Don't worry! By pimping I don't mean that you need to add neon or a subwoofer to the X-Pro 1 ;)
When I say pimping I'm talking about what I did to increase speed and usability of my X-Pro 1.
1. Strap
The day I preordered my X-Pro 1 was also the day that I ordered a thin leather strap from
. I have used Gordy's straps on all of my old analog cameras for years. A beautiful camera like the X10, X100 or the X-Pro 1 deserves a beautiful strap. The strap is perfect for the weight of the camera and you can customized the length, color of leather and color of the wrapping cord to individulize your strap.
Fuji X-Pro 1 with Gordy's strap and soft release
2. Thumbs Up grip
Compared to an entry level camera body the X-Pro 1 is not that much smaller in width and height. But it's much thinner. That's great for portability but not ideal for ergonomics.
I have rather large hands and the X-Pro 1 is too thin to sit perfectly in my hand. Fuji was aware of this potential issue and offers a X-Pro 1 hand grip. The Fuji hand grip is screwed into the tripod mount of the X-Pro 1. It offers a centered tripod mount on the bottom (the X-Pro 1 comes with an off center tripod mount). I almost ordered the hand grip, but unfortunately it lacks the hole to access the battery and SD card compartment when attached. So you'll have to detach the hand grip every time you need to access the SD card or battery...
Then I read somewhere that a Thumbs Up grip for the Leica X1 fits the
Fuji X-Pro 1 (Thumbs Up CSEP-2) and the X100
. It was about 50% more expensive than the Fuji Hand Grip, but you still have easy access to the battery/SD door.
My black Thumbs Up grip arrived and has stayed on the X-Pro 1 since then. It is well made (as one can expect for this price) and fits ergonomically perfect for me. The camera is well balanced even when holding it in one hand. They now even make another
grip especially for the X-Pro 1 that is a bit cheaper, but I have not tried that one.
If you opt for a Thumbs Up grip you should be aware of the following issues:
You loose the flash ability via hot shoe (I have not used a flash on the X-Pro 1 so far). And the paint of the grip will wear off quite easily and expose the brass underneath (see photo).
Fuji X-Pro 1 with Thumbs Up Grip CSEP-2 and soft release button
Fuji X-Pro 1 with Thumbs Up Grip CSEP-2 and soft release button
3. Soft release:
I found the X-Pro 1 trigger to be a bit small for my liking and I ordered a soft release online. There are cheap soft releases on ebay so give it a try. And maybe order a few extra ones as I have managed to loose one already. (I did not dare to add LocTite)
4. Extra battery:
I ordered two original spare batteries for my X-Pro 1. I get around 300-400 images on one charge under my normal use conditions. So the extra juice can come in handy...
5
. SD-Card
If you want to speed up the operations on your X-Pro 1 invest in fast UHS-I SDHC cards! Fortunately Fuji supports the new UHS-I standard and the X10, X100 and X-Pro 1 make use of it. I am using 16GB SanDisk Extreme Pro cards rated at 95 MB/s and have never felt that the cameras operate slowly. The speed will most likely improve noticably even compared to a normal Class 10 card.
SanDisk Extreme Pro SDHC UHS-I
SanDisk Extreme Pro SDHC UHS-I
6. SD-Card maintanance
No matter what SD card you use there is some precaution that you should take with the cards used on Fuji X-Cameras!
First of all always format the card inside the camera.
Secondly, SD cards come with a little "Lock" slider on the side. Do make it a habbit to switch the slider to "Lock" as soon as you take the card out of the camera and unlock it only right before you put it back into the camera! (unless you want to load a firmware update onto the card).
If you don't lock the card and stick it into a Mac or iPad (I don't know about Windows), the OS will add a little file onto the card that gives your Fuji camera the hiccups. The camera will feel totally unrespondsive and takes forever to start. Only cure is to format the card in camera and remeber to lock it next time you take it out.
7. Lens adapter:
If you still have some old lenses from a different camera system why not check out if they have an adapter for the XF mount? I recently wrote about my experience with the
Canon EOS EF to Fuji XF adapter on my X-Pro 1
and will soon post about my experience with the Olympus OM Zuiko to XF adapter.
Give your lens a second life and your X-Pro 1 some extra focal lenght to play with :)
Fuji X-Pro 1 with Kipon EOS-XF adapter and Canon EF 135mm f/2 L lens attached
If you have any further questions leave a comment below or Twitter me @HamburgCam
And if you liked my post I am always happy if you spread the word and retweet, like or google +1 it :-)