The 5 most underestimated Fuji X series products ever :: Episode 2 – With POLL

So here we go, after Episode 1 (covering the X-T10), today I’ll introduce you to two more Fuji gear that are, in my eyes, underestimated in the Fuji X-shooter community:

Go directly to Epsiode 3 here.

Nr 1
Fuji X-T10 (see post here)

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Nr 2

Fujifilm XQ2

This is another camera that never really excited me. I took note that Fujifilm released it, informed you about it on FR and quickly forgot it. Then it happens that I’ve received one at my birthday.

I thought:
Yes, it’s small
Yes, it looks quite good
Yes, it has a nice 2/3 X-TransII sensor
… but I’m not gonna use it!

So I forgot it, until I went on holiday for a week with my buddy and his son in June. I put my X-T1 with 3 lenses in my Rucksack and my Fuji XQ2 in my trouser pocket. It was a long drive to get to our camping, a very nice one, with large meadows and pine trees… so let’s take a picture of this nice camp. And guess which camera I grabbed? Yep, the XQ2. It was there, in my pocket, ready to be used.

I ended up using it more than my X-T1 (heresy!!!) during the week (and stopped using my iPhone 5 at all). It’s a super-small, pocketable & yet powerful camera for quick snapshots & casual photos of friends and family. Nice IQ, Fuji colors, shoots RAW, amazing macro mode… and it has those nice film simulations to play with ;). It would be nice to get the Waterproof case WP-XQ1 for underwater pictures, but it costs almost as much as the camera itself… I rather buy a GoPro ;).

On the contrary, I didn’t use the Fuji XQ2 during my 3 weeks travel in Indonesia, since I wanted the capture that amazing country with the ultimate image quality… and my trusty X-T1 worked a lot there!

Another small, stylish and powerful camera that didn’t sell well was the Fuji XF1. You can now get it for just $199.

Fuji XQ2: USA: AmazonUS / BHphoto EUROPE: AmazonDE / AmazonUK / AmazonITA

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Nr 3

XC lenses

“Am I the only one who likes the XC 16-50?” asks dickbarbour at our Forum. No, you’re not. People, who own this lens, are really happy with it. The problem is, you might be one of few X-shooters, who actually bought it.

Same goes for the XC 50-230. The IQ is great, definitely worth of the “Fujinon-family“. It’s just slower than the XF glass. But slower glass does not mean worst image quality. Read more (and see samples) about “The humble (though honorable) XC 50-230mm f 4.5.-6.7” at our Forum.

There are 2 advantages in having slower glass:

1) Get high Fujinon IQ for a low price: At the moment, you can get the X-A1 + 16-50 + 50-230 for just $600 at AmazonUS. That’s not bargain… that’s a steal!

2) Size: these XC zoom lenses are pretty damn compact! If you want the versatility of a zoom lens in a compact package, then you should give these lenses a try.

Did I mention they come with optical image stabilization? ;)

So, if price & size matters, this is the way to go.

And why not… Would you like Fuji to make a series of compact & affordable XC primes?

XC 50-230mm: USA: AmazonUS / BHphoto / Adorama / EUROPE: AmazonDE / AmazonUK
XC 16-50mm: USA: AmazonUS / BHphoto / Adorama / EUROPE: AmazonDE / AmazonUK

cheers,
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