it's old school and functional. Sure you can get the new X-Pro 2 or one of their other current models but you're going to pay a premium for what? Fuji nailed it with this camera, it's hard to improve on something great to begin with.

I am selling my Canon L Series 135mm 2.0 razor sharp and in excellent condition lens to pay for it. Here's a pic if you're interested buying it from me at a good price:

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Okay, let's dive into the images and functionality of the camera and lens. I'll make notes explaining the good and the bad.

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The camera I bought off Craigslist came with Fuji's 18mm 2.0 (27mm equivalent because of the crop sensor). It's sharp and really nice wide aperture at 2.0. The X-Pro1 can use old vintage lenses or newer lenses with an adaptor. I plan on getting a $20 Fotodiox adaptor for my Mamiya lenses.

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The dynamic range looks really good to me. Notice the contrast between the highlights and the shadows. Note that all of these images were shot in JPG black and white simulation mode. I switched from R, Y and G filters and to be honest I paid little attention to which when I was using. I just like the way the filters look, Fuji did an outstanding job creating a film look from the sensor to the filters.

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I shot this with a mix of manual and auto. The camera can go full auto like an old film camera, partially auto or full auto. I put the shutter in A (auto) and set an auto ISO (not to exceed 3200). Then I manually dial the aperture for the look I'm craving.

So the shutter and ISO are auto while I control the aperture I then take a quick peek at the image taken and use the exposure compensation to adjust up or down one or two stops. This is what I like to do, there are other ways of course.

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This wall was in shadow. But the Fuji really performs in the blacks. There are two programable function buttons so you can quickly dial in a variety of options. I have the top function button programmed for video mode, that way I can instantly roll video without a bunch of damn menus or buttons.

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The camera is a lot smaller than a DSLR and extremely light weight. Hailed as a street photographers dream, I think it's beefy enough to also do portrait work. 180 flash sync speed is limiting but not the end of the world.

It's beefy enough for pro work and stealthy enough for street style

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She had no idea I was photographing her. I was slick about it. You can't do that too easily with a big ass DSLR.

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Some people complain about the autofocus system being too slow. I didn't find that to be the case; apparently the X-Pro1 has had 8 firmware updates that have solved a lot of the issues it had in the early years. I don't know why you would feel compelled to buy a new X-Pro2 camera when this thing performs so well.

You're better off investing in good lenses!

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Crisp, snappy, not overly sharp, contrasty and it screams film. I am liking the look of these JPG's. The camera does shoot RAW obviously.

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This image was cropped in about 50%, the 16 megapixel sensor is sufficient.

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Here's the bottom line: The Fuji isn't going to replace my DSLR for commercial or fine portrait work; but it's small enough to take with me everywhere, replacing my crappy phone images. But I will take it with me on professional shoots when I want that film look for want my subjects to not notice a giant ass camera in their face. It has its own space in the camera world and I intend to use it for a different types of possibilities. It compliments my many styles as an artist and portrait photographer.

I'm new to the X-Pro1, but with it's price used around $300 almost anyone can afford to own this little boutique gem. Ask questions or make comments. Enjoy the images.

End of the Review

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These images were taken on the border of Koreatown and Westlake near downtown LA. It's a culturally diverse area with people from Guatemala, El Salvador, Mexico, Korea, Bangladesh to name a few...I walked several blocks in somewhat of a seedy area. I never felt in danger, but I did see some people that made me a little uneasy. One lady that was selling illegal prescription drugs did see my camera and yelled in Spanish, "Get that fucking piece of shit away from me!" Several people in the crowd got excited and got out of there quick.

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I am a working photographer based in LA, but available for hire and accustomed to travel.
Michael Thompson

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You know what I really like? Really, really like? An honest review of an honest product. Let me restate that. An honest fucking review of an honest fucking product.

I'm not a working photographer. I'm not even a better amateur. I'm an old film dog from a long time ago, but today I basically take landscape photos to document my travels. Which are on a motorcycle so space is critical.

I love much of my Nikkon, but it's too big, and I can get lost in the simple menus let alone the deep menu shit. I want to be able to raise and shoot in fairly short order. This looks like the answer to me. Is it?

You've only had it 24 hours so I'll hold my questions on battery life :)

Thank you for at least giving me a place to start research.

Man I have to second this comment, this is a great post on many levels and not hte least because of the very straightforward no bullshit review. Particularly for me personally as I have been wanting to buy a "real" camera, don't want to jump straight in to a big DLSR, and have something I can take easily with me on my bicycle rides.

Great post @lightenup you took some really interesting photos in just your first morning with this new toy!

Yeah, if the X-Pro1 is too beefy, you could grab the X100 which is really small. But you can't change out the lenses...kind of a must for me to be able to change out the lenses. And with cheap adapters you can use all that vintage glass!

It came with a spare battery, I used it for three hours straight and no issues...I took out again for a second spin late last night and the battery light started blinking. Knowing that I was only going to be using it for maybe an hour the dying battery didn't bother me. The Fuji X100 is also a cool camera which I did a review for on Steemit.

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This post was shared in the Curation Collective Discord community for curators, and upvoted and resteemed by the @c-squared community account after manual review.

I love that C-Squared isn't a bot!

Yup by the time a post gets upvoted/resteemed by @c-squared a minimum of two real live humans were involved - a curator who liked the post enough to bring it to the Discord server, and a voter who did a manual review for spam/plagiarism/quality and upvoted :) You are a very talented photographer and a refreshingly direct writer! Keep it up! Cheers

Hi lightenup,

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Wow nice review. Good to see how the Fuji performs in comparison to a big DSLR. And I can imagine how much effort and time is being invested into this post with awesome photography! So well deserved ups! 😀

Thanks dude!

Beautiful review mate might have to look into getting one of those bad boys myself 😍😍 that level of crushed black is insane?!!

Fuji is known for their blacks!

Good photos. I see what you mean about the dynamic range. I also like the controls. Might buy one but I'll probably wait for a lower price, I already have too many cameras :) The other sensor I like is the Sigma Foveon but the cameras are horrible.

I think they are well priced at the moment...I did see that the XE-1 can be had for 200SBD, but I like the larger body

Pretty cool review of the X-Pro1! I have been using the X-Pro2 for just over 2 years for my Cycling Panning Project and it gives me that paper/film look that I love about the X-Trans Color Filter Array! Have fun out there!!!!

Very cool to hear someone else has the Xpro!

Woww... This is pretty amazing.. Was spellbound throughout the read !

I checked it out and it goes for about $1100 on amazon. Why's that???

Very cool man!!! Nice review!! Makes me want one just to keep with me at all times!!

you should!

BTW.... How much steem for the 135?

733 SBD and a mailing address. LOL

That’s not a bad price now if I only had that much sbd!!