Thinking of buying a digital camera, prob s/h

[Darmok N Jalad]

Fuji cameras are so fun. You will love it.

The two digital Fujis I have are very different in styling and handling, and yet they have a very familiar feel with each other. I could never give up my Nikons, because I shoot too much in the way of sports and they serve me well; the Nikons are extremely capable and I'm glad I have them.

But the Fujis....I got my first in November and my second last month, and they have just stolen my heart. It helps that I also have two Fujica film cameras, and the X100V is very reminscent of the STX-1, so I felt right at home picking up a Fuji. There really is something different about Fuji. (This is probably how Leica users feel, but the Fujis are at least reasonably priced, lol....)

Yes, they have a certain thought-out quality to them. A touch less clinical and more nostalgic perhaps. While I'm not entirely sold on X-Trans being better than Bayer, I'm getting used to it. The X-T line is very comfortable and even has a bit of that "hollow feel" that film cameras have. Some don't care for it, but I like how light it is for the size.

And I've found a service,

FUJIFILM Metadata

www.solentsystems.com

which looks at the metadata for the shutter count, so it has been used, but not grossly so.

---

Image File	DSCF6990.JPG
Camera	FUJIFILM/X-T2
Timestamp	2023:04:19 18:16:52
Shutter Count	30810

I bought my X-T3 with about 25k shots on it. If I recall right, Fuji counts even e-shutter shots in the shutter count, while most everyone else only counts mechanical. Still, even if it only makes it to 100k actuations (which is low for modern cameras), it would likely take you 10+ years to get there if you don't go burst-crazy. By then you'll be able to get an X-T5 for a song.

Anyway, welcome to the photography rabbit hole! You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.

 

[StrollerEd]

I suspect it's a warren

 

[StrollerEd]

Just visited the local store having bought from them online. She - the young woman with an X-T5, quickly solved the wifi app problem & transfer to the iPhone of a shot I took on the bus with my x-T2 was simple.

Will try that on my own a bit later, but at least my camera & phone have been introduced. She also suggested that I customise one of the buttons just for that wifi connection.

I think I might adopt her

 

[AlaskaMoose]

The XF 35mm f2 is a real winner.

If you shoot JPG, you can keep using Photos. If you shoot RAW, some apps are better than others. I like how ON1 handles them. Seems to be better than DxO’s handling of them.

What you said is true, and I will add the following. There is a relatively inexpensive and very powerful photo/file editing app that has been supporting Apple computers (Apple as far as I know) for many years. This app has been called, "the poor's man Photoshop." "Graphic Converter," designed by Lemke Software in Germany. Back in the day, Apple computer users used this app to convert all files (graphic and non) that were common in the PC industry for use in Apple computers, and now has progressed into a very modern and powerful photo-editing app. The price has remained around $35.00 USD through the years. While I use other photo-editing apps, I always keep the lates version of Graphic Converter in my photo editing computer:

Lemke Software: GraphicConverter

www.lemkesoft.de

 

[AlaskaMoose]

Fuji cameras are so fun. You will love it.

The two digital Fujis I have are very different in styling and handling, and yet they have a very familiar feel with each other. I could never give up my Nikons, because I shoot too much in the way of sports and they serve me well; the Nikons are extremely capable and I'm glad I have them.

But the Fujis....I got my first in November and my second last month, and they have just stolen my heart. It helps that I also have two Fujica film cameras, and the X100V is very reminscent of the STX-1, so I felt right at home picking up a Fuji. There really is something different about Fuji. (This is probably how Leica users feel, but the Fujis are at least reasonably priced, lol....)

In addition to cameras, Fuji produces several sort of cute and fun products. For example, the portable Instax Mini printers (use instant film to print photos) are a blast when one wants to print cute and very small cellphone photos to give-away to friends and family on the go.

 

[StrollerEd]

OK, some feedback - not yet on photography but on the tech - which annoys me if it screws up.

Transfer using the wi-fi app on the iPhone almost now routine! It took me a while to figure out even tho' I had watched someone doing in the store. Key stages:
1. disconnect iPhone from home wifi - I did this by toggling the auto-join button which I usually have on so my iPhone connects to what it knows. But keep the wifi button on.
2. The app you will need to download to your iPhone is the Fujiflim Camera Remote app. I toggled on Auto-transfer & Accept Image Transfer Order
3. You will need to have opened that app when the time comes - ie when you get to 6 (below)- but you can prepare by pre-selecting the camera model - in my case T2
4. On the camera, press the Playback button and then the menu. [I know, but this worked!]
5.Go down to the spanner, then back up to the playback icon
6. Select Wireless Communication - this starts the camera searching for nearby wi-fi connections
7. In the Fujiflim Camera Remote app on the iPhone touch the Live View Shooting [I know, but this worked!]
8. That sets the iPhone searching for nearby wi-fi connections
9. A dialogue should begin - touch/click to accept what's offered.
10. You now have the two devices paired - and they should both remember that moment.
11. I took a couple of shots using that Live View option but the key is that you can select and transfer images.

12. I have customised one of the buttons to go straight to 6 - Wireless Communication - on the camera which speeds things up.

I've written this down partly to be is of some help to others but also to have a better memory of what I did !!

 

[Clix Pix]

Sounds rather fiddly to me..... So how often do you plan to use this kind of setup? I would think it would only be more valuable when shooting in JPG where you don't plan to do any further editing anyway, as opposed to shooting in RAW where you would need to edit the image(s) before sharing them.

 

[StrollerEd]

Sounds rather fiddly to me..... So how often do you plan to use this kind of setup? I would think it would only be more valuable when shooting in JPG where you don't plan to do any further editing anyway, as opposed to shooting in RAW where you would need to edit the image(s) before sharing them.

I plan to start off shooting JPG, exploring both the various Fujifilm Simulations and beginning to deviate from Auto. For that I would like to be able to transfer to the iPhone [then becoming 'seamlessly' available to Photos on MBP laptop via iCloud] any that I particularly like and might care to share in some way - including here.

As for editing, I don't generally do much post-processing - some cropping, some enhancement, including extra definition. That I can do, to some extent, on the iPhone, on a duplicate.

Of course, then there is RAW. I will start small, on some shoots doing both RAW as well as JPG. I've not begun investigating what I might use for processing RAW ...

It was v fiddly, annoyingly so. But now I know I have that button on the camera, it will likely become routine, just like any other iPhone app.

 

[Clix Pix]

Thanks! Since you already use Photos on your iPhone and Mac anyway, I can see why transferring a jpg image immediately after it is shot or sooner thereafter simply right to the iPhone (and iCloud) could be convenient. I don't use Photos in any of my devices. For that matter, I rarely use my iPhone to shoot, it's more of a situation where I'm out somewhere, see something interesting and the iPhone is the only camera with me so I pull it out and shoot. When I get home, if the scene or subject really was all that interesting, I'll use AirDrop to send the image(s) to my MBP, where I can get a better look at it and if need be slight corrections here-and-there if I intend to share it with others.

With my regular cameras, it is just as convenient to go out shooting, come home and stick the memory card(s) into the external SD/CFE Type A card reader, transfer all the files right into my Mac, then they are ready to review, cull and edit. We all have our different ways of doing things, and, yes, when trying out something new, it's good to take things more slowly at first until one becomes comfortable with how it all works out.

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

I have a lightning to SDcard adapter for when I want to import JPGs to Photos.

 

[StrollerEd]

I have a lightning to SDcard adapter for when I want to import JPGs to Photos.

That's a nifty alternative

 

[mollyc]

i think it’s important to remember we all have different workflows, and what works for one person may not for another.

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

That's a nifty alternative

Yeah, it’s more steps, but it’s also more reliable since it’s physical connections. Wi-Fi on camera stuff has always been iffy. It will work, then down the road it just stops working and you have to reset the connection. I’ve used 4 brands of cameras and I can’t say any have been problem free. Some companies make it even more complicated by having different apps for different sets of camera bodies. It’s almost like they don’t want you to use it!

 

[stillcrazyman]

That's a nifty alternative

I also use an SD card reader. Much faster than wireless from the camera. On camera, it’s not really true Wi-Fi so it’s not fast like it is with the iPhone or iPad.

 

[StrollerEd]

I confess that altho’ I have an inbuilt card reader on my MBP I wanted to make wireless transfer work - and that it’s so clunky is a disappointment.

That’s especially so between camera & iPhone when out & about.

Although I’m not young - I’ve been using the Internet & various digital platforms since the late 70s - I am truly surprised that wireless transfer is not straightforward even on the later models.

I’ve ordered the SD to lightening dongle.

Might still try to use the wireless transfer ‘on the go’ for the occasional shot I want to share on WhatsApp or FB etc. Otherwise, will probably do the physical removal of SD card to use the dongle to iPhone when sat somewhere or direct to MBP when back home.

But enough of the rant

 

[StrollerEd]

Back now to understanding how to use the camera for photography

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

I confess that altho’ I have an inbuilt card reader on my MBP I wanted to make wireless transfer work - and that it’s so clunky is a disappointment.

That’s especially so between camera & iPhone when out & about.

Although I’m not young - I’ve been using the Internet & various digital platforms since the late 70s - I am truly surprised that wireless transfer is not straightforward even on the later models.

I’ve ordered the SD to lightening dongle.

Might still try to use the wireless transfer ‘on the go’ for the occasional shot I want to share on WhatsApp or FB etc. Otherwise, will probably do the physical removal of SD card to use the dongle to iPhone when sat somewhere or direct to MBP when back home.

But enough of the rant

Yeah, like I mentioned up the thread a bit, it's not a seamless experience on most brands. I think the camera companies don't have a big budget for these apps, and I don't know that it's highly demanded from most folks that buy a dedicated camera. Some of it is also that our smartphones and tablets have more security features than they used to, and this makes it much less seamless. Another inconvenience is that if your device is already connected to wifi, then it doesn't want to give up that connection to a camera very quickly. The ideal world would be some sort of high-speed bluetooth connection, since bluetooth allows for multiple connections, but that doesn't exist. Transfers over existing bluetooth would be painfully slow, so instead, bluetooth has to first connect to the camera, then the app needs to prompt a wifi connection, and that's when security features can start getting in the way. It's probably for the best, as we don't want hackers figuring out how to spoof connections and get a direct connection to your device.

Sony even makes a smartphone that is intended to pair with their mirrorless cameras, but it connects via USB cable. Another design out there is a camera system that uses your phone as the primary display--you dock your phone on the back, but the front is a fully interchangeable-lens mirrorless system. I forget the name of it, but it's M43-based.

 

[StrollerEd]

Back now to attempt at understanding how to use the camera for photography

 

[Clix Pix]

Have fun learning your new camera and the whole photographic process!

 

[LiE_]

Good choice on Fuji, I love their cameras. I'm in the market again for a used one after taking a break, the prices are mental right now. £1600 for a used X100V!

XT2 is a great camera, the body is a lovely size. I shoot pretty much exclusively aperture priority, basically I set the aperture and don't let the camera change it.

You may want to have a read about Auto ISO, it's a popular way to use a Fuji camera outside of full manual (eg you set everything yourself)

Fujifilm AUTO ISO Settings: What It Is and When to Use It

AUTO ISO is one of the most overlooked camera tools to improve your photography. Here's how to program Fujifilm AUTO ISO settings and how to use it.

www.jmpeltier.com