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Comment by PascLeRasc | Hacker News Reader

I just do analog, but isn't mirrorless the trend right now? All my friends who got into digital photography are using Fuji/Sony/Olympus setups now. Canon/Nikon took years to produce competition there and I really still haven't heard much about them, they seemed pretty underwhelming.

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I love my Fuji gear and I think I get great results with it, but I'm an amateur and while some of it is fantastic by any measure (e.g. the 50-140mm f2.8), I think the performance of the bodies falls short of the higher-end Nikon/Canon/Sony gear, and there seems to be less diversity in high-end lenses with optical performance comparable to the one I mentioned.

On the other hand, for "prosumers" who have high standards for image quality but don't want to shell out for a top-of-the-line full-frame setup and don't need extreme AF or low-light performance, I think it's great because you don't end up buying bodies that are compromised in stupid arbitrary ways just to fit neatly into their appointed place in the product lineup. My X-Pro2 cost like $1700 new and it has all the best tech Fuji had to put in a camera at the time. I actually think it's great for people like me that they decided to go all-in on APS-C, and I hope they stick around. My X-Pro2 is probably my favorite camera I've owned in my life and I've had quite a few.

My second favorite would probably be my Olympus XA. :(

I will be so sad if the same thing happens to Fujifilm. Hopefully they have carved out a sustainable niche by focusing on APS-C.

They have a diversified set of revenue sources, including pharmaceuticals and makeup (https://www.fujifilm.com/products/skincare/). Their medium-format cameras are also doing very well from what I've heard on Youtube. I also heard the Angry Photographer (Ken Wheeler) say they are coming out with a theX-H2 next year.

It seems FujiFilm will be competing in the ASP-C market for a long while.

> I think it's great because you don't end up buying bodies that are compromised in stupid arbitrary ways just to fit neatly into their appointed place in the product lineup.

That's how all the Mirrorless manufacturers managed to survive early on IMO.

In the case of Sony, basically throwing you everything the hardware COULD do.

In the case of Panasonic, I think of the GX7 and how it didn't skimp on buttons (Something Sony is still guilty of.)

Although full-frame DSLRs from Canon and Nikon are still the most versatile cameras for the widest range of shooting subjects and have the biggest systems, I'm not at all sure I'd get started with them today. I use my Fujifilm mirrorless far more because it's far more packable and it's at least "good enough" for most purposes. (And, to be honest, I spend more time shooting with my iPhone than either.)

A know a lot of wildlife photographers who prefer DSLRs. I shoot birds and wildlife as a hobby and I much prefer a glass viewfinder to the electronic viewfinder on mirrorless because there's still some lag, despite manufacturer claims to the contrary. Maybe in 5-10 years.

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