10 Years of Fuji: was it worth it? Those upgrades over time? Mostly full res pics

liggy wrote:

deednets wrote:

We were stuck here at home during Gabrielle. Some time I spent on slide scanning, PM with some members of dpreview and also - a favourite of mine - culling.

During the yeah/nah-culling process I came across this:

Fuji X-E1 18-55 frame number 187 January 2013

Would need to straighten it a bit, but apart from that? Has the quality changed "much"?

Fuji X-Pro3 13/1.4 January 2023

I actually like the 2013 photo better. It was a fun thing in 2013 and meant to be a replacement for the D800. But it turned out to be a little bit more.

Upgraded to the X-E2 in 2014. Can't even remember why?? I think there was an issue with the flash synch and the X-E2 had a faster speed. Enough to make it worthwhile.

Fuji X-E2 + 35/1.4 in I believe full resolution?? Would have to check.

And then there was the X-T1. LAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGE EVF. And: 1/32.000sec. The X-E2 got this also via a firmware update, but I didn't know that at the time. And there was of course the 56/1.2.

Fuji X-T1 + 56/1.2

Took the X-T1 to Nepal (during the earthquake in April) and then to Indonesia and China and was generally happy with the results, except for the dynamic range. I had too many blown highlights. Under-exposed as a rule of thumb, which sometimes worked and sometimes didn't.

Added the GX8 and the RX1 in 2015. The grass was greener on the other side, but not always. Tradeoffs as per usual, didn't like the Pana colours and the RX1, although brilliant re DR and lens, had its own little quirks.

In 2017 I got the X-Pro2. Was always intrigued by the "invisibility" of the appearance, no company logo visible from the front! A BIG one for me as I often shoot in environments where I simply don't want to advertise whatever I am carrying. And the X-T20. Carried both for a couple of years.

Fuji X-T20 + 90/2

Looked at the X-T3 in 2018 and went to a demonstration workshop/sales event (yeah, right). Was impressed by the number of AF points and the viewfinder. Bought one in 2019. One of the reasons for the upgrade" from the X-Pro2 was the eye AF. Ran a variety of tests and found that I couldn't make it work. "User error" was the common theme here on dpreview when I posted some images. I was the only one who couldn't use the X-T3 properly. Nobody appeared to have any AF issues except me. A few cracks appeared in my "upgrade" path as it was me, after all, who had to be able to use it properly. Sold the camera. Then thought it could also have been a sample error? Unlikely, but bought another X-T3 and gave it a good run. Discovered "focus priority" and this time round had much better results. In the studio the results were ok as I used mainly - as one does - small apertures. But whenever I used a lens wide open, I noticed a higher than acceptable number of files out of focus. User error, what can you say??

Had a brief dabble with the A7III. 100% in focus. But really hated the body and the colours. Can't have everything right? Sold it before I got my second X-T3.

2019 it was, the last "normal" year before Covid hit us. A trip to India my last longer-haul overseas trip in November 2019.

Fuji X-T3 + 56/1.2

And then in March 2020, shortly before the first Covid lock-down I bought the X-Pro3. There was no holding back here on the Fuji forum, bordering on hate. I seemed to me that it was sometimes the ball and sometimes the man that was played. Posts had to be deleted because they were getting too personal.

Since my post is about a reflection as to why I upgraded and whether it was worth it, I bought the X-Pro3 mainly for its low light AF capabilities. -6EV it said with the usual disclaimer that this was achieved using one of Stanley Kubricks Barry Lyndon lenses ;-). But the X-Pro3 was in fact exceptionally good at the focusing in low light.

Haven't had much chance to test the X-Pro3 as unbelievable as it sounds, but will take her to Vietnam and Japan this year. Still vacillating a bit regarding the lenses I will take. Found both the 50/2 and the 56/1.2 excellent, the 50 focuses closer and the 56 adds a certain soft-sharpness to an image. Dunno, might just pack "something" on departure day.

Fuji X-Pro3 + 35/1.4

To conclude this little thread: was it worthwhile? I am on the fence on this one. Found the X-E1 with its 16Mpx sensor already really, really good.

Fuji X-E1 July 2013

Since I did upgrade regularly, here in the short version:

• X-E1 from D800: smaller and "good enough" for travel
• X-E2 from X-E1: faster flash synch
• X-T1 from X-E2: bigger EVF 1/32.000sec ES
• X-Pro2 from X-T1: faster flash synch, more megapixel and curiosity, plus the "no-company-logo"
• X-T3 from X-Pro2: eye AF. Upgraded, but with some regrets
• X-Pro3 from X-T3: where to start?? Focus stacking a BIG one for me. And the screen.

Fuji X-Pro3 + 50/2 focus stacking

At the moment I am ok where I sit, would be interested to try an X-T5? Would possibly get some excellent images out of it.

But the X-E1 was already quite good, depending on where your standards sit.

Fuji X-E1 + 18-55 July 2013.

10 years aye?? We would say down here in Noo Zeald

Deed

Quite the journey, Deeds. :cool:

I preordered an X-T5 and honestly do not find the images overwhelmingly better than my X-H1/X-T2/x100S. The af is better and ibis is a big help and cropping certainly works better with 40mp but still…

Sold , traded or gifted X-T1, X-T10, 20 and 30 and XPro2 along the way. Still have images I love from all of them.

My biggest annoyance with the older cameras is the generally sluggish operation, not the iq.

I originally didn't mind "sluggish" but then after you drive a Morris Minor at 55km/h you feel like it would be nice to do 80 ...

My gripes kicked in when I "thought" I had some pics in focus only to find out on my 30" screen that some pics were a touch "out". Where it mattered.

I would love to try an X-T5 and see how it goes, my Q2 has a 51Mpx sensor (47Mpx cropped) and I had a few cameras in the 40+ Mpx bracket, so not convinced that I personally would benefit big time from using the 40Mpx sensor, but testing it, I would like!

Might get one when the market has cooled down and I have seen some really great pics where I would say that it would have been a shame to use a lower resolution sensor.

Deed