Why did I choose Fujifilm?

As a Millennial born in the late ’80s, I grew up around a bevy of digital and analogue cameras. In fact, I was born only three months before the release of the world’s first commercial DSLR - the Nikon QV-1000C - which technically wasn’t a digital camera, though it was filmless.

As I started to become conscious of the world and the technology within it, I began to notice different types of cameras, but like many things that simply exist in our environment, I just took it for granted. As a young child, they were just another toy to play around with and potentially break.

At the time in the early ’90s, my dad had a number of film cameras that I rather enjoyed fiddling with, even if I didn’t understand what it was for or how it functioned. However, at some unconscious level - like most children have when satisfying their curiosity - I felt like I gained an appreciation for the mechanics and the construction. Mimicking the actions that I observed others performing while using it, I experimented by flicking the film advance lever, spinning the film wind lever, twisting the aperture and focus rings, and of course, hitting the shutter button. It was a regular Bop It.

The Nikon QV-1000C (Source)

Being the ‘90s, I began to see a lot of strange and wacky cameras make their way into toy and electronics catalogues - my favourite part of the weekend newspaper. Cameras had become much cheaper and accessible to even young children with Polaroids and disposable cameras. I remember my brothers and I would often receive a disposable camera each which we would have to take to the local camera store to get developed. Fortunately, automated film development technology had advanced enough that we only had to wait a couple of hours to find out how badly we wasted them.

As I got older, I noticed a shift in the look of the cameras that started to populate the house - my dad had started purchasing DSLRs. As with the old film cameras, I was naturally compelled to understand how this new breed of technology worked, and as part of a generation that grew up on TV remotes and gamepads, it all made complete sense to me. Well, most things anyway.

It would be a long time before I purchased my own camera, but through the years I was fortunate enough to be supplied with various point-and-shoots with which I garnered a much better appreciation of the fundamentals of photography. Before long I was photographing anything I could find, focusing almost entirely on the composition, even if I wasn’t really aware of the word itself.

Canon IXUS 500 - My first personal camera (Source)

Let’s fast forward a bit since this was never meant to be my whole personal history of photography. However, I should mention that my main cameras from 2011 to 2018 were various iPhones and a Canon PowerShot SX700 HS. I would occasionally use my dad’s DLSRs to capture quite decent photos, but the camera never belonged to me.

After several trips to Japan with the PowerShot, which is a fantastic point-and-shoot, I finally decided that it was the right time to invest in a proper camera, a prospect that was both exciting and intimidating. I am indecisive at the best of times, and with so much choice in the camera market in 2018 I didn’t know where to begin, so I started with what I knew - Canon.

I began the arduous albeit strangely cathartic process of researching the various Canon models trying to discern the different product lines and what each is designed for and how they differ. I sifted through the DSLRs, comparing their specifications and prices, but then I noticed another category - mirrorless.

Up until this point, my camera vocabulary was still somewhat limited - I admit I didn’t even know what full-frame and APS-C meant. However, it was nothing a few minutes of research couldn’t unravel. So mirrorless sounded like a perfect compromise of quality, flexibility, and price, and I decided I would just buy an EOS M50, or whichever model was prevalent at the time.

Canon EOS M50 - What might have been (Source)

While it should be the freshest memory in my mind compared to everything else I have recounted, I cannot recall exactly what steered me towards Fujifilm. Perhaps it was some online ad, an article I happened upon during my research or a listing in a catalogue, but instantly I knew it was right for me.

Although I had skipped the entire era of film photography - and in fact would also end up skipping the DSLR era - my most fond memories were playing with the old film cameras as a young boy. There was simply something so appealing about the physical dials and metal body that harkened back to a bygone generation I was never able to experience nor appreciate. Everything that Canon or Nikon had to offer practically looked like plastic compared to the compact Fujifilm bodies. At that moment, I didn’t care about megapixels or sensor size, because for me, it was the experience that mattered.

Almost every review I watched after that discovery confirmed my theories about what made the camera special - it was fun. I fell in love with the concept of changing settings through physical dials rather than flicking through menus and scroll wheels. I craved the idea of a journalist in the ‘70s with the camera at their eye making adjustments to capture the moment rather than looking down at an LCD to try and figure out which mode they’re in.

Nikon FG - Metal and mechanical

So it was back to the research and I narrowed my choices to two - the X-T2 and the X-T20 - the “flagship” and the smaller sister ship of Fujifilm’s APS-C lineup at the time. I eventually decided that I wanted something smaller and lighter for travel and bought the X-T20, and it was perfect. Of course, I had to choose the metallic silver finish for that vintage charm and its resemblance to older cameras like the Nikon FG.

Besides the 18-55 mm kit lens it came with, I picked up a 55-200 mm telephoto zoom and a 14 mm wide-angle prime. Together they form an adequately versatile trio for travelling and I took them with me on my first trip with the X-T20 to Canada. I was able to pack all my camera gear, including a mini tripod, in a modestly sized messenger bag that was consistently unencumbering, whether I was on the street or trekking through a forest.

It may not have all the levers and knobs as a film camera, but being able to physically interact with the system and embrace that sense of purpose by adjusting the settings manually allowed me to step into the modern world of photography by paying homage to past generations. In many ways, I’m proud to have joined a more niche family of cameras rather than simply buy into the two giants. I think this has also enabled me to more easily connect with the community that would otherwise perhaps be too large to find a place for myself.

I look forward to experiencing more Fujifilm products in the future and perhaps even exploring proper film cameras before their time is truly over.

Thanks for reading.