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Somebody, talk me off the ledge


JamesD

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I've been shooting with the x-t10 for over a year and x-t1 more recently, but I really want to move to the x-t2. I purchased one of the first release batch, but had multiple issues and ended up returning it and the 100-400 to B&H. I decided to give Fuji a couple months to work the kinks out. Well, I'm ready to jump back in, but I come here and of the 25 or so topics on the first page, 16 are negative in one respect or another. I do not want to go through the same thing again. So is this just the internet phenomenon, where 1000 buy the camera and 1 has an issue and he/she is the one who posts here, or is this body just"buggy"? I don't here the same types of complaints about the pro-2. In other words, "is it safe".

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I've been shooting with the x-t10 for over a year and x-t1 more recently, but I really want to move to the x-t2. I purchased one of the first release batch, but had multiple issues and ended up returning it and the 100-400 to B&H. I decided to give Fuji a couple months to work the kinks out. Well, I'm ready to jump back in, but I come here and of the 25 or so topics on the first page, 16 are negative in one respect or another. I do not want to go through the same thing again. So is this just the internet phenomenon, where 1000 buy the camera and 1 has an issue and he/she is the one who posts here, or is this body just"buggy"? I don't here the same types of complaints about the pro-2. In other words, "is it safe".

 

No, it's not safe. The only reason I didn't return mine when I had the chance was that Fuji was supposed to come out with a firmware update the day after my return deadline which I hoped would fix some of the issues. That update was delayed by a month and didn't really do anything but add compatibility for the new flash. Camera is still far too buggy for the price tag. Ditto for the X-Pro2. I think the X-Pro2 is finally coming down to a fair used price (~$1100), but IMHO neither camera is really worth the retail price. Myself and others are paying for the honor of beta testing the product while it depreciates. 

 

I'm not saying the either camera is a lemon exactly, just not really worth the premium price.

 

You also have to ask yourself, do you really need the new camera? The stills quality is pretty much the same. Video quality is much better but still quite quirky to use. Autofocus is a little better in some circumstances but in the real world ends up being just about as effective as the X-Pro1 (with latest firmware). It's really no comparison to Sony's A6 series AF or Canon's Dual Pixel AF (despite what certain reviewers would have you believe... Seen many X-T2 vs Sony vs Canon shootouts? Nope, just comparisons to the Nikon D500)

 

The X-T2 is certainly a nice camera, but ask yourself if you really want to pay $1600 for a brand new, slightly improved X-T1 that's less reliable?

 

Forget I said all of that... Wanna buy my X-T2? ;-)

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Ouch! Wasn't expecting that. I guess I'll jump. ;-). I know the Sony's are good, I came to Fuji from Sony, but, man, have you held one of those in your hand? They're miserable to use. I'm considering waiting for the A7iii, but I refuse to get sucked into that Gmaster monster lens world, and that really restricts options. The Fuji lens eco system is near perfect for me. All I'm missing is a couple fast primes.

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I am happy not to be the only one who would advise not to upgrade, I’ve been given a lot of flack for having done thins in the past, from the upgrading party.

 

I’ve stayed with my X-T1, sold the X-E2, invested in interesting lenses. I have put money on the side for the day when Fuji will come up with such improvements capable to sway me over to their future new model.

For the time being I am happy where I am.

 

There is no picture that I could or would want to take with any other camera or the that I could take with the X-T2 and can’t take with the X-T1.  Personally I think that photographers take pictures and not their cameras.

And that: if you are a good photographer you will take good pictures with any camera and that if you are a mediocre photographer buying a new camera will do absolutely nothing to improve your pictures.

 

I have seen it happening with some folks who did buy. They shot mediocre pictures before and they still do this now.

 

Of course this attitude has proven very unpopular on this board, especially among those whom bought the new cameras. It is understandable that people are proud of their new cameras but the motivations for doing so are paper thin.

 

Some quote the increased size for printing purposes or increased cropping. Some want to shoot film in 4K or need shooting very fast action sports.

 

I rarely print my pictures, certainly very rarely at the top of the printing capabilities of my sensor, but I could print them up to 2 x 3 meter with good professional results. So, I don’t see a real advantage in 24Mp over 16Mp. The minute improvements of the new sensor are, to me, only shown at microscopic level and by comparison. You can’t look at a picture taken with a X-t1 ( and that was marveling you a few months ago) and say “ What a piece of ... unsatisfactory photography :) , if only would have been shot with a X-T2! Then it would be a great picture!)

 

I don’t shoot any sport or film nor do I intend to do these things with the necessary( for this) aid of a bulky grip. I try not to crop much or at all and try to compose, in camera, as much as possible.

 

So, unless your life would be a misery without the new cameras, ( was it when there was no X-T2?) why would you want to buy a camera that does things that you don’t do or need? 

 

My reasons to buy into the Fuji System ( I’ve used 4 cameras until now) are still valid as they were before. I am shooting pretty much the same things now as I did when I bought my first X-E1. I have never found anything that I couldn’t do back then and certainly nothing that will improve, as compared to what I could do with my first Fuji, with the latest cameras.

 

My main reason to buy my X-T1 was that I was given a great deal on it ( because the shop had failed to fix, a couple of times, my X-E1 and gave me a great discount) and because the EVF was a vast improvement over the X-E1’s!

 

Of course things would be different if I had no camera at all.

 

If I were to buy a camera ex-novo then I would certainly consider the new models but I have a camera.

 

The best way to save money is not spending it for things that you don’t need in that way you have more money for things that you want.

 

I wish you a lot of wisdom.

Edited by milandro
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I've been shooting with the x-t10 for over a year and x-t1 more recently, but I really want to move to the x-t2. I purchased one of the first release batch, but had multiple issues and ended up returning it and the 100-400 to B&H. I decided to give Fuji a couple months to work the kinks out. Well, I'm ready to jump back in, but I come here and of the 25 or so topics on the first page, 16 are negative in one respect or another. I do not want to go through the same thing again. So is this just the internet phenomenon, where 1000 buy the camera and 1 has an issue and he/she is the one who posts here, or is this body just"buggy"? I don't here the same types of complaints about the pro-2. In other words, "is it safe".

 

Need to factor this into observation. People usually post when they have an issue. While 16 seems like "a lot", compared to the hundreds, maybe thousands who own but didn't post any issues, it's actually like a smaller number.

 

However, I do agree that for the money, T2 represents a small "upgrade" to the T1. For this you may have to ask yourself if the T2 represent the upgrade you've been waiting for over issues you may have with the T1. Some people buy with the hope that it may improve their photography. It's all very personal.

 

All I can say is that the T2 is a lot of camera. I suspect that T2 owners won't be tempted to upgrade to the T3 when the time comes.

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I haven't experienced any issues with my X-T2. When I got the X-Pro2, I experienced the lockup a few times, but so far the X-T2 has been stable and bug free for me. As far as upgrading is concerned, I think you would need to figure out if it makes sense for you. A big driver for me to upgrade to the X-T2 from the X-T1 was to get the consistency between the menus and AF selection on the newer cameras. Going between the X-Pro2 and the X-T1 caused some frustration due to the different menus and had me looking for the nonexistent joystick on the X-T1.

 

I also see increased AF performance. I'm unsure how some people say it isn't much different than an X-Pro1. Maybe they are only shooting non-moving subjects in well lit rooms. My experience with the first gen sensor cameras were they only became usable after the firmware updates, but the lag was still terrible. The X-T2 is better than any of the DSLR cameras I have used, but you should know I haven't used any of the newest models. I can only compare to Nikon D7000, Canon 50D, 6D, 5D MKII.

 

I think image quality is very similar and that the X-T1 is a fantastic camera. If you don't move AF points, shoot video, or require faster AF, you probably are better off not upgrading. Wait until the first sale.

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The X-T2 is four months into its life cycle and if the X-T1(superb camera) is an example of a update cycle then I would expect Fuji to do the same style of updating the X-T2. So I think people should not knock the X-T2, I think it would be strange if there was no X-T2s that had a fault, but don't condemn all X-T2s as bad, it just ain't so!

 

I will certainly admit that PXing my X-T1 was a big wrench, but the X-T2 is a definite step up in my eyes! My excuse is that I bought an X-T1 as a stopgap until the X-T2 was released, whilst waiting I grew to appreciate the X-T1 for its own sake!

Edited by Mike G
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I ordered the first day of the release and received my XT-2 from the first shipments.  So far I love it and have had NO issues.  

 

However I do understand neither the XT-2 nor X-Pro2 play well with third party flash systems.  The Firmware upgrade did correct some of that, but If I understand what I've been reading likely not all of it.  I don't use flash often and when I do I have a Fuji flash so have not experienced any of these issues.

 

The other complaint I've heard is locking up.  From what I read this has mostly to do when using the Vertical Grip (Could be wrong here).  I have the vertical grip and have not had any issues with it at all.  I locked up once but that was from turning the camera off and back on too quickly.  I thought I was done shooting then saw something to capture at the same moment I shut the camera off.  This was really not a problem and easily fixed.  

 

As for jumping to the XT-2, I also used the XT-1 for quite a while and still love it.  It is now my backup.  To me the advantage of the XT-2 is the Auto-focus.  If you shoot action then I would say the XT-2 is worth every penny, but if you don't shoot action, BIF etc. then not so much.The XT-1 is a great camera and does everything else extremely well with great Image Quality.  For me the main advantage of the XT-2 is capturing action with the advanced auto-focus - with the 100-400 it makes a great combination for wildlife.  Also I should mention the 4K video as an advantage as well, but I could care less about video so for me its the auto-focus.

Edited by Lumens
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Well, You can always argue about the money, but fact is that all new serious cameras have a fairly high price tag (Olympus anyone?).

 

I came from a X-E2, and do love the upgrade despite the few problems I have (which might even be lens related). The AF is much faster (accuracy could be better though), AF-C is actually usable. Image quality wise it's not that much of an upgrade, but we knew that already. I do like the ergonomics better, and the bigger EVF is also a plus. If you already have a X-T1, the upgrade might be a bit smaller. And with flash I do not have any problems up until now (Nissin i60a), just waiting for HSS update.

 

In the end, everyone has to choose for him- or herself.. you can always wait for a new Firmware. At leasst you know that the X-T2 will probably get some significant updates, the X-T1 won't. That's also factored into the price.

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Just imagine how many lenses money can buy with the money that you are not spending on an upgrade that you might not “ need”  at all ( the verb “ need “ is used very loosely here since I doubt the many among the buyers “ need” to buy a new camera ).

 

Those lenses might be very much more useful to you when the next flavor of the moth will show up.

 

And I am not even talking of the X-T3, even simply, and more predictably, when the X-T20 will hit the marketplace!

 

When I bought the X-T1 there wasn't any X-T10 on the horizon.

 

Lo and behold, almost a year after, the X-t10 came out.

 

I was still happy to have bought the X-T1 but for my “ needs” (...used very loosely here too) I could have used the X-T10 with as much fun and making pretty much the same pictures.

 

After all I did own a X-E2 and enjoyed every moment I had had that camera too.

 

You could buy at least two of the most expensive lenses of the system and quench your thirst and keep the Gear Acquisition Syndrome at bay.

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I am not selling my X-T1 on account of what I said before.

 

I am using it.

 

As long as it takes pictures I won’t be needing an upgrade. Maybe in 3 years time when the X-T3 shows up, we’ll talk again about it. 

 

On the other hand , yes, I am sure that we all have drawers full of phones ( I do) that are still perfectly working but that we replaced for no better reasons that we wanted a new phone and could afford one.

 

Cameras apparently are no better. 

 

Same goes for the stereo systems... lots have replaced perfectly working systems for no other reason that they were no longer the latest flavor of the month.

 

I have given my son my old amplifier and turnable from the ’80 with speakers. All perfectly working and state of the art back then. They still work perfectly now.

 

Of course my son has a Sonos wi-fi system which he uses at home.

 

A few weeks ago, we were at his place, internet was down, so the Sonos didn’t work. The good old stereo did. We played records (now trendy again) all evening. I gave him also 300 LP’s which I didn’t throw out, not as others did!

 

I guess I get attached to things. Thrifty is my middle name.

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Ouch! Wasn't expecting that. I guess I'll jump. ;-). I know the Sony's are good, I came to Fuji from Sony, but, man, have you held one of those in your hand? They're miserable to use. I'm considering waiting for the A7iii, but I refuse to get sucked into that Gmaster monster lens world, and that really restricts options. The Fuji lens eco system is near perfect for me. All I'm missing is a couple fast primes.

 

Yeah, I'm not saying Sony makes a better camera, was just referring to the AF capabilities (more points, more modes, works better) Canon's Dual Pixel AF beats the pants off of everything else though. For me the really tempting thing about the Sony system right now isn't a Sony product at all, but all the third party adapters. You can get an A6300 and a TechArt Pro adapter together for less than an X-T2 and have the ability to autofocus with your collection of vintage/manual lenses. How cool is that? Hopefully some of these smart adapters will eventually make it to the Fuji system...

Edited by kimcarsons
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I have given my son my old amplifier and turnable from the ’80 with speakers. All perfectly working and state of the art back then. They still work perfectly now.

 

Of course my son has a Sonos wi-fi system which he uses at home.

 

A few weeks ago, we were at his place, internet was down, so the Sonos didn’t work. The good old stereo did. We played records (now trendy again) all evening. I gave him also 300 LP’s which I didn’t throw out, not as others did!

 

Well, the thing is that that 80's amp and speakers will probably sound better than the crappy Sonos boombox, and you can probably objectively measure than as well. Contrary to that, camera sensors only get better every generation. That might just be evolutions, but it does add up in the end. The rest are just fancy features, like the streaming stuff you get with your Sonos. You'll also get more of them at every evolution. In the end, every one needs to decide how many evolutions he/she wants to skip.

 

.. Still hoping for a real sensor revolution .. Bring on the organic sensor Fuji/Panasonic!

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What do you want to do with the X-T2 that your current camera can not do? Only you can determine if that's worth the money.

 

This is a question that should always be asked when purchasing a new camera. I hesitated before picking up the XT-2 over my current XT-1 for just this reason.  It finally came down to I really enjoy the challenge of Birds in Flight.  The Auto Focus of the XT-1 just didn't cut it.  I kept telling myself "NO", but all the hype on the new and improved auto focus convinced me to go for the XT-2.  I have no regrets, the auto-focus meets up to the hype.  It works really well.

 

Without the improved Auto focus I would be as well off with my XT-1.  I still use it as a second for non-action shots.  It is a great camera, it just doesn't focus as quickly for action.

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For me, it's the controls. I hate the locking buttons on the dials, and until last week I felt the same way about the 4 way controller. Sugru solved that problem. I also want the thumb stick for AF point control. I have grand kids and the X-T1 has a hard time keeping up with them in a dim interior setting. (except for the baby and I've only got a few months left where I can count on her staying put.)

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