(This is an update of a post I shared weeks ago regarding this very interesting deal. It continues, though I understand that it may end as soon as August 15 — only two days away as I post this.)
There is a special deal on the Fujifilm X-Pro-1 mirrorless camera continues, but apparently not for much longer. You can purchase the body alone, but it is a much better deal with either of the two options that bundle lenses:
- Fujifilm X-Pro-1 – body only $799
- Fujifilm X-Pro-1 with 27mm lens – $799 (same price!)
- Fujifilm X-Pro-1 with 27mm and 35mm lenses – $949.85 (only +$150)
Yes, you read that correctly — the 27mm lens is essentially free with the X-Pro-1, and for $150 you can also get the outstanding 35mm f/1.4 XF R lens which is sold separately for $599! (This is the lens that is almost always on my X-E1 body.)
If you are interested in trying out the Fujifilm sensor system, like rangefinder-style bodies, and like to shoot with small, high quality primes, this seems like a great deal to me.
These days I use two different camera systems, depending on what kind of photography I’m doing. While my main system is based the Canon EOS 5DS R DSLR, I also use a separate system based around one of the Fujifilm X-trans mirrorless sensor cameras. I still use the original Fujifilm X-E1, even though it has now been superseded by newer models including the Fujifilm X-E2, the Fujifilm X-T1, and the less expensive Fujifilm X-T10.
The first of the interchangeable lens X-trans sensor bodies was the Fujifilm X-PRO-1. This was — and in many ways, remains — a groundbreaking camera. It combines an rangefinder-like optical viewfinder (OVF) with an electronic viewfinder (EVF). Some photographers prefer the OVF due to the immediacy of looking directly at their subjects. Yet the EVF provides additional useful image information, works better in low light, and shows the actual image that is picked up at the sensor.
Like all of the Fujifilm x-trans sensor cameras it uses an excellent 1.5x cropped APS-C 16MP sensor with a unique arrangement of the photo sites that is designed to reduce the potential for aliasing effects, and it dispenses with the anti-aliasing filter than is used in most digital cameras. The idea is that this produces better resolution than we might expect from a 16MP sensor — and in my experience it really works. I have made excellent prints from x-trans sensor images at sizes up to 30″ wide.
The 35mm f/1.4 lens (part of the Fujifilm X-Pro-1 with 27mm and 35mm lenses bundle at $949.85) is a truly outstanding lens. It is equivalent to a focal length of just over 50mm on a full frame or 35mm film camera, and it is the lens that I almost always have on my Fujifilm X-trans camera. Its optical quality is excellent and it is very small and light — perfect for things like street photography. The main virtues of the 27mm lens (which is part of both bundles) are its very small size (like a so-called “pancake” lens) and moderately wide angle coverage that is equivalent to approximately 41mm on full frame.
Several people have pointed out that you could purchase the full bundle and sell off parts of it, making the actual costs of the parts you keep close to zero!
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G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
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