First of all, I would like to apologize for the lack of updates on the blog section of this site. As some of you already noticed, I have been using the Fujifilm X70 for the past 7 months and I thought it was about time I wrote something about this nifty little camera.
I've been a Nikon user ever since I started photography in 2011. The reason I chose Nikon back then was simple; the people around me used Nikon so it was the obvious choice. As time went by, I gradually developed a liking for street photography but the more I did it, the less I was enjoying it. As much as I loved my D800, it gradually became a hindrance. When walking on the cramped streets of Hong Kong, the huge size of the camera immediately put the people around me on alert. I was taking less and less photos to the point where I left the camera at home. One could always argue its not the gear but the photographer that gets the shot but sometimes, if you don't have the right tool for the job, you might miss out on opportunities which was what was happening with my D800. 7 months ago, I decided to sell a lens that I haven't been using and used it to exchange for a brand new Fujifilm X70. Here are my thoughts about it after using it for the past 7 months.
Being used to the chunkiness of a D800, the Fujifilm X70 by comparison is tiny. As a buy with big hands, I had to buy a faux leather half case and a thumb grip to bulk it up so it could fit in my hand comfortably. When I take the camera onto the street, I immediately notice that size does matters (no pun intended). The stares I used to get when I raise my D800 are gone and people hardly notice that I've taking photos. The shutter is nearly silent which is a plus too. I was surprised how well the apc-s sensor performed. Photos are usable all the way to ISO 6400. The 18.5mm (28mm full frame equivalent) did take some time to get used to since it forced me to get closer to my subjects. If you like the 28mm focal length, you'll definitely enjoy this camera. Did I also mention that the LCD is a touch screen and it flips out too? Aside from praises, there were a few things that do bug me about the camera.
The first thing that stood out was the charging time. The NP-95 battery takes around a good 6-7 hours to charge in the charger and the battery only charges slightly faster when I charge it in camera. I did some research online and the conclusion I came up with was that Fuji deliberately lowered the voltage so the battery would last long but the downside was it would take longer to fully charge. If you do plan to get a camera that uses the NP-95 battery, do get a spare. I ended up buying a third party battery from a local camera store so when I run out of juice, I can pop the spare in instead of waiting 6-7 hours for the battery to fully charged. The camera takes around 300+ photos before I have to change batteries so if you are selective of what you photograph, battery life lasts a long way. The other thing that bugs me is the slow AF when it comes to larger apertures, especially at f/2.8. Turning on face detection has helped AF speed up a bit but it does get a bit annoying when the camera hunts around and end up getting a blurry shot.
Conclusion
The Fujifilm X70 for me has brought back the fun in photography. The compact size makes it a perfect every day camera that I can whip out for a shot. Along with the near silent shutter, I can walk around the streets of Hong Kong taking photos unnoticed and capturing shots that I would definitely miss if I had used my D800. Although AF can be a pain when used with large apertures, the pros out weight the cons on this tiny camera. While the Fujifilm X70 has been discontinued, I'm pretty sure you can still pick one at your local camera store.
RSS Feed