Top 3 Features I Want In Every New Fujifilm Camera
If you think about the shooting experience first, what features really matter to you?
Table of Contents
As we get closer to the announcement of newer cameras, we see more and more rumours popping up, people speculating on what the camera will be or what the camera should be. But if you think about the shooting experience first, what features really matter to you?
Fujifilm will be hosting their X Summit and announcing new gear later this month, and a lot of people seem to be discussing these features and specs and even writing crazy headlines.
But to be completely honest with you, I could not care less about specs. Stacked sensors and higher-resolution cameras mean nothing if you don’t really feel like using your gear or going out there and practicing your craft. The shooting experience is what matters to me, and that’s what I would like to talk about today.
After living abroad, using my camera every single day for years, and now testing and reviewing older cameras on my YouTube channel, I’ve come to realize that the shooting experience is all that matters, at least to me.
If you’re one of those people that live and breathe specs, that’s okay there’s nothing wrong with that, but in this short post or video, we are talking about the shooting experience first and the top 3 features that I would like to see in every single Fujifilm camera from here on. Let’s get started.
1. Built-in ND Filter
I believe every single camera should have a built-in ND filter, it’s something that I got used to having around with the X100 series, and it really impacts your day-to-day shooting.
Even when I owned a cinema camera package like the Sony FS5, it had a built-in variable ND filter and it made shooting faster and a more pleasant experience.
I mentioned in my Fujifilm X-Pro1 Review that I wish the camera had one, and some people responded that none of the X-Pro series or the X-T series cameras have an ND filter, so why complain about it?
Just buy a filter they said, carry one with you in your pocket they said and I understand that point of view. But once you have actually used the internal ND filter of let’s say the X100F or the X100V, then you would realize that it’s really hard to go back.
Not everyone wants to carry filters with them, not everyone wants to carry a large or heavy camera bag with them, or even if it's small and nimble like my Peak Design everyday carry bag.
If you think that your first reaction to walking 16 kilometres every day and exploring a new city or country that you’ve never been to before will be:
*“I cannot wait to carry all this gear and a camera bag with me” - Said no one ever.
Then you are mistaken. Some people just want to remove friction, go out there and shoot. I’m not here to try to invalidate anyone's opinion, but if you really are a shooter first, someone that really enjoys going out there and using your camera, then you understand the value of removing friction.
Leaving you home with just your X100 camera and nothing else feels great, a real joy to use. And now that I’ve been using, testing and reviewing cameras on this channel, I can definitely feel the friction.
So built-in ND filters are a great way to remove friction, give you options and let you go out there, explore, travel and enjoy the shooting process.
2. Dual SD Cards Or Dual Storage
This is a feature that has been reserved for the higher-end Fujifilm cameras, but it’s something that is really important and should be on every single Fuji camera.
A dual SD card slot is one of the things that I really enjoyed about the X-T3 when I review it, the X-Pro3 has it, the X-T4 has it and the X-H1 had it, and It seems like they might be implementing this and improving it on the newer cameras.
But it should be in all cameras, the new XT-40 whenever that comes out or the new X100 camera whenever that comes out. And it’s okay to get creative, for example, A way to implement it without changing the form factor of these cameras is to do the same thing the Leica M11 did.
Offer fast internal flash storage and a single SD card slot, allowing the camera to write to both storage options simultaneously and provide backup or redundancy. It’s a really clever way to offer this feature in smaller or form factor-limited cameras.
And just like that, you won’t be a the mercy of SD cards failing or losing some of your photos that mean something to you and that you worked hard to get. A great, simple feature that every single camera should have.
3. Weather Sealing
This is important for people who travel, explore, and shoot on location, people who don’t want to miss moments or have to postpone shooting because of the weather.
I mentioned this in my Fujifilm X100V Review, but there was more than one occasion where I found a great location but missed out on the opportunity of getting that photograph because of the lack of weather resistance on the X100F, which was my main camera at the time.
So I had to reluctantly miss the chance to capture what I wanted, and then I had to go back to that same spot another day. Typhoon season in Japan, for example, presented an opportunity to capture images that I normally don't get the chance to get. So yes weather resistance is a major upgrade on the X100V.
I understand that it’s not important for people that shoot in studio or controlled environments, but when you consider the number of people that travel with these types of cameras, people that do street photography, event photography or documentary photography, then it’s clear that most people would benefit from weather sealing.
Final Thoughts
So those are the top 3 features that I would like to see in every Fujifilm camera, new sensors and higher resolution are nice things to have, but not the most important thing in my opinion.
Video Review - YouTube
This post is a written version of my YouTube video, you can watch the full video here:
