I promised to update my notes on what I defined “my final camera”.
So that’s what I want to do in this very short post.
Yes, the Fuji XT2 is still my main camera. The newest iteration (XT3) is not interesting to me. Nothing that has come out in the photographic world has been interesting to me, to be honest.
I have only slightly updated my lenses, selling the 55-200mm and replacing it with the lower-spec, ultra-cheap 50-230mm f5.6-6.3. The reason? I was often getting slightly fuzzy photos with the supposedly “great” 55-200, something that I have never experienced with the other tele-zoom I used to have on Nikon, another mid-range lens (70-300mm). Maybe it was a slightly defective unit, but I told myself, for how much I use these kind of lenses, let me try the plastic-fantastic 50-230mm; I bought it (new!) for around 160 Euros. And guess what? The optical stabilization works better than on the 55-200m (never had a fuzzy photograph), and overall the quality of the shots are on par with the more expensive Fuji lenses I have. Plus it’s so much lighter!
I haven’t sold the Nikon D600 yet, and the idea is to replace it with a D810 as soon as the used prices fall in a reasonable range (below a thousand euros I’d say). This is just to have the latest and greatest iteration of the classic Nikon DSLR for ever and ever (I know, it should be the D850 really but the used prices for the D850 won’t fall below that threshold anytime soon).
And the Fuji? Well, let me say that it has let me down a few times already. Apart from the useless batch of third-party batteries that would not last more than an hour during my trip to Svalbard last September, I also have had recurrent issues with the mount ring which would come loose and therefore not properly transmit the electronic signals from lens to body. I have made an habit of carrying with me a small screwdriver, and when it happens I give it a quarter of a turn to the occasional loose screw, but really — that should not happen, especially for a camera that is supposed to be a “pro-level” camera!