Downsizing A Camera Kit

Carnaval, San Francisco, 2024. Fuji X-70 Camera with Q20ii Flash held high overhead, 1/1000 second, F 5.6, ISO 400

I have been carrying a camera on my morning walks since the start of the Pandemic, which is to say early 2020. I have several routes that I normally take, and consequently visit the same "photo venues" multiple times during the week. In short, I've pretty much run out of interesting plants, homes, and garden gnomes to photograph, and as a consequence, feel a little let down when I carry a (relatively heavy) mirrorless camera and have no images to reward my efforts.

Lately I've been examining my small camera options, and found two contenders in my collection. Both had APS sized sensors and an equivalent lens focal length of 28mm.

• The CoolPix A: The camera was  introduced in 2013 and had a MSRP $1,100.00. I believe this camera was introduced in the hopes Nikon could  get on the "premium compact" camera bandwagon created by the introduction of Fuji's X100. The Nikon's price was very close to that of the Fuji, but was way behind on features and never gained a significant following, even after dropping the MSRP to $699.00 in 2014, and even included an accessory optical viewfinder. Unfortunately, I had already purchased a used one from Fireside Camera. Oh well. To add insult to injury, my camera had a distinct dust spot on the sensor, which I paid Nikon to replace. They claim they did, but the d#&n spot was still there, so I just decided I'd live with it. It only shows up whenever the background is mostly blue sky, and since I know where it is, I can easily find it and clone over it in post production.

• Fujifilm X70: The camera was introduced in 2016 and had a MSRP $800.00. I wonder if the Nikon's 2014 price drop had anything to do with the X70's pending introduction. At any rate, the Fuji had everything my CoolPix A had, plus a folding LCD panel and the Fuji Film Simulation Modes. It too was purchased used from Fireside Camera. I liked it because it took the same batteries as my X100S. Unlike the Nikon, it has an external aperture ring and shutter speed dial.

Photo Source: Click Nikon CoolPix A or Fuji X-70

One Over The Other: Both cameras have some strong and weak points. The  Nikon has a telescoping lens, which means it is very compact when turned off. It also has protective blades that close to protect the lens, making it a little better for pocket or pouch carry.  Unfortunately,  the telescoping lens makes it difficult to attach filters or lens accessories. There is a special lens hood/filter adapter which allows the use of 49mm filters, but it adds considerable bulk to the camera. The Nikon also lacks a shutter speed dial and aperture ring, which means you must rely on counter-intuitive, external control wheels. Its interface reminds me of the one used by Canon on their point-and-shoot cameras, which is not a compliment. 

The Fuji, on the other hand, has an external shutter speed dial and a lens mounted aperture ring. The Fuji's lens does not telescope, which adds slightly to the thickness of the camera, but it can be easily modified to take standard 49mm filters, which I'll discuss in a minute. It can also accept a bulky wide angle lens adapter that converts the lens to a 21mm full-frame equivalent. And the accessory optical viewfinder is much less expensive than the Nikon's.

I bought mine here.

Part Of The Family: First the good news: Fuji has adopted a standard 49mm thread for attaching lens accessories. The bad news is that the lens mounting sports male threads. (You access them by removing the bezel ring on the lens mount.) This is compatible with Fuji specific accessories such as OEM and knockoff lens hoods, many of which can accept filters with the industry standard 49mm male threads. To reduce bulk, I would need an adapter with 49mm female threads at both ends. By simply Googling "49mm female female adapter", I found one on eBay. I was reminded by one vendor that these can be called "gender changers", as it does indeed change the male threads on Fuji to a female thread ready to accept standard photographic filters, in addition to inexpensive plastic center-pinch lens caps. This will ease my anxiety about losing those expensive OEM metal caps that rely on friction to prevent loss. 

There is one more advantage this simple conversion can provide. A while back I purchased a  Nisi Filter Kit specifically for the Fuji X100 series of cameras. I plan on trying it on my X-70 on the next sunny morning to be sure it works without vignetting, since the lens is wider than that on the X100 cameras. I wrote about this a while back, so you get some technical information by clicking here.

My next post will be a re-introduction to the Q20ii Flash, and working with a wide angle lens camera with a built-in leaf shutter.