Struggling on a mirrorless camera.. Which one?

I like Fuji.

I had m4/3 for a bit and there are a few nice lenses and some interesting features. But I have to agree with the building consensus, since I switched to Fuji and never looked back.

Image quality, high ISO performance, consistently high quality lenses, best user interface for photographers, better skin tones, etc.

I strongly recommend trying whatever interests you at your local camera store if you have one. You can learn a lot taking a few images that you can't get from the Internet. And do buy from the local store so they are there when you need them next time .

Love my Fujis to death.

Rainyday wrote in post #18325437
Dear Friends:

After going on three photo shoots in a week with my DSLR and several lenses, my back and shoulders have loudly and painfully declared "Enough!". So, I am considering switching entirely to mirrorless. I don't care for the Canon M series and I'm not a Sony person, so that leaves Fuji and Olympus. I love to shoot flowers, macro and some landscapes. I usually shoot RAW.

Could someone advise me on cameras and lenses? I will be selling my old equipment so I can be generous with my budget and I'm used to prosumer and higher cameras. Thanks!

And now...I'm hobbling off to the drugstore for more painkillers....

If money is not going to be a deciding factor I would recommend giving Leica M a hard look. Any Leica lens that you buy you probably will not loose any money on and if you don't mind a long wait now (a year for so) the new M 10 is really sweet. If you can't wait then I would highly recommend an M 262. I sold all of my Canon gear about a year and half ago and went all Leica M with absolutely no regrets.


If you haven't seen them:
http://www.reddotforum​.com …quintessential-digital-m/

https://www.dpreview.c​om …impressions-sample-images

http://www.jaycassario​.com …0-first-impression-review

I was at a photoshoot recently and I saw an Olympus that just plain rolled over and died. So, yeah, I'm pretty much decided on Fuji. Could somebody please advise me on lenses? I shoot flowers, lots of macro, some portraiture.

Rainyday wrote in post #18325899
I was at a photoshoot recently and I saw an Olympus that just plain rolled over and died. So, yeah, I'm pretty much decided on Fuji. Could somebody please advise me on lenses? I shoot flowers, lots of macro, some portraiture.

Good luck.....

I think you will be glad that you went smaller.

Rainyday wrote in post #18325899
I was at a photoshoot recently and I saw an Olympus that just plain rolled over and died. So, yeah, I'm pretty much decided on Fuji. Could somebody please advise me on lenses? I shoot flowers, lots of macro, some portraiture.

Fuji has a 60mm macro lens which was part of the original three options released with the camera. It is not as popular as it might be, which may help with used prices. It is slower to autofocus than other Fuji lenses and it is not internal focusing, so it changes length a bit dramatically as it goes through its focusing range. On the plus side, it creates nice images, so if those issues don't bother you, you can get a great price on a lens which produces very respectable results.

Fuji will soon be releasing an 80mm Macro. Odds are good that this will be an excellent lens, but we won't know for sure till it is released.

Fuji and Zeiss worked together and Zeiss released three lenses for the Fuji system. One of them is the 50mm f2.8 macro lens which, unlike the Fuji 60mm/2.4, is capable of going to 1:1 (what many consider the standard for a "true macro" lens). It also has internal focusing, so it stays the same length as it focuses. The AF is not as bad as the 60mm, but I wouldn't call it great either. To be fair, most serious macro photographers use manual focus on any system. The Zeiss is a very good lens, but it is $999 US.

You can also adapt macro lenses built for other systems. For example, the excellent Nikon 105mm f2.8 Micro, a lens which has been used for a large portion of Macro photographs you will find in print. They can be had used for $300 US. Nikon made this lens over several generations. It is still in production, but the current version will force you to pay for AF and vibration reduction technology which does nothing for you on a Fuji.

There are many other lenses which can be adapted. If you want the Rolls Royce of macro lenses, consider the Zeiss 100mm f2 Makro Planar.

So there are two Fuji "native" lenses in current production, which will support all automated features, the Fuji 60/2.4 and the Zeiss 50/2.8. There will be, in the relatively near future, another Fuji, the 80mm Macro. And there are a number of adapted options.

I went with the 50mm Zeiss.

Based on how I work and my preferences, if I had nothing, I would probably buy the Nikon 105mm f2.8 micro and spend the extra money on a ring flash

To address the "portrait" part of your question:

All of the specific lenses I mentioned which are available (Zeiss 50/2.8, Fuji 60/2.4, Zeiss 100mm/2 Makro Planar, Nikon 105/2.8) will all produce nice portrait images. Macro lenses, in general, render better than average, and all of these are among the better macro lenses available.

The one caution I will offer is that the Fuji 60mm/2.4 has the tendency to change length dramatically when it is trying to focus. This will not bother flowers, but can be rather disconcerting for human beings. So I would hesitate to use it for portraits and, if I did, I would use it in manual focus mode.

So if the purpose is Macro plus portraits, I would decide if I needed autofocus. If so, I would get the Zeiss 50/2.8. Or wait for the Fuji 80mm and evaluate its suitability.

I've done some research and the XT2 is in the lead so far.

thank you so much for your help!

Rainyday wrote in post #18326104
I've done some research and the XT2 is in the lead so far.

thank you so much for your help!

If your not concerned about 1/4000 max shutter speed you can consider the X-T20. It'll virtually produce identical image quality but it's cheaper.

In many cases I'd rather have an X-T20 with aftermarket aluminum bolt on grip. The grip would be substantially deeper than an OE grip on the X-T2. I loved my X-T10 with fotga aluminum grip with GT5000 grip tape.

If your heart is set on the X-T2 you will really enjoy it. With my current fuji lenses my canon 80D and 5dmk3 still tracks substantially better than my X-T2 with a predetermined focus point. Tracking in zone would be different like tracking a cyclist in a race. I was tracking my child on an amusement ride and the Canon 80D was incredible tracking my child while there was a tonne of distracting obstacles. My fuji struggled even when using center point constant AF. Fuji's Zone would not have worked as it would grab random kids on the ride. With the fuji because I was tracking like looking through a rifles sight glass it still hesitated. However in your case your application this will not be a concern to you.

You will enjoy the IQ of the Fuji. Very capable system and the fuji EF-X500 flash can probably use the LED as a constant light when doing macro.

Rainyday wrote in post #18325899
I was at a photoshoot recently and I saw an Olympus that just plain rolled over and died. So, yeah, I'm pretty much decided on Fuji. Could somebody please advise me on lenses? I shoot flowers, lots of macro, some portraiture.

For portraits, there is 56mm f1.2R, 56mm f1.2 APD, and 90mm f2. I have the 56mm f1.2R and 90mm f2 and they are awesome. Did some testing with 56mm APD version also and difference are very very small.

airfrogusmc wrote in post #18325882
If money is not going to be a deciding factor I would recommend giving Leica M a hard look. Any Leica lens that you buy you probably will not loose any money on and if you don't mind a long wait now (a year for so) the new M 10 is really sweet. If you can't wait then I would highly recommend an M 262. I sold all of my Canon gear about a year and half ago and went all Leica M with absolutely no regrets.

If you haven't seen them:
http://www.reddotforum​.com …quintessential-digital-m/

https://www.dpreview.c​om …impressions-sample-images

http://www.jaycassario​.com …0-first-impression-review

the M10 looks like a pretty big deviation from slower leica's

going smaller can be pretty darn awesome, however losing money on gear is really dependent on what you buy and the prices you buy it for. it's not a solid rule, except for camera bodies, those go down

Charlie wrote in post #18326954
the M10 looks like a pretty big deviation from slower leica's

going smaller can be pretty darn awesome, however losing money on gear is really dependent on what you buy and the prices you buy it for. it's not a solid rule, except for camera bodies, those go down

I buy camera's as tools. I buy what best fits the way I see and work but it's nice to have lenses that are a big investment that won't loose if you decide to ever sell them. The only Canon lens I had that I got the same kind of return on was my 200 2L but my other Canon lenses lost a lot. The Canon bodies I don't even want to talk about ha ha....

My M 262 is not slow and I love my original MM. Yeah only 18MPs but because there is no color so no splitting into red green blue it has the sharpness of a 36MP camera. Not bad for over 4 year old technology.

I actually had a new M 10 in my hands a couple of weeks ago and it is a wonderful camera. I should be ready to pick one up in a year or so and that is what the waiting list is now. Good to see Leica doing well when some other camera companies are now struggling.

I went ahead and ordered the XT2. It's on backorder so I'll have to wait a bit...sigh.

To be honest and frank, I don't understand when fanboys come here to write a bunch crap load about Olympus cameras or other unfavorable camera brands breaking like a piece of fragile glass or dying like an environmentally sensitive frog. What load of non-sense anecdotal arguments here. Do some people get psychological satisfaction from writing these stuff around; no kidding. There are thousands of people out there who use Olympus cameras and their cameras havn't died or broken yet. Realistically, there is no evidence whatsoever that Fuji cameras are even slightly more durable or reliable than Olympus cameras even in the most statistical sense.

I am neither a fan of Olympus nor own one. Between the two brands, I do actually prefer Fuji simply because I prefer a larger sensor over a smaller one. Be it a rational preference or an emotional one, at least, I don't attempt to fool myself or deceive others. I prefer a full frame over either of them though; the larger, the better, lol. I wouldn't try to falsely push anybody into my preferred camera brand though. Just give them the correct information and let them decide for themselves.

Whatever your responses, I am not going back to read and respond. Even fanboys must be mature enough to make decision what is right or not to write around.