Review: Fujifilm X-Pro 3 APS-C Mirrorless Camera

The Fujifilm X-Pro 3 is truly intriguing. Fujifilm digital cameras have always had one foot in the mirrorless world, and another in the analogue. By 2019, photographers thought they had Fujifilm all figured out. But they were wrong. The Fujifilm X-Pro 3 surprised everyone with a huge leap back to the past. We're referring, of course, to the hidden screen. Was this a step too far—or should they have gone even further?

Even today, the X-Pro 3's unconventional design philosophy still divides opinion among photographers. Is the X-Pro 3 a masterpiece of camera romanticism? Or, like the mullet, simply a misjudged flaw revived from a bygone era?

Either way, this camera really is capable of capturing some stunning images. In Connor Redmond and Ian Howorth’s in-depth Fujifilm X-Pro 3 review, we look at its specs, features and divisive design—warts and all. By the end of this article, you'll have made your own mind up about the X-Pro 3. Let's get started.

Key Specs

• 26.1-megapixel X-Trans 4 APS-C sensor

• X-Processor 4 image processor

• Hybrid viewfinder system, with optical viewfinder and 3.69M-dot OLED electronic viewfinder

• Hidden(!) 180-degree tilting 1.62M-dot LCD touchscreen

• Magnesium alloy frame, titanium top cover and base plate

• Phase-detection autofocus with 425 points

• Up to 11 fps continuous shooting with mechanical shutter

• 4K/30p video recording

• 17 Film Simulation modes, including Classic Neg

Pros

• Outstanding image quality

• Exceptional build quality

• Flick between using the optical or electronic viewfinder

• Excellent colour (Fujifilm's signature colour science)

• Design philosophy encourages more mindful, traditional-style shooting

Cons

• Design will not be for everyone 

• If you're not interested in street or documentary photography, you'll want to look elsewhere

Nostalgic Design Philosophy

Let’s start by addressing the elephant in the room—the hidden screen. Fujifilm made waves when they announced the X-Pro 3, showing it with a hidden rear LCD screen that you can only view when it's flipped down. A bold statement for the digital camera world. 

With the rear screen in resting position—flipped back up again—the back of the camera features a smaller screen. By default, this displays the film simulation mode. This is a heartfelt nod to a common practice among film photographers: A piece of film packaging, placed on the back of the camera, serves as a reminder of the loaded film and its ISO. It’s a nice touch. But, if you don’t love that, you can customise the smaller screen to show your aperture, shutter speed and ISO instead. 

Back to the hidden screen: Fujifilm’s idea was to encourage a more ‘thoughtful’ approach to photography and to ‘interact with the world through a camera’ with fewer distractions. This is Fujifilm fighting back against ‘chimping’, which modern digital cameras can encourage. If you’re not familiar with the term, it’s nothing to do with Planet of the Apes. Chimping involves reviewing your pictures as soon as you take them, usually accompanied by oohs and ahhs, rather than focusing on what’s happening in front of you.

By making it harder to chimp, the X-Pro 3 nudges us back to the film days, when you had to wait until the darkroom to review your images. Fujifilm, above all, is trying to recapture the feeling of shooting film with the X-Pro 3, but with the benefits of modern mirrorless cameras. 

But did Fujifilm achieve this feeling of using a film camera? Yes and no. The hidden screen will simply deter a large portion of photographers, and fair enough. After all, one of the biggest advantages of digital cameras is their ability to review and adjust while you're shooting. It’s a big part of what makes digital cameras different from film cameras. 

But I must admit the X-Pro 3 does force you to make more considered choices when shooting. You’re unlikely to use this camera for anything professional, but wandering around a city for a day, using the X-Pro 3 is a wonderful and unique digital camera experience. 

If you are interested in digital cameras that feel a lot like using film cameras, then you might be interested in reading about our digital cameras for film-like photography, which includes the X-Pro 3.

Could Fujifilm have gone further, though? Fujifilm was clearly inspired by cameras like the 2016 Leica M-D Typ 262 and 2018 Leica M10-P Black Chrome, both of which have no screen. 

Part of me wishes Fujifilm had fully committed to no screen at all, rather than a clunky optional. While it's an understandable middle ground, it does feel like a half-measure. Why not completely commit to having no rear screen? A cynical take would be that Fujifilm got cold feet. You can only use the camera with the screen flipped down, which means shooting from the hip. Otherwise, you will be using it to review pictures and navigate the menus, but it can be a bit awkward for long periods of time. Fujifilm could have fully committed to a ‘film-like’ experience. 

Anyway, you can recreate the no-screen experience on pretty much any other digital camera — just keep the screen switched off.

You’ll probably spend most of your time looking through the hybrid viewfinder, which is a phenomenal piece of engineering. The improved electronic viewfinder (EVF) is a delight to use. I found myself using the EVF most of the time, rather than what I think Fujifilm wants us to use all the time—the optical viewfinder. I feel this almost defeats the point of this camera's design, as I am still engaging with the world through a digital screen. But I can’t help but want to know that I’ve nailed exposure and focus with the EVF. Perhaps it’s too late to put the mirrorless genie back in the bottle.

Button Layout

Form over function, or a beautiful balance? A swathe of dimpled black plastic dominates the rear of the camera. The button layout for the X-Pro 3 has changed, and the much-loved D-pad has been removed. 

The X-Pro 3's control layout reflects Fujifilm's commitment to streamlining the rangefinder-style experience. The removal of the 'view mode' button—a logical omission, given the hidden screen design—exemplifies this approach.

In my opinion, this simplification addresses the overcomplicated function switching that plagued the X-Pro 2. Fujifilm then used the freed-up space to provide a natural thumb rest, which eliminates the need for awkward button-lock mechanisms. Having experienced similar layouts on both the Fujifilm X-E3 and Fujifilm GFX 50R, this design choice proves increasingly justified. Less truly does become more.

Titanium top cover and base plate

When you first handle the X-Pro 3, its physical design immediately feels premium. This time around, we have a titanium alloy used for the top and bottom plates, compared to the Fujifilm X-Pro 2’s magnesium alloy. We’ve not seen titanium used in camera bodies since the 90s, but we’re glad it’s made a comeback here.

While the X-Pro 3’s titanium offers superior strength and durability, its surface is naturally more susceptible to scratching than the X-Pro 2’s magnesium alloy. So to combat this vulnerability, Fujifilm developed its Dura Black and Dura Silver finishes. These coatings provide scratch resistance and add distinct visual character. The Dura Black, despite its name, is more of an elegant gunmetal grey with a sophisticated matte finish. Of course, it’s all subjective, but I think the two finishes look classy and exude quality. 

However, there is one downside to the new finishes. They’re magnets for smudge and oil. You’ll have to keep wiping down the X-Pro 3. 

Style over Substance? 

The X-Pro 3's distinct character serves a clear purpose. It's a camera designed for two specific audiences. First, street photographers, who prefer a rangefinder/optical viewfinder style as well as ‘shooting from the hip’ technique. And second, style-conscious photographers who value a well-built and good-looking camera. From the titanium plates to the hidden display, every element reinforces its position as a specialist tool rather than a universal one.

The emotional pull of this camera is undeniable. While the X-T3 or X-T4 might make more logical sense by conventional metrics, the X-Pro 3's appeal goes beyond just pure specs. The real question isn't whether it's the most capable camera, it's whether it delivers enough substance to justify its specialised approach.

At its core, the X-Pro 3 is a commitment to a photographic philosophy over universal functionality. It's an inherently polarising approach, but one that strengthens rather than diminishes its appeal to its target audience. 

Shooting with the X-Pro 3

What about the Fujifilm X-Pro 3 real-life shooting experience? When you shoot film, you’re used to the fact that you can’t review your shots. If it’s a shot with dynamic lighting, you bracket the exposure and move on. With a digital camera with a screen, you can just review your images. And that’s a habit that is difficult to break away from. Perhaps it just takes time to get used to.

The images themselves aren’t all that different from the X-Pro 2. It’s more of the same from Fujifilm—really organic-looking images, with great colour and a multitude of great film simulation presets to shoot nice detailed JPEGS.

Image Quality

We have a slight boost in resolution from 24 megapixels on the X-Pro 2 to 26 megapixels on the X-Pro 3. This does not result in much of a difference in terms of image quality. We still get the same performance as before. The colours are still gorgeous and the dynamic range is still excellent.

The X-Pro 3 introduces a built-in HDR mode, which captures and combines three sequential exposures. One at the metered setting, followed by under and over-exposed frames. The X-Pro 3 then stitches the three exposures together automatically. This does come with some compromises, however. The camera will slightly crop the image to compensate for any movement between frames, then upscale the final image back to 26 megapixels. The result, though offering an expanded dynamic range, displays noticeably less sharpness than single-exposure images from the same sensor. Doing it yourself in post will give better results, which is a shame.

Autofocus

The X-Pro 3’s autofocus system is essentially the same as the Fujifilm X-T3, which itself gives admirable performance, though it doesn’t quite match the best of its peers. Autofocus tech has rapidly advanced since the X-Pro 3 release, which is why the X-Pro 3 doesn’t impress us quite as much. The continuous autofocus did a fair amount of hunting. I found the best mode was the single-point autofocus, which worked flawlessly. 

With its background in analogue film photography, Fujifilm has always infused its digital cameras with a touch of the past. Starting with its first batch of film presets, Fujifilm added an optical rangefinder to the X-Pro 1 and finally fine-tuned its Acros black-and-white preset. It even included these in its Fujifilm GFX 100, proving they are no fad but a serious option for serious photographers. 

If you’re wondering how ‘recipes’ work on Fujifilm cameras, check out how to install and use Fujifilm recipes.

The Fujifilm X-Pro Series compared

The Fujifilm X-Pro 1 (2012) introduced the X-Trans sensor and unique hybrid viewfinder, while the X-Pro 2 (2016) significantly upgraded image quality with a 24 megapixel sensor, much improved autofocus and expanded number of film simulations. The X-Pro 3 (2019) distinguished itself with a titanium body and hidden LCD screen encouraging a more traditional style of shooting. .

Unfortunately, neither the X-Pro 1, X-Pro 2 or X-Pro 3 have in-body image stabilisation (IBIS), but we hope Fujifilm will add this to the X-Pro 4. 

Looking at the specs sheet alone, the X-Pro 3 is an improved camera with more updated tech packed inside. But it’s not a huge jump. 

If you love the X-Pro 2, but think you might dislike the more forced shooting style of the X-Pro 3, then you should not upgrade, because the specs alone aren’t groundbreaking, but the way you take photos is different. It is a surprise that Fujifilm didn’t just make a new range for the new design decisions and go even further down the ‘purist’ path. 

But for now, people will have to wait until the X-Pro 4 is released to see if the series returns to the style of the first two cameras or if it adopts and pushes the X-Pro 3 design further.

Fujifilm X-Pro 3 Sample Images

Verdict: Is the X-Pro 3 Right For You?

The X-Pro 3 will give you everything the X-Pro 2 does—with a little extra. If you dislike setting up menus and prefer to stick to simple dials, this camera is for you.

It’s surprising that Fujifilm has gone all-out with its film-like approach. You’d expect that from a boutique manufacturer like Leica, but not from such a large-scale manufacturer. Even Leica cameras give you an option to get the same camera as the M-P but with an LCD. Fujifilm, on the other hand, is only giving us one type of X-Pro 3. That’s pretty bold.

Fujifilm believes in what they are doing. If you don’t like it, they have very similar cameras in their range that will do what you want. Sometimes for a little less, and sometimes for a little more. No single camera can keep everyone happy—but for some, the Fujifilm X-Pro 3 is as close to perfect as it gets.

Instead of trying to make a camera that does everything for everyone, Fujifilm built something unique. Sure, it's going to drive some photographers away—that hidden screen isn't exactly conventional. But that's exactly the point. In a world where most cameras are starting to feel like slightly different flavours of the same thing, the X-Pro 3 dares to be genuinely different and challenges you to think a little differently. I applaud that and hope Fujifilm continues to make unconventional digital cameras.

FAQs

Is the Fujifilm X Pro 3 discontinued?

The Fujifilm X-Pro 3 has been discontinued and is no longer being made. But they’re usually available when you buy used.

When was the Fujifilm X-Pro 3 released?

The Fujifilm X-Pro 3 was released on 23 October, 2019.