FUJIFILM X-T1 (14mm, f/8, 1/120 sec, ISO200)
We did it again. We spent three wonderful weeks in the Southwest of the USA. The third time since we came here first in 2010. I guess we like the place.
Even though a lot of locations were familiar one thing was very different: For the first time since I switched to full frame in 2007 I left my big camera gear at home for an oversea vacation. Why? I always said that the USA is a full frame country and now I went with APS-C mirrorless cameras. What’s even more strange: This year I upgraded my Canon lenses with the fantastic 2.8/24-70 II and the impressive 4/16-35 IS. Together with the 2.8/70-200 IS II I now have the perfect set of lenses to cover all my needs when traveling.
So why the small camera? The reason is simple and painful. In late spring I crashed with my race bike. My collar bone broke and I had a very painful torso contusion. Just a couple of weeks after I got back on my bicycle I had a shooting pain in my back during garden work. I got treatments but the whole trip to the USA was at stake. Even before the mishap with my back I was in doubt wether I can wear a heavy photo rucksack because of my shoulder. Now it was clear: I can’t bring my heavy camera with me. When I went on my trip I was hardly able to walk without pain.
But for my Fuji X Pro-1 I just had the 14 and the 35mm lens. Perfectly good enough for my business trips to Asia where I almost exclusively shoot in crowded cities. Definitely not sufficient for traveling in the USA. I got my wife a Fuji X-M1 double lens set about a week before. So “I” had a tele zoom. But I wanted the 18-55 kit zoom lens too. I got one second hand but unfortunately it was de-centered. So I returned it and got the Fuji X-T1 plus kit lens new for a very good price. Strange, I know but when I looked through its the view finder I was lost and also because I think that the kit lens is over prized when you buy it separately. They also offered to buy my 18mm lens and so I went there again and exchanged my 18mm with the 23mm lens.
Within a week I had a very complete Fuji setup:
- Fuji X-T1
- Fuji X Pro-1
- Fuji XF2.8/14
- Fuji XF1.4/23
- Fuji XF1.4/35
- Fuji XF2.8-4/18-55 OIS
- Fuji XC4.5-6.7/50-230 OIS
And my wife was shooting the X-M1 plus the XC 3.4-5.6/16-50 OIS (a much more useful range than the 18-55 of my kit lens if you ask me).
FUJIFILM X-T1 (14mm, f/5.6, 1/90 sec, ISO200)
FUJIFILM X-T1 (18mm, f/2.8, 1/15 sec, ISO2500)
So how was it? What did I miss and what was great? For sure I did not miss the bulk and weight of my big gear. I can’t remember the last time I walked through the security check totally relaxed. I was still exceeding the weight limit because of my laptop and because my old hand carry trolley is too heavy but It was nothing compared to the usual stress.
Batteries, Viewfinders and Tilt Screens:
And I did not miss to bring a couple of different batteries and chargers. All three cameras use the same battery. I still brought all three chargers to be able to load three batteries overnight. Since we talk about batteries. Battery life is a pain in the neck. I remembered my first vacation after my conversion to digital: Scotland 2002 with a Nikon D1. I had three batteries and I was charging those batteries all the time. Fuji’s battery gauge feels a little bit like 2002 too. Today most cameras let you know the charge in percent just like your smartphone. Fuji gives you an 3 bar indicator and even this indicator does’t work as it should. I think the X-T1 is a little bit better but I its time for Fuji to address this rather odd weakness.
What else? The viewfinder! I said that I was lost when I saw the EVF of the X-T1 for the first time because of its size. It is as big as the viewfinder of my 6D which is full frame. There is no larger viewfinder I know in an APS-C camera. But it is still a video screen and when shooting in bright sunlight it is rather dim. Nothing compares to a big, bright optical viewfinder when shooting in bright sunlight. So did I miss my Canon when I was shooting the surfers in Oceanside? For the viewfinder it is a clear yes but regarding speed I didn’t miss it. It was the other way around. My Canon 6D is anything but a speed demon. Its frame rate is 4 frames per second. The Fuji X-T1 has a frame rate of 8 fps. And thats a hell of a difference! Beautiful! Unfortunately I didn’t upgrade to the fastest SD card so it took almost forever to clear the buffer after bursts. I will get a faster card before my next big trip.
I thought I would use the tilt screen a lot but at least for this trip I was wrong. It think I’m still old fashioned plus within the last couple of months I got hyperopic. It’s hard now to see what’s going on a small screen that is close to my eyes. But I think the tilt screen is extremely useful. Especially landscape shooters will love it. The tilt screen and the special Fuji grip with the integrated Arca Swiss plate. Shooting from a tripod has never been more elegant. I don’t like tripod mount plates sticking out of camera bodies. The Fuji solution is truly smart and beautiful. Even if you never plan to shoot from a tripod I strongly recommend to get the grip. The camera feels so much better in hand with the grip and because of the SLR design the grip doesn’t destroy the look of the camera unlike grips on other Fuji bodies.
FUJIFILM X-T1 (230mm, f/9, 1/2000 sec, ISO500)
FUJIFILM X-T1 (55mm, f/8, 1/150 sec, ISO200)
Too much text already and I haven’t even touched the lenses. How they felt compared to the ones I used with my Canon. Which lenses I used most and why. What I missed most and what was better. To avoid that this post gets too long I will write a separate post where I will compare the lenses.
I started to use mirrorless cameras in 2010. On my first trip to the USA my brand new Sony NEX 5 was the most used camera despite the fact that the kit zoom and the 16mm lens were the only lenses for this system back then. A year later I got a Fuji X100 that I used on all my business trips and later the Fuji X Pro-1. So I’m not new to mirrorless cameras.
I always loved them for their size and weight and unobtrusive design. You can take a picture in a restaurant without feeling embarrassed. You can walk through a foreign city without looking like the typical tourist. You just put the camera away in a small sling or shoulder bag and you merge with the local people. At least in this part of the world that’s true for me. Maybe that’s why I come here again and again.
What really surprised me is how fast these cameras developed. Every generation is better than the one before. These cameras are getting closer and closer to DSLRs without the bulk and weight. Convenience always comes with a penalty. Streaming is much more comfortable than listing to a record but it is still not the same. Shooting a mirroless camera is much more comfortable than shooting with a DSLR but it is still not the same. But it’s getting closer with every new generation of cameras.
I was surprised how close it is already.
FUJIFILM X-T1 (14mm, f/11, 1/100 sec, ISO250)