Either I have lost the plot or I am in love with the Fuji X Pro2

[fuzzynormal]

Xpro2 arrived today.  I'm smitten.  It's a device to be used a dedicated stills camera...but who knows?  Maybe video in the future as well.  

I mean, I've been desiring an actual affordable camera that operates like an actual real camera, (how hard should that be?  I mean,  really.) --with the easy and basic knobs that let one expose simply an efficiently. This camera does it.  Iris ring: check.  ISO dial: check.  Shutter dial: Check.  It can be a truly authentic manual camera.

Thank you Fuji for delivering an affordable Leica! 

This sort of thing is bliss for this old fart photog like me.

[The Chris]

11 hours ago, squig said:

I had a look at the manual. What really sux is you can't make any contrast, saturation, or sharpness adjustments in video mode.

If true that's kind of bunk. Disappointing.

[frontfocus]

The X-Pro2 for video? Interesting.

Personally I am waiting for the X-T2 which is said to be more video centric (probably the 6k read out with 4k downsampling from the A6300) and have more video features. (personally I am hoping for a non fixed touchscreen, more video settings and feature like peaking and zebra) 

[Andrew Reid]

13 hours ago, squig said:

I had a look at the manual. What really sux is you can't make any contrast, saturation, or sharpness adjustments in video mode. 6400 ISO tests look about equal to the 5D MKIII (albeit with slightly less resolution).

Ah but you can in post and the Pro Neg Standard gives you a softer, flat picture profile for video. The shadows have a lot of detail and they are clean when brought up, very little macro blocking, noise or compression weirdness.

So in other words the individual JPEG controls for shadow tone, saturation, etc. are not needed as the same effect is provided by selecting a certain film simulation mode and the way you grade the image.

The quality of the 1080p in terms of sharpness is definitely way past the mushy 5D Mark III's H.264, but it doesn't have the moire filter.

In terms of detail it is at the GH4 or C300 1080p mark so not bad at all for a Fuji.

[fuzzynormal]

Not sure where using a Xpro2 will take me when it comes to video, but like most cams these days it has certain strengths, for sure.

 

[Hitfabryk]

I like it, nice colors and detail.

[fuzzynormal]

19 minutes ago, Hitfabryk said:

I like it, nice colors and detail.

Be sure to check out http://f16.click Kevin Mullins' blog for more insight about the Xpro2 if you're interested.

[The Chris]

Nice piece, the slow mo looks a little jittery at times.

Edit: took a look at his blog, says he bumped the SS while shooting causing the funky motion.

[Hitfabryk]

11 hours ago, fuzzynormal said:

Be sure to check out http://f16.click Kevin Mullins' blog for more insight about the Xpro2 if you're interested.

I am interested but also a little torn between one of the X100 serie (S or T) or the XPro 2. OK the XPro 2 has the option to chance lenses, on the other hand with the X100 serie you can't and don't have to. I bought the A6000 for pictures (and a nice 1080p extra) next to my 2 GM1's, an A7S-classic and a BMPCC. The price difference between a XPro 2 (with a 35mm lens) and a X100T is also quiet big. 2200 vs 1200 euro. The X100S I have seen for 800 euro. If I sell my A6000 and buy the XPro2 I can take picture's and have a nice 1080p. Alternative I could keep the A6000 and buy the X100T as an extra.

Any thoughts,

Thanks

[Alberto Gastesi]

Andrew, let me ask a few questions. Your writings about the NX1 made me buy one, and I'm so happy with it. Now, that "spirit" of the Fuji you describe is something I like a lot!

So, is it possible to use film emulations during video recording? And if so, you can apply little adjustments to those film emulations you have made in photo mode? 

And a bit repetitive but, what do you think about it's dynamic range, how does it perform, has it soul? If the rolling shutter is fine, it could be a serious contender.

Thanx!

[fuzzynormal]

5 hours ago, Hitfabryk said:

Any thoughts

I currently shoot a lot of video on a EM5II, and the XPro2 has better IQ.  So it's certainly capable of making pretty images.  I'd say it all depends on how often you want to shoot video, what you want the results to look like, and how much you prioritize the video experience over stills.

I'm still getting used to making the XPro2 work smoothly as a video cam.  Like all "hybrid" photography cams that do video, it's got quirks so I need to get used to them.  Seems like it'll be easy enough to do though.  I mean, I shoot video with the GM1.  If that's possible, then the XPro2 won't be any issue.

As a photography camera, I think it's the best thing Fuji has on the market right now.  The old school knob control is perfection, IMHO.  So much better than the X100's.  Everything is much more refined than the X100's too.  There's nothing on the X100's that the XPro2 doesn't do better.

[Hitfabryk]

Thanks Fuzzynormal

 

[The Chris]

7 hours ago, fuzzynormal said:

I currently shoot a lot of video on a EM5II, and the XPro2 has better IQ.  So it's certainly capable of making pretty images.  I'd say it all depends on how often you want to shoot video, what you want the results to look like, and how much you prioritize the video experience over stills.

I'm still getting used to making the XPro2 work smoothly as a video cam.  Like all "hybrid" photography cams that do video, it's got quirks so I need to get used to them.  Seems like it'll be easy enough to do though.  I mean, I shoot video with the GM1.  If that's possible, then the XPro2 won't be any issue.

As a photography camera, I think it's the best thing Fuji has on the market right now.  The old school knob control is perfection, IMHO.  So much better than the X100's.  Everything is much more refined than the X100's too.  There's nothing on the X100's that the XPro2 doesn't do better.

Any cityscape/landscape screen caps at golden hour you can share? I haven't seen anything like that yet with the XP2. Interested in how Xtrans handles a busy scene (an foliage that gave the 16mp bodies so many issues with stills) instead of shallow DOF stuff.

I'm seriously thinking about getting one. Thanks.

[Andrew Reid]

12 hours ago, Alberto Gastesi said:

Andrew, let me ask a few questions. Your writings about the NX1 made me buy one, and I'm so happy with it. Now, that "spirit" of the Fuji you describe is something I like a lot!

So, is it possible to use film emulations during video recording? And if so, you can apply little adjustments to those film emulations you have made in photo mode? 

And a bit repetitive but, what do you think about it's dynamic range, how does it perform, has it soul? If the rolling shutter is fine, it could be a serious contender.

Thanx!

Yes all the film simulations work in video mode. It is only the other controls like grain simulation / shadow / highlight / sharpness that don't seem to work in video mode. But it doesn't bother me as the film simulations are so nice anyway and as I said before, you can bring up a lot of shadow detail in post.

Dynamic range is good. Not quite as good as SLOG or Nikon flat profile but you're trading a bit to get the nicer tonality and colour.

On 12 March 2016 at 9:05 PM, fuzzynormal said:

Not sure where using a Xpro2 will take me when it comes to video, but like most cams these days it has certain strengths, for sure.

 

That's doing a great job of showing why I like it so much for video.

Great detail, superb film simulation / colour out of the box.

I see he used Film Convert in post on it. The codec does hold up well. Very similar codec performance to a Nikon D750... but more detailed and 'alive'.

[frontfocus]

20 hours ago, Andrew Reid said:

Great detail, superb film simulation / colour out of the box.

Very interesting.

Stupid question, but how would you rate the X-Pro2 video (codec, details, color etc.) vs. the A6300 in 1080p?

This is, because we know the X-T2 is having the same sensor and 4K (and video features), so it might give us an idea how it performs (personally I think, that most Fuji moire problems will go away with moving to 4K) 

[Hene1]

20 hours ago, Andrew Reid said:

Great detail, superb film simulation / colour out of the box.

Skin colors in that clip are way off (magenta and gray, nice). His face and hands look like he is sick.

[Andrew Reid]

1 hour ago, Hene1 said:

Skin colors in that clip are way off (magenta and gray, nice). His face and hands look like he is sick.

Nope, he looks English to me.

[TrueIndigo]

The X-Pro2 review is up on DPreview:

http://***URL removed***/reviews/fujifilm-x-pro2

 

 

[The Chris]

Any overheating issues with the XP2? How's the tracking AF when shooting video?

[DayRaven]

On 14/03/2016 at 11:52 PM, Andrew Reid said:

Nope, he looks English to me.

I think some people look at fashion magazines and assume that's what skin looks like! I wanted to post a video of my son taken with the a6300, but I knew people would talk about the "sony skin tones", but that's genuinely what his skin looks like.