"Cameras, Camcorders, Pictures, HDR, Gadgets, Films, Movies, Landscapes"

This is the first time that I have written an article for Luminous Landscape so it probably makes sense to introduce myself first so that you can get an idea where I am coming from as a photographer and decide for yourself whether my views, likes and dislikes are likely to chime with your own...

This is an in-depth review of the Fujifilm X-Pro1.

"The mirrorless market is red-hot at the moment and the stakes are correspondingly high. Mirco-Four-Thirds did a jump-start in late 2008 and it is certainly the most successful system at the moment - hunted by Sony NEX. Fuji is almost dangerously late in this game but it seems as if they are betting their fortunes on the very high end of the market with a spice of retromania. The Fujifilm X-Pro1 tries to offer the benefits of the mainstream while offering exclusivity similar to Leica. The market will decide whether this is no-man's land or a successful niche.
In our first Fuji review we will cover the Fujinon XF 18mm f/2 R - one of the three initial lenses for the X-mount. Following a Fuji tradition these lenses are called "Fujinon" XF. This may be news to some but Fuji is actually a long time player in the system camera market but they were mostly active in the large- and medium format league and their Fujinon lenses earned quite a reputation till the decline of the film business - maybe google for "Fuji GX" if you are interested.

Anyway, the Fujinon XF 18mm f/2 R is a so-called pancake lens - it's just about 4cm long and weights only 116g. In full format terms it is a standard wide-angle lens. An equivalent focal length of "27mm" is not so hot nowadays but it is certainly generic enough to be suitable for a couple of applications such as landscape or street photography. It is a surprisingly fast lens so it has some decent capabilities to achieve a quite shallow depth-of-field when using short focus distances."

"I’ve had my hands on the new FujiFilm X-Pro1 for a little over a month now and I have put it through the paces in three countries and on various jobs. If you are a frequent reader of this blog you know the deal. If you are a new reader of my blog let me explain the deal. I don’t pixel peep, shoot side by side comparisons, show images of color checkers and resolution charts, or talk about the new technology packed into whatever camera. Heck, I really don’t do “reviews” that often.

This review is more of a “how-does-this-thing-work-in-the-real-world-and-is-it-something-that-excites-me-or-does-it-just-become-a-photographic-appliance?” kind of review. Also, let me state for the record that I was hired by FujiFilm Middle East, and was paid in camera gear and cash to take this machine for a joy ride. The first thing I said before taking this gig, though, was if I was going to blog about it they needed to understand that I would say whatever I wanted to about it. The good folks at Fuji said they expected nothing less. Especially after my x-100 review. It was that review that put me on their radar in the first place and it was the good folks at Gulf Photo Plus that convinced them they should send me to India. I’ll be doing some stuff with Fuji North America as well. So, full disclosure now aside, let’s get into it after the jump…"

"Now that the first bunch of X PRO 1 is being shipped in Asia you can find many new reviews and tests. Here is the roundup of the latest news I found about the X PRO 1."