Back to XP1

[Gid]

About 5 months ago I sold my XP1 with 18 and 35 lenses. I was happy with my X100 and wanted to try something else. Well, after having tried several something elses including abortive attempts with an XE1 and an Olympus EM5, I have finally arrived back with an XP1 kit with 18 and 27 lenses. In the process I have learned that I don't particularly like EVF only cameras and have come to realise what a very good camera the XP1 is. Acquisition and disposal, while interesting and sometimes entertaining, is not photography 🙄

 

[rayfoxlee]

About 5 months ago I sold my XP1 with 18 and 35 lenses. I was happy with my X100 and wanted to try something else. Well, after having tried several something elses including abortive attempts with an XE1 and an Olympus EM5, I have finally arrived back with an XP1 kit with 18 and 27 lenses. In the process I have learned that I don't particularly like EVF only cameras and have come to realise what a very good camera the XP1 is. Acquisition and disposal, while interesting and sometimes entertaining, is not photography 🙄

That is just the outfit I am looking at right now - and the price is very good - having (almost) decided to sell my M7. Terrific camera though the M7 is, I just find the monochrome workflow from 35mm film just doesn't give me the quality I am after. The Fuji is a different beast and certainly not a rangefinder in the true sense of the word, but perhaps it will fit the bill. The trouble is, I have a Pentax K5 outfit, so the Fuji has to give a better B&W result to make it worthwhile. Can you tell me what your experience is for mono - if you shoot monochrome, that is!

Anyway, enjoy the X-Pro1.

Ray

 

[jsrockit]

I used one for 3 years. Just sold mine. It stung a little, but it was too slow for me at this point. A true modern classic IMO though. I'm using a X100T for my Fuji fix these days. That's another modern classic IMO.

 

[burancap]

I love mine, and not just for all of the usual excellent lenses. It is fantastic with the 55-200 stabilized lens. So cool to be able to pop that off and throw the 27 on and instantly have a completely different camera.

 

[GaryLH]

I used one for 3 years. Just sold mine. It stung a little, but it was too slow for me at this point. A true modern classic IMO though. I'm using a X100T for my Fuji fix these days. That's another modern classic IMO.

I could not bear to sell mine even though like u I wanted a faster af. I ended up w/ an xt1 w/ 18-135 combo this Xmas😀.

I do find that af speed on the xp1 is fastest using the 18-55 that came w/ my xe1 though. I am hoping they do a 35f1.4mk2 which is not only using the faster af motor but is wr as well. I would rather have a set of prime wr lenses to all those zooms.

Gary

 

[Gid]

That is just the outfit I am looking at right now - and the price is very good - having (almost) decided to sell my M7. Terrific camera though the M7 is, I just find the monochrome workflow from 35mm film just doesn't give me the quality I am after. The Fuji is a different beast and certainly not a rangefinder in the true sense of the word, but perhaps it will fit the bill. The trouble is, I have a Pentax K5 outfit, so the Fuji has to give a better B&W result to make it worthwhile. Can you tell me what your experience is for mono - if you shoot monochrome, that is!

Anyway, enjoy the X-Pro1.

Ray

Ray,

Check out the thread below for B&W. I picked up the kit for just under £699 from Jessops. The two lenses normally sell as a pair for £728, so I bought the kit, saved £29 on the lenses and got a free camera. How does that work?


http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=127288

 

[Jamie Pillers]

I like using mine as a zone-focusing platform with the small C-Biogon 35mm lens. And when necessary, the focus peaking EVF works well.

 

[Range-rover]

I've been trying out a fuji X-E1 for two week now and really enjoy it.
I'm using a 16-50 zoom and so far the pictures are coming out great.
Joe I'm glad your back with the fuji, sometimes it's good to try
out other things, but then you realize that what you had in the
beginning was better.

Range

 

[CliveC]

I've found that the X-Pro1 is completely unsuitable for photographing children in a candid context. Then again, outside of a DSLR with a zoom lens, few cameras really are. It's good enough for street and general purpose photography.

I have the 35mm 1.4. I'm completely undecided whether to add a wide or the 56mm lens next. The 56mm isn't exactly cheap either and would probably mean me getting another body, maybe the XT-1 or XPro2.

One other thing that annoys me is how poorly implemented the focus peaking is on the X-Pro1 when compared to the GXR. With the GXR you can very clearly see the areas of focus sweep across the frame as you focus whereas on the Fuji, just little bits of highlight. It would've helped greatly if the highlights were in red or green too.

 

[awbphotog]

I've had quite good luck with the EVF by turning focus peaking OFF and using a corrected eyepiece for focusing. Seems to be easier to focus, especially in broad daylight, as the viewfinder becomes much clearer and less 'crunchy.' Really love the XP1 and agree with others in that it's a modern classic.

 

[willie_901]

About 5 months ago I sold my XP1 with 18 and 35 lenses. I was happy with my X100 and wanted to try something else. Well, after having tried several something elses including abortive attempts with an XE1 and an Olympus EM5, I have finally arrived back with an XP1 kit with 18 and 27 lenses. In the process I have learned that I don't particularly like EVF only cameras and have come to realise what a very good camera the XP1 is. Acquisition and disposal, while interesting and sometimes entertaining, is not photography 🙄

The X-Pro 1 with the 27/1.8 and, or the 18/2 is my daily kit. I happen to own two X-T1s I use for commercial work. I could sell the X-Pro 1 and carry one of the X-T1s. But I enjoy using the X-Pro 1 because of the OVF and finder location. The EVF is useful when framing accuracy is important, when the subject is close (avoiding parallax) for using AF in very low light or other tricky situations and with the 56/1.2 lens.

 

[FranZ]

I am very happy with my XP1 in combination with my wider primes: 14; 18; 23 and 35. Longer primes and the Zooms fit much better om the X-T1.
If feasible, I use the OVF om the XP1, much nicer than the EVF
My favorite combo is XP1 with 23mm an the XT1 with the 56.

 

[nongfuspring]

As an x-e1 owner with the 18 and 35 I'd like to pick up an xp1 some time for the build quality and different ergonomics. Prices are quite low now so it's getting temping, but considering it won't be a solution to my main problem (AF speed) I can't see it being much of a practical move. The xt1 seems like a partial solution, but I'm just not a fan of the evf placement and would gladly take a downgraded evf if it were just in the corner rather than the middle.

I was at a friends house the other day and tried out his bottom of the range nikon dslr from 5 years ago, I was shocked at how fast it was - near instant focussing even in candlelight! It honestly made me a little frustrated. I have no complaints about the fujis in bright light but god do they hunt when things are just a little dim.

 

[anggono]

That is just the outfit I am looking at right now - and the price is very good - having (almost) decided to sell my M7.
.....
The trouble is, I have a Pentax K5 outfit, so the Fuji has to give a better B&W result to make it worthwhile. Can you tell me what your experience is for mono - if you shoot monochrome, that is!

Anyway, enjoy the X-Pro1.

Ray

Hi Ray,

I found the XP1 (with 18mm and 35mm) in default setting gives rather plain BW pictures. So what I do is load the RAW file into Lightroom and adjust the black level, contrast, and add some simulated film grain.

I like a bit of dark shadow in my BW pics, something I picked up from shooting Tri-X film in the past. but off course this is a matter of taste and preferences.

Regards,
Heru

 

[noimmunity]

The new AF+MF firmware update given to the XP1 is a nice enhancement, especially useful when it hunts a little. But the operation with the "clutch" lenses (the 14 and 23) is a little cumbersome. Much better with the 35 and 56 in my experience so far (perhaps I need more practice).

I'm happy to use the XP1 while patiently waiting for an XP2. I have been really hoping that it would have the organic sensor (rumored now to be in technical difficulties due to excessive heat dissipation).

Most of my shooting is slow and deliberate, so I don't need a speed demon most of the time. Since I use it to shoot people at events at which I'm a participant, the retro film camera look (especially my recovered version) also really helps, along with the OVF, to engage and sustain a rapport with the subjects.

Hard not to desire improvements, though. The X-P1 AF works poorly in very low contrast light situations, and the various improvements in the X100T and XT-1 would be nice to have in a similar XP1-style body.

 

[willie_901]

...
The X-P1 AF works poorly in very low contrast light situations...

This is the first complete and correct comment I have read since the camera's release in 2012 in about the X-Pro 1's AF in low light. There are hundreds of comments on how the X-Pro 1 AF hunts in low light, but none of them discuss the role of contrast.

In low light when (~EV 5) a focus object is available with decent contrast the AF actually performs well (for low light). The performance depend quite a bit on some of the AF menu settings and on the XF lens in use. It can help to switch to the EVF to move the focus region, but when the focus object has some contrast the OVF is not useless in low light.

Based on my experience with the X-T1's phase-detection mode, I suspect the X100S/T work perform better in in low light too. However the PDAF sensors are only present in the center region of the frame, which limits composition when DOF is thin. I'm thinking PDAF does not work in OVF mode... but I don't know if this is so.

 

[noimmunity]

This is the first complete and correct comment I have read since the camera's release in 2012 in about the X-Pro 1's AF in low light. There are hundreds of comments on how the X-Pro 1 AF hunts in low light, but none of them discuss the role of contrast.

I'm not an engineer by training nor by character, but it's pretty obvious if you just pay attention to how the camera responds.

OT, but, perhaps you can explain to me why manufacturers don't use infrared focusing as was implemented on the Hexar AF? That thing focuses in the dark.

 

[willie_901]

I think they (and other brands) do use IR when Focus Assist is enabled in the menu system. I never use this with any camera I own because the camera announces itself with a red glow.

Perhaps the Hexar uses lower IR frequency light most humans can't see? If so I have no idea how come today's brands don't use more discreet IR frequencies.

 

[dct]

For what I know most of the cameras with AF help light uses white-yellow-amber lights since a long time. Part of the AF film cameras had this feature also. It is correct to wonder why hi end cameras don't use additional IR technology any more nowadays (like Contax G2, Hexar AF and a few compact film cameras).

Back to topic: A few days ago I also got my first X-Pro1 (near mint with 18-55 and EF-X20 flash). Waiting for the X-Pro2 may become a long lasting journey.
Adding now accessories similar to those on my X100 and give some try to RF lenses. Later during the year I will buy for sure some XF primes.
I'm happy like a child just fiddling around. Have to wait until weekend for serious shots. 🙂

 

[noimmunity]

For what I know most of the cameras with AF help light uses white-yellow-amber lights since a long time. Part of the AF film cameras had this feature also. It is correct to wonder why hi end cameras don't use additional IR technology any more nowadays (like Contax G2, Hexar AF and a few compact film cameras).

Back to topic: A few days ago I also got my first X-Pro1 (near mint with 18-55 and EF-X20 flash). Waiting for the X-Pro2 may become a long lasting journey.
Adding now accessories similar to those on my X100 and give some try to RF lenses. Later during the year I will buy for sure some XF primes.
I'm happy like a child just fiddling around. Have to wait until weekend for serious shots. 🙂

Congratulations! I bet you'll love it, and there are some real gems among the XF primes!