Fujifilm can never be called a traditional camera company. It has always been the one to find niches - some of its most famous cameras, including in the film era, barely had any peers: 6x7 Rangefinder, TX-1 Panaromic Rangefinder (more famous as Hasselblad Xpan), and even the recent X100 had just one competitor in the form Leica X1. But their latest camera announcement puts them in direct competition with what is becoming the staple offerings from Olympus, Panasonic, Sony, Samsung etc. and hottest new camera segment - mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras.
Fujifilm has just announced the X-Pro1 camera, part of its new X-Series system. At first glance, this camera is largely similar to other offerings - 16M APS-C sensor, contrast detect autofocus and back LCD and EVF to compose. But delve just a bit deeper and Fujifilm's desire to remain different clearly shows:
There are more innovations - for e.g. they claim a new colour array in the sensor whereby moire is reduced without using a low pass filter (which removes very fine detail from photos). If you understand why moire occurs in the Bayer array, it is clear that periodic arrangement of pixels is the main reason. Fujifilm, instead of letting the colour pixels repeating regularly throughout the sensor, have made blocks of 6x6 pixels inside of which the different coloured pixels are randomly arranged. Clever stuff!
Fujifilm has just announced the X-Pro1 camera, part of its new X-Series system. At first glance, this camera is largely similar to other offerings - 16M APS-C sensor, contrast detect autofocus and back LCD and EVF to compose. But delve just a bit deeper and Fujifilm's desire to remain different clearly shows:
- fixed focal length optical viewfinder with rangefinder like brightlines, along with an EVF
- aperture ring on the lenses
- the fact they are launching with 3 lenses, all of which are primes
- thoroughly old school and drool worthy looks
There are more innovations - for e.g. they claim a new colour array in the sensor whereby moire is reduced without using a low pass filter (which removes very fine detail from photos). If you understand why moire occurs in the Bayer array, it is clear that periodic arrangement of pixels is the main reason. Fujifilm, instead of letting the colour pixels repeating regularly throughout the sensor, have made blocks of 6x6 pixels inside of which the different coloured pixels are randomly arranged. Clever stuff!
Do we have the king of mirrorless?
Looks like the new Fuji has all the ingredients for success - they are already known for making well built cameras (latest X10 and X100 are the best examples), their imaging pipelines have generally been great - from lens till image processing, and they are bringing a host of innovations along with their traditional strengths. What could go wrong? Well, a few things can:
- User interface: As good as the X100 was, it was universally panned for its poor user interface. Fujifilm claims a new paradigm for X-Pro1 - let's hope they nail it this time.
- Stuff not mentioned in the highlights: stuff like autofocus speed and accuracy, or even poor battery life can sometimes become a big problem.
- Lack of standard zoom: It launches without one. This may be a short lived issue, though, as their roadmap indicates zoom lenses are to be introduced in 2012 itself.
- High price: Judging from the high prices of X100 and X10 and barely any concession made here to keep the costs in control - it doesn't look like this one's going to be cheap. Expect upwards of $1500 for the body alone.
How many more years of Leica M?
Leica M series has been braving the digital world with some difficulties. There is no doubt that its latest offering, the M9, can take spectacular photos, particularly due to its brilliant lenses. Its bright rangefinder window is often praised to greatly aid composition. But its defining characteristic is also its biggest problem - being a rangefinder it has no autofocus and no zoom lenses (and no live view, no video capture ... the list is long). And no matter how much Leica fanboys say that these features are not required, they can't convince the modern generation.
In general, the Fujifilm, and the modern technology in general, can take on everything that Leica offers. Fujifilm has a history of making great lenses, and the lenses available at launch shows that Fujifilm cares about prime loving market - a category into which every Leica lover falls into. The hybrid viewfinder technology can give the same benefits as Leica M's large rangefinder window (without, of course, the focus mechanism itself). And there is no doubt that the X-Pro1 will be built to a standard.
Leica M cameras have perennially been an object of desire for enthusiasts, but very few can really afford it. This is a new system which can replicate all the charm of the Leica M, has all the modern conveniences, and costs a fraction of its price! Time to start saving :-)
