When Fujifilm announced its FinePix X100 retro-styled large-sensor compact at Photokina 2010, it captured the imagination of serious photographers in a way the company seemed not to have quite anticipated. The X100's combination of 'traditional' dial-based handling and outstanding image quality brought widespread plaudits, making it something of a cult classic despite its undeniable flaws. The subsequent addition to the range of the X10 compact, with its bright, manually-controlled zoom lens, has cemented Fujifilm's resurgence as a brand worthy of serious attention.
The X100 may have looked very traditional but it housed some very modern technologies - foremost amongst which was its hybrid optical/electronic viewfinder. This design not only allowed the choice of a rangefinder-style optical view or a fully electronic view but was also able to overlay electronic data over the optical viewfinder. It was a masterpiece of engineering, but appeared to be a design very much dependent on its use with an integrated prime lens.
With the X100's success and the increasing popularity of mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras, it seemed only a matter of time before Fujifilm would introduce a higher-end model with exchangeable lenses. And after heavy hints that such a beast was indeed in the offing, that moment has now arrived. The camera is called the X-Pro1, leaving absolutely no doubt as to its intended market: it becomes the first camera of its type specifically aimed at professional photographers.
Fujifilm X-Pro1 highlights
The X-Pro1 is the start of an all-new camera system, with a brand new mount and lenses. It's unashamedly targeted at a high-end audience, with analogue control dials and a small set of compact, large-aperture primes to be available at launch. Fujifilm is keen to stress its future commitment to the system, with a promise of two more lenses to appear later in 2012. Key features are:
Fujifilm-designed 16MP APS-C X-Trans CMOS sensor
Novel colour filter array to suppress colour moiré, no optical low-pass filter
EXR Processor Pro image processor
Dual-magnification hybrid optical / electronic viewfinder
Analogue dials for shutter speed and exposure compensation on top of camera
All-new, fully electronic X lens mount; 17.7mm flange-to-sensor distance
Three 'XF' lenses at launch: XF 18mm F2 R, XF 35mm F1.4 R, and XF 60mm F2.4 R Macro
Prime lenses have traditional-style aperture rings (1/3 stop increments) and large manual focus rings
Revised rear-panel control layout
On-screen 'Q' control panel and redesigned tabbed menu system
Focal-plane shutter, 1/4000 sec max speed
3.0" RGBW 1.23M dot LCD
The X-Pro1 is most easily characterized as a beefed-up, interchangeable-lens version of the X100, but it's a lot more besides. It retains the same basic analogue control philosophy, but the design has been rationalized and refined in a fashion that suggests Fujifilm has been listening to feedback from users and reviewers alike. For example, the shutter speed dial has a central lock button, and the exposure compensation dial is recessed, which should minimise the risk of accidental settings changes. There's also a conveniently-placed 'Q' button that brings up an on-screen control panel to access a range of functions that previously required a trip into the menus - a much-needed improvement that will surely be appreciated by users.
However potentially the most interesting change is on the inside, and specifically the image sensor. The X-Pro 1 uses a proprietary, Fujifilm-designed 16MP APS-C 'X-Trans CMOS' chip that eschews the conventional Bayer-pattern colour filter array in favour of a more complex layout. The result, claims Fujifilm, is a practical immunity to colour moiré, which means that an optical low-pass (anti-aliasing) filter is no longer required. This suggests that in terms of detail resolution the X-Pro 1 should punch above its weight based on pixel count alone - indeed Fujifilm is claiming it will out-resolve the full frame 21MP Canon EOS 5D Mark II.
The X-Pro 1 uses an entirely new all-electronic lens mount, and the initial lens line-up will consist of a set of bright primes with focal lengths that neatly complement the X100's 23mm F2. There's an 18mm F2 wideangle, 35mm F1.4 normal, and 60mm F2.4 Macro telephoto (offering 28mm, 50mm and 90mm equivalents respectively) - the latter with extended close-focus capabilities giving 0.5x magnification. Each has a prominent manual focus ring and an aperture dial controllable in 1/3 stop increments (a welcome improvement over the X100), although neither control is mechanically coupled - both focus and aperture are electronically driven 'by wire'.
The X100's signature optical/electronic 'hybrid' viewfinder is retained, and to help cope with interchangeable lenses it now offers two magnifications. At its lower magnification (0.37x) it covers the field of view of the 18mm lens; when the 35mm lens is mounted, an additional magnifier slides into place to match, giving 0.6x magnification. The 60mm lens uses a smaller frameline within this magnified view. One of the advantages of the hybrid finder, of course, is that it can project suitable frame lines in the optical finder for a wide range of focal lengths, and critically-accurate composition can always be obtained by switching to the EVF.
One perhaps less-obvious change is that the X100's near-silent in lens shutter has gone, and the X-Pro1 employs a conventional focal plane shutter. This is inevitably louder in operation, and offers slower flash sync. But it also means that unlike the X100, the X-Pro1 will be fully capable of combining its fastest shutter speeds with large apertures.
Further additions compared to the X100 include an upgraded LCD, which Fujifilm says offers wider viewing angles and lower reflectivity to aid viewing in direct sunlight, and a multiple exposure mode that provides a live preview of the composite image even when using the optical viewfinder. There are also two new Film Simulation modes, designated ProNegS and ProNegH. These, of course, play on Fujifilm's long heritage as a film manufacturer, and as the names suggest aim to replicate the characteristics of Fujicolor professional colour negative film (PRO 160NS and PRO 400NH respectively). They're therefore targeted specifically at professional photographers shooting portrait and wedding work.
Side-by-side with the FinePix X100 and X10
The Fujifilm X-Pro1 inherits its basic design philosophy from the FinePix X100, but in a larger, chunkier body that manages to look more purposeful and, arguably, 'professional' in its all-black finish. In fact if you take a second look, it's in several respects closer in design to the X10, incorporating such improvements as the front-mounted focus mode switch and recessed exposure compensation dial. This family group, however, emphasizes just how far Fujifilm is pushing the word 'compact' in its preferred 'Compact System Camera' nomenclature - the X-Pro1 is about the same size as the Leica M9.
Side-by-side with the Panasonic DMC-GX1 and Sony NEX-7
The X-Pro1's size is reinforced in this view: it's quite substantially larger than the Sony Alpha NEX-7, let alone the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX1, but of course it's the only one in this group with an optical viewfinder (although the NEX has a built-in EVF). On the other hand it's also the only one that lacks a built-in flash. Its 'traditional' control philosophy is pretty well the polar opposite of the NEX-7's, with its soft keys and highly modal dials.
