On Black Friday I managed to get a cracking deal on a mirrorless camera form Fuji, the X-T10. A modern digital camera shrunk down in size and with all the camera settings available form physical buttons on the top of the camera – Yes, just like the old days of photography. As well as it being mirrorless it also comes with an articulating screen which my Canon 6D lacks.
So after a couple of weeks how do I feel with this new tool. Well, initially i was underwhelmed as I have been spoilt for a few years now with the full frame 20+ MP size of the canon 6D, so going back to a small APSC sizes sensor seemed a little strange. But it has grown on my significantly, first, the size – its so much more smaller and weighs much less than my usual street photography setup of the Canon 6D and a 24-105L lens. when using this setup I need a large backpack to cat all the camera and support bits along for the day, and 6 hrs with this around by neck, you know its there. Next is the EVF (electronic viewfinder and articulated screen – these are great in quality and are WYSIWYG or (what You See IS What You Get) so that when I set the picture style to Mono and yellow filter then I see on both screens exactly what the image will look like when finished actually there in real time on the screen. Add to this that the screen moves, so I can covertly now take pictures of street scenes and people without them really knowing I am doing so is a huge benefit.
Next is the invisible factor – using a much smaller, less professional looking (in fact retro looking) camera has helped make me even more invisible when street shooing. I blend-in more which is a huge bonus for this type of photography. I can understand it, my all black extra large Canon 6D and its large L lens pointed at people is a big ‘hey look ate me the pro photographer’ statement. With the Fuji I’m just kind of there is the back ground.
The Trade offs.
OK there are some trade offs, The focussing is good, but there is a very slight lag, meaning I do miss some shots. Second there is a light learning curve so stick with it for a few weeks as you learn the camera. Third – Image quality. I’m not convinced the RAW files are half as good as the ones from my Canon which have much more highlights and shadows scalability in adobe camera raw, and of course the images and sensor is just over half the size of my full frame on.
The benefits:
- A smaller footprint/size
- The Invisibility factor
- Physical controls and cool looking camera
- Articulated screen
- Great colour jpgs straight out of camera (not so much for me as I’m a 99% B&W shooter).
Conclusion:
I’m still learning this camera but amd sticking with it for now, its a good price, small piece of kit that has allowed me to change my shooting style for street photography somewhat. It looks and feels great in the hand, and once you start you just wont wnat to stop playing with it – its has amazing form function that actually feels very fun to use.
