28.10.2019

Different Breed: Hüsnü Atasoy x X-Pro3

Ceremony of Gipsies

I started photography in June 1973, when I was 15 years old. In December 1983, I continued my photography career as a professional advertising photographer in Istanbul. In the early 2000s, I stopped advertising photography forever. Voluntarily, I performed photography workshops with children and got back to the streets completely. I’ve been abroad for the last 11 years. I lived in India for 6 years and in Hong Kong 4 years. I like to be in the most remote and marginalized places in the cities I live in, just like a local. In this way, I can photograph the city’s cult by living with the local people. Those who think like me usually prefer rangefinder bodies like the FUJIFILM X-Pro3. We don’t prefer shiny and fancy cameras. It is very comfortable to move with these unobtrusive, simple design bodies. That’s why I prefer the FUJIFILM X100 and X-Pro so far.

It’s important to be fast and invisible when shooting. The camera you use should be a part of you. X-Pro3 design is simple and has a nice handling. This is a design that makes me happy and excites me like when I first started taking photos. There are many advantages of a hidden rear LCD, for example, battery consumption will be more effective. And it will allow the photographer to concentrate only with the moment. The retro and analog-like style is very appealing for photographers who are interested in pure photographic culture. In this way, you can get more interesting frames easily. The 8-way focus lever at the rear panel has been removed to ensure a more comfortable grip. The exposure compensation dial is placed just under your thumb and this allows you to set it quickly. ISO and shutter settings are placed on the same dial. This is a good detail from the old days. I can control the shutter setting both from shutter dial or customizable front wheel. One of the reasons I like FUJIFILM cameras is that the button configuration is customizable. With six physically interchangeable function buttons, I can easily set functions to these buttons and I can control the camera with only one hand.

The increase in resolution and size of the electronic viewfinder made me happy. I can control everything more clearly. Using super-wide angle zoom lenses cause a disadvantage in rangefinder bodies. For this reason, the electronic viewfinder is a must for me.

Thanks to the new processor and sensor capabilities, the speed, color and sharpness I need are all in one body. There is serious improvement in dynamic range performance. You can get a lot of details from shadows and highlights. As a photographer, this gives me confidence when shooting in difficult light conditions. The face and eye detection performance of the X-Pro3 is also really good. Thanks to the AF Range Limiter setting, you can set a certain distance to make the camera focus faster. For example, you can limit between 1.5 to 3 meters, allowing the camera to focus on only this range. Of course, you can customize the limits by for yourself.

With Film Simulations, you can see the analog taste in your frames. The new film simulation, CLASSIC Neg., enhances the dramatic effect of your images. Perfect for photographers from the analog era. If you are working with RAW files you have the option to switch any film simulation when converting your files. I prefer B&W photos. The reason why photographers prefer B&W is to allow viewers to focus directly on the subject. That’s why I mostly use the ACROS film simulation. Inside the camera, the tone curve and clarity settings are also well designed for photographers who do not want to struggle with the image editing softwares. By changing a few settings in your camera you can make your custom tones and reflect your style. This way you’ll have unique style even if you use the same camera with other photographers.

To sum up, the FUJIFILM X-Pro3 is a perfect camera to please documentary and street photographers. I feel that this single body will conquer the hearts and makes the photographers’ life easier by gathering traditional photography culture from the past and the technology of the new century.