The Fuji X Pro 1 is here!! - First Impressions

So the camera still hasn't arrived in US stores. However, last Friday it got to Canada. On Monday I ordered mine, and today (Thursday) it arrived, much to my pleasant surprise!

Although my wife has a D-lux 4 (fancy point and shoot), this is my first real digital camera. (Real = better than a camera phone quality)

I think I'm hooked, but I must say, I'm glad I waited for this camera. I'm not sure if I would have been happy with other earlier digital releases. I haven't done a side-by-side, but I bet this camera's quality at least beats the $8,000 cameras of a few years ago (Nikon D3).

First impression after a night of shooting? This camera rocks!

Performance: The photo quality at high ISOs is amazing. At screen resolution, I can't see noise at ISO 6400.

Jpegs: Look fantastic. Can't see how I could improve with shooting Raw.

Autofocus: It's fast and snappy when there is a reasonable amount of light, at about a Light Value (LV) 8 or higher). At LV -3, it was quite slow, perhaps 1-2 seconds.

Using M lenses: I was a little slow in focusing, but I think it will improve over time. I didn't exactly focus an optical rangefinder quickly the first day I picked it up. You can use magnification to get correct focus if your subject is sitting still. Regardless, I was able to focus without any real issue.


The camera with the Fuji 35/1.4:


The following with the Fuji 35/1.4

ISO400 at f/1.4:


ISO640 at f/2.2


ISO3200, at f/1.4


ISO12800, at f/1.4 and 1/7 shutter speed, hand held. This is a Light Value of -3


ISO25600 - this is the level of noise seen at ISO 800 on many vintage 2007 digital cameras, and for the grain of Fuji 1600 color film (now discontinued).


The camera with a Kipon M mount adapter and a Leitz Summicron 50/2 DR:


The following with Summicron 50/2 DR

ISO 3200 at f/2


ISO2500 at f/4




Film simulation:

I like the film situation modes as I have a reference to the look I want. I need to try out Velvia on a nice sunny day and see if the colors are as punchy as the film. Right now I see a small difference in color saturation, but may not as different as the film.

Astia:


Velvia:
 


Black and White:

The camera has settings for not just black and white , but "B&W plus yellow filter, "B&W plus green filter" etc. I'm still not a huge fan of digital black and white, but I think it has made some improvements

Pulling Provia 400x

 So we were headed to the zoo, I grabbed my Rollei and a roll of Provia. Only after I finished shooting did I realize it was Provia 400. Doh! I shot the roll at ISO 100.

I sent it to the developers requesting them to pull it 2 stops. They said they only could do a one stop pull. So I said okay as I had little other choice.

The results were not that bad. There is definitely a color shift toward magenta, but the images were saved with the help of Photoshop (Elements 8)

Original Scan:

 

After Photoshop

Remaining Film Stock

Going digital, I decided to take stock of my inventory of film. I have a total of 62 rolls, plus some 2x3 sheet film

Digital will replace all of my 35mm color negative work, but I still intent to use film for B&W and some slides. I imagine I won't shoot any film for several months after I get my new camera, but then come back to it a little.

Remaining Rolls:

Film	B&W	Color Negative	Slide
120	14	5	10
35mm	20	6	7

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The End of Ektachrome

Kodak, now in bankruptcy protection, has discontinued all slide films. I have several rolls in the freezer, but I am started to think that if I wasn't voluntarily moving to digital (based on lack of time), then I would be forced there soon anyway.

That leaves only the following slide films: Provia 100/ 400, Velvia 50/100/100F (by Fuji) and Rollei Digibase CR200 (copy of Agfachrome RSX II 200)

Within the last several years there has been several notable films discontinued:

1. Kodachrome 64 (June 2009)
2. Neopan 1600  (December 2010)
3. Astia (December 2010)
4. Ektachrome 200 (February 2011)
5. Plus X (March 2011)
6. Ektachrome 100 (March 2012) 

I imagine B&W film will be around for a long long time, but color film may not be. The plus side of B&W film is that you can easily develop it yourself... meaning that if they do discontinue it, you can load up a freezer full.