Your first Fuji

My first 'serious' film camera was an Olympus OM2 - I was young and had recently got my first proper job, nonetheless it was a considerable expense for me. I loved that camera; took it all over the world for many years and built up a small but nice collection of lenses. I used to lust after the OM2 spot, but could never afford it. One day it just seized up, Olympus would no longer repair them and I somehow stopped taking photographs. With the advent of digital I kept looking for a digicam to replace my beloved OM2. My first foray into the digital world was an Olympus E10 (brand loyalty!), 4mp of initial joy, but I soon began to chafe at the restrictions of a single, albeit zoom lens. When the Canon 10D came out I bought that, got equally frustrated with using FF lenses on a crop sensor (no EF-S lenses then), so ditched it in favour of a 5D as soon as that came out. A great camera, which I still have, but I always looked back in sadness at the small size and manual controls of the OM2. When Fuji brought out the X-Pro1 it was love at first sight - I bought mine 10 years ago with the launch trio of lenses and I've been delighted with it ever since.

I didn't get the X-Pro2 because it didn't seem enough of an improvement to me, put off buying an X-Pro3 because there were always other toys I wanted to buy and, quite honestly, for my style of shooting the X-Pro1 still does the business. Looking forward to upgrading to an X-Pro4 though!

None of the other Fuji X cameras works the same magic on me as the X-Pro line. I've tried most of them in stores and they just don't feel right.

First Fujifilm was the X-pro 1 back in 2018. Then the X-pro 3 in 2019. Bought an X-E1 last year but sold off that and the X-pro 1 because I just didn't like the experience of the two, though the jpgs looked nice it wasn't enough to keep both.

Already as a young boy, when I was about 10 years old, I was interested in photography. My first SLR was a Pentax ME followed by a Pentax Super-A. I had access to my father's darkroom and developed my own B&W negatives and photos.

Then there was a longer time with not so good gear and less focus on photography.

One day my father turned 80. I took photos with my then-gear but was totally disappointed from the IQ.

What a pity. A once in a lifetime event - but really bad photos. Any cell phone would have done better.

Immediately after, I bought my first Fujifilm. It was an X-T20. It was a recommendation of a friend. I bought it in late 2018 together with the XF 18-55 and the XF 55-200. It was a huge, huge step up in IQ.

There was this long missed fascination gain. Wow. It was all back :)

Then I started with raw development (a recommendation of my then-boss), with darktable (still a happy darktable user), ... it all became more and more fascinating, ... I invested into more lenses, also from Laowa and KamLan, ... and a couple of Fujinons :)

In summer 2021, I went for an X-T4 but kept my X-T20 till date. I still use it when I want something small.

Very happy Fujifilm user. No plans currently to upgrade to the X-T5. I am just happy as can be.

I believe the Fujifilm ecosystem with its dials and aperture rings reminds me of my first SLRs. Feels good.

Cheers,

Martin

Hi,

DS-505. Also was the Nikon E2. A joint product. 1.3MP 2/3" CCD behind reduction optics built into the body. Small, slow, PCMCIA memory cards and no buffer. So one shot per several seconds depending on your exact card.

The second was a DS-565 aka the Nikon E3s. Had a faster optical system and could use a greater number of Nikkor lenses. Had a buffer. Now I had 1 fps for 5 shots.

I bought both in 1999 used since they were on the cheap in the face of the Nikon D1. Then I gave up and bought a 2.75 MP D1 anyway. And a Kodak DCS460 with 6 MP as a Hi Res unit.

And, to date, those have been my only Fuji cameras. Might be a GFX 100s in the future.

Stan

Hi all,

Great to read all your Fuji history stories.
Mine began with a second hand X-T10 plus 16-50mm kitlens.
I won't bother you with all the 35mm and medium format film cameras I've owned but my first DSLR was
the Nikon D100.
After that the D70, D200, D300 and D700.
Then a brief spell with Olympus MFT cameras, followed by another Nikon, the D7100.

By then I started noticing the photos people took with their Fujifilm cameras and decided to try one out.
That became the X-T10 I mentioned, followed by the X-T1 which I still have.

Right now I feel most comfortable with my X-T3.
It reminds me of the Nikon FE and FM cameras I used to own so yes, nostalgia plays a part in this 😉
In fact, I use several Nikon AI lenses with a Kipon adapter on the Fujis.
I don't need the faster AF and 40MP of the latest generation of cameras for my slow photography.
Stitching landscapes and documenting what happens in my hometown Gouda NL is what I like to do best.

So, all the best to you and let's hope we can make these new forums work.

André

One of the first stitched compositions with the X-T10 and 16-50mm at 21mm (2017).
The polderland at Reeuwijk, NL:

Fuji ST605N - Must have been 1977 or 78. Kept it until around 2003 when I found I'd left the batteries in and the contacts had get corroded away - silly me! Just a couple of S3 Pros and an S5 Pro now.

When a member of our photo club sat down beside me with his new X100 Limited Edition camera at a 2012 meeting, my interest in Fujifilm cameras began. I didn't buy an X100, but rather chose an X10, quickly adding an X-S1. That combination eventually became my main gear for a number of subjects. Other Fujifilm cameras I eventually owned but didn't keep: X-M1, X-E2S and X-T4.

Today I'm still shooting with a later iteration X-S1. Its known shortcomings in the areas of image noise and lack of sharpness are now resolved through mild doses of Topaz Photo AI. The original X10 is gone and won't be replaced, as prices have shot through the roof on remaining used units. But I feel satisfaction in getting good use out of one of my first Fujifilm cameras after all these years.

"Strawberry Nose" - a recent X-S1 image

Well, I can't seem to get the edit to work of adding an image, so here it is in a reply.

Great strawberry.... the only fruit with the seeds on the outside!

Bob

Original X100 when it was released, then just before lock down an X-T100 as I moved from a Canon 450D as my main ILC. More recently a second hand X-T3 for a bigger grip etc

For me that's the Fuji X10. I bought it in Dublin airport on the way back home to Scotland. I don't recall how much it cost, but I do remember that at the time the reviews were simply amazing. I was taken in mostly by the vintage looks (the technical details meant little to me) and the optical viewfinder, a viewfinder that turned out to be mostly useless, but it looked good. I also bought a lens hood for it to really pimp it good 'n proper.

I don't have a lot of memories of using it, but I do recall the image quality from the 12megapixel sensor was remarkably good, the lens was pretty sharp, and the LCD screen was pretty good. You can see from this early model where Fuji was heading. Many of the features of this camera are still found on their current range - the dials, the AF mode selector on the front, the 'Fn' button on the top, the button layout on the back as well as the general ergonomics. I've always loved the way Fuji camera's sit in your hand, much more comfortably than the larger Canon's and Nikon's and the awful Olympus OM-D range which are just too small.

I eventually sold it for an XT-10, which was in turn replaced by an XT-20, then an XT-2 (which I still have) and finally the X-Pro3, a camera I love very much. I've always wondered why I have such an affinity with the X-Pro3 but seeing this I understand why - the X10 is basically the prehistoric ancestor of the X-Pro series!

Late spring of 2016, I held a XPro2 in my local camera store. I fell in love with the OVF - reminiscent of my beloved Leica M4. While not a true rangefinder, the OVF
gave the VF view I had grown used to on the street. I would not have given anyone two cents for the rest of the Fuji line up at that time. But the XPro2 brought back fond memories of many hours on the street. I walked out of the store with the XPro2, the X35 f1.4. Later added a 23 f2, 50 f2 a 90 f2. I replaced the XPro2 with the XPro3 when it came out and I still have all of the three lenses. While my Leica Q2M has become my bread an butter camera, the XPro3 is still my go to camera when I need a long lens like the 90 f2. It is still with the 35 f1.4 my go to outfit on horseback.

It is basically true that without the XPro and the OVF - I would not have given Fuji a second thought. I'm glad I did.

My first post here. My first Fujifilm camera was the X100V, 60 years after receiving my first ever camera in 1961. I'e since added an X-T5 and a few lenses.

Between were too many cameras and formats to remember!

My Fujifilm FinePix MX-700. I bought it in 1999 for a lot of money per pixel. :-) I wrote an article about the camera (german).

Great thread btw, thank you!
/Reto

my first Fuji was the original X100 which i still have,
my second Fuji was the XPRO1 which i still have.
both are still working fine and produce great shots, just a tad hard with xpro1 auto focussing.

Fujifilm X-T10
Hated it, sold it long time ago.

Now I’m the happy owner of an x-e4. I’m using the x-weekly sims, couldn’t be happier.

PS:
I’m using Canon in my day job. Fuji is something that I use with family, walk around.

Fuji Fujifilm X100, bought in January 2012.
Just sold it this morning for precisely half its paid price, not bad for a 11 year old digital camera :-).

The camera was a tiny joy to use, but I did not use it for a pair of years now, replace by a Sigma fp (I never adjusted completely to the broader depth of field of APS-C). Sadly too, it was not very well dustproof, at least the viewfinder.

Greg

I bought my Fuji in 2017.

I used to be an avid hiker and backpacker of Grand Canyon. I packed my Nikon D70 (destroyed during a fall in the Canyon), D90, and D610 on many day and overnight hikes. In early 2016, Nikon announced the development of the Nikon DL mirrorless series of fixed-lens cameras. It seemed the perfect fit as a compact, lightweight option for my off-trail hikes. I settled in and waited for them to be introduced. I would have been first in the pre-order line :)

A year after Nikon announced the development of the cameras, they announced the entire series was being scrapped without one ever having been sold and shipped. This was in January 2017 and I had a permit for a 7-day solo backpack in early April. With the clock ticking, I stated researching options and zeroed in on the X-series as my preferred option. Fujinon had just introduced the X-T20. I liked the look of the body, the specs, and the reviews of the 18-55mm f/2.8-4. So, I placed an order and waited.

Three weeks later on March 23, I got the notification from B&H that my order had shipped. The camera arrived on March 28 and I was leaving the trailhead with the X-T20 mounted to my shoulder strap on April 2. It's still the only Fuji camera and lens I own and I've had a great good time using the kit on my travels.

[Photo from that first Grand Canyon hike in April 2017]

[From a 2017 trip to Taiwan]

[From a 2018 trip to Las Vegas]

[From a 2019 trip to Montreal, Quebec]

[From a 2022 trip to Montreal]

[From a 2022 Grand Canyon hike]

A 10 years story starting with the X100 completed with the X Pro 1 destroyed by a wave in St malo High tide coef 118 and North Wind then Xt 1/2/3 XH1, now XH2 and 2s....

FujiX "what else" ? .....