Fuji X-Pro2 long term review

Better than the X-Pro3?

Of course it is;)

I meant to write this review seven months ago. Things got out of hands… Better than later, here’s my long term review of the Fuji X-Pro2.

I loved my X-Pro1, but I got annoyed with its slow autofocus and poor battery life, to the point of selling it. In hindsight, it was a terrible decision to sell it, for I missed it greatly over the years to come.

I had a Nikon and Olympus ecosystem for a while but I was missing the Fuji look quite a bit. When the opportunity to get a X-Pro2 with a 23mm f/2.0 and 35mm f/2.0 came to pass, I took it. And I never looked back. It was the single best decision I made from a photography stand point: I had so many keepers, so many great shots from the last 370 days… All because of that decision to get the x-Pro2!

That camera changed my life, no joke: I quit my boring life in Canada and moved to Singapore because of it. That’s a whole other story, but the X-Pro2 was the trigger…

That’s the difference maybe between the X-Pro series and the rest of Fuji’s line-up.

The X-Pro series have soul.

It’s a bit like a X-H1 vs X-T2 or X-T3. The X-H1 has something special to it… it’s the artist’s official camera. The X-Pro has something like that to it too. It’s very… philosophical…and artistic… it isn’t simply a camera: it’s something more than that, that words can’t quite describe.

The X-Pro1 had it even more, that je-ne-sais-quoi that cast a spell of mystery and love and leaves you in a state of wanting more.
The X-Pro2 still had it.
The X-Pro3? I don’t know… I won’t buy it, but I’m sure that it has soul.

I won’t buy it because I think it is a devolution of the X-Pro1 and 2. I love my rear screen in weddings and cannot for the life of me justify spending more money for something that has a worst sensor, a worst OVF viewer, no rear screen and no d-pad. I’ll pass.

And so the Fuji X-Pro2 is the emblem of peak camera: it offers everything I’d ever need in a beautiful steel body. It is compact, yet super sturdy and well built (it’s even weather sealed). It has two SD cards slot for redundancy. It shoots 24fps 4k videos. Its autofocus is accurate and fast. There’s a joystick to selection the point.

The OVF is awesome to have, and the EVF is great (night and day better than the X-Pro1!).

The sensor delivers sublime files.

It’s like…what else would I ever need?

Well, IBIS and better quality video, which is why I got the X-H1.

The X-Pro series is like the Nikon D3/D3s and the Canon 1D series: it’s the photographer-in-the-know that buys it, and they don’t care about what the rest of the world says about anything: they know. It’s for guys that already made it: it’s for photographer that cares about shooting and delivering files that impress; it’s for travellers that want the best; it’s for the ones that don’t ask how much it cost, but how much it makes in return. That’s what the X-Pro2 is all about.

The Fuji X-Pro2 is the ultimate camera for weddings, I’d say on par with the X-H1. It’s nice and light and quick too. I can easily do over 2000 shots per battery in a wedding.

I cannot say enough good about the X-Pro2: it over delivered –over and over again–. The colors are just amazing… the battery life is fantastic (for a mirrorless), the autofocus is super accurate… We are blessed.

I carried my X-Pro2 everywhere around the world… In South Africa (+40ºC) to Borneo’s jungle in Malaysia (also +40ºC with 100% humidity haha) to Brazil to Alaska to New York. It never missed a single beat. It’s just the ultimate travel camera, period. But it’s more than that: it allows a professional photographer to use it as their main tool to make money. It’s a money maker, that’s what it is. It makes Sony shooters jealous: where your average Sony photographer needs to shoot RAW and spend hours on Lightroom, your Fuji photographer can simply shoot JPG and delivers extraordinary files almost on the spot.

The Fuji lenses are also all exceptionally awesome (except the 27mm f/2.8: one of the worst lens that I ever owned).

Bottom line:

I thought about selling my X-Pro2 in order to get another X-H1, but I can’t bring myself to it… for I know that I’d miss it too much. There’s a time when you need something compact and awesome and cute that delivers files that impress: the X-Pro2 is that camera. It’s far superior to the X-Pro1 on every point (but color and tone). It’s far superior to the X-Pro3, as it has a better sensor, OVF, screen, and ergonomics. It’s unlike anything else on the market.

Just like my S600 W140 is the car that gave me the most Smile Per Gallon, the X-Pro2 is the camera that gave me the most satisfaction per click, and that’s something rare nowadays. The X-H1/X-Pro2 will be the perfect combo for my Ibiza to Mongolia Jeep trip (with a Canon 1D MK IV and Fuji X-E1 for backups).

Cheers,

JP

ps: If you want to buy the X-Pro2, use this link…it helps support my journey around the world in a Jeep.

If you are interested in making a full-time income with photography/videography, I can recommend this course by Froknowsphoto. He’s one of the few out there that actually brings value to the market. Thus why I shamelessly plug his course.

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