Fuji I think I'll move on

mike3996

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I have placed a FS/FT post for all my Fuji gear -- as a long shot I mentioned I can entertain trades for Leica SL or Nikon Df. (These two bodies being particular desires for me right now. Won't certainly happen but would be seriously cool if it did.)


This is an early eulogy.

This is pretty painful for me personally. My relationship with Fujifilm has been a rollercoaster of sorts. The first camera that kindled the love of photography in me, was the Fuji X100T. First I had Fuji, then I sold it (having bought Leica Q, competing in the same segment as the X100T). Then I dreamed about going back to Fuji, simplifying things. Then I was able to acquire some, and now I am selling them?! :confused-95:

Within my context of Leica ownership, Fuji falls to the brain side of the "brain/heart" axis of things. The X-T3 is a serious tool of a professional. Especially when I attached the handgrip for it (for sales pictures) it felt like a real powerhouse. "I could do things with this."

Funnily enough, coming from another context people probably see Fuji more towards the heart end of the "brain/heart" axis.

As usual, I feel like I'm not really putting effort into making Fuji work for me. I'm enjoying a few lenses on the body. All of the lenses are great, but a few are clinical in rendering for my taste; why my first step is not to just explore the lens catalogue for another gems that I might like a whole lot more? For example, just trade 35 WR for 35/1.4; trade 50/2 for 60/2.4 and see if they do better for me. And why I didn't even attempt to make the absolute minimum of efforts, get an LM-X adapter and see how Leica sits on Fuji. And moreover, see if X-Pro2 offered the style and class that the X-T3 has, but in smaller amounts.

It's like I'm not willing to risk a small investment to patch the hull of a slowly sinking ship, see if it made her seaworthy again.

Where Leica comes short in particular are the telephoto distances. I could place the tremendous XC 50-230 on my Fuji and have all my landscape needs fulfilled. At the same time, telephoto zooms are a strictly secondary position for me, meaning I am not willing to budget much room or weight carrying those zooms with me.

With that in mind the XC is a large lens after all, considering I already own (never sold) the featherweight (in dimensions, not in performance) Panasonic 35-100 f/4-5.6. The lens is about a third of the Fuji in weight and provably does landscapes to my taste. So with regards to zoom lenses and how I need them, I think I find most joy getting a $50 Panasonic GF2 or something, and have that deal those affairs for me. An X-T3 or even an X-E3 just might be an overkill for a task of being a secondary body.
 
I'm so sorry to bump this without anything meaningful to add.

The spring of 2020 saw my first dips into Nikon Df but the first reaction was lukewarm. Then in the late summer/fall of 2020 saw me jump to the pool again, and since then I've been diving into Nikon deeper and deeper.

All I will say about Nikon Df here is that it's so scarily close to what Fujifilm X-T series does (and looks like). One could say that Nikon Df is a Fujifilm X-T3 on steroids, but the converse would also apply, given suitable context.

Fujifilm might be dead to me but it's also wise to keep options open.

The X100 lineup and the X-Pro series of cameras are something that I might still (re)visit if a suitable opportunity arises. Enough people have praised the optical viewfinder solutions of X-Pro2 and 3 to keep me interested. Then again, a whole lot of people who first went with the X-Pro2 then subsequently have gone to the real deal (Leica M) is also a sign that I notice. :D

I may not click with the XT cameras but the X100 series is a special thing for me. In a youtube documentary they introduced the lead designer of the X100 and at that time I realized that Fujifilm's R&D department is big enough to have several designers. Whoever designs the X-T cameras doesn't have their brainwaves on the same frequency as I have, but mine are pretty much aligned with the designer of X100. The compromises are done in places where I'd have done them, the interesting bits are well done and so on.
 
I can totally get where you're coming from - every time I've "bumped into" Fuji I've felt that they lack heart, even for all their throwback charm and supposed link to the film past with their simulations and direct controls.

The weird thing is that, like you said with the X100 series doing it for you while their other cameras don't, I do find that within a system there can be one or two models that really fit the vision better than all the rest. Same with lenses - for example, even though the limitations of the M4/3 sensors have irked me, a few of their lenses just continue to call to me. So it's hard to write something off, much as we might try to simplify by going in a different direction.
 
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