Last Updated on 11/17/2015 by Chris Gampat
Very few pieces of news make me almost drop my coffee cup while inbibing some precious morning java, but a report from Fuji Rumors did just that. They picked up on a tip that Magnum Photos photographer Hiroji Kubuto was using the Fujifilm X Pro 2 (or whatever the successor to the X Pro 1 is) during the recent terrorist attacks in Paris. The evidence of this was in the EXIF data of the images. Since then, Magnum photos took down the images–but there is an even more interesting nugget behind all of this.
Magnum Photos has taken the image down and also added in the reason why: there is an embargo with the camera manufacturer until January 15th 2016.
Insane, right? There have been reports that Fujifilm will announce the camera on that date, but add in the fact that the EXIF data is present in the removed image and that confirms that we’re going to see the new camera on January 15th.
Years ago, Fujifilm introduced the X Pro 1 at CES; and considering that 2016 is a Photokina year, it seems a bit odd that they’d introduce it right around that period. Perhaps they’re targeting it at the wedding crowd and they want it present on the floor at WPPI 2016.
Years down the line, the Fujifilm X Pro 1 is still an excellent camera–in fact, it’s still one that I use often. Its autofocus performance isn’t much slower (with some lenses) than that of the X-T1 and the image quality it delivers is still in my opinion still rivals that of full frame 35mm sensor cameras from a couple of years ago. Even today, ISO 6400 on the X Pro 1 is the cleanest I’ve seen from a camera with an APS-C sensor.
I’m not sure how Fujifilm is going to be able to top it. Considering the company’s current price drop on lenses and cameras though, it’d be smart to grab some lenses soon before the new camera comes out.
