However, in these days of brand marketing, sometimes the Kool-Aid can look pretty dam tempting. Take it from me. I'm on my fourth brand of photographic gear.
Okay, I'll admit it. I'm a gear junkie. The first step to recovery is to admit you have a problem, right? It could be worse. Some guys collect cars! I'm often asked "What kind of camera do you use?" The last three brands of photographic gear that I've used are Canon, Leica (Panasonic) and Fujifilm. If asked what my favourite of those three brands is, I would categorically say Fuji.
Before I go any further, let me state that in terms of picture quality, it's pretty hard to go wrong with pretty much any well known brand of camera. Almost all models and brands of camera, available today, are capable of delivering exceptionally good quality photographs. Even the lenses and sensors on a modern smartphone are capable of providing images that are more than adequate for the needs of the average person who just wants to take a "good picture". So why, when almost everyone has the capability to make a decent photograph with a device that can be easily carried in a pocket do photographers still bother with cameras at all?
The answer lies in the user experience and also in the experience of the user.
I find it awkward and difficult to make a photograph with a cell phone. I can't wrap my hands around it. I can't hold it in my right hand and support it by putting my left hand under it as I can with a decent ergonomically designed camera. The photo below is a selfie that I took in a mirror to use as a social media profile picture. It pretty much demonstrates what I'm talking about.
Also, most photographers that I know are control freaks when it comes to their photographs and the act of making them. We like to have control of the lens aperture to control the amount of light coming in to the camera. The aperture control also allows us to control depth of field, blurring out a background to concentrate the focus on our main subject, or, conversely allowing all areas of a given scene to be relatively sharp for landscapes and street photography. We like to be able to control the shutter speed to freeze action or to allow for a creative blur of motion. We like to have control of whatever in the scene we specifically want the camera to focus on. It's the creative use of these fundamental controls that, in my opinion, make the difference between a photographer verses someone who just wants to take "a good picture".
So what does all of this have to do with the brand of camera that any given image maker uses? Just this. Back to my statement about most photographers being control freaks. What if a camera company actually listened to what their customers want? Fuji did just that.
For quite a while I would read in online photography blogs and articles about these remarkable cameras. People who used them seemed to really love them. I'm not talking about the usual brand loyalty of a Canon or Nikon user here. I'm talking about photographers who are seriously interested in in image making and take these compact, old school looking cameras everywhere they go! They talked about film simulation modes. As the name implies, Fujifilm was primarily known as a film manufacturer in the heyday of 35mm film. The company took the look of a lot of their old films and managed to digitally simulate their effects in camera. It all sounded very cool and intriguing but still I resisted. I had too much tied up in Canon gear. I had purchased a Leica branded compact camera with the classic Leica look and full manual controls less than a year earlier. It was to serve as my compact walk around camera. Much as I liked the look of the Fuji gear as well as the look of the images their cameras produced, I resisted temptation. Then things went bad and then kinda good.
I noticed some rather large specks showing up in the upper portions of photos I had taken with my pseudo Leica. Sure enough, despite the camera having a fixed lens, some dirt had managed to get into the camera and had lodged on the sensor. Because the camera has a fixed lens, I could not simply remove the lens and clean the sensor myself. The camera had to be sent in for service. Leica dosen't have a Canadian service centre so I shipped it off to Leica's facility in New Jersey. This all occurred on the Labour Day weekend.
After a month of the Leica languishing in Leica's service department, I made a phone call to the facility to enquire about my camera. I left a message on their voicemail. Another week went by with no return phone call. By now it was getting into the height of the fall colour season. Prime time for an outdoor and landscape photographer like yours truly. I had a nice weekend autumn colour tour planned and, dammit, I wanted my nice little compact camera back! Another phone call to Leica resulted in me leaving another message on their voicemail. Again ,there was no returned call. This was how a so called "premium brand" treated their customers!
The deadline for my fall colour tour weekend was fast approaching and I was still without my Leica. I bit the bullet and decided to go camera shopping. My intention was to purchase a Canon G5X. I had looked at one earlier and thought that it would fit the bill. I went up to our local Henry's Cameras to investigate the camera further. Henry's had one but the salesperson also showed me the Fuji X70 which was a little less expensive. I really liked the Fuji, but, for me, the Canon was the more practical choice. After all, I already had a lot of Canon gear. Things like external flash units, a wireless remote and other stuff that could be used with the Canon. I already had the Canon wireless app on my phone and tablet and knew how to use it. In terms of a camera brand, everything pointed to the Canon G5X as the logical choice. But, dammit, I really liked the look and style of the little Fuji and I was intrigued by what all the fuss was about with the Fuji brand. Also it was a tad less expensive.
I drank the Kool-Aid!
I took the camera home and spent an hour or two reading through the owner's manual while the camera's battery was charging. The next morning, prior to embarking on my fall colour tour, I went for a walk by the river near my home to try out this little gem. I soon learned why Fuji photographers love their cameras.
I put the camera into "classic chrome" film simulation mode. By all reports that I had read online, this was a favoured setup for good colour rendition. The colour was fantastic! I loved the control provided by an old school shutter speed dial and a conventional aperture ring on the lens. With the touch screen, selective focus on any point in the scene was a snap. The camera doesn't have a viewfinder but it does have a flip up screen. Old school shooter that I am, I found it quite comfortable to use the flip up screen holding the camera in a waist level position ala my old Yashicamat 124 medium format camera. The X70 has a fixed 18.5mm (28mm equivalent) wide angle fixed lens. At first I thought that the wide angle with no zoom capability would be very inconvenient. However, I've found that in practical use, a fixed wide angle is a blessing in disguise. It makes me work a little harder for the shot. I don't get to plant myself in one spot and zoom to frame the image. I have to physically move to get closer to my subject or, if I can't get closer, I have to consider how I'm going to use foreground detail to enhance the composition.
.
In trying out the Fuji X70 that autumn morning I realized what had been missing in my photography. Fun! It is a great little camera to use. With a fairly large APS C sensor and a very sharp lens, it delivers amazing quality. With its compact size and full control features, it's a camera that allowed me to really feel the joy of photography again for the first time in a long time!
Okay. So this blog post is about the cult of the brand. Clearly, in my opinion, Fujifilm makes great little cameras. But there's more to a brand than a good product. What about customer service? When I returned home from my little fall colour tour, I noticed a minor issue with the X70. when I uploaded my photos to my computer, I noticed that the file numbers reset on a daily basis. I realized that if I didn't correct this problem, over the life of the camera, I would end up with thousands of images with the same file number. Not very practical for a shutter happy photohound like me.
I thought that the issue was a minor one that could probably be resolved by changing a setting in the camera's menus and so gave Fujifilm Canada a call. In very short order, my call was transferred to a service technician named Mark. Wow! Unlike my experience with Leica, I got to talk to a real breathing human being! He was a very nice guy who listened patiently while I explained my problem. Before getting into working on a solution, he asked what I thought of the camera and again listened patiently as I told him what I liked about it. Wow again! A company that actually cares about what their customers think and actively seek feedback about the product! Mark had never heard of anyone having my problem with that camera but said he would look into it and get back to me. He immediately set up a service file and gave me the reference number. He was as good as his word and within 24 hours he called back and left a message on my voice mail. He still hadn't found a solution to the problem but was looking into it further. Shortly, after that I received a second return call from Mark suggesting that I might have to send the camera in for testing.
After my experience with Leica, I was loathe to send ANY of my cameras ANYWHERE!
I took another look at the Fuji. I saw that, in camera, the files were numbered consecutively as I wanted. It occurred to me that perhaps the problem wasn't with the camera but with the computer. With my Canon cameras, I always uploaded images using a Canon program. The Fuji used Windows for uploading. Sure enough, I found the problem in the Windows import settings and fixed it with a couple of clicks of the mouse. I called Mark back at Fuji to tell him that I had solved the problem. He was happy to hear about it and said he'd make a note of it in case anyone else had a similar issue. Even though the problem was ultimately not with the Fuji product, I was impressed with the level of consideration that was put into what was really a very minor issue. Great service!
Since then, I've purchased yet another Fuji camera and I'm beginning to sell off my Canon gear and will probably eventually part with my pseudo Leica. Let's just say I found my favourite flavour of Kool-Aid
...more later
I find it awkward and difficult to make a photograph with a cell phone. I can't wrap my hands around it. I can't hold it in my right hand and support it by putting my left hand under it as I can with a decent ergonomically designed camera. The photo below is a selfie that I took in a mirror to use as a social media profile picture. It pretty much demonstrates what I'm talking about.
So what does all of this have to do with the brand of camera that any given image maker uses? Just this. Back to my statement about most photographers being control freaks. What if a camera company actually listened to what their customers want? Fuji did just that.
For quite a while I would read in online photography blogs and articles about these remarkable cameras. People who used them seemed to really love them. I'm not talking about the usual brand loyalty of a Canon or Nikon user here. I'm talking about photographers who are seriously interested in in image making and take these compact, old school looking cameras everywhere they go! They talked about film simulation modes. As the name implies, Fujifilm was primarily known as a film manufacturer in the heyday of 35mm film. The company took the look of a lot of their old films and managed to digitally simulate their effects in camera. It all sounded very cool and intriguing but still I resisted. I had too much tied up in Canon gear. I had purchased a Leica branded compact camera with the classic Leica look and full manual controls less than a year earlier. It was to serve as my compact walk around camera. Much as I liked the look of the Fuji gear as well as the look of the images their cameras produced, I resisted temptation. Then things went bad and then kinda good.
I noticed some rather large specks showing up in the upper portions of photos I had taken with my pseudo Leica. Sure enough, despite the camera having a fixed lens, some dirt had managed to get into the camera and had lodged on the sensor. Because the camera has a fixed lens, I could not simply remove the lens and clean the sensor myself. The camera had to be sent in for service. Leica dosen't have a Canadian service centre so I shipped it off to Leica's facility in New Jersey. This all occurred on the Labour Day weekend.
After a month of the Leica languishing in Leica's service department, I made a phone call to the facility to enquire about my camera. I left a message on their voicemail. Another week went by with no return phone call. By now it was getting into the height of the fall colour season. Prime time for an outdoor and landscape photographer like yours truly. I had a nice weekend autumn colour tour planned and, dammit, I wanted my nice little compact camera back! Another phone call to Leica resulted in me leaving another message on their voicemail. Again ,there was no returned call. This was how a so called "premium brand" treated their customers!
The deadline for my fall colour tour weekend was fast approaching and I was still without my Leica. I bit the bullet and decided to go camera shopping. My intention was to purchase a Canon G5X. I had looked at one earlier and thought that it would fit the bill. I went up to our local Henry's Cameras to investigate the camera further. Henry's had one but the salesperson also showed me the Fuji X70 which was a little less expensive. I really liked the Fuji, but, for me, the Canon was the more practical choice. After all, I already had a lot of Canon gear. Things like external flash units, a wireless remote and other stuff that could be used with the Canon. I already had the Canon wireless app on my phone and tablet and knew how to use it. In terms of a camera brand, everything pointed to the Canon G5X as the logical choice. But, dammit, I really liked the look and style of the little Fuji and I was intrigued by what all the fuss was about with the Fuji brand. Also it was a tad less expensive.
I drank the Kool-Aid!
 |
| My Fuji X70 |
I took the camera home and spent an hour or two reading through the owner's manual while the camera's battery was charging. The next morning, prior to embarking on my fall colour tour, I went for a walk by the river near my home to try out this little gem. I soon learned why Fuji photographers love their cameras.
I put the camera into "classic chrome" film simulation mode. By all reports that I had read online, this was a favoured setup for good colour rendition. The colour was fantastic! I loved the control provided by an old school shutter speed dial and a conventional aperture ring on the lens. With the touch screen, selective focus on any point in the scene was a snap. The camera doesn't have a viewfinder but it does have a flip up screen. Old school shooter that I am, I found it quite comfortable to use the flip up screen holding the camera in a waist level position ala my old Yashicamat 124 medium format camera. The X70 has a fixed 18.5mm (28mm equivalent) wide angle fixed lens. At first I thought that the wide angle with no zoom capability would be very inconvenient. However, I've found that in practical use, a fixed wide angle is a blessing in disguise. It makes me work a little harder for the shot. I don't get to plant myself in one spot and zoom to frame the image. I have to physically move to get closer to my subject or, if I can't get closer, I have to consider how I'm going to use foreground detail to enhance the composition.
In trying out the Fuji X70 that autumn morning I realized what had been missing in my photography. Fun! It is a great little camera to use. With a fairly large APS C sensor and a very sharp lens, it delivers amazing quality. With its compact size and full control features, it's a camera that allowed me to really feel the joy of photography again for the first time in a long time!
Okay. So this blog post is about the cult of the brand. Clearly, in my opinion, Fujifilm makes great little cameras. But there's more to a brand than a good product. What about customer service? When I returned home from my little fall colour tour, I noticed a minor issue with the X70. when I uploaded my photos to my computer, I noticed that the file numbers reset on a daily basis. I realized that if I didn't correct this problem, over the life of the camera, I would end up with thousands of images with the same file number. Not very practical for a shutter happy photohound like me.
I thought that the issue was a minor one that could probably be resolved by changing a setting in the camera's menus and so gave Fujifilm Canada a call. In very short order, my call was transferred to a service technician named Mark. Wow! Unlike my experience with Leica, I got to talk to a real breathing human being! He was a very nice guy who listened patiently while I explained my problem. Before getting into working on a solution, he asked what I thought of the camera and again listened patiently as I told him what I liked about it. Wow again! A company that actually cares about what their customers think and actively seek feedback about the product! Mark had never heard of anyone having my problem with that camera but said he would look into it and get back to me. He immediately set up a service file and gave me the reference number. He was as good as his word and within 24 hours he called back and left a message on my voice mail. He still hadn't found a solution to the problem but was looking into it further. Shortly, after that I received a second return call from Mark suggesting that I might have to send the camera in for testing.
After my experience with Leica, I was loathe to send ANY of my cameras ANYWHERE!
I took another look at the Fuji. I saw that, in camera, the files were numbered consecutively as I wanted. It occurred to me that perhaps the problem wasn't with the camera but with the computer. With my Canon cameras, I always uploaded images using a Canon program. The Fuji used Windows for uploading. Sure enough, I found the problem in the Windows import settings and fixed it with a couple of clicks of the mouse. I called Mark back at Fuji to tell him that I had solved the problem. He was happy to hear about it and said he'd make a note of it in case anyone else had a similar issue. Even though the problem was ultimately not with the Fuji product, I was impressed with the level of consideration that was put into what was really a very minor issue. Great service!
Since then, I've purchased yet another Fuji camera and I'm beginning to sell off my Canon gear and will probably eventually part with my pseudo Leica. Let's just say I found my favourite flavour of Kool-Aid
...more later
