What do you suggest? Apsc user who plans to move to FF eventually

Hi,

Would like to get some suggestions….my situation is that I am a Fuji apsc user with 2 bodies with several lenses (10-24, 16-80, 70-300, 50-140, 23, 35, 55-200). I want to eventually move onto a FF system but I am not sure when or what system. I have 2-3 gaps I am trying to solve for. I don’t want to invest any more in Fuji lenses or accessories. I would like to try adapting lenses to Fuji that I could eventually use on a FF system or dip a toe in FF by starting with a used body and building a lens collection. My intent is to fill my gaps in a way that will transition with me when I move to FF. Here are my gaps:

1. Mid range zoom: I would like a stronger lens as I find the 16-80 soft. I am open to adapting a lens like the Nikon 24-70 or considering other solutions. I like primes but most of the time I end up using the 16-80 even though I don’t enjoy it. It takes away from my wanting to grow my photography.

2. Wildlife zoom: I would like a lens for birds and wildlife. This isn’t a huge need but I like it for trips to national parks and birds in the neighborhood. Would a Nikon 200-500 be a good choice to adapt?

3. Portrait Prime: I usually take portraits with the 50-140 lens which I really love along with the 35 1.4. I would like an 85 or 105 portrait prime for occasional shots.

I am a hobbyist who enjoys the journey of taking pictures and learning. I take photos of all sorts of subjects so I appreciate a versatile kit that can grow with me.



Thanks!

I haven't done any adapting so can't suggest from experience what does well or doesn't. My impression is the least frustrating seems to be Canon to Canon and some Canon adapts well to Sony, too.

There's a certain amount of perhaps aggravation or duplication that goes with having parallel systems. It's probably a bigger problem for a pro that needs pretty much complete redundancy for some types of shoots.

I would suggest looking to the end point of which ff mirror-less system you want. Then only do interim dslr lens adapting if that particular lens will carry over long term for you.

Honestly, I see no reason for switch to FF in your post. Are you prepared for higher cost and size/weight? Did you consider Fuji 16-55f2.8?

Be_the_change said:

Hi,

Would like to get some suggestions….my situation is that I am a Fuji apsc user with 2 bodies with several lenses (10-24, 16-80, 70-300, 50-140, 23, 35, 55-200). I want to eventually move onto a FF system but I am not sure when or what system. I have 2-3 gaps I am trying to solve for. I don’t want to invest any more in Fuji lenses or accessories. I would like to try adapting lenses to Fuji that I could eventually use on a FF system or dip a toe in FF by starting with a used body and building a lens collection. My intent is to fill my gaps in a way that will transition with me when I move to FF. Here are my gaps:

1. Mid range zoom: I would like a stronger lens as I find the 16-80 soft. I am open to adapting a lens like the Nikon 24-70 or considering other solutions. I like primes but most of the time I end up using the 16-80 even though I don’t enjoy it. It takes away from my wanting to grow my photography.
2. Wildlife zoom: I would like a lens for birds and wildlife. This isn’t a huge need but I like it for trips to national parks and birds in the neighborhood. Would a Nikon 200-500 be a good choice to adapt?

3. Portrait Prime: I usually take portraits with the 50-140 lens which I really love along with the 35 1.4. I would like an 85 or 105 portrait prime for occasional shots.

I am a hobbyist who enjoys the journey of taking pictures and learning. I take photos of all sorts of subjects so I appreciate a versatile kit that can grow with me.

Thanks!

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Are you switching purely because you don't like the 16-80? Specifically what are your misses here that you can't get out of Fuji? Tamron just released a 17-70 so would that work for you?

Anecdotally, I went Sony because I went walking around at night with the X-T2 + 18-55 + 55-200 and an A7 III + 24-105/4 at the short end and went "Ok IBIS is a must". But the XT-4 sensor is nearly as good as the A7 III in ISO terms AND comes with IBIS so would upgrading your body help instead?

Having said all that:

Going in clean, I'd buy a Canon R5 + an RF 24-105/4 and just start there, then follow up with the 15-35/2.8 as fast as I could get the money together. Sony has a better lens collection in general, but if you're going to be buying 1 lens at a time for a few years, let's see what happens on RF-mount primes.

Because everyone switched to mirrorless recently, there's just not a lot of used stuff on the new mounts yet. With that said, an A7R III (old menus are bad, but they're fine once you move the 10 things you use regularly into a "My Menu") for $1800 or so is a steal... if you can talk yourself around to bigger and heavier and $$$$$ lenses.

Your current lenses:

10-24 -> Sony 16-35 or Canon 15-35. Pay up for f/2.8, it's a surprisingly marginal stop that lets you barely do astro or get just that erg higher in a museum.

16-80 (Mid-zoom) -> Sony 24-105/4 (old but not terrible, barely ever leaves my camera during the daytime), Canon 24-105/4 (If I dual-system, it will be for this lens), or Nikon 24-120/4.

55-300 (Wildlife zoom) -> Naively 82-450, rounds to Sony 100-400 GM or Canon 100-500 though this will be a weight penalty.

23 is 35 -> The Sony 35/1.4 GM is a revelation, the Samyang 35/1.8 is $350 on sale and that's the right price point for me so it's quite literally in the mail despite owning the GM. I also owned the 35/2.8 which is a surprisingly fun little walkaround pancake lens.

35 is basically 50 -> Sony: 50 GM for several thousand dollars, Samyang 45/1.8, Sony 50/2.8 macro if you can live with slow AF. Or the Canon nifty fifty.

For portrait primes, Sony has 4 excellent choices and I've currently settled on the Sigma 85/1.4 DN that's about the same size as my wide zoom.

Hi,

Thanks for the thoughts. In response to comments:

- I think the suggestion to figure out my desired future full frame system is a good one. I have decided on full frame because I want better low light capability, shallower depth of field, and more megapixels for cropping and landscape. I haven’t settled yet on a brand but maybe I need to. Sony is tempting for better autofocus, but I wonder about colors and ergonomics. Nikon seems to offer very strong z lenses but its autofocus seems not as strong. I understand that any modern mirrorless full frame can take amazing photos and has trade offs. I am just not sure which one will be the best fit for me.
- There was a suggestion to consider the Fuji 16-55. I thought about it but I don’t want to throw good money after bad. If I know I eventually want to move to FF, I thought it would be good to invest in FF lenses. I am moving away from Fuji because I am not too excited about the future offerings. The FF camera seems close to the same weight and I am willing to pay more and carry slightly more weight for full-frame. I will likely keep my Fuji camera and some Fuji lenses even once I move on to my next main camera body.
- There was a post about Sony. Thank you for sharing the ideas and potential lenses. If I do go Sony, I will definitely consider the info you shared.




thanks all

If you want shallower DoF and better low light performance, similar jump as to go to FF is change your f4 zoom to f2.8 and primes to f1.4. More Mpx cameras will also come. But I understand the "need" for FF system. I tried twice. But allways come back to apsc, because I was not willing to pay the full price and carry the weight.

I think that in your case maybe make more sense just to switch lenses instead of expensive switching systems:

1. Fuji 16-55f2.8

2. Fuji 100-400

3. Fuji 56f1.2

Maybe you should be aware that, as far as I know, none of the FF mirrorless mounts are adaptable to Fuji X. That means that your suggested route requires that you buy DSLR lenses that you can adapt to Fuji X and to a FF mirrorless. In that case the only option with a decent choice of adapters is to use Canon lenses which adapt well to Canon R and to Sony A cameras.

There is a possibility of using some Nikon F mount lenses this way but AFAIK there is only one adapter for Fuji and one for Nikon FF mirrorless that can give you full automation (focus, aperture...). Dunno if there is a Sony adapter for F mount.

I’m actually in a similar position, owning a XT2 with Xf16-80 and XF55-200. Although I’m generally happy with the XT2 and especially the manual controls but XF16-80 is just a pain in landscape photography. As this is supposed to be my most used lens I’m looking for a solution.

Similarly I’m considering the XF16-55 as this is considered a very sharp lens. However, as this one is not having IS it would require me to replace the XT2 with an XT4 or XT5 as well.

As this is rather costly anyway I was thinking that perhaps I could better switch system. The A7(R)III might be an option supplemented with the FE24-105G and Sigma 100-400 or FE70-300G. This would give me the importantly better 24-105 (as it seems), increased dynamic range, low-light performance, better AF and shallow DoF. The main thing holding me back so far is whether I can get used to the “digital controls” of Sony and the quality of the affordable telezooms (Sigma 100-400 / Sony 70-300G).

After a short test run I decided against FF.

I am a hobbyist like you, the extra IQ of FF is not really necessary. May be you suffer from gas?

--
May THE LIGHT be with you!

AlbertTheLazy said:

Maybe you should be aware that, as far as I know, none of the FF mirrorless mounts are adaptable to Fuji X. That means that your suggested route requires that you buy DSLR lenses that you can adapt to Fuji X and to a FF mirrorless. In that case the only option with a decent choice of adapters is to use Canon lenses which adapt well to Canon R and to Sony A cameras.

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^^ This! IMHO, getting DSLR lenses at this point, especially for future use, should be avoided, unless you have good reasons.

AlbertTheLazy said:

There is a possibility of using some Nikon F mount lenses this way but AFAIK there is only one adapter for Fuji and one for Nikon FF mirrorless that can give you full automation (focus, aperture...). Dunno if there is a Sony adapter for F mount.

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There are F to E mount adapter. How good of the automation depends on many factors, such as the lenses.

I'm coming from DSLR to mirrorless, and in my personal experience, the adapted lenses were just not as good as the native lenses. That being said, many people seemed to satisfy the results.

Hi,

Thanks for the post. Think we are in a similar situation. I have an xt3 and xt1 so I would potentially have to upgrade my Fuji body to xt4 or xh2 to get OIS for 16-55 (f2.8) and 56 1.2.



When I look at costs of buying another Fuji body and lenses, it seems similar to a new Ff and mid-range f4 zoom. I have given thought to Sony because the AF seems strong but I like to use a mixture of jpegs and raw files, so I am not sure whether I will like Sony jpgs. I have a Nikon d7000 and looked at Nikon Z and overall I really like the way the Nikons look. Fuji has a great tactile experience that really has helped me learn. I like it more than the mirrorless dslr style bodies.

Taking photos for me is a combination of the experience of taking the photos (and I like the Fuji experience) and the results (which is what pushes me to FF - low light, more DR, mp for cropping flexibility). It is tough to decide which system is best or whether all systems are good enough so I should just redirect my energy to improving my skills.

I think you are right about potentially being gas and maybe some fomo too!

It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement about new gear. When I started our, I wanted to keep things simple but the temptation to get multiple systems is strong because they each have their strengths and weaknesses.

I’ve been reading the responses and thinking a bit more. Longer term, thinking about my overall camera and lens roadmap, I am also thinking about whether eventually I should have just 1 primary system vs straddling a couple of systems? Is one system better because of the simplicity? Or is it better to have multiple systems and use each system’s strengths?

Be_the_change said:

I’ve been reading the responses and thinking a bit more. Longer term, thinking about my overall camera and lens roadmap, I am also thinking about whether eventually I should have just 1 primary system vs straddling a couple of systems? Is one system better because of the simplicity? Or is it better to have multiple systems and use each system’s strengths?

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How many lenses do you intend to buy?

A nice body is let's say... average 3 grand, a 24-105/4 + 16-35/2.8 on the mount is going to be another three and a half to 4-ish.

And then you multiply that by two and you're at my standard zoom travel kit except twice the weight and twice the size in your suitcase across two zooms.

Now a second body is going to be at least two grand on top of that...... but the second set of lenses are 4.

Be_the_change said:

Hi,

Thanks for the post. Think we are in a similar situation. I have an xt3 and xt1 so I would potentially have to upgrade my Fuji body to xt4 or xh2 to get OIS for 16-55 (f2.8) and 56 1.2.

When I look at costs of buying another Fuji body and lenses, it seems similar to a new Ff and mid-range f4 zoom. I have given thought to Sony because the AF seems strong but I like to use a mixture of jpegs and raw files, so I am not sure whether I will like Sony jpgs. I have a Nikon d7000 and looked at Nikon Z and overall I really like the way the Nikons look. Fuji has a great tactile experience that really has helped me learn. I like it more than the mirrorless dslr style bodies.

Taking photos for me is a combination of the experience of taking the photos (and I like the Fuji experience) and the results (which is what pushes me to FF - low light, more DR, mp for cropping flexibility). It is tough to decide which system is best or whether all systems are good enough so I should just redirect my energy to improving my skills.

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I happen to be a bit of a gear freak but I'm more than a little sure that my gear is not holding me back as much as my "skills" are. Don't take this wrong, but I have a feeling if you had maxed out the capabilities of your current gear and skill set, you'd have a better idea of what your next gear "choices" might need to be. If nothing else, improving your skills is probably a lot less expensive than buying a full new system. And it might help narrow your gear goals some, too.

For example, while I added ff gear somewhat recently and am enjoying using it, I think I'm getting more out of improving my post processing "skills." Much of that effort is also free, or at least limited to having added a couple of programs on sale and spending some time with them.

I used two systems for a while. If I didn't stay "fluent" on both, swapping around could be a bit of an issue, might require some extended menu diving, etc.

Two bodies and a range of lenses in one system is a bit "safer" than a kit with differing lens coverage and two different mounts.

Hi, you have a good point. I agree it is not that my gear is holding me back. I see that there are amazing photographers using the same cameras and lenses I already have to create great work.



I am trying to be strategic in how I plan my future purchases so I am trying to aim for some versatility. I will definitely continue to think about what I am truly trying to achieve.

Good point on the financial aspect. The cost of this hobby is certainly more than I thought it would be!



Overall, I am ok considering maintaining multiple systems if it is worth it (realize this is subjective). I don’t need to buy everything at once for my new kit and I am ok growing my lens collection over time.

Be_the_change said:

Good point on the financial aspect. The cost of this hobby is certainly more than I thought it would be!

Overall, I am ok considering maintaining multiple systems if it is worth it (realize this is subjective). I don’t need to buy everything at once for my new kit and I am ok growing my lens collection over time.

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I think, that with some specialised exception, it's nonsense to maintain multiple systems, specially for amateur. Every photography can be done with every system, just a little bit nicer with some. If collecting gear make you happy, why not. But from practical point it's much better to stay within one system, learn it perfectly and use on 100%.

1 system = less thinking of what to choose!