FUJI STOLE MY HEART

© 2015 Hasif Rahman - Penang Island | Street Art

" Respect is earned, Honesty is appreciated, Love is gained, and Loyalty is returned "

- Anonymous -

Travelling is like a part of who I am and also a part of my photography world. Even I don't have that much of exposed to the world of travel, but locally travel will always gave me a thrilled especially when the place looks antique or unique such as The Street Art Penang (I think I have a promise to fulfill regarding The Street Art Penang post). To be honest, I love to travel but I'm afraid to fly. That imaginary of plane crash and current issues regarding plane crashed, really give me a goosebump. Back to the story, I love to travel because of the cultural experience, seeing things in a different perspective, the foods, the photos that I can capture, the story that I can share it with people and a lot more. For me, I love to travel for the sake of photography and experience.

During my travel at Penang Island, I learned something important regarding Travel Photography. Its the most important thing to those who loves travel that is, "Travel Light". The whole week, I walked down the street carrying a bag with my DSLR really gave me a hard time. Its not heavy, but after hours. its starts to feel "not comfortable". Lucky I'm using the pancake lens 40mm. What if I'm using the 24-70mm lens? or the 24-105mm lens? Its sure gonna give me a lot of sweat. Did I mentioned that the weather was really hot? I'm kinda out of mood even I'm so happy at that time. If you noticed, there's not much of photos with me included. Its because my mind at that time was set, only to took photos and walk to other spots. The hot weather, the DSLR getting heavier (mind set), my wife is pregnant, the money usage, and others, contributed to "not much of photos with me included".

Lesson learned. Travel light and comfortable. What I want are the photograph and experience. Not to show of what I wear, and I don't need bulky DSLR with expensive look lens. This is when I made my decision to go mirrorless.  I mean Mirrorless Camera, such as Canon EOS M, Fujifilm X series, Olympus OMD, Ricoh, Sony and others. Leica is out of topic because of the price, which I really can't afford. After googling, read a lot of reviews, the pros and cons, the performance, the price, the size, and others related, here's what happened.

- FUJI STOLE MY HEART -

The Fujifilm X series really an amazing mirrorless nowdays. The Fujifilm X-Pro 1, the Fujifilm X100/X100S/X100T and the newest Fujifilm X-T1. Rumors also said that in 2016, Fujifilm X-Pro 2 will be out. Talking about the newest series, it will never end and of course, new technologies will/not always be better. The two mirrorless that stole my heart currently are Fujifilm X100T and Fujifilm X-T1. Within this short period of time, I'm gonna buy the Fujifilm X100T because of budget. I'm not gonna say its the best mirrorless among the brands, but it's the one that stole my heart. The reason I love Fuji X100T are :-

• The looks. Its old fashioned yet unique. Comes in Silver and Black. But I prefer the Silver.
• Light. Its small and light. I can combine it with mini tripods. Travel light remember?
• Performance. Its fast, silent, good image quality at high ISO.
• User friendly and people friendly. I can shoot better without people pays attention too much especially for Street Photography or in a place where bulky DSLR take a lot of attention
• The Fixed F2 23mm  equivalent to 35mm (because of crop factor). Its not that wide, but it's ok for me who loves to shoot using 50mm.
• The Final Image. What you see in the viewfinder is what you get. Yes, I don't need for a try and error shots, as the new technologies helps you to set how the final photos will be.

*The reasons are based on my perceptions, not a detailed review with a lot of test.

Everyday, during working hours, during my freetime, I'll walk blogging to those photographer who use Fujifilm X100S/X100T and the X-T1. From Travel Photographer to Street Photographer to Wedding Photographer to Portrait Photographer to Landscape Photographer and a lot more. Its like, the Fuji can do anything ! Except for Macro Photography which I don't encounter yet. If you read more review, you'll end up see a lot of Professional Photographers changed from using DSLR to Mirrorless.

One thing that I learned, comparing brands will never satisfy you. Like between Canon or Nikon, which is better? and now between Sony, Fujifilm, and Olympus mirrorless which is better. Looking at all those reviews online, you'll end up stuck in the middle. Just grab what you love, the one that is user friendly to you (not other people) and in your budget.

I really hope somehow I managed to get it before my next travel. Feels like wanna use it for Cameron trip. My wife and my little Audrey will look nice in photos ! =))

I've made my choice. FUJI STOLE MY HEART.