Trepanning?

[Mike Farley]

Every one who knows me will be aware just how much I really need a new camera*, let alone a completely new system, so it was with some surprise** that I have just found myself pulling the trigger on a Fuji X-Pro1.*** What prompted this were the various reports of its image quality and suggestions that it is becoming something of a classic, together with what looks like an absurdly good deal from Wex, amongst others. Not just a camera, but two lenses, a never ready leather case and 12 months interest free loan. OK, the 18 mm lens is not one of the system's best and not an ideal focal length at 28 mm FFE****, but is still a reasonable performer and the 27 mm pancake looks like a cracker.

http://www.wexphotographic.com/buy-fuji ... y/p1528937

It is true that I have really got on with the camera. I first saw it at Focus-on-Imaging in 2012 shortly after it was announced and it is fair to say that Fuji had not quite got on top of the AF. Maps would have to be redrawn as the continents drifted out of position before the camera would achieve focus.***** That impression was not helped the following year when I borrowed one for an afternoon. Although Fuji had issued new firmware to speed up the AF, it had not been applied to the camera I was using. That I was doing street photography did not help matters much, either. At launch, the camera had a number of other usability issues, but it is to Fuji's credit****** that it has been steadily resolving these in so far as the camera's mechanical and electronic functioning allows. The offer I have taken up is, of course, a stock disposal quite probably ahead of a X-Pro2 launch later this year, so there is some irony that the camera is only now approaching what it should originally have been.

So, an experiment then. I reckon if it does not work out I can sell the items individually for more or less what I have paid and finally either put an end to my curiosity about using a hybrid viewfinder and the capabilities of the X-Trans sensor or give myself a whole new headache. More updates once the boxes turn up.*******

* Somewhat embrassingly, the count is now four so far this year alone, but in my defence one was very much unexpected and I have since given it away.

** Maybe not that much of a surprise.

*** Well, you have to do something while the forum is down, right?

**** Full frame equivalent

***** I was going to write "snap into focus", but pun aside snap did not seem quite right for the leisurely way the lens adjusted itself.

****** I would still argue that many of these should have been resolved prior to launch, but at least Fuji has kept the faith, although it needed to do so if its cameras were to gain acceptance.

******* And finally, a record number of footnotes for a post.

[Mike Farley]

Apropos my previous post in this thread, I really should stop reading articles such as this.

http://petebridgwood.com/wp/2014/11/the ... f-x-trans/

[Mike Farley]

If this post is to be believed, I could be in trouble with my recent purchase to see what all the fuss is about.

http://theonlinephotographer.typepad.co ... order.html

The camera is still out of stock at Wex so I have not received it yet. Maybe I should cancel and save myself the angst?

[davidc]

It does sound a little like you aren't sure what you want perhaps? Seeing the X-Pro series come out as your new m43 system of choice starting with the X-Pro 1 was a surprise. Not because of the camera, I quite liked it, but because of your previous stance and existing investment in Olympus. Watching the process you are going through is very interesting

Also I wanted to check - depending on how much you paid, are you sure you can sell a second hand X-Pro 1 for the same price as you bought it discounted AFTER the new camera body is out?

[Mike Farley]

It does sound a little like you aren't sure what you want perhaps? Seeing the X-Pro series come out as your new m43 system of choice starting with the X-Pro 1 was a surprise. Not because of the camera, I quite liked it, but because of your previous stance and existing investment in Olympus. Watching the process you are going through is very interesting

Also I wanted to check - depending on how much you paid, are you sure you can sell a second hand X-Pro 1 for the same price as you bought it discounted AFTER the new camera body is out?

I am scratching an itch. The usual cost of the two included lenses is greater than that of the package, which makes the camera effectively free. If we do not get on, I can bundle it all up and send it to Ffordes or somewhere similar and get most, if not all, of my money back.* Yes, the situation might worsen if or when the X-Pro2 comes out, but these cameras are already heavily discounted used compared to the original price at launch. If I had bought one back then, I am not sure how impressed I would be now by Fuji's discounting which has lead to this situation. Neither does it encourage purchases at the beginning of the sales cycle, which is not good news for the prospects of Fuji's other cameras.

Regarding m43, I have always held back from making a significant investment in the more expensive gear although this has mainly been due to concerns about AF performance rather than image quality. On the other hand, I do seem to like quirky cameras and the X-Pro1 definitely falls into that category. The problem comes if I decide that I like the X-Pro1, which is the inherent risk of this project.

* Ffordes is asking a higher secondhand price for the cheaper 27 mm lens than the 18 mm and has more of the latter for sale. Not that the 18 mm is a poor lens, but it does not have the best of reputations and other lens in the X stable are superior.

[Mike Farley]

The kit arrived yesterday, but it was fairly late on in the day so there was only time to unbox everything and charge trhe battery.

The most obvious comparison, which others have already made, is with the Leica M models on which the X-Pro1 is clearly styled. Size and styling are similar, with the X-Pro1 being slightly smaller, and the viewfinder is on the left of both cameras, although the Fuji is a fair bit lighter. According to Camera Price Buster, the X-Pro1 was priced at over £1k at launch, although that dropped to around £900 after a couple of months. A few months on it was down to just over £700 where, until recently, it has more or less remained. Fuji is clearly proud of the camera if the packaging is anything to go by, with that for the body and 18 mm lens being akin to Leica's.

Initial impressions are generally good, with many of the controls well laid out, although for some changes such as for the AF and metering, the camera really has to be taken away from the eye. One thing which Fuji definitely overlooked was a built in dioptre adjustment for the viewfinder, offering the option of screw-in lenses instead. Once again, that is Leica like. A poor man's Leica, then? We'll see.

I have been out for most of the day, so no opportunities as yet to take any pictures.