So long FujiFilm X-T10 | Thanks for all the photos
In April 2016, I was a Nikon shooter. I had a Nikon D90 DSLR since 2011 and a D50 before that and for a long time, very happy. Yes, the camera was heavy and so were the lenses but at the time, I didn’t know any different. When I first got the D90, mirrorless cameras were in their infancy and lacked somewhat in image quality and performance. Back then, if you wanted a camera that was more capable than a point and shoot, then most chose a DSLR.
Fast forward to late 2015 and things weren’t going so well. I was in a bit of a photographic rut, feeling uninspired and a bit tired of lugging the long in the tooth D90 around. None of this was helping with my creativity and I was not enjoying my photography very much at all.
I needed a change.
Around the same time, the mirrorless market had been steadily growing. The cameras had come on leaps and bounds. They may not have been quite matching the performance and quality of the top end DSLRs but for the serious photography enthusiast, they were really, rather good.
Feeling frustrated photographically, open to change, I came across Fujifilm and their mirrorless camera line up. I have to admit, I knew almost nothing about Fujifilm cameras as at the time the market was still all about Nikon and Canon DSLRs and Sony Mirrorless but not being one to follow the crowd, the form factor and manual dials of the Fujifilm line-up turned my head and I started to look at these cameras more closely.
THE X-T10
After researching the options, weighing up the pros and cons of each model in early 2016 I eventually settled on the X-T10 and XF18-55mm lens. I had heard nothing but good things about this combination and the X-T10 had all of the quality of the flagship XT1 but with only a few functional compromises and a lack of weather resistance, the smaller and lighter option won the day for me and full of excitement and anticipation, off I went to the store to pick up my new camera.
From my very first trip out with the X-T10, everything changed. I loved everything about this camera. It felt great to be able to adjust the shutter speed by twisting a dial or changing the aperture by twisting a mechanical ring on the lens.
With the mechanical knobs and dials, it felt like I was actually making a photo just like they did back in the film days. On top of that, the image quality was great, the camera bag was light and my creative spark was re-ignited!
The photo above was from my very first trip out with the camera along London’s Southbank in March 2016.
For the last 3 years, my enthusiasm to get out and take photos with this camera has not waned one bit. Being incredibly happy with the Fujifilm X system, in 2017 I decided to invest in the extremely capable XT2 which is a fantastic workhorse delivering fantastic pictures in any weather but throughout this entire time, the X-T10 has remained my favourite camera to take photos with. The camera would remain with me as I wandered the streets capturing London’s architecture or armed with a prime lens, out with the family documenting my children as they grow up.
Now fast forward to 2019, the camera has been released for 4 years which is a long time in the fast-moving camera market and the X-T10 was showing its age compared to the newer cameras being released and I knew the time would soon come for me to think about life after the X-T10.
Don’t get me wrong, this camera is as good as the day it was released and a new camera model doesn’t render an older one bad. If money was a limiting factor, I would have no problems continuing to use the X-T10 for the foreseeable future as it still took great images but I was now open to something new.
But what camera could replace the X-T10? I didn’t want to change camera brands as I am heavily invested into Fujifilm and quite happy to remain in the family. The obvious choice was the X-T20 but as soon as I started to be open to investing in a new body, Fujifilm announced the X-T30. After looking at the improvements in image quality, resolution and focus speeds, I made up my mind and it was pre-ordered.
I’ve now had the X-T30 a few weeks and over the moon with my new camera but what about the X-T10? Well, that’s not going anywhere just yet. It’s not worth a great deal to sell and quite frankly I don’t want to part with it anyway. Feeling a tad sentimental about this small camera, I plan on keeping this camera for my daughters to use and with any luck, this camera may ignite a creative spark for a second time!
I had a rummage through my collection to leave you with a selection of photos taken with the X-T10 over the last few years.
So, as the title says, so long X-T10 and thanks for all of the photos.
Trevor is a photography enthusiast living and working in London, UK. He has been enjoying the craft of photography for the last 10 years with a real passion for the London cityscapes and more recently long exposure photography. Formerly a Nikon user, Trevor moved to the Fuji X system in 2016 and has never looked back.
Bart
August 25, 2020 @ 11:38 pm
Great work man, thanks for sharing. I just put a bid on a X-T10 🙂 I already have the X-T30 but I’m looking for a camera that I don’t have to be paranoid about if it ever gets stolen. A camera that can be a buddy that I take everywhere, without endangering the system that makes me money (I use the X-T30 professionally and I don’t understand why more people don’t do that). Warm regards and thanks again for sharing your story, work and enthousiasm. I highly appreciate it.
Mik
September 13, 2020 @ 8:35 am
Great article. Full of emotion, sentiment, and terrific images. A little gem of a Sunday morning in bed with a coffee read! Thanks for sharing Trevor. I’m considering moving fully over to Fuji too after recently buying an X70. Thanks for making my decision easier. Or harder?
Stephen Russell
March 5, 2021 @ 6:52 pm
Of all the digital cameras I’ve owned since 2005, it’s the X-T10 that I enjoyed using the most and found delivered the most keepers (often in black-and-white and with the not-so-popular XF 18/2). In fact, I was so pleased with the camera, I ordered a second, but the retailer sent me an X-T1 at no extra cost as the X-T10 was discontinued (I wasn’t unhappy!). As GAS has seen me add an X-H1, X-T20 and X-T3 since, my daughter now has the X-T10 with the XF 18-55. Yet none of the newer cameras has ever quite achieved the results I managed from the little X-T10. Fond memories. Congratulations on a nice article and set of photos.