The time passed and i couldn’t get her out of my mind, and continuous refreshing of Fujirumors didn’t help. Five weeks later my wait was rewarded. Some people say that waiting is the best time when you are excited of the future. In this case the best feeling was when i got the camera into my hand and got to shoot for the joy. This is article about the camera  which i have been using for 2 months and how it has worked for me. Im not going to list all the features but rather telling which work for me and which not. Im looking for answers to next questions:

1. How does the camera feel?
2. What does bothers me in the camera?
3. Is it going to be the camera that revolutionises my wedding photography?
4. Has Fuji listened its users and improved the weaknesses?
5. Is X-pro 2 Fuji’s next big step towards mass markets?
6. Is X-pro 2 going to stop me switching between Nikon and Fujifilm so i can focus fully to photographing?

I was nervous. it felt like i had known her for decades but everything was new. BETTER. X-pro 2’s exterior is almost identical to x-pro 1. The biggest and the most visible changes occurred on the backside. All the buttons are placed to the right side of the LCD just where they belong and are big enough to feel them. This has speeded up the use of the camera and made it a lot more simpler. For example you can keep your left hand still while shooting. Thumb has exceptionally well space and it sits always to the right place. Joystick is a perfect addition and switching between focus points is really fast. You are also able to move horizontally in focus point menu and pressing joystick twice the focus point moves back to middle.

Small but functional and beautiful addition was made to speed dial on top of the camera. ISO menu is mounted inside the speed dial and is used by lifting and turning simultaneously. People had different opinions about this at the Kuva&Kamera -event in Helsinki. In two months i have learned to use speed dial so i know exactly how much to turn it when i want to change ISO by one stop and i don’t have to move my eyes from the scene. Although you have to lift the dial-ring pretty much because otherwise the shutter speed switch will move too. Kuva&Kamera -event visitor gave feed back about this. When using Nikon i got used to switch ISO without moving my index finger from the shutter release-button.

Generally X-pro 2’s body is light (495g) and robust which i appreciate as a documentary wedding photographer. Camera has to durable but also inconspicuous. Double SD-card slot was the requirement that i would take the camera to my work arsenal. The first slot is UHS-2 and the second one backs up in UHS-1 speed. You have different options for the second slot like JPEG saving, backing up or using it after the first one is full. The appearance is simple and beautiful which pets eyes. The thing i missed is turning LCD display from X-T1. I didn’t believe that i would ever say this but i have used it really often when i want to adjust the angle a little lower or higher. In the other hand I’m not sure what it would look like in rangefinder camera and it probably would have increased the size.

For my hands the camera is comfy and stable. But for bigger hands i recommend the hand grip (does not come with extra battery place) which gives more support to the bottom and front. I have to make the special mention of the shutter sound. It’s bloody sexy.

I like

Integrated shutter speed and ISO switch is functional
Buttons on the right side of the camera, in the right places and big enough
6 buttons that you can program as you wish is plenty and more
Grip of the camera is good
Light but durable – Wedding photographers dream!
Shutter sound is like a music to your ears
Camera is extremely pretty – rouses almost too much attention 😉
Battery has stayed the same. Good if you have enough of them.
Battery life in percent

I didn’t like

Grip is too small for big hands, i recommend a hand grip
No extra battery option in hand grip
You have to get used to the ISO switch
No turning LCD
Battery is the same. Still almost miserable. Update to this is needed most definitely.

As i mentioned earlier Fujifilm x-pro 2’s exterior is very similar to x-pro 1 but inside everything is new. The biggest thing to me was the briefness of “blackout” time. Wedding photographing is continuous and things happen every second. After i have taken the photo my “eyes” are closed for a moment. Imagine that i take almost 3500 photos during one wedding it means 3500 blackout seconds = 58 minutes. Almost one hour of black screen. This has been fixed and is comparable to dslr’s mirror. FUCKING AWESOME.

Electronic finder works perfectly and you can take 85 photos in second. Finder does its job in every way really well and recently i have been excited to focus manually. It works really fast with electronic finder and to me the focus peaking is the best help to manual focusing. You can also choose digital split screen. I haven’t been using a lot of optic finder when using x-pro 2 but ill fix that. I like when i see the final picture before i have even taken it though. It reduces the work to be done afterwards when you can set the options right when taking the picture. Fujifilm has done good job with a new processor which makes the camera really fast. Everything is much smoother and readier what ever you do. Moving in menu, focusing or taking a picture and how fast the camera is ready for the next one. Shutter can make it now up to 1/8000 instead of 1/4000 and flash sync has improved to 1/250 from 1/180.

I Like

• Blackout time or better its absence
• Double SD slot
• Processor
• Electronic finder
• Mechanic shutter 1/8000
• Flash sync 1/250
• Ease of the manual focusing

Nothing that i didn’t like

This film simulation deserves its own mention. Use it or not, after this you will. We are talking about Fuji’s new simulation and my question is why we had to wait for this for so long. I love black and white pictures and it helps me to see what the light is like at the moment. I usually use the new heavily grainy option with the black and white because I’m in love with the “film” type of pictures. Fuji film has made the heavy grain really beautiful and fine. Can you get any closer to the “film’s grain”? Also +1 for the light and dark hues to bring the contrast. With these tips; pedal to the metal and enjoy!

As a conclusion after third dates we got married. My Nikon equipment is all sold. Camera feels really good to shoot with and you can have fun with it. I have shot weddings with Fujifilm’s cameras  and the mornings begin when i take this little workhorses out os my bag. So no big change to my work but knowing that i can shoot the whole day with equipment this light is awesome. Fuji has really listened the customers since i haven’t been facing big weaknesses and there is little to criticize. Of course I’m waiting continuous improvement to ISO but not forever. Now we have good ISO but when we get the excellent ISO its 10/10. If the ISO 6400 got improved to 25 600’s level i would be more that happy.  Thats enough. Focusing could be improved forever and especially continuous focusing could be made a lot better but we are getting there.

Im happy with the focusing speed.

I believe that x-pro 2 will raise the interest to Fujifilm when it stars to challenge with technique too. By this i mean that Fuji has been superior in “shooting vibe” and “soul”. Now when we get the hardware to the same level it wakes the technique people too. Im waiting what will happen in next 2 years and i believe that Fujifilm will be a though challenger to the other camera brands. X-pro 2 will stop the jumping between Nikon and Fujifilm and its time to focus on photographing. X-T1 has still spot in my camera bag because its huge finder. Its amazing for the wedding portraits. Focusing on the photo is more intense with X-T1 and the slower processor makes it good for the portraits.

For me Fujifilm is a workhorse in which fun and comfort of the photographing are combined. Fujifilm has not lost it’s soul rather brought it out smoother. X-pro 2 is light enough to hang from your shoulder all day and shooting is relaxed. I believe that the targets of the photo feel more comfortable too when my whole face isn’t behind the camera and i can really make a contact to the people.

These are my thoughts after two months of use. We are married and everything is good after the honeymoon too. The question is – What do Fujifilm and X-pro 2 mean to you?