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Two Hot Shoes wrote in post #18685995
WTF is a professional camera anyway, is it the one I'm using to take the shot? No need to answer that.

I use Fuji professionally and have done for the last few years, haven't experienced any lockups (well one but that was a dodgy 3rd party battery and not the camera). I have read that some others have alright, with the X-T2 and X-H1 but I mostly shoot with X-PRO2's so nothing bad there.

I've found Fuji to be spot on consistent shoot after shoot, there is no way I'd risk ruining a shoot for a client because I thought the camera is not going to preform and the client doesn't care about the camera used anyway, not that they'll ever know what camera unless I bill out something to them. The DR of the camera is clearly up there, within half a stop of a Sony's 135 sensor - that's amazing but still they are all piddly when you plonk down a proper full frame camera and work those images up

I do love all this comparing Fuji with their little sensor to the bigger 135 ones. Says a lot to me but I couldn't watch that vid - I hate those comparisons.

As for shooting cars at night with Fuji I think if you go look at a how a professional photographer manages to get the shots at night that be of benefit to you. You know the kind who uses his Fuji cameras to produce the official imagery for one of the worlds biggest night time races, races that cost millions to run a car in. So I guess Fuji can do the job there or perhaps it's the photographer and he is just risking his contract be shooting with a hobbist camera system... either way the shots look amazing.

I'm [extra] grumpy today as the roof of my office collapsed yesterday & now it's raining and the weekend and I'm having to work at home and the kids are running about. Least my lovely wife just placed some beer down in front of me. No gear damage thankfully as it was all cased up and the roofed missed it somehow. Sigh.

I wonder the same thing every time I see something labeled as "professional"...

Damn, sorry to hear about your roof...

kirkt wrote in post #18686026
or that a friend shooting a wedding had a lock up and they can "no longer trust" the gear they have been shooting with for years is just ridiculous. You don't need a dramatic rationalization story to satisfy your dynamic range envy, just f'ing switch brands and have fun.

I am not sure if this was in reference to my comment but I did not say that I did not trust the gear. I just don't trust it as much as my old Canon stuff. In the same way I wouldn't trust a Tesla as much as a Honda Civic, but I would still rather have a Tesla. But that is to be expected as the Canon DSLR format has been around for decades.

If I had to make the decision again today I would still pick fuji over canon. I just recognize that for full time, high intensity people, fuji might not be right. But since I shoot less fuji is perfect for me.

kirkt wrote in post #18686026
There definitely has been a strange surge in recent weeks with "why I switched to Sony" videos and other BS. I think the claims of "career-ending" Fujifilm lock ups is a red herring for folks who simply feel like they want to have what the Sony marketing machine and their foot soldiers have convinced people is the greatest and best camera for the moment. If you want to switch from Brand X to Sony, go for it! I really don't care why you did it, if it works for you, fantastic. But clicks make money, so there is a backstory that helps to generate income. The whole idea that "professional" photographers had one lock up, or that a friend shooting a wedding had a lock up and they can "no longer trust" the gear they have been shooting with for years is just ridiculous. You don't need a dramatic rationalization story to satisfy your dynamic range envy, just f'ing switch brands and have fun.

Whatever. The marketing emphasis on designating something as a "Professional" camera is laughable. Take a look at the youtube series made by the old Digital Rev crew - Cheap Camera Challenge:

https://www.youtube.co​m …g&list=PL7ECB90​D96DF59DE5

it is about knowing what you want to do and doing it with the tools that you have. Gear reviews sell gear. Sure, we can all appreciate wonderful gear and there are professional situations that demand particular gear requirements, but the amount of bashing and arguing over how many faeries can dance on the head of a pin is getting to the point of absurd.

I switched from Canon to Fujifilm a few months ago after shooting with Canon FFs (5D, II, III, IV) for about 15 years. I did my research, considered Sony briefly and realized that their system has attributes which are appealing, but their overall ecosystem and user experience and customer service are not my cup of tea. To me, the Fujifilm ethos, history and expertise, as well as their reliance on and acceptance of customers helping to refine their offerings is more in line with what I was missing from Canon. The smaller size, less expensive excellent lenses, and all of the commonly praised aspects of their systems is terrific as well.

To each their own. If you feel like changing brands, go for it. You don't need a reason, just do what keeps you engaged and enjoying shooting. Bashing things to make you feel better about switching? If that's how you get clicks, I simply disagree with your business model.

Also, Two Hot Shoes - sorry about your office roof. That sucks.

kirk

I don't get all the comparisons recently between Fuji and Sony either... Seems to me that is like comparing a van to a sedan, you buy one based on how it fits your needs... The major thing that drew me to Fuji was the manual controls... Then you get people like fro who knock Fuji for having manual controls and aperture adjustment on the lens... WTH!

A break from the bickering of the last few pages

I wish I was still here...

X-T1 + 7artisans 25mm

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/29UC​SQX

05Xrunner wrote in post #18686033
If a very minor lockup that happens every blue moon and takes what 2sec to open the battery door eject and put the battery back in for it to be fine is a big deal. Then every pro on the planet shoulda dumped canon over the whole AF issue with the 1D3. Yet I owned the 1D3 3 times in my life shooting canon and to this day it was still one of my favorite bodies ever and never had any AF issues out of the 3 bodies I owned.

but what if that Pro photographer was shooting a wedding and at a key moment it happened?

and he's got a grip on his xh1 or xt2?

at an event a key moment flies by in 2 seconds doesn't it?

and with a grip its not 2 seconds .. its maybe 10-15? if you are quick to react.. and if you are lucky that it doesn't happen when something crucial was happening.

well hopefully that photographer has a second shooter/ second camera ready to go ..

I can see the validity in the lock up being a reason to not choose Fuji for some Pro work..

I'm not a pro, I don't shoot for money .. and I found it annoying .. if I did have my reputation on the line i'd be more than annoyed.

I had my xt2 lock up once when I first bought it .. just froze at a menu screen , required battery removal.

I had the xh1 go into a read/write error mode.. camera continues to function just wont write or read to card. that just needs to power off and back on.. that happened a total of 3 times with 2 different cards.

i'm not sure why Fuji hasn't resolved their lock up issues yet... you'd think it would be priority # 1

rantercsr wrote in post #18686082
I had the xh1 go into a read/write error mode.. camera continues to function just wont write or read to card. that just needs to power off and back on.. that happened a total of 3 times with 2 different cards.

This is what happened to me. Shot an image. Stayed on the black screen/busy writing to card status. Wouldn't stop. Had to undo battery grip. Screwed back in. Took another shot. Same thing. Wouldn't write to cards. When I switched cards it worked fine. But I could write to those error-ed cards with an xt2 so I don't think it was the cards.

Then the wedding after the same thing happened. But this time I took the low battery out of the camera and left the two full in the grip. Seemed to work fine after that.

Luckily both of these were at the reception so no key moments missed (and I realize now this is about the time a full battery ran out for both weddings). But still it has been a known issue and hasn't been fixed. Now I just take out the main battery when in gets to like, 1/3 charge.

But a "professional" shouldn't have to worry about something like that.

maybe the lockups are due to the battery grips? I never use them, so maybe that's why I've never experienced a lockup.

PLLphotography wrote in post #18686099
maybe the lockups are due to the battery grips? I never use them, so maybe that's why I've never experienced a lockup.

From my googling back when I had the issue that seems to be the case. A combination of low batteries and the grips.

http://www.fredmiranda​.com/forum/topic/14353​42

On and on for every brand... 'Pro' cameras lock up that's nothing new & most manufactures will respond quickly to resolve but some don't... Yes very annoying when it happens and there is so much more that can stop you from getting a shot at something like a wedding were you can't easily replicate the same moment, like the rings going on, so having a second shooter is great there. I brought six cameras to the last wedding, two for me, two for my second and two spare. Stuff goes down at times, have a backup plan in place.

I think Fuji are more than tough enough for pro work, that's been my experience and I've shot in some unkind conditions with them, weather sealed & magnesium bodies. So I 100% trust them for work.

Speaking of things going wrong at weddings. I was on a weekend away down to Cork, Ireland and there was a wedding, as there usually is, in the hotel. Walking back from dinner I got nabbed by the videographer who was wishing he found me earlier (we know each other) as the photographer for the wedding had got so sick she was passing out and throwing up. There was no second shooter to cover her so no photos other then the guests ones for that bride. Least she got a good video.


Thanks all for the thought re my roof, the builders put up a cover so it kinda looks like the circus has set up shop here.

benji25 wrote in post #18686060
I am not sure if this was in reference to my comment but I did not say that I did not trust the gear. I just don't trust it as much as my old Canon stuff. In the same way I wouldn't trust a Tesla as much as a Honda Civic, but I would still rather have a Tesla. But that is to be expected as the Canon DSLR format has been around for decades.

If I had to make the decision again today I would still pick fuji over canon. I just recognize that for full time, high intensity people, fuji might not be right. But since I shoot less fuji is perfect for me.

If you made a similar comment, I did not see it- it was not addressed at or to you, please realize that and I apologize for my comment seeming like it was aimed at you personally. It was in reference to an online long-time Fujifilm photographer who recently made a "why I switched to Sony" video and included the seemingly thin-skinned reasons that I paraphrased.

What made my Canon 5D(N) cameras so reliable is also why I decided to switch. There was no indication from Canon that they were ever going to develop something in the future beyond the every-four-year bump in resolution and modest increase in noise performance at high ISO. I do not shoot video, but with the X-H1 I might be intrigued to do so. With the Canon, I pretty much ignored video. Canon color is accurate but not pleasing, and getting it into shape that I wanted required work that I enjoy, but not for every shot.

Kirk

Two Hot Shoes wrote in post #18686102
... Stuff goes down at times, have a backup plan in place.

This is what defines a professional, not the camera.

kirk

kirkt wrote in post #18686133
This is what defines a professional, not the camera.

kirk

There is a difference between defining the professional, and defining professional level gear.

Fortunately there are many different types of professional photographers. Also fortunately there is a lot of different gear for those people to use. I just think fuji is a little less proven in regards to durability and time tested reliability. It doesn't mean it isn't professional gear. It just means for some professional uses it might not be the best choice.

kirkt wrote in post #18686133
This is what defines a professional, not the camera.

kirk

I agree plus some creative skills. You can give some jerk a Hasselblad while a true pro uses a i-phone guess who will deliver.

benji25 wrote in post #18686140
There is a difference between defining the professional, and defining professional level gear.

Fortunately there are many different types of professional photographers. Also fortunately there is a lot of different gear for those people to use. I just think fuji is a little less proven in regards to durability and time tested reliability. It doesn't mean it isn't professional gear. It just means for some professional uses it might not be the best choice.

There are definitely distinctions amongst various grades of equipment, and working pros know what works for them through experience for sure. We are not in disagreement.

However, labeling something "professional" is not to let working professionals know that this doodad is for them - it is a marketing move to encourage non-professionals to spend money on more expensive things. Labeling something professional does not make the user an instant professional, but marketers will try to convince you otherwise so you spend more money ("hey hobbyist, this is what the pros use - if you buy it, your images will become more pro!"). It is not a bad thing to have something appeal to one's sense of quality and awesomeness, but the marketing-fu is strong in a competitive market.

kirk