Thanks for posting your initial impressions. I'll be very interested to read what you think and feel after a few weeks with the X-Pro 1. With luck, I'll have mine by then.
I know fuji is providing an M adapter; but I'm curious if it will be easy to adopt old lenses (like c/y) and manually focus them or if lenses will require some sort of 'special' adapter (i.e, electronic coupling of some sort) to work with older manual focus lenses. Also how is the viewfinder with such lenses - is it on par with (for example) nex 7 when used in this mode ?
you2 wrote:
I know fuji is providing an M adapter; but I'm curious if it will be easy to adopt old lenses (like c/y) and manually focus them or if lenses will require some sort of 'special' adapter (i.e, electronic coupling of some sort) to work with older manual focus lenses. Also how is the viewfinder with such lenses - is it on par with (for example) nex 7 when used in this mode ?
I think it highly doubtful any sort of electronic connection is required for adapted lenses. The EVF will make the most sense for focusing and it will likely be serviceable but not as good as the NEX due to the lower quality EVF and the lack of manual focus aids beyond just magnification such as Focus Peaking (unless Fuji adds something via firmware). The biggest issue may be the actual availability of adapters. It's not going to be as widely purchased as say the NEX so any adapters will likely be expensive and slow to come.
Tariq Gibran wrote:
The biggest issue may be the actual availability of adapters. It's not going to be as widely purchased as say the NEX so any adapters will likely be expensive and slow to come.
Sony opened up the E-Mount (probably because they knew they couldn't produce enough native lenses as fast as a true optics company) so that must have helped adapters get into the market quickly. Fuji probably has no intention of opening the X mount, as they are launching with three capable lenses and a defined roadmap for future ones.
I really believe that somebody who buys into this system is going to have to be unflinchingly happy with Fuji's lenses, and make adapting other lenses a secondary pursuit (basically the opposite of the NEX).
corposant wrote:
Sony opened up the E-Mount (probably because they knew they couldn't produce enough native lenses as fast as a true optics company) so that must have helped adapters get into the market quickly. Fuji probably has no intention of opening the X mount, as they are launching with three capable lenses and a defined roadmap for future ones.
I really believe that somebody who buys into this system is going to have to be unflinchingly happy with Fuji's lenses, and make adapting other lenses a secondary pursuit (basically the opposite of the NEX).
Sony didn't open up the e-mount until nearly a year after NEX's release, at which time most adapters were already available, although, as Tariq said, popularity may be the reason for slow X-pro1 adapter release.
douglasf13 wrote:
Sony didn't open up the e-mount until nearly a year after NEX's release, at which time most adapters were already available, although, as Tariq said, popularity may be the reason for slow X-pro1 adapter release.
Popularity - there is an argument for that, sure.
Another one would be - why spend the money on an adapter and a ZM 18, when I can buy Fuji's 18 for a fraction of the price, and have a lens that's optimized to perform on a smaller sensor, rather than the Zeiss which is meant for use on film (or a full-frame sensor)?
I think Fuji is counting on this, and is 1. why the reason they are not releasing their adapter with the launch of the camera and 2. why I made the statement before that the lenses will have to be a strong motivating factor for adopting this system, not vice versa.
michaelwatkins wrote:
FYI Sean Reid (http://reidreviews.com/) has published his first look at a production X-Pro 1.
This is a great Reid review - addresses some of the potential strengths and weaknesses of using other lenses on the XP1, and some surprisingly noisy operation. I will stop there, as I highly value Sean's reviews and don't want to cannibalize his hard work.
corposant wrote:
Popularity - there is an argument for that, sure.
Another one would be - why spend the money on an adapter and a ZM 18, when I can buy Fuji's 18 for a fraction of the price, and have a lens that's optimized to perform on a smaller sensor, rather than the Zeiss which is meant for use on film (or a full-frame sensor)?
I think Fuji is counting on this, and is 1. why the reason they are not releasing their adapter with the launch of the camera and 2. why I made the statement before that the lenses will have to be a strong motivating factor for adopting this system, not vice versa....Show more →
Well, the Zeiss could very well perform better than the Fuji 18 on the X-Pro1, but who knows? Either way, the official Fuji M adapter won't matter much. Nex has become one of the most widely adapted systems out there, and Sony hasn't made any adapters for other brand's lenses. I anticipate that we'll see adapters from China for the Fuji pretty soon.
If we are taking bets, ignoring price for a moment I'll place a nickel on the ZM18 outperforming the Fuji 18 in every respect except for speed. And auto-focus of course.
If anything it seems more likely that a really well designed ultra-wide for full frame should in every respect turn out better edge to edge performance on a crop frame. Aren't we forever and a day saying XYZ full frame lens has an easier time of it on a crop frame? Maybe the sorts of optimization Fujifilm must do for X lenses has more to do with churning out X level of quality/performance for Y price. Anyway if the details regarding the sensor are correct, rangefinder glass should find a happy home on this sensor.
It'll be great to see if this is another good host for M glass but I'm still troubled by the lack of focus assist and that the EVF remains the same as the X100. I just don't think the view it delivered will be good enough to accomplish manual focus in a satisfactory manner.
FlyPenFly wrote:
Jesus. I'm just bashing my head on my desk on the Engadget D4 thing.
I live in NYC. Even I can do a better job than that guy and did you read his description of why he is blaming the blurry subway shots?
Boy you aren't kidding. I think I could get better shots without bothering to look through the viewfinder while shooting. Too bad he was hampered by that horrible 50mm prime lens...needs a good lens to do the camera justice. Just....wow.
"The viewfinder is smaller and much darker than the X100 one. I mean this is a very visible difference. The X100 one is really big and bright, while the X-Pro1 is quite dark and smaller."
To the original poster, could you compare the optical finder brightness and size of the X100 to the X-Pro1 and see if this is the case with your sample.
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you! I've been anxiously awaiting some real world feedback on this camera and I am very anxious to see some of your samples and client work (if possible)
I started a discussion earlier about potentially switching to the X-Pro system from my DSLRs and while I'm still on the fence, I am still very interested in what this system is capable of. More-so than the OM-D system (though that does have its own appeal in some ways)
Looking forward to your further analysis of the camera
corposant wrote:
This is a great Reid review - addresses some of the potential strengths and weaknesses of using other lenses on the XP1, and some surprisingly noisy operation. I will stop there, as I highly value Sean's reviews and don't want to cannibalize his hard work.
+1
Just had a chance to read Sean's in-progress XP1 review and it is refreshingly honest and detailed (as Sean's reviews always have been). Highly recommended for anyone considering this camera.
this last one of Sean's reviews has left me scratching my head a little bit TBH.... how can a camera ever make any significant amount of noise with its aperture blades
