dcsang
Canadian & Not A Dentist
I've been toying with this ever since I got the camera. Is it possible to shoot a wedding. . . any wedding. . . on the X-Pro1 - I mean, the camera does have "pro" in its name right? Surely that means it's "professional" enough right? Or maybe it's just marketing . . . . nahhhhh . . . . corporations never do that do they? 😀
That said, I was able to tag along today to see if I could, eventually, dump my Nikon kit (and the backbreaking labour of carrying it. . . ).
I've shot weddings with my Leica M7's and Rolleiflex in the past - both formats performing flawlessly and the only issue is "pilot error" as they say 😉 - so I wonder if it would be at least the same if not better with the X-Pro 1.
Here's a quick look at what I like and dislike about the camera for this application (wedding)
Likes
1) White Balance - oh man. I rarely ever have to adjust the white balance on these files. And the skin tones seem so wonderful. I really dig that about the camera
2) The EF-42 flash - this thing is a pocket miracle worker AND it's priced at less than half the price of some of the Nikon/Canon gear. The ONLY thing it doesn't have is slave/wireless functionality (multi channel etc.) - but I guess for what it does, it does it well.
3) Weight - I swear. . . it's like walking on a cloud. I liked that about shooting with the Leicas as well.
4) The new 14mm - ridiculously good lens in my opinion. I could shoot with this thing on the camera all day but, of course, what would happen come portrait time? 🙂
5) Mirrorless - this means I can handhold slower shutter speeds easily. I shouldn't have to worry "as much" with 1/30 or even 1/15.
Dislikes / Niggles
1) "Continuous AutoFocus" - the "C" setting on the switch - I personally don't like it but I rarely use it - I will give it another shot next weekend but if you depend on continuous AF this is not your camera (per se)
2) Chromatic Aberrations - I've just noted this with the 35mm.. just keep it in mind and keep backlight (or overpower it with flash)
3) Machine Gun Shooters - I'm not one of these.. but if you are.. this camera is so not for you 🙂 Don't even consider this camera if you expect FPS speed akin to the Nikons or Canons
4) Autofocus Speed/Accuracy - this is not in the league of the D700 (or higher - i.e. D800/D600/D3/D4 etc.) or their Canon counterparts. If you've ever shot with a Contax G series rangefinder, this is a lot like that. For the most part, once you get accustomed to the AF speed and how it actually focuses, it works just fine. I can deal with this - others, maybe not so much - your mileage may vary.
Overall the camera handled itself well - I found myself using the EVF quite often and the OVF not as often as I would have thought. I used the EVF exclusively with the 14mm - it was just easier that way. The 35mm, regardless of CA, is a ridiculously good lens - yet I didn't use it "enough" - I did find the 18-55 zoom useful and was probably a lens I didn't consider much until I thought about shooting weddings with the camera.
I think I will be dumping some of my Nikon kit - I can't bring myself to dump all of it but at the same time, I'm not using it as much. Once Fuji comes out with the 55-200, the 23 and the 56 - I think I'll be set and shoot with this gear regularly for all work.
Some images (larger/full size on my Flickr):
Cheers,
Dave
That said, I was able to tag along today to see if I could, eventually, dump my Nikon kit (and the backbreaking labour of carrying it. . . ).
I've shot weddings with my Leica M7's and Rolleiflex in the past - both formats performing flawlessly and the only issue is "pilot error" as they say 😉 - so I wonder if it would be at least the same if not better with the X-Pro 1.
Here's a quick look at what I like and dislike about the camera for this application (wedding)
Likes
1) White Balance - oh man. I rarely ever have to adjust the white balance on these files. And the skin tones seem so wonderful. I really dig that about the camera
2) The EF-42 flash - this thing is a pocket miracle worker AND it's priced at less than half the price of some of the Nikon/Canon gear. The ONLY thing it doesn't have is slave/wireless functionality (multi channel etc.) - but I guess for what it does, it does it well.
3) Weight - I swear. . . it's like walking on a cloud. I liked that about shooting with the Leicas as well.
4) The new 14mm - ridiculously good lens in my opinion. I could shoot with this thing on the camera all day but, of course, what would happen come portrait time? 🙂
5) Mirrorless - this means I can handhold slower shutter speeds easily. I shouldn't have to worry "as much" with 1/30 or even 1/15.
Dislikes / Niggles
1) "Continuous AutoFocus" - the "C" setting on the switch - I personally don't like it but I rarely use it - I will give it another shot next weekend but if you depend on continuous AF this is not your camera (per se)
2) Chromatic Aberrations - I've just noted this with the 35mm.. just keep it in mind and keep backlight (or overpower it with flash)
3) Machine Gun Shooters - I'm not one of these.. but if you are.. this camera is so not for you 🙂 Don't even consider this camera if you expect FPS speed akin to the Nikons or Canons
4) Autofocus Speed/Accuracy - this is not in the league of the D700 (or higher - i.e. D800/D600/D3/D4 etc.) or their Canon counterparts. If you've ever shot with a Contax G series rangefinder, this is a lot like that. For the most part, once you get accustomed to the AF speed and how it actually focuses, it works just fine. I can deal with this - others, maybe not so much - your mileage may vary.
Overall the camera handled itself well - I found myself using the EVF quite often and the OVF not as often as I would have thought. I used the EVF exclusively with the 14mm - it was just easier that way. The 35mm, regardless of CA, is a ridiculously good lens - yet I didn't use it "enough" - I did find the 18-55 zoom useful and was probably a lens I didn't consider much until I thought about shooting weddings with the camera.
I think I will be dumping some of my Nikon kit - I can't bring myself to dump all of it but at the same time, I'm not using it as much. Once Fuji comes out with the 55-200, the 23 and the 56 - I think I'll be set and shoot with this gear regularly for all work.
Some images (larger/full size on my Flickr):
Cheers,
Dave
