Fuji Xpro1 verses the Fuji XT1 is a comparison I have been reading up on for a while, and I thought I would join in and add my two penneth worth.
I have had the xpro1 for a while now, and it is a brilliant camera. My only concern was the weatherproofness. I am after a good travel camera as I am heading to the Himalayas and I want something lightweight, good weather resistance, fast lenses, and compact. The xt1 seemed to be all of those things. I have not had a go with any of the weather sealed lenses, but hopefully fuji will let me try them out.
And so…on with the review….
The Xpro 1 was and is indeed still a fantastic camera. One of my all time favourites. This paired with some fast prime lenses created near Leica level quality. It is impressive, and the film simulations such as Provia and Velvia create some stunning JPEGS. SO stunning that even after raw shooting and editing there isn’t a great deal in it. They are quite breathtaking. The Camera looks awesome, I mean really cool, especially if you have one of the lenses with the rectangular sun hood. They look great, the classic vintage/retro design simply works. Why muck around with something tried and tested over almost 150 years. It works. The view finder is clever, the build quality is good. Its a stunning camera. Relatively light weight, and quite inconspicuous. Cartier Bresson would of quite liked the camera I think, and if Leica wasn’t around, he would of jumped onboard.
The XT1 looks pretty similar, has a slightly broader hand grip, so it does fit in the hand that little bit nicer. It has more of an SLR feel, as opposed to the rangefinder style of the Xpro1.
Viewfinders
The Fuji xt1 with its wifi, used with the iPhone application is stunning. The refresh rate of the application is amazing. It is like looking through the viewfinder. It is quite stunning. This is one massive advantage over the xpro1. People every where say the EVF is good, and like them-yes it is. Its the best I have come across. Big and bright and fast and really good in low light. It brightens the scene up for you! The xpro1s is good, simply not as fast of a refresh rate, but they are all so clever. It’s amazing how they get all the information in the display clearly and easily. If you haven’t seen any of fuji’s recent EVFs its worth going to your local camera shop and having a go. They are stunning.
The one advantage the xpro1 lords over the xt1 is that it does have a proper analogue viewfinder. You are able to look through a square of clear glass and see what you want to photograph. This will lengthen battery life if you use it, but the electronic overlay is too good. Not the full on tv screen, but an electronic spirit level and basic info displayed onto the clear glass. The Xpro1 has essentially 3 modes, no eve, partial eve overlay, and tv screen; To put another way 3 power modes.
Using the cameras
Ease of use is quite different. When using the xpro1 I seemed to use the screen 50% of the time, whereas the xt1 I would say it’s more like 30% of the time(this compared to viewfinder use) The Xt1 really feels great in your hands, and you want to look through the viewfinder, it is a great feeling camera, not too light, but not heavy. You want to hold it unto your face to shoot.
Ultimately these two cameras have the same sensor. The xt1 has the newer sensor, so simply by evolution it will be better. Faster, more light sensitive, crisper etc.
The jpegs are stunning. I mean really really stunning, the film simulation is so so impressive.The colours, the detail in the shadows…. They are really good
This is an ongoing test, so please check back for more thoughts and comparisons…
