I have been using Fujifilm cameras for weddings since the launch of the original X-Pro 1 back in 2012 and I owned the original Fujifilm X100 back in 2010. Until about five or six years ago I was using Canon DSLR’s for about 80 percent of my work and the Fujifilm cameras to fill in the rest. I then decided with the launch of the XT-3 to switch fully to Fuji. During Covid I had time off from wedding photography due to the lockdowns and weddings being cancelled or postponed, this gave me time to think about what gear would work best for me and resulted in purchasing the Fujifilm X-Pro3.
The imperfect perfect wedding camera
Why am I writing in 2024 about a camera that has been discontinued for a year? For me the X-Pro 3 is the perfect wedding camera despite the imperfections being hated by many photographers. I started my career as a press photographer before digital photography and shot originally on Ilford HP5 film and later on Fujicolor Superia film, we processed our own films in the darkrooms of the newspaper and scanned the negatives, Back then there wasn’t an option of viewing images on the camera to check exposure and composition and to this day I rarely use the LCD on any digital camera. Much has already been said in reviews about the hidden screen on the X-Pro 3 with many photographers seeing it as a negative, in fact it seems the screen was a flaw as far as most reviews are concerned. This goes totally against my view of the camera, for me the hidden screen is perfect as it is there if I need it for a low level shot and is hidden the rest of the time. With the touch screen on the XT series cameras I am always changing settings with my nose, I end up turning off the touch option which sort of defeats the object. Why do we really need a rear LCD other than for waist level photography? Is it really essential to check your images on the screen? For me the answer is no, it is a distraction that takes away from watching for the next moment.
A modern take on the rangefinder style camera
I use a rangefinder camera for my 35mm film wedding photography (a Minolta CLE Leica M mount camera) and find the X-Pro 3 is very similar in operation but with the added benefit of frame lines for any lens above 18mm (The Minolta only has 28mm, 40mm and 90mm frame lines).
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Above: Fujifilm X-Pro 3 with the 23mm F2 lens..
For my way of working (wedding photojournalism) the X-Pro 3 is almost perfect, the only thing I really miss from earlier models is the two levels of magnification, this makes working with the 16mm or 56mm lenses using the optical viewfinder a bit of a pain. I have found the Fujifilm 23mm F2 pairs perfectly with the X-Pro 3 for wedding photography, it doesn’t block the optical finder, is small and light weight and focusses so quickly I sometimes wonder if it actually has focussed. I tend to pair my X-Pro3 with the smaller Fuji prime lenses, the 16m F2.8 (although there are no frame lines for this lens which is wider than the viewfinder can show), 23mm F2, 35mm F1.4 and 50mm F2. I find Fuji’s F1.4 lenses are better suited to the XT series cameras but there is no real reason you can’t use them on the X-Pro 3 other than weight and size. I always work with two cameras at weddings anyway so would typically have the 23mm F2 on the X-Pro3 and something like a 56mm 1.2 or 16mm 1.4 on the XT-3.
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The Mitakon Speedmaster F0.95
My photographer friend and fellow Fuji wedding photographer Simon Dewey had posted a few images he shot with the Mitakon Speedmaster F0.95 lens and on the strength of those I purchased this lens (He purchased the X-Pro 3 after my raves, so it it works both ways!). Honestly I have to say this lens is amazing and awful at the same time! Not so many years back an F0.95 lens was ridiculously expensive, Canon made one which went for a few thousand, Leica made a legendary one which is over £11,000. The Speedmaster is less than £500.
This lens is totally manual focus but works very well with the optical viewfinder on the X-Pro 3 by using the small window in the bottom of the viewfinder for focussing. I find this a really satisfying way to work, it slows me down and makes me think more about the composition and where I am focussing. On the Fuji APS-C sensor this lens gives the look of a 50mm F1.4 lens on full frame but with the advantage of the F0.95 aperture for light, it really can see in the dark and is a very good low light lens.
Why is it awful? Well it isn’t really that bad but it can be fairly soft wide open which can give more of a vintage film look to the images, it’s main flaw is lens flair, get the sun anywhere near and this lens flairs worst than a 1970’s pair of jeans! Flair isn’t always a bad thing though and I have allowed it to flair a few times for artistic affect.
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Above: Fujifilm X-Pro 3 with Mitakon Speedmaster F0.95 lens.
In Conclusion
The X-Pro 3 is a camera I can see myself keeping long term, I have already owned it a few years and find it a real pleasure to use. It is small and discrete and doesn’t shout out “wedding photographer” but allows me to blend in almost unnoticed.
I am really hoping Fujifilm continue with the X-Pro series cameras and keep them as a pure photographers camera. At the time of writing there isn’t any news on an X-Pro4 in the pipeline, I’m not sure I would rush out to upgrade anyway as the X-Pro3 does eveything I want it to.