In October, Fujifilm announced the X-Pro3, a new flagship in its line of compact mirrorless cameras, and about seven years since the release of the original X-Pro1.
At that time I had gone back to shooting mostly analog (aka, film) and when I saw the potential of this camera, I immediately put in a pre-order. Mind you, having owned an X-100, I was already in love with the idea of a hybrid viewfinder and the Fujifilm Film Simulations.
With the X-Pro3 — which, by the way, is the first Fuji digital camera to feature a titanium body — Fujifilm continues to create cameras for photographers who simply just want to create. Fujifilm is calling this “Pure Photography” — the idea the purpose and ultimate goal of photography is to freeze a moment in time and capture a scene for eternity.
While I firmly believe that the functionality of a camera is the most important feature, how it feels in your hands and, frankly, how you feel when caring it over your shoulder, is no less a factor. The camera we leave at home does us no good; it’s the one we have with us that becomes the tool to document our journey through life.
To this end the Fujifilm X-Pro3 is: compact (so you’ll carry it everywhere), rugged (so you don’t have to baby it), and has the technology to capture amazing images, using the back-illuminated 26.1MP X-Trans CMOS 4 sensor and the X-Processor 4 high-speed image processing engine.
The X-Pro3 is able to do all of this wherever and whenever we need, with the newly evolved phase-detection auto-focus working in nearly complete darkness, down to -6EV.
Beneath the titanium exterior — which is available in black, dura black, and dura silver — is a lightweight magnesium alloy interior. The DR versions are coated in Duratect coating for added resistance against scratches. This really is a camera you can bring with you anywhere, being weather resistant and operation at -10°C.
The “Advanced Hybrid Viewfinder” in the X-Pro3 is a unique feature which allows the photographer to switch between optical and electronic viewfinders, and to me, this has always been the draw to the X-Pro Series. Being able to look with your eyes and see outside the frame as a rangefinder and the ability to use the 3.69-million-dot organic EL panel EVF for fine exposure and focus is key.
Personally, my favorite way to shoot is with the “Electronic Range Finder” function. This is essentially the optical viewfinder mode with a small EVF in the corner that allows me to see the focus and exposure while keeping the feel of the optical viewfinder.
So much of my love of this camera comes from how it feels, but without great images quality, that would not be enough. Fujifilm, of coursem comes through with great color as well as so many awesome Film Simulation Modes. The X-Pro3 adds “Classic Neg” to a long list of modes including some great black and white and color ones that give you the feel of shooting the beautiful filmstock the company has developed for 85 years.
As someone who shoots RAW nearly exclusively, I love how the Fuji Files stay “tagged” with the simulation when you open them in Capture One, allowing you to start your processing from where you made the image and not try to recreate the look later in post-processing (or have to shoot in jpeg format).
The X-Pro3 sticks with the more tactile buttons and switches the vibe while keeping the “digital” functions within easy reach. The touchscreen remains “hidden” during normal operation but quickly flips down approximately 180 degrees as well as being ideally set up for “waist level” shooting. While the screen is flipped up, the back of the camera shows the 1.28-inch color Memory LCD monitor which can be set to show the Film Simulation as well as white balance in the style of a film box cover — a very nice throwback.
It’s easy to forget you are shooting digital with the X-Pro3 in your hands, but with things like HDR and Multiple Exposure at your fingertips, as well as 4K video, you quickly remember.
Fuji is continuing to create cameras that are all about being in and capturing the moment. The ultimate tool for a photographer is one that works seamlessly and let’s you can create. The X-Pro3 does just that.
The Fujifilm X-Pro3 is available for preorder now in black (), dura black (), and dura silver ().
Feature photo by Daniel Norton
