Different Breed: Rommel Bundalian x X-Pro3 | X Stories

Maynila

My name is Rommel Bundalian. I’m a freelance artist/photographer based in Manila.
I love documenting the everyday, the mundane, and the seemingly commonplace scene in our everyday environment.

A resident instructor at PCCI (Philippine Center for Creative Imaging) and Fujifilm X-Photographer for 6 years.

MANILA, this is where it all started.

6 years ago, was my first Photowalk with my X-Pro1 with XF35mmF1.4. It’s been my photography playground for almost a decade. I’ve been to a lot of places in the Philippines and I love the diverse, the busyness and the coarseness of Manila. It’s people and its structures.

Capturing Manila is about seeing what’s a reality.

Last August, I’m lucky enough to test the new X-Pro3 in the street of Manila.

X-Pro3 + XF16mmF2.8 R WR
X-Pro3 + XF23mmF2 R WR
X-Pro3 + XF16mmF2.8 R WR

X-Pro3 is for real.
New design with hidden LCD with sub monitor for your film simulation is so classic but with purpose. It’s a niche market camera. Not for everyone, especially to people who love to chimp this camera is not for you. If you really into photography you will love this camera and if you’re new to photography you will learn photography with this camera.

To date, it’s the purest mirrorless camera design with advanced modern features.

The X-pro3 is the first X-Pro with hidden LCD, opening downward and getting down low or shooting from the hip is very natural in this hidden tilt screen. It gives a new perspective to a rangefinder type of camera.

X-Pro3 + XF35mmF2 R WR 1/250 f/2.0 ISO 8000
X-Pro3 + XF16mmf2.8 R WR

X-Pro3 + XF50mmf2 R WR
The new Film Simulation CLASSIC Neg. is based on Film Superia 100.

Majority of the photos I took with this project were taken with CLASSIC Neg. Film Simulation. Just like the Film Superia, I love the harsh tonality of this new film simulation it really looked so much like the film. It saturates some tones in your image. CLASSIC Neg. is now my new favorite simulation next to Classic Chrome.

The old COLOR CHROME EFFECT plus the New COLOR CHROME BLUE EFFECT gives a new impression and the result is amazing. You have the option to set the effect to STRONG, WEAK or just switch it OFF if you don’t like it. Same with the GRAIN EFFECT function but this time you have the option to control the SIZE between LARGE or SMALL and for the ROUGHNESS to STRONG, WEAK or OFF. A very cool feature for black and white images.

The highlights/shadows function is now the CURVE function. Clarity is the new addition; you can now add contrast to your images beforehand. Again you can set these things up before shooting just to give a little tweak on your image and lessen your postproduction.

I love the idea of setting all these parameters before going out for a walk it gives me a sense of uniqueness and character to my images.

X-Pro3 + XF16mmF2.8 R WR
X-Pro3 + XF16mmF2.8 R WR
X-Pro3 + XF16mmF2.8 R WR

New Multiple Exposure Function
I’m a fan of double exposure even before with my X-Pro1, I even had a series of it.
Now with the new multiple exposure function, you can shoot up to 9 images and choose your blending modes of Additive, Average, Bright or Dark. All your 9 individual images are saved in Raw. It’s fun to use and it will boost your creativity.

Sample image of five exposures in-camera with blending mode of “Average”

With the new X-Pro3, photographers will be more creative, more involved in the process and more attentive to the four corners of their frame. The removal of the D-pad simplified dials and buttons, the use of OVF/EVF and basic mode as possible “Manual” are simply PURE Photography.

I’m glad Fujifilm took the risk of making such an amazing camera with a very classic designed with advanced features inside. This camera is very unique and definitely is not for everyone, some will love it or some will hate it. It will slow you down but definitely will make you a better photographer.