Comeback of an Old Friend

For us long time Fujifilm lovers, Fujifilm manager Toshihisa Iida (the manager who said Fujifilm will NEVER go Full Frame) was arguably the most representative face of the Fujiflm X/GFX series of the last 10 years.

Sadly for us (but congratulations to him), Toshi left the electronic imaging division once he got promoted to President and Managing Director at Fujifilm Europe back in 2020.

I must admit I was a bit worried when the Toshi left, as I felt that the Fujifilm X/GFX series was in safe hands as long as he was in charge.

He did run the business with huge dedication, passion and vision, as can also be seen in this in this brilliant documentary (MUST WATCH !!!), that gives an intimate look into his life and work as imaging director.

I honestly thought it would be hard to replace a manager like Toshihisa Iida.

But if I look at all the crazy stuff Fujifilm has released in 2022, all my worries dissipate.

Under the new management, Fujifilm has not only continued to work hard and believe in its imaging division, but they also gave us the most release intense year I can remember, with three higher end cameras, four XF lenses and one GF lens. Plus some accessories, such as the legendary cooling fan and the TG-BT1 Tripod Grip.

• Fujifilm 2023: Can it Beat the Amazing 2022? A Look at What’s Coming (for sure) and What we Hope for

The Future Seen Through Fujifilm Managers Statements

New Gear vs. New Travel

Something amazing is going to happen in April.

I hear you say: “easy, it’s the huge Fujifilm X Summit with exciting new gear announcements!”

Well yeah, I know Fujifilm officially announced the X Summit for April… but I don’t mean that. It’s something even better than rumors or new gear (at least for me). ;)

In April I will fly together with my wife and 2 year old son to Paris for a couple of days! It’s my wife’s birthday present to me.

No X Summit on earth can stop me to finally visiting Paris for the first time in my life.

And since I guess many of you have already been to Paris (or live in Paris), I thought I could make shameless use of this blog to ask for some advice.

Your Tips

I am aware that we are all in the grips of our busy daily lives. So huge thanks to anybody who can carve out some time from your day to give me some advice.

Gear Questions:

• What was your most used Fujifilm gear on your Paris travel?
• Should I travel with my X gear or GFX gear?
  – Full list of X gear I currently own
  – Full list of GFX gear I currently own
• based on the gear I own, which system do you recommend and which lenses?
• List of some accessories I own for my Fujifilm gear

GFX gear size and weight is not an issue for me. I do multi-day hikes in the Dolomites with it, and I was never bothered by the weight. Trust me, the real problem when hiking is to carry around a toddler in the backpack.

It all comes down to lenses. As I own more X series lenses, I have lots of flexibility there compared to my not yet so extensive GFX collection. But maybe the GFX gear I currently own is enough.

Decisions…. ;)

Tripod:

• I travel only with carry on bag. I plan to travel with my Peak Design Travel Tripod. I am not sure if tripods are allowed as carry on on a plane. Anyone ever tried it and experienced problems?

Photo Tips:

• feel free to share images or links to your images of Paris in the comments down below… as a little inspiration for me :)
• if possible, share details about the location where you took the images and the gear you used

Food:

• What were the best dishes you ate in Paris?
• Any restaurant you can recommend, possibly in Montmartre area, as that’s where we are going to stay

Kids:

• What’s a nice park in Paris to hang out with a 2 year old kid?

X Meeting:

• the schedule is tight, the time little, but I might get an evening or two off, while my wife looks after our son while he sleeps. So I can go out alone in Montmartre to make some late evening/night street photography. I will share on social media when I am free and if anyone wants to spontaneously join me to take some pictures (and drink a glass of red wine), that would be cool
• I will make a post on Facebook here, Twitter here and Instagram here when I will be hitting the streets of Paris alone. Watch out for that.

It’s Here

It’s never easy to let go gear you used and loved a lot. Gear like my good old Fujinon XF23mm f/1.4 R for example.

But now the time has come.

I’ve just received the new Fujinon XF23mm f/1.4 R LM WR and I’ve explained the reason why I bought it here already.

The Magic of Making Money by Buying Gear ;)

I bought the lens at Amazon IT here, as they had a better price than my local store and are also qualified for the Fujifilm cashback.

Convincing my wife of this investment went like this:

1. I don’t need to pay for the lens, because I am paying it with the money I made from the X-T4 sale
2. there is a sweet deal on the new XF23mmF1.4
3. by buying the new XF23mmF1.4 I can get rid of the old XF23mm and make even more money
4. I’ve booked a table for 2 for dinner at a fancy restaurant tomorrow. Yes, only for 2! It will be our first dinner without our son after 2+ years. Grandma is informed, she will watch after our son

This tells us one thing: photography is definitely an expensive hobby when you build up your system, but it gets much cheaper once you can fund new gear by selling old one.

Remember the Good

But I don’t let go my good old Fujinon XF23mm f/1.4 with a light heart, as I had many great moments with it. Let me name a few “episodes”.

Beating Sony ;)