For those of us who have forever been smitten with our X Pro 1 cameras, it seems that Fujifilm is going to announce its successor on January 15th. A new report on Mirrorless rumors states that the Fujifilm X Pro 2 will have 1/8000 mechanical shutter speed abilities; and the way that the post is worded implies that there may not be any sort of electronic shutter.
Beyond this, there are also claims of a faster EXR processor. But what’s really going to change may be the ergonomics.
The post on Mirrorless rumors claims that the camera will have a joystick for quicker AF point selection (kind of like how Canon and Nikon do it.) Additionally, the ISO and Shutter speed dials will be stacked just like an actual film camera. Finally, the claims state that the camera will have weather sealing.
This all sounds like a dream camera, but what most people who own the X Pro 1 will care about is the optical viewfinder. Indeed, lots of folks still haven’t given that up and if it’s an improvement over the X100 series, then that may really appeal to more users. If Fujifilm chooses to only go for the electronic viewfinder, they could potentially alienate that audience.
What also needs a bigger revamp is the autofocus. With Sony now able to deliver blazing fast AF performance with their full frame a7 cameras, it’s about time that we get more from Fujifilm. To date, Fujifilm cameras are the slowest mirrorless cameras to autofocus: lagging behind both Samsung and Sony in the APS-C range. Granted, with the new 35mm f2 lens, the XT-1 can focus at a perfectly usable speed for street photography: a segment of the core users of Fujifilm products.
While I really hope that there is some weight to these reports, I’m personally going in not knowing what to expect. At the moment though: at least we can all enjoy all of these discounts that Fujifilm still has in place.
