Sometime you wonder what is going on in the head of marketing and sales departments.Usually, the confusion between marketing and sales opens some opportunities for bargain hunters.
Fujifilm did just that this very year.
Since my very first steps in photography, during the 70s and 80s, I used Fujifilm products. To that time, this was limited to film, the cameras were beyond my reach.
However, lately, having returned to film, I was able, thanks to ebay, to obtain some still expensive secondhand medium format Fujifilm cameras. Wow, what beauties, what an image quality!
Concerning digital, Fujifilm made some remarkable cameras, e.g. the X100S, which I am lucky to own. As much as I like the X100S and its tele-converter, the camera is still limiting, since it does not allow for shooting with my old glass from the film days.
Even before the X100S, Fujifilm sold a camera, called X-Pro1, for a professional price. No way I will ever buy this camera, I thought. Time proved me wrong, in the middle of 2015, I actually bought the X-Pro1, as a special sales, due to the announced advent of the new X-Pro2 in fall the same year. Well, the X-Pro2 is yet to appear on the market.
Anyway, the offer of just €900,- including the X-Pro1, the XF 18mm f/2, the XF 27mm f/2.8 and a leather case, was just too good to not take. The prices of the 2 included lenses added result in a greater sum. A no brainer!
So, the X-Pro1 combined with the XF 18mm is a nice moderate wide angle camera. However, the 27mm never made any sense, in particular I felt it was important to get a XF 35mm f/1.4, which now is my favorite lens with the X-Pro1.
The 18mm and the 35mm, both add to the old school feel, due to the aperture rings of those lenses. The 27mm, lacking an aperture control ring falls short in this respect and consequently has not seen any action with the X-Pro1.
I consider the X-Pro1 and the XF 27mm an unmatched pair, not making much sense other than emptying warehouses filled with soon to become obsolete and unwanted products.
Along came another offer, the entry model into the X cameras, the X-M1. A local store got those on outlet, including the XC 16-50mm zoom for just €290. Seen that another local store offers a secondhand XC 16-50mm lens for €300, this is a lens with a free X-M1 body... which I could not resist!
Picked up the package today, just to find out, that this was yet another unmatched pair. This time, not Fujifilm's strategy... The X-M1 body came in black, as ordered, the lens came in silver, despite the offer said black. Of course, having a silver lens on a black body looks crap... however, I decided, that I should not care about the looks, in particular since the X-M1 will be used with the XF 27mm anyway.
By the way, the X-M1 with the XF 27mm not only looks killer, it creates superb images, just what I was hoping/shopping for. Splitting 2 unmatched pairs might still result in matches at end.
Finally, the X-Pro1 and the X-M1 share the same battery format. So, the X-M1 body really add to a X-Pro1 bag.
Concerning the remaining ugly duckling, the silver XC 16-50mm, I put it in front of the X-Pro1, despite looking stupid, the lens balances nicely. I also learned that the frame-lines in the optical viewfinder change with the zooming. On the wide end of the lens, the X-Pro1's optical viewfinder is just not wide enough, but only by a fraction.
Despite of not looking good together, the XC 16-50 might fit the X-Pro1 just fine as an all purpose walk and shoot about lens.
