Comments on: Fujifilm X-Pro1 – My Real World Opinions

By: Andre

Andre — Sat, 07 Jul 2012 22:51:41 +0000

Actually you can set the minumum auto iso speed…kinda…set aperture and speed manually, and see ISO adjust itself!

By: Flax

Flax — Sat, 07 Jul 2012 14:59:08 +0000

Nice review, a few points:

Half press to lock focus also locks exposure. Can be an issue when you recompose and the exposure needs to change. My GH2 lets me configure this.

Auto ISO, which is very usable with it’s clean images, does not allow you to set a minimum speed. In AP and Auto ISO you find it setting the speed down to 1/52 with the 35mm, too slow.

Biggest issue is the ‘lag’. Even in manual focus, manual aperture, manual speed and manual ISO, the lag is still there..sometimes.

Looks like the blades are in constant motion to keep the evf/lcd properly exposed. Even if you turn off the evf/lcd, still happens. My GH2 lets me disable this, wish the X-Pro1 did also, might speed things up.

Good news is these are all tweakable in FW.

The rest is just amazing, high iso, DR, colors, jpegs, micro-contrast and shallower DOF at distance compared to M43, OVF, especially when the light drops and an EVF would turn to mud.

If Fuji would just give me a few FW tweaks it would be perfection.

By: Dave

Dave — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 14:11:29 +0000

Wim, actually there is two AF modes on the camera.

The first is what they call “Area” where you manually select what to focus on using a single AF point. By default this AF point is in the center. However, you can change this point to by any of 25 points when using OVF or 49 points when using EVF. 90% of the time I use the center point (even on my DSLR) unless I am taking a portrait where I will move the point to cover the eye of the subject.

There is also another AF mode called “multi” which works like a standard multi-point AF you get on a DSLR. I have not yet started using this so I don’t know how accurate it is. I will test it out someday.

By: Dave

Dave — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 14:01:20 +0000

Reza, I don’t have an M4 but I do use an M2 which is similar in a lot of respects.

Comparing the M2 and the X-Pro1 there are a few similarities (the physical shutter dial and aperture ring) but for the most part, the cameras are very different.

Since the X-Pro1 is a digital camera, it has a lot of buttons, features, options, bells and whistles that the mechanical M2 does not have. The M2 is a very simple camera to use but currently I do sometimes get overwhelmed by all of the options on the X-Pro1. Over time, this feeling will disappear as I become more familiar with the camera and I start to use it on auto-pilot. I guess the goal is for whatever camera you are using to disappear so you can just focus on taking pictures.

By: Wim Winters

Wim Winters — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 13:56:10 +0000

Thanks Dave, for your reply. So pressing the shutter button down completely is no solution in avoiding the shutter lag if your subject is not in the center of the frame… So best practice might be manual focus, AF button on the back and then press.
I’ll go and see tomorrow for the x-pro1. I believe this camera must be regarded as a concept…

By: Dave

Dave — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 13:50:35 +0000

Wim, pressing the shutter half way down does lock the focus. So it is possible to focus/recompose/shoot in this way.

If you press the shutter button down completely in one movement, there is minimal shutter lag but I don’t trust the focus to keep up 100%.

By: Reza Hosseini

Reza Hosseini — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 12:10:17 +0000

One of the most helpful reviews so far, thank you so much! Do you think the Fuji has the same “organic” IQ and classical attitude when using it like – lets say – a Leica M4?

By: Wim Winters

Wim Winters — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 08:58:54 +0000

Thank your for the nice review!
I wonder though about this shutter lag, that seems to dissapear while pressing the shutter button in one movement, how you manage to recompose. As a most often do, pointing at e.g. the eyes (half shutter) recompose and then fire.
That seems to be impossible with the X-pro1 or not?

thanks for your reply!

greetings
Wim