The X-Pro2 represents the flagship rangefi nder of the family, and marks the start of a new generation of cameras for Fujifilm. It’s the first camera from Fujifilm to get the new 24.3-megapixel X-Trans CMOS III sensor, and that’s matched with a high performance X Processor Pro for stunning image quality.
Fujifilm X-Pro2 review.
The X-Pro2 represents the flagship rangefi nder of the family, and marks the start of a new generation of cameras for Fujifilm. It’s the first camera from Fujifilm to get the new 24.3-megapixel X-Trans CMOS III sensor, and that’s matched with a high performance X Processor Pro for stunning image quality.
The continuous shooting goes up to 8.0 fps, just like the X-T1, but the X-Pro2 has a bigger buffer allowing it to maintain that rate for 83 frames (in JPEG quality) - almost twice of what the X-T1 achieves (47 in JPEG quality).
In fact, almost everything is improved, and it seems the X-Pro2 is the embodiment of all of Fujifilm’s latest technologies, like the Advanced Hybrid Viewfinder from last year’s X100T, and the electronic shutter from the X-T10 and X-T1. So, you could easily say the X-Pro2 truly marks the beginning of an exciting new year for Fujifilm.
From the front, the X-Pro2 looks virtually unchanged from the original, with the exception of the larger handgrip, and the inclusion of a front control dial. Turn it over though, and you’ll find that all the buttons have been shifted to the right of the rear LCD. There are more custom function buttons and a larger grip too.
All of the X-Pro2’s displays are also much enhanced, from the viewfinder to the LCD. The optical viewfinder (OVF) finally comes with a diopter adjustment dial so you can account for less than perfect eyesight, and it now covers 92% of the frame, up from 90% in the original.
Again, a flick of the OVF/EVF switch lever in front toggles the display in the viewfinder from OVF to EVF, but now you can get an additional Electronic Viewfinder (EVF) window that can display your focus point in either 100% view, 2.5x magnification, or 6x magnifi cation, allowing to check focus with greater accuracy. This works even with Manual Focus assist, and so offers an option for even greater precision when using the OVF.
On that note, the X-Pro2has a total of 273 AF points across the frame, approximately 40% of the imaging area is covered by faster Phase Detect AF pixels with the number of Phase Detect AF points increased from 49 to 77. And there’s now a handy Focus Lever by the side of the LCD that allows you to quickly shift your focus point.
Up top, the control dials have also seen change. They’re now slightly bigger, and the shutter dial now incorporates a window for setting the ISO level. That’s accomplished by slightly lifting up the ring surrounding the dial, then turning. This moves an inner dial which adjusts the camera’s ISO. All the ISO settings are there, as well as the auto ISO setting, the ranges for which can be defined in the camera’s menus.
The X-Pro2 also gets dual memory card slots, a first for Fujifi lm. This falls more in line with the concept of a “professional series camera”, and is defi nitely a welcome introduction. The X-Pro2 is also weather sealed like the X-T1, and it continues to offer a flash sync port for use with studio strobes.
The X-Pro2 is a fast and responsive camera, and we found the autofocus to be extremely fast overall, even in lowlight. Because the Focus Lever made it so easy to switch focus points, we found ourselves using single point focus most of the time, which is perhaps testament to how well spread the AF points were across the frame.
The X-Pro2‘s Hybrid Rangefi nder ability to display a secondary window, was also a very handy feature, as it allowed us to literally see what the camera had in focus before you even pressed the shutter, which is certainly faster than checking your focus on the playback.
One thing that’s stood out to us the most, was the amount of detail captured by this camera. We compared some of the shots of our studio test scene against shots taken previously with full-frame cameras that boasted higher megapixel counts, and found that the images were certainly comparable in terms of resolution and sharpness, especially at the higher ISO sensitivities.
CONCLUSION
An extremely impressive camera that pushes the boundaries.
