I (finally) converted and bought a mirrorless camera

Chris, our video editor, was an early adopter of mirrorless cameras, and I admit that I kinda made fun of it.

It was just so little. So cute.

And now I have one on the way.

I have enjoyed my Fujifilm X100V so much–technically mirrorless but configured like a rangefinder–that I just bought a Fujifilm X-T3 from a friend. Scored a deal on a refurbished lens, too.

I plan to keep using the Canon 7D MkII for car stuff–it’s just the perfect workhorse–but for other photography, I’m thinking these Fujifilms might be the way to go.

Anyone else make the move? 

I've toyed with the idea of getting into event and general portrait work.  To that end I picked up a Fuji X-H1 and Tamron 17-70 f2.8 lens.  I like the camera quite a bit, I like that I can adopt most of my Pentax glass to it easily, I like a lot about the images out of it.  I do wish it was full-frame.

My digital Pentax hasn't been out of the house in quite a while.  I still use it for copying 35mm negatives.  I'm not entirely sure where I'm going with photography from a gear perspective.

I have a Sony A7 that I love. It's much more capable than I am. My last 35mm was a Pentax K1000 so that may color my perceptions a little. 

In reply to Toyman! :

Thanks to $2000 Challenge Pro Driver Danny Shields, I now have a K1000 as well. We used them in high school photo class. Feels good to hold one again. 

I have no idea what you're talking about.  I just bought a camera that was made in the early 1980's. 

1988RedT2 said:

I have no idea what you're talking about.  I just bought a camera that was made in the early 1980's. 

I hear you there. I still need to do a film camera day and just burn through some film. 

In reply to 1988RedT2 :

And what'd you buy?

In reply to David S. Wallens :

I still have my K1000. One of the reasons I went with the Sony is the similar feel to the Pentax. They both feel really good in the hand.

I went over to Fuji for digital after brief forays into Canon and Pentax DSLRs. The latter two were just to big to carry around, and I really like the output from the Fuji sensors. I've got an X-E1 and an X100F. I still can't accept going fully digital - I like my film cameras way too much - but the Fujis are a nice adjunct.

David S. Wallens said:

In reply to 1988RedT2 :

And what'd you buy?

Bronica ETRS, with a prism finder, 75mm f/2.8, 150mm f3.5, and a 120 and a 220 back.

In reply to 02Pilot :

I also like the "film-like" feel of the X100V. Sounds like the X-T3 will be similar. 

In reply to 1988RedT2 :

Cool. How do you like shooting medium format? 

David S. Wallens said:

In reply to 1988RedT2 :

Cool. How do you like shooting medium format? 

I have a roll loaded, but I've not had time to finish shooting it, what with Christmas and all.  I've shot a few rolls with a cheapo Seagull TLR that I've owned for 30 years, and I long ago shot some with a borrowed Hasselblad 500C/M.  I love the image quality inherent in a larger negative.  So much detail is lost in enlargements.  Some of my favorite images were made using a 4x5 Sinar view camera.  The bigger the film, the better the image, so long as all the parts are of good quality and in good repair.  Medium format seems like a good compromise between tiny film like 35mm with convenient handling, and giant film like 4x5 and 8x10 view cameras with their cumbersome bulkiness.

I have not used a film camera in since Digital took over. Has having film developed still available? Do you just mail it somewhere and wait? 

In reply to MyMiatas :

It really depends what's available locally and where you're at.  For some reason I can get C-41 film developed here in Wichita and it's actually developed here.  You can drop black & white off and it's shipped to other cities in KS or you can mail it yourself.  Or you can develop it yourself (which is what I do). 

We have a film lab–Reformed Film–here in little Ormond Beach, Fla. 

They do long-distance work, too. 

I've shot probably 120 weddings on a xt-2 kit before going back to canon.  I liked it quite a bit, but missed the big low aperture lenses that the canon slrs provide. The Fuji stuff is very good- but just leaves part of the tool kit out. We still have 3 cameras and 7 or 8 lenses that have lost most of their value. 
I did use the xt-3 a few times and it was great with faster autofocus. 

For me, at least, the 7D MkII with L-series glass has been nearly perfect–but maybe almost too perfect, if that makes any sense. 

I see the X-T3 as just a different experience. Maybe a bit more analog. 

And I realize that calling a mirrorless camera analog seems weird, but work with me here. 

They still make cameras that aren't attached to cell phones? What is this, 1999? 

Jesus people... this thread is useless without pictures.

I switched to mirrorless as soon as I figured out that I could get fulltime auto focus in video in the form factor of a stills camera. I started with a Sony A6000 and now have an A7iii as my main camera that I use for stills and video. Here is a photo from the A7iii at Daytona a few weeks ago. Straight out of camera F4, 1/100, ISO 5000. Pretty much everything on the GRM and Classic YouTube channels are also shot with the A7iii. I am glad I finally convinced David to convert to mirrorless. 

David S. Wallens said:

I plan to keep using the Canon 7D MkII for car stuff–it’s just the perfect workhorse–but for other photography, I’m thinking these Fujifilms might be the way to go.

Back when they released the XH-1, Fuji did a bit of a "push" to try to convince motorsport photographers to swap over... (ymmv)

a little bit of the same with the XH-2:

I switched us over to mirrorless around 2018, mainly because the wife wanted to upgrade from a Canon P+S, and liked how small the a5100 is (and she didn't like the dials on Fuji):

I was swapping over from an 6D, which I'd accidentally frozen into "permanent M mode".  Switching meant I could have two a6000's in the same weight/volume as the 6D and two lenses.  Eventually I upgraded to an A7ii and an a6300, but still kept the 6D around.

edit for moar:
I documented a some of my struggles with the a6000'son the 2019 OneLap thread.  Then this year I got to borrow a Canon 5d3, and looking at the images and how easy it was to "fit into" shooting with it and the colors that were coming out... and started looking at the Canon R's to swap over again.  Which was about the time Canon started suing 3rd party lens makers out of the market... which really bugs me.  So, I started looking at Fuji again... at about the same time everyone went gaga over the x100v, and it seems some of their other stuff.  With my focus on weight/volume, and considering a 35mm tends to end up as an "everyday" setup for me, an x100 would probably fit in the place of that the A7ii has occupied.

Over the fall, I picked up a Fuji Wide printer... to try and reduce my time from "see something -> capture -> get a print".  That has been a good experience.

So, eventually, I think I'll be offloading all my Sony gear, and swapping to some combination of used Fuji bodies... and eventually an x100 of some kind.

My first digital was one of these. It would put about 25 pictures on a 3.5" floppy disk. Quality was lacking. 

The A7 is lovely though. I usually keep a Tamron 28-70mm lens on for general purpose shots but I also picked up a Sigma 150-600 that is super fun to play with. I need to do some work on depth of field. 

I need to get out and shoot more but as usual, frequently life gets in the way of fun.