Did you ever wonder why Fujifilm cameras are so fun to use?
The short answer could be: because (unlike other brands – as SonyAlphaRumors itself admits) Fujifilm has a massive photographic culture that they cherish and honor also in their newest cameras.
He did not simply pick 10 cameras, but indentified 10 aspects of older Fujifilm cameras that form the basis for the current Fujifilm mirrorless offering.
So, what do our modern X and GFX cameras have in common with older Fujifilm cameras? Patrik will answer this for you down below.
I have had a look at some of the features that make up the DNA of the current X and GFX lines and have tried to pinpoint the Fujifilm cameras that introduced those ideas into the Fuji realm. I decided on these 10 points that together form the basis of what the current Fujifilm mirrorless systems are:
This time they talk about Fujinon lenses, more precisely about AF motors, lens perfection vs lens character and also about optical image stabilization.
They also explain why they removed the OIS switch on some lenses, and that the notion that you should always turn it off when shooting on a tripod is no longer accurate.
This is something we already said in the past, but Fujifilm goes a bit more in depth about it today. However, this is all automatically Google translated by YouTube, so while I did my best to try to get it summarized for you guys (with my son trying to climb on me while I was reading and typing), if any FR-reader has some skills in Japanese and would like to sum it up better for us, feel free to do so and share your recap in the comments down below or via email at fujirumor@gmail.com.
Red Badge lenses: great image quality and fast autofocus. Also weather resistant
red badge lenses represent Fujifilm’s highest technical level, flagship lenses
but honestly, the time when it’s better to keep OIS on or OFF when shooting on a tripod is not so easy to determinate and it’s actually quite complicated
Fujifilm has developed a system where the camera will decide if it is better to keep optical image stabilization ON or OFF
please let the camera decide how to deal with OIS
Fujifilm did remove the physical OIS switch on the lens to make sure it is the camera to take the decisions [but you can always turn it off in the menu, if you want to have control over it]
However, in October 2021 Fujifilm announced a shipping postponement due to “delay in parts procurement.”
Now Fujifilm has discolsed the final and official release date, which is February 24.
BHphoto & Co already marked the lens as shipping on February 24 back in October here, just a few days after the shipping delay notice of Fujifilm. So the date US stores anticipated is now officially confirmed by Fujifilm.
And yes, Kaizen, that’s something the X-Pro1 got lots of. But on the contrary of what many think, still today Fujifilm leads the pack when it comes to updating their cameras. I elaborated it more in depth here.
But most importantly, the joy to use a Fujifilm camera is still the same, also after 10 years. In fact, Chris seems to have loved to shoot the X-Pro1 even more now as opposed to when it came out 10 years ago.
So, with all that said, here is are DPRTV’s impressions after shooting the X-Pro1 again 10 years later.
he enjoys using the optical viewfinder (the X-Pro1 has a hybrid viewfinder
great vintage look
aimed to work best with smaller primes
great for street shooters
compact camera with compact primes
the X-T1 opened the system to lots more people. The whole Fujifilm system grew from there
X-Pro1 was the first camera using an X-Trans sensor
thanks to X-Trans Fujifilm could get rid of the aliasing filter, which would have removed some sharpness to the images
now it is much easier to edit X-Trans files
X-Trans avoided a lot of the problems with moire for photos
but at that time, it was hard to work with X-Trans files. Adobe struggled with X-Trans files and 10 years later people still complain about this
Fujifilm started its reputation for great colors in JPEGs and great details
the X-Pro1 did not have many film simulations
in 10 years we have gained so many more film simulations. The latest Fujifilm cameras have even more vintage film simulations like Nostalgic Negative and Classic Chrome, etc
Chris is impressed but how accurate the optical overlay still is with its frame lines (compensating for parallax)
not great AF controls. Best solution: single AF with focus and recompose. It’s pretty snappy used this way
terrible camera for video
it’s incredible that just 10 years ago Fuji was so bad in video, but now for Jordan Fujifilm cameras are among his favorite cameras to shoot video
Chris had a lot of fun shooting the X-Pro1 again
even if it is 10 years old, it still felt quite current in a lot of ways
X-Pro1 got tons of Kaizen firmware updates
maybe Fujifilm does not do Kaizen so much anymore [admin note: I disagree, and I elaborated why here]
Fujifilm has come a long way and now dominates APS-C and MF market
Fujifilm still holds on on that vintage feel and heritage build up 10 years ago
Chris didn’t appreciate the X-Pro1 when it came out, but for some reason he now enjoyed it shooting again
X-Trans files of X-Pro1 still have very interesting character
