Recently, I traveled to Portugal with a medium format film camera – the classic Mamiya Six – arguably one of the best analog medium-format film cameras in existence. But because it is a fairly large, heavy camera, and it’s not weather resistant, there were times when I left it in my room and fell back to a ‘lesser’ camera – my backup on the trip – The FujiFilm X-E4.
I put the word ‘lesser’ in quotes because I don’t believe that the Fuji is lesser than the Mamiya, rather than just different – like Buddy Elf being ‘special.’ As it turns out, even if he was a lousy toymaker, Buddy was pretty awesome in his own right.
Yes, the Fuji is less expensive than the Mamiya, and it’s not up to the potential image quality of the Mamiya in optimal light, but it is still a competent and capable tool and preferable to the Mamiya in low light, for rapid shooting, in bad weather, and if you are already loaded with a lot of other heavy stuff to carry around. In this instance, I needed to pull off a quick photo before Mrs. Doubtfire, (seen in the upper right window), moved out of frame. If I was shooting the Mamiya, I wouldn’t have had enough time framing and focusing before she would be gone.
A lot of camera snobs might look down at the inexpensive and tiny-but-mighty X-E4 and the kit lens I had on it for this shot, but I couldn’t be happier with the photo, specs and price be damned. Use the right tool for the job, and remember that the right tool is the camera that you have with you, be it medium format, crop format, or even a phone camera.
About this Photo: Camera: Fujifilm X-E4, Lens: FujiFilm 18-55mm f/2.8–4.0 R LM OIS. Location: Lisbon, Portugal.
