Spinalonga Island, Elounda, Crete.

So, I've been considering a couple of things. First, do I go all out on Fuji or do I still think I need to keep my Nikon kit?

Second thought for the day,  is how do I feel about 'cheating' with Instagram Filters and Lightroom magic or just getting things right in the camera. This adds a bit of weight to the Fuji camp and their ease of use especially with the great electronic viewfinder, What You See Is What You Get.

Third, writing a blog post on an iPad...... that's simple, its going ok so far. 

I went to Crete recently for a little sunshine and have a break from the rush of normal life. As a photographer I had that usual dilemma..... take a camera with me and get stuck behind it and not actually relax on holiday or take no camera and spend the days wishing I had taken it. This led me back to the Nikon vs Fuji decision process. 

Round 1 - Size and accessibility 

This was an easy win for Fuji.

Packing list:

1. XT-1

2.  Plastic fantastic kit lens, XC 16-50 F3.5 - 5.6 OIS worth noting that this lens actually has pretty decent, if a little noisy, optical image stabilisation.

3. Four batteries 

This all fitted really neatly and easily into my carry on baggage with room to spare.  If I had taken my Nikon gear I would have needed a separate bag for the gear alone.  A 'small' win for Fuji !

Round 2 - Image quality  

For use on holiday I cant really fault the Fuji kit, I picked this camera up second hand as a bit of trial by fire to check out what it can do and I haven't been in any way let down. The JPG quality is fantastic and I am a total sucker for the Classic Chrome film emulation, it looks great in a sunny bright environment.  Don't get me wrong, I can get a lot more out a RAW file shot on the now aging, used and abused D800, but I feel I can get a pretty decent shot using the Fuji.

Round two to Fuji for general day to day photography.

Round 3 - Form factor and usability  

This is my only real issue with the XT-1, the buttons, those tiny tiny buttons, they can be a daily source of frustration. I am so used to the larger buttons with more space around them on my Nikon and I cant seem to get the same flow with the Fuji kit, I suppose that is a trade off for the compact size.  Some people have worked round this by applying Sugru but to be honest if you have to do that then it just makes me think that form took precedence over function at the design stage.

So this round goes to Nikon.

Round 4 - Viewfinder...... 

I hate to say this out loud, but I love the electronic viewfinder!!

There, I said it, don't hate me for it. Why do I love it? 'No filters required' about sums it up, I love the live preview in the view finder of what the shot is going to look like when you change the holy trinity in camera ISO / APERTURE / SHUTTER, rather than pixel chimping on the rear screen. The opening image for this post was shot hand held on the XT-1, fully manual and tweaked in the viewfinder to get the look I wanted. I managed to get the shot with the help of the image stabilisation in the kit lens, pretty cool I think for a basic setup !!  Another small win for Fuji and something I never thought I would use is the remote control software for iPhone, its not the most Apple like App out there but it works and has been pretty useful for transferring images from camera to phone to then post on the dreaded Instagram, one thing to note is that you can only share the JPG file to the phone app, but they are of such good quality they are perfectly useable for social media.

Round four to Fuji!!

And the winner is....

So, best out of four and no need for a decider round, it looks like Fuji wins! But, they do and they don't. Battery life can be a real issue, nowhere near as good as the Nikon kit. Do I have full faith in how the XT-1 performs, yes, up to a point. I love manual off camera flash and the D800 totally outshines, pun intended, the XT-1 in this area. RAW files to get details out of the shadows? That goes to the D800 again but you'd expect that from a full frame sensor. 

My choice at the moment is to use both!! Everyday carry is the Fuji, any payed work I cant help but revert to the D800 but I do put the Fuji in my bag and sneak in a couple shots with that as well. 

Bottom line, the best camera is the one you have with you, so lets not even start to talk about the iPhone 7 Plus.........  

Here are some sample shots from what was a great trip to The Blue Palace, Elounda on the island of Crete in Greece. This was a beautiful resort, resting sympathetically on the hillside and looking over the bay towards Spinalonga island.

All shots are JPGs from the XT 1 and taken hand held with the standard kit lens.

Blue Palace Hotel, Elounda, Crete.

Taverna Plaka, Elounda, Crete. 

Chapel Wall, Spinalonga, Elounda, Crete.  

Evening at The Blue Palace looking out over the sea view pools of the bungalow accommodation.