Sorry, no Fuji IS Pro review for now

An experience report on the Fujifilm IS Pro (a “full-spectrum” camera) using the Coastal Optics 60/4 UV-VIS-IR APO macro was on the agenda, but Fuji’s response (retracting an initial “yes”) was that unless all resulting material was free, they would not loan diglloyd.com an evaluation unit.

Since at least a few pictures and commentary would need to end up in my diglloyd Guide to Digital Infrared Photography, this was hardly an acceptable agreement. And given the more than modest coverage I gave to the Leica M8 (free) and Fuji S3 UVIR, this came as a bit of a surprise too (or perhaps not, given Fuji’s bizarre license).

But it should be clear that I never accept restrictions from any manufacturer on what I write, how much I write, or where it gets published. Nor do I ever allow manufacturers to “review” or “preview” my work before publication. One does wonder if this means that Fuji won’t loan evaluation units to magazines, which require paid subscriptions!

At any rate, I’m sorry that I cannot Serve my readers with coverage of the IS Pro, but perhaps you’re better off heading over to maxmax.com and converting a plain Fuji S5 at a lower cost than purchasing the IS Pro. Or perhaps a Canon EOS 5D, my own “bread and butter” infrared camera. See also my comparative review of the Fuji S3 UVIR.