Comment by rplst8 | Hacker News Reader

Comment by rplst8 | Hacker News Reader

I up-voted this because I think the Fujifilm X series cameras need more love than they currently get.

I have an X-E2 and I love it, but I'm very curious to see if they release an X-E3 and what features of the X-T2 and X-Pro2 it will incorporate.

The whole X series is a pretty great system IMO. The designs are simple, bodies offer fully manual control, the lenses are extremely high quality, and certain models of lenses are much smaller than DSLR counterparts (18mm, 27mm, 35 f/2).

If you like classic manual cameras, especially rangefinder style ones, you'll like the X-E1/2 and the X-Pro1/2. The X-T2 however, is sort of an "SLR" format camera with the viewfinder in the center, which I'm not big on. One of the major advantages of mirrorless cameras (for me) is that you are able to put the viewfinder on the side and keep the camera's screen from smashing your nose when you shoot.

If you are into photography and haven't considered the Fujifilm offerings, I highly recommend that you do.

P.S. Fujifilm's engineers are continuously updating and refining the firmware from user feedback. With the 4.x release of the firmware for my X-E2, it add a boatload of features and really made it into the camera of my dreams. The 16MP sensor is getting a little bit dated, but that is going to happen with any camera. Plus, their X-Trans technology offers some advantages over traditional Bayer array sensors.

Agreed, Fujifilm gets what many other manufacturers don't: that the camera needs to get out of the way of photography. Their recipe for this is to have great physical manual controls combined with great automatic settings. Fujifilm cameras don't beep and boop, they don't Instagramize your pictures, they don't have "fireworks over a snowy beach while your kids are chasing backlit dogs" mode. They just take pictures and get out of your way when you need to tell them how to take pictures differently.

I have an (original) X100 and my only complaint is I wish it had more knobs and buttons: at least an extra knob for ISO, and a third or even fourth user-configurable button. (It looks like the X-T2 is swimming with knobs and buttons, so good for Fujifilm, they must listen to customer feedback.) I rarely need to use the knobs but when I do, they're right there so I don't need to spend time navigating menus.

> I have an (original) X100 and my only complaint is I wish it had more knobs and buttons

A little OT: I held onto my X100 until the X100T landed because a better physical interface was a big deal to me: better buttons, the Q menu, the better EVF - the X100T did a good job of delivering on these. Better sensor performance was almost a nice to have: cameras, esp. in 2015/2016, are so darned good for most use cases (short of shooting sports in the dark...) that the need to upgrade for raw IQ is pretty rare.

The X100T isn't perfect, but I find it to be the right compromise for me: fixed prime, doesn't need its own dedicated bag, lasts all day (with the way I shoot), and there's plenty of latitude in the RAW files.

The X-T2 (and X2 Pro, even) are great cameras, and the Fuji lens system is pretty fantastic, but it's nice that Fuji offers simple options too. Constraints are good for creativity :)

I sold my X100 and it's the biggest regret I've ever had. I have a D600 with all the glass and an E-M5, both been sitting in the closet for too long now.

My biggest problem w/ modern DSLR and mirrorless cameras is that critical controls are buried in menus or they are assigned to dials whose behavior changes. Photography is very much a flow / muscle memory thing for me. I just can't get in the flow when I'm questioning whether this dial is assigned to ISO or exposure compensation or was it shutter speed? Worse, I'll probably pick it up and shoot something quickly not realizing that the settings are totally wrong. With the Fuji I can tell what state it's in without turning it on.

Fuji took a UX worked for decades on film cameras and applied it to digital cameras. The result is that I'm having a lot more fun taking pictures.

Edit-- just got an XT2 w the 90mm F2.

Up voted as well. I just purchased an a6500 after quite the back and forth with myself.

Fuji actually uses Sony sensors. So the XPro2 / XT2 has the exact same sensor as a a6300 and a6500. So on paper, the Sony have a lot more going for them in terms of price to features. It should be really interesting to see what kind of pressure that puts on them.

That's not to say that the Sony's are better cameras. Fuji has a great glass selection, has arguably better ergonomics, but is also slightly larger and heavier. Fuji is a great camera company no doubt.

Overall, in the APS-C format, the offerings are pretty comparable across a wide range of price points.

Edit: Sony does not have the exact same sensor as the Fuji. Fuji's X-Trans sensor doesn't use a Bayer array. But Fuji's sensor is made by Sony.

> [...] the XPro2 / XT2 has the exact same sensor as a a6300 and a6500

Definitely not. Fuji X-Pro and X-T2 use the Fuji X-Trans III, while Sony a6300/a6500 uses a conventional Bayer array sensor.

Agree. The actual sensor itself may be the same substrate/silicon/CMOS whatever, but the color filter array, and processing are totally different.

I believe it is made by Toshiba. Google "HXM4-229393".

Their old cameras were, but the new cameras use Sony sensors.

X-T2 is still a mirrorless camera. I think you meant that for rangefinder-inspired cameras like the X-E2, the viewfinder is on the side.

Also, even with that design, your nose can still smash into the screen if you're left eye dominant. I personally just use the back screen to shoot, not the viewfinder. Technically I guess I'm not taking advantage of the X-T2's beautiful viewfinder.

But I do agree with your suggestion of Fuji's cameras. With the old-school dials, it helped me to understand how to use the camera manually.

Ha. I'm left-eyed, and it never occurred to me that the viewfinder offset to the left would be an advantage if I were right-eyed. They should make left-eyed versions!

If you're happy shooting with the screen, Olympus and Sony have more pocket-able options with similar quality.

True, but they're not "pro" enough. I do need the dual memory cards, the vertical grip, the speed, etc. I also use the viewfinder on sunny days because the screen is tough to see in the sun. But shooting from the hip using the screen is a main advantage of mirrorless cameras, especially since the X-T1/2 has tilt screens.

Not sure why your being down voted (if this was a serious comment). The "pro" DSLRs do have speed advantages, both in FPS, and in auto-focus tracking etc. Dual memory cards are also important if you are working paid gigs and want a smaller chance of corrupted image files. When you use flash cards as much as the pros do, they can, and do wear out.

I know it's a mirrorless camera. The point is, the advantage of a mirrorless design (over an SLR) is that the viewfinder doesn't need to be centered in the body like every SLR and DSLR has been for the last 60 years.

However, even with this design advantage, in this instance Fujifilm chose to make it "look" like an SLR. From a marketing standpoint I understand this, but from a usability one, I don't.

Fuji is one of the few companies out there that is very good at building lenses and does not offer a full-frame camera. I'm a big fan of smaller-than-full-frame sensors for a bunch of reasons I won't go into here, but I still love shooting with really good glass. This leaves out Nikon, Canon, Sony, etc because they put their best glass on full-frame only. Hopefully Fuji doesn't abandon APS-C in favor of their new medium-format system!

Agreed. I jumped on the X series train when the X-Pro1 first came out, and it's been an absolute joy to use. I've been especially appreciative of the firmware releases that continually improve their cameras.

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