Fujifilm X-Pro3 Thoughts?

jsrockit said:
Ok, I give up. This will be the death of Fuji! 😉
Click to expand...


Nobody is saying that, aside from you. The X Pro 3 is not going to bring down Fujifilm. Digital cameras are such a tiny portion of Fujifilm's revenue, and an even tinier portion of their profits that their CEO would not miss it at all if they just shut down their camera operations. A failed camera model is not a big deal. Look at the X-H1. That model failed spectacularly and Fuji kept on going.
 
Ted Striker said:
Look at the X-H1. That model failed spectacularly and Fuji kept on going.
Click to expand...

Maybe failed at $2000, but many love the camera. I have one (admittedly bought at $999) and it’s wonderful. It’s big but it works well. The camera was released at the wrong price and the wrong time, but it’s still a great camera. People are snatching them up at $999. When Sony discounts a camera (and they always do) nobody thinks it is a massive fail.
 
jsrockit said:
Maybe failed at $2000, but many love the camera. I have one (admittedly bought at $999) and it’s wonderful. It’s big but it works well. The camera was released at the wrong price and the wrong time, but it’s still a great camera. People are snatching them up at $999. When Sony discounts a camera (and they always do) nobody thinks it is a massive fail.
Click to expand...


I'm sure it is a good camera. I played with one in the store while in Japan. It was just ridiculously over priced and promptly discontinued. Fujifilm can't make any money at the fire sale price it took to move them out of the stores.
 
The thing that bugs me is that Fuji decided to prioritize a “statement” camera instead of prioritizing maximum usability.

Direction 1: The LCD hinge limits the audience and satisfies the “true believer’s” desire for a niche product. The goal here is to preach to the choir.

Direction 2: With a more common, “less innovative” fully-articulated LCD, the camera would have appealed to a wider audience because it is more practical, but it would not have been a “love it or hate it” camera that reinforces a cult following.

So between the choice of a polarizing LCD hinge with a narrower audience and a well-established LCD hinge with a broader audience, they went with the one that was better marketing.
 
aizan said:
The thing that bugs me is that Fuji decided to prioritize a “statement” camera instead of prioritizing maximum usability.

Direction 1: The LCD hinge limits the audience and satisfies the “true believer’s” desire for a niche product. The goal here is to preach to the choir.

Direction 2: With a more common, “less innovative” fully-articulated LCD, the camera would have appealed to a wider audience because it is more practical, but it would not have been a “love it or hate it” camera that reinforces a cult following.

So between the choice of a polarizing LCD hinge with a narrower audience and a well-established LCD hinge with a broader audience, they went with the one that was better marketing.
Click to expand...
No, I think Fuji is much smarter than that. They built the X-Pro line for one segment of the photography population. They built other lines for other segments. I, for one, am hugely thankful to Fuji for providing the variety they do. I don't see any other camera company stretching the lines out like Fuji. 🙂
 
gavinlg said:
It’s necessary to know where the autofocus landed. Without the close and infinity estimators you would have no idea. It’s actually a genius solution and and not at all distracting when you get used to it .
Click to expand...

That's true, but in cases where that would matter I switch to the EVF. Most of my subjects using the OVF are relatively distant, like a building or house across the street.

I love Fuji for the way they've implemented most of the viewfinder features. My only complaint is relatively minor: the horizon line, when enabled, is tilted a few degrees from the true 0-degree horizon.
 
There’s a lot about this camera that doesn’t make sense. The LCD as covered already extensively, I believe is a poor design that will hamper sales alone. The other is actually the change of the OVF Magnification and lack of “zoom” function. . The Xpro2 works VERY well with the 18mm and acceptably well at the 16mm. The 18mm form factor is literally designed for the OVF being a compact design. From a couple people I’ve asked that have used it say the 18mm is already getting into the unusable area of the OVF. IF that is the case, THAT is an epic failure as 28mm is a classic documentary FOV. Removing capability of the main feature of the camera is equally bizarre as the LCD in my opinion. I may rent one to give it a fair shake, but I carry an Xpro2 or M every day for the past 2 years and have a pretty good handle on what works for ME, and the pro3 likely won’t fit the bill.
 
Jonas Rask says they removed the dual magnification feature from the reverse-Galilean viewfinder in order to make the EVF better.

Fujifilm needed to improve the EVF while maintaining the OVF. This meant having to remove the dual magnification function of the X-Pro1 and 2 and reducing the OVF magnification to 0.52x (0.60x in the X-Pro2).
The OVF is big and bright, and to be honest I don’t notice the 0.08x difference in magnification. I do notice the impressive improvements to the EVF portion, though. But more on that later.
Click to expand...
https://jonasraskphotography.com/2019/10/23/x-pro3-a-different-breed-first-look-extensive-preview/

That's not the decision I would have made. You really want a more "pure" photographic experience? Get rid of the EVF! 🙄

I've seen a lot of X-Pro users on Youtube say that they only use the EVF. From what I remember, they're not even street or documentary photographers, but rather lifestyle and fashion photographers (who have a thing for Leica's cachet). 28mm is a classic documentary lens, perfect for indoors (uh, and outdoor scenes, too). That "everything in focus" viewfinder is a fundamental advantage of rangefinders. Fuji making the optical viewfinder worse in order to make the EVF better shows where their priorities lie. It's damn frustrating!
 
I just love my X-Pro2, so I have a vested interest in wanting to like its replacement, but to me, at the very least, the X-Pro3’s rear screen seems like a misstep.

Above my love of the X-Pro2 is Fuji’s wonderful lenses; I have a fair bit invested in them (and would like to buy more) and really wouldn’t want start all over again with another company, so I really want the X-Pro3 to succeed.

Although it hasn’t let me down, next year I will be looking to replace my battered and bruised but fully functioning X-Pro2. The Fuji digital SLRs really don’t cut it for me (central viewfinder windows - I want one on the left side) and I want a weatherproofed camera body, so it boils down to the X-Pro2 or 3.

The 3’s folding rear screen doesn’t interest me one jot - I just don’t need or require one, but Fuji’s assumption that photographers such as me now won’t object to take two steps to view their shots on the screen (unfold the screen and view) is asinine. Even more asinine is the fact that if the X-pro3 photographer wants to use the rear screen for composition for an extended period, the screen now will be ‘dangling’ off the bottom of the camera.

The X-Pro2’s rear screen can be blacked out. Why the need to overcomplicate things and have a folding one to show a daft phoney film end box or other information? The chosen film simulation can be shown in the viewfinder together with every other shooting choice.

I totally applaud what Fuji has done for the small sensor camera. However, though I have not yet picked up the X-Pro3, its screen really bugs me and the news about its improved viewfinder worries me (I have a 16mm lens).

I really hope I’m misguided or over influenced by the reviewers (whom, lets face it, have to write or say something negative above every piece of equipment they review) and that I’m proved to be totally, totally wrong in my opinion. If not, it’ll be another X-Pro2.
 
Brian Atherton said:
I just love my X-Pro2, so I have a vested interest in wanting to like its replacement, but to me, at the very least, the X-Pro3’s rear screen seems like a misstep.

Above my love of the X-Pro2 is Fuji’s wonderful lenses; I have a fair bit invested in them (and would like to buy more) and really wouldn’t want start all over again with another company, so I really want the X-Pro3 to succeed.

Although it hasn’t let me down, next year I will be looking to replace my battered and bruised but fully functioning X-Pro2. The Fuji digital SLRs really don’t cut it for me (central viewfinder windows - I want one on the left side) and I want a weatherproofed camera body, so it boils down to the X-Pro2 or 3.

The 3’s folding rear screen doesn’t interest me one jot - I just don’t need or require one, but Fuji’s assumption that photographers such as me now won’t object to take two steps to view their shots on the screen (unfold the screen and view) is asinine. Even more asinine is the fact that if the X-pro3 photographer wants to use the rear screen for composition for an extended period, the screen now will be ‘dangling’ off the bottom of the camera.

The X-Pro2’s rear screen can be blacked out. Why the need to overcomplicate things and have a folding one to show a daft phoney film end box or other information? The chosen film simulation can be shown in the viewfinder together with every other shooting choice.

I totally applaud what Fuji has done for the small sensor camera. However, though I have not yet picked up the X-Pro3, its screen really bugs me and the news about its improved viewfinder worries me (I have a 16mm lens).

I really hope I’m misguided or over influenced by the reviewers (whom, lets face it, have to write or say something negative above every piece of equipment they review) and that I’m proved to be totally, totally wrong in my opinion. If not, it’ll be another X-Pro2.
Click to expand...

It seems we have a very similar position on this. I've been evaluating the "need" to upgrade and likely would have if the xpro3 really seemed a marked improvement. It just seems hampered, so I've been thinking...the xpro2 has been so good for what I use it for, there really is no need to upgrade especially with the bizarre decisions Fuji has made with with the 3. I think what I will likely do is wait to see what the next x100 has to offer and maybe pick one of those up if I feel the desire for a new toy. Realistically though, I think it will be difficult to displace the xpro2. Are we at a point where we have hit a plateau in digital imaging? Improvements seem so marginal for real life use.
 
While I don't have Fuji anymore I did have the XP1 and XP2.

The XP3 LCD doesn't bother me, I kind of like it. If I wanted to chimp I used the EVF anyway (or set it for a 2 second review after the shot so it happened automatically). Most of the time when I used the LCD for shooting was for macro work and the fold down might help there but I typically just used wifi display on the XP2 for macro.

The switch of the XP3 to an OLED EVF is nice. OLED is an advantage even using the OVF as it won't be polarized. You can still see it with polarized sunglasses in either orientation. In EVF mode the OLED will be much nicer and it is slightly bigger than what the XP2 had. After using the A7RII EVF the XP2s EVF felt like looking through a tunnel. Should make the ERF mode better too and that was handy to check framing/focus or to use with adapted lenses.

Lack of the dual magnification of the OVF is a loss though. I thought that was brilliant and the fixed magnification is a step backwards.

Also the loss of some of the customizable buttons would bother me too. I had them all mapped for different functions so that I rarely had to menu dive.

If I was still in Fuji I don't know if I would move from the XP2 to XP3. It feels very different than the move from the XP1 to the XP2 which was a big improvement in just about every way. The only loss was AutoDR no longer selecting between DR100,DR200 and DR400.

Shawn
 
I guess this camera is made for me. I like the -6ev autofocus, the autofocus limiter, the improved EVF, and the LCD doesn’t bother me. I’m not a huge chimper, but a screen is still there if I need it. I use the OVF only when I have tricky situations that call for it. I prefer 23-56mm lenses. I prefer an evf in order to really see how my photo will look exposure included. I’m not a custom button guy. I concentrate on shutter speed and aperture mostly. I set up the menus once and rarely deviate from my preferred settings. I will use the camera like any old camera with a shutter speed dial and aperture ring from the past. I already do this with my other Fujis.
 
jsrockit said:
I guess this camera is made for me. I like the -6ev autofocus, the autofocus limiter, the improved EVF, and the LCD doesn’t bother me. I’m not a huge chimper, but a screen is still there if I need it. I use the OVF only when I have tricky situations that call for it. I prefer 23-56mm lenses. I prefer an evf in order to really see how my photo will look exposure included. I’m not a custom button guy. I concentrate on shutter speed and aperture mostly. I set up the menus once and rarely deviate from my preferred settings. I will use the camera like any old camera with a shutter speed dial and aperture ring from the past. I already do this with my other Fujis.
Click to expand...

Except for the talent part we could be twins
 
Well, I've made it clear that I've yet to meet an EVF I really like to use. That's probably based on preferring to shoot in bright daylight or high contrast light with lots of shadow area, both of which seem to play badly with details in EVFs. I do find EVFs handy for shooting in low light or indoors. The hybrid viewfinder in the XP2 has made it possibly my favorite camera of all time (and I've been snapping pictures for almost 50 years).

I watched the dpreview video review of the XP3 yesterday and it did not give me any points that would change my mind about my dislike of the camera. The reviewer found the flippin' screen to be a pain to use in reviewing images but he did think it made a good hand grip for the bottom of the camera. The real sad thing that I took from it is that Fuji seems to be trying to kill off the hybrid viewfinder. The reviewer said he stopped using the OVF completely during the video because he found he had to use the EVF to review his images since the flippin' screen was such a pain and, since it was also a pain to go from the OVF to the EVF and then back again he just decided to do without the OVF.

There has been a lot of negative comments made online about the new XP3. Much of it coming from current Fuji users like me. That may not work out well for Fuji. The XP3 might become Fuji's M5.
 
I'm pretty content with my Olympus gear, but this camera really intrigues me. I love the Pen F's style and imaging capability, but I hate it's fully articulating screen so much that I switched to an E-PL7 with a VF4. When I'm using the screen, I like to use it in the same way I use a TLR and tilt swivel screens just don't mesh with how I shoot. If Olympus continues to only put tilt swivel screens on their higher end cameras I could definitely see myself switching to Fuji for the X-Pro3.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

danielsterno
Breaking: Fujifilm X-E1 full press release
2 3 4
Replies
60
Views
10K
daveleo
daveleo
Back
Top Bottom