I also noticed the eye sensor wasn’t cooperating if I was wearing sunglasses, so I had to shoot with my eye firmly planted into the viewfinder cup to trigger it. I had to quickly switch between EVF and OVF if I wanted to check for exposure or focus, although framing was very accurate. However, I did miss the sub-EVF screen in OVF mode for manual focusing and for checking exposure. I don’t know why it was removed on the X-Pro3 in the first place. Fujifilm should bring this back on the X-Pro4. It was also nice having the 18mm frame lines in optical viewfinder mode, as well as the magnified mode (from 0.37x to 0.6x) when attaching the awesome XF35mmF1.4 R. The 1.23M-dot 3” LCD was useful for punching into my images to check for sharpness (it was class-leading at the time). However, the overall shooting experience felt basically the same, albeit slower. Understanding this was the first Mount camera, I couldn’t reasonably expect the X-Pro1 to keep up with the X-Pro3. The older processor wasn’t as snappy, the menu system felt dated, and I’ve been spoiled by the touch screen, faster autofocus and a superior EVF on the X-Pro3. Of course, I noticed the differences between the X-Pro1 and the X-Pro3 right away. However, instead of going back and forth between the two cameras, I ended up only shooting with the X-Pro1 the entire time! Yes, I was having that much fun! Having both my current X-Pro3 and the 10-year-old X-Pro1, I hit the streets of Chinatown, Vancouver to take some comparison photographs. Fujifilm is not only proud of their latest and greatest cameras, but equally confident that their first X Mount camera and lenses could still hold their own. It’s been years since I’ve shot with the X-Pro1 (September 2013 to be exact), so when Fujifilm Canada asked if I was interested in playing with it again, I said, “Yes, of course!” My other thought was, “How many camera manufacturers would be confident enough to send a 10-year-old digital camera to be retrospectively reviewed?” Not many. As most manufacturers shifted away from DSLRs to mirrorless cameras, and while Sony and Canon slowly backed out of developing their APS-C mirrorless cameras (Samsung completely quit), Fujifilm’s X Mount system has flourished over the past 10 years, now dominating the APS-C mirrorless market. During the peak of the DSLR era, Fujifilm stood out as different and was able to cut out a small piece of the pie with a niche camera system, which has now grown into a full-fledged mirrorless interchangeable lens system. I won’t ask if they were correct in making this bet because we all know the answer. However, Fujifilm was betting on the X-Pro1 and this new X Mount as an alternative to other ILC systems, competing with brands with legacy mounts going back 50-60 years, mostly SLRs. Fujifilm was mostly known for all-in-one cameras, even back in the film days, or building cameras on existing mounts (eg. It had been decades since Fujifilm made a proprietary ILC system. At the time, it seemed crazy that Fujifilm was betting on nostalgia, legacy design and function, with some unique technological solutions (X-Trans colour filter array, hybrid viewfinder) for their all-new digital interchangeable lens camera system. The X-Pro1 was Fujifilm’s first X Mount camera and was launched with three new prime lenses: XF18mmF2 R, XF35mmF1.4 R, and XF60mmF2.4 R MACRO. For myself, I imagined the X-Pro1 would feel like shooting with an old school rangefinder film camera, but with all the advantages of shooting digital. It was an exciting time for rangefinder enthusiasts, especially those of us who couldn’t afford to buy into the Leica M digital system. I remember when Fujifilm first announced the X-Pro1 back in 2012.
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