Fujifilm or Nikon, mirrorless or dslr?

[JohanNew]

hi guys,

this is a long thread but I hope you'll find it interesting enough to read it all ;-).

About a week ago I chose a secondhand fujifilm x-t2 and a 35mm f2 over a Nikon d500. The problem is that I'm second guessing my choice even though the x-t2 is amazing. I would like to hear your opinions on this subject, so I will start off with explaining why I chose a x-t2 in the first place.

So I'm 16 years old (turning 17 in 20 days , and last summer I went on holiday to Sweden with a samsung nx3000, just trying if photography was really something for me to get into. I really enjoyed it, even though the camera wasn't to advanced, a small amount of fotos from the trip: Jonah Nieuwenhuizen.

So I decided that I wanted to improve and really get into it. Not only is the camera meant for personal use: vacations, just going out walking in nature, vacations and me playing field hockey. I would also like to try and get some paying jobs adventually doing event photography (one of my friends does this). So I was searching for a "do it all camera" which doesn't exist... because of the small size, build quality and on body ISO, Schutter and aperture. So with €1600 of the €3000 +\- I earned from my paper round I got myself a used x-t2 and 35mm f2.

So I have used this combo now for almost 2 weeks and as I mentioned earlier I'm starting to second guess my decision. Why?

1. I have always had shaky hands, it's not a serious medical condition but it can sometimes be really annoying. So I notice slightly moved images at slower shutter speeds, and I have the feeling I'm forced to shooting at slow shutter speeds most of the time, so I would benefit from faster glass, stabilization or a larger sensor.

2. I feel like the on top buttons don't work fast enough. A few days ago I came across a small ree https://www.flickr.com/gp/149298180@N04/1659R, it was so dark that I almost missed it so this was shot at 1/10th which i am just not really able to handhold. If I would be able to change my settings faster I would probably had increased my ISO one stop, now I had to do some recovering in post.

3. I noticed that I do a lot of night or late evening because that's when I'm done with school. It's really annoying to fiddle with the dials in the dark, I do know the location of every button by hearth by now, but still.....

4. My main focus is,., everything... I know maybe it sounds stupid but I really like a lot of different types of photography, from landscape to wildlife. I although the fujilenses are really high quality if I want a nice wide (10-24) , a telephoto (100-400) and a macro (60mm or the new 80mm which is a real macro) it's just boatloads of money... and finding some cheaper secondhand glass is just really difficult.

5. Short battery life, walking 2 hours turning my camera off between pics still almost empty when getting home.

At the moment I'm also looking at a Nikon d750, Nikon d500, Nikon d7200, canon 80d, canon 5d mark iii. I'm leaning towards a Nikon d500 because:

1. Also solid build

2. More glass, also longer, cheaper, stabilized, secondhand

3. Glow in the dark buttons, some say it's a gimmick, but I could really use it.

4. Long battery life.

So you guys Could say, just go with Nikon, I would but I have some doubts, mainly that Dslrs are obsolete, if I buy an expensive body now and Nikon releases a mirrorless with a new lens mount my d500 would decrease in worth quite fast. But then if I just keep my d500 as my main camera for 5-10 years I will have my money's worth out of it...

Weight isn't really a factor, I'm young and healthy so I'll just put everything in a backpack and go. Also the size isn't really that different when adding lenses (16mm f1.4 or 10-24 or 100-400mm are not that much smaller than the Nikon equivalent, right? They will all require a camera bag.

i would like to hear your thoughts on this topic, and experiences from other dslrs and mirrorless shooters, did you go mirrorless or dslrs or first one and then back to the other? I can still return my fujifilm kit and change to something else which is nice.

kind regards,

Jonah

 

[jaomul]

I wont vote but I'll comment.

DSLRs wont be obsolete for a while, and even if they went now there should be enough lenses for a while. Generally batteries are great on dslrs, my nikon d7200 seems to just go and go. A nikon dslr has plenty of lens choice along with third party lenses.

On your Fuji, why would a dslr be less shaky? Is it because you might grip it better because it is bigger? If this is so would a grip for the Fuji be better both for grip and batteries? If you did decide to get rid of the Fuji would you get a large/ small percentage of your spend back?

Would it be possible for you to use a tripod or monopod to help with slower shutter speeds?

Sorry to answer questions with questions but it is very easy to throw good money at camera gear to get a small or maybe no improvement. The Fuji is supposed to be fab camera, the battery problem could be solved with a grip (maybe) or a few spare batteries, not sure about the shake being any better on a dslr as they both use lens based stabilization.

Don't worry about dslr vs mirrorless and all the marketing crap. Get a system that works for you and learn it. I'd be inclined to keep the fuji

 

[JohanNew]

I wont vote but I'll comment.

DSLRs wont be obsolete for a while, and even if they went now there should be enough lenses for a while. Generally batteries are great on dslrs, my nikon d7200 seems to just go and go. A nikon dslr has plenty of lens choice along with third party lenses.

On your Fuji, why would a dslr be less shaky? Is it because you might grip it better because it is bigger? If this is so would a grip for the Fuji be better both for grip and batteries? If you did decide to get rid of the Fuji would you get a large/ small percentage of your spend back?

Would it be possible for you to use a tripod or monopod to help with slower shutter speeds?

Sorry to answer questions with questions but it is very easy to throw good money at camera gear to get a small or maybe no improvement. The Fuji is supposed to be fab camera, the battery problem could be solved with a grip (maybe) or a few spare batteries, not sure about the shake being any better on a dslr as they both use lens based stabilization.

Don't worry about dslr vs mirrorless and all the marketing crap. Get a system that works for you and learn it. I'd be inclined to keep the fuji

The reason why I believe a dslr would be less shaky is indeed the added weight, having more mass would decrease the shake, adding the grip would make probably make a difference, I hadn't even thought of that myself. It would however add €300 to the expense making it just as expensive as a d500 (all being secondhand).

Secondly Nikon has a lot more stabilized lenses at different focal ranges and prices, I could sell the 35 f2 and get the 10-24, 18-55 and 50-140 but the pricing is pretty steep for me.

If I would decide to get rid of Fuji I would probably get all of my money back.

A tri or monopod would certainly help and I will buy a tripod for landscape and Astro, but if I'm in a city at night I don't want to bring a monopod or tripod when walking with friends, so that's probably the only time I wouldn't bring a tripod.

Don't get me wrong the Fujifilm is an amazing piece of tech, but maybe it just isn't my piece of tech....

 

[jaomul]

Well if you'd get all your money back selling the fuji I do think the d500 would have the edge in overall performance because added to excellent image quality (which the fuji also has) would be the tracking focus capability inherent to dslrs. The fuji has good tracking for mirrorless but the d500 has superb tracking

I've owned a few cameras and don't really have brand loyalty, but unless you need 10 fps I'd consider the d7200 as it goes for such a good price now and if 6 fps is enough it does lots well and leaves more money for good lenses

 

[JohanNew]

Well if you'd get all your money back selling the fuji I do think the d500 would have the edge in overall performance because added to excellent image quality (which the fuji also has) would be the tracking focus capability inherent to dslrs. The fuji has good tracking for mirrorless but the d500 has superb tracking

I've owned a few cameras and don't really have brand loyalty, but unless you need 10 fps I'd consider the d7200 as it goes for such a good price now and if 6 fps is enough it does lots well and leaves more money for good lenses

I think the best thing I can do is just rent a d500 and d7200 for a couple of days and do some side by side comparing... In about 2 weeks I will be going to Norway so I hope to have a nice kit ready at that time with a system that I love and am completely comfortable with.

 

[jcdeboever]

Stop drinking energy drinks. I have the XT2. I have been challenged with hand tremors and I compensate using faster shutter speed with primes that don't have OIS. If light is real bad, use a tripod and shutter release. Pick up a 18-55 kit lens used, it works great at slower shutter speed with OIS on. You will encounter this no matter the camera unless it has in body stability. I believe the XT2 is the best do it all camera. It's not the best at anything but does everything reasonably well with user skill. If I was shooting nothing but action wildlife and sports, then a D500 would be it. To be honest, I can do it with the Fuji, now that I understand how to set up the continuous AF tracking. The 35 f2 is a fine lens. Bump up the ISO if you need to prevent shake, it seems to me ISO 6400 is about as high as I would go, which usually gets me out of trouble. For my bad day tremors, I have to be twice the focal length of the glass... So 35 x 1.5 = 52.5 x 2 = 105. So shutter speed of 105+ takes care of it, so I shoot in aperture priority mode, adjust apeture for depth of field, and move the ISO to it's lowest setting to give me a shutter speed of 105 or around there. It's super fast if you assign the front command dial to ISO control. I don't because I am used to lighting conditions now.

If weight is not an issue, the XT2 grip is fantastic. It takes two.batteries, makes the camera ergomic for big hand guys like me, makes improver AF accuracy and speed. I leave it on mine always.

 

[Light Guru]

I have always had shaky hands, it's not a serious medical condition but it can sometimes be really annoying. So I notice slightly moved images at slower shutter speeds, and I have the feeling I'm forced to shooting at slow shutter speeds most of the time, so I would benefit from faster glass, stabilization or a larger sensor.

You will have the same issue no matter what camera body you have. A tripod would be what would help the most.

although the fujilenses are really high quality if I want a nice wide (10-24) , a telephoto (100-400) and a macro (60mm or the new 80mm which is a real macro) it's just boatloads of money... and finding some cheaper secondhand glass is just really difficult.

Quality glass is going to be expensive on any camera platform. Good used glass is not much cheaper then good new glass on any platform.

Long battery life.

Simple solution extra batteries. You will want to do this with any camera system.

I have had a canon in the past and currently have a Fuji x100T (for what u shoot it’s perfect) if I was to get a interchangeable system again it would definitely be a Fuji System.




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[JohanNew]

Stop drinking energy drinks. I have the XT2. I have been challenged with hand tremors and I compensate using faster shutter speed with primes that don't have OIS. If light is real bad, use a tripod and shutter release. Pick up a 18-55 kit lens used, it works great at slower shutter speed with OIS on. You will encounter this no matter the camera unless it has in body stability. I believe the XT2 is the best do it all camera. It's not the best at anything but does everything reasonably well with user skill. If I was shooting nothing but action wildlife and sports, then a D500 would be it. To be honest, I can do it with the Fuji, now that I understand how to set up the continuous AF tracking. The 35 f2 is a fine lens. Bump up the ISO if you need to prevent shake, it seems to me ISO 6400 is about as high as I would go, which usually gets me out of trouble. For my bad day tremors, I have to be twice the focal length of the glass... So 35 x 1.5 = 52.5 x 2 = 105. So shutter speed of 105+ takes care of it, so I shoot in aperture priority mode, adjust apeture for depth of field, and move the ISO to it's lowest setting to give me a shutter speed of 105 or around there. It's super fast if you assign the front command dial to ISO control. I don't because I am used to lighting conditions now.

If weight is not an issue, the XT2 grip is fantastic. It takes two.batteries, makes the camera ergomic for big hand guys like me, makes improver AF accuracy and speed. I leave it on mine always.

"Stop drinking energy drinks" really? This is your way of starting a response? Not only is it off topic it's also rude and an extremely stupid generalization. You don't really believe I'm a stupid no belt wearing, having my cap backwards, smoking, useless energy drink chucking thug?

I don't know why you said this while I tried really hard to make a thoughtful post on my doubts about choosing the fujifilm system. I didn't just write: fujifilm sucks! I'm going to switch away from this crap!! I have nothing against fujifilm and nothing against its users, so I don't know how I triggered this strange response from you....

Inspite of your comment at the beginning I still managed to read it all and yes of course I will buy a tripod, I just won't be taking it along with me when in a city at night with friends, so that's when I would benefit from a stabilized lens or....

The battery grip would help but it makes the x-t2 the same size or a tad larger and more expensive than a d500.

I'm just a young inexperienced boy asking for some advice from more experienced photographers , if I'm being polite I would like you to try the same.

 

[jaomul]

Stop drinking energy drinks. I have the XT2. I have been challenged with hand tremors and I compensate using faster shutter speed with primes that don't have OIS. If light is real bad, use a tripod and shutter release. Pick up a 18-55 kit lens used, it works great at slower shutter speed with OIS on. You will encounter this no matter the camera unless it has in body stability. I believe the XT2 is the best do it all camera. It's not the best at anything but does everything reasonably well with user skill. If I was shooting nothing but action wildlife and sports, then a D500 would be it. To be honest, I can do it with the Fuji, now that I understand how to set up the continuous AF tracking. The 35 f2 is a fine lens. Bump up the ISO if you need to prevent shake, it seems to me ISO 6400 is about as high as I would go, which usually gets me out of trouble. For my bad day tremors, I have to be twice the focal length of the glass... So 35 x 1.5 = 52.5 x 2 = 105. So shutter speed of 105+ takes care of it, so I shoot in aperture priority mode, adjust apeture for depth of field, and move the ISO to it's lowest setting to give me a shutter speed of 105 or around there. It's super fast if you assign the front command dial to ISO control. I don't because I am used to lighting conditions now.

If weight is not an issue, the XT2 grip is fantastic. It takes two.batteries, makes the camera ergomic for big hand guys like me, makes improver AF accuracy and speed. I leave it on mine always.

"Stop drinking energy drinks" really? This is your way of starting a response? Not only is it off topic it's also rude and an extremely stupid generalization. You don't really believe I'm a stupid no belt wearing, having my cap backwards, smoking, useless energy drink chucking thug?

I don't know why you said this while I tried really hard to make a thoughtful post on my doubts about choosing the fujifilm system. I didn't just write: fujifilm sucks! I'm going to switch away from this crap!! I have nothing against fujifilm and nothing against its users, so I don't know how I triggered this strange response from you....

Inspite of your comment at the beginning I still managed to read it all and yes of course I will buy a tripod, I just won't be taking it along with me when in a city at night with friends, so that's when I would benefit from a stabilized lens or....

The battery grip would help but it makes the x-t2 the same size or a tad larger and more expensive than a d500.

I'm just a young inexperienced boy asking for some advice from more experienced photographers , if I'm being polite I would like you to try the same.

I think you should look around the forum here and realise not everyone who is just being a bit humourous uses a smiley face.

Lighten up. Everyone who posted is trying to give helpful advice- some have a bit of fun while doing so, it's all goid

 

[jcdeboever]

Stop drinking energy drinks. I have the XT2. I have been challenged with hand tremors and I compensate using faster shutter speed with primes that don't have OIS. If light is real bad, use a tripod and shutter release. Pick up a 18-55 kit lens used, it works great at slower shutter speed with OIS on. You will encounter this no matter the camera unless it has in body stability. I believe the XT2 is the best do it all camera. It's not the best at anything but does everything reasonably well with user skill. If I was shooting nothing but action wildlife and sports, then a D500 would be it. To be honest, I can do it with the Fuji, now that I understand how to set up the continuous AF tracking. The 35 f2 is a fine lens. Bump up the ISO if you need to prevent shake, it seems to me ISO 6400 is about as high as I would go, which usually gets me out of trouble. For my bad day tremors, I have to be twice the focal length of the glass... So 35 x 1.5 = 52.5 x 2 = 105. So shutter speed of 105+ takes care of it, so I shoot in aperture priority mode, adjust apeture for depth of field, and move the ISO to it's lowest setting to give me a shutter speed of 105 or around there. It's super fast if you assign the front command dial to ISO control. I don't because I am used to lighting conditions now.

If weight is not an issue, the XT2 grip is fantastic. It takes two.batteries, makes the camera ergomic for big hand guys like me, makes improver AF accuracy and speed. I leave it on mine always.

"Stop drinking energy drinks" really? This is your way of starting a response? Not only is it off topic it's also rude and an extremely stupid generalization. You don't really believe I'm a stupid no belt wearing, having my cap backwards, smoking, useless energy drink chucking thug?

I don't know why you said this while I tried really hard to make a thoughtful post on my doubts about choosing the fujifilm system. I didn't just write: fujifilm sucks! I'm going to switch away from this crap!! I have nothing against fujifilm and nothing against its users, so I don't know how I triggered this strange response from you....

Inspite of your comment at the beginning I still managed to read it all and yes of course I will buy a tripod, I just won't be taking it along with me when in a city at night with friends, so that's when I would benefit from a stabilized lens or....

The battery grip would help but it makes the x-t2 the same size or a tad larger and more expensive than a d500.

I'm just a young inexperienced boy asking for some advice from more experienced photographers , if I'm being polite I would like you to try the same.

Sorry little fella, seriously, I was just being silly is all. As mentioned I didn't use a smiley face as I rarely do, just don't think to. I gave you some well intended advise on how to overcome blurred photos with primes . Believe me, this is an ongoing issue for me, or more of an on off thing and told you how I overcome it. Geez, I can't believe your emotional response.

 

[fmw]

Hand holding any camera at 1/10 sec will produce a shaky image. I left Nikon DSLR's to have a smaller, lighter system. I chose Fuji for the superior build quality of the cameras and lenses. Your X-T2 is very well made with a metal body. The lenses are also metal. I think you probably have the right system. I say that because I have it myself.

As to adding additional lenses, be patient. In time you will acquire what you want. You can make great images with any camera and any lens. The Fuji lenses aren't cheap. But they are better built than the lenses Nikon or the third party producers make. And, unlike Nikon, they produce a broad line of prime lenses in the APS-c format.

I realize the Fuji 10-24 zoom is pricey. Be patient. Fuji produces a small line of XC lenses which are plastic and inexpensive. They don't have aperture rings. So far they have normal and telephoto zooms. I'll bet they will have a wide angle zoom in that series at some point. You are young. Be patient. Go make some photographs.

 

[JohanNew]

Stop drinking energy drinks. I have the XT2. I have been challenged with hand tremors and I compensate using faster shutter speed with primes that don't have OIS. If light is real bad, use a tripod and shutter release. Pick up a 18-55 kit lens used, it works great at slower shutter speed with OIS on. You will encounter this no matter the camera unless it has in body stability. I believe the XT2 is the best do it all camera. It's not the best at anything but does everything reasonably well with user skill. If I was shooting nothing but action wildlife and sports, then a D500 would be it. To be honest, I can do it with the Fuji, now that I understand how to set up the continuous AF tracking. The 35 f2 is a fine lens. Bump up the ISO if you need to prevent shake, it seems to me ISO 6400 is about as high as I would go, which usually gets me out of trouble. For my bad day tremors, I have to be twice the focal length of the glass... So 35 x 1.5 = 52.5 x 2 = 105. So shutter speed of 105+ takes care of it, so I shoot in aperture priority mode, adjust apeture for depth of field, and move the ISO to it's lowest setting to give me a shutter speed of 105 or around there. It's super fast if you assign the front command dial to ISO control. I don't because I am used to lighting conditions now.

If weight is not an issue, the XT2 grip is fantastic. It takes two.batteries, makes the camera ergomic for big hand guys like me, makes improver AF accuracy and speed. I leave it on mine always.

"Stop drinking energy drinks" really? This is your way of starting a response? Not only is it off topic it's also rude and an extremely stupid generalization. You don't really believe I'm a stupid no belt wearing, having my cap backwards, smoking, useless energy drink chucking thug?

I don't know why you said this while I tried really hard to make a thoughtful post on my doubts about choosing the fujifilm system. I didn't just write: fujifilm sucks! I'm going to switch away from this crap!! I have nothing against fujifilm and nothing against its users, so I don't know how I triggered this strange response from you....

Inspite of your comment at the beginning I still managed to read it all and yes of course I will buy a tripod, I just won't be taking it along with me when in a city at night with friends, so that's when I would benefit from a stabilized lens or....

The battery grip would help but it makes the x-t2 the same size or a tad larger and more expensive than a d500.

I'm just a young inexperienced boy asking for some advice from more experienced photographers , if I'm being polite I would like you to try the same.

Sorry little fella, seriously, I was just being silly is all. As mentioned I didn't use a smiley face as I rarely do, just don't think to. I gave you some well intended advise on how to overcome blurred photos with primes . Believe me, this is an ongoing issue for me, or more of an on off thing and told you how I overcome it. Geez, I can't believe your emotional response.

All good, I don't mind people being silly or making jokes. There just wasn't any indication for me that it was indeed a joke, maybe it's an generation difference, all our online communication uses emotes to clarify the tone of the thing said. This is just a thing that really keeps me busy and I'm really serious about, it's (for me) a lot of money invested in a system. And I really hate my shaky hands, got some negative comments when presenting in class, shaking the paper in my hand as if I was trying to mix the words written on it , so that's why my response was quite strong ;-). As I said I did read your tips on how to overcome this problem and it is really useful advice.

 

[JohanNew]

Hand holding any camera at 1/10 sec will produce a shaky image. I left Nikon DSLR's to have a smaller, lighter system. I chose Fuji for the superior build quality of the cameras and lenses. Your X-T2 is very well made with a metal body. The lenses are also metal. I think you probably have the right system. I say that because I have it myself.

As to adding additional lenses, be patient. In time you will acquire what you want. You can make great images with any camera and any lens. The Fuji lenses aren't cheap. But they are better built than the lenses Nikon or the third party producers make. And, unlike Nikon, they produce a broad line of prime lenses in the APS-c format.

I realize the Fuji 10-24 zoom is pricey. Be patient. Fuji produces a small line of XC lenses which are plastic and inexpensive. They don't have aperture rings. So far they have normal and telephoto zooms. I'll bet they will have a wide angle zoom in that series at some point. You are young. Be patient. Go make some photographs.

Thanks for the kind response ;-) . Ofcourse you'll get the same shake on a Nikon or Fuji when not using stabilized lenses, Nikon just has more of those at cheaper prices. Weight isn't really an issue for me, I'm young, healthy and have a large backpack. I'm not really drawn towards the xc lenses, I think I would rather save some more and get the more expensive lenses.

 

[SquarePeg]

The grass always looks greener. Rent the 500 if you really think it better suits your needs. The xt2 is hot right now so you can probably get back what you paid.

With either camera and any lens, expecting to hand hold at 1/10 is extremely unrealistic. Personally I never go below 1/250 unless using flash. I try to keep it at 1/500 and use auto ISO with max sensitivity set at 12800. This is with the xt2.

 

[jcdeboever]

Hand holding any camera at 1/10 sec will produce a shaky image. I left Nikon DSLR's to have a smaller, lighter system. I chose Fuji for the superior build quality of the cameras and lenses. Your X-T2 is very well made with a metal body. The lenses are also metal. I think you probably have the right system. I say that because I have it myself.

As to adding additional lenses, be patient. In time you will acquire what you want. You can make great images with any camera and any lens. The Fuji lenses aren't cheap. But they are better built than the lenses Nikon or the third party producers make. And, unlike Nikon, they produce a broad line of prime lenses in the APS-c format.

I realize the Fuji 10-24 zoom is pricey. Be patient. Fuji produces a small line of XC lenses which are plastic and inexpensive. They don't have aperture rings. So far they have normal and telephoto zooms. I'll bet they will have a wide angle zoom in that series at some point. You are young. Be patient. Go make some photographs.

Thanks for the kind response ;-) . Ofcourse you'll get the same shake on a Nikon or Fuji when not using stabilized lenses, Nikon just has more of those at cheaper prices. Weight isn't really an issue for me, I'm young, healthy and have a large backpack. I'm not really drawn towards the xc lenses, I think I would rather save some more and get the more expensive lenses.

Those XC lenses are very under rated. The images that I have seen from both the XC 50-230 OIS II and the XC16-55 OIS II are pretty exceptional. Select filter/lens/ and you'll see the images from the XC series. Super affordable used.

X-Photographers