A Fuji X100V & Fuji X-T4 Review - A switch to personal photography.
I have shot on the Fuji x100v every day since I got it, and I could not be happier. This camera makes me actually WANT to take photos of my life, and the baked in Fuji film presets mean I don’t have to edit.
Did you hear me….. no editing!
As I transition away from pro photo work and more towards Homeschooling, family time and furthering my education, I’ve been on the hunt for the perfect personal use camera. This. Is. It. If you need a camera that can go anywhere and mimic that amazing 35mm film camera format, look no further!
I have had a few people ask me why I switched over to Fujifilm, and the short answer is: creativity. Having a camera that you love to shoot with, that’s small enough to bring around, and significantly cuts down on editing time, means that I am able to shoot more.
Last year, I purchased a Fuji X-T3 that I completely fell in love with. I purchased the black one, because I could not find a silver one anywhere! I still had my whole kit of canon gear sitting in my pelican, and for professional work, I always grabbed the canon stuff because it’s more easily compatible with LR. Also, when shooting two different systems, the colors are different. When you’re editing two different types of images, you’ve got to slow down and make sure everything matches. We were so busy and underwater last year, I didn’t feel comfortable making the jump. I sold that amazing camera to a friend who is an outstanding photographer, and promised my self I would order another one in silver. I didn’t.
[RABBIT HOLE BEGINNING] But, this year.. this year was different. We entered 2020 with a promise to do better. A commitment to transparency, to not over loading ourselves to the point of failure and exhaustion. 2018-2019 were toughhhhh for me mentally and emotionally, not just on the work front. Our family had a moment of severe fraying in 2017, and we dedicated ourselves then to trying to do better. Unfortunately for us, we fell prey to the mentality that working and providing more would make our financial situation easier. Having more money would make life easier. Having more money would mean that the month to month stress of finances would ease and we would in turn, be less burnt out.
Oh, how wrong we were.
Taking on so many jobs, ultimately led to huge disappointments across the board. December of 2019 I was totally burned out and broken. To be totally honest, I still kind of feel this way some / most days. When you’re working parents with little bitty kids that just take your heart away every day, there’s no way to win. Everything seems to take away from time with them, and slowly your work / life balance becomes a mirage in the distance. So we stopped. We stopped fighting to fit in to what society says success is. We stopped pushing for “more, more, more.”
Covid-19 is awful and scary and has revealed so many negative things about our good old U-S of A, but this complete shutdown was like a desperate breath of fresh air. Shutting down meant getting to be home and not feel guilty about it. Family time quickly became #1 again, and sooooo many of our insecurities vanished with the extra time together. Sure, the financial woes reared their ugly head for everyone, but we were treading water, not drowning. I’m not even going to get in to my brother having a horrible life changing accident or the trials of homeschooling. Big stress time. You get the point. [RABBIT HOLE OVER]
So. Now we’re halfway through the weirdest year ever, and I have recovered some of my bravery, something that used to flow so naturally through my veins. I sold my entire Canon kit. EOS R’s, 5D MK IV’s, L series glass, zoom lenses, prime lenses, flashes, batteries, accessories. All of it. Poof, gone. I was so excited when Canon went mirrorless because I thought it would bring smaller lenses and bodies…… BUTTTTT that didn’t happen. The lenses are gargantuan, they overtake the camera bodies! Not to mention, if you want to use your old EF glass (which of COURSE you do because you spent a fortune on it) then you have to use an adapter that makes the already awkwardly sized lenses even longer off of the front of your camera. Not what I wanted. I wanted smaller and stealthier, and I got bigger and uglier.
My kit now consists of two Fuji X-T4’s (IBIS HALLELUJAH!) and a x100V. Lenses of course, but all primes this time, no more zooms. Zooms make the process too easy, like a conveyor belt. I am finally embracing the system that I love and the style that really reflects who I am. I ordered a Fuji GFX50R, and after having it, I loved it… but it was too expensive to really justify right now. That’s one i’ll own again someday, but not right now. It’s just not necessary with the direction that i’m headed. I am easily intrigued, but I want for simple things now. I have to constantly remind myself to stop comparing and competing with everyone.
These images below are all from the X100V, but i’ll do one for the X-T4 as soon as I can. I like these a heck of a lot more than the daily photos that i’ve been taking on my iPhone, that’s for sure.
