Fuji X Series

Soldato
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Got the X-Pro 1 today.

2 - It's a bit small, the thumb grip and half case should help the ergonomics The HG-X-Pro1 grip helps a lot!

3 - Lots of weird things going on I am not used to yet, like AF there are 2 boxes all the time, one I pre selected and one slight off to the side...weird. I assume you mean in optical mode? Due to the offset optical viewfinder the 'main' focus box would not be accurate at close range so the other one is there to compensate for this. The box off to the side indicates where the minimum focus area is.

4 - Is there a spot focusing option or always by area ? When you are moving the focus area use the back wheel to adjust the size. I find one up from the smallest to be the best compromise between focus speed and accuracy. Optical focusing cannot be adjusted for size.
 
Associate
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Has anyone got or used a soft release button with their Fuji's, I'm considering getting some cheap ones but not really sure if they are worth it or not!?

I find the cheap ones always come loose, the two best brands I've used so far for several years without loosing are:

https://www.artisanobscura.com/category/1/soft-releases

http://www.matchtechnical.com/Pages/OurNewSoftReleases.aspx

You can get cheaper alternatives with the rubber washer underneath but I've never found them to be fit and forget.

Something just for the price of a compact camera, my last compact I bought was a Olympus XZ-1 which cost me around £250 but I notice that the X-Pro 1 used can be had now for similar price (plus lenses).

Is this camera still stack on by modern standard? I only plan to put a 23mm lens in front of it and leave it at that.

The x-pro1 is still acceptable if your ok manual focusing and forgo handheld low light photography, a much better alternative around that price range would be a X-E2 around £250 or a X-T10 around £280 which have much more modern internals, I have an X-E2 as a backup but don't really like the feel of it, it's very small even with a grip.

I'm interested to know if the £50 lens hood makes any difference too or is it just for looks?

The whole setup does look dam good though!

Is this the 35mm f/2 lens hood?
 
Caporegime
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The x-pro1 is still acceptable if your ok manual focusing and forgo handheld low light photography, a much better alternative around that price range would be a X-E2 around £250 or a X-T10 around £280 which have much more modern internals, I have an X-E2 as a backup but don't really like the feel of it, it's very small even with a grip.
The X-Pro1 is barely acceptable, imo. Taking away the rose-tinted glasses that people seem to apply to things like this, the Xpro1 focuses like an absolute dog and is in most practical aspects technically inferior to the X-E2 which with the latest firmware updates I think is a far better and more sensible purchase. I have an X-E2 that I purchased for my first foray into Fujiland, and combined with the 35mmf2 and 16mm f1.4 it was an absolute champ on my travels last year. I don't have small hands and I thought it handled great barring the annoying exposure control dial which is so easy to knock.

No way would I ever buy an X-Pro1 at this point.
 
Caporegime
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Reasons for going for the X-Pro 1, or this one.


Cheap, they are £200 to £300.

Found a absolute mint one. Even battery charger and strap still in sealed bags.

I don’t want to move into full EVF shooting as my first mirrorless.


As for the soft shutter release, the one on there is a cheap one, but I have a Lensmate on order together with the thumb grip.


I’ll see what the quirks are regarding the focus, up for a challenge!


The plan is to get a X-Pro 2 in a few years when it is this cheap and I do have a couple of 5D4 to fall back on (Handy!) so I am not really that concern about any short comings on the X-Pro 1 for what I get for the price.
 
Soldato
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I find the cheap ones always come loose, the two best brands I've used so far for several years without loosing are:

https://www.artisanobscura.com/category/1/soft-releases

http://www.matchtechnical.com/Pages/OurNewSoftReleases.aspx

You can get cheaper alternatives with the rubber washer underneath but I've never found them to be fit and forget.



The x-pro1 is still acceptable if your ok manual focusing and forgo handheld low light photography, a much better alternative around that price range would be a X-E2 around £250 or a X-T10 around £280 which have much more modern internals, I have an X-E2 as a backup but don't really like the feel of it, it's very small even with a grip.



Is this the 35mm f/2 lens hood?
I have this too as a backup/point and shoot. Though a little awkward to hold I rather like its size along with how light it is and convenient to use.
 
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The X-Pro1 is barely acceptable, imo. Taking away the rose-tinted glasses that people seem to apply to things like this, the Xpro1 focuses like an absolute dog and is in most practical aspects technically inferior to the X-E2 which with the latest firmware updates I think is a far better and more sensible purchase. I have an X-E2 that I purchased for my first foray into Fujiland, and combined with the 35mmf2 and 16mm f1.4 it was an absolute champ on my travels last year. I don't have small hands and I thought it handled great barring the annoying exposure control dial which is so easy to knock.

No way would I ever buy an X-Pro1 at this point.

I think that's down to preference, while I agree newer equipment is much better so is the price, people still take fantastic pictures with D300's and 350D's and while I accept they have technical short comings these often can be brought into balance with technical skill, I think too often people that think old gear is irrelevant are the ones with rose marketing tinted glasses and don't see the reality that the best camera is always the one you have or like to shoot with, I don't think when you enjoy shooting with something you should spend too long with specification top trumps but more what you personally enjoy shooting and the camera you want to put in your bag that suits your needs regardless of brand, sure if my autofocus was faster I'd get a better hit rate but that's more a skill augmentation rather then replacement of ability, the same can be said about low light and the old workaround of carrying a beanbag or something in your pocket.

I've had an X-Pro1/X-E2 and X-T10/X-T1 and other then focusing/response speed the X-Pro1 is still a very capable camera if you learn the art of manual shooting by stopping and thinking about what your shooting instead of relying on technicality of your equipment to augment and do the thinking for you.

For you maybe the X-E2 was the better choice for you with what you shoot and how you like to you use but may not be the best choice for others based on what they like and I personally think Raymond made the right choice by getting the excellent newer f/2 glass leaving room to upgrade the body later.

Where are people finding second had Fuji kit so cheap?

There's a few places like TP and also a very good FB group you should be able to find.

I have this too as a backup/point and shoot. Though a little awkward to hold I rather like its size along with how light it is and convenient to use.

I find the size a nightmare these days feels like a toy sometimes heh, although not as tiny as the X70 that thing is insanely small, if they fit the X-TransIII sensor into the X70s that'll be the perfect pocket camera.
 
Caporegime
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people still take fantastic pictures with D300's and 350D's and while I accept they have technical short comings these often can be brought into balance with technical skill, I think too often people that think old gear is irrelevant are the ones with rose marketing tinted glasses and don't see the reality that the best camera is always the one you have or like to shoot with,

I'm not trying to be conflicting, but that is to me meaningless fluff that I see repeated at a few photo forums. If I have the choice of getting a camera that I know is more technically able to get me the shots I need for the same or similar price as another camera, then that is what I will take. All this romanticized guff like: "The best camera is the one you have on you" makes my eyes start rolling instantly, so lacking in any context and rationality is it. If that tired old saying were true were true we would just use our camera phones.

What you say makes even less sense when you consider than even the venerable Nikon D300 and Canon 350D's have FAR superior autofocus and tracking than the 5 years newer Xpro1, they are simply in another league due to the technical limitations of mirorlress cameras at the time the Xpro1 was released. The Fuji X-E2 itself is no autofocus champ and was still limited, but even then it is also far ahead of the Xpro1. We are not talking along the snobbish lines of: "newer is always better", but simply being frank, honest and objective about the weaknesses of one camera vs another.

You can of course take fantastic photos with the Xpro1, and people do daily, but in terms of technical limitations it is what it is and that's not going to change.
 
Caporegime
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I went through a lot of thinking what to get as my 3rdcamera. My main camera are the latest Canon 5D, whether it is the 5D4 now or the 5D3 before or the 5D2 before that. I always have 2 of them, then when I upgrade I would sell one and keep one as the 3rdcamera. In the last 2 upgrades, almost 8 years, the 3rdcamera has always sat in the bag because it is the last gen and it was just there depreciating and not being used. So this time I thought I’d do something different and get something smaller. I still have the back up of having 2 bodies, and when pushed come to shove, I still have the Fuji if I want to shoot 2 camera set up. (That said, I think I will still get a Sony A7R2 when the price drops as a true Canon system back up).


So with that said, what do I get as a travel camera? I didn’t want to go too crazy, it will be a pure natural light camera. Originally of course I wanted a Sony A7R2, but the price is still prohibitive. For that kind of money, I might as well get a 3rd 5D4.


The whole Fuji set up cost me £700. A quarter of what it would have been if I get a Sony A7R2 body, or half of a X-Pro 2 or X-T2 body. Now that I know they can get so cheap, it will what I get in a few years. Plus I get to try something different.

Ps I did think about getting a cheaper hood but the cheaper one are screw mount which sticks out more.
 
Caporegime
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The question is…if I place autofocus speed TOP of the agenda, I wouldn’t get the Fuji at all. Full stop. I would not get any one of them. I’d get a Canon M5 with its dual Pixel AF. I could use my Canon glass with Auto Focus. Save money on lenses. The Canon M5 makes the most sense.


But then, the end result will be a massive combo as my lenses are big. (sure Canon has a pan cake STM lenses but that’s about it. All the other nice lenses are big and I have most of them)


I simply put autofocus as a criteria down the list, knowing I have one of the best AF out there on the market today in my bag, twice, should I choose to.


The X-Pro 1 is not my only camera, it’s my toy camera. The fact that it struggles a bit is actually kind of a charm. I would not tolerate it as my main camera however so I see where you are coming from. I am intrigue to see what kind of images I can do with it actually. Part of the charm is I think doing something harder can make me a better photographer, it’s all good and well rely on amazing AF. I am hoping the Fuji can teach me something I don’t know.


This is more than just getting the best compact, if I am doing that, I wouldn’t be getting the X-Pro 1.
 
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I'm not trying to be conflicting, but that is to me meaningless fluff that I see repeated at a few photo forums. If I have the choice of getting a camera that I know is more technically able to get me the shots I need for the same or similar price as another camera, then that is what I will take. All this romanticized guff like: "The best camera is the one you have on you" makes my eyes start rolling instantly, so lacking in any context and rationality is it. If that tired old saying were true were true we would just use our camera phones.

At the risk of making you roll your eyes back into their sockets, photography for me, and I suspect many others is an emotional thing, not a technical exercise. I could have easily afforded the X-T1 (or a Sony for that matter) but went with the X-E2 because I like the look and style of it. I was 75% decided before I'd even held it up to my eye. Some of the best photographic moments I've had have nothing to do with the gear- one that springs to mind was shortly after my Dad died, I found his old 1970s Pentax MF lenses in a box, bolted them onto my X-E2 and wandered around London reminiscing and taking random shots. The lenses are, frankly, crap compared to my Fuji lenses, but I came out with some photos that I love and that mean something to me. I use them a lot.

Sometimes when I'm taking shots and immediately chimping to check if people's eyebrows are pin sharp, it begins to feel a little bit soulless and tiring. Shooting with a setup where you know there's not much point in checking- and thereby put more effort into getting a photo that satisfies in other ways- can be very rewarding.

Obviously if you're shooting for money, the above doesn't mean a lot.
 
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