X-S10 / X-T3 for vintage lenses

Hello,

I kind of reached my limit with the X100F and I really want to experiment with vintage glass. I am shooting mostly jpeg and the film sims and film recipes were what drew me to Fuji from M43.

1.

I considered buying a used X-T3 when the X-S10 was announced. I am bit undecided between the two. The X-T3 advantage would be the larger and better viewfinder, something that would surely be handy with old manual lenses. The X-S10 though has more film sims and jpeg options and IBIS, which is something I sorely miss from my M43 days. I tend to take a lot of handheld shots indoors and in low light so IBIS is a big plus. I do worry about the cramped viewfinder though although I find the X100F EVF rather small but workable. Has anyone used an X-T30 (supposedly same evf) and an X100F and can compare the EVF size and ergonomics? I am pretty much trending to the X-S10 for the IBIS and the jpeg options / film sims. If I miss anything that would be a pro for the X-T3 I would like to know.

2.

I am bit on a budget so I thought about either getting a used 18-55 lens (buying it with the x-s10 adds 400€) or grabbing the 15-45 powerzoom (its 99€ extra) and the xc35. The first would be a lightweight daylight walk around zoom and the second a simple prime for low light shots. Once I have feel for what focal lengths I use with the cheap zoom I can add primes later next year when I get back to work. Besides I want to play with vintage lenses and I tend to do slower photography anyway.

I am not married to the classic controls...I'll happily take a PASM dial as well (yes burn me as a heretic ;-). I know the X-T4 would be ideal but it's too expensive and too large for me. And yes I know shooting jpeg with vintage lenses will not correct any lens flaws like I could in post...part of the charm for me. Of course I could wait and see what an X-E4 might offer but at one point one has to just take a choice with what is available..better cameras come around every year anyway.

Thanks for any advice or thoughts you might have.

I've been having a ton of fun adapting Pentax glass on my X-T2. Have an M42 adapter from K+H in the mail as we speak, and a Mimya 55mm 1.4 waiting to be screwed on.

If your main goal is adapted glass, I would very seriously consider an older model like the X-T2. One of the biggest benefits of the X-T3 vs. the X-T2 is autofocus – if you're manually focusing, I imagine the difference in performance would be negligible compared to the difference in price.

You have to either need or not need IBIS.  That will determine the body path. . .

A good way to start vintage and cheap is to adapt something like a Konica Hexanon prime (28 or 35mm) with a $20 adapter.   Though, with a M mount to FujiX adapter you have a wealth of lenses from cheap to outrageous (new or used) to choose from (I'm a Voigtlander fan, myself).

If you'll be using mainly MF glass, you could get the X-H1 or X-T2 for even cheaper. The X-H1 has the same EVF as the X-T3 and IBIS and it's not as big as people say it is. Alternatively you could also look at an X-T30 or wait for the X-E4.

thedullchannel wrote:

Hello,

I kind of reached my limit with the X100F and I really want to experiment with vintage glass. I am shooting mostly jpeg and the film sims and film recipes were what drew me to Fuji from M43.

1.

I considered buying a used X-T3 when the X-S10 was announced. I am bit undecided between the two. The X-T3 advantage would be the larger and better viewfinder, something that would surely be handy with old manual lenses. The X-S10 though has more film sims and jpeg options and IBIS, which is something I sorely miss from my M43 days. I tend to take a lot of handheld shots indoors and in low light so IBIS is a big plus. I do worry about the cramped viewfinder though although I find the X100F EVF rather small but workable. Has anyone used an X-T30 (supposedly same evf) and an X100F and can compare the EVF size and ergonomics? I am pretty much trending to the X-S10 for the IBIS and the jpeg options / film sims. If I miss anything that would be a pro for the X-T3 I would like to know.

2.

I am bit on a budget so I thought about either getting a used 18-55 lens (buying it with the x-s10 adds 400€) or grabbing the 15-45 powerzoom (its 99€ extra) and the xc35. The first would be a lightweight daylight walk around zoom and the second a simple prime for low light shots. Once I have feel for what focal lengths I use with the cheap zoom I can add primes later next year when I get back to work. Besides I want to play with vintage lenses and I tend to do slower photography anyway.

I am not married to the classic controls...I'll happily take a PASM dial as well (yes burn me as a heretic ;-). I know the X-T4 would be ideal but it's too expensive and too large for me. And yes I know shooting jpeg with vintage lenses will not correct any lens flaws like I could in post...part of the charm for me. Of course I could wait and see what an X-E4 might offer but at one point one has to just take a choice with what is available..better cameras come around every year anyway.

Thanks for any advice or thoughts you might have.

I use vintage/adapted glass on my cameras more often than native AF lenses. 
I personally find the larger and higher res EVF of the X-T3 easier (and a lot more pleasurable) to use with manual glass, than the smaller EVF of the X-T30 (which I have now sold). 
I find focus peaking to only be accurate enough in a few situations, so I generally switch it off and rely entirely on the plain EVF, which means the size and resolution are important for me.

I am a street shooter so I also need to be able to focus quickly. But you say that your style of shooting is slow and so the EVF of the X-T3 or the X-S10 will be fine.

XT3 is super cheap right now, not much more than an XH1 or XT2 on eBay.

vintage lenses will look much cooler on an XT series than the XS 10

Really though manual focusing With vintage lenses combined with the old school dials on an XT3 sounds like a perfect combination.

If IBIS is a priority for you, then the choices are clear. Have you considered XH1? IBIS plus a great VF.

And-roid wrote:

The x-s10 also has the new digital microprism focusing aid!

https://fujifilm-x.com/en-us/stories/intermediate-month-5-focusing-20-manual-focusing-aids/

The point being...?

Not sure when that one was introduced, but at least X-T3 has it as well.

I am a long time Pentax shooter. I picked up a X-T100 for the size, and am very happy with it for what I want from it, but... I am very much looking forward to getting the X-S10 eventually for the IBIS so that I can use my delicious old Pentax glass with greater confidence and success.

Thanks all for your advice. In the end ordered a used X-T3, two cheapish vintage lenses + adapter to try my hand at old manual lenses and a used XF 18-55 for general purpose stuff for slightly more than what the S-X10 + 15-45 zoom would have cost new.

My rational brain said that the X-S10 would be from a technical standpoint better camera with IBIS, more jpeg options, maybe better AF for when I shoot my kid and more film sims. But my emotional side just knew that the X-T3 would feel much better in my hand, has more external controls, a larger EVF and it looks better.

I remember why I bought the X100F in the first place. It was how the camera felt in my hand and how much joy simply using it brought me. So while the X-S10 is probably the more advanced and "useful" camera the X-T3 will be more joyful to use. And that is the important point.

SDFujiFan wrote:

I would go with any camera that has IBIS. I have an X-T4 and I use vintage lenses with it. I have an Asahi Pentax Super Takumar 55 mm F2, I have ordered some others. The interesting thing is that I wondered whether IBIS works with it or not? So I switched the IBIS off and the image was unbelievably shaky, because in essence this is a mid zoom lens. However, when I switched IBIS on continuous, the difference was like night and day!

Yep, IBIS works, just don`t forget to set correct focal length inside "IMAGE QUALITY SETTING > MOUNT ADAPTER SETTING[1]", as that is required for optimal IBIS performance (being lens focal length dependent).

SDFujiFan wrote:

I would go with any camera that has IBIS. I have an X-T4 and I use vintage lenses with it. I have an Asahi Pentax Super Takumar 55 mm F2, I have ordered some others. The interesting thing is that I wondered whether IBIS works with it or not? So I switched the IBIS off and the image was unbelievably shaky, because in essence this is a mid zoom lens. However, when I switched IBIS on continuous, the difference was like night and day!

You probably had IBIS on "Shooting", which activates IBIS only once you have pressed the shutter (at least halfway). This mode is preferable when you want to save battery. On the other hand, "Continuous" leaves IBIS running at all times.