Do you remember that movie " Night At the Museum" ? I don't - never saw it or the sequels - because I spend my evenings attending product launches at Camera Electronic and I get to see everything I ever wanted to see...
Last night was the presentation of the new Fujifilm X-pr02, the X-70, the X-e2s, and the XF 100-400mm f:4.5-5.6 lens. Plus a talk by a professional photographer who has been using the new gear.
As usual, When Fujifilm wants to let people see the new products they send experts like Warwick to see us - information passes much better when a skilled person is responsible for telling us. He's got a very good line into the thinking of the company and has the opportunity to pass thoughts back to the designers and marketers as well. This open communication channel is part of what makes Fujifilm special as a photographic manufacturer.
The talk and picture show by Adam Ferguson was also a real eye-opener. Adam has followed recent wars and civil troubles from the very front lines - authorised and paid-for as well as just investigating things for his own sake. He's seen some harrowing sights and taken pictures while the bullets and bombs were flying. Some of the work was taken with the Fujifilm cameras in question, and I think we could all see the pictorial results advanced because of it. Certainly the work done in the Northern Territory that he showed was visually gorgeous - and had the advantage of not being quite so deadly as the other places he visited.
Is the new X-Pro2 camera a good deal? Yes. It incorporates a significantly improved sensor and processor and pumps out finer, faster, more colourful work than the previous models. There are video and viewfinder improvements that make it easier to use. It focuses faster. It shoots more shots per battery charge. It has more film simulation settings so you never need to move out of the JPEG space. If you got the money, Fujifilm got the camera. You can look the user of any other digital rangefinder camera, from anywhere, right in the eye - and spit in it...
Here's the staff testing out the stuff - or trying to catch each other in compromising positions...
For my part I was charmed with the X-E2s and the X-70. Now the X-E2s is an improved version of the X-E2 I already use, and does things faster, clearer, etc. as these things always do. I've taken advantage of the Fujifilm company's policy of issuing firmware updates for the camera I own, so I don't need a new one, but I would unhesitatingly recommend the model to anyone wanting into the X-system. It is my go-to studio and dance show camera.
The one that really got my salivary glands going was the X-70. It has the feel of the X-100 I own, and the advantage for me of having a wider focal-length lens as standard. 18mm, as a matter of fact, so the view is equivalent to what we used to see on a 35mm camera with a 28mm lens. There's no optical or EVF but the excellent LCD screen has been hinged to face forward if you want it to. Sel Fie...
The camera will synch to the top if its speed range and you can even put on a slide-in optical viewfinder. There's a supp. lens as well, widening it out to the equivalent of 21mm in old film terms. That's wiiiide and sharp at the same time.
This would be the perfect camera to replace the damned mobile phone camera and to take out landscape or car show shooting.
And last, but not least, were the cameras with the colourful covers:
The flag, and you can get them with British, New Zealand and presumably American markings.
The green lizard skin.
The strange little soft focus and cross filter lens that you can't get- -available only in Japan.
Like I said, it is as much fun as night in the Museum, but this time you get to see new stuff, not old.
