FINDER’S REWARD
While Leica’s M rangefinder cameras are fundamentally analog with a digital makeover, the Fujifilm X-Pro models are fundamentally digital with an analog makeover. Of course, the Leica Ms are, technically speaking, mirrorless, but the X-Pro line has its origins in the mirrorless breakaway from the DSLR’s dominance of interchangeable lenses cameras. So, while there are certain similarities – especially in terms of the user experience – the two lines are worlds apart in both philosophy and execution.
With its ‘clean slate’ platform, Fujifilm is able to go a lot further in terms of digital functionality, but with each new generation of X-Pro, it’s also introduced more classic design elements or further enhanced the existing ones. The X-Pro3 has followed the rest of the current-generation X mount clan (and the X100V fixed-lens model) in adopting the higher-resolution X-Trans CMOS 4 sensor and its companion X-Processor 4 quadcore processor. With these come enhancements in image quality, speed and video capabilities (see the Making Movies for the full story here) plus quite a number of new features.
At the heart of the X-Pro cameras (and also the X100 series) is Fujifilm’s hybrid optical/electronic viewfinder that’s designed to give the best of both worlds. It made a huge amount of sense eight years ago when EVFs were still pretty basic in resolution and refresh rates, and no match for an optical finder, but what about now? The best EVFs are now very good indeed, but there are still aspects of an optical finder that are appealing – including being ‘real time’ with the complete absence of lag – but as with a rangefinder camera, it’s possible to see what’s happening outside the imaging frame which can be useful for both framing and anticipating the action. As on the previous X-Pro models, there are actually three viewfinder configurations – fully optical or fully electronic, or a ‘hybrid’ display comprising the optical viewfinder with an Electronic Range Finder (ERF) inset at the lower right corner of the frame. This is a through-the-lens (TTL) feed direct from the sensor and provides a magnified view from the active focus point when the camera is in the single-point AF mode. Better still, with manual focusing, the ERF panel will also show a focus peaking display or the other
