Taking my X-Pro 3 for a test run after a long hiatus.

One of the most under-utilised devices I have laying around in my room at this moment is the Fujifilm X-Pro 3 camera. I bought the beautiful, titanium encased camera back in 2019 when it was just launched. I was immediately attracted to the design and build quality of the camera that I was willing to shell out close to $3000 for the kit. The camera alone cost $2699 at the time of launch. But I bought it anyway, thinking that it might be put to good use in the years to come for the future travel adventures that I was about to embark on. It was supposed to be my reliable travel companion, making wonderful memories through pictures taken from the X-Pro 3.

But Covid-19 happened.

Two years later, travel is still pretty much restricted with new variants and multiple infection waves happening unevenly around the world. Travel advisories keep changing, making travel inconvenient and possibly downright expensive with pre-departure and post-departure Covid tests and quarantine orders.

Now, in the third year running, I don’t see myself travelling anytime soon. And with it, my X-Pro 3 stood silently in a dry box, waiting to be used. I have used it sporadically before the full onslaught of the pandemic arrived. But it has yet to see foreign lands.

Today, I took it out of the box to give it a quick spin, mainly to check that it is still working. It works. I was initially worried about the batteries since it has been a long time they were being used. Fortunately, it wasn’t flat and I was able to charge it up again. I don’t know if they can still hold 100% battery capacity. That will require me to use it till it’s totally flat and see its overall performance. But for now, I have two spare batteries and that should be enough for my usage for now.

It was a spur of the moment. I saw the camera in the box and impulsively took it out, drove to Sembawang Park, which was a 10-minute drive away and started snapping.

God, it felt good. Pressing the shutter button after a long break, I almost forgot what it felt like taking photos using a good DSLR. Holding the X-Pro 3 in my hands with the leather strap attached to my wrist, it felt familiar and refreshing once again. It almost felt like hugging a good friend you have not seen for a long time.

I didn’t take a lot of pictures while I was at Sembawang Park. Firstly, it was hot as well. I was there an hour before noon and the sun was merciless. It was hot. Secondly, I was hungry and I only wanted to take the camera for a quick spin. Who knows, maybe I will go somewhere during the weekend for a deeper photography dive somewhere in Singapore.

Here are some of the photos I took at Sembawang Park. Mind you, there is nothing going on at Sembawang Park. Sure, they revamp the park to make it nicer and greener, but the beach itself is still paltry. It’s hardly a beach. I remembered it being very dirty and oily sometimes due to the shipyards nearby with all the ships being docked and undergoing repairs. But at least they cleaned up the place a little bit. I think they expanded the park somewhat, as I don’t remember having open fields for people to picnic and for kids to run around. Still, it was hot and I didn’t still long. Mind you these aren’t my best works as I can definitely tell that my photography skill is super rusty. But at least the camera is still working super fine.

Seeing these photos with Fujifilm’s very own film simulation reminded me of why I chose Fujifilm in the first place. These film simulations really make my photos rather unique with film-like quality added to these images. Fujifilm’s various film simulations clearly show the company’s strength in colour science.

I was using the Fujifilm XF 23mm F2 R WR Lens as my prime lens that day. Love the lens. But I might sell that lens soon, together with another prime, the XF 35mm F2 R WR lens. I might eventually replace both of them with the newly released pancake lens, the XF 27mm F2.8 WR lens. Water-resistant lens coupled with an aperture ring, this pancake lens is small, slim, and an improved version of the previous lens with the same focal length, but without the water-resistant feature and aperture ring.

The 27mm lens will most likely be my go-to lens for street photography and travel photography in the future. It’s a small, compact, and unassuming lens, perfect for street photography.