1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
|
The Fujifilm X-Pro3 is a highly opinionated camera. In a market where it's hard to tell cameras apart, the design decisions behind the new X-Pro3 set it well apart from its competitors. From hiding away the main LCD screen, to the film-era box-top style LCD screen on the back, this is not your run of the mill APS-C camera.
After using the X-Pro3 for a few weeks it became very clear to me that this is a specialist camera best suited to a very specific type of photographer. It's not for everyone, but is it for you?
Provided you share Fujifilm's vision of what a rangefinder camera can and should be, the X-Pro3 is going to make you very happy.
### Less is More
The X-Pro 3 is the successor to the three and a half year old X-Pro 2 ([8/10 WIRED Recommends](https://www.wired.com/2016/03/review-fujifilm-x-pro2/), which is still one of my favorite cameras. As I said in that review though, from the rangefinder body design, to the hybrid viewfinder, this a camera design of bold choices.
One thing that has not changed in my experience is that the third-iteration of the X-Pro line retails the je ne sais qua of previous models. I don't know what it is about this camera, but it makes you want to pick it up and walk out the door to make photos. It demands to be used in way that other cameras simply don't.
While the intangibles remain the same there are plenty of changes in the X-Pro3. The first thing most people will say when seeing an X-Pro3 for the first time is: what happened to the rear LCD?
Yes, the X-Pro3 has deepened its connection to vintage film cameras by hiding the main LCD screen from view. Instead the rear of the camera now has a tiny LCD screen that mimics the old film box top holder in your ancient film SLR. This small screen will tell you which film emulation mode is active (mimicking the look of various old Fujifilm boxes), the current ISO, and white balance.
To get to the main LCD where you can navigate settings and review images you flip the rear panel down, revealing the screen.
In addition to being the only way to "chimp" your photos, it (perhaps inadvertently) enables waist-level shooting, something that wasn't possible in previous version and will likely appear to street photographers, one of the groups to whom the X-Pro3 appeals.
I will confess I almost never use the rear LCD on any of my cameras so tucking it away did not bother me, but a significant portion of the internet does not like this move. I disagree with the haters though, I like to see Fujifilm drawing a line in the sand: if you want an easy to access LCD, this is not the camera for you.
I found that reviewing images in the hybrid viewfinder was good enough for me to confirm I had the shot I wanted. And thanks to plenty of customizable buttons, I rarely had a reason to flip down the screen and dive into the settings once I spent an hour or so setting up everything the way I wanted it.
There is one big drawback to the drop down LCD screen to be aware of: it may not fold down very far on some tripods. This will depend on the design of your tripod, but the two I had a chance to test with both interfered with the ability to extend past about 100 degrees. I don't think this will matter to potential X-Pro3 users, as the X-Pro3 is just not the sort of camera you put on a tripod, but it is disappointing that you just can't do it and see the LCD screen.
Another thing you won't find on the X-Pro3 is the traditional four-button circle for navigating menus and activating features. There's enough other buttons that I did not miss the D-pad, and with the touch screen LCD there's no need to navigate menus. I missed this one so little I didn't even notice it was gone until I looked up my X-Pro2 review and noticed there was a D-pad.
### What's New
The X-Pro3 has a new X-Trans 4 APS-C sensor with a slight resolution bump to 26 Megapixels (up from 24), but the real news is the phase-detect autofocus system that now works across the entire frame. Fujifilm says the autofocus is accurate in levels as low as -6EV if you've got a fast (f1.4) lens. This was largely borne out in my testing. Suffice to say that autofocus system in low light is better than my eyes in low light.
Fujifilm's already very good build quality has been improved for the X-Pro3, which now features titanium top and bottom panels. The build quality of the eyepiece is also much improved, it's heavier duty rubber and no longer feels like it's going to tear off on the first thing that snags it. Fujifilm has also made the diopter adjustment wheel more deeply recessed and less prone to accidental turning.
The main reason to buy the X-Pro3 in my view is for the viewfinder. The new version is slightly larger than the old, but still features three ways of view the scene: straight optical, straight EVF, and the very clever hybrid which manages to give you the best of both worlds in most cases. The three modes are toggle by quickly flipping a lever on the front of the camera.
What's gone is the dual magnification in the optical viewfinder. The X-Pro2 could alternate between 0.35 and 0.60 magnifications, the X-Pro3 has only one set magnification of 0.52. The electronic viewfinder is much-improved, but I did miss the dual OVF.
Fujifilm is well known for its JPG film emulation modes and the new X-Pro3 adds a new one dubbed Classic Negative Simulation. I was less wowwed by this one than Acros and some of the other film emulations. What I did find amazing is that Fujifilm has included an in-camera curves tool and clarity setting. Between these two, and the existing JPG settings tools you can really dial in certain looks. The X-Pro cameras are still the only cameras I use where I rarely use the RAW images. The customization options and quality of the JPG output gives me what I want so consistently I rarely bother post-processing.
The X-Pro3 has a smaller audience than Fujifilm's other cameras, but it's an audience that Fujifilm clearly remains devoted to. The changes in this update are well worth the money. The X-Pro3, like its predecessors, is a camera that makes you want to get out and shoot. It will help your forget about fiddling with settings, forget about post-processing, and just focus on capturing your vision of the world.
|
