Sometime last year I got myself my first proper interchangeable lens camera.
Ever since I got an iPhone nearly 10 years ago it has been the only tool to capture my life. Good enough not to bother with an additional camera and always on me. This changed last year when I wanted to experiment with long exposures and sports photography (windsurfing), two things that are significantly harder with the small sensor size and fixed lens(es) on a phone.
With no significant photography knowledge I only knew I wanted a compact mirrorless system. Online research narrowed down the choice to three different models from different manufacturers close to my budget. An in store deal got me my favourite at a reasonable price. The Fujifilm X-T10 including a 16-50mm and 50-230mm kit lens.
So far I’ve really enjoyed the camera. The straight out of camera JPG photos are beautiful. It clearly shows Fujifilm spent a lot of time on the different film simulations. Most of the time there’s no need for post-processing each photo individually because of this.
I also like the retro look including all the physical knobs on the Fuji body. These provide immediate access to most camera settings. Being able to easily twist a dial without having to dig through menus makes it easy to experiment each photo. This helped immensely to understand the exposure triangle and to learn to shoot with manual configuration.
The Fuji lens selection is modest but growing fast and covers most use-cases. I’ve started expanding beyond my kit lenses and invested in two Fuji lenses:
- XF 35mm f2 – small, fast and sharp prime for every day use
- XF 50-140mm zoom + 2x teleconverter for some reach
Several third-party manufacturers have X-mount lenses available as well. The manually focussed Samyang 12mm f2 prime is an affordable option I used to get started with landscape and long exposure night photography.
The X-T10 is not the top of the line model, but it has the same inner tech as it’s pro brother the X-T1. So while the body might be not as rugged and with fewer physical buttons the photos it shoots are just as good. All that at about half the price. Both models have recently been updated to the X-T20 & X-T2 versions with a new 24 megapixel sensor and faster autofocus system. However the X-T10 is still a great and affordable camera to get as a starting photographer like me.
Nearly one year later the iPhone is still the camera I have on me all the time. But whenever possible I bring the Fuji and a set of lenses for the occasion. I’ve grown my photography knowledge and skills quite a bit and have become quite the Fujifilm X system enthusiast. I’ll follow up here soon with more posts on my photography gear and the photos I shoot.
Follow me on Instagram to see my photos taken using the X-T10 (and iPhone).
