Not overly thrilled w/X-Pro 1 in hand...

Once the X-Pro 1 got into my hands in the real world (a friend's purchase), it was very reminiscent of my M6. Size, view, handling. And, it was very similar to my X100.

It's grown on me...which is why I bought one.

For a pocket-carry camera, I have a Sony RX100, which truly is awesome. But for more focused photography, the X-Pro 1 should fit the ticket.

I'm glad I came around.
 
As an added note, I'm a viewfinder snob of sorts. EVF can't fully replace a nice bright OVF. Even my little RX100 has that fact as a chink in it's armor.
 
same size as my M8

same size as my M8

I have an M8 wth a grip attached and an X Pro 1 with a Really Right Stuff grip. I cannot see any differance in size at all. For my hands, the X Pro is perfect. I have also a NEX 5n and it is too small for my hands. My fingers trip over each other with the NEX. I also held the x100 and my fingers were not happy. Too small. X Pro just right for me. I guess this is because I used to be a defensive lineman in college football and still bench 359lbs at 47 years old!
 
David_Manning said:
As an added note, I'm a viewfinder snob of sorts. EVF can't fully replace a nice bright OVF. Even my little RX100 has that fact as a chink in it's armor.
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I use a Zeiss hot-shoe finder on my X-E1. Blows everything else (especially any finder made by Leica) out of the water.
 
For the first year of M8 usage, I went "bare".
Then I added the M grip. Then I added the Thumbs-Up.
Then sold the grip & bought an A&A half case.
Settled on A&A half case PLUS ThumbsUp combo in the end.

I've gone through a similar process with the XPro1...
Bare.. not quite right.
Fuji grip.. nice, but not enough.
Added the ThumbsUp to the Fuji grip.. better, not perfect, but working for now.

Going to come down to personal ergonomic preferences.. you can't tell for sure until you try.
Best thing to do is be aware of the grip/case/etc options, and try them if you can.
 
Last week I went to the camera store to pick up some print developer and stopbath.
On the way out, my eyes caught a glimpse of the Fuji X-100 and X-Pro in the display case.

I have to say, it looks like a very usable camera, size wise it is par with my M-4P, and the 18/2 lens would make a what... 27mm f2 equivalent of film? That's almost good enough for me to be the only lens. Tempting, but good thing I'm not in the market for another digital camera.
 
shadowfox said:
Last week I went to the camera store to pick up some print developer and stopbath.
On the way out, my eyes caught a glimpse of the Fuji X-100 and X-Pro in the display case.

I have to say, it looks like a very usable camera, size wise it is par with my M-4P, and the 18/2 lens would make a what... 27mm f2 equivalent of film? That's almost good enough for me to be the only lens. Tempting, but good thing I'm not in the market for another digital camera.
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My most used RF combination prior to purchasing the XE-! was the M4-2 and the 28/1.9 Ultron. Which is why I got the 18/2. A combination that works very well indeed. I don't care that the 35/1.4 trumps it in the sharpness stakes, the 18/2 is a very good lens regardless.
 
The 18mm lens is actually superb. Sharp right to the corners from f4 and up, and fantastic close up and f2 for documentary style portraiture. Flare resistance is off the charts too. Don't know where it's average rep comes from...
 
gavinlg said:
The 18mm lens is actually superb. Sharp right to the corners from f4 and up, and fantastic close up and f2 for documentary style portraiture. Flare resistance is off the charts too. Don't know where it's average rep comes from...
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The lack of love for the 18/2 is due to what is jsrocket wrote and because the lens relies on a large amount of software barrel correction. In about 10% of my photos the combination of ACR's rendering and the high degree of barrel distortion correction don't work well together. It takes a bit of extra time to remove edge artifacts that look like CA, but aren't. Otherwise Lightroom quickly corrects the actual CA which is minimal but greater than the 35/1.4.

At the same time, the center performance is excellent, and this compact lens is a joy to have on the camera. The AF performance is good too. For reportage work it is a must have lens. I will keep my 18/2 even though I am about to order the new 14/2.8.
 
The perfect lens for me would be a 24mm f/2 which is roughly 35mm.

I can't wait for full-frame models to come out, then we can do away with all these barrel distortion stuff.
 
shadowfox said:
The perfect lens for me would be a 24mm f/2 which is roughly 35mm.

I can't wait for full-frame models to come out, then we can do away with all these barrel distortion stuff.
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The Nikkor 16-35/4 and 17-35/2.8 have their fair share of barrel distortion and these are not DX lenses. The former has predominantly first order distortion while the latter has significant second order distortion as well. The 16-35/4 is particularly bad at 16 mm and the Adobe lens correction profiles can't fully correct. By 20 mm the barrel distortion is well controlled by the ACR lens profile.

It seems the Fujinon 14/2.8 XF lens has very low barrel distortion and it is also relatively large. The 18/2 pancake design trades compactness for in-lens barrel distortion correction.
 
willie_901 said:
The Nikkor 16-35/4 and 17-35/2.8 have their fair share of barrel distortion and these are not DX lenses. The former has predominantly first order distortion while the latter has significant second order distortion as well. The 16-35/4 is particularly bad at 16 mm and the Adobe lens correction profiles can't fully correct. By 20 mm the barrel distortion is well controlled by the ACR lens profile.

It seems the Fujinon 14/2.8 XF lens has very low barrel distortion and it is also relatively large. The 18/2 pancake design trades compactness for in-lens barrel distortion correction.
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I understand that.
What I meant was no more using 18mm to simulate 28mm, causing us to jump through software hoops to correct distortions.

With full frame, you don't have to contend with it unless you really are getting super wide view in return.
 
I would love to have someone explain to me the worth of the camera's looks. Two things are relevant, is it easy to use and more importantly does it take a good image. I find the XP1 to fill the bill rather well on both counts.
 
Darthfeeble said:
I would love to have someone explain to me the worth of the camera's looks. Two things are relevant, is it easy to use and more importantly does it take a good image. I find the XP1 to fill the bill rather well on both counts.
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The worth? Just like for everything else. People tend to like pretty objects, be it a toaster, a coffee machine etc. Why not a camera?
 
Darthfeeble said:
I would love to have someone explain to me the worth of the camera's looks.
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Sometimes a pretty camera may make you want to go out and use it more. Anything that helps you connect with a camera surely can't be a bad thing. The more connected you are to the camera, the better chance you have of making good images. Just my opinion.
 
A few observations from my first day with the X-Pro 1.

As a refresher to this post, I wasn't thrilled with it when I saw it for a few minutes in the camera store. Later, a good friend bought one and we spent an afternoon shooting together (his XP1 and my 5DmkII, both with 50mm FoV lenses). I then ate crow, flip-flopped, and stated my desire to own one.

Flash forward to today. My impressions...

The X-Pro 1 is a very solid camera. It's heavier than my X100 and handles like I remember my M6...actually, a little better with the small built-in grip. I added a Lensmate thumb rest, and it's terrific. It feels like a professional camera.

My X100 is terrific, but I always wondered about delicate electronic parts, the aperture, and the little leaf shutter. The XP1 feels tough, and the shutter is solid and sounds/feels like a well-damped Nikon F6 shutter, which I thought was the best focal-plane shutter I've ever used.

The lens is solid and professional-feeling.

Overall, it doesn't feel like consumer electronics, it feels like a professional camera...the quality (my perception) is on par with the 5DmkII I also shoot.

Now, if they could get the RAW issue worked out for Apple's Aperture...

8509072336_f93b2e49dd_c.jpg
 
Regarding RAW processing, I saw yesterday on dpreview that Adobe has apparently figured out the Xtrans RAW output. So maybe Apple is not far behind?? I hope so, as Aperture has become my all-time favorite image handling software.
 
I come from 6x4.5 format (mamiya 645 super). i think that my x-Pro1 is really small !!! (Theory of relativity)
Referring to the diopter lens, my +2 Cosina Lens fitted in for me is a MUST not a disadvantage (Theory of relativity II)
:)
 
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