Switch of system - Canon to Fuji, Pro2 or T3?

bowrilla · April 25, 2019

Hey guys. While this is surely not a photography forum and this sub forum is way down the road, maybe some of you have made this or a similar switch or have their own experiences with the Fuji X lineup.

Long version (scroll down for tl/dr):

Back in 2009 I invested in a Canon 5d mk ii and got myself a set of primes, 35/1.4L, 50/1.4 and 85/1.2L. I did some jobs as a photographer, did some weddings but ultimately Berlin is quite a complicated place to do photography professionally. Back in the days I studied and had use for the camera as well. It replaced my analog Mamiya medium format which was at some point just to cumbersome to always go to a professional studio and wait a day before I got the picutres. I switched profession in the mean time and I happen to notice that my camera is sitting at home most of the time since it's just too big, heavy and clunky. I'm happy witht the performance, the pictures turn out pretty well but it's just not portable enough for me. I thought about the mirrorless lineup from Canon to keep my lenses but that kind of misses the point as well - Hubble (that's what I call my 85mm lens) on its own weighs a hefty ~1.1kg and is everything but subtle.

As a small side camera I bought a Fuji X E1 about 7 years ago. I like the looks, the size, the haptics and the pictures turn out pretty well. I never bothered to to buy a Fuji X lens though and just used older FD manual lenses with it - which kind of works but the focus peeking is really just pretty imprecise.

A friend of mine just mentioned that his brother (professional reportage photographer) switched over to a Fuji X Pro2 and loved it. He himself gave it a shot and he loved it as well. If I had the money back then I probably would have bought the Pro1 instead of the E1. So I thought - maybe the Fuji lineup is exactly what I need, the lenses are great, the cameras look and feel great, the pictures are amazing in my eyes. I want a smaller, inconspicuous camera I can always have with me for street photography, portraiture and some landscape/architecture, maybe a wedding once in a while. I don't do wildlife, I don't do sport photography. I thought of a 23/2 and the 56/1.2, maybe the 16/2.8 or the 18/2 pancake as an addition.

But here's now the question: the newer T3 with 4th gen XTRANS chips, 4k 60fps video (which I really don't need), a significantly better EVF, worse display though and no OVF or the older Pro2 which is quite a sexy thing. What's putting me off a bit though is: it's just not a real rangefinder. Manual focus works via focus peeking in the hybrid viewfinder. The barely 2M higher resolution is imho irrelevant, the tilting screen is a gimmick to me. As an addition: both cameras cost about the same right now, the lens bundle deals you can get make the Pro2 more appealing since you can get the 35/2 for 50 bucks on top, the T3 can come with the 16-55 for 100 bucks on top - a lens I just wouldn't use, I'm a prime guy. But then the T3 comes with Bluetooth which makes a quick retouch in the field on my tablet pretty swift.

TL;DR

Does anyone have experiences with both cameras? What would be your recommendation?

Oh, totally forgot to mention: I'm mostly a black and white guy. If I had the funds I'd probably even invest in the monochrome Leica. I use Lightroom (classic) CC but as far as I know Adobe fixed the Fuji RAW issues to some extent with an additional demoirizer.

cc143 · April 26, 2019

I have the xt2 and had the xt10 and also maintain a full Canon system with a 5d3. I'll say this, I prefer shooting my Canon, but there's certainly something about the fuji. The looks of the xpro 2 are great and so is the handling, I would have gotten one hadn't I got a great deal on an xt2 when I did.

The xt3 seems to be a perfect camera, I don't see much more that needs to be in there specwise, and the handling is much better than other mirrorless cameras, perhaps with the exception of Canon and Nikon's new offerings, but those come with other issues.

I'd say, if you don't care about the upgrades, go with the xpro2, although that xt3 is tempting, even for me in my situation, but I'll probably wait and see if they release an xpro3, but if you need a camera now, the xt3 is as good as any, and I don't see why you'd need to upgrade in the near future.

Also, the about the mirrorless Canon thing, the 35 1.8 is a lighter lens and I'm sure they'll release a 50 1.4 and 85 1.8 on the rf mount, and till then, you could even adapt what you have. If you are gonna change systems anyway, why not just go down to the very capable non L lenses?

YellowJersey · April 28, 2019

I'd personally go with the XT-3. Sadly, I can't say I have experience with it. I switched from a Canon 5DmkIII to a Sony A7rIII and have no regrets. If possible, try renting one for a day and see which one you like better.

D13H4RD · May 1, 2019

I own the X-T3 and have experience with the X-Trans III bodies, including the X-Pro2.

If you're asking about overall IQ, both will be pretty strong in that regard, to the point where I daresay that it's hard to tell each one apart. Obviously, the T3 has the newer sensor that's backside-illuminated and such, but differences in the real-world are smaller. The earlier X-Trans III bodies were prone to have a bit of purple-flaring when light is pointed at it in a certain way (largely mitigated with the X-T20 and the X-Trans4 bodies) but the occurrence of it is pretty small and in specific scenarios.

The main upgrade with the X-T3 is the autofocus. The X-Pro2 had a solid hybrid AF system with CDAF around the outer area and PDAF in the central region, but the X-T3 has PDAF across almost the entire frame. This won't be much of a concern if you're shooting subjects that mostly stay still or are moving slowly in a predictable manner, but if you're mainly shooting subjects that move quickly in an erratic manner, the X-T3 is going to do a better job of locking onto it.

The big question you have to ask yourself though is exactly what sort of camera body design you're looking for, since the X-T3 is styled after a classic SLR and the Pro2 is styled off a classic rangefinder. Unless you need the upgraded autofocus, on a technical level, those 2 are going to deliver very good-to-excellent results.