I have been a Nikon and Canon user for the last 30+ years and have used there successive generations of cameras dusing that time, I still use both but much less since I found Fujifilm cameras and lenses. Both Nikon and Canon cameras are capable of superb results and I cannot fault there quality and design. I am still using my Canon 1D Mk IV for fast moving sports and the like and my Nikon D2HS comes out when I photograph demonstrations and potentially dangerous situations (good for hitting back with. LOL) and still gives great pictures.

So why the change to Fujifilm you may ask. This is a question I will attempt to answer from my perspective. The major thing that first attracted me to both Nikon and Canon was how robust and reliable they were in everyday professional use, but this also made them heavy and a stress on my shoulder when carrying them and there associated lenses (which were just as heavy). Like the D2H, the D2Hs is an extremely tough, ridiculously fast professional digital camera which, despite having been obsolesced by four generations of cameras as I write this, is still capable of getting fantastic results if you know how to use it.

Fujifilm have developed equally reliable cameras but with less weight and lenses that are capable of doing the same job as there Nikon or Canon counterparts but are much smaller and easier to carry with me. Weight is a big thing as you become more mature in years take it from me.

The Second thing that really attracted me to Fujifilm was the excellent, out of camera, JPEG quality using Fuji’s film simulations which meant I no longer needed to shoot RAW is the job did not require it as I knew the JPEGS were first class.

This has certainly cut the time I needed to spend in from of my computer postprocessing images from RAW, it is in my honest opinion not longer required for me to to shoot everything in RAW as I like the out of camera images in JPEG. I have found that it is more than possible to adjust the JPEGS in PS by up to 2 stops if required but if you get it right in camera this should not be neccessary.

The simple retrograde styling is another thing that attracted me to the Cameras, simple but effective with all the controls where they are needed and not tucked away inside in a menu system that you have to access.

My first venture into the world of Fuji cameras was with a used Fuji X100 bought from a friend. Sadly the lens unit failed and had to be replaced with a new unit after which it worked fine and is still going strong today. A wonderful, lightweight, picture maker.

This little camera turned me on to the possibilities of quality in a mirrorless camera. Its sensor produced great colours and its lens was sharp and contrasty and gave images that were hard to distinguish between the Nikon and Canon greats that I was using

Fujinon XF 18-55mm f/2.8-4 R LM OIS. You may argue that it is just another kit lens but unlike its remote cousins it is obviously one stop faster. If you buy it as part of a camera kit it is pretty affordable but its naked price tag of more than 650EUR/US$ makes it obvious that Fuji still doesn’t want to play in the low end market. Interestingly the lens features an image stabilizer which was the first time Fuji has implemented this in a XF lens.

The lens has a reworked internal micro-motor which is basically noiseless during AF operations – that is apart from aperture “clicking” because the camera is stopping down the lens. The AF speed is pretty good whereas the AF accuracy wasn’t impressive with the initial firmware version – it improved significantly with the latest version though. Manual focusing works “by wire” thus by triggering the AF motor. A focus distance guidance is provided in the camera viewfinder/on the LCD – this works quite nicely. Regarding the new OIS (optical image stabilizer) Fuji claims an efficiency of up to 4 f-stops. This may be true for lab conditions but better be conservative here – an efficiency of 2-3 f-stops seems more realistic to us (as usual). It is usable on ther cameras in the range for video.

These days image distortion is usually taken care of by the camera or by RAW converters so from a user perspective there isn’t much to worry about there. However, it is still interesting to check the original distortion characteristic – after all the auto-correction is a lossy procedure.

Although a little slow in the realm of AF, the images it can produce are pretty darned good. Sadly my copy was stolen, with one of my X Pro 1’s and I replaced it with the newer 35mm f2.

Boy what a difference these changes made to the workings of the camera as a whole, it was a dream come true for many X Pro 1 users, including myself.

A photographer’s camera, and the most fully realized camera in Fuji’s X series. Great for my kind of street/reportage photography. Phase-detection autofocus system has improved speed and AF-point resolution. New 24-megapixel sensor is on par with many full-frame chips. Customizable controls are in a smarter layout; the new joystick makes for faster focus changes (Or whatever! Customize it). Hybrid viewfinder adds a tiny EVF to the optical viewfinder, a nice touch. New Acros film simulation mode is gorgeous, and the other simulations are first class.