Nikon to Fuji switchers: are you happy?

Nikon to Fuji switchers: are you happy with your decision? Any regrets? In your reply, please mention your Nikon and Fuji gear, and the specific reasons for your feeling.

I switched from Nikon D200 to Fujifilm X-T1. So I gave up a camera from 2005 to get one from 2014. Yep, I was happy.

David Lumsden said:

Nikon to Fuji switchers: are you happy with your decision? Any regrets? In your reply, please mention your Nikon and Fuji gear, and the specific reasons for your feeling.

Click to expand...

;-) You'll probably mainly get 2 kinds of answers :

• "Oh yes I'm so happy" with perhaps a "despite this ot that minor issue"
• "I have both !!! [proudly] I've kept my D850 but enjoy my Fuji when I prefer to carry less" with perhaps a "but my Nikon now stays on the shelf, taking dust : I'll probably sell if soon"

Most people who post here are quite commited with their Fuji gear. Ask the Nikon forum to get other answers like "I've tried but ML is still not on par with DSLR" or "crop sensors are crap anyway".

From Nikon d3100/3200 to x100f : very happy. Rediscovered the joy of taking photos and GAS is gone.

Yes. No regrets ditching the D5300 lump in return for the X-T20 - weight, more manual controls (and better ergo once you get your head around it), better lenses.

I've still got a J5 though: pocket sized, underrated (IMHO) camera which comes out for a walk sometimes as a second body.

I went from Nikon to Fuji and I couldn't be happier

Sure in the beginning I wasn't too happy with the X-trans sensor, but nowadays it's not a problem anymore since there are several programs that do a great job with the RAW files.

Aside from that I absolutely love Fuji. I love the dials, the amazing lenses, the firmware updates and the overall quality and versatility of the X-system.

It's a system that's so incredibly intuitive and fun to shoot with. It's gear that really makes you want to go out and shoot.

I have a Nikon D7100 with a bunch of lenses. If the resale value were higher I would sell all my Nikon gear, but it's not and I do like a few of the lenses so I keep on using it.

My first Fujifilm was a new, discontinued X-E1 with kit XF18-55 lens. Purchased with full warranty for $600, and the lens alone sold for $599 back then, it's $699 now. The X-E1 and kit lens took beautiful images. I love the Fujifilm jpeg colors right out of camera. I also liked the compactness and rangefinder style. I eventually sold the X-E1 on a whim and regretted doing so almost immediately.

I now have an X-T1, purchased new with XF18-55 at a discount after the X-T2 came out (you may see a pattern here; I buy discontinued bodies after the newer version is released and save big). I've been slowly adding lenses. Fujinon lenses are excellent and reasonably priced, IMO.

I do wish I had started with Fujifilm cameras, but I have thousands of great images from the D7100 and no regrets.

David Lumsden said:

Nikon to Fuji switchers: are you happy with your decision? Any regrets? In your reply, please mention your Nikon and Fuji gear, and the specific reasons for your feeling.

Click to expand...

I have not switched totally, still have some Nikon gear and i won't sell that for only Fuji to be honest. Was just talking about that with a friend yesterday actually , the point that i would miss some aspects of the Nikon lenses and bodies. BUT i wouldn't want to leave my Fuji either for Nikon as i would miss the smaller bodies and lenses from Fuji, so for me its a great compliment to be able to choose to have both. I realize everyone can't do that and if i could ONLY have one system id be very happy with Fuji. But i also do some weddings etc, and i feel more comfortable with my flashes and lenses to be able to do what i need during a wedding with Nikon thus far.

David Lumsden said:

Nikon to Fuji switchers: are you happy with your decision? Any regrets? In your reply, please mention your Nikon and Fuji gear, and the specific reasons for your feeling.

Click to expand...

Brand alone doesn't say much, a low end Nikon body probably can't compare to a high end Fuji one and other way round, if we talk about full frame Nikon users then there I fit and whilst I like my old Fuji X-Pro1 I still prefer the flexibility of the Full Frame Nikon body for my kind of photography and this has nothing to do with sensor size, MP count or whatever else which is something you can only discover by trying yourself but personally I am not ready to jump mirror less and even less to make such a move as to leave Nikon for another brand just because I am used to it and I decided that I wanna slowly build my lenses onto that brand.

They can both get you the job home regardless of specs

David Lumsden said:

Nikon to Fuji switchers: are you happy with your decision? Any regrets? In your reply, please mention your Nikon and Fuji gear, and the specific reasons for your feeling.

Click to expand...

Could not be happier. No longer need to haul 3kg of gear around in a stupid backpack looking like the paparazzi.

I actually get people coming up and asking if my Xpro2 is a film camera, and stopping for a chat. A local cafe owner asked for some images for his cafe because he was interested in the camera and we got chatting. He gets 20% commission and I get free coffee and croissant every morning for breakfast.

Everything I carry now fits in a regular canvas satchel (£40 at the local shop plus £20 for some home-made inserts) along with phone, tablet, and other walking around stuff, and now I don't have a flapping mirror I can use a lightweight travel tripod for long exposures.

In fact, I would say the Xpro2 is the nicest camera I ever owned, not just because it looks quirky, but because it doesn't separate me from people, it's pleasant to use, easy to carry, and produces prints that are just as good as the D800 and much better than my old Pentax 645.

Sure, there are better cameras on paper, but who cares? I honestly don't see any difference from the prints I made with the D800, but I'm much more likely to take better images because the camera is nearly always with me.

In fact, we are long past the point where the technology makes much difference to image quality, unless you expect to shoot everything on auto. It's all down to experience and good workflow practices, so you might as well enjoy the process.

My one disclaimer is that I don't shoot fast action, or distant critters. Strictly landscapes, street and travel, and some low-light work at music gigs.

I didn't sell my D800 right away. It was only when it had been sitting on a shelf for a year that I realised I never looked forward to using it. It was a tool, but never any fun, so I sold a D800 and 9 lenses and never regretted it for a second. Someone else is enjoying it now.

Oh, and I haven't suffered a bout of GAS in 4 years.

I had a Nikon D7000 and D5100 and a good lens collection, but sold it off and switched to Fujifilm and happy with my decision. I was leaving my DSLRs at home too often due to weight and bulk so I decided to rethink what I really wanted now in a camera system. I had stopped shooting action stuff like swimming and soccer games my kids had been into and was now using my cameras almost excusively for grand kids, landscape, and travel photography. I find the mirrorless Fujifilm system meets my particular current needs better than my former Nikon DSLR system did.

Some things I like better about my Fujifilm system compared to the Nikon DSLR system I had.

1. Much less bulk and reduced weight over my Nikon DSLR kit makes for a more travel friendly kit.
2. The smaller Fujifilm cameras do not attract attention like my DSLRs did.
3. No more mirror slap noise and mirror vibration.
4. Silent shutter capability.
5. Face detection capability.
6. I can use the viewfinder to shoot video.
7. I can choose what parameters I want to display in the viewfinder and have the option of increasing the text size wth the X-T2 (Which is very helpful to my aging eyes.)
8. I can see the affects of my settings in the viewfinder before I take the shot.
9. I can review images taken in the viewfinder, which is a necessity in bright sunlight, and especially important for "once in a lifetime" shots.
10. I can easily manually focus using the viewfinder, which is very helpful when shooting through glass, wire cages, and macro photography. It also allows me to use manual focus adapted legacy lenses, or modern manual lenses like the Samyang 12mm f/2.0.
11. Fewer missed focus shots, especially when I hand off the camera to someone who only shoots with a cell phone.
12. I find Fujifilm JPEGs have much more accurate and pleasing color to my eyes than Nikon ever did. Instead of processing 100% of my images from RAW files to JPEG as I did with Nikon cameras, I now only process about 20% of my Fuji RAW files and 80% are out of camera JPEGs that I may tweak slightly using something like the old Picassa JPEG software.

I find the out of camera Fujifilm JPEG colors (like this example), match what my eyes see.





Fujifilm may not be for everyone like those shooting mostly action, but it works very well for my needs.

--
Jon

D800 and pro lenses to Fuji Xt-2/X-e3/brick/80/55-200/23/35/27.

Yes very happy. Cannot see a worthwhile difference in IQ for what I do; keeping up with newer bodies about half the cost; weight and bulk hugely less.

Ex. Nikon FF shooter. Yep over the moon

JS Burnie said:

I switched from Nikon D200 to Fujifilm X-T1. So I gave up a camera from 2005 to get one from 2014. Yep, I was happy.

Click to expand...

Similar. Switched from D300s (and D5100) to XT10 (initially with 18-55, 55-200 and 14), happy. Then to XT20 (added 23/f2 and 50/f2), even more happy. Now to XT3 (and XE3), very happy!

XT3 at least as good as, if not better in AF terms (than the D300s - yes, I know older technology but it was a benchmark in its day (as the D500 is today)). If set up right, very high level of in focus images on fast moving sports subjects. Prefer Fuji ergonomics, JPEGs and reduced size, bulk and weight versus Nikon gear.

All in all very satisfied in Fuji-land, no regrets and no temptation, despite the D500, to return to Nikon-land.

57even said:

A local cafe ... and I get free coffee and croissant every morning for breakfast.

Click to expand...

That's the best reason for a Fuji I have heard to date! I need to explore that one.

I went through a progression of Nikon bodies and glass, and took a lot of photos I'm still very happy with; I started with a D50, then a D90, and finally a D600. I bought a used X-M1 and a 16-50 kit lens about three years ago (I think, I've been in and out of the hospital so much in the last 18 months I've kind of lost track) and enjoyed it so much that I bought an X-T20 as soon as it launched. I liked it enough that I bought an X-T3 almost immediately after launch too, along with an 18-55. The controls on the Fuji bodies are, to me, very intuitive, and incredibly direct. I don't mind Nikon's ergonomics, but I find it much easier to get the shots I want with the Fujifilm bodies.

I got the Pro2 as an alternative to a Lecia M since I was tired of a bulky D800E and bulky lenses - especially on the street. And the reason I selected the Pro2 was the OVF. I used my Nikon for sports - particularly equestrian. I rapidly accumulated the 35 f1.4, 23 f1.4, 18 f2 - all the classic street lenses. I picked up a 56 f1.2 - fantastic lens and the 90 f2. I started then used the Pro2 at the track with the 56 and 90 with the OVF. In fact if I didn't need more focal past 135 mm, I left the Nikon home.

When the H1 came out I decided to give it a try to see if I could replace my Nikon. I was not certain about an EVF for galloping horses. I found that while an EVF is not a great option, it was adequate. So I sold my D800E and lenses and picked up the H1 and a 50-140.

Is the IQ of the Fuji as good as the D800E - almost and close enough that unless you look hard or print large and put you nose on the print you won't see the difference. The dynamic range of FF is a little better but the Fuji gear is good enough. Good enough that the extra weight and bulk of the Nikon was not worth it.

PS: I still don't like an EVF but I think I've gotten used to its warts. But if I can get everything with 135 mm or less, I use my Pro2 and avoid the EVF completely.

I didn't switch but I am enjoying using pentax k1ii for landscape and D500 for birding and sports and XH1 for the rest.

I don't want to limit myself.

Went from Nikon's D700 and D600 plus V3 to the Fuji XT20 and then XT3. The V3 is what made me start looking at what other options out there for a smaller EDC camera. A fellow employee from the art museum I used to work with who was a die hard film fan is the one that turned me onto Fuji. Fuji was enough to make a die hard film fan start taking digital seriously, that's something that needs to be looked closer at. Very glad I did. I'm a convert. All of my full frame Nikon stuff went up for sale and is gone. Haven't ditched the Nikon 1 stuff yet just because I'm not sure it's going to get much. Image quality is about the same. And another bonus is that with Nikon, I had one prime and the rest were zooms. Fuji, I've got the 18-55 and 55-200 just in case I need a quick two lens grab and go. The majority of what I shoot and shoot with are primes. Still have one more Fuji prime to pick up and the Laowa 9mm plus the Fuji 100-400 and I think I am complete on lenses.

Fuji X-T20 and Nikon Z6. They’re both great