Fuji Spring Clean

As the days get longer here in Scotland my thoughts are starting to turn to what images I and going to shoot this spring.  I've also been carrying out a 'spring clean' for my business equipment, which includes evaluating each piece of camera gear that I own.

If you are a regular reader of this blog you'll be aware of my recent conversion to Apple for my office computer and a beautiful 27" iMac now sits on my desk.  This has certainly changed my work flow in post production, but the iMac certainly wasn't cheap and this got me thinking about my camera gear needs.  I run a business and I have a lot of capital tied up in cameras and lenses. So I decided to evaluate what I NEED, not what I would like to have in my camera bag.  

My cameras and lenses are the tools of my trade and they are there to make money.  It i very easy as a  photographer to sentimental about camera gear, and I have suffered from 'Gear Aquisition Syndrome' (GAS) in the past. 

However the difference between an amateur and professional is the understanding that this is a business and if a piece of equipment is not making money then the funds tied up in it should be released to be put to better use.   The is a 'head' not a 'heart' decision.

So let's have a quick review of my camera equipment needs -

The three camera bodies - X-T1, X-Pro1 and X100 - are all necessary for the business but I do have a lot of overlap in the nine Fuji lenses that I own.  

The 14mm f2.8 was the first to come under scrutiny.  It is only one stop faster than the superb Fujinon 10-24mm f4 and after looking at several images from each lens I decided that the 14mm wasn't absolutely necessary to be in my camera bag.  

The other lens that is covered by the 10-24mm is the Fujinon 18mm f2.  The 18mm is one lens that is always in my camera bag and is usually fixed to the front of the X-T1 or X-Pro1.  This compact, lightweight lens has more than paid for itself in the past 12 months and therefore has been retained.

The 35mm f1.4 Fujinon is the fast standard prime lens and is unique in my camera bag so its inclusion in my camera bag was never in any doubt.

At the end of last year I wrote a blog on the fact that I owned three telephoto lenses for the Fuji kit.  The 56mm f1.2, 60mm f2.4 macro and the 55-200mm f3.5/4.8.  

The long telephoto zoom is OK because of the reach it affords at the present time. However with the new 50-140mm f2.8 and Fuji recently announcing the release of a 1.4x converter, the 55-200mm may be sold to help fund a move to the faster zoom lens this summer.

This leaves the 56mm f1.2 and 60mm f2.4.  The macro lens does allow closer focusing than any other Fuji lens I own but I have added two extension rings to my kit which allows the 35mm lens to focus as close as the 60mm.  As the focal lengths of the 56mm and 60mm are so close I decided the 60mm was surplus to requirements.

I also own the two converters for the X100, the wide angle WCL-X100 and the telephoto TCL-X100.  The idea was to have a lightweight kit for traveling but the reality was the converters weren't being used and I was sticking to the 23mm f2 standard lens when using the X100.  The problem is the WCL  makes the 23mm a 19mm, which is almost identical to the 18mm f2 on the X-Pro1 / X-T1 and the TCL makes the 23mm a 33mm, which is almost identical to the 35mm f1.4.  It is also a phaff to fit the converters, so I found myself leaving them in the camera bag or at home.  For me the two converters don't make sense so they are both surplus to requirements as well.

The final piece of Fuji gear that fell under the spotlight was the Fuji EF-20 flashgun.  Having bought the new Nissin i40 flash, which offers greater flexibility and power, the small EF-20 was also not being used.  The only advantage for the EF-20 is its size, but the i40 isn't a massive flash either, so the EF-20 was deemed to be surplus to requirements.

I have therefore reduced my camera gear down to the essentials and I have sold the following -

• Fujinon XF14mm f2.8R
• Fujinon XF60mm f2.4R macro
• TCL-X100
• WCL-X100
• Fujifilm EF-20 flash

As well as reducing the amount of camera gear I have in my bag, this has also released a significant amount of capital to help pay for the conversion to Apple.  

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