Railfan Technology > From DSLR to Mirrorless - More Toys Part 2

Hi all,
In part 2 of my "new gadgets" series (my earlier post reviews the DJI Spark quadcopter), I recently made the jump from a Canon 5D Mark II full-frame DSLR to a Fuji mirrorless kit with interchangable lenses. I thought I would explain why I made the change, and what I've found thus far.

I am a fairly serious photographer, though, like so many of us, life's commitments take more and more of my time, and I've come to notice that the heavy DSLR tended to stay in the camera bag more and more. When I bought the 5D MkII back in 2009, I absolutely loved it, and made good money using it. About a year later, I bought the 24-70 f2.8L which made for a perfect pairing with the 5D. Beautiful photos, lots of fun.

But in the years since, I was excitedly waiting for Canon to catch up to some features that seemed to be coming after multiple Nikon releases. Some were silly-yet-useful, like the built-in level, or geotagging of photos; others were fundamental, like improved dynamic range, better handling of yellow/red highlights, etc. Mitch Goldman discussed both of these topics at length; and I tend to share his views on those topics.

After the 5D MkIII came out, I felt it wasn't worth the upgrade. But surely, the Mk IV would be, right? Not at $3,500 body only! Even if that camera was priced at the MkII's $2200, I didn't think that the improvements would justify the expense.

In the meantime, I had used a couple different rangefinders (that shot film, of all things!), and had some interest in a digital rangefinder. Something smaller that would work well for the occasional work trip or weekend to the city where the DSLR setup is cumbersome. I found myself uncomfortable wielding a large DSLR & lens in busy cities, let alone in a restaurant or other location where I might want to do city/building/street photography.

A friend of mine has been using Fuji mirrorless for a couple of years, and I had the opportunity to try his camera out a bit back in May. I did not do a scientific study of the merits of Fuji vs Olumpus vs Sony, though I did look at the Sonys, finding them to be expensive and larger than the Fuji.

While I started out on the mirrorless path thinking that I would buy one as a second camera, I quickly came to realize that that was too costly. I explored options to trade in my SLR and ended up doing so with Roberts Camera in Indianapolis.

I went with the Fuji X-2Pro, which is kind of a "retro" package with modern controls. I found it to be surprisingly "fun" to use.
For specs and so on check out https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/fujifilm-x-pro2

For me, here are several key features that "sold it" for me:
- Sufficient sensor resolution for the occasional large print
- Native ISO up to 12800, as I shoot a lot of night photos
- Ability to geocode (embed GPS) images for select train chasing situations (when I keep poor notes)
- Great screen
- Auto-everything AND manual-everything, making it easy to choose what I want auto or not
- Direct control via a dial or knob for aperture, ISO, shutter speed, etc
- Multiple exposure mode!

Two "fun" aspects that I didn't think I cared about, but actually like:
- WiFi connectivity to a smartphone app that lets you download and share photos right away
- JPG+RAW setting, where you can use various Fuji "film modes" that replicate the look of different Fuji films. I find this more fun than expected!

Furthermore, I've gotten to a point where I loathe post-processing my photos. I used to enjoy the time I spent editing photos, but now, that time is best used elsewhere. So, the combination of controls with some of the film modes mean that I can get the camera how I want it (close enough) and can easily share it.

Lenses. Fuji has a fine line of fixed lenses; I started out with a 35mm f/2. (Equivalent to 50mm on a 35mm camera). I also got the image stabilized 18-55 and 55-200. So far so good. I'm curious about the wide zoom and the 100-400 but I have a budget here... :)

I'll add some photos and preliminary findings in a subsequent post. Until Part 3!

OK I'm listening enjoy your observations, thoughts and comparisons I find myself in similar scenarios with four Canon DSLR’s
and a DJI Phantom 4 Pro. I’m considering toning down my work flow to something more manageable. The one feature I like about the
Phantom 4 Pro is how quickly I can set up and fly and would like to do so with my camera almost like point and shoot but not yet.
Look forward to your next post.
Alan

I eagerly await the rest of the story. Mirrorless is intriguing.

KG

I still have my Nikon D-750 but am using my Sony mirrorless more and more. Good things ARE coming in smaller sizes. Especially on trips where limited 'carry-on' is required.

Ed

OK, time for some photos.

1. ISO 8000, 1/15 f3.6 It's no Mitch Gold"pan" but it'll do.
2. Testing out bright red. So much better than the Canon.
3. Pushing the limits ISO 12800 1/15 f3.6

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4. In-camera monochrome (black & white) image. Edited a tad to darken the shadows.
5. 200mm image stabilized. ISO 1000 f/8 1/2000 (Ideally I would have shot that at maybe ISO 400 1/750 or so...)
6. 200mm image stabilized. ISO 400 f4.8 1/2000

I'm seeing in these uploads that the sharpness isn't what I'm getting, because these are downsamples of downsamples...

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All of the files uploaded thus far were JPG's downloaded into iPhoto via my iPhone. So there is clearly some loss of sharpness. In the spirit of showing something more valid as a test, here is a Fuji raw file, edited in Photoshop CS and properly exported as a sharpened JPG in my more formal workflow.

In terms of shooting experience, here are some observations:
* The size and "feel" of the camera are great
* Shooting rangefinder using long focal lengths is weird. This camera has an electronic viewfinder mode that lets you see "through the lens" but this is somewhat limiting by way of the relatively small number of pixels available in the viewfinder. You can look at the rear screen for better resolution but that is awkward for stability, unless you are using a tripod. There are a few different useful focus aids available to address this - like an inset view showing 100% size pixel-by-pixel at the focus point, overlaid onto the overall image
* There are also more traditional rangefinder options like showing the frame outline at various focal lengths
* There are a ton of knobs and buttons. The upside is that nearly every important feature is directly accessible without fumbling thru menus. The downside is that it's taking me awhile to remember what all of them do!
* I have little experience with image stabilized lenses, and have not yet explored the various image stabilization modes. I am aware that it is sometimes necessary to disable IS when using a tripod.
* While none of the lenses have aperture rings per se, each are able to be focused manually as well as having manual control over aperture when desired. This is a very nice touch.

My concluding statement on this whole affair: It's a camera built for photographers who want to be able to shoot fully manual with relative ease, while providing the convenience of well-done auto exposure, ISO, and focus; furthermore it has some "fun" newer features like the film modes and WiFi which increase my enjoyment by being able to quickly share images while I go.

That's all I got for now... take care & Enjoy!

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