gdanmitchell
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 Re: choosing a second X body | |
mjm6 wrote:
Folks,
I have a need for a second X body to go along with my X-T5 and I'm trying to figure out what body to purchase.
I have been holding out for a new X-Pro body as I have always liked having a rangefinder for casual street and urban shooting. The only thing that held me back from buying an X-Pro3 was the smaller battery since my X-T5 and GFX bodies both use the larger 235 battery. Not sure we are ever going to see and X-Pro4 and even so, I'm going to bet that it still uses the smaller battery since Fuji hasn't abandoned that smaller battery on the smaller body lines.
Part of the reason I need to get a second body is for shooting in Alaska when I'll have one body connected to the 150-600 and it'll be much too slow to be swapping lenses for a wider shot. Based on my experience doing this in the past on safaris, etc., I need to have a body bolted to the long lens and then a second for the wider shooting opportunities.
So, I know what the X-T5 brings to the table and it is my preferred camera for a few reasons, but I wanted to understand what an X-H2 can bring to the table as a preference over the X-T5. If I were going to be shooting with the 150-600 and one of these bodies, is there a reason to be choosing one over the other or do they both seemingly function similarly in terms of AF. I think the X-H2 has a larger buffer and as a slightly larger body, should balance on the 150-600 better. But, on the downside, it has a flippy screen that I detest and also uses an PASM dial and I'd prefer the traditional dials on the X-T5. The flippy screen isn't a deal-breaker, I just won't be using it much for that kind of shooting, so it'll just stay in place for the most part.
Conversely, I could go the other direction and get a used X-Pro3 and use the XT-5 for the long lens and the XPro3 for the shorter lenses when doing that kind of shooting. I'm not happy about having a second battery type to manage and I see that body as more ideal with fixed lenses, so I'm not sure it is ideal for the task but could be made to be useful in that role I believe.
I think it's a much larger stretch to be putting the X-Pro3 into action with zoom lenses and for that more general kind of shooting than using an X-H2 for the task, but this is where I'd like some feedback from people who have some experience with some/all of these bodies.
***EDIT*** (In fact, I have three fixed lenses here (16mm, 23mm, 35mm) waiting for a rangefinder body that has never materialized and I will sell them off if I don't get a rangefinder to use them with. But that would not be how I am using the body on at least some of this trip since I'll need zoom capability while on boats.)
My shooting on a trip like the one to Alaska is typical travel shooting, with some landscape, some people/urban, some architecture, and in this trip, whale watching and other super telephoto lens shooting. (In as much as Alaska has urban and architecture, but I think you get the idea). If I were going to Europe, the long lens wouldn't come along and I think it'd be a fairly easy decision to get an X-Pro3 as a second body even with dealing with the second battery type.
That said, the three options I feel I have are to purchase a second X-T5, an X-H2, or an X-Pro3...
Well-considered opinions are always appreciated.
---Michael
One thing to consider is that the interface on the XH2 is rather different than that on your XT5. The former uses the PASM interface (like many non-fujifilm brands) while the XT5, as you know, uses the familiar knobs and dials interface. If, as you say, your main reason for having two bodies is so that you can switch rapidly between them, using two identical bodies might smooth that process a bit. (Note Jack's post above about moving between XT and XH models.)
The pluses of the XH2 are mainly two — as you note, since it has a deeper buffer it can do long bursts. (It also accommodates a faster, more expensive card, if you are really into that.) This could well be useful for some kinds of wildlife photography. (I use the XT5 to photography birds, and it works fine.) The second difference, also related to camera speed, is that the XH2 models are better equipped for video. Again, you can do video on the XT5, too.
About the XPro... I was a very enthusiastic XPro2 users for years. I did half of my photography on the thing, especially travel and street photography. At one time I held out hope for an upgraded, post-XPro3 (which did not impress me) body, but it eventually became clear that it wasn't coming. (It has now been 6 years since the XPro3 was introduced, and there is no sign that a replacement is coming in the immediate future.))
All of that is why I moved other the XT5. It turns out hhat it is actually a great street photography camera. It is roughly the same size as the XPro models, though shaped a bit differently. It has full manual controls, of course, and when equipped with street-style lenses it works great for that subject. I'm honestly no longer interested in the XPro.
Dan
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