I enrolled in Photography 101 in college 12 years before Fujifilm introduced the original X100. I say this because I’m often accused of being a Fujifilm fanboy, which is meant to be a put-down to insinuate that my opinions are too biased to be trusted. But should I be so easily dismissed just because I really like Fujifilm cameras?
First, I am a proud Fujifilm fanboy, but that should not automatically invalidate my opinions; instead, it should only point towards my perspective. My photography journey began with full-manual film cameras by Canon and Pentax. Two years prior to the release of the X100, I first dabbled in digital photography. I owned cameras by Pentax, Samsung (remember when they made APS-C mirrorless cameras?), Sigma, Nikon, and Sony. Then, in 2016, I purchased a four-year-old Fujifilm X-E1, and my world changed. I found what I had been looking for ever since first trying digital. In an instant I became a Fujifilm fanboy, and my appreciation of Fujifilm brand cameras has only grown stronger since.
But, that doesn’t mean I’m not interested in other brands. I have two Ricoh GR cameras, for example. I also own a Nikon Zfc, although I rarely use it. I tried out a Canon EOS 5DS R a couple of years ago. More recently, I had the opportunity to use a Sony A7 IV fairly extensively. I have nothing against Canikony brands, but the more I use them, the more I’m convinced that they’re not for me.
Vocalizing my displeasure with brands that don’t have “film” in the name, and simultaneously stating why I love one particular brand, has caused some to suggest that my opinions are invalid. To be clear: my opinions are nothing more than my opinions, and they stem from my perspective. I was a long-time film photographer who exclusively used full-manual cameras for over a decade, was constantly frustrated with the digital models I used until I found Fujifilm, and I discovered along the way that I dislike editing RAW files—I much prefer camera-made JPEGs, as long as the camera can make those look good. That’s my perspective, and it is something that you may or may not relate to. If you cannot relate to it, then take my opinions with a grain of salt because they’re likely to be different from yours; however, that doesn’t mean that they’re invalid opinions.
I got heavily criticized when I stated that Nikon’s venture into retro-styled cameras fell short. Nikon didn’t have the courage to do what they should have done, and made compromises instead. From my perspective that much is clear, but I understand that if your perspective is different from mine you might have divergent conclusions, which is great—the world would be a boring place if we all thought exactly alike. For someone like me, the Fujifilm X-T5 beats the Nikon Zf, no question about it; for someone else, the Zf might be declared the winner for one reason or another. With cameras like the Zf and Zfc, I think Nikon has the potential to be great in my eyes, but those models have some significant shortcomings that need to be overcome first.
I was pretty unimpressed by the Canon EOS 5DS R when I used it. Perhaps that’s because I’m spoiled by the advantages of mirrorless, and using a DSLR was like stepping back in time (and not in a good way). While the camera-made JPEGs had nice colors, they were prone to banding and issues like that, the dynamic range and high-ISO performance was kind of disappointing, and the adjustment options were somewhat limiting. Maybe I’d like the newest models better, but not much about the 5DS R made me curious to try.
Not a lot of people know that I used a Sony A7 IV camera somewhat extensively earlier this year. A number of friends and family members suggested that I should try it, plus all sorts of people complained to me that Fujifilm should be more like Sony (and, sadly, Fujifilm seems to be trying…). The opportunity presented itself, so I gave it an honest go. I even thought that if all went well, I might make Sony Recipes. But it didn’t go well. Using Sony cameras—or, at least the A7 IV—is such an uninspiring experience. Yeah, it will get the job done, but nothing about it is exciting to me. Technically great—yes; however, not in a form that makes me want to pick up the camera and shoot. Overall, the JPEG colors were disappointing, except for the “FL” (a.k.a. Film Look) creative look (their version of a film simulation), which actually is pretty darn good. I did like the ability to fade the blacks, and I did think that clipped highlights fall off nicely (as far as digital cameras go), but I did not like the proneness to banding. Sony’s JPEGs just aren’t at the same level as Fujifilm’s, but they definitely have some potential if Sony keeps working at it; however, the camera itself is boring.
But, but, but… autofocus! Fujifilm’s is awful, and Canikony is great! That’s what people say, but I don’t have any issues with Fujifilm’s autofocus, nor did I find any of the Canikony’s I used to be notably superior. Perhaps this is because I started photography with manual focus, and even though autofocus existed, it wasn’t very good back then. It’s improved by leaps and bounds over the years, and is quite reliable nowadays from every brand, including Fujifilm. If you take issue with this, ask yourself this question: why were photographers and cinematographers back then with inferior gear able to do so much more than you today with superior equipment? The answer, of course, is that the problem is not the gear, and has never been. But, you know, it’s easier to blame the gear than to learn new skills that don’t require the gear to be super amazingly great in order to get your desired results. And that’s how I would summarize this point: Fujifilm’s autofocus is amazingly great, and Canikony’s is, perhaps, super amazingly great. Those who put it down are ignoring the fact that it is still amazingly great.
This article concludes similarly to how it began: I love Fujifilm cameras! The X100V is my favorite, followed by the X-E4, then the X-T5, which I’ve been shooting with for a year now. Those three cameras are the ones that, by far, I use the most. I also enjoy shooting with my Ricoh GR III. And I use my iPhone often for casual shooting. That’s what works for me, which very well might be different from what works for you, and that’s perfectly ok. All of us have different experiences that give is divergent perspectives. If your perspective is similar to mine, you likely will appreciate my opinions, but if not, you probably will disagree. I’m a Fujifilm fanboy—perhaps one of the biggest that there is—but I’m not strictly a Fujifilm photographer, as I have a long history using all sorts of different brands, including the ones that I criticize sometimes. Heck, I’m even critical of Fujifilm occasionally—including in this very article—but Fujifilm is, by far, my favorite camera brand of them all.
This post contains affiliate links, and if you make a purchase using my links I’ll be compensated a small amount for it.
Fujifilm X100V in black: Amazon B&H Moment
Fujifilm X100V in silver: Amazon B&H Moment
Fujifilm X-T5 in black: Amazon B&H Moment
Fujifilm X-T5 in silver: Amazon B&H Moment
Fujifilm X-E4 in black: Amazon B&H Moment
Fujifilm X-E4 in silver: Amazon B&H Moment
Ricoh GR III: Amazon B&H Moment
Ricoh GR IIIx: Amazon B&H Moment
Nikon Zfc: Amazon B&H
Nikon Zf: Amazon B&H
Sony A7 IV: Amazon B&H
Once you start using Fuji Cameras is difficult not to be a Fanboy!
🤣 Great point!!
I have heard this term, “Fan Boy,” used early on in within there about the time of the XT-1 release when it was getting raving reviews from most corners of the photo review community. Two huge home runs, the Xpro-1 then the XT-1. It’s just simple envy, or industrial propaganda to stop the momentum. The term is also classic social media chicken sh**. Cowardly hiding behind a screen. I don’t hear this term used in any other reference to a product.
It is also common in the world of video games. Users who like and defend the Playstation are usually called Sony fanboys.
🤣 So strange, right?!
I agree that it is some sort of propaganda or logical fallacy to discredit something without providing merit as to why it should be discredited. I don’t know the origins, but it’s lame. However, I’m very happy to proclaim that I’m a huge fan of Fujifilm cameras, as they quite literally (no hyperbole) changed my life. Thanks for the input!
When I entered the world of photography in August 2018, I purchased a Sony a6500, which I consider a camera with capabilities beyond my needs as a photographer. I started learning photography by watching YouTube. Over time, I realized that a couple of Spanish photographers that I followed regularly showed photos with colors that really caught my attention. They both used Fujifilm cameras. At that time, I didn’t pay attention to the camera market, I already had mine and it was much more than enough for me. But those beautiful colors caught my attention and I started browsing Fujifilm cameras. Then I discovered their wonderful retro designs, with their dials and chrome bodies. The first time I saw the X-Pro3 it was love at first sight. In March 2022 I bought my X-Pro3 DuraSilver and my Sony was forgotten in a backpack. I’m very fond of my a6500, I still think it’s a machine that comfortably exceeds my abilities as a photographer, but I’m not good at editing RAW files and I never got my photos to look the way I wanted. Also, my Sony camera was a tool that I took out when I wanted to take a photo. My Fuji is a camera that invites me to pick it up, look at it, hold it in my hands and take photos, anywhere and of anything. In my free time, I rarely leave home without it. I can say without embarrassment that I am in love with my X-Pro3.
As a summary I will say that I discovered Fuji cameras because of their colorimetry, I fell in love because of their designs and I got married because of their handling.
I love this story! The summary is so well said, and I’m sure can be repeated by a lot of people. Thanks so much for sharing!
I have two systems I shoot side by side . One for wildlife and birds with exclusively long and (inevitably) expensive lenses and a Fuji kit. I edit my wildlife photos, trying to get every possible detail from feathers or hair. I rarely if ever edit my Fuji photos. I think of it as one system is for clinical results (non Fuji), the other is for the experience. Of course I love the results from Fujifilm too, but I don’t love the experience so much with the other. Looking through the evf and seeing the recipe manifest itself is what makes it great for me. I have a physical and emotional response to it and puts me in a creative mindset hard to get elsewhere specially for someone with an extremely technical and not very artistic non neurotypical brain like myself. When I shoot with Fuji, I don’t care about sharpness, vignetting, nor noise, but instead composition, storytelling and sensations. I too am a fan boy and more than happy with it.
Awesome! There’s absolutely nothing wrong with using multiple systems, and loving one for the experience and the other for technical qualities. It’s about what works for you. I much appreciate your description of how Recipes help put you in a creative mindset. Thanks so much for this feedback!
Another recent envious criticism I’ve noticed is that people who write well, and are obviously well educated, are accused of sounding like ChatGPT, or even that their intelligent responses have been written by ChatGPT in order to invalidate their opinion by haters.
Back 10 or 11 months ago, for the fun of it, I asked ChatGPT to write an article for me. Yikes! It was not good. I think it could be used as a starting point, but requires some very significant revisions to make it usable. Maybe these folks are giving ChatGPT way too much credit for what it can do. Unfortunately, “haters” will often use logical fallacies to invalidate opinions they don’t like instead of presenting good counter arguments. Thanks for the input!
Yeah, I recognize the arguments. I shot film for 20 years with various brands, went digital with Nikon and was faithful to them for almost another 20 years. I was never as happy shooting digital as I was shooting film, since it forced me to spend more of my time editing rather than being out actually taking photos.
When Nikon finally decided to abandon the F mount, I jumped the ship and went to the Fujifilm camp instead. What I discovered after using my X-T3 for only a day was that it brought back a lot of that warm fuzzy feeling I got from shooting film, so I started telling the world about my discovery, just so the joy could be shared. I no longer needed to edit my raw files and the jpeg look could be tweaked to my liking. The results might not be perfect in any given situation, but hey, neither was film!!
I’ve been shooting Fujifilm for only a few years, but I am sometimes being called a Fuji fanboy too and 40 years of previous experience is suddenly worthless and invalid. The people calling us fanboys have often been doing photography for only a handful of years with a brand that does all the hard work for you. These are the same people that claim that a camera without IBIS and AI controlled autofocus is absolutely useless, etc (you know the arguments), so who is really the fanboy here?!
In the end, my camera is only a tool, but I prefer using tools that I enjoy and that gets the job done without getting in the way. For me, currently, that tool is a Fujifilm camera.
Anders! Thanks for the thoughtful comment! You are such an intelligent and experienced camera guy… I’m personally a fan of yours… and your contributions to the photography continuum are under-appreciated (even if only for the Tri-X Recipe, yet there’s so much more…). I often think about your guest appearance on SOOC Live a couple years ago, because it was so awesome to speak with you. Can’t wait for further collaborations, or whatever else the future holds. Thank you for being so great!
Well said Ritchie. Each to his own and we shouldn’t be criticised just for saying positive things about a particular brand we happen to think best for us. As you mention, it’s not putting down another brand, or another way of doing things, just expressing a preference. Surely we all have those.
I wouldn’t know how to do, or have any interest in post processing on a computer, so J pegs suit me just fine and I’m very happy with the Fuji ones.
Photography for me, in retirement, is about getting out of the house and away from things that tie me to it, although I use a computer for other things well enough.
Keep up the good work.
Yeah, I mean I’m already sitting at the computer more than I’d like to be for non-photography things, so it’s great not to have to for my pictures, and instead be out shooting or whatever else I’d like to do. Thanks for the input!
I come from an older time, when all still cameras were fully manual and film was the only medium by which photos could be saved. So the old-style Fujifilm digital mirrorless cameras with complete manual dial controls were a wonderful change of pace from the more modern models. I owned and sold several different Fujis along the way: X-T10 (loved it), X-T200 (hated it), X-E3 (loved it), X-T30 (loved it), X100F (loved it), and X-H1 (loved it). Unfortunately, Fujifilm has dropped or PASM-dialed most of their camera lines. I tried the X-H2s for about eight months and just could not learn to like it. So now I am down to my old X-H1 and a new X-T5. (Sold the X10 0F and switched to Leica d-lux 7.) I am still hopeful for a good X-Pro4 someday, but otherwise I think Fujifilm has left my wishes represented only by the X-T5.
Meanwhile, I was underwhelmed by the Nikon Zfc, but I have one, and I have learned to appreciate its better qualities while concentrating less on the bad. Now I have a Nikon Zf, and I must admit that this new Nikon has impressed me. And it has a PASM lever in addition to the full set of manual control dials! The ability to switch immediately to monochrome modes is also quite nice. No, it does not have the wide variety of film simulations available through Fujifilm cameras.
A previously unknown (to me) Chinese manufacturer called Boryoza has just come out with a full-communication lens adapter to use Fujifilm X lenses on Nikon Z cameras. There is just 1.7mm to work with to accomplish this, so it is a skinny piece of work! I have ordered one from a Chinese camera dealer via ebay (still not available on Amazon or through the usual US stores), and I will let you know how it works when it finally gets here.
The X-H1 is such a workhorse camera. I feel of all the Fuji’s, it’s the top workhorse, followed by the X-T4, then… probably the X-H2s but I’m not certain. It’s a camera that’s just eager to work nonstop. I hope the X-Pro4 comes out sooner than later, a lot of people are wishing for it. Thanks for the input!
How are you finding the adapter? I have one, and it works perfectly – apart from my one WR lens. The rubber gasket prevents it from mounting on the adapter properly.
“I started with (digital) photography again in 2008 and transitioned from Pentax APS-C (loved it!) to Nikon APS-C. The move to full frame was a decline in the fun factor. So, I switched to Panasonic (GX8) as the autofocus of the X-Pro2 at that time didn’t impress me. Only after the firmware update, the X-Pro2 became “my” camera. Since then, I’ve been infected with the Fujifilm virus and could almost do without Lightroom now, thanks in part to your JPEG recipes. My photographic life has become so much simpler and easier.”
I’m so glad to have had a positive impact on your photographic life in some way! Thanks so much for the comment!
It is totally fine to like only a certain camera brand specific for your own needs, but bashing every other brand and saying stuff like the “panasonic S9 has nothing impressing about it” or “is probably the least interesting full-frame camera” makes you look hateful and biased. And you are, but it seems hard for you to accept the fact, maybe because it has a negative association with it which you don’t quite enjoy. I have never used nor am I interested in Lumix cameras, but it’s simply bad taste to speak like that, and you would expect more from a person like you. The face of Fujifilm simulations, talking trash about every other camera brand. Petty.
I read multiple of your blog articles, and I noticed many times you are not objective when talking about fujifilm vs other cameras. Talking really harshly about every other brand, but when it comes to fujifilms, you’re not finding many flaws, and many times highlighting the positives of fujifilm. In the same time, you claim to be fair and objective. It’s fine if you are a fujifilm fanboy, but in the same time maybe accept you are biased in your views, and sometimes maybe hateful for no reason.
Also, reading your articles, multiple times it felt like you are a bit self-absorbed. For example when you said “The S9 only crossed my radar because I might be the reason that it exists.” or “would film simulations be the big deal that they are today if not for Fuji X Weekly and Film Simulation Recipes? Would the Panasonic Lumix S9 exist without this community? Probably not.” I think you are giving yourself a bit too much importance, and that’s cringe. It’s true you brought a great contribution to the fuji community, but maybe this fame made you get ahead of yourself and forgot your modesty behind. Also, let’s not forget film simulations are Fujifilm’s idea, not yours. They innovated the game, Lumix is chasing them, not you.
This whole article feels like a weak attempt to detach the negative associations of being a fanboy, while continuously bashing on other camera brands and being hateful and biased, confirming the nature of the ‘fanboys’ in general. For me personally, this article brought more distrust in your opinions and judgment. Each camera brand has their fanboys, and from what I’ve noticed, most of them are heavily biased, many times hateful towards other brands, like they are defending their own baby, and it’s simply sad.
I don’t like only one specific camera brand (that should be obvious), but I have found one is much better for me personally than the others. That doesn’t mean I “hate” (such a strong word you use) those “other” brands, it only means that they are not as much for me personally. I often say that my opinions are from my perspective, and if one has a similar perspective, they might appreciate what I have to say, but if your perspective is different, my two cents might not be worth two pennies to you, and should be taken with a grain of salt. I’ve said that a dozen or more times on this website over the last few years. It sounds like your perspective is simply different than mine, and that you should take my words with a grain of salt, and realize that its not worth two pennies to you. That’s ok, we all have different experiences and likes/dislikes.
With regard to the Panasonic S9, I just gave my opinions. You have opinions. I have opinions. Everyone has opinions, and you know what they say about opinions, I’m sure. Interestingly, I met three people while on tour last year that had purchased (and liked) the S9, and each said that I should try it; however, months later, one of the three reached out to me and said that after the novelty of it wore off, they agreed more with what I said, and they sold it… this person told me that they wished they had listened to my article instead of dismissing it. Someone else, just recently, said that they had purchased that camera but didn’t like it, so they sold it; while researching their next camera purchase, they stumbled on this website and that article in particular, and they wished they had read it prior to buying the camera, it might have saved them some money and frustration. All of this is simply to say that people have different opinions, and some will appreciate my perspective and some won’t. You can’t please all of the people all of the time, as the saying goes. Quite obviously, I didn’t please you, but that doesn’t mean others (or even most) aren’t pleased by what I’ve said on this website. Different strokes for different folks.
I’m not objective and don’t claim to be, but nobody is truly objective. Maybe some get a little closer than others, but literally every opinion ever stated by anyone is subjective by nature. If you are looking for objectivity, opinion pieces are not the place to find them; however, just because something is subjective and not objective doesn’t mean it’s not valuable to someone—in fact, it can be much, much more valuable. The crux of your criticism is that I should withhold my critical opinions because they are biased (duh) and might be interpreted to be hateful (again, such a strong word—dislike is not the same as hate, not even close), and that I should criticize Fujifilm more than I do because my criticisms should be more equally distributed. If I did that, I would have to be dishonest to what I really think, and unauthentic.
You accuse me of being hateful and otherwise not very good person. If I happen to come to a city near you in the future, I invite you to come meet me in person and form an opinion then. For example, a lot of people really dislike Ken Rockwell, but after meeting him in person, he’s a super nice guy and very genuine. It’s generally not a good idea to project feelings onto people you’ve never met over something said on the internet, where all nonverbal cues are missing (approximately 93% of communication is nonverbal). Also, I recommend looking up the word “hate” in the dictionary, you seem to be using it incorrectly—in fact, the way you are using it is very troll-like, and if you are not one, you might want to reconsider your word choices to avoid confusion in the future.