The Fujifilm X-T3 is a solid camera, but it’s certainly not for everyone.
We seem to see videos like this one from Sonder Creative quite often these days. It can be interesting to hear why individuals feel like they couldn’t make the jump to a new platform, and in this case, Usman from Sonder Creative explains why the Fujifilm X-T3 and the Fujifilm platform in general just doesn’t have what it takes to pull him away from Sony and the a7r III that he is using. Join us after the break to find out what his three reasons are.
Making the switch to a new platform is a big undertaking, and it might not always work out for you in the long run. For the past year, Sonder Creative has been using their Sony gear, and they purchased the Fujifilm X-T3 along with some lenses to see if they would be able to make the switch fully. Things started off quite well for these video creators, but Usman soon noticed that there were some shortcomings.
Battery Life
The first reason Sonder Creative gave is one that I do have to agree with, and it’s in regards to battery life. Fujifilm has desperately needed to upgrade the battery that they use for some time now. When I had my X-T3, I always thought the battery life was less than stellar, and As Usman pointed out when they would go out to shoot, they would need five batteries for the X-T3. If Sonder Creative made the switch completely, they would need two X-T3 bodies, which would mean carrying ten batteries in total. That is crazy by anyone’s standards. Perhaps this will be rectified in the next X-T camera Fujifilm releases. Time will tell.
Lenses
The second reason had to do with the lenses on offer. While Fujifilm makes excellent lenses, they are designed more for the photographer rather than for the videographer. Sonder Creative love using the Zeiss Batis 85mm f1.8 for video, so the logical choice for the X-T3 would be the 56mm f1.2 R. This is an older lens that has a beautiful character, but it has slow AF motors which can make it hard to use for video. Usman suggested that Fujifilm should remake these older primes with video shooters in mind as well as photographers. It wasn’t just the 56mm f1.2 he had issues with either; he thought the Fujifilm 35mm f1.4 R was just to slow to use too for video as well.
There are some more interesting insights in the video above, so be sure to give it a watch. The video is just over nine minutes long, and it might just help you decide if you should stick with what you have, or leave it behind and head for pastures new. What do you think about his conclusions? Let us know in the comment section below.