Your first Fuji

So this is a new Fuji forum, and I thought it might be good to get to know each other’s journey into Fuji.

Here’s mine - back in 2012 I belatedly made the move to a “proper” DSLR and away from film, mostly because my wife and I had just had a daughter and I was taking a LOT of expensive pictures. Looking at the landscape then I was immediately drawn to the X-Pro1, as a film shooter begrudgingly giving up a Nikon FE2 - here was another feast of black metal and leatherette, with an optical finder and manual dials. It was perfect, all except for the price, which was leagues more than I could justify paying. So, in the end I went with a relatively cheap Canon DSLR and was… almost immediately unhappy with it.

A few years later, in 2015 I saved up some pocket money and could afford to buy what would inevitably turn out to be my gateway camera - a used Fujifilm X10. I immediately fell in love with the thing in a way I never had with the Canon; it felt like a “proper” camera rather than a lump of plastic, it was fun to use, and the jpegs had colours straight out of camera that I just immediately connected with. Within a few months I realised I was using and enjoying this little compact far more than my bigger and ostensibly “better” Canon. So I made the decision to explore Fuji more and ditch my first and last DSLR.

Selling the Canon and the X10 I was able to afford an XE1 with kit lens from the Fuji refurb store. I loved the images from that camera, with more of those Fuji colours and none of the limitations of the X10’s 2/3 sensor, and the manual controls took me home, but I didn’t love the dated and dim EVF. However, a few months later (and after a brief dalliance with the XE2 whose waxy skin tones I disliked), Black Friday 2015 happened, and with it Fujifilm’s desperation to shift X-Pro1 stock ahead of the X-Pro2 release in the new year. I ended up being one of the lucky few to pay £499 for a brand new X-Pro1, XF18mm f2, XF27 f2.8, and official leather case. The lenses alone were worth more than the total I paid, meaning they basically paid me to take the camera and case!

The rest, as they say, is history. I loved almost everything about the X-Pro1 aside from the autofocus, and have owned each X-Pro since - dabbling occasionally in other bodies but only ever to confirm it’s the X-Pro I really want. I’m still really enjoying my X-Pro3 despite all the flack it gets, and I’m a shoe-in for the X-Pro4 some day… when I can afford it.

I bought my first Fuji in 2013, a X-E1 with the 18-55, 14 and 35 1.4. In 2014 I sold it just to buy a used one again in 2015. In this same year I bought a X-T1 adding a 56mm 1.2 to the kit, and a X100T. Latter this year I sold the X-T1 and the X100T to buy the recent A7R2. In 2016 I sold the Sony kit and bought one X-Pro2 with the 18, 35 and 60 lenses, one it came out. Months latter, I bought a used X-E2S to take on a trip to Italy, adding also a 55-200. And then a X-T2. In 2017 I got a X-T20 and I also got a X-T3 when it was released. Now I bought the X-T5.

Currently, I own:

X-E1, X-E2, X-E3, X-E4, X-T3, X-T5 and X-M1 (daughter). And several lenses.

Quite the XE fan! I think the XE1 was a great entry point for a lot of people, it was obviously a cheaper alternative to the XP1 to begin with but over time it got a lot cheaper being a 1st gen camera, but it’s still quite capable now. I have one still too, a hand me down from a friend, and I’ll keep it forever now as a reminder of that OG sensor.

Thinking back it’s easy to forget what a big deal that first X-Trans sensor was. Of course the colours are famous, but also the sharpness of it was really something at the time. My Canon DSLR was a similar vintage and 15mp, but the XE1 absolutely blew it away in terms of actual resolution, largely because of dropping the AA filter I think. Of course the fact that it was focussing off the sensor, and the “kit lens” was so much better than Canon’s, also played a part.

Probably a Fujica ST605N that I bought used in about 1980.

Then life moved on, got into horses, which took all time and money. Eventually started back into photography, with Nikon D5300 and a Nikon 1 J5. The D5300 kept back focussing for no obvious reason, and I liked the mirrorless J5 so I was thinking of a change. Hoped Nikon would introduce a mirrorless APS-C offering, but instead they brought out a full frame lump. Looked around, it was obvious Fuji owned APS-C mirrorless, so got an X-T20 with kit XC16-50 and really liked it. Bought a couple more zoom lenses and sold the Nikons to help finance them. Really liked the Fuji system

Then came COVID and Lockdown One; Fuji UK sold off their refurbished stock and I bought a effectively new X-H1 for a giveaway price (shutter count about 13, price £480-something including postage). Later sold the X-T20 in p/x for the Brick (refurbished).

I'm not planning to change anything in a hurry. The H1 really works for me.

My first Fuji was the old 4MP S5100 superzoom back around 2005. It was my 2nd digital camera, and the one that really got me into photography. Loved that little camera, and still have a handful of pics from it I consider some of my all time favorites. My next step was a Konica Minolta DSLR, and we all know how that ended lol.

I'm not an X mount shooter, but I have a soft spot for Fuji and love what they've done with the system overall. I'm too entrenched in other systems to consider a switch or adding another system, but ya never know what could happen. I actually still have a Fuji S6000 sitting on the shelf, need to fire it up.

I'm fairly new to the XH2. I sold my Sony kit (A7R4, 100-400, etc.) a year ago and thought I'd try the Leica Q2 as my "only" camera. I had been in the Sony ecosystem since the first A7. It was too big. Just really not necessary. I'm not a pro, I do photography as a fun hobby.

As much as I love the Leica I did miss having a "regular" zoom lens (now have the Fuji 16-55 f2.8) and wanted to try focus bracketing and macro (I have the 80mm X macro lens now). I was intrigued by the 40meg sensor on the XH2. It does not disappoint! The UI is ok, once I learned the Fuji menus. I find the XH2 to be well built, flexible, and probably the most comfortable camera I've ever held. I wanted to buy the XT5 but it was unavailable when I was ready, so I bought the XH2. No regrets on the XH2.

I started out with the S5Pro after shooting with a D200 both primarily for weddings. The S5Pro had a knack for doing real well with the tonal transitions of the white wedding dresses. Without taking images of every Fuji I've owned, I then bought an X100, XPro1, all the X-E cams, X-T1, 2, X-T30, X-H2, and got a bargain on an X-T5 open box return I couldn't resist. All the "X" series cams are used for pleasure. However, I have used the X-H2 for a few headshot gigs. Works well with the Godox Flashes!
Here is the baby which still works well.....mated with the 17-55 Nikkor 2.8.

Bob

I also had one S5 Pro in 2009, didn't count it cause it's not X.

My first Fuji is my only Fuji, an X-T3!

I am highly nostalgic and have wonderful memories of my film days in which I would lift up on the speed dial to select the ASA setting after loading the film and afterwards utilize four external controls (aperture ring, manual lens focus ring, shutter speed dial and film advance lever) for up to 36 exposures. As you can imagine the FujiFilm X-T series caught my attention with the traditional control dials plus ISO and exposure compensation dials.

However, the FujiFilm APS-C system wasn't on my radar when I decided to move to a mirrorless camera system and chose the a6000 in the first year of its release. I also purchased the a5100 for video. Video overheating issues had me looking to Micro Four Thirds for a dedicated solution (GH3 & 12-35mm f/2.8). I had no interest in further expansion into MFT until I started taking a closer look at Olympus cameras and the 5-axis IBIS.

With a shelf full of MFT & Sony APS-C lenses and several camera bodies from someone who thought he knew better than to support two camera systems, I decided that I needed to explore FujiFilm's color profiles and film simulations and well-respected out of the camera JPGs while finally indulging my eagerness to use the X-T3's external controls.

Jim

It was an S9500 for me, it was ok, but I soon moved on. I've bounced in and out of Fuji several times but am now very happy with my X-S10 and picked up a mint X-Pro1 and X-T1 as I like the older models, simple works for me. I've kept the original X100, which I sometimes use, and I still love the results from that camera.

But a worthy workhorse nonetheless!

Bob

I've had several Fujifilm point and shoot cameras, but my first interchangeable-lens camera was the X-E2S.

Your topic is about Fuji cameras in general or Fujifilm X cameras exclusively?

Fair point - any Fuji really!

In fact the first Fuji I remember using was my dad’s first digital camera - this 1mp beauty: digicamfinder.com/c/fuji_mx700

Thanks for clarifying 👍🏻

My first digital Fuji was the Fujifilm DS-7 (1996)

The first to be able to use the SmartMedia 5v

Fujifilm DS-7 (1996) by Marc Aubry, sur Flickr

Fujifilm DS-7 (1996)
310,000 pixel sensor (640x480)
Storage: 2mb SmartMedia 5v
$700.00 USD

Buy in 1998 for about $230.00 US
And I used it to photograph textures, and I then used the Softimage 3D software to apply the photos to the 3D models.

It was a great time

I got my first Fuji X-T20 in 2019 for a trip to Australia. I sold it ( with a few regrets) to try a bridge camera for backyard bird photography during COVID.

After 2 years of taking shots I decided to buy an interchangeable lens camera again to take a beginner photography class at my local school in the fall. Coming from a film camera background (Canon AE1) and labouriously trolling reviews and asking questions on several forums, I purchased a used Fuji X-T3. As someone previously mentioned it has all the dials I’m used to so that’s given me some confidence already!