Ever since I first saw the Fujifilm X100, X-Pro1, and X-E1 in 2011 and 2012, I wanted to buy one. These cameras were significantly different from the other digital models on the market, and seemingly more similar to classic film cameras. I’d see them in various camera magazines, and I’d eagerly read the reviews and study the pictures. I was fairly new to digital photography, having purchased my first DSLR in 2009, but I found the experience frustrating and disappointing. It was so much different than film, and I felt like I was learning photography all over again.
I had been a stubborn digital holdout for a decade, choosing film because I disliked digital. I would brag that I could easily distinguish a digital image from a film photo. But digital technology quickly advanced, becoming better and better. I knew that I needed to get onboard the train before getting completely left behind at the station. Because I had a couple of 35mm Pentax bodies, and you could use K-Mount lenses on Pentax DSLRs, I initially went with that brand. I have absolutely nothing against Pentax (I own a couple of Ricoh GR cameras), but it just wasn’t a good fit for me.
Unfortunately, at the time that the original Fujifilm X-series cameras were released, I could not afford them. They were outside of my budget. Oh, if I just had a few hundred dollars more to spend on a camera, I’d buy one, I would tell myself. However, Fujifilm was just out of reach.
Time went on, and I jumped from brand-to-brand-to-brand, never satisfied with my gear. I thought maybe I was just being discontented, and I should try harder to find gratification with what I had. But contentment seemed illusive. After a number of years, I sold all of my digital gear except for one point-and-shoot digicam and my cellphone (I still had a couple of film cameras), and—for the most part—took a break from photography. Well, that break was short-lived, because I moved to Utah, which is a photographer’s playground, and I couldn’t resist the urge to create photographs.
This time, I was determined to buy a Fujifilm camera. I had never owned one, and didn’t really know what to expect, but I knew they were different. I couldn’t afford the current offerings, so I purchased a used Fujifilm X-E1, which was now a four-year-old model. The X-Pro2 was brand-new, and I would have loved to buy it, but it was not anywhere near my budget. The current X-E model was the X-E2s, and that was also unattainable for me at the time. Happily, I found an X-E1 that I could afford, so I bought it. The manual controls felt natural and made so much sense to me. I was reminded of why I loved photography. It was instantly clear to me that Fujifilm cameras were what I had been looking for all along.
The purchase of that X-E1 sent me on a path that I’m still on today, and it’s been an incredible journey! To say that it changed my life is a massive understatement, no hyperbole. Although it wasn’t a brand-new camera, I loved it. I have a special place in my heart for the X-E1, and all of the other X-E models, including my Fujifilm X-E4, which is one of my favorite cameras today. I find it sad that Fujifilm is not currently making any X-E bodies (the X-E4 was discontinued two years ago), but I’m hopeful that the series will continue on, and the next iteration isn’t too far out.
I’d like to share the enthusiasm with you too Ritchie. After 33 years of living the photographic life in film and with film cameras, my first digital camera was a Fujifilm XT-1. Then moving on to the XT-2, XE-4 and now the XT-5. I have too many cameras! No guilt here as I now others have two and three time more cameras. Of course it’s not how many cameras you have, but what are they doing for you. I think now after a lot of reflection from one camera manufacturer to the next, they’re all so close and provide a tool of expression anyone should be happy with. I particularly like what Fujifilm has done creating a machine that offers an inexhaustible amount of creative control. Imagine what Ansel Adams would think about having the ability to open shadows and close highlights, “In camera!” All good stuff and a shout out to you Ritchie for keeping and expanding that creative control the we all enjoy. Cheers!
I think Ansel Adams would definitely try the various JPEG options, if he were around today. He was a big fan of Polaroids, after all, and wrote a whole book about it.
Too many cameras? I hear you, but also—like you—no guilt. But I will need to clear the shelf of one or two soon, I think.
Thanks for the comment!
Very much share your love for the X-E series. I too wanted the X-100 but couldn’t justify the price at the time, and maybe even the current prices TBH. In the end I developed an appreciation for the built-in flash, simple menu, and flexibility of changing lenses when needed.
A small interchangeable-lens model is important to have, I think, because it offers a lot of flexibility along with portability.