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19 Comments

  1. Albert Smith
    December 4, 2020 @ 7:41 pm

    I’ve read of the one camera, one lens, one year exercise and every December I think of starting on January the first for a true calendar year. My problem is the amount of money that I’ve spent on lenses and bodies the last couple of years… 9 Fujifilm lenses and 3 bodies, with $3000 spent in the last few months.

    It would take so much discipline to ignore the gear in the closet gathering dust for 12 months. You obviously did it right by eliminating that temptation by selling your gear. I can never sell anything, personality trait (or flaw).

    Well, three weeks to January. Maybe your article was the kick in the butt that I needed. Now, which lens…?

    Reply

    • Earl Goodson
      December 6, 2020 @ 12:56 pm

      “It would take so much discipline to ignore the gear in the closet gathering dust for 12 months.”

      Exactly. I actually tried doing so the previous year with my X-T2 & 35mm f1.4 but I couldn’t ignore my other lenses. Since you have quite a bit of $$ invested you could always mail them to someone else so it at least takes some effort to get your gear back.

      I hope you give it a try! Even if you go for only 6 months I’m sure you’ll see some marvelous results!

      Reply

  2. Robert M Guy
    December 5, 2020 @ 7:17 pm

    Superb photos and text ….. solution to your situation is simple
    I use the X100V and its brilliant but I also carry a XE3 with a 35mm f1.4 They have similar layout on the back so they integrate really well … the ideal combo!

    Reply

    • Earl Goodson
      December 6, 2020 @ 12:52 pm

      I’ve come to a similar conclusion. I think carrying an X-T2 + 35mm f1.4 would give me the best of both worlds. Still, I really enjoy how tiny my bag is right now…Maybe I will see if I can come to love the digital TCL instead!

      Reply

  3. George Mahlum
    December 6, 2020 @ 5:56 pm

    Excellent article…I love both the x100 and x70 series cameras…I have owned a couple versions of the x100 and most recently an x70…though I do not have either as of this writing, I have been scouting the market for an x70…I tend to see in the slightly wide realm. The high sync takes me back to my medium format film days…
    I can be content with a pair of pocket strobes a trigger and an x70.
    Rock on!!!

    Reply

    • Earl Goodson
      December 7, 2020 @ 2:45 am

      I still need to learn how to make the most out of the high sync flash speed but I’m slowly learning. These cameras have so many tricks, it’s like having a studio in your bag with the right gear! I might add an Instax printer next year.

      Reply

  4. terry brownell
    December 6, 2020 @ 6:37 pm

    Really enjoyed your perspective, having done the same with my Fujis, twice. Didn’t sell my gear, but I did take a long Europe trip with only my F, and I also did a photo-a-day with the 35/1.4 on my X-E1.

    Your photos are very similar to what I ended up with – fairly close in, small things, details, people. What struck me in the end though was that I missed much more than I got – you cannot achieve a spectacular rendition of the inside of the dome of Rome’s Pantheon, nor that Marbled Godwit 200 meters out on a sandbar with a 35mm equivalent.

    These days I’ve shrunk my travel kit down to a body, the 16/1.4 and that 35 mentioned above. The perfect solution for just about everything. And if I have a car, I’ll throw the 50-140 in just in case there’s some owl sitting in a tree. Interestingly, I also picked up a Leica Q2 and because of its monster sensor, you can *almost* get that bird because you can crop it to death.

    Again – great piece.

    Reply

    • Earl Goodson
      December 7, 2020 @ 2:53 am

      “What struck me in the end though was that I missed much more than I got” I see where you are coming from. I think if you have the specific desire to capture a photo a certain way, you can’t help but be displeased by the limitations of a single prime.

      I think what I came away with is that there’s no fixed way to take a portrait, a landscape, a wildlife photo, etc. And remembering that makes it easier to let go of an idealized shot. Instead of getting the entire dome of the Pantheon, maybe you just select the most detailed portion with your 35mm, for instance.

      But if you have an ILC kit, I say enjoy it!

      Reply

  5. John
    December 7, 2020 @ 10:37 pm

    What’s so wrong with the digital teleconverter that you just don’t use that when you want?

    Reply

    • Earl Goodson
      December 7, 2020 @ 11:17 pm

      Nothing wrong with it. It’s just not in the spirit of 1 camera 1 lens so I opted not to shoot using it during that 6 month period.

      Reply

  6. Eamonn McKay
    January 3, 2021 @ 11:44 am

    A great piece. I’m new to Fujifilm, having just purchased the X100V (Nikon usually, D850 currently, but wanted to try something entirely different.) Thanks for the insights in your work and the project.

    Reply

    • Earl Goodson
      January 8, 2021 @ 3:28 am

      That’s extremely different from a D850! I think you’ll be amazed by how much fun the X100 series is. I’ve been a Fujifilm shooter for years but was still skeptical going in – no longer!

      Reply

  7. David Horne
    January 10, 2021 @ 2:02 am

    Earl,

    This is an excellent article, a great challenge and you are a fantastic photographer!! In early August I purchased a Fujifilm X100V and I absolutely love it. I’m very tempted to try the one camera, one lens, one year challenge. I absolutely love taking photos with that camera. It gets me thinking more about the composition. I do have another Fuji camera it’s an X-Pro2 I bought used with a 23mm f/2 lens and an 18-55mm lens. I do like using that camera with those lenses so it might be hard for me to leave those at home, but I think I could give it a try.

    Reply

    • Earl Goodson
      January 14, 2021 @ 2:31 am

      I’m glad you enjoyed the images and I hope you do give it a try! Simplifying the gear choices helps you stay more in the moment. Rather than “what lens should I be using,” you’re already composing and mastering what’s right in your hands! There’s very little a 35mm equivalent can’t do!

      Reply

  8. Khurt Louis Williams
    April 3, 2021 @ 4:25 pm

    In early 2019, I bought the first generation XF27mmF2.8 lens. Before that, the only lens I had was the XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR. The XF27mmF2.8 has been attached to my camera so often that I’ve almost fallen into one camera, one lens scenario without thinking about it. The only lens purchase I have planned for 2021 is the update: XF27mmF2.8 R WR.

    Reply

  9. Nick
    October 18, 2021 @ 12:59 pm

    Hi Earl,

    10 months on from this article are you still using just the X100V? I had the X100V but sold it and now regret it. Had an attack of GAS and bought an X-T3 with XF 16-80 and XF 35 1.4 but now I’m considering ditching my ILC and lenses and buying another X100V.

    Reply

    • Earl Goodson
      October 19, 2021 @ 8:06 pm

      Hi Nick! So currently, no. I sold my X100V a few months back to explore what the Ricoh GR III and Sigma DP Merrill series had to offer. But I have to say, I’m entertaining some serious regret…Even though my current cameras do have some neat tricks up their sleeve, they simply aren’t Fujis. I’ve been thinking about either an ILC or going back to the X100V lately!

      Reply

  10. Rob
    October 26, 2021 @ 7:31 pm

    I thoroughly enjoyed your article Earl. We’ve exchanged comments on other forums in the past and I have a great respect for your work and your discipline.

    I recently sold my X100V. I’ve gone through this same cycle with four other X100s over the years. I was sure this time would be different because the V checked all the boxes where my previous X100s fell short.

    The problem for me was that whenever I headed out the door, the X100 was the one I almost always grabbed, due to form factor and convenience. But then I found myself not taking a lot of shots as not many of my kinds of subjects fell into the 35mm eq FOV. So a decision had to be made:
    1. Sell my other three X bodies and several lenses, suspecting that I’d end up repurchasing them and losing all that cash in the process, or
    2. Sell the X100V and focus on using what I have (which is way more than sufficient to capture nearly any type of image).

    Now being V-less for nearly three months, I still occasionally miss it, but more in an emotional attachment way. I have other 23mm options and I’ve become reacquainted with my remaining kit with less distraction, and will likely pare that down in the near future.

    We must evolve as we grow.

    Reply

    • Earl Goodson
      October 28, 2021 @ 6:50 pm

      Hey there Rob! Not sure which forum member you might be but always happy to chat with a familiar “face!”

      Personally, I think you made the right choice for yourself. It does take a certain focus to completely fall in love with an X100, which is hard to do when you have so many appealing choices back at home! But it’s also easy to romanticize the X100 cameras when it’s simply a fact that they can’t capture as many perspectives as an ILC can.

      And sometimes 35mm just doesn’t work quite right for your personal vision. Even in some of my favorite shots with my X100V I’m left thinking “man, I wish I had JUST a bit more width in that frame.” And so on.

      But it’s great that you were willing to experiment with that for yourself. Even if your answer was “no, I prefer having more options.” Too many people are unwilling to even give it a go..!

      Reply

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