Continuing the blog serialisation of my popular X-Pro Series lust/hate/love story:
Part 29: The X-Pro2 Review: The X-Pro2 Review Part Five: View Finding Cont.
Last time I wrote about the X-Pro2 VF, particularly the OVF!
While we’re on the subject of the OVF… The OVF has an internal partition that pops up to block natural light from entering when you want to use the EVF.
That’s fair enough; the X-Pro1 has the same thing.
But the X-Pro2 makes a very audible click as this partition jumps up and down. Leave your camera in VF (OVF) + Eye Sensor mode? You’re going to being hearing that click a lot, you’re also going to hear the aperture blades stop down and open up a lot, as the OVF works hard to make sure it’s illegible 🙂 Raise the camera to and from your eye a lot and that little partition and the aperture blades click like dash less Morse code… It sounds like there’s a woodpecker in there, one that likes drinking red bull and listening to drum and base. You can circumnavigate this by turning the camera off when it’s not at your eye*, or NOT using VF + Eye Sensor Mode.
(*Also if you do this you might very well be amazed how much longer the battery lasts!)
The EVF: I can see X-T1 owners being a little underwhelmed simply because it’s so much smaller… I’m not really an EVF guy, but I’ll say this… This is one part of the X-Pro2 that doesn’t so much feel 4 years newer than the X-Pro1 as about 10. Seriously! At first I had to do a double take to check it wasn’t in OVF mode.
Of course if you’re an EVF lover, then I’m not convinced the X-Pro2 would be your first choice, especially not with the X-T2 around the corner. Whereas the X-Pro1 EVF is laggy and grainy, the X-Pro2 one is smooth and rich and fast. There’s apparently some ‘issue’ with using auto brightness, so I’ve set mine to ‘0’ (as recommended by Rico Pfirstinger, in his X-Pro2 book) and not really thought about it since.
There’s various other X-Pro1 / X-Pro2 differences of course; things that aren’t directly comparable, the weather sealing. Which PERSONALLY I’m a little sceptical off, think slightly splash proof and I think that’s about right…. Think able to withstand a torrential battering of Biblical proportions and I think water will get into your camera… why do I think this? Well the X-Pro2 needs its hot shoe and flash sync terminal* covers to be in place to be “WR”; these covers are NOT a very tight fit, easily able to prised off with a fingertip. So if that’s the only thing keeping the water and dust out, then good luck to us all!!!
(*The flash sync terminal cover is the same as the X-Pro1 one, it’s NOT the screw in type as found on the X-T1)
The X-Pro2 features dual SD card slots. One is UHS-II the other isn’t. So if you use them in anything other than sequential mode, then the slower slot is the bottle neck. Bravo.
If you’re used to the data write speeds of the X-Pro1, the X-Pro2 is going to thrill you like a roller coaster ride. Well ok, not quite, but seriously, the data throughput is SO much faster on the X-Pro2.
The grip of the X-Pro2 is a little fatter, but for me at least, that’s only something I noticed the first couple of times I picked the body up and afterwards it just felt like a X-Pro1. That’s no bad thing.
The X-Pro1 case fits the X-Pro2 (VERY tightly), and assumingly my Match Technical Thumbs Up Grip not only fits, but actually offers easier access to the SS dial, than it did on the X-Pro1.
Another random little thing that gives me pleasure? The lens mount on the X-Pro2 is so much tighter than the X-Pro1, (which on the samples I owned was fractionally tighter than my X-T1) you really get a solid quality feeling when you mount a lens.
OK… I think that about does the whole physical comparison to the X-Pro1 thing..
Hopefully you’ve heard some things you didn’t know, perhaps some X-Pro1 owners are reading this and thinking, “I really do have a great camera already” and you’d be right!
You may have noticed; that the past 3 parts have ended with the paragraph:
Now it may sound like I’m not very happy with the X-Pro2. Not at all. The areas that truly matter (IQ and how easy it is to access that IQ) work very well. But equally… That doesn’t mean that the X-Pro2 is without foibles, failings and idiosyncrasies. I just feel compelled to point them out to you.
Compulsion delivered 🙂
A few of you have (quite understandably) accused me of nit picking in regards to finding fault with the X-Pro2. There’s a reason that these things are ‘nits’ and that is because by and large the X-Pro2 is a sublime and sensational camera.
So now it’s got to be time to start talking about, and reviewing what I like about the X-Pro2.
And you know what? it’s a LOT
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Adam Bonn Fotografia 
I get the feeling, .. that many Fuji users are slightly underwhelmed by the XPro2 yet very excited and inspired by the XT2. We know of course they are designed to appeal to different photographic styles but that doesn’t explain why there are already loads of XPro2’s on the used market. Maybe it just points to how good the original XPro1 is??
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Maybe… but also many people seem to change their cameras like socks, Fuji has a broader appeal than it did back in the X-Pro1 days.
But mainly I think, people want the ‘best’ camera, so quite likely went from X-Pro1 to XT1 to X-Pro2 then onto the X-T2, as generally each of these cameras is perceived to be better than its predecessor
When the X-Pro2 landed there was quite of lot of “oh but the EVF is smaller than the XT1 and there’s no tilting screen” type comments
Also, I think that many people are better served by the XT2, especially if they’re not into the OVF, and the “rangefinder” form factor is more of a romantic notion that they fancied trying rather than serious proposition
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First things first, as they say….
Adam, a big thank you for your comprehensive, thoughtful and – last, but really not least! – easy and entertaining to read X-PRO 2 review. One of the rare reviews that sound, feel and tell “out of practical use”….
Thank you.
Yes, you were nitpicking here and there, but never w/o reason. And the reasons were clear to see.
It is very obvious that not everybody will agree to your findings – too many different use cases.
It is also obvious that some will feel “bah, this X-PRO series is just for the “I cant afford a Leica, but want a look-alike”.
To all these guys…. nonono… the Pro series is a very serious tool, working with an OVF is something different. Most might not need it, some might not even get the idea. But for those, maybe fiew, who work with it, it is THE standout and need-to-have feature.
For me, even still using the old, quirky, slow aa-so-old-tech PRO1, the T2 is not at all an option. Speed is not what I need.
Having said that, I fully understand that some (most?) will prefer the T2.
This is not religion, this is about tools. Horses for courses….
Keep up the excellent work
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Thank you very, very much Andreas,
Yes, I think that the X-Pro range is aimed at a particular usage, but with the capability to turn its hand to other tasks
The Leica option is by comparison more pure and more limited in features. People that want a Leica but buy a Fuji, aren’t going to stop wanting a Leica! Not because the Fuji is worse, but because they didn’t buy what they wanted!
The stand out feature of the X-Pro range is indeed the hybrid view finder, and conceptually; a little like how Seiko’s spring drive watch technology takes solutions from both quartz and mechanical movements, the X-Pro series combines tech to make a unique solution.
I think most people know if they want that or not 🙂
Of course some people thought they’d give it a try and found it wasn’t for them or got caught up in the launch accolades of the XP2 without realising that the XT2 would be soon to follow, and I suspect these are the people that have quickly migrated away from the XP2
The IQ of the XP1 is still competitive within its class, and there’s quite a few little bits of it that are ergonomically superior to the 2 (all the buttons are nice to press, and the icons are more legible within the OVF, stuff like that)
But the XP2 is a worthy successor and there’s a great many things I really like about it.
Thanks again
Adam
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