Has the X-Pro3 been a success?

[Paul Reading]

I love my X-Pro2 but I would not "upgrade" to the X-Pro3, I don't like the flippy screen and definitely not the way it has been implemented. I don't like the rubbery finish. The X-Pro was supposed to be the leading edge APS-C camera but clearly that is the X-T4 or possibly the X-H2 very soon. To me the X-Pro is the right size but has been forgotten. I really don't want an SLR anymore but to me the X-Pro3 misses the mark.

So has it been a success compared to the X-Pro2? I am wondering if the replacement will return to amore conventional X-Pro2 style format without the gimmicks.

[woodlander]

Good question. I have wondered the same thing. I have an X-Pro2 and was considering the X-Pro3 until I read the specs. I am waiting to see what the X-Pro4 looks like.

A lot of my reasoning is simply that I really like the camera I have and I would only make the jump to a newer model if it offered some feature or function that I really wanted. I use the display on my current camera quite a bit - just to check battery status or show a photo to someone. I don't like the way the display on the X-Pro3 was done. I really hope Fuji goes back to something else.

[Herco]

I'm in exactly the same position. For professional work I've moved away from Fujifilm, but for personal work I still love the X-Pro2 form factor. The X-Pro3 indeed misses the point for me. Next to a number of improvements (faster AF, better EVF, placement of the diopter adjustment and exposure comp dial) there are some crucial misses for me: the sub screen is nothing but a gimmick and looks cheap on this camera. The tilting screen is exactly the wrong implementation, whereas the X100V is exactly right if you want a tilting screen at all. Same for the ISO dial. But the main issue for me was dropping the X-Pro2 dual magnification in the OVF rendering the X-Pro3 OVF useless for anything wider than 23mm or longer than 50mm. So I returned the X-Pro3 I had on trial and kept using my X-Pro2 (although I mostly use my M10-R and Q2 nowadays).

Now, the X-Pro models have always been niche cameras for Fujifilm. Therefore the launch of newer models followed roughly a 4 year cycle. So, logic dictates that we should expect a new model around Oct 2023. If at all, because a friendly retailer (one of the larger online ones in Europe) told me that X-Pro3 sales were initially good due to X-Pro2 owners replacing their camera, but dropped sharply thereafter and is now way under previous X-Pro2 levels.

As said before, this is a niche camera in a rapidly shrinking market (digital camera sales dropped between 2011 and 2021 by over 90%) and it's a rather expensive one too. Priced in 'full-frame territory'. Potential buyers love the looks, but buy an X-T3/T4 (of a full-frame compact like the Z5, A7C or S5) because it's more convenient with better options. What doesn't help is that the newer f1.4 lenses (the 18, 23 and 33) are all substantially bigger and render the OVF on the X-Pro's useless, while at the same time some of the crucial compact lenses (the 16/f2.8 and the 23/f2) in terms of pure image quality are not Fuji's best.

Long story short, the X-Pro3 is a rather expensive niche camera with the relative low sales numbers to match that. If at all, the successor isn't likely to be expected before end 2023.

Edited November 25, 2021 by Herco

[Golden Oxen]

A truly niche camera would be an X-Pro 4 that has no video features whatsoever, Zero

A state of the art stills only camera would be a surprisingly big winner in my view.

Why force folks like me to buy hybrids with so many camera models already.

Do something really different Fujifilm, Please. Non video users are a part of the market to that no

one is catering too.   

 

 

[Herco]

1 hour ago, Golden Oxen said:

A truly niche camera would be an X-Pro 4 that has no video features whatsoever, Zero

A state of the art stills only camera would be a surprisingly big winner in my view.

Why force folks like me to buy hybrids with so many camera models already.

Do something really different Fujifilm, Please. Non video users are a part of the market to that no

one is catering too.   

 

 

A kind of 'poor mans M10' would certainly make sense. I can't imagine there are many video shooters amongst X-Pro users and certainly not who bought the camera specifically for video shooting. So getting rid of all the video features probably doesn't affect the target group. Fuji however, needs to really 'focus' on stills photographers and get the camera exactly right for them.

[Golden Oxen]

42 minutes ago, Herco said:

A kind of 'poor mans M10' would certainly make sense. I can't imagine there are many video shooters amongst X-Pro users and certainly not who bought the camera specifically for video shooting. So getting rid of all the video features probably doesn't affect the target group. Fuji however, needs to really 'focus' on stills photographers and get the camera exactly right for them.

Yes, We only still shooters  need a Fujifilm camera of excellence to call our own.

Thanks for your reply Herco.

[Jon Whipple]

I think the answer to this question depends on the criteria used to measure "success". And also success for who? For Fujifilm? For you? For me?

I can't find any sources that breakout sales for Fuji cameras by model, and of course it would be impossible to know what Fujifilm's criteria for success might be, even if we had that information. It has always struck me since becoming aware of X Series cameras that Fuji seems to attach a great deal of value to the design proposition of Electronic Range Finder cameras. It's a pretty distinct form for modern mirrorless cameras and they might value the distinction so much that break-even or even a manageable loss on X100 and X-Pro lines is totally worth it to them.

Maybe for you or other X-Pro2 users, the X-Pro3 isn't compelling enough for an upgrade. I get that. The X-Pro2 strikes me as a great camera. In fact I decided to get the X-Pro2 and was saving my money when they introduced the 3. So I am totally into that being a thing.

For me, the X-Pro3 is a total success. I have never owned a digital or mirrorless camera before buying the X-Pro3. The details that others dismiss as gimmicks were compelling enough for me to want them. The sub monitor doesn't feel or look like a gimmick to me at all. I like it. People who ask about my camera are always surprised and delighted by that detail. They are fascinated by the fact the LCD folds down and out. I like this too. I don't want to even be tempted to chimp, but it's super nice to have a screen available that isn't smeared with skin oil when I want to double check a result or make a wait-level photo if I'm unable to crouch or kneel.

I purchased the FUJINON XF16mmF2.8 R WR as my first lens because I love the wideness. Is it a problem the viewfinder doesn't have framelines for this? It hasn't been for me. Maybe because of the way I compose things? Maybe I don't care? I certainly never once was "disappointed" or found myself wishing for those framelines. I also use adapted Pentax Takumar M42 screw mount lenses on the camera, including a Super Takumar 300mm F4. Does using this long lens make the "rangefinder" useless? Not entirely. You certainly have to trust that what you saw before you brought the camera to your eye will still be the case for the lower right of the frame. But that's where the functionality and flexibility of the ERF is so great: A simple push or pull of the viewfinder mode lever lets me see the electronic view. I can switch back and forth if I want. I can stay electronic if I want. I can have both. And I don't have to be "pure" or do one or the other. I can just do what I want.

It's not just looks, or living a rangefinder-pure life that the X-Pro3 brings, but wonderful flexibility. The instrument helps me and facilitates me.

This camera makes me want to pick up and shoot. It inspires me and instills me with confidence.

X-Pro3 a success? For me it absolutely is.

https://youpic.com/photographer/JonWhipple/

Edited December 17, 2021 by Jon Whipple

[Ammut]

I held back buying the xp3 because of the screen, but a while back I caved and purchased the 3 in Dura Silver (black was OOS). I couldn't be happier with it. I thought the screen would become a PITA, but now realize I don't chimp as much as I thought I did. No ragrets (not even a vowel). love their updated custom menu screen, stiffer exp comp dial, better AF. The dura silver contrast looks great with the black lenses too. I'm an xpro shooter for life, or until they jump the shark.

Edited February 8, 2022 by Ammut

[maidenfan84]

For anyone who started photography in the film era before digital, the Xpro 3 would feel right at home. I started my photo journey in the film era with a Minolta X700 and Canon F1. The xpro 3 pretty much takes me back to exactly how it felt before. No ridiculous 1000+ features, of which most I’ll never use, etc. It’s well laid out and designed from a purist standpoint. It just gets out of the way and lets me shoot the photos. I didn’t check the back of my film door to look at the picture I just took with my X700, so I don’t have that expectation on my Xpro 3 either. Now for people who grew up digital and never shot film cameras, it might be the backwards situation for them. They might feel like why do I have less when my other digital has so much more. It’s important to remember that the Xpro is all about the “less is more” experience. It might not be a home run sales hit like a Sony A7, but for who the Xpro line is made for, I’d say it was/is a massive success. Many times they’re completely sold out and you can’t even get one unless you jump on the ball soon as they come up for sale. 

[Ammut]

Sales aside, I've been on this ride since the xp1, so it's a success in my book. 

[Herco]

16 hours ago, maidenfan84 said:

For anyone who started photography in the film era before digital, the Xpro 3 would feel right at home. I started my photo journey in the film era with a Minolta X700 and Canon F1. The xpro 3 pretty much takes me back to exactly how it felt before. No ridiculous 1000+ features, of which most I’ll never use, etc. It’s well laid out and designed from a purist standpoint. It just gets out of the way and lets me shoot the photos. I didn’t check the back of my film door to look at the picture I just took with my X700, so I don’t have that expectation on my Xpro 3 either. Now for people who grew up digital and never shot film cameras, it might be the backwards situation for them. They might feel like why do I have less when my other digital has so much more. It’s important to remember that the Xpro is all about the “less is more” experience. It might not be a home run sales hit like a Sony A7, but for who the Xpro line is made for, I’d say it was/is a massive success. Many times they’re completely sold out and you can’t even get one unless you jump on the ball soon as they come up for sale. 

The reason that they're often sold out, is because production numbers were very low and retailers ordered very few stock. According a friend who runs a large camera store in Europe, around mid 2020 -after the X-Pro2 replacement wave and after the X-T4 was introduced- sales of the X-Pro3 dropped to only a handful each year. Since end 2022, Fuji stopped producing the X-Pro3 altogether, even though a successor (X-Pro4?) is still at least a few months away. Knowing that Fuji normally keeps the predecessor in production for a year or two after the successor becomes available, that says enough to me...

[Meeeeeeeee]

I wanted to love the x-pro3 but didn’t. In fact it was IMO an opportunity missed.

the rear screen or lack of was a bold move but didn’t work. It did not improve my ‘analogish’ experience , rather it annoyed  me, a lot. It’s a street camera and rapid chimping is essential to me (especially the histo)

going back to the ethos of pre-digital  fails. I remember in analog days wishing and wanting a camera that had an integral Polaroid function.

the camera I’d really hoped for had less buttons, but not less screen. I don’t need or want to have buttons everywhere.

IBIS would be nice but my main criteria for what I still hope will be an X-pro4 are: a beautiful big rear screen. VF, big, open and bright. Doesn’t have to articulate or to be touch sensitive, in fact I’d prefer without either. Sensor 40+ MP. No moiré filter. Less buttons

xPro started out trying to be a Leica rangefinder but the xpro3 iteration wandered off into idealistic but unusable nostalgia. for me, my above wish list would bring it back to its original goals.

 

 

 

[Ammut]

Meh. I love my dura silver xp3. Zero issues. Of course, I don't use the screen like many.

In fact, my older xp2 had to have it's top plate replaced due to the shutter button failing. So, I'd say the xp3 has been a better camera. YMMV.

Edit: Ha. Looks like I posted already-twice. Not sure why I get notifications, like this is some new topic.

 

Edited February 19, 2023 by Ammut