The Fujifilm X-Pro 1 is amongst the most exciting new cameras in recent months. It seems Fujifilm listened to the fans of the X100 and went back to the drawing board with a vengeance.

It’s quite large – nearly identical in size to the Leica M9 and won’t win any beauty contests. But if the sensor is as great as Fuji has stated, this could be a reasonable alternative for many photographers looking to have a backup to their DSLR and for some, replace the heft and size of DSLRs. DPreview has a preview online and has stated, “in terms of detail resolution the X-Pro 1 should punch above its weight based on pixel count alone – indeed Fujifilm is claiming it will out-resolve the full frame 21MP Canon EOS 5D Mark II”.

As my primary camera is the Canon 5D Mk II, I’m curious and slightly skeptical about this claim. Tests and reviews shall see. I won’t be dumping my bag of L’s and the 5D2 anytime soon, but a high quality, more portable supplement would be welcome.

It’s great to see Fujifilm release cameras more inline with the needs of experienced photographers. Their first three prime lenses are fast and are hopefully just the start of future lenses to be released. (something with 35mm FL would be nice and perhaps something wider than the 28mm equivalent they’re releasing). For someone looking at the Sony NEX-7 or similar mirrorless cameras, this could be a promising alternative. Let’s wait until the reviews start rolling in.

Canon needs to step up to the plate. The Canon Powershot G1 X ain’t gonna cut it.

Exciting times indeed.

Specs:

• Fujifilm-designed 16MP APS-C X-Trans CMOS sensor
• Novel colour filter array to suppress colour moiré, no optical low-pass filter
• EXR Processor Pro image processor
• Dual-magnification hybrid optical / electronic viewfinder
• Analogue dials for shutter speed and exposure compensation on top of camera
• All-new, fully electronic X lens mount; 17.7mm flange-to-sensor distance
• Three ‘XF’ lenses at launch: XF 18mm F2 R, XF 35mm F1.4 R, and XF 60mm F2.4 R Macro
• Prime lenses have traditional-style aperture rings (1/3 stop increments) and large manual focus rings
• Revised rear-panel control layout
• On-screen ‘Q’ control panel and redesigned tabbed menu system
• Focal-plane shutter, 1/4000 sec max speed
• 3.0″ RGBW 1.23M dot LCD