There are some nice price drop on the X-PRo 1:
You can grab it for $1,119 with free shipping via top rated seller . And European can get it for 1.000 Euro only at Digitalrev (import tax and shipping costs included!). Does it mean the X PRO 2 launch is on the horizon? Nope, two trusted sources told us that the X PRO 2 is coming in early 2014 only. Too bad they didn’t unveil the specs yet. But I hope they will come back to me soon with some good news 🙂
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Wow, that price drop is great news! Now there’s no reason NOT to buy the X-Pro 1, except: limited range of stabilized lenses; no fast zooms; improved-but-still-slow AF; quirky sensor (those color-smearing issues are not going to go away); no wireless-TTL flash capability; and blurry optical finder with no diopter adjustment.
And of course all those minor photographic disadvantages shrink in the face of the X-Pro’s key attribute: It looks so cool!!!!!
Seriously, I still want to love this camera, but even at a lower price, I just can’t. If the X-Pro 2 turns out to have in-body stabilization and a diopter adjustment, that would solve two of my key objections… but even then this is going to be a “niche” system for wealthy photographers who can afford to indulge themselves with the luxury of a camera that fits only a few types of photography.
What is really amazing is I still get sharp shots without stabilized lenses. Go figure. I really haven’t noticed any smearing but I made any large prints either.
How the hell is an 1,100 dollar body for ‘wealthy photographers”?
I don’t really know why I am replying to this, because it feels very much like feeding a troll.
What, you mean photography was not possible in the era before stabilized lenses were invented? Those millions of photographs taken with ISO 12 Kodachrome and ISO 25 Panatomic-X were not sharp? Tripods did not provide a rigid support?
It isn’t that difficult to shoot 1/60 sec with the 35mm f/1.4 to obtain sharp images
In a way, XPRO2 in 2014 makes more sense.
Fuji is not holding back, in the sense that they put everything they can in a new camera, be it the flagship or not, the X-E1 received the same sensor, processor, new EVF, right after the X100s also got new processor and new features which the XPRO1 and X-E1 can’t have.
If not, the XPRO2 would be launched together with the X-E1 and for Fuji I’m not sure it’s a good idea, so you launch the X-E2 before and then you can put some extra stuff when launching the XPRO2. Can we expect the X-E2 for a Photokina announcement?
I think that the X-E2 will still use the same sensor but with the new stuff from X100s plus some enhancements, I’m hoping that it has manual controls for video, for instance. Then, the XPRO2 will have at least a new sensor and possibly a new processor, maybe weather sealing? I’m not sure since there is no weather sealed lenses on the horizon. Anyway, this way the XPRO2 will have the latest Fuji tech for a while, which makes sense for a flagship camera.
X-Pro1 was the first model and it’s almost inevitable than any newer model – even lower end will be improved in some areas. The difficult question for Fuji is to upgrade soon or not.
They want to keep their high end model high end, but dont want to piss off X-Pro1 customers with an upgrade too soon. Also, mid and high end models tend to get less frequent upgrades than entry level.
IMO they should wait until they have signifcantly improved AF available, either by improved CDAF or by integrating PDAF on the sensor. AF speed is really the only significant issue with the X-Pro1 although there are lot of other possible imrovements too.
We know they can do PDAF on the sensor since it’s already implemented on X100s, the question is if the technology is mature enough to give AF a large enough boost on a system camera. It might not be, Canon also have PDAF on the sensor on 650D/700D/100D, but it certainly havent solved their AF performance problem in live view/video modes (but it’s improved).
Some people here are insane, folks! Only think upgrade sensor, upgrade autofocus, upgrade battery… And the real thing is their pictures are nothing to be proud of! Better upgrade yourselves.
But, if one can already take good photos, the upgrade to the camera would be nice. In golf, for instance, the pros and good amateurs have benefited from the new technology, but most do not. A good, or great photographer will always have the ability to benefit from newer technology. However, which is very evident on sites like flickr, a lot of people buy the best gear, but do not have the ability or knowledge to benefit from the gear.
I want the X-Pro 2 to have an APS-H or larger sensor, because I would like more creative control with depth of field and the larger the sensor the better the tones, in my opinion. Even if the AF does not improve that much, I would like focus peaking, so I can shoot anywhere in any light without going blind trying to focus in an EVF. I would also like minimum shutter speed settings in auto ISO, so I can guarantee a sufficient shutter speed, while having full control of aperture, and still use exposure compensation to dial in the optimum exposure.
I understand what you are saying, as many people complain about gear, when the real problem is their inability. When I use to skateboard, one of my friends always blamed his board for missing tricks, but really he just wasn’t good enough, which is usually the case.
That said, though I may buy the X-Pro 1 anyways, Fuji does need to upgrade them with focus peaking and minimum shutter speed in auto ISO; and, they should introduce significant upgrades and improvements in the X-Pro 2, as doing so will attract significant sales in the enthusiast, semi-pro, and pro market. Good and great photographers can always benefit from better equipment; and, many will not put up with too many compromises, as they do not want to be hindered in creative control.
Sure, it is possible to take a great shot with any camera. But, improvements are always welcome. And, I wish the X-Pro 2, with an APS-H sized sensor, was out now, as I believe (assuming the imaging circle in the current lenses can cover that), that would be the best option for Fuji right now and would be the best mirrorless camera, which would surely be competitive with full frame DSLRs.
You had to get insane, right? X-mount is designed for APS-C sensor format! Any mention of bigger one is only wishfull thinking. Get real.
Anything about the rumored X-E2? Also due for 2014 – or is there a chance for summer / autumn 2013?