Fujifilm X-Pro3

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1 D IS FOR DESIGN Keeping true to the original X-Pro rangefinder design, the X-Pro3 looks every inch the classic, with the only major changes taking place on the rear of the camera.

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2 GLASSWARE While many will pair this with either the 23mm or 35mm f/2 Fujinon optics, which offer 35mm and 50mm equivalents, Fujifilm has a wide range of excellent lenses to choose from.

PRICE £1699

VIDEO 4K

IMAGE RESOLUTION 26.1MP

FUJIFILM X-PRO3

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3 TWO-FACED The Hybrid viewfinder can be used as an EVF, or as an optical rangefinder with digital overlay. This popular feature also now offers an e ven wider 27° field-of-view.

Contemporary or controversial?

Boldly hiding the LCD at the behest of pros, can the X-Trans 4 26.1MP sensor, new Film Simulation mode and improved AF tempt you? Kirk Schwarz finds out.

FUJIFILM IS known for its uniquely stylish products, Kaizen firmware ethos and innovative boundary pushing. This approach has never been more apparent than with the X-Pro3, a camera that has courted controversy thanks to its hidden 3in LCD touchscreen, included due to professional feedback that’s been translated as an anti-chimping mechanism. So, can the latest X Series model breathe new life into a more traditional way of shooting?

Main features Fujifilm has included the latest version of its X-Trans sensor, as well as the new X-Processor 4, that puts it on a par with the X-T3. There are perks such as the solid 425-point phase detect AF system and nippy 11fps continuous shooting with the mechanical shutter, or 30fps with the electronic Sports Finder mode with a 1.25x crop. The ISO ranges fr om 160-12,800 – lower than th e previous ISO base of 200 – and the EVF has been red esigned to offer a higher re solution of 3690k dots on a sl ightly larger 0.5in OLED pa nel. It also has a faster 100fps refresh rate, and increased brightness and colour space.

Of course, being a hybrid viewfinder, the optical part ha s also received some love. It a llows a wider 27 ° angleof-view and higher eye point th an previous models.

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HIGHLY RATED

4 ISO SPEE DY The speed dial –a ma i nstay of Fujifilm cameras – allows you to set shutter speed. It also doubles as the ISO control.

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IMAGE QUALITY

Tale o f tried an d trusted tones

When w e h ear s omeone t alk a bout Fu jifilm, t he fi rst t hing t hat s prings to mi nd is t he renowned c olour s cience. Th e m ainstay o f t his fame i s t he s eries of F ilm S imulation m odes –1 7 J PEG presets t hat a pply h istoric fi lm l ooks from F ujifilm’s b ack c atalogue. W hen sh ooting i n R AW, t his d ata i s s tripped ou t, s o y ou’re p resented w ith t he ba ck-end p rocessing a nd s ensor de sign for a t ruer i mage. T his i s w here th e l atest X -Trans 4 c hip s hines. T he RA W fi les o ffer a l ot o f fl exibility i n t he ed iting p rocess, a nd g ive a n h onest col our reproduction. T he t ransition of s hadows a nd tones i s v isibly s oft, ca pturing a ll t he d etail i n-between, wh ich m akes i t a s tunning c amera for ca pturing d ynamic l ighting.

Handling & b uild The b uild q uality is a s s olid as e ver, w ith a full m etal co nstruction b acked u p b y titanium top a nd b ottom plates. T he u sual a rray o f co ntrols c an b e found o n t he to p, w ith t he s hutter s peed d ial do ubling u p a s I SO s election, whi le t he front h ouses t he fo cus m ode s election s witch an d a lever to toggle b etween th e e lectronic a nd o ptical viewfinder. T he r ear is wh ere it g ets a b it m ore i nteresting… In stead o f a p rominent ba ck s creen, t here’s a 1 .28in co lour sub-monitor that shows either settings or the current Fi lm Simulation. Tug at the ba ck panel though, and it re veals the 3in 1620k-dot to uchscreen, which can be pu lled down for waist-level sh ooting, or further to 180 °. Performance The image quality is excellent. Th e APS-C chip made its debut in t he X-T3, and later featured in t he X-T30 – both of which ar e fan favourites. The tones co nform to F ujifilm’s c olour sc ience, a nd c apture s tunning de tails. L ow-light p erformance is a s s trong a s it h as e ver b een, an d t he i ncrease at t he b ase en d to I SO 1 60 g ives it m ore fle xibility ov er t he X -Pro2, which s tarted at I SO 2 00. Th e h ybrid A F s ystem fe atures 4 25 p oints o f p hase de tection –a nother loan from th e X -T3 –a nd off ers i mproved fa cial a nd e ye r ecognition t hat hits t he h igh n otes s et b y t he in dustry leaders. T he X -Pro3 ma nages to p erform e ven be tter t han its p redecessors in d arker s ituations, r ated to fo cus d own to - 6EV. I n test, th e A F re mained i mpressively un phased i n low light. In terms o f n ew features, th e m ost o bvious i s t he C lassic Ne g F ilm S imulation. T his latest a ddition i s m odelled o n th e S uperia fi lm s tock, a nd gives a h arder tonal r ange with less s aturation. I t b rings th e F ilm S imulation t ally u p to 17 a nd r esults i n a n a ppealing re tro s napshot look. You’ll al so fi nd M onochromatic Co lour, wh ich a dds c olour ti nts to b lack & wh ite s hots, an d a n i mproved H DR m ode to c apture a s eries o f s hots be fore s titching t hem together fo r h igher d ynamic r ange i n Above The s ub-monitor rep laces t he t raditional to p-plate LCD and gives a handy read-out of settings or Film Simulations. THE TONES CONFORM TO FUJIFILM’S BELOVED COLOUR SCIENCE, CAPTURING A GREAT AMOUNT OF DETAIL What a re F ujifilm’s F ilm S imulation mo des? S imply p ut, th ey’re F ujifilm’s a nswer t o p icture s tyles s uch a s v ivid, la ndscape o r s tandard, w hich c an b e a pplied t o J PEGs fo r a r ange o f c olour s tyles s traight o ut o f c amera. Ho wever, u nlike t he v ersions found i n t he s ettings o f ot her c ameras, t hese a re b ased o n r eal-world fi lm e ffects fr om F ujifilm’s a rchives. M any a re o bviously i dentifiable, an d n amed t o m atch t he fi lm t hey p urport t o m imic, s uch a s th e b lack & w hite A cros a nd e veryday 3 5mm P rovia. O thers a re m ore ge neral, l ike C lassic C hrome, w hich s eeks t o c over t he s tyle o f e arly fil ms r ather th an a ny s pecific o ne. T hey’re c reative features th at c an b e us ed t o b ring c lassic fi lm s tyles t o d igital i mages. Tech Focus Film Simulations

Above Fujifilm’s Film Simulations mimic the look of classic film stock.

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5 TWO VIEWS The Hybrid viewfinder can be us ed as an EVF or a s a traditional optical ra ngefinder, albeit with a digital overlay. This is one of the most popular aspects of t he X-Pro series, an d now offers an ev en wider 17° field-of-view.

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6 GO MINIMAL The X-Pro3’s des ign follows in the fo otsteps of the X-T3 by removing the D-pad and shortcuts. Th ere are now menu, qu ick menu and drive se tting buttons for si mple on-the-fly shooting, and a handy joystick.

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a nat ural w ay. A lthough w e can’t see ourselves using this often, it’s still a nice feature to have, as are the bracketing modes, which have been improved. There are options to bracket exposure, Film Simulations and even focus. The latter will automatically figure out the number of shots needed for your setup and rattle them off. We found it did a good job, snapping 70 shots for our scene. Of course, this isn’t processed in-camera, so you’ll have to jump into Photoshop or similar software to finish the job.

One area that will appeal to professional users is the weather sealing. When paired with a weather-resistant lens – usually marked as WR –you’ll be able to keep shooting in all conditions. Its sturdy credentials are further bolstered by the titanium

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Fujifilm X-T3 £1349

Backed by the same X-Trans 4 26.1MP s ensor as t he X-Pro3, the X-T3 is the more traditional co usin. It offers blistering burst speeds u p to 30 fps, the same 425-point AF system and a ti lting 3in 1040k-dot touch LCD. There i s ac cess to the full range of Fujifilm lenses, 16 F ilm Simulation modes and an outstanding array of video options. fujifilm-x.com

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This 24MP full-frame Leica embodies street photography heritage. It completely omits an LCD, replacing it with a large exposure compensation dial. The optical viewfinder gives a traditional rangefinder experience, and Wi-Fi allows you to hook up your phone if you simply must review your shots. And it’s not cheap! uk.leica-camera.com

7 PEEKABOO The 3in 1620k-dot LCD is hidden, while a new 1.28in sub-monitor takes its place, and can display settings or the current Film Simulation mode. It has proved to be a talking point.

top and bottom plates and, for a premium, there are two alternative versions, one black and one silver, which feature a Duratect coating. This is a tough-wearing paint, which is scratch-resistant and aims to appeal to heavy users who want to keep their camera looking fresh for the years to come. We haven’t been able to put this to the test yet, though the demonstration looked very convincing. It does add another £180 to the cost though, so it could be considered a luxury for those who feel they would benefit from having it.

The hybrid viewfinder – a staple of the X-Pro series – is a unique gem. Users can switch between a full EVF, or the rangefinder offset OVF, which has a graphical overlay. This is a novel way of shooting, and comes with its own benefits. There’s a small LCD panel in the bottom right corner, which can be used for either exposure or focus confirmation. An overlay shows the framing of the lens,

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IMAGE QUALITY

Cla ssic, crisp, and cap able

In contrast to the retro charm of Fujifilm, the company strives for innovation in every release, as well as with its regular free firmware updates. This means that the fi nder-style X-Pro3 is state-of-the-art. r ing images in low light at higher s will yield impressive results, even n a p ar with many full-frame cameras. The X-Pro3 also allows you to focus in as little as -6EV with certain lenses, such as the 56mm f/1.2 used for this shot. The focus acquired itself rapidly, and the result is a sharp shot, v en though it was lit entirely by street h ting. It was captured with the Acros S imulation, and tweaked a touch t oshop using Curves for this noirish high c ontrast result.

b ut s ince it’s n ot t hrough-thelens, it d oesn’t r eflect focal le ngth. T he ov erlay c hanges to sh ow the frame’s width, which you’ll find useful if you’re looking to capture action. It may not appeal to ardent mirrorless users, though it’s something we recommend everyone try at least once.

By now, you may well have read about the controversial LCD in the pages of this magazine. Hidden away as standard, Fujifilm claims it has been listening to feedback from current X-Pro2 users, and a majority say they prefer to use the viewfinder over the rear screen. This has lead to the new design, which sees the rear screen facing inwards by default, and the placement of a 1.28in sub-monitor on the rear of the camera. This can to ggle between the current se ttings, as per the X-H1 or GF X, or display a chosen Film Simulation. It may not be the mo st necessary addition, but it is handy to have a visual representation, and the Film Simulation is charmingly displayed a s if it h as b een ripped from a n o ld fi lm b ox, in t he s tyle o f t raditional film cameras.

When you do flip out the LCD screen, you’re met with a 3in 1620k-dot touchscreen that can be angled anywhere down to 180 °, but strangely, we found that we weren’t tempted to reposition it. The EVF/OVF hybrid viewfinder does a great job. You can frame, shoot and navigate the menu, and even review your shots if you need to. As a challenge, we stuck to using the viewfinder and soon found ourselves enjoying the more traditional way of life, barely missing the screen at all. Of course, this isn’t as risky a move as you might imagine. T he X -Pro is v ery mu ch a n iche r ange, a nd Fu jifilm has a s eries o f h ighly ca pable cameras w ith t he tr aditional screens, s hould t hat be m ore suited to y our taste or s hooting style. F or u s, it a ll ca me down to enjoying t he ex perience, and s lowing d own ou r shooting style –s omething Fu jifilm promotes r ather w ell. Verdict The X-Pro3 provides a n enj oyable shooting e xperience. It h as bags of visual a ppeal, an d the AF, ISO a nd i mage qu ality are all spot o n. S o t he qu estion is, do you b uy i nto its id eology? You can s till r eview your shots via the electronic viewfinder, and you s till h ave a sc reen, albeit hidden j ust a qu ick tug away. This m eans it ’s still a viable option, if n ot all that convenient. I ts b old ap proach meant t his c amera wo n’t immediately a ppeal to ev eryone, but in t hose c ases, bo th the X-Pro2 a nd X -T3 a re hu gely capable cameras. TECH S PEC Camera: Fujifilm X-Pro3 Price: £1699 body only Effective resolution: 26.1MP Sensor: 23.5x15.6mm LCD: 3in 1620k-dot hidden tilting touchscreen Shutter: Bulb, 15min – 1/8000sec mechanical, or 1/32,000sec electronic shutter Autofocus: 425-point phase detection AF ISO: 160-12,800 Shooting speed: 11fps with mechanical for 42 RAWs, up to 30fps electronic Sports Finder mode for 35 RAWs Video: DCI 4K at 30fps Other features: Fujifilm Film Simulation modes, Color Chrome Effect Blue, Sports Finder, Grain Effect, Focus Bracketing, Exposure bracketing, Eye AF Battery life: 370 shots Card type: Dual SD, SDXC, SDHC UHS-I/UHS-II Size (WxHxD): 141x83x46mm Weight: 497g Web: fujifilm-x.com FEATURES HANDLING OVERALL S CORE IMAGE QUA LITY VALUE FOR MONEY PROS Exceptional i mage q uality Great co lour rep roduction Fi lm S imulation mo des Tru sty autofocus s ystem Go od lo w-light p erformance CONS Hidden s creen wi ll p rove c ontroversial Pricier than the current Fujifilm X-T3 THE VERDICT FUJIFILM X-PRO3 THE X-PRO3 PROVIDES AN E NJOYABLE SHOOTING EXPERIENCE WITH BAGS OF VISUAL APPEAL