Problems with X-T3

[Megamin]

I got a second hand X-T3 9 month ago, and I must admit that the first contact was quite disappointing in term of touch and feeling. I just came out of 6 months of handling a Pentax K-1 II and the step down in external build quality and feel was a bit of a chock (I mean the K-1 is a more expensive body, and its not like Pentax is a sound investment currently anyway).

Last week, I sent the X-T3 for repair for an extremely frustrating reason: the shutter button had become unreliable, I was missing 1/2 of my shots. Obviously, some bad connectors, using the touch screen shutter triggered perfectly. Cost of the repair: 230€: replacement of the whole upper part... For a button malfunction...

Maybe I got unlucky, but my old DSLR became "obsolete" way before breaking a mirror spring or a shutter, I would never have thought that my first mirrorless would let me down so fast on a stupid thing. Even the buttons on the controllers of my old sega genesis are still working 25 years later, and they have been hammered countless time)... Fuji would be a great brand if they were focusing less on marketing gimmicks (X-Trans, film simulations) and more on product reliability IMO.

[Olaf W.]

Welcome to our forum. I‘ve separated your comment to a dedicated thread since you used an X-T4 thread.

[Megamin]

Thank you, indeed I noticed afterward that the topic I initially posted in was specifically about the XT-4 build quality, my bad.

[Greybeard]

That is one of the reasons I always buy new - you never know what previous owners have done - just sold on my X-T3 in perfect condition - completely reliable since being bought on release date.

[Megamin]

Well, my previous own camera  was a Canon 7D, I was the third user. It was externally worn out, previous owner really fielded it. Worked like a charm for thousands of photos. Its still in good working condition, simply I don't use it anymore.

You always buy new, but still someone will buy your used camera. The X-T3 I bought was in perfect external condition, I gained trust in the user who was a professional photographer, having this one as backup. I ran some test before hand and I am pretty sure it was not defect when I got it. So I don't blame the seller. Perhaps the one you sold will unfortunately go wrong in 6 months, or in 10 years, who knows ? As for me, buying it new would have save the repair cost if the warranty was still running. Somehow, I lost my bet this time but it's fine, I'll get a X-T3 with a brand new upper part. Simply I did not save that much money due to the repair cost.

I am a bit more shaken in my choice of entering Fuji system. I found out that the issue I faced was not unique, and several users reported it. I saw in another post (the one I erroneously posted in first) that people had the feeling of a quality drop between the X-T3 and the X-T4, this leave me a bit dubious as I was already not seduced by the X-T3 external build quality.

This has nothing to do with the picture qualities, which are perfect for me. If the defect does not come back, then I am good. Fingers crossed.