After 10 Years, It's Time To Say Goodbye To Fujifilm X

[@RichardJPhotog]

Youre not alone here. Ive been GFx and X mount for 8 years until Cam Mackey put a Nikon ZF in my hands. The autofocus out performed even my XT5. It left my GFX100sII in the dust. I personally believe that Fuji is so focused on spinning out new bodies that its neglecting AF, Its a shame because I love the Fuji colors, but they need to concentrate on function, not form. To be fair, I still use XT5 for video but as of the last 2 months, The Z8 and ZF have been by go to for studio work.

[@CamAttreePhoto]

I agree Richard. There needs to be a good balance of function and form in a camera, especially when used in a professional environment. That's why I started moving away from the Fuji X-T series to the X-H series for the pro work and why I'm going towards the Z8 and Z6III. I do love the retro designs but the Zf has some pretty major design floors for pro work. Yep, the Fuji colours can't be beat but I'm finding the Nikon colours also pretty good so far.

[@nevvanclarke9225]

My GFX 100s II Image quality leaves the Nikon cameras for dust. I don't care about what I focus. I can always work around auto focus but I can't compromise on image quality because that's what my customers buy at the end of the day. I sell big prints and I've done big prints with Nikon cameras and they are nice. Don't get me wrong. I had a D8 50 for a very long time but GFX blows away NIKON for you image quality... And yes, I do some Billboards as well

[@kaczynski2333]

I cannot express the magnitude of my excitement at the knowledge you are changing camera systems.

[@CamAttreePhoto]

Ha ha! Thanks mate :)

[@Kotnik02]

Funny coincidence, just yesterday I ordered a Nikon Z8 and a 28-75mm Tamron lens, and I've also been a Fujifilm shooter for 10 years! I had the X-T5 with all the primes and most of the zooms, and I loved the small size of the camera and lenses, but my patience with the AF was over.

[@CamAttreePhoto]

Oh I'd be interested to hear what you think of the 28-75mm on the Z8. I'm trying to decide between the 14-30mm f4 S and the 17-28mm f2.8. Yeah it seems quite a few people are switching away from Fuji lately for a number of reasons. I spoke to one of the guys at my local camera store the other day who has been a big Fuji fan and he's just switched over to a Canon R5 and sold all his Fuji kit.

[@Kotnik02]

​@@CamAttreePhoto After a lot of investigation and lens comparisons, it was a price-performance purchase, I also have the 70-200mm f/2.8 VR II fx "before fuji i was also a nikon shooter:)" and I plan to buy the 14-30mm, 85mm, and 35mm f/1.8, but first I need to sell all my Fuji gear. I'll let you know how the Tamron performs.

[@nevvanclarke9225]

I waited for the GFX 100s II to come out and honestly it's a phenomenal camera. I can actually shoot sports with it as well. I've shot concerts, sports landscapes, events and portraits. It is just about the perfect all-round camera.

[@CamAttreePhoto]

It’s amazing how capable it is, especially for such a large sensor. I don't need or want 100mp and can't justify the money on outfitting a kit around that body for the work I do. Of course if I ever win the lottery it will be one of the first things I buy lol

[@SamTaylors]

I’m ten years with Fuji myself, having shot Canon for a decade before that. I love the X System cameras but there is a part of me which still misses full frame - especially in low light and when shooting gigs. It will be interesting to follow your journey with Nikon Z. Thanks for sharing this and for the thoughtful, click-bait-free approach

[@reinhardankenbauer3241]

When analog SLRs became hyper-plasticcy some time around 1990 - like this funny Nikon F100 with a - what for? - red plastic line at its side - I immediately went back to my beautiful reliable Spotmatic and the unbeatable Leica rangefinders. Only much later, when the Rokoko design season was over, I invested into high class digital machines. I'm extremely happy with my Fujifilm x-e4.

[@matt88169]

I'm not thinking of switching systems so much as adopting a second - I am a happy XT-3 shooter using Fuji's newer (outstanding) glass. The lens upgrades have been great, but the 5th gen bodies were a bit of a wtf!? moment. I was SHOCKED that the XT-5 was sent down to the "midrange" with cheaper build quality and a vertical grip delete. No improvement in buffer depth, and a new 40mp sensor that, while great in many ways, took a big step backwards in readout speed and shooting speed in ES mode (all with a bit more noise - see Canon R6 mkii vs. R5 for example of how higher megapixels can come with BETTER or EQUAL noise handling, not worse). No battery grip was also a deal breaker - clearly, only XH shooters were going to be comfortable, going forward, using "red badge" and other large glass. Since the release, I've felt I have no real upgrade path at this time in the Fuji X system if the XT-3 explodes. The XH body leaves a lot to be desired, IMO, and moved far away from the XH-1's unique ergonomics which preserved what makes the X-T series a great "pickup and shoot" experience. The strength of the XT-3 is/was, IMO, the ability to be a small, compact, "rangefinder"-type pro body that makes for a great walk-around setup. But with the vertical grip attached, it becomes a "shoot all day" body that feels WAY better with Fuji's biggest and best lenses (any red badge zoom, some of the primes, etc.), even if I can admit the grip all around is crampy over the course of a long shoot. It would have been easy to add a "mode" or whatever button somewhere on the XT-5 (OR XH body) that you could press and, with a spin of a CLICKABLE dial, selected a NAMED custom mode with saved shooting/JPEG settings or whatever we wanted (accomplishing what the top dial on the XH body now does while probably being faster since you can keep your eye on the subject). The top dials could remain as (redundant) manual overrides. I do not use the top dials a lot, I readily admit that - BUT, I do appreciate that using them at times is a great way to force a shutter/ISO or exposure comp setting in the moment, or to lock up settings when using a flash. I also use the metering and drive dials a lot, and don't want to anticipate and try to remember 7 different modes for each shooting scenario. So all that said, unless an X-T6 comes out that corrects Fuji's mistakes, or unless the XH series is revised to bring back MORE /better manual controls and character, I'm planning to invest in a Nikon or Canon body as my second body which will likely start my transition out of the Fuji system. I lean toward Nikon for the good and affordable f/1.8 primes and wildlife lenses, but frankly I drool over the Canon 28-70 as a huge "one and done" lens for the majority of my shooting needs. The only thing I think I'd regret, in the end, is the ability to spit out gorgeous JPEGs straight out of camera with relative ease, or skip most of the pain of editing files since Fuji really did something great with color and, once you are setup, it can save you a lot of time generating pleasing looks. With Fuji you probably spend more time working a shot (the fun part) than editing them. With Sony, you get the shot easily, but then spend all your time on the computer (the part I don't adore)!

[@CamAttreePhoto]

Even shooting in Raw on the Fuji's I never really had to do much editing (I never shot jpegs) but wanted the option to push the file if I needed to. Since I started shooting on the Nikon's though, I haven't seen much difference in my workflow. I just apply one of the Camera Matching profiles in Lightroom Classic, the same as I did with the Fuji files and I'm getting a great starting point and still only have to do minimal editing.

[@matt88169]

@@CamAttreePhoto That's great! I'd like to know how the "in-camera work flow" for RAW editing works in the Nikon/Canon world. I've challenged myself to do most of my editing in-camera this year, and the Fuji way is quite powerful once you figure out how it works. Partly this is to challenge myself to try to nail the looks I want in-camera, rather than in-post. When I nail a shot in-camera, I frankly don't need an edit except to create JPEGs (still rather rare for me of course!).

[@cullenphotographic]

This is excellent! Thank you so much. Your experience perfectly reflects my own hence my switch back to Nikon. For stage work the Z8 and 24-120 is outstanding especially when having the lens button set to instantaneous DX crop. Superb. Again thank you for this . I have subscribed. Greetings from Scotland!

[@CamAttreePhoto]

Nice to hear from you mate. Still haven't made it to Scotland but would love to one day. Thanks for the comment and I'm glad to hear you also agree about the Z8 / 24-120mm combo for stage work. Cheers.

[@GregElkenhans]

Switching is hard to. Thanks for sharing.

[@CamAttreePhoto]

Hey Greg. Yeah it's definitely not an easy decision.

[@donaldmfalls]

I've been shooting with Fuji for 10 years, and I'm having a tough time deciding whether to stay or switch systems. For video, I use the Sony FX6, but I love the color science and body size from the Fuji X-H2s. While autofocus isn't a huge priority for most filmmakers, it can be a big issue for photo-centric jobs, and Fuji's AF system has caused me trouble with client work. I don't currently have a camera with great autofocus performance. I also have the GFX50SII for slow-paced, high-resolution image quality, and I can't part with the GFX system because it's that good. The GFX 100 II is still a dream camera, though I appreciate the warmth of the 50-megapixel sensor. I've considered switching to Nikon's Z system, and the Z6III is tempting because its specs almost match the X-H2S, though it's only partially stacked instead of fully stacked. It's a tough decision-Sony has the AF technology, but its color science doesn't quite match up to Nikon or Fujifilm.

[@CamAttreePhoto]

I totally agree with you in regards to the colour science Donald. I'm finding the Nikon colours pretty good so far but I haven't done a lot of video work with them yet. I think the Red acquisition is going to prove very important for Nikon's future in video.

[@doogieham]

Cam, thanks for this overview of your history with different systems. I found it fascinating. I look forward to your continued comparisons between the Z8 and the 50Sii using the same lenses. I’m particularly interested in your thoughts on what files you find easier to work with and whether you find the medium format “look” makes a real difference to you, given your style of shooting.

[@CamAttreePhoto]

Thanks very much mate. Yeah the "medium format look" is definitely something I want to explore more and compare with the Z8.

[@philipsutton2316]

Awesome vid Cam and I hope you post more. As a fellow Aussie, we are Brothers in Arms - my story mirrors yours exactly. Years of Nikon film cameras, F3, F4, Fe2, Fm2, finished up with the beautiful D3x. Around 2013-14, I swallowed the Kool-Aid, and was suckered into Fuji's hype. Seeking something smaller and lighter, I started with the original X-100 and X-T1. Unfortunately, I bought over a dozen of their cameras, countless lenses, always waiting for the next model or firmware for things to improve - they never did. I was starting to hear murmurs of losing my customers because of bad low-light images. Mercifully, I swapped over to two Z6ii bodies and now have 7 of their lenses. The difference was night and day. I shoot for the lady in Perth, who organises all of the big events and gigs - I'm her only photographer. She was blown off her chair when she saw the images from my Nikons. I'm more vehement than you, I hate Fuji and am filthy with myself for bumming it with them for over 10 years. Nikon threw us photographers under the bus with the dreadful flip around screens on the 6iii and ZF. I was looking at updating my bodies, and trialled the Z6iii, but that screen is a deal-breaker. Hanging out the side like a broken limb, whilst shooting at the hip, is ridiculous (I shoot zero movie). Z8 too expensive in Auss and the file sizes too big for what I do (I ONLY shoot people, gigs, weddings, events, portraits), DITO Z9. I'm hanging onto the Z6ii's, AFC is great for what I do (even fast moving subjects, you just have to have the right settings). Most of Nikon's Z lenses I don't like - too clinical and sharp, no character, no special rendering (other than the ones mentioned below). My dream lens that is out of the world and I do 85% of all my shoots on is the 28mm AFS 1.4E. Oh boy, that lens on the Z6ii of off the scale. Twenty eight is my Goldilocks focal length, and Nikon don't make a decent one in the Z. I usually need nothing longer than a 50mm, so my other body has either the old AF-S 50mm 1.8G lens or the Z50mm 1.8s. The other lens I use a lot is the beautiful Z 24-70 2.8s - that is a dream lens and out of the world beautiful images. Most of my other Z lenses I'm going to sell (Z24mm 1.8s, Z28mm 2.8, Z35mm 1.8s, Z40mm F2, and recently sold the Z 24-120 f4s lens - f4 is a killer). Sorry this is too long but had to get my Fuji rant off my chest.

[@CamAttreePhoto]

Thanks for the reply mate. Really interesting to hear your experiences too and I'm happy to hear your image quality experience with the Nikon bodies has been positive. I agree with you on the flippy screens from a purely stills perspective. I hate them for that too but I do a reasonable amount of video so the Z6III is a great option from that point of view. I love the screen design on the Z8/Z9 for stills. Who knows why they put a flippy screen on the Zf?? Makes no sense to me at all. I do hope they release a Z7III with a 45mp partially stacked sensor keeping the body size the same but I fear they will change the screen to a flippy one if they do. I also agree with you about the clinical nature of most modern lenses. That's one of the reasons I like using older film lenses and some third party lenses. Maybe I should look at picking up some F mount glass as well?

[@philipsutton2316]

@@CamAttreePhoto Thanks for replying Cam. Yes, I find the old AFS lenses totally awesome. I'm also the photographer over here for all of the dragon boat races, for Dragon Boats WA. For all my normal gigs, weddings events, I very seldom need anything over 50mm focal length. However, shooting the races out on the chase boat, I needed a longer lens. As you know, here in Auss , with the Z 70-200 2.8s, you almost need to sell a kidney for the price. Instead, I got the older AFS 70-200 F4 VR G IFED. Even with the FTZ adapter, it is light and small, F4 is faster enough, because I'm always in bright light chasing the boats, and it's razor sharp and the AFC is fast enough. Might be something to think about. for you to try some AFS glass That 28 1.4 E series I told you about is off the scale gorgeous.

[@CamAttreePhoto]

I wasn't considering the Z 70-200mm f2.8 S at first because of the price and I was actually thinking about the 70-200mm f4 G but I was extremely lucky to find the Z 70-200 second hand for $2100 in mint condition so it was too good a deal to pass up. I'd say my most used focal lengths are between 50mm and 200mm for my work. I use 35mm for some of my video work but anything wider than that is usually only when I'm shooting some landscapes for fun. I'll be keeping any eye out for any great deals on used AFS glass for sure.

[@antwilkphotography]

I was a nikon shooter and went to Sony because Nikon were miles behind with their mirrorless line. I still miss my D850 but I can't see me switching back now I'm invested in Sony

[@CamAttreePhoto]

Yeah it can be an expensive decision. Have you seen the Megadap and Neewer adapters to use Sony lenses on the Nikon Z bodies? Apparently they work really well. That would certainly make transitioning back to Nikon a lot easier.

[@antwilkphotography]

@CamAttreePhoto I'm not a fan of adaptors and I photograph a lot of running dogs too, so AF needs to be be pretty snappy.

[@CamAttreePhoto]

That's fair enough. I haven't tried those adapters so I'm not sure what their performance is like.

[@ccoppola82]

Just got a ZF and selling my entire Fuji kit now

[@dan_payne]

I'm currently thinking about switching from Fuji to Full Frame as well. Right now I'm still unsure about what to do. Is the little advantage in image quality really worth the extra money and weight? Also I love Fujifilms design and controls. Other cameras feel and look so soulless in comparison.

[@CamAttreePhoto]

It really is a very personal decision Dan. For many years I was quite happy with the image quality from the APS-C Fuji bodies and I worked around any deficiencies in AF etc. Lately though I've been finding them limiting for some of the work I've been doing, especially for high ISO and some AF situations.

[@johnmorrell]

I'm also considering moving to Nikon or Canon full frame after 10 or more years with Fuji. Nikon are doing with full frame what Fuji should be doing. They are stuck in a stubbornness that they fail to see is harming them. Fuji users, on the main, would not be complaining if Fuji went full frame. They have the market for MF cornered, so no worries there, but their current focus on tiny cameras and weak software / hardware compatibility, etc is losing photographers trust. Companies can kill their reputation in a few weeks nowadays ( ie Adobe - I left them after I found out what they are doing with my photos) I hoe they learn and move with the times. Or run the risk of people like me, who are loooong time user starting to contemplate a switch. Cheers mate.

[@CamAttreePhoto]

It's definitely going to be interesting to see how Fuji respond in the coming months. They have just come out and acknowledged the AF issue and said they are working on it so let's see. I think it would be a very big move from them to release a full frame camera(s) considering how invested they are in APS-C and medium format. I think we'd see Nikon releasing a medium format camera before Fuji goes full frame.

[@amermeleitor]

You could test the Boryoza adapter to try the Fuji X lenses on Nikon Z bodies. I haven't seen video reviews of the adapter and the brand "Boryoza" doesn't even have a webpage, so I'm waiting before buying it. As far as i know the Megadap Sony E to Nikon Z and Canon EF to Nikon Z work both very well and can be trust for work. And of course the Nikon FTZ adapter works ok too, but not so well with old AFS lenses.

[@CamAttreePhoto]

That's really interesting. I wouldn't have thought the Fuji X lenses would have a big enough image circle to cover full frame which is why they could make them so compact. I'll be interested to see some results.

[@robmcd]

I think it’s entirely possible to use multiple systems. I have a huge Fuji kit and decent RF R5 kit and a modest EF 6D kit. I need super high res for some of my work so I’d be very happy with 60-80mp but I think the GFX is the way to go. If the R5ii was rumoured to be 80mp I would have got it. But I’ll use my Fuji for a wedding and in capture one I can edit an entire wedding in a day. The exposure is unreal and the colours are perfection.

[@CamAttreePhoto]

I don't disagree Rob but I was feeling like I needed to cull down some of my gear as I was just accumulating too much of it and couldn't justify keeping everything. Made sense for me to consolidate on full frame with the Nikon Z system.

[@robmcd]

@@CamAttreePhoto I’ll never knock anyone for doing anything I just don’t like it when people chase something that doesn’t necessarily exist and burn a lot of cash doing it. In particular you stated that the Z8 was better at equivalent ISO but in your camera settings explanation you were a stop or two narrower on the aperture with the Fuji than the Z8 but apsc affords a wider aperture with more in focus as you know.

[@CamAttreePhoto]

Yeah I'm very aware of the extra depth-of-field that APS-C offers at equivalent apertures. I just found that I was always limiting my upper ISO on the Fuji's to 6400 as I wasn't happy with the noise and detail level on anything above that. So for those stage shots, I would typically set the ISO to 6400, aperture to f4 and then would vary my shutter speed depending on the light level. Now I've found I can still get enough DOF at f4 - 4.5 for those shots on the Z8, keep my shutter speed a little faster and use auto ISO without worrying if it goes above 6400. Anyway, that is only one of the reasons I'm making the switch.

[@StoicJason]

I dumped Fuji this year too because of the autofocus. Canon and Sony’s autofocus is far superior. Nikon in a distant 3rd place.

[@JeffreyHauser]

Nice video, Cam. I enjoyed the review of the various iterations of the Nikon Cameras that you have used over the years & the fabulous images that you made, I am a longtime (40years) Canon user. I also saw the advantages of mirrorless cameras & switched to Fujifilm , 2XT-3 camera bodies with battery grips & numerous Fuji lens in 2018.I love the Fuji Colors & their lens lineup. Autofocus has & will continue to be the “Achilles Heel” of the Fuji ecosystem. I believe that Fuji is at a “crossroads” with respect to their brand & keeping their customer base, as many photographers have become disallusioned & are abandoning Fujifilm for Nikon, Sony, or Canon. This issue with autofocus is across multiple Fuji camera platforms. Can it be fixed? I am hopeful but not very confident. If not, I most likely will return to the Canon ecosystem. Professional photographers working for clients cannnot afford to “wait” for Fuji to come up with a “fix” to solve their camera problems. Safe travels & best wishes for your buisness.

[@CamAttreePhoto]

Yeah I think you've nailed it there Jeffrey. I've been using Fuji professionally full-time since the end of 2016 and I've had to learn to work around it's deficiencies which can hinder the range of work that can be reliably provided to clients. Hopefully Fuji can get there but at the moment I think they are ignoring the needs of the pros and catering to their enthusiast fans.

[@ivanvidic]

How is auto focus and dynamic range on your Z8 comparing to D750? Beautiful work as always.

[@CamAttreePhoto]

Thanks Ivan! The Z8 AF is the best I have ever used on a camera so far. That being said, I haven't used any recent Sony or Canon R cameras so I can't compare them but against any previous Nikon or Fuji cameras, the AF is amazing. The hit rate with eye detect is extremely high. As far as dynamic range goes, I haven't done any testing specific to that yet. I have actually now sold the D750 so the only Nikon DSLR camera I'm hanging onto is a Nikon Df which I purchased early this year just because they look cool and I always wanted one lol

[@ivanvidic]

Thanks. This helps a lot.

[@jukeboxjohnnie]

Your pictures are amazing whatever you shoot! I use GFX100ii the pictures are stunning theres nothing to touch them for now despite the AF being poor. Below that im back on Sony A7R4 bodies with GM primes. im not a sony fanboy (I have MINOLTA stickers over my Sony nameplates) but the bodies are small, GM primes are small and relatively light, similar cost, size and weight to Fuji XF, making that system a bit pointless

[@CamAttreePhoto]

@jukeboxjohnnie yeah the GFX 100ii files are incredible but I could never justify that kit when I need my cameras to cover a wide range of subjects and AF performance is quite important for some of them. I've never warmed to Sony so switching that way was never really a consideration for me.

[@dwaynepiper3261]

WOW youtube getting really greedy. I was interrupted with ads every 5 min watching this. More interested in serving ads now than content. KZbin now in decline.

[@CamAttreePhoto]

Oh wow I had no idea there was that many ads. Sorry to hear it negatively affected your viewing experience Dwayne.

[@dwaynepiper3261]

@@CamAttreePhoto I remember when I had to watch 2 ads for a video which is fine. Seems the last year or so they just keep getting more frequent. I noticed today I now content getting interrupt with ads every 5 min which is ridiculous. KZbin keeps it up I just won't bother anymore greedy ba****ds. On top of this some content creators are pushing their own adverts as well.

[@powbobs]

It was nice knowing you. Unsubscribed

[@CamAttreePhoto]

Whatever makes you happy mate. Good luck.

[@bingbong4848]

Lol he didn't cheat on you bob😂

[@powbobs]

@@bingbong4848 What is wrong with you? Are you a sixteen year old girl? I simply have no interest in Nikon Z cameras. All of my film cameras are Nikon though. Grow up.

[@liciniooliveira-becas3618]

​@powbobs Your first comment was very childish also. I am sorry if you don't see it.

[@powbobs]

@@liciniooliveira-becas3618 Projection