It seems there's an appetite for retro cameras, and Fujifilm has ticked that box once again with the announcement of the X-T1 - a retro-tinged, more DSLR-esque model than the rest of its X-series.

Key to the X-T1's design is the viewfinder aligned to the centre rather than the side. The 2.36m-dot OLED panel employed in this camera also happens to deliver a huge preview to the eye, thanks to 0.77x magnification. It's a whopper, without adding too much physical bulk to the camera's weather-sealed, magnesium alloy body design.

That design will also really sell it. All manual control dials, this is a model for those who know what they're doing. Unlike earlier X-series models the dials now lock into the auto mode (A) position, while the exposure compensation dial is significantly stiffer than on other Fujifilm models, such as the X-E2.

READ: Fujifilm X-E2 review

Otherwise the X-T1 is much like a redressed X-E2. There's the same 16-megapixel X-Trans CMOS II sensor and EXR II processing engine for results that, well, will be the very same between the two models. But that means excellent results, no doubt. 

Add fast autofocus, a tilt-angle mounted screen to the rear, UHS-II SD card compatibility for an eight frames per second (8fps) burst mode, and the X-T1 looks like a great shift in direction for Fujifilm. And on the turn of the company's 80th anniversary it seems like this is the company's "celebration" model?

Is it as good as all that? Ahead of the announcement we met with Fujifilm to get our hands on a pre-production model to give it a whirl. And impressed we were. Follow the link below for the full ins and outs.

READ: Hands-on: Fujifilm X-T1 review

The Fujifilm X-T1 will be available in early February, priced at £1,050 body only, or £1,450 with the 18-55mm kit lens. Additional accessories, including a battery grip priced at £200, will also be made available. No weather-sealed lenses will be available for launch, but an 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 weather-sealed option will be available from June, with 16-55mm f/2.8 and 50-140mm f/2.8 variants to follow towards the end of 2014.