Fujifilm X-Pro1 details leaked!!!

It seems the only reason to buy into a whole new system (given the information in your post) has to do with the practicality of using film for the next 2 - 5 years.

Yes, exactly.

That, and the exorbitant cost of buying into the current or future generation digital M system.
 
And then I thought: why am I buying into a whole new camera system? Just on cost alone, would it be cheaper for me to buy a Leica M9 (gulp) than to buy an X-Pro1, lenses, flash etc. given my already substantial acquisitions for M and LTM gear? And would I actually prefer the M9?


...Mike

I was having a similar mental debate between going M9 or X-Pro 1 as well.


I think the two downsides of M9 are that peformance at ISO 1600 starts to look noisy, unlike examples of the X-Pro 1. Also, having $6,500+ (used body + lens) around your neck at any one time may risk of damage or theft more of a worry.
 
New Fuji Guys comments on X-Pro1 manual focus:

"MF speed is improved over x100 with #FUJIFILM X-Pro1. Seems more accurate to me when fine tuning focus."
"You will be able to use MF during video with #FUJIFILM X-Pro1. CAF also available too"

- both posted yesterday on the Fuji Guys Twitter page.
Here is an interesting dpreview post about how Fuji's manual focus ring works:

The resolution of the X100 MF ring is not a problem. It generates one pulse every 3 degrees (120 pulses in one full revolution). Theoretically only one half turn of the MF ring is required to bring the focus from infinity to about 1.8m (try this by slowly turning the ring). This should be good enough.
The problem is in the way X100 processes the MF input. When the ring is turned fast, most of the pulses from the ring are missed by the processor. In fact it is worse: the faster you turn the ring, the more pulses are missed and the more turning is required to cover a particular focus range. An impatient photographer will find himself spinning the ring forever.
Another observation: in low light the manual focusing is worse than in good light. This confirms the theory that the processor is busy metering or whatever and can not detect all the pulses resulting from the MF ring rotation.
More and more the mechanical tactile user control systems are being replaced by electronic ones. If the implementation is good, everybody wins (increased reliability, lower cost, increased flexibility). However, the implementation can be less than optimal:
User input (pulses or key presses) can be delayed. This leads to a sluggish behavior similar to a mechanical system with excessive slack and play
Much worse is if the user inputs are ignored. A single missed input will shatter the magic. It no longer feels like a mechanical system. It becomes a poorly implemented fake. Fuji has managed to achieve precisely this.
It pains me to say this because in most other aspects the camera is very good if not perfect. Hopefully X1pro has a better MF implementation.
 
Here is an interesting dpreview post about how Fuji's manual focus ring works:

The resolution of the X100 MF ring is not a problem. It generates one pulse every 3 degrees (120 pulses in one full revolution). Theoretically only one half turn of the MF ring is required to bring the focus from infinity to about 1.8m (try this by slowly turning the ring). This should be good enough.
The problem is in the way X100 processes the MF input. When the ring is turned fast, most of the pulses from the ring are missed by the processor. In fact it is worse: the faster you turn the ring, the more pulses are missed and the more turning is required to cover a particular focus range. An impatient photographer will find himself spinning the ring forever.
Another observation: in low light the manual focusing is worse than in good light. This confirms the theory that the processor is busy metering or whatever and can not detect all the pulses resulting from the MF ring rotation.

I agree with the description but not the explanation. The X100 focus ring uses an optical system to generate the pulses. In low light it would seem that not enough pulses are generated to signal a movement of the focus ring. Sadly I doubt a change in firmware would be sufficient to make a big difference to the X100. I await reviews of the new X-Pro1 with interest, if the new lenses incorporate some design changes to the focus mechanism then the new model may resolve my one disappointment with the X100. But so far I have not seen any official publicity material that even mentions manual focus.
 
The manual is very X100. it does seem we are looking at the X100 big brother, which is good and bad. Overall, its a pumped up X100 with interchangeable lenses i.e. everything we were led to believe before the orgy of anticipation got underway and some were appalled it did not focus as fast as a SLR.

Will be easy to X100 users to operate.
 
24 hidden X-Pro1 videos revealed

24 hidden X-Pro1 videos revealed

The Fuji Guys posted a private playlist of 24 videos on YouTube four days ago on Jan 25th. They're intended for Fuji dealers and employees, and they include some general videos and more short ones that cover specific features of the camera. One general introduction video warns viewers not to reveal any details until after the Jan. 9th CES introduction, so it was made before that date but only posted recently. Can't tell how old the others are.

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3191D7A5ADF102B7

n.b. YouTube private videos don't appear in the sidebar list and searches don't find them. You have to have the link to them to see them.

;)
 
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Thanks.

Just too bad there is nothing in there about focus, hahaha!

I personally found the short about the lenses to be quite interesting.
 
It's significant that the Fuji guys spend a lot of time telling us what we will like about this camera and little time addressing issues that have come up for criticism ... ie, pedantic manual focus action!

I can't see any reason why the camera will be any different to the X100 in this regard ... the AF will be fine but manual focusing will be tedious, especially if you're used to manually focusing a rangefinder.
 
It's an AF camera. Nothing to talk about unless it's an extremely fast AF suitable for all sports situations.

Whether it's AF or MF, the camera has to focus somehow. That we want to know more is to be expected.

Holding an AF system up to MF standards, however, is pointless, as I and others have said long ago and many times throughout this thread. Welcome to the conversation.
 
Whether it's AF or MF, the camera has to focus somehow. That we want to know more is to be expected.

Holding an AF system up to MF standards, however, is pointless, as I and others have said long ago and many times throughout this thread. Welcome to the conversation.

Your welcome is a bit late, I already posted 3 weeks ago in this thread :D

What exactly do you mean with "Holding an AF system up to MF standards..." ? Does this imply some sort of quality statement for one of the systems?
 
X-Pro1 release date and price

X-Pro1 release date and price

Fuji says the X-Pro1 will be released on February 18th in Japan, and at the end of February or early March in North America. Amazon Japan shows a ¥135,000 price, body only. :eek:

Fuji said at CES that the rumored price of $1700 US for the body is "about right," but photorumors thinks the body price may be lower, more like $1400-$1500? :)

http://photorumors.com/2012/01/26/fuji-x-pro1-body-listed-in-japan-for-¥135000/
 
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Your welcome is a bit late, I already posted 3 weeks ago in this thread :D

What exactly do you mean with "Holding an AF system up to MF standards..." ? Does this imply some sort of quality statement for one of the systems?

I don't share your idea that focus is "nothing to talk about..." On this or any other camera, focus is important, and is, without qualification, something that needs to be talked about.

This is not the same as saying that I expect the XP1 to satisfy demands for implementation of MF and use of legacy lenses equal to the performance of optical RFs and SLRs. Yup, I agree with you completely, the X-Pro1 concept is an AF camera, and its value and performance should be judged on the implementation of this function. MF capability is supplementary.

I do not care if the irony in my initial post was lost on you and you construed it as an occasion to beat the drum against yet another tired repetition (of which there are so many already in this thread) of the demands voiced by others for MF implementation in an AF camera. In effect, you and I agree, at least on this point. I have confidence that with a little patience we will all, or at least most of us, soon be able to have a reasonable discussion about just how focus works on the XP1. (Then again, it is true that even to this day, discussions about focus on the X100 tend to get inflammatory very quickly).
 
Aussie Photographers Christian Fletcher and Michael Coyne have the x-pro1 and are posting about it, including full sized samples.

http://www.christianfletcher.com.au/2012/01/first-images-from-the-fujifilm-x-pro1/

Landscape shots are all ISO400, might want to sit down for the very last sheep shearing photo - iso6400. Looks amazing.

These are amazing. Of course, it is completely not fair that he gets to play with one and I have to wait!... probably for at least a month.
 
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