Inspiration (To Switch)

This post from Dave Fieldhouse popped up in my timeline a couple weeks ago. It hits incredibly close to home. I had the Nikon equivalent of his Canon DSLR and standard zoom combination, and a trip to the Lake District was the last I endured with DSLR weight on my back.

Not only is Dave’s work an excellent source of photographic inspiration, if there were any doubts about leaving the DSLR, this should help quash them.

Dave’s photography is lovely, and I’ll be keeping a close eye out for that well known spot outside of Ambleside next time I’m there.

The Fuji makes me want to take photos where I wouldn’t in the past.

So today I finally let it go. The Canon is heading off to pastures … for now and the immediate future I’m all in to Fuji. A second body and a bag full of prime lenses arrive next week so lets see what happens next…

I’m looking forward to it.

Mirrorless vs. DSLR

If there’s one regret I have about selling my DSLR gear, it’s that I don’t have it to use for comparisons. Luckily, there are plenty of other photographers who still have DSLRs kicking around.

Ivan Joshua Loh is just such a photographer. He ran a quick comparison between the X-Pro2 and 5D Mark III:

I was expecting a slight difference with the advantage toward 5D3. And I was absolutely wrong. With the advancement of technology; not only did X-Pro2 is on par with 5D3, personally I think it maybe a tad ahead in this pack.

The X-Pro2/XF 16mm f/1.4 combo looks sharper to my eye as well.

Ivan’s post has lots more valuable insight from weight to total cost of ownership, to this fascinating little tidbit:

Talking about cool; do you know that the shutter and ISO dial on the X-Pro2 is made up of 38 parts? Just on this dial alone.

Great read.

FUJIFILM XT-1, Back to Basics

An excellent review of the Fuji X-T1 was posted back on April by Kjetil Kvien Madsen.

While the whole review is worth a read, it was the images that go along with this line that really struck me:

Nikon D800 (With 24 f1,4) and Fujifilm XT-1 (With 23 f1,4) There is a huge difference carrying these cameras around. The bulk and weight of the D800 is quite different.

A friendly reminder from Kjetil Kvien Madsen how much smaller our X-T1’s are compared to DSLRs.

The 23mm f/1.4 pictured here is even larger than the 14mm f/2.8, which is closer in focal length to Nikon’s 24mm f/1.4. I had that lens on my D700 and I remember thinking that was a small camera package. It is not. Size and weight soon became a major sticking point for me when it came to photography, and while I can drone on and post weight charts about it, sometimes nothing can tell the story like a photo.

Heavy Issues

I tend to get a bit obsessive when it comes to weight. I’ll agonize over things like bag purchases because of what material they’re made of and, as a result, how heavy they are. When it comes to tripods, carbon fibre wasn’t a possibility, it was a certainty. I employed the same methods when building a bike and ended up with a ride that goes everywhere with me, lest it get stolen.

Image courtesy of Fujifilm

Size and weight are the two main reasons I switched from DSLR to mirrorless, and while Fuji’s clever marketing graphic doesn’t perfectly illustrate the evolution of my gear, it captures the sentiment perfectly for me. I have evolved into a more nimble photographer thanks to “downsizing” my camera system, which also allowed me to downsize other things like my tripod.

The reduction in weight means I’m much more willing to bring my gear with me. I had become a vacation and special events photographer when it came to personal photography with my DSLR. Now I find myself with a camera and shooting much, much more.

Find out how much weight can be saved by going mirrorless in my article, Heavy Issues, Mirrorless vs. DSLR weight.