I’ve been testing Fuji-X cameras for some years now, hoping that I would find a lighter alternative to my Nikons, but never quite feeling I could make the break.
It started with the X100. A lovely camera in many ways, but one that had me tearing out my hair when so many times I pressed the shutter release – and nothing happened. It was (and is) a camera with a habit of going into a deep sleep, and the fastest way to revive it is to switch off and start again. By which time the picture had often vanished. And then there was the battery life…
Had it been small enough to fit into a pocket I might have continued to use it, but it was too big to be a compact camera, and not really flexible enough for many uses. The X-Pro1 was bigger and heavier, but I quite liked it, at least with a limited range of fixed lenses. The optical viewfinder was fine, but the electronic one not great. And I still felt I was carrying a lot of camera and lenses for a fairly limited system. I still get it out and use it occasionally, but not often, and not for long.
The X-E2 was a little smaller and lighter – and let me use the zoom lenses with an almost OK electronic viewfinder. But autofocus was often too slow. But its a camera I still use occasionally when I want to carry two cameras.
The best of those I own is the XT1. A better viewfinder and faster focus – though it is a bit larger than the X-E2. But it has too many quirks. Last time I used it, although I’d set the camera to save RAW files, a number of them came out as jpegs, and with some lenses it adds around 35 magenta to the images, while other lenses give correct colour. And like the others, it eats up batteries.
By now I’ve a considerable investment in Fuji-X lenses, but largely use the Fuji system as a camera for when I’m not working. When things get serious, the Nikons come out again. The weight difference is still there, though the Nikon always seems to last a full day on a single battery, whereas I carry a bag with 4 spares for the Fuji, and sometimes need them all.
I’m wondering now whether the XT20 will be the solution to most of the problems I have with Fuji, but perhaps it’s a false hope and I should cut my losses and sell off all the Fuji gear I have.
Fuj-X has a strong following on the web, often showing what seems to me missionary zeal. I’ve never felt that the Fuji Image quality was inherently better than that I get from Nikon, and if I do get equivalent quality, then its down to lenses. When quality and size matters the Nikon D750 and D810 are still ahead with their full-frame sensors.
Fuji makes great play of the advantages of their X-Trans sensors, but while this may have some advantages, it also has its problems. The study in PetaPixel, X-Trans vs Bayer Sensors: Fantastic Claims and How to Test Them debunks those claims and makes clear that the publicity about the X-Trans sensor is just that, publicity, and that the different filter pattern has no real advantages – and indeed slightly lets the cameras down. Though of course the the differences are small and insignificant for all normal purposes.
Fuji’s latest camera announcements are, as usual, tempting. Reviewers and Fuji evangelists are generally waxing lyrical over the X-T20 and also the X100F as well as the rather too large and considerably too expensive (for me) GFX. My son, still a loyal user of the original X100, is thinking about updating, but for the moment I’m keeping my hand in my pocket.
I still remember with some bitterness the Leica M8, given glowing write-ups by some of the world’s greatest photographers as well as reviews that made it seem a near perfect machine, the digital camera that all of us who had once been bitten by the Leica bug would die for. Enough to persuade me to invest the ridiculous amount that it cost, only to find it was virtually unusable, at least for colour – and needed a special filter on every lens. Of course, Leicas have improved since then, and with every new model people have said that they’ve got it right now. And the M10 does look tempting…
Back in the real world (a decent Leica outfit with a few new lenses would cost what I live on for a year) those new Fujis do look tempting, but I’ll wait and see how others get on with them before making a decision. Or perhaps get out that old Leica M2 and go back to using film. It’s still a fine machine, working smoothly despite being 60 years old last time I tried it out. Later models never quite matched the feel of using it, though they did add a few useful things. And photographers made and sold the only thing it really lacked, a rewind lever.