Well, this weekend has been characterised by thinking, reading and exchanging views with fellow photographers on the subject of how far am I presently prepared to go in my move towards Fuji. The launch of the X-T2 this weekend makes the Fuji bodies even more competitive to my mind and no doubt triggered the thought process that has occupied lots of the past two days for me.
One of the biggest plus points of the Fuji system for me is the size and weight. My “first to hand” camera this morning was the Nikon D750 with the Nikkor 70-200 f2.8 attached. I wanted a camera to quickly snap some candids of the kids (grandchildren) in the garden prior to breakfast. The set up did a fabulous job, see above, but I really noticed how heavy it all was compared to the Fuji X-T10 I was using yesterday and indeed used this afternoon. Speed of operation is a complex mix of ergonomics, personal preferences and the amount of experience the user has with handling the gear. I can work very quickly with the Nikons and indeed can do so much more quickly than I can with the Fuji at present although I’m catching up fast.
As I’ve probably mentioned before I’ve been blown away by the image quality and the handling of the X100T and the X-T10. As net result of this weekend’s brain strain is that I’ve decided to rationalise my Nikon kit and leave myself with just the bodies, the “Holy Trinity” of lenses, my macro lens and the 300mm that I reviewed here not so long ago. The reality is that apart from one occasion, sorry, two counting this morning, when I grabbed the 70-200 and D750 (my “nearest camera” philosophy) I’ve only used the Fujis during the last couple of months. I’ve even invested in the Seven5 system to complement the full size Lee system.
This hasn’t always been a case of first-to-hand as I’ve been out several times specifically to take landscapes and chosen the Fuji X-T10 in preference to the Nikon D800E which is my usual landscape camera especially when teamed with the Nikkor 14-24 f2.8. The simple truth is that the two Samyang lenses (8mm fisheye and 12mm f2.8) are excellent on the X-T10 as is the 35mm f1.4, so my everyday shooting is very nicely covered especially when you add the excellent 18-55 “kit” lens.
And the JPEGs are awesome!
Until the Fuji system catches up in terms of a decent macro lens and something to rival the Nikkor 70-200 f2.8 (above) in terms of image quality then the Nikon kit will continue to have a place in my kit bag.
In fact, when Fuji catches up (and I do thinks it’s when not if) then I will have a tough decision I think. In many ways it’s going to be an easier decision than switching from Canon to Nikon as I’ve not yet built up an emotional attachment to the NIkons.
All images © Dave Whenham
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