Pentax No More
Gone but not forgotten
In my last post I hinted that I was thinking of moving away from the brand I’ve been enjoying for the last fourteen years. It was a decision I came to slowly - over a few years in fact.
Two main reasons for the move :
A need for something smaller and lighter, especially as my ageing fingers have developed arthritis and swinging around a 1Kg Pentax camera body plus a heavy lens is pretty uncomfortable when doing ICM.
Pentax, sadly, don’t seem to be keeping up with the competition and have really fallen behind the pack over the past few years. The Pentax brand lenses are all very expensive and there’s been a drop off in Pentax mount lenses from third party suppliers.
My introduction to Fujifilm cameras, as I mentioned last time, came about through looking at alternatives to the Ricoh GR3x. The Fuji X100V filled this role but I then questioned whether it was what I really wanted. It certainly wouldn’t replace my Pentax. It has an APS-C sensor, a fixed 35 mm equivalent lens and isn’t waterproof for starters. So I looked at the other camera bodies in the Fujifilm X range over a period of several weeks, looking at as many reviews and YouTube videos as possible.
The X range of cameras all have the same APS-C sensor and the same xTrans 4 image processor. I like this idea because it removes one variable from the equation and makes the choice ever so slightly easier. The other variables are down to weather proofing, image stabilisation, form factor, video capabilities and flip out/fully articulated screen choices. Alright, we got rid of one variable but the remaining ones were quite difficult to make a decision on. One day I would decide that IBIS (In-Body Image Stabilisation) was more important than weather proofing and the next day vice-versa. Likewise with form factor. Some of the bodies don’t have a grip. The body is completely flat, front and back. The XE4 is beautifully small, Leica-like, appealingly cheap and a step up from the X100V because it takes interchangeable lenses. However, no weather sealing. The XS10 I found ugly. I didn’t like the idea of the XPRO3 which has screen which you can’t see without flipping it out, making it look more like a film camera. The XH1 is too expensive and getting a bit bulky-looking.. This was more or less narrowing things down to the XT4 or the XT3, the latter being the slightly older version of the former. On bad days I was still considering the XE4 though
I knew that one of my fellow camera club members, Chris Upton, had Fujifilm cameras. In fact he is a Fujifilm ambassador. So I decided to have a chat with him and it is thanks to him that I was able to come to a decision. The XT3 s