How Switching to Fujifilm Made Me a Better Photographer

And how it might for you too

When I first entered the world of photography, I didn’t have a clue what I was doing, least of all which DSLR I should be buying. In the end, I opted for a Nikon (because a work colleague told me I should) and I made it a D7000 (because my bank balance told me I could. Just.) I then purchased a nifty fifty (50mm f/1.8 — built in the eighties and like a tank) and got to the business of learning how to take photos. And I did so for about five years on Nikon cameras.

Over these five years, I tried a few photographer friends’ Canons and didn’t like them at all. The UI felt awful. In reality, it probably wasn’t that bad but compared to the simple menus I was used to the whole experience felt unsatisfactory. I congratulated myself time and time again on making the correct choice in camera ecosystem.

Photo by chuttersnap on Unsplash

And all was well in my little photography world.

That is until a little company called Sony started doing some exciting things in the Mirrorless space. They were cramming these awesome low light sensors in tiny bodies. Sony actually made the sensors for the Nikon bodies, one of which I had in the D750 so I was no stranger to the kind of magic they could perform. But along with these awesome sensors and smaller bodies came a typically-Sony price tag. To replicate the kind of set up, I had with my DSLR’s it would cost me around £15k. Needless to say, I did not have this kind of cash floating around.

I’d always been vaguely aware of Fujifilm’s mirrorless cameras, but they were all crop-sensor offerings, and therefore I dismissed them without doing all that much research. So I continued along my Nikon path, watching from afar, my back starting to bow under the strain of 10–12 hour weddings, 2 bulky DSLRs with lenses hanging from my body.

Photo by Tadeusz Lakota on Unsplash

Then came the Fujifilm XT-2. On paper, it looked like a huge leap forward from the Fuji camp! Great autofocus, fast EVF, exquisite colour science and most importantly — lightweight bodies. I was intrigued. I spent months researching. Analysing photos from the camera from a variety of lenses, in a variety of lighting situations.

But it was still a crop sensor.

I’m going to jump ahead here and let you know something that I ended up learning — Full frame or crop sensor, it does not matter. We as photographers have worked up this issue in our own minds to be this vast chasm between the two. And for some people maybe it will matter. But for most the difference is neither here nor there.

I decided to jump.

I sold both of my Nikon cameras with all of my lenses and bought 2 Fuji XT-2 bodies, a 56mm f/1.2 and a 23mm f/1.4. Plus 2 battery grips (for wedding work.)

It wasn’t until three days later that I felt the change really hit me. I was getting ready to go for a walk and thought I’d take my new cameras for a spin. I chucked them both in my camera bag then stopped. They looked so small in there.

A thought hit me.

I threw on a coat then put a camera, with a lens attached, in each of the pockets. That was the moment where the switch got flicked on. From that moment I changed the way I shot because the tools I was using were smaller. This was important for two reasons.

1 — I could be inconspicuous. Particularly at weddings, I was less ‘threatening’ to guests because I didn’t have a huge camera in their face. I could pass for a wedding guest. For my personal work (street and travel) I suddenly had the confidence to shoot more as I blended in better. 2 — I could shoot more. Without the need to pack and carry a heavy rucksack around I found that I would shoot more. Feel like taking a camera out with me today? Sure. In my jacket pocket it goes, ready at a moments need.

by Ben Blennerhassett on Unsplash

I suddenly found myself being dragged out of a creative rut that I hadn’t even realised I was in. Everyone says that the camera you use doesn’t make a difference to the images you shoot, but I would argue that they are wrong.

The camera I use is absolutely integral to the images I produce. Selling my Nikon gear may have been one of the most critical decisions in my photography journey so far!