Over the weekend I was at the Avenues and ended up passing by Xcite’s new photography section. Two things grabbed my attention, the first is the fact they have 4 incredibly expensive Nikon lenses on display including the 400mm f/2.8 which I’d love to have at the next Gulf Run event. The second thing that grabbed my attention was the Fuji X-Pro 1 camera.
When the camera was first revealed online my heart sank into to my stomach since I had just purchased the my Panasonic GX1 and there was no way I could buy this as well. The camera was everything the Fuji X100 was except it was better in every way.
Once I got home I sent an email to my contact at Xcite and asked him if they’d be able to hook me up with one to review and they did. Not only that but I’m traveling to Lebanon for two weeks and I’m going to have the camera with me there which is perfect since the X-Pro 1 is a great camera for street photography which is something I like doing in Lebanon.
I’m going to be using the 35mm f/1.4 lens with the camera and expect a thorough review in around 10 days time.
Update: Below is a picture of the X-Pro 1 next to my GX1.
12 replies on “The Fuji X-Pro 1”
Is it safe to take random pictures of people in Lebanon? I heard it’s a place where every other guy carries an AK47 and they’re willing to use it.
yeah its very safe. all the universities have photography courses and so you’ll always find students taking pictures everywhere so it’s normal.
Looking for the review … have a nice trip.
What photography section? Are you talking about the glass case with the Nikon camera + lenses?
I was there last weekend didn’t see much in terms of a section. They have one for gaming, iOS hardware, Samsung, personal healthcare, watches … but didn’t notice one for photography.
I’m not sure if it was there last weekend. this past weekend when i was there they had a new section for photography and they had 4 huge ass super expensive nikon lenses on display. i hadn’t seen them in person before and now that i have i know why they cost that much, the glass in the lenses are huge!
1. the canon G1X is a great camera.
2. If your interested in something like this…iv done the research and there is a better alternative:
Olympus OM-D E-M5, possibly the best micro 4/3 out yet.
Enjoy
1) You’ve confused the Canon G1X with the Panasonic GX1. The GX1 is great, the G1X not so much
2) Better alternative to the X-Pro 1 or the GX1? The GX1 is smaller than the Olympus so it’s better for me when traveling hence why I chose it over the Olympus. The X-Pro 1 vs the Olympus, tough call, I haven’t shot with the X-Pro 1 yet so will have to wait and see. One thing for sure though is that the X-Pro 1 has an optical (actually Hybrid) viewfinder while the Olympus doesn’t. That’s a plus already for the X-Pro 1.
No, I meant the Canon G1X, its a really good solution, its “compact” although maybe not pocketable, but neither are the micro 4/3 with anything but a pancake lens attached.
The X-Pro 1 is an upgrade to the X100. and the hybrid viewfinder is pretty cool, iv played around with it but its not a decision maker when it comes to making a purchase. The main issue with the X-pro 1 as with the X100 is a slow and relatively inaccurate autofocus.
Don’t get me wrong, if your willing to live with its idiosyncrasies then its a great camera, but if you want a camera thats you can just walk around and shoot with, without any worry then the X-Pro is probably not your camera.
The Olympus on the other hand (i also don’t own…yet) has a super fast auto focus, the widest range of possible lenses to choose from including some great primes, a nice retro look, two pro style dials on top.
FYI im no fanboy of any of these companies, iv just done the research because I was going to buy one on a recent trip. and didn’t get any of them because I couldn’t get the color I wanted (silver/black). I did however upgrade my 5D mark ii with a bad ass new mark iii.
Well the cool thing about the Panasonic GX1 is their 20mm pancake lens AND the new 14-42mm pancake lens so it’s very pocket-able. The 14-42mm is the exact same size as the tiny 20mm lens. I’m not a fan of the Canon because of their lens which isn’t that bright. Also not a fan of the Sony lenses since they’re huge and not that brighter (except for the $1000 lens).
The X-Pro 1 has a slow focus BUT you should be comparing it to the Leica M9 that has manual focus. That’s who the real competitor is and the M9 costs $4,000 more body only.
The X-Pro 1 is essentially a rangefinder so you can’t really compare it to other cameras. If you do want to compare it to the OM-D from what I’ve seen online the X-Pro 1 has much better image quality and a lot better iso performance. The viewfinder might not be important to you but to me and a lot of other people who hate LCD viewfinders, an optical/hybrid one will win out over LCD every time and be part of the reason to buying the camera. For example if the D800 has a LCD viewfinder while the Mark III has optical I would have gone with the Mark III instead.
Two of my friends have the OM-D, it’s focusing is as fast as my GX1 and the sensor is pretty much the same as well. I’ve actually recommended the OM-D to people but for a travel cam I prefer the more compact GX1 with the zoom pancake lens. The X-Pro 1 on the other hand is something completely different.
Fair enough, as with most cameras, it comes down to intended use/ application.
yup, there is no bad camera, it just depends on what you want.
I just got the X-1pro a couple of days ago…being a leica shooter for years i can safely say this camera is no M camera but i cant be happier with my purchase…the image quality and the low light performance is beautiful, i think my 5d is going to start gathering dust. Looking forward to seeing some frames Mark.