DownUnder
Vamoosed (for a while)
Earlier this year I came into a little unexpected money - not having to use it for home repairs, car maintenance, cats or other everyday expenses, I decided to invest in a new camera system other than my Nikons (D90, D700 x2, D800 x2) - okay, with such an arsenal of cameras at my call, it may seem to some to be a little rash (even silly) to contemplate buying into another system - my reasons were many, but can be summed up as 1 I wanted a new kit that didn't weigh me down every time I went out bush walking or day tripping, 2 I needed something to kick-start my shooting away from the somewhat static images I've tended to make in the past, and 3 I had the cash for once and I wanted new toys to play with. Reasons enough, I reckon.
I went out hunting - and fell into the "too much information" trap one can so easily succumb to on the 'net - a seemingly endless list of sites praising the value of this camera and that lens, many entirely advertorial, some badly put together and written, a few outright stupid. All confusing to me - I soon went off those posters (too many of them) who lauded the simplicity of traveling with one camera and one or two lenses but then went off with enough gear to fill a steamer trunk, or took along every zoom in the Fujinon range, somehow managed to use them all and then inflicted too many poor images they had taken with their arsenal of expensive optics. Ditto those who supposedly went seeking 'pure' landscapes and then posted leggy baby dolls in fashionista gear in front of old doors or on beaches.
A few sites diprovided rewards (Dpreview posters and Photography Life come to mind) but I found those were few and far between.
In the end I weaned myself off the search for internet plugs and went to Melbourne to visit my favorite secondhand camera seller - I won't give them a free plug but let me just say Alan and Venus were as always, happy to see me, made me feel entirely at home in their new shop, and Venus proceeded to show me a good range of Fuji cameras with select Fujinon lenses and gave me entirely rational, sensible, intelligently worded advice on what she believed would suit me best. Not always their most expensive stock, but as always for these sellers, excellent value overall.
Then the conundrum - Xpro or XT?? Keeping in mind that I wanted to find an entirely new direction in my photography, and what was on offer, as usual I found myself dithering between one XPro 2, expensive but good value, and XTs in equally fine condition, two XT1s and one XT2.
As aforesaid, as usual I dithered. The XPro is a little beauty but I decided was far too much for my needs and a little too expensive, for my budget. So no go. (I did regret this decision, and even called the shop again to "negotiate" for an exchange on the camera I finally bought, and the Xpro2 had been sold to someone who saw it and decided to nab it on the spot, a wise customer!)
The XT1 appealed, and after a few minutes of deliberation I decided to go with it. So I bought it. With two Fujinons, the 14/2.8 and the 18/2.0, which I had decided best fitted my vision of the 'new' photography I wanted to do.
Two weeks later - I found the XT1 wasn't the camera for me. Mechanically, it suited me, but optically, and in the color and mid-tone rendition I preferred, it wasn't quite my cup of, well, fixer I guess. As a lifelong Nikon shooter I was rather too used to the vivid Technicolor-like images from my D700s and D800s, and more realistically, I wanted images from my Fuji that more closely matched those already in my archives, than the XT1 was giving me. Yes, I gave the camera a good workout, but it didn't fill my requirements. So back it went.
Alan and Venus were good about it, and quickly gave me an entire refund (which I took as a credit). Venus had a new XT2 in the cabinet and took it out, put me through its paces and voila!! I realised it was the camera for me. Along with two more lenses, the stellar performing 18-55 zoom and a beautiful 23/1.4 they had on consignment, which went on the camera to let me play with it, and in moments I had quite fallen in love with it. So I bought it.
My reasons were many, but on the whole, I preferred to put most of my money into the lenses rather than the camera. Which is why I went with an XT1 first. Other reasons then came into play, and I opted for an XT2. Essentially it was as simple as that...
One day later and about A$3,000 poorer, I had my ideal Fuji kit, one camera and four lenses. Wisely (and for me, sensibly) my partner accepted my reasoning for having spent all that money, in fact a little more than I'd budgeted for, and agreed that having me out and about in the great Australian outdoors with my new toys was infinitely preferable than having me moping about at home (I've been retired for 10 years now, did a lot of travel in Southeast Asia for a few years until Covid grounded me) and brought positive health benefits as well, far better than expensive doctor's visits and medical treatment in my old age.
The XT2 is a delight, the lenses perform faultlessly and give me the colours, tones and sharpness I want, my results now closely match my Nikon images but have a 'look' and 'feel' entirely their own, and I am quite besotted with the XT's black-and-white simulation, especially so the Acros features with all the nice filter effects. With only one negative thought - Ii only Nikon had thought of this film feature before, I would be three thousand dollars richer, sigh!!
Enough for now. What do you think about your own choice of Fuji cameras?? As I did, why did you decide to go with XPro/XT as against XT/Xpro??
I went out hunting - and fell into the "too much information" trap one can so easily succumb to on the 'net - a seemingly endless list of sites praising the value of this camera and that lens, many entirely advertorial, some badly put together and written, a few outright stupid. All confusing to me - I soon went off those posters (too many of them) who lauded the simplicity of traveling with one camera and one or two lenses but then went off with enough gear to fill a steamer trunk, or took along every zoom in the Fujinon range, somehow managed to use them all and then inflicted too many poor images they had taken with their arsenal of expensive optics. Ditto those who supposedly went seeking 'pure' landscapes and then posted leggy baby dolls in fashionista gear in front of old doors or on beaches.
A few sites diprovided rewards (Dpreview posters and Photography Life come to mind) but I found those were few and far between.
In the end I weaned myself off the search for internet plugs and went to Melbourne to visit my favorite secondhand camera seller - I won't give them a free plug but let me just say Alan and Venus were as always, happy to see me, made me feel entirely at home in their new shop, and Venus proceeded to show me a good range of Fuji cameras with select Fujinon lenses and gave me entirely rational, sensible, intelligently worded advice on what she believed would suit me best. Not always their most expensive stock, but as always for these sellers, excellent value overall.
Then the conundrum - Xpro or XT?? Keeping in mind that I wanted to find an entirely new direction in my photography, and what was on offer, as usual I found myself dithering between one XPro 2, expensive but good value, and XTs in equally fine condition, two XT1s and one XT2.
As aforesaid, as usual I dithered. The XPro is a little beauty but I decided was far too much for my needs and a little too expensive, for my budget. So no go. (I did regret this decision, and even called the shop again to "negotiate" for an exchange on the camera I finally bought, and the Xpro2 had been sold to someone who saw it and decided to nab it on the spot, a wise customer!)
The XT1 appealed, and after a few minutes of deliberation I decided to go with it. So I bought it. With two Fujinons, the 14/2.8 and the 18/2.0, which I had decided best fitted my vision of the 'new' photography I wanted to do.
Two weeks later - I found the XT1 wasn't the camera for me. Mechanically, it suited me, but optically, and in the color and mid-tone rendition I preferred, it wasn't quite my cup of, well, fixer I guess. As a lifelong Nikon shooter I was rather too used to the vivid Technicolor-like images from my D700s and D800s, and more realistically, I wanted images from my Fuji that more closely matched those already in my archives, than the XT1 was giving me. Yes, I gave the camera a good workout, but it didn't fill my requirements. So back it went.
Alan and Venus were good about it, and quickly gave me an entire refund (which I took as a credit). Venus had a new XT2 in the cabinet and took it out, put me through its paces and voila!! I realised it was the camera for me. Along with two more lenses, the stellar performing 18-55 zoom and a beautiful 23/1.4 they had on consignment, which went on the camera to let me play with it, and in moments I had quite fallen in love with it. So I bought it.
My reasons were many, but on the whole, I preferred to put most of my money into the lenses rather than the camera. Which is why I went with an XT1 first. Other reasons then came into play, and I opted for an XT2. Essentially it was as simple as that...
One day later and about A$3,000 poorer, I had my ideal Fuji kit, one camera and four lenses. Wisely (and for me, sensibly) my partner accepted my reasoning for having spent all that money, in fact a little more than I'd budgeted for, and agreed that having me out and about in the great Australian outdoors with my new toys was infinitely preferable than having me moping about at home (I've been retired for 10 years now, did a lot of travel in Southeast Asia for a few years until Covid grounded me) and brought positive health benefits as well, far better than expensive doctor's visits and medical treatment in my old age.
The XT2 is a delight, the lenses perform faultlessly and give me the colours, tones and sharpness I want, my results now closely match my Nikon images but have a 'look' and 'feel' entirely their own, and I am quite besotted with the XT's black-and-white simulation, especially so the Acros features with all the nice filter effects. With only one negative thought - Ii only Nikon had thought of this film feature before, I would be three thousand dollars richer, sigh!!
Enough for now. What do you think about your own choice of Fuji cameras?? As I did, why did you decide to go with XPro/XT as against XT/Xpro??
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