A Man and His Cameras
Fujifilm X series mirrorless digital cameras and lenses are my choice when it comes to photography gear. Retro designed compact and lightweight cameras united with Fujifilm’s heritage due to a film stock legacy expressed through modern and unique technology of X-Trans sensors with outstanding image quality provides me an opportunity to capture moments wherever I go.
I am deeply influenced by photography from an early age and I have learned my first steps from father who was analog film-camera photographer since the 80’s. That has strong impact on my vintage and cinematic editing style, as well as my choice to take photos with Fuji X retro designed digital cameras. Here I would like to sum up all the photography gear I use for my personal and professional projects as well as all the tech and accessories that I use on regular basis along with it. Here is my take from photographers perspective.
fujifilm
I am taking photos using Fujifilm X Series cameras for half a decade now and I enjoy tactile dials and controls as well as retro look, and also all the features and build quality. At the moment the single digit SLR type of X-TX bodies suited my style of shooting the best. The size, ergonomics, full weather sealing, all the buttons and dials as well as the manual controls, and also the placement of EVF and articulation of the LCD screen are perfect for my usage.
I like how these cameras are lightweight and compact, highly portable when needed, yet also I appreciate how bodies could be transformed into bigger setup by adding hand grips when needed for longer photo sessions with heavier and bulkier lenses reducing the fatigue while carrying. Using shutter speed and ISO dials makes me enjoy photography more for slower pace action and also makes practical visualisation of knowing exact settings that I set without looking into the screen.
The most important, high quality output of the images taken with X cameras is phenomenal due to film stock production legacy. The magnificent colours and fine textures give organic look to the photos with filmic rendering without compromising image sharpness and high level of details.
X-T2
Fujifilm X-T2 was second generation generation of this type of camera body, released in 2016, that I still use today. It is made in Japan and the build quality of the camera is one of the best in the whole line. It features 24 megapixel X-Trans CMOS III sensor with really vivid and saturated colours, and it has very sharp and clean output with nice layer of the texture underneeth. The high ISO performance is astonishing for the APS-C sensor size, and the noise has the finest grain and texture of all Fujifilm cameras in my opinion. The colour shift is a little bit to the magenta with X-T2 compared to the others iterations, but I like how the images turn out overall, so this camera made me fall in love with Fujifilm image quality and colours that made this brand well know around the world.
The autofocus single is still reliable, sufficiently fast and accurate for professional photography to this day, but continuous autofocus tracking is showing its age, since it is almost a decade old technology at this point - although I can work around and I can still take faster pace action photos pairing this body with newer linear motor lenses or with Fujicrons and have acceptable hit rate for my use case.
X-T3
Fujifilm X-T3 along with X-T2 was my main camera body that I used for all the kinds of photography genres. I hope I will continue to use it on regular basis when I don’t need advantages of the new cameras. X-T3 features X-Trans CMOS IV sensor with 26 megapixel, with slight increase in resolution compared to the previous older sensor, and it produces little bit more sharper images, at least to my eye. The most of the difference is in image rendering, this sensor has less vivid vibe, but all the colours are perfect, especially the skin tones. There is no colour shift and I claim that the skin tones on photos are the best out of all X-Trans sensors. Somehow the highlights are always soft, almost never blown out and they could easily be recovered in post processing. I appreciate the dynamic range of the X-T3 and how flexible RAW files are, so the editing is really an enjoyment for me. Build quality and reliability is also on high level, and also I appreciate very high frame rate burst shooting with mechanical shutter.
Autofocus single is very reliable, fast and accurate with all the lenses I use. The continuous autofocus tracking is much improved compared to the X-T2, and I use it confidently with any kind of photographic scenario with higher hit rate.
X-T5
For me X-T5 is the everything that X-T camera should be. Immediately after I picked up the camera it felt like a handshake with an old friend. With addition of the original Fujifilm MHG-XT5 hand grip it fits like a glove. It is so much like my old X-T2 and X-T3 only more. More features, more megapixels, more speed, higher burst frame rate, all packed in smaller body with deeper grip, perfect proportions and button placement.
All of my Fujifilm cameras are capable of capturing fascinating image quality, but the upgrades of the 5th generation are really welcomed. First of all bigger battery makes more than double photo capacity, enabling me to take more photos with one battery unit compared to my older cameras. The durability of the shutter is also doubled with 300.000 actuations compared to 150.000 to the previous generations I own. And the most useful feature is built in image stabilisation - IBIS. It is very helpful for low light photography when taking photos hand held, since I almost never carry a tripod on my trips.
Incremental upgrades are also noticed in the image quality. Fujifilm X-T5 features X-Trans CMOS V high resolution sensor with stunning 40 megapixel. Increasement in resolution from 26 to 40 megapixel is noticeable in sharpness and detail rendering, and I welcomed that. The only constrain is very large size of these RAW files and they take much more space now on the cards and storage. Besides sharpness and powerful details, the colours and overall vibe is very close to the X-T2. I would like to say that X-T5 has really crystal clear details, yet they manage to retain filmic and organic output to the images. On higher ISO grain is more noticeable, but the texture is still very fine, and gained noise could easily be fixed in editing software without compromising sharpness and details.
The single autofocus is very accurate, faster and snappier than the previous generations and I could say it is very reliable in any photographic scenario. The continuous autofocus tracking and eye autofocus continuous could be faster, stickier and more trustworthy for modern standards today. I expected little bit more in that department in this generation, although for my case it is usable when needed.
Lightweight and compact, tactile and versatile mirrorless setup of FUJIFILM X Cameras and FUJINON Lenses elevates one thing…
“PICK UP ABILITY - A PHOTOGRAPHER’S DESIRE TO PICK UP AND USE THEIR CAMERA”
FUJINON
Fujinon XF lenses are very well made. Most of the XF line are solid metal build, with aperture rings for tactile experience and weather sealing points and rubbers gaskets around the mount, which makes them suitable for harsh weather during the travel or professional work. Also I appreciate organic look, pleasing sharpness, tonality, colour cast, contrast, highlight roll-off, skin tones and absence of overpowering modern digital look.
Lenses
All the Fujinon lenses that I use with Fujifilm cameras have dedicated blog post. I already shared my experience with all of them and displayed selected sample images, so if interested it is possible to see more on each post on blog archive.
Life with Fujicrons
In Life with Fujicrons blog post I shared my experience with Fujinon compact, lightweight and weather sealed prime lenses known as “Fujicrons” in photo community. This generation of lenses have almost equal size, same build quality, similar aperture and optical qualities that provides constant output which helping me to achieve the same look on the photos easily.
The lenses are:
XF16mmF2.8 R WR
XF23mmF2 R WR
XF35mmF2 R WR
XF50mmF2 R WR
FUJIFILm Pancake lens
In Fujifilm Pancake Lens blog post I have shared my experience with fantastic and trusty companion on my travels. It is about tiny, lightest, the most compact, highly portable, yet very durable Fujinon lens in the whole lineup, made without compromising the image quality due to its size.
The old saying that the best camera is always the one you have with you comes true to life when you can carry a camera and lens setup everywhere without fatigue in the hands, which eventually makes me to take more photos compared to times when I am using heavy and bulky camera gear.
The lens is:
XF27mmF2.8 R WR
FUJIFILm Bokeh Master
Fujifilm Bokeh Master blog post is dedicated to the upgraded version of the legendary telephoto Fujinon lens with very fast f1.2 aperture, which produces the most pleasing bokeh by completely blurring the out of focus areas of the image, yet keeping the astonishing sharpness and detail rendering of the subject. A very versatile and fairly compact lens, which is my choice when I need subject separation from background.
The lens is:
XF56mmF1.2 R WR
FUJIFILm Macro Master
Fujifilm Macro Master blog post is dedicated to the Ultimate product photography lens in my gear arsenal. It is a true 1:1 reproduction ratio macro lens, with very short close focusing distance, and obviously I use it for dedicated detail close up photos of the products, or for a very small and tiny objects, which can not be photographed with other lenses. Combination of focal length and magnification ratio makes this lens unique in Fujifilm lineup.
The lens is:
XF80mmF2.8 R LM OIS WR
Peak Design
When it comes to the camera accessories, I use Peak Design sling bags, camera cubes, and straps with their anchor link system.
Peak design 3l sling bag
I would like to say thet 3L Sling bags are the most practical small bags on the market today in my use case, thanks to the folding design of the dividers for organisation, providing the maximum protection and space utilisation.
I can easily fit one camera body and three lenses (one has to be attached to the camera body), or two camera bodies, one with Pancake lens attached and other one with any of the Fujicron lenses attached on it.
One X-T camera body with battery and two SD cards inside with attached Anchor Link, along with three Fujicron lenses, three spare batteries, five memory cards and Wrist Cuff could fit in Peak Design 3L Sling Bag
Peak design Wrist cuff
I always secure my cameras when holding them by attaching wrist strap from Peak Design. Wrist Cuff could be easily detached when camera is mounted on tripod or when I need to put it back in my bag. Cuff’s are also coming with magnetic plate under the leather part so they could be wrapped up around the wrist and carry around as bracelet until I unfold it again to attach the camera. I use Black, Sage and Ash colour.
Peak design Anchor links
Peak Design has the best system for attaching and easily detaching all the straps that they produce. Anchor links are really practical solution for any camera system, and I really like to get black ones instead of red lately to keep the stealthy profile of my camera.
Peak design Camera cube medium
At home I use two Peak Design Camera Cube Medium to store my camera gear and accessories. They provided optimal organisation with storage inside the Cube with flex fold dividers, keeping my gear safe and clear from dust and other particles.
JJC
JJC Soft relese shutter button
On each of my Fujifilm camera I prefer to add JJC Concave Soft Release Shutter Button. It is the most comfortable and pleasing type of shutter button for my fingertips and I really like to use black, orange, silver and red one depending on the camera body colour.
JJC Hand grip
Back in days on each of my Fujifilm camera body I use to add JJC Hand Grip when needed, especially when using larger and heavier lenses for a long time. Hand Grips are relatively lightweight compared to battery grips, and each of the suitable grip for certain camera reduces my fatigue during the long photography sessions. When I need smaller and lighter setup they could be easily removed and make my cameras compact again for travel. These JJC Grips are very affordable option, although lately I use original Fujifilm ones which are more comfortable and weigh less, but it is worth mentioning the JJC.
SANDISK
Sandisk Exreme PRO 64GB
I use Sandisk SD cards with 64GB storage and 170MB/s speed. I am always taking photos on two SD cards simultaneously where one card I use as a back up, and that is why I prefer cameras with dual card slot.
Lens Filters
From the first day I use filters to protect my Fujinon lenses. From UV filters or Protector glass to the Mist and Circular Polarisation (CP/CPL) filters I have tried brands such as Hoya, Polapro, Marumi, Moment…
Polarpro
The ones that are the most interesting to me and very high quality that I always recommend are Polarpro filters. Lately I have been using their UV, CP and Shortstache Mist-PL.
Backpacks
Vanguar alta rise 45 | Lowepro truckee BP 250
Two backpacks that I use are Vanguard Alta Rise 45 and Lowepro Truckee BP 250. When I need to pack all the gear in one backpack I use Vanguard Alta Rise, especially when I have photoshoot or session when I need to pack two or three camera bodies with multiple lenses. For travel when I have to pack both camera gear and other stuff like wardrobe or something else Lowepro is divided in two parts where I could fit both separately without bringing another bag for wardrobe and could also pack my laptop.
