The Fabulous Fuji X owners thread

[Mr Perceptive]

It’s landed - on loan for the Oulton Park Gold Cup weekend - goes back (promise) next Tuesday

 

[bl0at3r]

It’s landed - on loan for the Oulton Park Gold Cup weekend - goes back (promise) next Tuesday

View attachment 491356

WTF is that bad boy ?

 

[Mr Perceptive]

WTF is that bad boy ?

XF 200mm F2 largest diameter (105mm filter thread) and most expensive (excluding video lenses) for the X-mount

 

[snerkler]

XF 200mm F2 largest diameter (105mm filter thread) and most expensive (excluding video lenses) for the X-mount

Is it not a drop in filter design?

 

[Mr Perceptive]

Is it not a drop in filter design?

No traditional and it’s 105mm, it came with a UV filter, I’ve bought a cheap Chinese 4 stop ND so I can pan without completely stopping down

 

[jknights]

Send to me.
Last item I desire for my X series lenses. I wish it came in black.

 

[Mr Perceptive]

Send to me.
Last item I desire for my X series lenses. I wish it came in black.

It’s on the Fuji free 48hr loan, because there is a bank holiday it gets extended to 72hr, then in June they did a free extend your loan booking by 48hr so it became 120hr, then they contacted me yesterday and said I could have it day earlier for no charge, happy days

 

[LeeRatters]

It’s on the Fuji free 48hr loan, because there is a bank holiday it gets extended to 72hr, then in June they did a free extend your loan booking by 48hr so it became 120hr, then they contacted me yesterday and said I could have it day earlier for no charge, happy days

Nice result that!

 

[Mr Perceptive]

Nice result that!

It’s just the £2,750 security deposit that makes you smart a bit!!

 

[Craikeybaby]

I've not had much chance for photography recently, with work, a renovation project and two boys to entertain. But I did like this shot from when the boys were racing the cycle speedway nationals - rider isn't one of mine, but he did with his age category, and this was in the final. I always feel like an action shot is more satisfying if it is the race winner.


LRCX4587 by Lewis Craik, on Flickr

Heading off on holiday soon, so have been sorting my camera bag, thinking X-H2s with 55-200, 35f1.4 and 18-55 to cover most bases. Hopefully I'll get a chance to get out for some photography...

 

[MittyKitty]

Every time I read this I wonder if I'm on another planet as I just don't see the problem. Sony menus are complex because there's a lot of customisation you can do, would you rather have a camera you can't set up as you want?

Once you've set the custom buttons and dials and the custom menu up how you want how often will you be diving into those intimidating Sony menus? I change the time twice a year in the UK and sometimes when I go on holiday and I have to use the menu for that but other than that the only thing I used to have to go into the menu for was formatting the card but even that's in a custom menu now. I just don't see a problem with Sony menus or anyone elses for that matter. After you've had the camera an hour and set it up the menus are very probably going to be a complete non issue.

for me the camera I had back then (Rx10) after my Nikon the menu’s were not my cup of tea I never said that I don’t want to switch just that to me the menu structure is still a lot. Especially at the first glance when it came out. . And in a store you cannot try it out. No time for that when in a store.

And never said that I’m not willing to learn how to use it. And I’m certainly not going to pass on a camera just because of a menu. I just mentioned that this was my experience with my Sony back then. And it’s just one of things to consider.

One of my friends bought the Sony. She showed me how she customized her body / camera and told me more about how she uses it. Let me use it for a weekend. And I must say. It was mind blowing !.And indeed. Once set up no need to go into the menu. And the menu has improved since my old RX10. Still a lot op options ;-). though.

But let it be oké dat people think / experience things differently then you. Nothing wrong with that . Some people find the Fuji menu annoying .. they are allowed to think that.

 

[MittyKitty]

With the Fuji range, a lot depends on the lens you're using at the time. The older 35 f1.4 was awful, but the newer 33 1.4 is much quicker. The 50-140 is no slouch either. I don't have vast experience across the range of lenses, but it would be worth knowing what your actual set up is. I had an X-T3, skipped the 4, and now run a 5, which is much better than the 3.

One of my lenses is the 70-300. Upgrading the body is needed. My lens is oké. And the pictures I take with it are beautiful. Sometimes t think that my lens is faster than my body. I have it since it came out in 2018. Lens bought last year Was thinking about buying the 100-400 but wanted to wait if the xt-6 was coming and the specs of that.

Im not in a hurry.

 

[snerkler]

No traditional and it’s 105mm, it came with a UV filter, I’ve bought a cheap Chinese 4 stop ND so I can pan without completely stopping down

Crikey, won't be cheap if you want to buy a decent filter. Oulton Park has a lot of areas of fence free shooting so it's not an issue stopping down, unlike Donington which is a royal PITA. I spent quite a bit on a Firecrest 4 stopper and there's a surprising amount of colour cast for a filter of this price range. My B&W 2 stopper has no cast, I've been wondering if their 4 stopper would be the same.

It’s just the £2,750 security deposit that makes you smart a bit!!

Yeah it stings a bit, I'm always relieved when I get the email to say they've had the equipment back and it all checks out

 

[Mr Perceptive]

Crikey, won't be cheap if you want to buy a decent filter. Oulton Park has a lot of areas of fence free shooting so it's not an issue stopping down, unlike Donington which is a royal PITA. I spent quite a bit on a Firecrest 4 stopper and there's a surprising amount of colour cast for a filter of this price range. My B&W 2 stopper has no cast, I've been wondering if their 4 stopper would be the same.

Yeah it stings a bit, I'm always relieved when I get the email to say they've had the equipment back and it all checks out

I'll only want to buy a decent filter if I end up buying the lens (which appears to be on some sort of 10% promotion at the moment, and WEX have it on Interest Free Credit, and Clifton on Buy Now Pay Later, not that I've been loooking )

I have a set of 72mm Firecrest's and only noticed significant colour cast on the 13 and 16 stoppers, my 3 and 6 appear quite neutral. B+W make excellent filters but come at a premium price, and there are a limited number of companies that actually do a 105mm. I'm not expecting great things from my no-name (Junestar) £25 Chinese 105mm 4 stopper, but the fact that its going to be quite cloudy this weekend may work in my favour. Also there is quite a lot of rain forecast (showers) so that might make the whole thing interesting

I'm going to give the lens a good workout this weekend, lots of the cars I've already shot before, so I can afford to be experimental, both in circuit location and style of shooting. It's only the Can-Am cars that I really want 'typical' motorsport shots off, and if I can bag them in Friday's demonstration then I can be more experimental on Sunday's. Going all 3 days takes pressure off and makes the whole thing more relaxed, I don't need to rush around the circuit and can afford to 'miss' certain races at certain locations, and maybe I'll even put the camera down and watch the action!!!

So I'll be taking X-H2S, 50-140, 100-400, 200F2+TC, Q3 43 (paddock/pit) and Plaubel Makina (6x7 MF film) for paddock and pit. I'll probably park reasonably centrally and use the car as a camera bag, I'm certainly not lugging that lot round for 3 days

 

[skullfunkerry]

Couple of trips out recently: Vulcan XH558 engine run last weekend, and the Tate Modern yesterday. After a brief dalliance with Lisa Portinari's Glow recipe, I seem to have gone back to Reggie's Portra again now.
All X-T4; the Vulcan shots were with the XF 16-80 F/4, and the London shots are the XF 18mm F/2.

 

[jknights]

I'll only want to buy a decent filter if I end up buying the lens (which appears to be on some sort of 10% promotion at the moment, and WEX have it on Interest Free Credit, and Clifton on Buy Now Pay Later, not that I've been loooking )

Stop putting temptation in front of me.
Hmm but I could spend my next years holiday fund.......

 

[imattersuk]

WTF is that bad boy ?

Why do you care it won't fit in your pocket ?

 

[Mr Perceptive]

Why do you care it won't fit in your pocket ?

Or the weeny man bag

 

[imattersuk]

@Mr Perceptive you've probably seen this already but for those that haven't........ had the pleasure of doing a half day with Jeff at Brands Hatch a few years ago, top bloke and very talented.

Photographing 24 Hours of Le Mans with FUJIFILM X-H2 and X-H2S | X Stories | FUJIFILM X Series & GFX - UK

The 24 Hours of Le Mans is probably the most famous motorsport event in the world, recognised by many, even those with little interest in racing. 2023 is a

www.fujifilm-x.com

 

[Mr Perceptive]

@Mr Perceptive you've probably seen this already but for those that haven't........ had the pleasure of doing a half day with Jeff at Brands Hatch a few years ago, top bloke and very talented.

Photographing 24 Hours of Le Mans with FUJIFILM X-H2 and X-H2S | X Stories | FUJIFILM X Series & GFX - UK

The 24 Hours of Le Mans is probably the most famous motorsport event in the world, recognised by many, even those with little interest in racing. 2023 is a

www.fujifilm-x.com

Yes seen that (thanks) - if I can anywhere near that standard I'll be happy.

He's also here

His comments about the direction of the sun hit resonance with me as its been something I've spent quite a bit of time looking at after getting it all wrong at the Jaguar Day at Oulton Park, wrong place and the wrong time!! Interesting I fed information into chatGPT including circuit, event and date and it came back with a load of sensible recommendations of where to shoot (different corners etc) at different times of day,

As I said above, since I've shot a lot of the cars at this event before, I'm going to dedicate probably 2/3 of the time to trying other stuff and getting used to the 200mm F2

 

[jimmyjamjojo]

Viltrox 90mm finally up in classifieds.

 

[bl0at3r]

XT-5 and 23mm pancake going in the classifieds and/or MPB.

Adios amigos - I’m sure I’ll get another Fuji at some point.

 

[Mr Perceptive]

Adios amigos - I’m sure I’ll get another Fuji at some point.

ChatGPT has a view on this........

buying and selling the same camera multiple times

If you mean why you keep buying a particular camera, selling it, and then later buying another one, that's surprisingly understandable with cameras.

It often happens when a camera has something you really enjoy but also a recurring irritation. You sell it because the irritation seems decisive; six months later you remember the photographs and handling you liked more strongly than the reason you sold it.

The useful question isn't really “Why have I bought this three times?” but:

“What does this camera give me that I keep discovering I miss?”

If you tell me which camera it is, I can probably help work out whether buying it yet again makes sense — or whether there's an alternative that preserves what you miss without repeating whatever made you sell it.


X100VI

Ah, the X100VI. That is almost a textbook camera for the buy → sell → miss → rebuy cycle.

I think the reason is that the X100VI is simultaneously very appealing and quite easy to rationalise selling.

When you own it, the negatives become obvious: fixed 23mm f/2, not especially small compared with some compacts, expensive for a camera, the lens isn't spectacular wide open at close distances, it's easy to think, “Why am I keeping this when my phone is more capable?”

So you sell it.

Then what disappears isn't a specification — it's the experience of having a very capable camera that you can simply pick up and take somewhere.

And the X100VI has several characteristics that are surprisingly difficult to replace simultaneously: 40MP APS-C, IBIS, leaf shutter, built-in ND, optical/electronic hybrid finder and a genuinely useful 35mm-equivalent fixed lens.

The 35mm-equivalent focal length is probably particularly significant. It's wide enough for environmental photography but not so wide that everything becomes about perspective. Once you've only got that focal length available, you tend to stop thinking about lenses and start thinking about where to stand.

The question I'd ask before buying another X100VI is:

What made you sell the previous one?

If the answer was something fundamental — “I don't like 35mm,” “I need interchangeable lenses,” “it's too big to carry” — I'd resist buying another.

But if it was something like “I wasn't using it enough,” “it seemed extravagant alongside my other Fuji,” or “I thought I could just use another camera instead” — the fact that you subsequently miss it is meaningful. You may simply be discovering that its value isn't measured by how often you use it.

Tell me how many times you've owned an X100VI and why you sold it each time, and I'll tell you whether I think you're about to repeat an expensive mistake or whether you should simply accept that an X100VI belongs in your camera bag.


Shall I carry on with the questions............................????

 

[snerkler]

ChatGPT has a view on this........

buying and selling the same camera multiple times

If you mean why you keep buying a particular camera, selling it, and then later buying another one, that's surprisingly understandable with cameras.

It often happens when a camera has something you really enjoy but also a recurring irritation. You sell it because the irritation seems decisive; six months later you remember the photographs and handling you liked more strongly than the reason you sold it.

The useful question isn't really “Why have I bought this three times?” but:

“What does this camera give me that I keep discovering I miss?”

If you tell me which camera it is, I can probably help work out whether buying it yet again makes sense — or whether there's an alternative that preserves what you miss without repeating whatever made you sell it.


X100VI

Ah, the X100VI. That is almost a textbook camera for the buy → sell → miss → rebuy cycle.

I think the reason is that the X100VI is simultaneously very appealing and quite easy to rationalise selling.

When you own it, the negatives become obvious: fixed 23mm f/2, not especially small compared with some compacts, expensive for a camera, the lens isn't spectacular wide open at close distances, it's easy to think, “Why am I keeping this when my phone is more capable?”

So you sell it.

Then what disappears isn't a specification — it's the experience of having a very capable camera that you can simply pick up and take somewhere.

And the X100VI has several characteristics that are surprisingly difficult to replace simultaneously: 40MP APS-C, IBIS, leaf shutter, built-in ND, optical/electronic hybrid finder and a genuinely useful 35mm-equivalent fixed lens.

The 35mm-equivalent focal length is probably particularly significant. It's wide enough for environmental photography but not so wide that everything becomes about perspective. Once you've only got that focal length available, you tend to stop thinking about lenses and start thinking about where to stand.

The question I'd ask before buying another X100VI is:

What made you sell the previous one?

If the answer was something fundamental — “I don't like 35mm,” “I need interchangeable lenses,” “it's too big to carry” — I'd resist buying another.

But if it was something like “I wasn't using it enough,” “it seemed extravagant alongside my other Fuji,” or “I thought I could just use another camera instead” — the fact that you subsequently miss it is meaningful. You may simply be discovering that its value isn't measured by how often you use it.

Tell me how many times you've owned an X100VI and why you sold it each time, and I'll tell you whether I think you're about to repeat an expensive mistake or whether you should simply accept that an X100VI belongs in your camera bag.


Shall I carry on with the questions............................????

It missed out the most important fact of all, it looks pretty

 

[Mr Perceptive]

It missed out the most important fact of all, it looks pretty

I agree it is a fine looking camera, and has a lot of kerbside appeal, there is something about the X100 series that makes you want to pick one up......

I can't part with my original X100 even though it only gets used a couple of times a year

 

[LeeRatters]

ChatGPT has a view on this........

buying and selling the same camera multiple times

If you mean why you keep buying a particular camera, selling it, and then later buying another one, that's surprisingly understandable with cameras.

It often happens when a camera has something you really enjoy but also a recurring irritation. You sell it because the irritation seems decisive; six months later you remember the photographs and handling you liked more strongly than the reason you sold it.

The useful question isn't really “Why have I bought this three times?” but:

“What does this camera give me that I keep discovering I miss?”

If you tell me which camera it is, I can probably help work out whether buying it yet again makes sense — or whether there's an alternative that preserves what you miss without repeating whatever made you sell it.


X100VI

Ah, the X100VI. That is almost a textbook camera for the buy → sell → miss → rebuy cycle.

I think the reason is that the X100VI is simultaneously very appealing and quite easy to rationalise selling.

When you own it, the negatives become obvious: fixed 23mm f/2, not especially small compared with some compacts, expensive for a camera, the lens isn't spectacular wide open at close distances, it's easy to think, “Why am I keeping this when my phone is more capable?”

So you sell it.

Then what disappears isn't a specification — it's the experience of having a very capable camera that you can simply pick up and take somewhere.

And the X100VI has several characteristics that are surprisingly difficult to replace simultaneously: 40MP APS-C, IBIS, leaf shutter, built-in ND, optical/electronic hybrid finder and a genuinely useful 35mm-equivalent fixed lens.

The 35mm-equivalent focal length is probably particularly significant. It's wide enough for environmental photography but not so wide that everything becomes about perspective. Once you've only got that focal length available, you tend to stop thinking about lenses and start thinking about where to stand.

The question I'd ask before buying another X100VI is:

What made you sell the previous one?

If the answer was something fundamental — “I don't like 35mm,” “I need interchangeable lenses,” “it's too big to carry” — I'd resist buying another.

But if it was something like “I wasn't using it enough,” “it seemed extravagant alongside my other Fuji,” or “I thought I could just use another camera instead” — the fact that you subsequently miss it is meaningful. You may simply be discovering that its value isn't measured by how often you use it.

Tell me how many times you've owned an X100VI and why you sold it each time, and I'll tell you whether I think you're about to repeat an expensive mistake or whether you should simply accept that an X100VI belongs in your camera bag.


Shall I carry on with the questions............................????

Yes. The "how many times" bit could be interesting....

The X100vi does have a few things that would be nice. But my X100f is nicely worn in now......

 

[jknights]

I agree it is a fine looking camera, and has a lot of kerbside appeal, there is something about the X100 series that makes you want to pick one up......

I can't part with my original X100 even though it only gets used a couple of times a year

I agree. I have an original X100 that I got the day it was first in the shops. I still prefer it to the later X100T, F, V that I have but each one of the series has its own very likeable qualities. I resisted the X100S as it had the same battery as the X100 which is not a great battery. The X100VI is very nice but I think that I have enough cameras!

 

[Mr Perceptive]

Yes. The "how many times" bit could be interesting....

I have owned one 3 times

Three times changes my interpretation quite a bit.

If you've owned an X100VI three separate times, I wouldn't regard a fourth purchase as simply indecision. There's clearly something about the camera that repeatedly draws you back — but equally, something makes you sell it every time.

So before considering another one, the important question is: what was the reason you sold it on each of those three occasions?

If you tell me those reasons — even just briefly — I think we can work out whether you genuinely want an X100VI in your long-term kit, or whether you actually like the idea of the X100VI more than owning one.


sell it because I think its a lot of money tied up

That explains the cycle rather well.

You aren't selling the X100VI because you dislike the camera. You're selling it because, while you own it, you look at roughly £1,500 sitting on the shelf and think “I don't use this enough to justify that much money.” Then once it's gone, you miss what it provides and buy another.

Those are two different questions: utilisation and value to you.

If you bought it for £1,500 and it sat unused for months, I'd understand selling it. But if it is the camera you reach for when you don't want to take a proper camera bag, its value isn't necessarily measured by shutter count. It's filling a role your larger system doesn't.

There's also a financial argument for stopping the cycle. If every sell/rebuy costs you even £100–£200 through dealer margins, postage, accessories or buying/selling at different points in the market, doing that several times can easily cost more than simply accepting that £1,500 is tied up in a camera that isn't used every week.

I'd therefore set yourself a different rule if you buy one for the fourth time:

Don't sell it because you're not using it enough. Only sell it if you no longer enjoy using it or another camera genuinely replaces its role.

And I'd probably buy used rather than new this time. Let somebody else absorb the initial depreciation. If six months later you have another attack of “that's an awful lot of money sitting there”, the difference between what you paid and what you can sell it for should be relatively small.

There's another useful test. Imagine you currently owned the X100VI and somebody offered you £1,400 cash for it today. Would you take the money knowing that you could never buy another X100VI?

If your immediate reaction is “no, I'd miss it”, you've essentially answered the question.

If it's “yes, absolutely”, don't buy a fourth one.

Given that you've already gone through the cycle three times, though, I suspect the camera itself isn't the problem. You're repeatedly trying to rationalise a camera whose value to you is partly enjoyment rather than necessity. And that's perfectly legitimate for photography equipment.

 

[jimmyjamjojo]

This is why RAM prices have jumped 500% and datacentres are popping up left and right...

 

[Mr Perceptive]

This is why RAM prices have jumped 500% and datacentres are popping up left and right...

True!

 

[Topsy]

I had the X-100T 3 times then settled on the X-100V, it tipped the balance for me with weather sealing and tilty screen, the battery was a bonus.

 

[Mr Perceptive]

I had the X-100T 3 times then settled on the X-100V, it tipped the balance for me with weather sealing and tilty screen, the battery was a bonus.

I don't think I've ever re-bought bodies, but lenses yes, 35mm F1.4 twice, 18mm F2 twice, 50-140mm twice

But also @Topsy having 3 of any one camera seems to be your modus operandi

 

[jknights]

I think that the answers from ChatGPT may seem logical but they are like the responses from the Oracle at Delphi.
Seems like it has taken us 2000 years to recreate the same ambiguity.

Many of responses are ambiguous unless you ask questions that are 'closed'.

 

[jknights]

David as a matter of personal interest do you have the text of your original question to ChatGPT?

 

[Mr Perceptive]

David as a matter of personal interest do you have the text of your original question to ChatGPT?

Its the bits in red in posts

Many of responses are ambiguous unless you ask questions that are 'closed'.

This is true, you often need to push it to get more specific answers, it has its uses

 

[jimmyjamjojo]

I think that the answers from ChatGPT may seem logical but they are like the responses from the Oracle at Delphi.
Seems like it has taken us 2000 years to recreate the same ambiguity.

Many of responses are ambiguous unless you ask questions that are 'closed'.

People just tend to ask the wrong questions. AI is fantastic for computation, for data handling, collation, and filtering, pseudo-coding, anything fact based and not open to interpretation, but are terrible for anything that involves an opinion or missing data.

The way the companies present them as anthropomorphised agents doesn't help. People seem to treat them as some all knowing demi-god with the answer to life's philosophical questions, when in fact they are calculators on steroids, with a fancy language model in front designed specifically to hide the cold, calculating machine behind them by giving vague non-answers like a fairground medium.

If you can't give it a definite question (as in, a question that is completely defined with no ambiguity), you won't get a definite answer.

Ultimately, your output will be as precise as your inputs.

 

[Topsy]

People just tend to ask the wrong questions. AI is fantastic for computation, for data handling, collation, and filtering, pseudo-coding, anything fact based and not open to interpretation, but are terrible for anything that involves an opinion or missing data.

The way the companies present them as anthropomorphised agents doesn't help. People seem to treat them as some all knowing demi-god with the answer to life's philosophical questions, when in fact they are calculators on steroids, with a fancy language model in front designed specifically to hide the cold, calculating machine behind them by giving vague non-answers like a fairground medium.

If you can't give it a definite question (as in, a question that is completely defined with no ambiguity), you won't get a definite answer.

Ultimately, your output will be as precise as your inputs.

I use AI for research on factual things it's just way quicker than using the normal search engines and I like the fact you can add follow on questionsrather than starting a new search. I do find though I get better (IMO) results if I interrogate it or challenge it's first answers.

 

[LeeRatters]

I'm pretty sure I've never re-bought anything.

 

[jknights]

I'm pretty sure I've never re-bought anything.

You and me too. I do have a big store cupboard! I just would rather give/loan an item to a person who needed it that sell the item and find I needed to use it.
When I decided to get my Z9 I did trade in a lot of DSLR stuff that I was not using so I viewed this as reduction or rationalisation of kit.
I have film cameras still but these are more nostalgia and collection items. I do love my Nikon F2 range

 

[gad-westy]

I'll only want to buy a decent filter if I end up buying the lens (which appears to be on some sort of 10% promotion at the moment, and WEX have it on Interest Free Credit, and Clifton on Buy Now Pay Later, not that I've been loooking )

I have a set of 72mm Firecrest's and only noticed significant colour cast on the 13 and 16 stoppers, my 3 and 6 appear quite neutral. B+W make excellent filters but come at a premium price, and there are a limited number of companies that actually do a 105mm. I'm not expecting great things from my no-name (Junestar) £25 Chinese 105mm 4 stopper, but the fact that its going to be quite cloudy this weekend may work in my favour. Also there is quite a lot of rain forecast (showers) so that might make the whole thing interesting

I'm going to give the lens a good workout this weekend, lots of the cars I've already shot before, so I can afford to be experimental, both in circuit location and style of shooting. It's only the Can-Am cars that I really want 'typical' motorsport shots off, and if I can bag them in Friday's demonstration then I can be more experimental on Sunday's. Going all 3 days takes pressure off and makes the whole thing more relaxed, I don't need to rush around the circuit and can afford to 'miss' certain races at certain locations, and maybe I'll even put the camera down and watch the action!!!

So I'll be taking X-H2S, 50-140, 100-400, 200F2+TC, Q3 43 (paddock/pit) and Plaubel Makina (6x7 MF film) for paddock and pit. I'll probably park reasonably centrally and use the car as a camera bag, I'm certainly not lugging that lot round for 3 days

On the slim possibility, you might need one in future, Lee 105mm landscape CPL's are quite cheap these days. I remember when those were £100+. I guess everyone has moved onto different filter systems these days so there are bargains to be had. I bought one for my 200mm and it works fantastically. Can't help you with ND's though. I just stop down for panning I must admit. Looking forward to seeing the results you get.