Beginner FUJI - help required please

Messages
19
Edit My Images
Yes
Hi all, Newbie here,

I’ve had cameras since leaving school – nothing special, but usable.
A couple of years ago, I bought my first ‘proper’ camera (although you experts might think differently !?) – it’s a Fuji Finepix S5800.
The reason I picked that was for the super macro. I’m now disabled and can’t do a lot of anything.
I wanted something to do with my hands, and started looking into watches etc, and wanted close up images.
I’ve been very satisfied with it, until a couple of months ago. The sd card cover stopped locking. I managed to use it by holding the cover whilst shooting,,,, but sometimes I’d forget, and the power cuts out !
I asked Fuji about it, but it took three attempts before they even replied. Even then they said they couldn’t look into it as it was out of warranty !
Now, the sd card reader – doesn’t ! I cleaned the card, tried others etc, so I guess the terminals in the camera are either dirty, or bu@@ered.


1/ Can I clean/check the terminals ?
2/ Can I get and replace the card reader cover ?
3/ Is there anyone on here that can look into it please – if it’s worth it ?


I’m now looking into an entry level mirrorless unit, but only just heard about them. It would be nice with macro (+super) and 4k video.

Any ideas, help or advice really appreciated.
 
If it was me I wouldn’t bother with the Fuji. You can buy them for £50 so spending money to fix it probably isn’t worth the investment. That’s just my opinion obviously, if you love the camera then money doesn’t matter.

On a practical level I’m fairly sure nearly any entry level mirrorless camera will be better than the camera you have. I only know a lot about the Sony a5000 and the a6000. My friend has the 35mm macro lens which I’ve borrowed and it’s really good. You could get a a5000 and that lens for cheap second hand, depends how badly you want 4K and how much you want to spend. I’ve never used a canon or a Nikon so I can’t comment on them
 
Hi Ben,
Thanks for your rapid input.
Obviously I don't want to spend more to fix the Fuji than it's worth, but I thought if there was a simple fix, I'd have a bash. It does a good job.
Now I've started looking into mirrorless, I'll probably get one anyway.


Today I was looking at Canon EOS M50 Mirrorless Digital Camera with EF-M 15-45mm camera Kit (£420). It's a bit more than I would have prefered, but you guys spend a hell of a lot more than I realised.
The Sony's do look good for the price, but as you say, no macro.


I need to futureproof as much as I can, as i'm on a budget and can't just go out buying products just because they come out.

thanks again mate
Baz
 
I'd look at a Panasonic MFT or a Sony A6000 which you may find used at something like £200-£250 sometimes with a kit lens.

I have a couple of Panasonic MFT cameras, a GX80 and a GX9. The GX80's often crop up at nice prices on the used market and ditto the Sony A6000. I know nothing about video though so you'll need to do some reading up if you fancy either of these cameras.

For pictures of watches there are a number of ways to go...

You could just use a cheap kit lens (18-50mm f3.5-5.6 or something like that for the Sony, 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 for the Panasonic) and crop the picture post capture. This will possibly give you a final picture which will look ok or even nice on screen.

If you don't want to crop the picture and instead want to fill the frame with a macro lens and as macro/close up focusing is normally done manually you could go for a film era one as they're quite cheap. There are lots of used ones available for under £100. I have a Sigma 50mm f2.8 which is a true 1:1 macro which cost about £60. With a macro lens you'll be able to fill the frame with a watch easily. If you go for a non native lens like these you'll need an adapter, these usually cost between £10-£20 or so on evil bay.

Another way to do it is to go for a normal lens, like a kit zoom, and use extension tubes or close up filters. Of the two I prefer close up filters, these are magnifying lenses which screw to the front of the lens and enable you to get closer with a lens which doesn't normally focus closely. By a strange coincidence I was using my close up filters today :D They sometimes come in kits of 3 or 4 for something between £20-£50 or so or higher quality ones are available such as the Raynox. I can just about remember the last time I used extension tubes and I think it was something like 3-5 years ago.

Anyway, I hope that helps and good luck researching and choosing the best way to go.

And a PS.
If looking at Panasonic MFT cameras I'd stick to models which came after the GX7 and G7 as those cameras could induce shutter shock in some lenses whereas the problem shutter was replaced in later models.
 
Any ideas, help or advice really appreciated.
If you really like the Fuji why not look around for another? They go for silly money these days and they really are nice little cameras. I found a SL300 in a charity shop for £5. It didn't have a battery but Amazon had one with a charger for £8. A superzoom for less than £15? You might not find one as cheap as that but £50 should see you right with a good example. Some of my shots from the Fuji...

Fujifilm S300 8GB 05 DSCF3712.JPG

Fujifilm SL300 8GB 05 DSCF3452.jpg

Fujifilm SL300 8GB 05 DSCF3529.jpg
 
Try pick up the likes of a used Fuji X-E1 body, they sell for around £100, a great starting point/platform...!

The X-E1 is a powerful performer for it's small price range I think;


Dusk


Dusk by APM Photography, on Flickr


X-E1 -- XF10-24mm -- iso 200 -- @ f/11
 
Last edited:
Macro? Any camera with a Raynox 250, check out the macro section on the forum for ideas.
 
Thanks guys,
Some great quality images here.
Not too worried about staying with Fuji, in fact, after their non support might have put me off.
Might look for a cheap S5800, to try bastardising them.
I still want an entry level mirrorless though.
Baz
 
Just to clear the air, I don't do a lot of photography, I don't need it for work etc - I just want a reasonable camera,,,, or the best I can afford ?!
I've been looking at the Fuji X-E2.
Firstly, it looks like it dosn't have 4k video - right or wrong ? How different is 4K & non 4K ?
Secondly, which lens should I start with ?

If it dosn't have 4K, is there something about the same price that I ought to look at, that does ?

Thirdly, my step-son has his deceased fathers Konica Auto S2. Are these sellable ? It has a bag full of lenses, filters, bits & bobs, with receipts etc.
He was always on about the way he treated it on his travels - to the point of boring.

cheers
 
Just to clear the air, I don't do a lot of photography, I don't need it for work etc - I just want a reasonable camera,,,, or the best I can afford ?!
I've been looking at the Fuji X-E2.
Firstly, it looks like it dosn't have 4k video - right or wrong ? How different is 4K & non 4K ?
Secondly, which lens should I start with ?

If it dosn't have 4K, is there something about the same price that I ought to look at, that does ?

Thirdly, my step-son has his deceased fathers Konica Auto S2. Are these sellable ? It has a bag full of lenses, filters, bits & bobs, with receipts etc.
He was always on about the way he treated it on his travels - to the point of boring.

cheers
Ive never used the X-E2, only the XPRO 1 but I love the x pro1.
I think the X-E3 has 4k but not the X-E2. Assuming you mean 4k vs 1080p then its pretty different. I got a 4k tv recently and could the difference. Its not mind blowing though. Question is do you really need 4k? If you dont have a 4k display then I dont see the point. Even if you do will it actually add much to the video? My understanding is that unless you have a pretty decent sized tv you dont see the benefit that 4k has over 1080p

As for lenses it depends what you to use the camera for. I dont know a lot about macro lenses if thats what you want.

Im assuming the lenses arent for the Konica Auto S2? As far as I can tell you cant change the lens, comes with a fixed 45mm 1.8. Anyway if you do a quick google search the S2 isnt going for very much, max of about £50 maybe. Id keep it for sentimental value alone given who owned it before your step-son, especially as you probably wont get a lot for it
 
Thanks Ben, Some great points there.
The X-E3 does have 4K. It also looks pretty great too. At first I thought it was out of my price range, but after tons of searching, both Google and soul (!?!)I can get one for just under £400 - more than I wanted to pay, but it'll be years before I can afford to replace whatever I buy.
Lens wise, I'll need a beginners one to get used to the camera. I'll have to then save up for a macro/super lens.

No, the lens are for whatever I buy. The Auto S2 has several in the box.

Any more advice before I jump in with the X-E3 ??
 
The 18-55 “kit” lens for the X-E3, is actually a pretty good lens which you won’t need to upgrade.
 
I found this video by a guy who had a similar problem, and it ws caused by a small piece of plastic that had broken off in the card slot.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lL30UJibE7Y

Obviously you need to be careful when probing around the connectors,but if the camera is u/s at the moment, then you don't really have a lot to lose imho.

As an aside, I use the USB cable to transfer images, and this reduces the number of times I have to use the card latching mechanism.
 
very useful - thanks.
very slightly different to mine, but I looked anyway.
No broken sd or bits in the slot,,,, but it's something to know for the future.
I thought my cable was in the bag,,,,, so was excited when I went to get it out,,,, but it's a different cable !!
I'll have to buy another, to get the few images from internal memory.

On to a new camera,,,, I didn't think the lens's were so expensive (bear in mind that I've only used the S5800).
I think I made my mind up for the Fuji kit, and am waiting for replies from a couple of retailers.
I don't s'pose i'll get anything till tomorrow.
Thanks again to all who replied so far - I really appreciate your help and advice.
Baz
 
I watched another video from a guy who used a key to push the memory card down a bit further until it clicked. I don't think that is a very good idea, so if you do want to try it, then be gentle. :)
 
Thanks guys,
Some great quality images here.
Not too worried about staying with Fuji, in fact, after their non support might have put me off.
Might look for a cheap S5800, to try bastardising them.
I still want an entry level mirrorless though.
Baz
Ahem, youre talking an almost 8 year old (by release date) with a lot of development between then and now so in my view support for such cameras cant be expected. The xe series could be a solution.
 
Anyone dealt with TOBY DEALS ? I know they are in Asia, but if the rep' is good, I may not mind.
 
Nope !? I'll stick to a UK retailer.
The trouble is that the X-E3 kit works out a bit dear for me at the moment.
Looks like i'll need to look for something similar - with 4K video - in my bracket,,,,,, I was very nearly there,,,,
 
Is 4k video a deal breaker? Have you got a computer system capable of dealing with, storing and editing 4k video?
A couple minutes of footage is easily a couple of gigabytes of data.
The X-E1 is a cracking body, and available silly cheap now. As is the xpro1, but video isn’t their strong point.
 
Back
Top