Which camera shoud i get as my first one as a beginner?

[Arqs]

Hiya ive been looking to get my first camera for the past year and Fujifilm really caters my needs I shoot travel mostly architecture sometimes and my budget is around $1000 give or take and frankly the X-M5 is what im leaning into but others say the X-t30ii. Now i want to hear your thoughts on which of these cameras i should get or if you have better options for me ill be glad to take them! P.S Ill be pairing it up with the Viltrox 23mm f/1.4

[Greybeard]

Comparing the X-M5 and the X-T30II the biggest difference is that the X-M5 doesn't have an electronic viewfinder.

This would be a deal breaker for me but if you have grown up using a mobile phone as a camera it might not be something you would miss.

[pw-pix]

For photography, a camera with a viewfinder would be more functional in my opinion.

The X-M5 is more aimed at video people.

If you like the smaller form factor and rangefinder style, look for a secondhand X-E3 or X-E4 camera.

[Sleeping Dog]

I have an XT30 and it suits my needs as an all around performer, compact, but not so small that it gets lost in your hand, plus it has good image quality. Downside, if video is important is that it is recommended that clips be limited to 10 minutes in length, due to the camera overheating. Another consideration might be that if image stabilization is important to you, the XT30/XT30ii relied on OIS in the lens and the current kit lens the 16-50 zoom does not have OIS, but there are lots of the older 18-55's out there that has it. 

Have fun!

[Astigmatism]

I vote for the X-T30ii also. I agree with the points Sleeping Dog makes.

I also really appreciate the manual controls for setting shutter speed and (on the "R" lenses) the lens aperture. You can leave these on "A" for automatic, or just set another lever for "AUTO", if you like. But I'm a big believer in understanding the settings and putting them to work, at least much of the time. That's probably a minority opinion, so your mileage may vary. And, in some circumstances -- like a news story rapidly unfolding right in front of me, where I want decent pictures without any time spent on thinking about settings -- I'll go with automatic anyhow.

[jerryy]

On 2/14/2025 at 11:54 AM, Astigmatism said:

 -- I'll go with automatic anyhow.

Manual settings all the way !!!

😎 😇

[Astigmatism]

f/8 and Don't Be Late!