[Yos]

How many lenses do you have for your MX?
Fujifilm lenses are not that cheap and that's the sole reason I haven't invested more into it...

[pichur]

How many lenses do you have for your MX?
Fujifilm lenses are not that cheap and that's the sole reason I haven't invested more into it...

I have three lenses for the MX, and they take quite nice pictures, however I have had them for 35 years or more, so they have served me well. I tend to keep stuff a very long time, and the Fuji will be no exception other than the electronics failing, which, from what I understand, all digital cameras fall victim to, as they are not lifetime pieces of equipment like the old mechanical cameras. There are not too many years left for me, so a 15 year camera will be fine.

Speaking of durability, how does jostling around in the bag of a bicycle bode for a digital camera? Is it a death knell for it? The MX has had no issues whatsoever.

Tomorrow is the big day, and should prove interesting, and may yield a surprise or two!

[nickthetasmaniac]

Are you in a rush? Given that you're still shooting with an MX I'm assuming you aren't...

How about waiting for the Pentax full-frame (35mm) dSLR? That way all of your Pentax glass will be directly usable, without an adapter, and at it's intended 'field of view'.

Since I will be jumping ship in every respect, the plan is to keep the thing as long as I have had the MX, so durability is a primary concern.

Did you get the MX new? Because there's no way any digital body is going to last that long...

What I have been told by my friend is that Fuji is the unsung hero of digital photography. Not well known outside of professional circles. He likes it quite a bit, but it is new and his first Fuji camera.

Not so much... There's a lot of fantastic options out there at the moment (Fuji being one of them), and everyone has their favourite. It's hard to go wrong really

My needs are very basic. I don't need in camera processing or the fancy program stuff such as adding affects to images. The only thing I do is compose a picture in the viewfinder and snap the shutter after deciding the f stop and shutter speed (the MX is all manual). I can still see well enough to focus manually so auto focus is not needed, and I enjoy setting shutter speed and aperture.

Unfortunately, short of buying a Leica M, 'simplicity' is a concept lost on all the digital manufacturers these days. Want them or not, all the bells and whistles are going to be there anyway...

[stevebrot]

It never occurred to me to check out if it had image stabilization. Is it that important? Why is it not needed on film cameras?

For the most part, digital images are subjected to somewhat greater scrutiny than most film shots from the past were. I split my shooting between film and digital and can confirm that the image stabilization features built into many lenses and cameras do significantly reduce the impact of camera motion. I can generally pick up at least 2 and usually 3 stops of hand-holdable capability over a non-stabilized system.

In the end, for critical shooting with both my film and digital cameras, my tripod is my friend.


Steve

[pichur]

I have been educated. The criteria is, easy to use. Must be able to set ISO, shutter speed, and f stop without having to concentrate while doing so. Here is what my experience netted:

The sales person went to turn on the first camera for me and I asked him not to as I wanted to experience the whole thing.

Results: K3...The on/off switch is on the shutter button. Easy enough. Setting ISO was not easy to do, in fact I could only get it to set to a range of ISO, ie, 200-400 or 400-800, but not a specific ISO. Setting for manual mode was easy, but setting the f stop and shutter speed was not possible for me. The sales person had to do it.
The big event was learning that manual focus with my old SMC prime lenses or the stock lens is not natural for a digital camera, and will take time to master. I would do a manual focus and shoot, then do an auto focus and shoot, and the difference was noticeable. The camera is best left on auto focus, which it was designed around. Size of the camera is very close to the MX. This surprised me. DSLR's don't have to be the monsters like the in-laws Cannon.
The K3 is definitely not for me. Too good of a camera, and far too complicated to use. The myriad of options and custom settings available is nice for the serious photographer hobbyist/professional, but not needed for a simpleton such as myself as it only causes confusion.

Results Fuji X-T10... On switch was easy to find, ISO was easy to set, and shutter speed was simple and very familiar. The light meter was not as easy to use as the MX, however it wouldn't take long to master. Setting f stop was as easy to do as shutter speed. The way the options worked on the Fuji was simple and very user friendly. Seems it operates like a traditional menu system on a computer and I didn't need to think about what the menu item titles would take me, plus there were not so many options like the DSLR.
The X-T10 was easy to use, and met all of the criteria. More options than needed. Manual focus not recommended as it does not lend itself to it. The K3 did a better job than the Fuji. Lenses are expensive.

Here is the shocker. Olympus MD 10E. Nice camera, and one that I had not really considered. The sales person personally uses this model and I can see why. ISO easy to set, shutter speed and f stop easy to set. Light meter easy to use. Again, too many options for me, but the software was fairly straight forward like the Fuji. Manual focus not really a good idea with this camera, leave it on auto focus.

I need to go and dig into the MD 10E and see what others have to say about it, however it looks like the Fuji would be a good choice, but for the money the Olympus is a better choice. The K3 is out due to the complicated software. Sure did learn a lot today, but did not take a camera home with me. Bummed about it, but I will have the camera for a long time so the decision must be on target. In the meantime I am attempting to figure out my son's Cannon SX120. Point and shoot is simple, but going semi-auto has me baffled on how to set the f stop.

All in all, a productive day.

[pichur]

Fate works its ways in life. While at the store today where I was convinced the X-T10 or MD 10E would be in my hands on the way out, I met up with a fella I had worked with 25 years ago. Joel is now a marketing guru for a company, and designs and shoots videos for them, plus he travels quite a bit and does still photography as well. While he and I were talking he showed me some, well, quite a few photos he took with his iPhone. Wow! This guy is good! He then asked what I was looking to do with the camera. With my answer he recommended I save some money and get a simple point and shoot. My reaction was, huh?
He then explained that digital is not like film, and in the editing process you can make a not so perfect image very acceptable, which is why the iPhone pics are what they are. Using he screen on the back of the camera, while annoying at first, can be learned and accepted. It takes hours and hours behind the lens to become a good shot, much like anything else, practice makes perfect. Then he offered that anytime I want to use his DSLR or his 4/3 Olympus E Volt I can, as he no longer uses them. Everything is done on his phone or a small Cannon point and shoot that he carries with him. In addition, he said that there are new designs of digital cameras coming that will change the camera scene.
Finally I asked him what he was doing at the shop. He was there to pick up some prints that he had done with a film camera!
I am now a proud owner of a used Cannon point and shoot that fits in my pant pocket and will be easy to pack on my motor bike or bicycle. Yes, the absence of a view finder is bothersome, however the overall size is exactly what I need. If life without a view finder is not acceptable, I am only out a hundred bucks, and can move to a 4/3 size camera or some new fangled thing in the future. Is life not a queer adventure? One never knows when the past is present and there to help!

[DanGleabols]

Fate works its ways in life. While at the store today where I was convinced the X-T10 or MD 10E would be in my hands on the way out, I met up with a fella I had worked with 25 years ago. Joel is now a marketing guru for a company, and designs and shoots videos for them, plus he travels quite a bit and does still photography as well. While he and I were talking he showed me some, well, quite a few photos he took with his iPhone. Wow! This guy is good! He then asked what I was looking to do with the camera. With my answer he recommended I save some money and get a simple point and shoot. My reaction was, huh?
He then explained that digital is not like film, and in the editing process you can make a not so perfect image very acceptable, which is why the iPhone pics are what they are. Using he screen on the back of the camera, while annoying at first, can be learned and accepted. It takes hours and hours behind the lens to become a good shot, much like anything else, practice makes perfect. Then he offered that anytime I want to use his DSLR or his 4/3 Olympus E Volt I can, as he no longer uses them. Everything is done on his phone or a small Cannon point and shoot that he carries with him. In addition, he said that there are new designs of digital cameras coming that will change the camera scene.
Finally I asked him what he was doing at the shop. He was there to pick up some prints that he had done with a film camera!
I am now a proud owner of a used Cannon point and shoot that fits in my pant pocket and will be easy to pack on my motor bike or bicycle. Yes, the absence of a view finder is bothersome, however the overall size is exactly what I need. If life without a view finder is not acceptable, I am only out a hundred bucks, and can move to a 4/3 size camera or some new fangled thing in the future. Is life not a queer adventure? One never knows when the past is present and there to help!

Congratulations on your new purchase!!! Have lots of fun with it, and remember to swing by this "Non-Pentax Cameras" part of the forum to post your pictures. I believe the point and shoot competitions run in the "Pentax Compact Camera" section of the forum are open to any brand camera, so check that out!

You can get some cracking pictures from modern day point and shoots, and as you're generally limited to a deep depth of field it forces your to approach photography from a different angle.

Be sure to check out the Pentax Q range. They are a small interchangeable lens camera - effectively a point and shoot you can change the lens on. This means they aren't quite as pocketable as your canon, but they can be manually focused with the lens. Unfortunately, they don't have viewfinders.

There are some premium point and shoots with view finders- Panasonic LF7, Sony RX100 IV. They maybe something to check out!

[atiratha]

I bought the X-T10 with 18-55 recently and it does precisely what I want it to do. It is a small combo I can put in a very small bag, has a very good kit lens, so that I don't need to change lenses and it can go anywhere with me (which it does). My trusty K-5 still serves me more than well and is my main body along with my lens collection (getting ready for FF). After I get the FF, the X-T10 will be even more relevant as a secondary body.

For the future, I plan to buy the Zhongyi Canon EF speedbooster, so that I can use Pentax, Olympus and Contax/Yashica lenses on it with the field of view equivalent to FF on it.

Why I decided for it? Very good EVF, decent tactile interface and above all very good kit lens with above average aperture (2.8-4), also wifi and very good jpeg engine.

That said, Pentax, to me, is still unsurpassed as to the ergonomy of controls.

[wed7]

To the OP, why did you not consider MX-1?

[Wired]

@pichur

I recently picked up Fuji X-T1 along with their new 35mm f2.0 WR and 50-140mm f2.8.

To me, the X-T1 is the closest to a Pentax LX but in digital format I've ever used. It's an incredible camera and I love it to bits. I got it because I need to save weight over my Nikon kit because that system is latterly destroying my body, and the Pentax DSLR system is lacking in auto-focus technology...something the Fuji system has in spades.

Yes, the lenses are not cheap, but they are very impressive, and with the focus aids (dual screen with focus highlighting or split prism focus emulation) it is very easy to use manual focus. There are plent of low cost adapters available, and high end ones too to mount virtually any lens. I just got a cheap amazon $30 adapter for my K mount and it's worked pretty good so far. But I much prefer auto-focus because I'm lazy.


I do agree with you. if you want something similar in form and function to your MX..... your not going to find that in anything other than a Fuji.