Since my move to Fuji X-T1 late November in 2014. I’ve been using this camera religiously and have only gone back to my Canon 7D twice during this period for some Macro shots.
During my 6 month journey I have used my X-T1 for Portraits, Travel, Landscapes, Ultra-Wide Angle and HDR images. In these series of posts I will cover my experience through each.
When traveling I prefer to travel light, as I have been through the phases of my photography journey where have carried all my gear in big and backbreaking bags. After various arguments with flight crews about carry on limits and a Hernia operation I have adopted a lighter lifestyle.
So the switch from Canon to Fujifilm was perfect for me. I have much smaller bag (Lowepro Messenger 150) which is not only lighter but also allows me to carry all my key lens and tripod with me when I travel. No more arguments with flight crews. I can take the X-T1 with 3 lens with ease and even squeeze in a fourth lens if I really need it.
So in my six months with this camera my travels have included India, Singapore, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Barcelona and Frankfurt. This little guy has clocked over 100,000km in such a short interval.
The other advantage of having a smaller system is that Security guards tend to ignore you if you are setting up a tripod and taking a few pictures. They typically would go for the big DSLR carrying people as they are often considered by them as professional photographer. This has happened to me a few times in Paris where they saw my Canon 7D and were telling me not to take any pictures using tripod.
Now comes the ease of shooting. I so much adore this camera because all the settings you need to take a photo are right there on the camera, you don’t need to go hunting through the menu maze. Aperture, Shutter speed, ISO, Exposure compensation can all be changed easily. I find this makes me get the shot rather than miss it while I fiddle with my menu settings.
The Dynamic Range of this camera is also amazing. It could be better in the highlights areas (as I am sometimes disappointed on what details I can recover) but in the shadows it’s absolutely brilliant. The noise performance is also fantastic so you don’t need to be scared when pushing the ISO up to 1600 or 2000. You get a very clean result.
My favorite combo for travel is the Fujinon 18-135 and 23 f1.4 lens. The zoom lens is so versatile as it lets you cover pretty decent wide and long range. Much better than my Canon 24-105 lens
The 23mm lens is perfect for when I’m indoors or in low light situation. Even though it has no Image Stablisation the F1.4 aperture lets you capture sharp images without a tripod. Coupled with high ISO performance as I mentioned you can even take 3 bracketed photos 1 stop apart. I will talk more about this in the HDR section.
Here are some other Travel Images I’ve taken with this great camera.
Disclaimer: I’m not sponsored by Fujifilm Australia, although it would be nice. However I have spent my own hard earned money to buy all my Fuji gear. Switching camera systems is a big investment so please consider your personal circumstances before taking the plunge.
Nice work! Thank you for sharing your experience with the X-T1 and other gear. May I make a recommendation? Get in the habit of dating your articles at the top. It is useful as a reference instead of having no idea when the article was published. Look forward to more of your shots!