kevs-blog

In the few months I have been asked a number of times why a few years ago I stopped using the Fuji X Series Cameras, and so to simplify things here is a blog post entry.

Moving camera systems is not a decision any photographer takes lightly.

Once you choose a camera system for professional/semi professional use the addition of pro lenses, flash systems, and spare camera bodies starts to represent a very significant investment and as a semi Pro/Pro you need to get something back on your investment as well as making sure you have the right equipment for the job you need it to do.

I think it started way many years back when I went on a three day Wedding Photography course with Damien Lovegrove. He was shooting BTS with the then Brand new Fuji X100. He was smitten and I was immediately charmed by its cute small form factor and amazing 35mm equivalent fixed Lens. A long time after that and having read the gushing praise from everyone that touched it, I sold everything I could and bought one. Not to replace My Nikon Kit you understand but this would be the perfect take everywhere and always have it with you camera.

I really enjoyed using the X100 even if it was a slow camera in operation (even after the software updates) compared to any recent camera I had used, and it came with me on a couple of trips abroad as my personal camera. Whilst never having the confidence to use it in anger at a Wedding or Portrait shoot as a primary camera, I would take candid and BTS images and it soon impressed me with its low light capability.

I also enjoyed the size and weight, and it proved itself extremely worthy for what was to be my first attempts at street photography. 

The XT-1 and XE2 came out, The gushing praise was free flowing from amazing photographers all round the world, and I was lured into questioning my own methods and thought processes. Could this really be the system to replace my full frame DSLR and lenses? I decided if this was the way forward I needed to be in at the start, leading from the front and bought these two cameras with the 56mm F1.2 and Kit 18-55mm OIS  lenses.

I started taking my X100 to local photography group sessions where it was a great conversation starter, with its ability to create a great file in low ambient light, as well as with outdoor flashes and indoor strobes.

The XE2 I took out with me a lot with the outstanding 18-55mm lens, bigger than the X100 but with the innards of the XT-1 it was a great travel outfit which worked well underwater with the ‘Aquapak” .

I waited patiently resisting any urge to get the much lauded X100s but along the way sold my Nikon D700 (Totally wrong move) to help finance a great deal on the 50-140 2.8mm lens. My 70-200mm replacement! Surely I can take the plunge and leave my DSLR at home? Well……No.

Things continued with a mix of Nikon and Fuji at various events for some time and I was getting a growing set of Fuji lenses, I eventually got the 35mm 1.4, and 16mm wide angle prime lenses as well which by the way are superb , my personal photography at this time was pretty much Fuji based, at least in digital terms.

Obviously no camera is perfect, and I did have a few issues:

My biggest was AF consistency in low light, what seemed to be a sluggish shutter and the short life of the batteries, the AF performance improved with some of the Fuji software updates and the camera became more bearable. I used the cameras advantages, small size and low weight, and worked round its disadvantages, slow AF, poor battery performance and lack of a professional TTL flash system.

For static people, travel and architectural images the cameras were very good, The problem is personally have not stuck to one genre of photography, and The Fuji’s were not working quickly enough to suit my way of working.

… but the big one was my pictures were becoming more static? and I was loosing the response I had previously enjoyed because my Fuji’s which were basically slow in operation compared to modern DSLR equipment.

I had kept my Nikon D800, but my foray into the arms of Fuji had, (apart from the expense!) left me without an equivalent back up camera. The intention to use the Fuji system as a back up and then move across totally was a non starter for the above mentioned reasons plus the following:

When I retired from my home office post I immediately flew out with Chris Weston and photographed the Arctic Polar Bear Migration from the Banks of the Hudson Bay in Manitoba Canada. Even the D700 (I had the D800 as well, a prosumer camera) only froze twice in ten days despite -45 degrees in the wind chill towards the end of the ten days we were there. (As a side note Chris left his D3s outside doing time lapse all night with no problems, that’s why you pay £4000.00 for a camera!

Although the build quality of the Fuji’s is extremely good, It would never convince me it would take the physical abuse I would throw at it on a daily basis for very long. (I say this knowing there are lots of Pro Photographers using these cameras on a daily basis indoors and on location in the dry with no problems). There are however inevitable concessions that have to be made in weather proofing and durability when you are cramming so much technology in such a small body.

Another thing is Ergonomics, Nikon have always been miles ahead (Of say Canon) in this regard, and if this means little to you consider this:

If you have to have a pro level camera and Lens in your hand for most of the day the fact you can balance over £4-5000 of system in one hand on the tip of one finger becomes very convenient and less tiresome despite its obvious weight.

The controls on a Fuji are however well thought out, it is very well made and its light weight, 

But.. it is never that well balanced in my view, and if your tall with big hands they can feel a little more delicate than you might like.

Then there is the X photographer thing…. looking on the face of it like an aggressive promotion of the camera brand to the semi or pro market place and I don’t think all the stuff we read is as real as it first seems. There have been lot of amazing photographers on their books up to now, and to think they are not being financially compensated for their time and promotion of Fuji products would seem a little naive, and I have to admit I fell for some of the distractions myself.

I have enjoyed my liaison with the fuji system but ultimately I found myself, especially whenever I have been asked to do any paid work, immediately picking up the long term faithful partners that is my Nikon system.

So the Fuji system is gone, and I have had a Nikon D810 for quite some time now the main squeeze.

The latest technology isn’t always necessarily the best solution for you, as gear is never as important as the images it produces, So it makes sense to work with the equipment you are really happy with, if not then that is the time to move on……….