Fuji The Lord works in VERY mysterious ways....

Other than with P&S cameras I have always used two bodies with different lenses, one wide one, one short telephoto, I am really looking forward to the 14,(21 equivalent) when it comes out, my all time favorite street shoot setup was my Contax G2 with the 21 on one body and the 90 on the other.

Looking forward to the 14/2.8 as well. And the 23/2.
 
I think they got the first three focal lengths just right... 28, 50 and 90mm are exactly my most used focal lengths. But my X100 experience leaves me apprehensive about the XP1.
 
I think they got the first three focal lengths just right... 28, 50 and 90mm are exactly my most used focal lengths. But my X100 experience leaves me apprehensive about the XP1.

While my x100 is quirky, I still love it and the image quality it produces.
I've read many reviews on the xpro, and it seems like they're all positive. Most of the glitches that the x100 have seem to have been ironed out with the xpro. Let's hope so!
 
One of the reasons I broke down and bought this is because their lens roadmap skews wide, and so do I. The 21mm equivalent, an 18-36 or so equivalent zoom are right in my wheelhouse, and the 35 equivalent knocks the X100 out of the bag. Aside from the current 60 (which sounds like an AF dog and which I don't see getting) the only longer lens is a zoom that I'll probably also skip. I'll probably continue to go long with m43 and go wide with Fuji now. Except I gotta keep the Oly 12 - it's such a good street lens. Other than that I'll probably sell my m43 wides as the similar Fuji's come on line.

-Ray
 
Congratulations, Ray! I'm still hoping that the EM5 will start shipping soon...perhaps join you in NYC for a day later this month. In the meantime I am cameraless...:crying:

Tom - I have cameras you can borrow or check out if the EM5 takes awhile. Of course I'd love if you got it so I could check it out, but don't let the lack of a camera deter you. Just bring an SD card if it comes down to it.

-Ray
 
I think they got the first three focal lengths just right... 28, 50 and 90mm are exactly my most used focal lengths. But my X100 experience leaves me apprehensive about the XP1.

Other than the horrible auto-ISO menu, and the sometimes inaccurate focus confirmation (these are my top two pet peeves about the X100), what about the X100 did you not like?

I'll check out whatever issues you are thinking about, report back (my XP1 arrives on Thursday).
 
I think its a neutral lens. If you want a corrected lens, you have to hunt one down and buy it. I guess keeping my glasses on while I shoot eliminates the need for that. You can't adjust anything on the camera, but if you wear progressive lenses, you can "adjust" the angle of your head so you're looking through the right part of the lens... It works well enough for me.

-Ray

Ahh, OK. Not for me then.
 
Other than the horrible auto-ISO menu, and the sometimes inaccurate focus confirmation (these are my top two pet peeves about the X100), what about the X100 did you not like?

I'll check out whatever issues you are thinking about, report back (my XP1 arrives on Thursday).

The two issues that you mentioned, but more importantly I just could not easily get along with the camera. It seemed like I had to think too hard to make adjustments. In a way, it got between me and the pictures. Truth be told I could have spent more time with it, but I was frustrated. And I also had another serious compact - the Ricoh GXR - and I was reluctant to have two cameras that are similar. The GXR has multiple lenses and at the time I preferred its IQ.

But, I did like the O/EVF. In fact, I prefer OVFs even though EVFs have their benefits. Also, the DR of the X100 was better than the GXR.

My gut tells me the GXR system is stalled or perhaps put on the back burner. The XP1 lens lineup is already interesting because it adds 90mm, a focal length the GXR system is missing (of course, you can use the Mount unit with lenses to reach comparable focal lengths, but I'm giving up on the Mount unit and manual focus).

Needless to say, I'll be watching and listening...
 
I gotta say, I just got back from a day and evening of working with this camera. I sort of fell into the camera geek trap of just "seeing what it could do" today so I don't think I have much in the way of interesting photographs - lots of touristy stuff of the Brooklyn waterfront and walking across the Brooklyn Bridge. But tonight that "lets see what it'll do" was a bit of a revelation. What it can do is it can see in the friggin DARK. I'm still backing up and yet to process the stuff I took. But even if the photos aren't much, the FILES are pretty amazing. I was just walking around shooting at 6400 on streets with essentially no street lights and the camera just totally lit them up. I took one shot of a couple of buildings that had some sky in it - this is a night sky that appears all black to the naked eye but the sensor picked out some dark blue sky and clouds. Amazing! I'll post some samples in a bit.

-Ray
 
Other than with P&S cameras I have always used two bodies with different lenses, one wide one, one short telephoto, I am really looking forward to the 14,(21 equivalent) when it comes out, my all time favorite street shoot setup was my Contax G2 with the 21 on one body and the 90 on the other.

That's my plan with Micro 4/3. One body for the Pana 14/2.5, another body for the Oly 45/1.8. Perfection.
 
Well Ray, they say the Lord helps those who help themselves, and after all was said and done, you helped yourself into three of the biggest camera stores on Earth looking for that there camera :D.

I was led - I was not under my own power. I plead innocence! And he, or she, that led me had a PURPOSE. To lead me out of the darkness and into the light! To wit... here are some shots in the dark. And I mean DARK. You cannot tell how dark these scenes are from the photos.

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-Ray
 
very cool, I am looking forward to shooting in the dark. I know it sounds silly but many times when I travel for work, often the only time I have to shoot for myself is when it is pretty dark
 
This is what they call impulse [and yet not] buying. You deliberate, you walk into stores, nothing is there and you think.. ah I shouldn't yet anyway. And then there it is.. a bright light haloing it, the angels singing in chorus and whatever resolve you had to wait or just to check it out in the store turns into a purchase. You're right though. You will have no trouble selling it off if you don't want it so just enjoy because I do think you are correct in that if you weren't supposed to have it then that second one wouldn't have appeared. Tis fate! Congrats!
 
That's exactly what happened to me with the iPad 3. I thought about it, decided not to get it, was wandering around Best Buy, and the surprise that they actually had it in stock was enough that I ended up walking out with one :rolleyes:.
 
This is what they call impulse [and yet not] buying. You deliberate, you walk into stores, nothing is there and you think.. ah I shouldn't yet anyway. And then there it is.. a bright light haloing it, the angels singing in chorus and whatever resolve you had to wait or just to check it out in the store turns into a purchase. You're right though. You will have no trouble selling it off if you don't want it so just enjoy because I do think you are correct in that if you weren't supposed to have it then that second one wouldn't have appeared. Tis fate! Congrats!
Actually Kristen, it was the first one I actually saw. And the one part I'm not at ALL sure of now is whether I'd be able to sell it off without taking a pretty big hit. When I finally SAW one, after a couple of days of asking around, I was envisioning another X100 type rollout with just a few units trickling in, high deman, limited supply, etc. And anyone lucky enough to get one quickly would be able to sell it quickly as well. And, at least unconsiously, that was probably part of my calculation. And, of course, by end of the day after I bought mine, they were EVERYWHERE, with numerous stores having plenty of stock after filling pre-orders. So, obviously there's not gonna be a shortage of THIS camera and my ability to sell it easily at little or no loss is probably not there. But that's OK - this is my shooting month in that I'm spending it in New York City - I'll probably do more photography in April than in the rest of the year combined. So I'm very happy to have gotten it. And with the EM5 looking like it may not show up until the second half of the month, I'm better off doing what I did, since I was interested in both. If I was not spending this month in NYC, I'd like to think I wouldn't have pre-ordered either, waited for both to be out there for a few weeks and see what types of reactions they were getting from shooters who do a lot of what I do. And then made a bit more of an informed choice with less impulse. But that was not the case, so I jumped, knowing the possibilities and risks. No regrets!

Amin - funny how impulse works. I think it really only surfaces on things you REALLY want. I love my iphone and ipad, but to me they're just objects of (extreme!) convenience, not tools toward an art/craft that brings forth deeper passions. I've easily walked past numerous upgrades to my iphone before getting the "4s" and its gonna take a pretty huge upgrade to the ipad for me to upgrade my iPad2, or it'll have to break, which was pretty much happened to my first iphone. Whereas cameras that offer some feature or features that I think will really help with the type of shooting I do are MUCH tougher for me to resist. I went back and forth between the EM5 and X-Pro 1 but there was no question that both of them offered some very compelling features/performance, even though I've had absolutely NO problems with my existing gear. Neither was gonna make me a better photographer, but either might have enabled more low light shooting, which matters to me, more this month than usually. So I jumped at the X-Pro, only slightly to my surprise when I'm honest with myself. You jumped at the new iPad, which leaves me vaguely cold. Its all what we can afford and what gets us off...

-Ray
 
Thanks for that link stanleyk. That Zack Arias interview is pretty funny. How in the world can he compare the X-Pro 1 and entry-level DSLRs. I think his income is clouding his judgment if he thinks he should be comparing a camera that is north of $2,000 with one lens with cameras that are under $1,000 with 2 lenses. I have no doubt that FOR ME, if I were to spend that kind of money I would likely prefer the FUJI, but I think the majority of camera buyers who are asking advice on what camera to buy are better served by modern DSLR of any brand.

It seems like some people don't understand why there are different tools for the job and they are always trying to force their own perspective on others. People need to ask a few questions of themselves and what they expect the camera to be able to do for what they want to shoot before making these purchases.

I have no doubt that Ray made the right choice for him, but for this guy to suggest that people just getting into photography should buy an X-Pro 1.......well, I hope they listen. Because a year from now the used market will be FLOODED with them and I can take my pick and name my price.
 
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