image courtesy: henrysmithcottage

A couple of weeks ago I posted an article where fujifilmxseries explains how Fuji is adopting the idea of Kaizen to constantly improve its products via firmware update. The “old” X-PRO1 is a good example. The camera has deeply changed from the launch to now. Firmware after firmware Fuji was able to speed up autofocus, improve manual focus and start up time, add 3x magnification and the auto-ISO 6400 option, improve writing speed to the memory card and more. Who owns the X-PRO1 from the very first day can confirm what Henry Smith said:

“Over the history of this product, Fujifilm has managed to transform the X Pro 1, through software, in a profound way. I don’t recall any series of firmware upgrades, offered by any manufacturer that has so completely transformed a piece of electronics or a camera.”

But Fuji has not rested on its laurels. Now the arrow-down button works as a second Fn button (with AF field selection option) and the next firmware update in July will bring a long expected feature to the X-PRO1/X-E1: focus peaking! And also the AF-speed will be improved again.

Henry Smith seems to appreciate Fuji’s Kaizen business philosophy and wrote this article here. The new FN arrow down button “for an autofocus guy, this essentially fixes any problem I had previously. It is now fast and easy to quickly choose a focus point. If I loved the camera before, I really love it now.” At the end he says:

“I am delighted that I invested in this system. As a long time (and sometimes disappointed) user of their photography products, I perceive that Fujifilm is really hitting its stride. Other companies take note: this is how you treat your customer base.”

So any suggestions to Fuji for future firmware improvements? I know you’d like to be able to set minimum shutter speed in auto ISO. It’s possible on the new [shoplink 13828]X-M1[/shoplink], but Fuji didn’t promise this feature in the upcoming X-E1/X-PRO1 firmware update. So, write your firmware wish list in the comments… I’m sure somebody at the Fuji headquarters will read it!

feel free to share your wishes

sayonara
Patrick

Sven Oskar Jockum Klenell

by Sven Oskar Jockum Klenell

Being a die hard analog fan and slow process photography it would seem highly unlikely to work with a camera such as the Fuji x-pro1. When I travel I always bring, [shoplink 14068 ebay]rolleiflex 66[/shoplink], [shoplink 14069 ebay]Hasselblad CM500 66[/shoplink], [shoplink 14070 ebay]Pentax 67[/shoplink], Nikonos (if I want to go in the water), [shoplink 14071 ebay]Canon Ftb[/shoplink] and a horrible but fun little [shoplink 14072 ebay]Leica C3[/shoplink]. For work I use a Canon 5d M2 and a Canon 1Ds M2. These two I very rarely use for my own work.
It seems to be a moment for every camera and every film and every format. Among the things I appreciate greatly with analog photography is the fact that on one roll of film you have 36 shots, 12 or 10. Meaning, unless you bring a shopping bag of film with you, every shot has to count. So for my 5 days together with the Fuji x-pro1 I was able to go to Calais in the north of France for some location scouting for a client of mine. I went there for a day and I brought one memory card of 2 G and no possibility of charging the digital negatives to my computer. This left me with only 72 shots in RAW. Same thing for the other short surf-trip to Zeeland in the Netherlands, one memory card, 72 shots. This way every shot has to count.

These here are the shots I like the most from those 2 days at the coast. I used the x-pro 1 like I use my analog cameras but this time I had all of them in one. The x-pro 1 combines all the the great things of modern digital specs with a robust classic feel. The digital images are very good and for some strange reason they invite me to experiment with different effects in photoshop. This is something which I very rarely do with my Canon 5d M2. Perhaps this is because the x-pro1 is a far more playful camera to work with. When slow is needed, its slow. When snappy, its snappy.

On a last note, I love the small ‘imperfections’ of analog photography and even more the idea of being at some remote place with a pocket full of undeveloped rolls of film. The excitement of going to the shop to get your dia-films and searching for that one gem of a photo is to be compared to the excitement of a child by the christmas tree. The x-pro1 is like most other digital cameras but its robust like body, its weight and rangefinder tricks one in a lovely way into believing that your shooting on film. It makes you look a little longer, search a little more to snap the shot that you want.

Fuji X-PRO1: [shopcountry 12882]

Check out my work on www.jockumklenell.com