The Fuji X-Pro 1 and Nikon D700
Forgive me, but I’m going to geek out about camera gear for a minute.
A few years ago, when I was getting more serious about my photography (and was making a few beans at my job) there was a lot of chatter on the web about a new camera from Fuji called the X100. People were going bonkers for this retro-styled, rangefinder-looking, small(ish) camera with old-school controls and incredible image quality. And while some were turned off by the camera’s quirks (slow focus, no zoom, no changing lenses) others seemed to be enamored. Intrigued, I decided to pick one up and see what all the fuss was about.
It was love at first use.
The Fuji X100
Turns out I really enjoy the challenge of shooting with a fixed focal length, am more than happy with the 35mm equivalent lens and find myself not too bothered by the slow focus (although every now and then I curse it). Most important to me, the camera is delightfully small and light and that makes keeping it with me easy, which is much more than I can say for my big clunky DSLR.
The Fuji X100 and Nikon D700
See how much smaller the X100 (left) is than a DSLR (right)?
In fact, last year I brought both the X100 and my DSLR with me on a trip to Paris. The DSLR never made it out of my suitcase – I used the X100 and was delighted with the results. I’m pretty sure I’ll be using this camera until it stops working, then I’ll try to have it fixed and hopefully get several more years of use out of it.
taken with the X100
taken with the X100
taken with the X100
taken with the X100
This past spring, when Fuji announced the X-Pro 1 – their interchangeable lens version of the X100 – I was super excited. Once I had it in hand I wasn’t so sure. Sure, it takes amazing photos, perhaps even better than the X100, but it’s significantly bigger and clunkier. I also found that the ability to change lenses became a distraction. On our trip to Belgium I found myself switching lenses over and over and over. If I’d had the X100 with me I wouldn’t have worried about “which lens was best for the scene” and would have simply focused on taking the best photo with the only lens available.
The Fuji X100 and Fuji X-Pro 1
The clunky X-Pro 1 on the left and the sleek X100 on the right
The X-Pro 1 hasn’t gotten much use lately at all. When we go on an adventure, I just find the X100 more convenient to bring with me because of it’s size (it fits PERFECTLY in the hip bag I use while biking). That said, I’ve made a (Jewish) New Year’s resolution to start carrying my camera with me everywhere again, and I’ve decided to use the X-Pro 1 as that “take-everywhere camera,” at least for now. I’m only going to have one lens for it at any given moment, forcing me to make the best compositions that I can with that one lens. Here are a few shots from the last couple of days I’ve had it with me. I think you’ll agree, it takes some purty pictures.
Love the shots. Cute camera pics, too.
I agree with you. I was in love at first use with the X100, and I’m always.
With the X-Pro 1 and soon the X-E1 you don’t need so many lenses, at first
Nice pictures from Paris-plage and Notre-Dame. ( X100 )
And with the X-Pro 1 and here, with the 35mm, I presume.
PS : The D700 is heavy and no so discrete.
Thanks, I’m glad you enjoyed the pictures. The X-Pro 1 shots here are with the 35mm. When I walk around with the D700 (which is heavy) I generally use a 50/1.4, so the 35/1.4 on the X-Pro 1 feels very comfortable to me.
I’ll be curious to see what the Zeiss lenses for the XF mount will be like. I’m hoping for good things!
Nice photos all the way around… regardless of the camera, I’m pretty sure it’s the photographer that is catching all the nice shots.
No doubt. I was just giving my opinion on the X100 that some of my confreres already imagine to replace. ;-}
I’m going to try to make roughly the same picture, but without the beach , because it is removed.
Thanks for the review of the cameras! I am definitely going to refer to this blog when I get around to getting serious about photography.
What a nice memory of our trip! Great pics,
Bug! You are an amazing photographer!
Thanks for sharing, really nice blog and photos. Have you run into any issues with shots of foliage at small apertures? The one ding on this X-trans sensor has been the water color effect in shots with foliage that degrade details…
Hi Brian,
That’s a good question. To be honest, I haven’t shot much foliage at small apertures with this camera. I did the other day though, when some of the shots in this post were taken, and I didn’t like the shots so I didn’t upload them onto Flickr. Looking back at them just now, I certainly wouldn’t say there is a watercolor effect going on, but it’s not super sharp (shot with the 35/1.4 at f11).
Thanks for the quick response Kate, as you can probably tell, I am a bit of a photography geek too, and have been looking hard at the X-E1, but as one of my primary focus is landscapes, this reputed foliage issue has put the purchase on hold (well, that and the fact the X-E1 isn’t out yet). Just to push a little more, were they not sharp coincidentally, or did you find it to be a sensor thing (as an F11 shot should be fairly sharp)… Was this particular to the foliage parts? Thanks, will try not to clutter your blog with too many questions about this
Brian,
No problem, I’m happy to answer questions! I haven’t really used this camera for landscape shots (I use my D700 for that stuff), and tend to shoot things wide open (as I’m sure you can tell). A quick search on Lightroom yielded two “small aperture foliage shots” with the X-Pro 1 that I’ve now loaded to Flickr for you to see. Here’s the link:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/92905579@N00/sets/72157631639668878/
The EXIF info is all there for you – shot with the boat was at f8, other shot was at f11 (the one I mentioned earlier). If anything, what I’ve noticed is that this camera does tend to clip highlights more than I’m accustomed to, so I need to be better about underexposing by a 2/3 or 1 stop. As you look at these pics, it’s clear the highlights are an issue.
I’m excited to see what the XE-1 looks like. If it’s a bit smaller like the X100, I think I might prefer it to the X-Pro 1, which I shoot using only the EVF anyway. I also like the two-tone styling, but that’s just personal preference.
Thanks Kate, I really appreciate that. Looked over them, although still hard to tell not at 100%. Great blog and photos, I’ll keep following (and asking questions)!
-TBrian
I’m about to turn in, but if I remember tomorrow I’ll see if I can get some 100% crops for you.
Thanks for reading the blog – I look forward to more questions.
Brian,
If you get a chance, check out that set of photos on Flickr again (link below). I’ve added some 100% crops for you. I grabbed these shots this morning, and the crops are from near the center of the frame. Please be aware that these are jpgs straight out of the camera. Again, all the EXIF info is there if you need it. These were all shot at f11 or f16.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/92905579@N00/sets/72157631639668878/
The only one that looks really messy to me is the yellow tree. I can also say that the camera seems to have trouble capturing the true color of yellow foliage for whatever reason. This picture is much more blue/green than the actual tree was.
Again, hope all of this helps!
Thanks Kate, you’re right, the photos looked pretty sharp to me. Much appreciated…