FujifilmX-T1 16 MP Mirrorless Digital Camera with 3.0-Inch LCD (Body Only) (Weather Resistant) (Old Model)

I'm used to full sized DSLRs. I have a 5Dmk2 that I use personally, and a 7D that I use at work. I've gotten tired of dragging a full frame DSLR around with me at all times in my personal life just to shoot little shots of my fiance, or a bird, or whatever, since it's very truly overkill, especially with a zoom lens that gives you the flexibility to get most shots when you don't know what you're going to encounter.To get around that issue,, I had bought an X100s, and used it for about three months, and I sold it, because it didn't do what I wanted. Turns out I liked the design of the camera, and the image quality, but the lack of interchangeable lenses and my lack of confidence in the AF system ended up being a bigger issue than I thought.Enter the X-T1- It was delivered yesterday, and I've only used it to take about 20 test shots of boring stuff in bad light so far, so take that into account when reading -First is the feel. It feels awesome. Very VERY solid. Nice texture to the surfaces, nice tension to all the knobs, nice "cold" feeling on the metal, and even attaching the kit lens was a very confidence inspiring process. It's solid but not heavy. Or, heavy, but not too heavy? If that makes sense. It's heavy the way an iPhone is heavy. You feel it in your hand, and it makes you confident that it's high quality, but at no point are you upset that it's as heavy as it is.It's also small. I've got somewhat small hands, with somewhat short fingers, and this thing still feels tiny in my grip. At first, this bothered me, but then I remembered why I bought it, and suddenly I was glad. It's certainly nowhere near pocket-able, but I'll be able to set it on a table while out to dinner with my fiance without having to ask for a table for three like I do with my 5Dmk2.The battery took about two hours to reach full charge out of the box (I'm sure I could have played with the camera with the amount of charge that came on the battery, but it's a habit of mine from the bad old days of battery conditioning).Turning it on and bringing it to my eye brought the first real disappointment. I'm VERY used to an optical viewfinder, and a solid large "man sized" grip on my cameras. Bringing the X-T1 to my eye gave me the impression that I was holding a very very high quality toy camera, rather than a small professional camera. The grip is slightly smaller than what is comfortable (for someone used to a 5D2 and 7D) and the viewfinder is... well, it's an EVF. Let me be clear. There was nothing at all that was lacking in the viewfinder, and the grip being small is the reason I wanted the camera. I'm very sure I'll grow used to both, and it won't be an issue. In use, the viewfinder is great. I've set up many of my preferences for the display inside, and it's big and bright and quick and snappy enough to suit all of my needs. It really is everything it's cracked up to be. But I'm still conditioned to prefer the OVF.Another issue with the camera to my eye is the buttons on the back of the camera. I'm sure this will go away once I've got my muscle memory worn in, but as someone who knows what the buttons do, but not where they are, I simply can't find them with the camera to my eye. I know they're there, but the buttons themselves sit flush against the back of the camera. On my Canons, all the buttons are different textures, or raised, or lowered from the surface of the body, but on the X-T1, this isn't so. Also, there are so MANY buttons that when you DO find one, you're not sure which one you've found. Am I touching the Focus assist button like I want to be? Or is it the Q button? Oh well, I'll push it and see. Oh it was the AEL button all along. Etc. Again, I'm SURE that I'll get much more used to this, and it won't be an issue, but as a photographer who's used to picking up a camera and shooting right away, it's a bit daunting to not feel instantly confident with a tool as you're accustomed to.My biggest concern with paying $1700 for this kit was the auto focus performance. A secondary reason for returning the X100s was the AF system. It was slower than I liked, and when in the OVF tunnel-finder view mode, it wasn't very reliable, especially at wider apertures. I found myself focused on the background, rather than my subject, probably 10% of the time. So I was concerned about the X-T1 also.From the testing I did yesterday, I'm no longer concerned. As I said in the beginning, I was shooting test shots in pretty bad low lighting (indoors, with only a single lamp, at around 8pm with the blinds closed) and while the AF doesn't SNAP like my DSLRs do, it's very VERY fast, and so far, 100% accurate. I only have the kit lens so far, and I know with this system, the AF speed varies depending on the lens, but the kit lens at least is plenty for my uses. I wish there was focus peaking in the AF modes, or full time MF override, to help me feel more confident about it all, but that's just my insecurity, rather than something I need, since it really seems like the AF system will be fine.It's going to take some time to get my image tone settings picked out, but I usually shoot RAW+Fine JPEG, in monochrome mode, so that I get an initial black and white JPEG (which I like) and then the ability to change the image over to color in post if I'd like. Setting this up wasn't hard, and I was pretty pleased with the results I was getting on the LCD.It's definitely a complex little machine, with TONS of customization options (6 assignable function buttons? Really? So cool!) so it will be a long time before I settle into a setup that I'm most pleased with, but knowing that I have those options is a huge comfort.I plan on buying the battery grip, the 56mm f/1.2, one of the smaller pancake style lenses, and eventually, the 50-140mm f/2.8 (when it comes out) to round out my kit, as well as an aftermarket strap (The Fuji straps are never long enough for me)All in all, I'm very pleased, and excited to get to know my new friend.

My first Fujifilm camera was the x100s. From there I upgraded to the x100t. It was a minimal upgrade for sure but I was hooked on the Fuji system of easy access to all the camera controls. When I heard about the X-T1, I was impressed with its lightweight and lens interchangeable ability. But even more so, I wanted the 56mm f1.2 lens that could attach to the X-T1. But I wondered if that was enough to justify the cost, for me, of another camera system. Especially since I had read that if one had the x100t, you really didn't need the X-T1 since they were basically the same camera. And that the X-T1 was, than, for those people that didn't mind carrying around extra lenses. In some respects that is correct. So why did I get this camera? Since I had the outstanding X100T camera already.Primarily because of the EVF. That was enough for me to acquire an additional camera. The rather large EVF is outstanding. Especially for an eyeglass wearer like myself. To have immediate access to all camera controls coupled with this large viewfinder makes it so enjoyable, for me, to use this camera. Perhaps you could argue I have gear acquisition syndrome to an extent, or perhaps because I had a little extra money to burn that day, but I just had to have another 'x100t' with a 56mm f1.2 lens and that rather 'large' viewfinder.At my age now, as a senior, I welcome the lighter weight of this camera, with its interchangeable lenses, it's retro look that reminds me so much of the well built cameras of my day, it's 'exposure triangle' dials so easily accessible instead of having to drill down thru camera menus, and, that beautiful large viewfinder for my older eyes (and as an eyeglass wearer). This camera frees me of the many obstacles I have been experiencing during my advancing years and makes my photography a much more pleasing experience. And that new found pleasure makes, for me, the additional expense of this camera worth it. Thanks Fuji.If my review of my personal experience with this camera was helpful to you, please choose 'yes' in the helpful menu below. Thank you sincerely, Richard.Edit: this continues to be my favorite APC-S camera of all I have bought recently and will remain in my collection. I'm betting this will be a classic. But that's just my opinion. Thank you for reading. As this camera just adds to my enjoyment of photography immensely . Richard