Camera Bodies & Gear Leica, Canon, Nikon, FujiFilm

Cameras & Gear

Camera bodies: Canon, Nikon, FujiFilm, and now Leica!

Over the years I have owned many cameras and lens from many different camera makers. Camera bodies included Canon, Nikon, Minolta, FujiFilm, and Leica.

When I first got heavily interested in photography, I had a Canon AE-1 35 mm film camera and then a little later a Minolta Maxxum 7000, Maxxum 7, followed by a Nikon F4. I also had a ton of glass for each system.

Nikon D1 & Nikon D1X

My first pro digital camera was the Nikon D1, followed by the ground-breaking Nikon D1X. Nikon seemed to have the high ground in digital cameras in those early years but when Canon launched the EOS 1Ds Mk II, they took a big leap with that 16.7-megapixel sensor. I switched to Canon and bought a store full of pro Canon L glass.

Nikon D1 & Nikon D1X

Nikon D700 & Canon 1Ds Mk II

Over time I switched back and forth between Canon and Nikon, always keeping the glass for each system, just swapping bodies. Although I loved both systems, I ended up falling in love with the 12 MP Nikon 700 D and used that more than the Canon 1Ds Mk ii for most of my shoots.

As my Website design and SEO company became a priority and took up more of my time, I had very little time for photography, and eventually sold all my Canon and Nikon gear.

My Nikon D700 & Canon 1Ds Mk II

I shot the Nikon with the Canon 1Ds Mk II and shot the Canon using the Nikon D700.

My Nikon D700 & Canon 1Ds Mk II

FujiFilm X-E2

But as anyone who loves photography knows, photography and the gear involved never leaves your heart. In 2014 I stared getting back into photography and bought a Fuji X-E2. That first ever Fuji was my undoing as I fell in love with Fuji immediately.

It started with the little 27mm F2.8 which led to the XF 56 f1.2 which let to the FujiFilm X-Pro2, Fujifilm X-H1 and literally every lens they made except for the 16mm F1.4 and the 50-140 ( I bought the 100-400 instead).

FujiFilm Fuji X-E2 is smaller that the Nikon D700

Fujifilm Fuji X-Pro2 was inspired by Leica

Fuji X-Pro2 & Fuji X-H1

While I found that the X-H1 was the most competent camera Fuji ever built it was the X-Pro2 that I loved and felt was the most soulful camera ever built by Fuji and when it comes to cameras, soul counts in my opinion. I didn’t like the entire X-T series as I found them awkward in the hand, with small fiddly little buttons jammed much too close together. But the X-Pro2 was at home in my hands and the X-H1 felt all-pro all the time.

Looking back at all the equipment I owned I have to say that to me, it is astonishing how well the Canon Full Frame 1Ds Mk ii and Nikon D700 images have stood the test of time. There appears to me to be something about a full frame image that just has the look.

I also loved the look of the images from the 24mp cropped sensor Fuji’s of course but I always felt I just wanted a little more cropping capability. My favorite angle of view, 28mm (18mm on FujiFilm X) was never quite sharp enough from the 18mm F2 but the 35mm F1.4 was superb and the 90mm F2.0 was stunningly sharp and very good. But that 28mm wasn’t really cutting it.

Camera Fujifilm Fuji X-H1 has better color that Canon or Nikon

Camera Fujifilm Fuji X-Pro2 smaller than most Nikon and Canon cameras

A big advantage that the Fuji X-H1 had over the beloved X-Pro 2 however was that is had Fuji’s superb IBIS (In Body Image Stabilization) and I can tell you that it really does make a difference. There was no question in my mind that any camera to be purchased in the future would have either IBIS or alternatively OIS (Optical Image Stabilization) on any lens used. Fuji Colours are fantastic, but I wanted more pixels and that full frame look, it had to have IBIS or OIS, and it had to be full frame. Fuji unfortunately, offer no such camera.

After looking at all my FujiFilm images in lightroom I realized that my personal favourite images were all taken at either 28mm or 35mm. This means that a fixed lens 28mm (preferably) or a 35mm lens (possibly) full frame camera with stabilization could be a direct hit for me.

Leica Q2

This meant that the Leica Q2 could be a contender for my next camera. The Q 2’s 28mm lens on a 47MP sensor was right in my sweet spot and when setting crop mode to 35mm it still gave me a 30MP image which was more than any Fuji X series camera could possibly give me and with a fast Summilux lens to boot. I really loved the little 18mm f2 (28 mm equivalent) Fuji lens but let’s face it, it’s soft.

By summer of 2019 I decided I really did have to go back to full frame. I wanted that Leica Q2 with 47MP FF sensor and a fast f1.7 28mm Summilux lens. The problem was getting one, besides the very high price tag, they are hand made in Germany and there was at least a 3-month waiting list to get one.

My favorite handling camera prior to the Leica was the Fuji X-Pro2 so I had already known the range finder style of body was my preferred body style.

When I received the Q2 it was love at first touch. The solid build quality and weather sealing was well past the body build of any of the recent Fuji’s I had owned. The lens was so sharp and detailed that it took me several weeks to get used to looking at what it could produce on my 34” monitor. The Leica colours are spectacular. Forty-seven megapixels means cropping is absurdly available to you in almost any circumstance. I can shoot this thing at 28mm, 35mm, 50mm and even 75mm equivalents with a true f1.7 lens and still use the picture for anything I was doing.

Due to some health issues I unfortunately will have to wait quite some time before I can venture into the street with it, but I will keep you all posted!

Camera Leica Q2 is more expensive that Canon, Nikon or FujiFilm

The Leica Q2 is a small package built like a tank, with an amazing F1.7 lens, huge FF sensor, OIS, image quality to die for, fast auto focus (which I was not expecting), and amazing lens barrel features to engage manual mode for zone focusing. What a great camera for my particular needs in street photography, I look forward to using it soon!

Cameras & Photographers

I loved the images that Canon, Nikon, and Fuji have been able to produce for me. All of them are represented here on this site, many from the Fuji’s and now I look forward to ones from the Leica. But even my original Nikon D1x is represented on this site as all the Caribana parade images were shot with that camera quite a few years ago.

The bottom line when it comes to cameras, is that whatever major brand you shoot with, unless it is damaged in some way, it can produce incredible images. Camera companies know what they are doing, it is just up to you to pick the brand that is doing it the way you want it done and that feels right to you when it is in your hands.

Photographers tend to be very invested in the camera they have chosen to use; I’d go as far to say they are engaged with their camera on an emotional level. If you love your camera, then it is probably the right camera for you. Find the camera you love, take the pictures that motivate you, carry it with you everywhere you go, and share the images. At the very least share them with family and friends if not the world. Please check out my Street Photography Projects!