I wrote my very own love letter/review of the X-Pro1 over on the Fuji Forum, as it's the season for both giving and over indulgence, I'll share it here...
Erm it's pretty damn verbose....
For no other reason than “I want too & I LOVE it” I thought I’d review my (the) XP1.
This review is merely the ramblings of an enthusiastic enthusiast, a mediocre amateur who’s entire skill (and I use the word in its loosest possible sense) set pretty much comprises thinking, ‘that looks nice, I think I’ll snap it’ a man who’s post posting technique pretty much stops at, “lets saturate the colours and make it darker”
Anyone subjected to hours of the kids show, Peppa Pig, should recognise the Mr Bull character and his catch phrase of “let’s dig up the road” well, that phrase could easily be applied to my desire to take pictures.
Now some of you may read this, and somehow get offended, how dare I say some of these things?
Well try
1) reading to the end
and
2)not skim reading.
Anyway…
Part OneSo the XP1, what’s all the fuss - mythology and downright untruths…
The XP1 is so well built, easily the best in the Fuji range?
As the kidz say “lolwhut?”
The XP1 is far bigger than it needs to be technically (don’t fret we’ll come to ergonomics later), it hasn’t got any extra stuff inside that the smaller X bodies don’t, and the net result is of a rather hollow feeling camera that belies its physical bulk. The dials have a pleasant tactile feeling, but wobble about a bit if pushed and the EV is so easy to rotate that checking it’s where you left it (it won’t be) quickly becomes second nature.
The Frame Lever sorry EVF/OVF switch is upside down IMO (well mine isn’t because I took it off and mounted it the correct way up!), it’s attachment feels flimsy and the whole mechanism for swapping between OVF & EVF feels like the camera is performing a great labour
The scroll wheel on the back feels especially flimsy, wobbling about with too much vertical play, but it does at least have the decency to double as a physical button (XT1 why don’t you have this?)
The shutter button rattles about like a ball joint that passed its useful life several thousand miles ago.
The slow operational speed of the XP1 makes me a better photographer. It gives me time to think
No. You give you time to think. BUT personally speaking the fact that the XP1 is slow, means I have to work to its pace. This helps me; I suspect that you’re already capable of thinking photographically. Perhaps you’ve even learnt to plan your shots before bringing the camera to your eye or even before you’ve left the house that day!
The honest truth IMHO is that learning a slow and quirky camera makes you better at using a slow and quirky camera. If in the course of that learning curve you learn more about photography in general, then rejoice – but take the damn credit - YOU did that, not the camera.
The XP1 files are almost film like in appearance
Are they F***. Film is film like. The XP1 is
just less digital looking than other more modern cameras (like any X-Trans II camera for example)
IMO, the XP1 output is bit like CD vs MP3, sure CD sounds more analogue LIKE than MP3, but don’t be trying to tell me that CD is wild, raw and scratchy like a record (or indeed film) because it’s not.
OK so that’s my
personal take on the myths and untruths, let’s move beyond this apparent unpleasantness and get straight too
Part Two Emotive engagement - the importance of being Earnest
A crap job with a great wage is hard toil, a great job with a liveable wage is a joy to undertake
So, imHo the XP1 is
not the über build quality, files like film, free photography lesson with every click, that some would have you believe.
So what.
It’s without any shadow of doubt in my mind an absolute joy to shoot with. It’s truly greater than the sum of its component parts. Like a Morgan or Westfield sports cars, less is
definitely more.
In a disposable prosumer world where pretty much every camera is differentiated only by its manufacturer and lens mount, not its spec sheet, where every little black mag alloy box shares must have features that are ground into obsolescence by the next release, it is (in my opinion) an absolute bloody sheer magical delight to use a camera that’s kinda like a camera. No, I don’t mean shutter dials that miss off half speeds or fly-by-wire aperture rings or snail-by-wire focus rings – I mean a camera that doesn’t have Wi-Fi or GPS or have the need for the user to remember when to use or not to use an electronic shutter, the XP1 is a camera that demands you to either 1)know 2)figure out 3)feel out with trial & error, the best settings.
Sure this process means more balls up shots, more missed shots, harder work with moving objects, but it also means a damn sight more reward when what comes out of the camera is pleasing, you can, with complete honesty say “I made that” and you can feel proud too, because with the XP1 it might not of been easy
This brings me to engagement, for me I like LOVE that the XP1 challenges me, it inspires me to try harder, then try harder still. OK, full disclosure… I also have a XT1, because y’know, my 3 year moves around a lot, and it’s nice to be able to shoot wide open without needing an ND filter and its nice having so many controls at my fingertips.
But the XT1 just makes me fire off more blanks than the Territorial Army, it’s a fast camera and it makes me feel the need for speed, it’s a hyper sports motorcycle, tearing up the highway, the XP1 isn’t a bike… it’s a chopper baby, cruising the highway and taking in the sights and views
[I want to work the phrase ‘Zed’s Dead’ into that last paragraph but so far it’s alluding me]
Sure the XP1 has a clearly digital output, but its files are its signature dish, run most cameras files through lightroom and they seem to turn out the same… again full disclosure, I don’t use LR, can’t get my head round it, but flick through Flickr’s explore and you’ll see many very samey shots, from many different cameras, nearly always processed with Adobe’s algorithm…
Well the XP1 DOES have something with its files… I’m not exactly sure what….
(Reading DPR I think it may be the point at which the tone curve cuts to black, but I don’t understand all those graphs and sh*t like that. Sorry.)
…but there’s a grittiness to the XP1, be it SOOC Jpeg or RAW that’s immeasurably pleasing. Words like ‘organic’ get used a lot… it’s as good as description as any… but for me, just unrelentingly
pleasing, worthwhile, special
When I feel I’ve got a shot right with the XP1, I’m pleased, I feel I’ve worked for it. The XP1 as a body makes success harder to come by (than many more modern cameras), but because of this the delight when one manages to do so is tangible.
The ergonomics of the XP1 are a little bit special too. I know some people love to hate the pseudo SLR styling of many mirrorless models, but let’s be honest here, Panasonic, Olympus, Sony
et el all offer “range finder” shaped bodies… well they do if you define
range finder as a rectangular camera without a central VF.
No the XP1 is special as it’s just that bit bigger, that’s the plus point for that big hollow feeling that I pointed out earlier, you can actually hold the damn thing comfortably.
The other obvious thing that the XP1 has is of course that OVF.
The inclusion of an OVF is simply to be applauded, no redaction, make that a standing ovation, a design triumph worthy of a ticker tape parade.
There are those that say,
The XP1 is a pseudo range finder, it’s not a true one. If you want a true digital RF, then the big L is the only game still for sale in the whole town and let’s be honest, that’s a very true statement. But it’s also a statement that is, in my view, an oxymoron. The XP1 isn’t trying to be a
Leica. Up until the release of the M240 the XP1 was the only game in town that gave you the rangefinder shape, an optical VF
AND the ability to use an EVF to check critical focus and framing.
And at time of writing (Aug 2015) the XP1 is still the only camera that can offer this without taking your eye away from the view finder. And let’s not forget the magic of having different strength magnifications of OVF to choose from!
The
Leica cameras may indeed be the only digital
range finder game in town, but the XP1 is a whole new 21st century game.
The X100T shows how this game can go, and it can go in a very good direction.
[Full disclosure: I’ve nothing against Leica, or Leica shooters and I’d like to try one, one day…]
Part Three
Accessories – pimp my ride or must haves?
The XP1 was as you’ll know, released with three prime lenses. Yup primes, the
de rigueur 18-55 didn’t arrive until later.
I love the 3 original primes (& to a
slightly lesser extent the XF27) they –too me- capture the essence of what the XP1 is all about, a decent sized camera body, with small primes that are fast and sharp. I’m not completely daft, I realise the 16/23/56/90 are almost certainly better lenses, but they’re comparatively big, they’re comparatively expensive and –too me- they don’t fit with the original XP1 design ethos.
[I might very well get the XF23 for my XT1 though, and the 120 macro]
The XP1 also has a leather case and the
original hand grip.
IMO these products are both superb and perfectly fit with the XP1. Namely each is pretty useless if you’re in a hurry, but if you’re prepared to take your time, and accept that they need removing to access
anything and that removing them is s-l-o-w then the quality is excellent.
The grip may not have Arca Swiss dovetails and a hole for the batter/card door, the case doesn’t have that handy flap of the later X100 case, but… so what?!
The case is imo very well executed, the folding down front flap has so far managed to stay attached, even when left dangling for long periods of time (unlike my X100S case that I managed to lose the top part from)
The grip truly looks like it’s part of the camera, it simply improves the grip. Immensely. The XP1, the original primes, the original accessories even have a level of luxury packaging not found on the later bodies and lenses.
So, in summary, the accessories are must haves [especially the lenses
] they add to the camera, and they enrich the overall ownership experience.
I also tried an
eye cup from another camera (didn’t like it) and I’ve fitted a soft release (love it) I also use 2 spare aftermarket batteries (no issues with them so far, after 15 months)
Conclusion
OMG dear reader, are you really still here? Oh no wait, now I get it, you skipped straight to this bit didn’t you?!!!
OK, so as I set out very clearly, just over 1900 words ago, I love this camera. I’ve even owned the damn thing twice.
Now for me, the XP1 is famous for myths and untruths.
It’s not the last word in build quality. It’s the first of a line of steadily improving X bodies
Yes, yes, YES – I get it. The D Pad buttons are nicer to push than the blind key hole surgery that is the XT1 D Pad. S-LO-W C-L-A-P. That doesn’t make for a superior build. You might prefer it (on the XP1), sure why not, but IMO the XT1 is a superiorly manufactured product in so many ways
The XP1 is neither a
Leica M clone nor a Leica wannabe. It’s a rangefinder concept camera born and dragged kicking and screaming with life into the
twenty first century. People need to cut the umbilical cord on this Leica/Fuji sh*t. I suspect future iterations of the M will be more comparable to the XP1 than vice versa…. Just a hunch.
The slowness of the XP1 doesn’t make you a better photographer.
You make you a better photographer, BUT the XP1 is a fine tool to take with you on that journey.
The XP1 files don’t look like film. The look like XP1 files, not like Sony/Panasonic/Olympus files, not even like XT1 files, they look like XP1 files. Rejoice in them - for identity is important.
The Hybrid OVF is ingenious and very special.
OK… I think I’m done…..
If you care my Flickr is in my signature.
All my XP1 Flickr pics can be found here
https://flic.kr/s/aHsjUEpU8D
Regards
Adam
The new 35mmf2 lens is brilliant on the x-pro1 body. In good light it is lightening fast and very very quiet 
Glencoe by Peter McCullough Photography, on Flickr
But I find the 18mm f2.0 to be my fave out of the small Arsenal I have for my Fuji X cameras 
Millions