Yesterday I mentioned that, with the current deals being offered, you could get a two-camera kit with several lenses for under $3,000. I thought I’d break down what that might look like, as it could be helpful to some of you out there. I know that people are constantly changing systems, and perhaps somebody is considering Fujifilm and wondering where to start. Or maybe someone has an older Fujifilm camera and wants to update and expand their gear. Whatever the reason, the idea of having a full Fujifilm kit for under $3,000 is fascinating.

What makes this all possible is that the X-T2 and X-T20 are heavily discounted, since the new generation X-T3 and X-T30 have replaced them. The new cameras are indeed better, but not by huge margins, and that shouldn’t diminish the fact that the X-T2 and X-T20 are excellent bodies. The X-T2 and X-T20 should still be considered great options for those in the camera market.

To begin with, I would purchase both the X-T2 and X-T20. The X-T2 is weather-sealed and slightly more feature rich, while the X-T20 is smaller and lighter and better for travel. I imagine that they’d both get plenty of use. Different tools for different jobs that deliver identical image quality. I would purchase the X-T2 body for $800 and I would purchase the X-T20 combined with the 18-55mm f/2.8-4 for $900. At this point you have two bodies and a decent zoom lens for only $1,700.

Lenses are a bit trickier because it all depends on your style and genre. Different photographers have different needs. For example, if you do astrophotography, you might want the 16mm f/1.4, but if you do portrait photography you might appreciate the 56mm f/1.2 more. I personally love the 90mm f/2. The first two lenses are $900 while the last one is $850. However, there are great alternatives that are more budget friendly. For example, you could get the 16mm f/2.8 for $400 and the 50mm f/2 for $350, which altogether is $750, and it’s not all that much different than having the 16mm f/1.4 and 56mm f/1.2. So you could buy one expensive lens or two cheaper alternatives, whatever you think would serve your photography best. I would recommend the 50-230mm f/4.5-6.7 for $400. If you went with the two-lens alternative, you could afford to get the 55-200mm f/3.5-4.8 for $500 instead of the cheaper zoom. If you don’t need a telephoto zoom, I’d recommend selecting one of the cheaper primes instead, such as the 16mm f/2.8 for $400, 23mm f/2 for $400, the 27mm f/2.8 for $400, the 35mm f/2 for $350, the 50mm f/2 for $350, or the 60mm f/2.4 for $400, whichever one best fits your needs.

If you chose one of the $900 lenses plus the $400 telephoto zoom, you’ve now spent $3,000. If you chose the $850 lens plus the telephoto zoom, you’re now $50 under budget. If you selected the two-lens alternative from the previous paragraph and the telephoto zoom (or one of the $400 primes), you’re now $150 under budget, or $50 under budget if you upgraded to the nicer zoom. If you selected the two-lens alternative plus the 35mm f/2 instead of the telephoto zoom, you’re now $200 under budget. You could also select one of the $850-$900 primes plus one of the $350-400 primes, which would put you between $2,900 and $3,000, depending on what you chose. For somewhere between $2,800 and $3,000 (depending on your combination), you have two camera bodies, a pretty good zoom, plus perhaps two primes, or one prime and another zoom, or two primes and another zoom, or three primes, just depending on what you selected. Whatever the combination is, that’s a pretty darn good kit for the money.