Photography Culture

Next January, the Fujifilm X Pro 1 Will Be 10 Years Old

Chris Gampat
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04/08/2021
3 Mins read
Chris Gampat The Phoblographer Fujifilm X Pro 1 35mm f1.4 X Series lens review (7 of 7)ISO 1600

The Fujifilm X Pro 1 camera and the Fujifilm X mount will be 10 years old in January 2022.

It’s taken a decade, but Fujifilm will have been dedicated to the X mount for this long. That’s longer than Samsung was dedicated to the NX mount. It’s also longer than Sony has had full-frame mirrorless cameras on the market. Ten years of the X Trans sensor and a specific look. I remember the days before this that Fujifilm was sort of a joke. They weren’t looked at as a serious camera company. But after the Fujifilm X100, everything changed. When the X Pro 1 hit the market, everyone stopped and stared. It was the first time that a rangefinder-style camera has captivated us since the M9. 

Fujifilm has had a lot to celebrate. 

  • The first company with a hybrid optical/digital viewfinder that no one else has.
  • The first company to make small, weather-sealed lenses that were affordable.
  • The first company to issue relentless firmware updates made everyone else do the same. You bought the X Pro 1, and at the end of the camera’s life, you had a new camera still.
  • The first company to really, truly embrace the retro aesthetic and stick with it.
  • The first company to create an autofocus 50mm f1 lens.
  • The first company to make useable, good medium format mirrorless cameras at an affordable price. 
  • The first mirrorless camera system using an APS-C sensor to prove that it can be professional-grade.
  • The first company to make claims that it can compete with full-frame, and it was actually accurate.

Fujifilm has had a whole lot to celebrate. And they’ve surely worked toward it. Is Fujifilm perfect? No. They still refuse to open their doors to working with third-party lens manufacturers. Their autofocus still needs revamping. And you’ve probably read my qualms with the X Pro 3 already.

A Fujifilm camera was used by the winner of the 2020 World Press Photo Awards. By all means, it’s the most professional APS-C camera system on the market. My hope, though, is that they start to break away from using Sony sensors. Sony’s sensors are in way too many cameras. And yes, the Film Simulations really help them stand out. But there could be even more.

Fujifilm should also be credited with their efforts overall. Over the past decade, a bunch of manufacturers was barely trying at all. Some of them still seem like they’re phoning it in. But Fujifilm genuinely tried. I’d compare them to the NY Mets, but that would be disrespectful. Fujifilm is seriously one of the best modern camera manufacturers on the market. And I truly hope that they embrace the higher-end future of cameras. After all, everyone needs to try much harder. Innovations need to be that much better. And most importantly, I hope that they never become Pentax. Pentax realized too late that they needed to go full frame. Pentax still has a rich history and good cameras. But we can all admit they make questionable decisions.

With that said, Fujifilm’s decision to not go full-frame is sort of questionable. But I’m hoping that they build the GFX system into something that doesn’t make us even question whether we should go full-frame.

Fujifilm is a company with a rich history in the photography industry. And I hope that they keep finding a way to evolve to support creators. I specifically say, creators. Brett and Hillary are professional photographers. I’m not anymore. I’m a journalist and an Editor in Chief. And I use cameras every single day. They’re an important part of my job.

Fujifilm: please stay strong. Congratulations. And thank you for staying true to the roots of photography while shepherding its future. Just think, it all started with the Fujifilm X Pro 1. Go snag one on eBay if you wish.

camera decade fujifilm fujifilm x pro 1 lens x pro 1
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Chris Gampat is the Editor in Chief, Founder, and Publisher of the Phoblographer. He provides oversight to all of the daily tasks, including editorial, administrative, and advertising work. Chris's editorial work includes not only editing and scheduling articles but also writing them himself. He's the author of various product guides, educational pieces, product reviews, and interviews with photographers. He's fascinated by how photographers create, considering the fact that he's legally blind./ HIGHLIGHTS: Chris used to work in Men's lifestyle and tech. He's a veteran technology writer, editor, and reviewer with more than 15 years experience. He's also a Photographer that has had his share of bylines and viral projects like "Secret Order of the Slice." PAST BYLINES: Gear Patrol, PC Mag, Geek.com, Digital Photo Pro, Resource Magazine, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Finance, IGN, PDN, and others. EXPERIENCE: Chris Gampat began working in tech and art journalism both in 2008. He started at PCMag, Magnum Photos, and Geek.com. He founded the Phoblographer in 2009 after working at places like PDN and Photography Bay. He left his day job as the Social Media Content Developer at B&H Photo in the early 2010s. Since then, he's evolved as a publisher using AI ethically, coming up with ethical ways to bring in affiliate income, and preaching the word of diversity in the photo industry. His background and work has spread to non-profits like American Photographic Arts where he's done work to get photographers various benefits. His skills are in SEO, app development, content planning, ethics management, photography, Wordpress, and other things. EDUCATION: Chris graduated Magna Cum Laude from Adelphi University with a degree in Communications in Journalism in 2009. Since then, he's learned and adapted to various things in the fields of social media, SEO, app development, e-commerce development, HTML, etc. FAVORITE SUBJECT TO PHOTOGRAPH: Chris enjoys creating conceptual work that makes people stare at his photos. But he doesn't get to do much of this because of the high demand of photography content. / BEST PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: Don't do it in post-production when you can do it in-camera.