IN the spirit of good, honest debate that this thread has generated, I shall remind you this comment was specifically about price. Some people are complaining the Fuji is expensive; in the context of the R-D1's new and s/h price, it's not at all.
I wasn't being condescending in my answer; I was pointing out - without using or harming once a single apple or orange - that the two cameras are quite different so value comparisons based on price are less meaningful.
The RD-1 or M8/M9 are not useful comparisons to a camera designed around auto-focus and if it weren't for the faux rangefinder look and the presence of an optical viewfinder in the hybrid finder, no one here would compare them. As you can't use the faux rangefinder look or OVF to focus RF glass, it makes no sense to draw that comparison. The XPro 1 is as close to the rangefinder experience as a Sony NEX is. Ok, ok, it is *marginally* closer.
No doubt we can find legions of M8/M9/RD-1 and even Ricoh GXR M Mount users who would be quick to argue that the XPro 1 isn't really an analog to the aforementioned cameras. We've certainly seen those arguments come up in relation to the X100 in the past.
I say this as a former owner of the X100 who is well aware of what that camera is and isn't; it is an autofocus camera, designed to be used as such. The XPro 1 as it stands is the same - very much principally an autofocus camera, although granted the lines are blurred simply because of the short back focal length and potential for adapting MF glass.
That blurring noted, the XPro 1 is not a range finder focused camera so why compare them to rangefinder camera prices, given the focus mechanism is a fundamental attribute of a camera and one which attracts, or repels, camera buyers?
The closest analog would be other mirrorless compacts with short back focal lengths allowing the use of adapted lenses including M lenses so in that light the XPro 1 more logically can be compared to various NEXen or other adaptable APS-C or greater autofocus camera.
It get's tricky there - I wouldn't even compare the XPro 1 to the Ricoh GXR M Mount as the latter is designed only for manual focus, but I suppose as the GXR can optionally be equipped with AF camera modules and the M Mount module, it should be considered in the value mix too.
We are, despite the limitations of any one camera, as RF users in a much better position than we were a couple of years ago.
Agreed; we have more cameras on which to mount our RF lenses and some of these cameras even do a really good job with them and I expect performance will only get better. Given the trend towards short back focal length cameras thanks to dumping the mirror, chances are we'll have even greater selection going forward. M or adapted LTM lenses to me seem like the best cross-platform bet for lens investment at this point, provided one likes or prefers manual focus of course.
Back to the XPro 1, hopefully Fujifilm will add more than simple image magnification as a focus aide by the time they come out with their own M mount adapter. A good edge detection algorithm and display feature I've found makes all the difference in achieving focus - with a good implementation you can actually have accurate *and* fast instead of one or the other.
