What is it about the Fujifilm X-Pro 1?
What is it about the X-Pro 1 that makes so many photographers, enthusiasts and hobbyists want it? I've had that question for the longest time, being myself a budget enthusiast of photography, it took me awhile before I was able to justify pulling the trigger a couple of months ago and see for myself what the whole commotion was about.
For the past three months I almost shot exclusively with the X-Pro 1 to better understand its characteristics, its performance, its image quality, its ergonomics. In other words, I have been working on the reasons this camera could be a keeper or not, whether the hype is real or people (me included) are just biased.
First and foremost, the X-Pro 1 is functional camera, just a bit slow in all its features compared to newer models, but honestly, after awhile of using it you get used to the response time, no big deal. Your muscle memory understands the mechanical limitations of the camera and adjust itself. There are a few tricks, though, that I could recommend to speed up the user experience. First, set the option to display an image after shooting to OFF, it'd be quicker that way, and produce a more analogue feeling not having to chimp at the screen. Second, use a wrist strap, rather than a shoulder strap, (also a thumb grip) your hands would be freer to move and speed up your shooting experience. Third, set you ISO to a specific number and keep your camera configured to Aperture Priority, lately I have been working with ISO 800, even on sunny days, and images are crisp with no noticeable noise, plus it increases the shutter speed and therefore your speed when shooting pictures. And last, try the fast Fujicron lenses, the F2 kind, they in fact focus much faster compared to the screwdriver kind.
The experience of shooting the streets with the X-Pro 1 has been in line with my expectations, not much of an expensive camera to attract onlookers, with a solid built, with reasonable speed, and beautiful image quality. If this is all you are looking for, this could become a great camera for your collection. Nevertheless, the other use cases were more challenging to the camera, specifically those around my wife and kids, be it at travel, dining out or spending time with friends, for those moments, I wished I had faster autofocus, a bit smaller form factor, and if possible a fill flash. Nope, not with the X-Pro 1, I kept missing moments, or making people uncomfortable asking my kids to remain still, for instance. And my last use case, hoping to have this camera to become my analogue digital companion proved very difficult for me. Recently, I procured the beautiful 7artisans 55mm 1.4 manual lens specifically to enjoy the analogue experience with my X-Pro 1, but the focus peaking feature of the X-Pro 1 was unbearable, the highlights were hard, very hard to notice, and given my tired eyesight, became to much of a challenge, and at moments, very annoying. My other experience using this feature on my X-T1 in comparison is a pleasure, but regrettably not on the X-Pro 1, that must be a definite limitation of the sensor, and that's understandable. So, do not expect bright highlights using focus peaking, or face/eye autofocus on the X-Pro 1, they are not included.
But there was one thing that could change the experience of owning this special camera… the film look., the one thing every photographer raves, that special magic produced by the first generation sensor of the Fujifilm X-Pro 1. See, I am not a professional photographer, nor have I been a film expert, I just enjoyed photography analog and digital, but I had to put this magic to the test. So, I started looking at pictures from my catalogue comparing the look of images produced with X-Pro 1 compared to the X-Pro 2 and its newer generation sensor, and it seemed that sometimes images looked different, but I wasn't satisfied. But that wasn't conclusive, different days, different exposures, not a way to really differentiate sensors.
For that reason, I decided this morning to take the look of film test to the streets, taking both my X-Pro 1 and X-Pro 2, and shooting them both and collecting a set of pictures that I can look at, and see what's in there, and perhaps, one of you readers can tell me or teach me where am I supposed to look to see the differences in image quality, because honestly I couldn't see it. Next, I will show a series of paired images, the one to your left would be the X-Pro 1, and the other one, the X-Pro 2. I processed every pair to my liking using similar settings in LIghtroom. Pls, tell me what you see.
Indeed, I edited and processed the files. My logic is simple, if I can make pictures from the X-Pro 2 looked similar to those in X-Pro 1, then the conclusion is that either the X-Pro 2's images are film like, or that there is not film look, just the Fujifilm look. What I learned from today's experience is that the X-Pro 1 is a very capable camera, and that the X-Pro 2 built on top of that in terms of more advanced features without sacrificing the quality and look of the images. Perhaps, one small tiny difference is that I noticed images on the X-Pro 2 were probably 1/3-2/3 underexposed for some reason.
In the end, the X-Pro 1 proved to be a strong contender, a very capable camera, and in experienced hands, it could be a formidable camera. But I find hard to justify owning it, I haven't found the magic of the sensor that I hear so often as of yet. Honestly, the closest I have found the film like images have come from my Nikon D700, a sensor that still surprises me again and again. Let me share with you some other of today's images shot with both cameras, no need to bother which one is which, just enjoy. Also, you are welcome to visit my IG profile: @eruizmiro, and also @panamastreetshooter. If interested on my X-Pro 1, feel free to contact me on Instagram.
