I realise wildlife photographers crop a lot because they can’t get closer to their subject. But then they have a more or less singular focus; a bird or similar. But for other genres or just general photography, I wonder how much cropping gets used. I’ve sometimes thought having 40MP might be nice for that but I find it hard to visualise a decent composition without looking through the viewfinder or back screen, to check. Some cameras punch in but not all, I think
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It sounds like the old 690 series cameras Fuji used to make that took 120 film. Fixed lens. They used to call them Texas Leicas. They were large, heavy, and I know some photographers swore by them (but not me, I was shooting 4x5, 8x10, and 12x20inch formats).
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Indeedy!! Before I left for the Air Force, I worked in a department store’s camera department. We’d get customers right off the farm after the oil company gave them the first check for their share of what they were pulling out of the ground, and mostly they’d ask, “What’s your very best camera?” Well, the strictly correct answer was “Nikon F2 Photomic”, of which we handled the full product line, but before I could qualify, “But, a better alternative for you might be the Polaroid SX-70…” they’d just decide they wanted the very best, and that’s what they walked out with.
Most were back in a couple of weeks for the SX-70…
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This was definitely an appealing feature of the X-T5 that made me buy one. Having such resolution is certainly not a necessity, especially if you don’t print, but it’s a nice-to-have. Admittedly, it really comes into its own with wildlife, but there are other times when I’ve decided that a heavy crop saves a photo instead of being rejected. Yes, that also means the shot was probably badly composed in the first place…
Absolutely, but also amazing is our capacity to forget this advice or past experiences and keep buying/craving new gear over and over again, convincing ourselves that this time it will be different. My head knows that I’m fine with my current gear, that new gear won’t make me happier, won’t make me better, and in fact will make me financially poorer. But here I am wondering if I should buy a Sony camera and start a new lens collection! Luckily I don’t actually have the means to give in to my gear accumulation urges, so I just do a lot of research and get nowhere.
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Maybe this is the only real purpose of buying a Leica M. Relatively few product updates, less focus on marginal technical advances, more on mechanical quality, hardly any focal lengths that make sense, pretty manual experience anyway (so all that ai autofocus stuff is irrelevant) and has the ultimate brand snobbery bragging rights.
Either that or become a Buddhist.
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Somewhat off topic, but I’ve noticed a lot of YouTubers buying or trying Leicas recently. And Hasselblads come to think of it. Obviously, those brands are trying to get their products into the hands of influencers for marketing purposes, but in some cases, the YouTubers have actually bought them for their business. To me, this seems like an obvious case of those professionals knowing that gear sells their content to viewers, especially high-end gear. It seems to be catering to our cravings. People want to lust after the latest luxury products, even if we can’t actually afford them. James Popsys even said in a recent video that he will get his money back from his Leica purchase and maybe even make a profit, presumably from the extra views he’ll get.
I don’t watch a lot of gear-review content, but when I have, I’ve noticed that the gear YouTubers have a huge number of subscribers, sometimes 5x more than some of the others who are more focused on the actual photography or the art side of it. After the initial growth of a channel, it tends to stagnate, and I think many of them realize that the future of their channel is in gear, or at least a part of it. It garners clicks and views, and that makes them money.
Just some observations on our consumerist society…
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The Frame Lines channel I watch recently said after posting an interview with photographer Niall McDiarmid that the comments were saying “more of this, less gear stuff” but the metrics show that way fewer people watched it relative to their gear vids. I don’t know if that’s the algo, the humans or both. They (two guys) publish a magazine, are pro photographers and have a community discord so they’re genuinely interested in the medium but YouTube metrics drag producers in a certain direction.
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A few weeks ago, several YouTubers simultaneously got an unconditional present from Hasselblad. They just got gifted a Hasselblad with a lens or two. IIRC, Thomas Heaton, Fototripper, and James Popsys each got one. And presumably many outside my feed as well.
What a genius move by Hasselblad. These people would never have bought one on their own. And it’s much harder to evaluate a gift fairly, than a temporary rental or a purchase.
But there was considerable pushback, too. In the comments, they were called “sellouts”. But even if they’re shamed into not showing off their Hasselblads regularly, I bet they’ll get enough visibility to make it worth it to Hasselblad.
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I thought Thomas Heaton said he bought his, which I thought was a bit weird because he isn’t a gear guy at all, and he’d just recently got the Z8 and has a host of z lenses. But it makes sense that it was given to him.
Even when they say they buy it, I think it’s heavily discounted or at production cost. Gerald Undone seems to genuinely not accept freebies and did a vid calling out the industry influencer complex after a Panasonic trip to Japan for the S9. The reviews normally are “here are all the reasons this is great and here’s one totally irrelevant niggle that no one should care about.”
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Leica and Hasselblad these days are like Ferrari and LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE. All are “luxury brands” that happen to make things. Supporting “influencers” mean companies can spend less on staffing marketing departments. How people are happy being enslaved to image and impressing strangers is beyond me.
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I think that’s right. TBF, status seeking is pretty human. Advertisers aren’t typically selling the function of their products but how this purchase will transform our lives.
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I’ve read where many lives were “transformed” by buying Fuji x100-series cameras after someone “influenced” them into thinking those devices are, well, “transformative.” Prices subsequently went through the roof.
As for the rumored MF fixed focal length Fuji, maybe something similar would happen and the cameras will quickly become Unobtanium? All the “cool cats” will be wearing one, you know.
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This is not what happened with the X100 cameras. Even after all the youtube videos their prices were still normal, the problem were ‘tiktokers’ who started making videos with the cameras merely for their look, which sparked the craze for some reason. Most of those tiktokers weren’t even photography related as far as I know, which makes the hype even crazier.
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I suppose "TikTok"ers aren’t “influencers”? That’s what I was referring to, though I didn’t call out the platform this all came down on. In fact, I can tell you the exact week it all happened. I was looking at a beautiful X100 for less than 200Euros, thought about it, awaited just a little too long, and bang the price went up 5x.
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My bad, I wasn’t clear 
What I meant is that tiktokers are different than photography youtubers, even though both are influencers, they do it in different ways and with different outcomes.
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The X100VI seems to be relatively available in Europe and Asia (with a waitlist, but not a terrible one, and MPB stocks used models for a modest markup). The shortage seems to be mostly an American thing.
I’ve heard it said that this is due to US prices being lower than elsewhere, and Fuji would rather restock places where more money can be made.
It’s odd that the hype would fixate on just such a specialized tool as the X100. It’s really a rather quirky camera that should have much less broad appeal than more versatile camera.
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I had the X100 and have the X100V. It’s a nice camera, I love the look through viewfinder with the little white frame and the limitation of the prime lens. And the flashback from the past. 
But I really don’t get the hype. It’s not spectacular.
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I just took a look at MPB (fr) to see what first generation 12mpixel Fuji X100 might be trading for and gulp they’re going for more than I just paid for a used Sony A7RII in similar condition. As you say, certain portions of the market are acting rather strange.
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Just had a look at eBay here, 300€ to 380€ sold. 