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Well done on the Fuji love. My only question is whether the XT3 might be better since it’s roughly the same price new (since made in China, rather than Japan)? Obviously if buying used that’s not an option yet. Either way, I love them because they’re just the easiest cameras to *use*. There is other stuff around with better specs but once it’s in your hand (and the EVF in front of your eye) there’s nothing better imo. I couldn’t go back to a camera without live preview now.
Anyway, my beloved XT1 is finally showing signs of age - rubber bits coming loose and occasionally doesn’t power up properly, so I’ve started hankering for an upgrade to the 3. I’m in Japan till the end of the month and trying to resist going and looking at camera shops...!
None of the upgrades interest me and I'm going used on a trade-in, so xt2 it is. Yes, very easy to use - I come from manual film cameras so I feel much more at home despite a fair bit of professional shooting on the 80s style that dominates the industry.
The xt3 may provide better focus tracking and acquisition but I felt the xt2 was fine and I never track fast moving things to be honest.
I like a grip when working for more comfortable portrait orientation. I don't mind a huge dslr for shooting events and such, but I don't like the bulk of a dslr for day to day fun. The D7200 isn't even that big, but it looks like a very serious camera and the deep grip wasn't great for my tiny hands. When I'm out with my ae-1p or ef, no one cares - that's what I want from the fuji. Plus, my god was it fun!
But as I already own an X-T20 I know this generation's AF is really good enough for sport and action already. I got the X-T2 because I have eye issues and the bigger EVF helps. Also my 50-140mm feels a bit of a beast on the little X-T20.
Was going to trade the X-T20 but have decided to keep it. Fits in my jeans pocket with the 27mm lens on so is an ideal day out camera. Meanwhile the X-T2 is better suited to "more serious" photography, such as it is.
I've never found battery life an issue with my Fuji gear. I've a load of cheap third party batteries and I often don't end up needing them anyway. But no trouble to put a couple in my bag.
I tried the xt20 but it the viewfinder eye relief was far too short.
I really wanted an x100 but I can't use them either, nor the xe2 (which has good eye relief) as I'm left eye dominant and I really can't use my right eye!
Still,the xt2 is fab and I'm really excited to get it. I really need a portrait lens, and I might pick up the 55-200mm xf lens. It's variable aperture but I tested and it was sharp and fast focusing.
Ah I expect the X-T20 would be tricky if left-eye dominant. I have something called Kerataconus. I can use the X-T20 EVF, but having previously owned an X-T1 I hankered after the X-T2 for that viewfinder. I'd gone X-T1 > X-T20 for the much better AF and video, the small size also appeals to me.
I've owned the 55-200mm and it's excellent. Only sold it (foolishly) when I got the 50-140mm. As long as you've enough light it works really well for portraits as it's pretty sharp wide open with a surprisingly good amount of bokeh at zoom distances. The 50-200mm is a great multi-use lens, as well as portraits it's served me well at airshows.
The Samyang 50mm f/1.2 is also a wonderful - and relatively inexpensive - portrait lens if you're comfortable with manual focus.
I've got some old minolta rokkor and Canon fd manual glass to play with
I know everyone loves mega bokeh but honestly you can shoot a 200mm lens on micro 4/3 stopped down to f/8 and you'll still get subject separation - I would like the faster 50-140 but it's more than I can afford, and having the compression of a 300mm equivalent appeals a bit. It's not terribly slow either...
Do you use a flash system? I'm going to sell my yongnuo kit (which I'm sad about as it's been fantastic) and probably look at the godox ecosystem, starting with the mini flash that also works as a transceiver.
I've got some older Minolta lenses. Two zooms which are garbage but didn't cost much. Have a little 50mm f/1.7 but the Samyang has replaced that now. One thing to watch out with older lenses that were built for film is that the light path isn't perpendicular to the sensor. This didn't matter for film, but some sensors really like the light coming straight on. It's not so bad on Fuji, but M43 cameras have a really deep glass light stack and many old film lenses really suffer IQ wise, It's not a fault of the sensor, or the lens, just they were never designed to work together.
I've heard of that issue, sounds interesting. I'm not expecting magic from the old lenses, I have a couple of very good adaptall lenses though (90mm 2.5 macro and the 35-210mm zoom, which is also oddly good), but mostly these will just be a bit of fun. Over time, I'd like the 56mm 1.2, 90mm f/2 and the 55-200 but they're all pretty high end glass and not cheap, so I'll be making do with cheap vintage glass for a while.
I don't mind though. If I work, I'll rent the kit I need
I think I'll end up going the godox route for flash - I love flash, and use it more than is truly necessary even just for a pop of contrast. It's just a shame I'll need to start from scratch, but at least you can control across different lights (a d600, ad200, speedlights etc).
Do you have any photos taken with the 50mm 1.7 minolta? Would be interesting to see what it's like.
This is a recent one with the Samyang 50mm - https://flic.kr/p/26VBNKT
Ahh the samyang. Do want.
Bit strapped for cash, but I'll see if I can find a used copy at some point. Perhaps the sale of my flashes (hint nikon shooters, hit the misc classifieds!) will provide a bit of a boost towards it...
Holy SHIT my photos are so much easier to process than in Lightroom. The catalogue is... Shite though, so much so I doubt there are many wedding photogs that would use it over Lightroom.
I don't think the results are significantly better than Lightroom - I think it just has "easier" tools that make edits in a way that suits me better. In particular, I'm finding getting nice contrast, black and white points and colour tones much easier. Sharpening in Lightroom is easier I've found, but with the fuji lens (23mm 1.4) it really doesn't need any, it's furiously sharp wide open and by 5.6 it's so sharp I reduce the sharpness and add grain.
Anyway,point is - if you're a hobby photographer I'd recommend giving it a go. I don't think the results are significantly better than Lightroom but the workflow definitely works better for me. It has annoyances (cropping is kinda annoying!) but it's overall a better experience for me.
Side note, I've set up my fuji jpegs now and for the first time ever I'm shooting raw+jpegs. Acros and red filter is my go to, but I have a bunch of colour ones that, honestly usually just need a tweak to the tone curve before it's done. The only catch is making sure I have the right jpeg setting for the scene, but that's why I also shoot raw.-just in case.
The xt2 is more fun than I've had for a while!
Processing-wise I’m still using Lightroom Mobile for the most part, with detailed edits on laptop when really needed, but that’s only usually 1 in 50 photos or so. I’m keen to see if the new iPad photoshop stuff runs on my old model Pro. That would be amazing.
I really should share some of my Japan stuff...
I havent tried it yet, but could be a good solution for anyone not wanting to pay for processing software.
I never bothered with catalogues etc as I never needed them. Even during my busiest years with 50+ weddings, over 300 portraits and a few dozen corporate jobs just having a logical folder system on my PC worked for me.
The main thing I always found with it was to have your keyboard shortcuts and workspace sorted to suit how you like to work, and having dual screens was always a must.
I have just opened it up on my PC for the first time in at least 3 years and this is how my default workspace looks:
However there is now a free version for Fuji owners that offers the latest software, albeit cut down a little.
That's what I use - I'm waiting for them to release the film profiles, which they're working on with fuji Hopefully they'll do a good job of getting the colours right - classic chrome, pro neg hi and velvia all look absolutely fantastic and although you can achieve those colours yourself it's easier to start close. Velvia in particular is really tricky I've found - it's hard to get that saturation without losing tonality and clipping.
Also, if they nail acros and the way it works with grain from raw... I'll be very happy. Not holding my breath though - Adobe didn't do it so it might be a secret recipe fuji is holding on to.
Once the film sims are out as raw demosaic I'll buy if it gets me relatively close to the jpegs, 100 percent. Even if not I might - I really enjoy using it, it is so much faster than Lightroom to evaluate images too.
https://flic.kr/p/295BoS2