I think it’s a legitimate shooting style, and I don’t have a negative view of it at all. It’s just different to how I usually shoot. I might try just using my LCD screen the next time I go out and see how things turn out.
Yep, sorry. Didn’t mean to imply anything. Just my clumsy use of words.
No problem! I was just clarifying in case anyone thought I was being dismissive of it.
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Quite on the contrary, my shooting style on the GR just very heavily relies on previsualization. I know very well what I want to frame, so much so that I don’t need a finder or screen to get there.
I think it’s more of a matter of composition. I don’t tend to shoot static, graphic compositions with meticulous placed leading lines with my GR. Instead, I shoot low, with moving subjects, and deep layering. Compositions that don’t rely on thin focus, nor place subjects near corners.
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No offense taken, James Popsys just put out a video where he basically admitted that he’s a spray and pray, and I like a lot of his work. I was surprised to hear that he’s a spray and pray, because I never got that sense from his videos, nor do I think his style of photography necessitates spray n pray.
I definitely don’t spray and pray. My GR is set to single shot and it refocuses on every frame (no subject tracking or continuous auto focus for me). I usually shoot two frames of a given composition, because i tend to shake (I can’t really hand hold my Z7 II at this point, frames are always blurry). A busy photo session with my GR is a two hour walk where I shoot 50 frames total (so generally 25 compositions).
What I mean when I say that I only need to see one thing on the LCD and I don’t need to see it well is that I’ve shot the GR enough to know, by looking at the scene I’m shooting, where the frame will end based on one object on the LCD. I think I’ve internalized the 28mm (full frame eqiv) focal lengths. I’ve shot a lot of the GR and I shoot a lot of 24mm on my full frame camera. Its a focal range I understand viscerally.
No. Most of my cropping is to get to an aspect ratio that I envisioned for the shot, usually a 4:5 or 1:1. I generally don’t crop away anything from the shorter side.
Yes, I have a Nikon Z7 II with a range of lenses that I use 99% of the time on a tripod.
Don’t be fooled by the GR though, its a serious tool. The lens is sharp and the contrast is nice. I like it more than I liked my Fuji X-T20 or X-T3 with any lens I owned from Fuji.
I do spend more time on composition with the nikon, but I feel mostly because it takes more time to setup the nikon, get it out of the bag, get the tripod out, put the camera on, move it around a bit. With the GR I shoot much more with my gut, I feel more free to experiment with the GR, and I feel like the GR attracts way less attention in public. I love going out with the GR, and sometimes even when I have my nikon with me, I still shoot the GR.
Anyway, that’s a long winded way of saying that I know what I’m composing with the GR, its not a guess. I don’t crop often because I’m missed a composition.
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Thanks for your detailed answer. It sounds like you have a setup that I’m eventually aiming for: a slower and more deliberate shooting experience with a larger camera; and an everyday carry for, well, carrying everywhere. I’m not even sure I need the larger camera because I rarely go out with a tripod or need the best dynamic range / shadow noise, etc. Still, as an enthusiast, I want both experiences. With an X-T5 and a smartphone, I have both right now, but I don’t enjoy the smartphone as a photography tool.
I’ve just noticed that the GRIIIx is in stock at a local store of mine. And the GRIII Street Edition is available to ship. I thought these cameras were out of stock everywhere? I think I still might wait for the GRIV…
Yup, the GR goes everywhere. I went thru several Fuji cameras because I told myself I needed a view finder and interchangeable lenses, but the X-T20/X-T3 still required a larger bag. Turns out not having a view finder isnt a big deal. The GR goes in my small bag or sometimes in my pocket. Sizewise I am convinced its unbeatable.
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I think you’re right. Is there any other camera of comparable size and quality? Some of the point and shoots are similar sizes but they’re not APS-C. I’m not yet sure I’m ready to have a fixed lens camera as my only camera, but I’m very happy to have one as one of my 2 cameras. And if they can squeeze a Fuji-like 40MP sensor in the next version, I’d be very happy with the extra cropping power to replace a telephoto lens.
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Not really. The Fuji x100VI is close-ish in size, but it won’t get easily into your pocket, and the protrusion of the lens makes it feel larger. The Sony RX100 is similar, but is a 1" sensor; it does have a zoom lens tho, if that’s you’re jam.
There used to be the Nikon Coolpix A, the Fuji XF10, and the Fuji X70, which were very similar to the GR I. But none of them got successors, so the GR III stands alone.
I’ve tried a bunch of compact zooms back then, but they really don’t compare to the GR in terms of quality, speed, and ergonomics. The GR is in a league of its own.
I suppose one could mention the relatively small Sony RX1 and Fuji X100. But while these are small for what they are, they are nowhere near pocketable. (I recently had a severe GAS attack for an RX1R2, and only narrowly resisted. It’s a sweet camera, and probably the closest to the GR in ethos)
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And a (somewhat mediocre) EVF. I have a RX100VA as my take-everywhere-camera. It’s alright but I also don’t have too much love for it. Also, it’s apparently not produced anymore and prices have gone insane. Excellent condition at MPB is more than what I payed for a new one four to five years ago. (maybe it’s a good time to sell and get something better…? Oh now, GAS incoming… :D)
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Can you explain this? It sounds interesting
Yes, I think this is key. If I’m going compact for an everyday carry camera, I want truly pocketable, not just able to fit in a ski jacket’s front pocket. I’m very interested in a future X-E model from Fuji, but I think it will still be in that annoying niche of compact but not truly pocketable. The GR is moving to the top of my list for an EDC, and I might just have to give up my dream of a pocketable ILC.
Incidentally, has anyone here tried the Xiaomi Ultra or similar “phamera”? I see that as maybe the only real competitor to the GR, and even then it’s still a 1" sensor and probably suspect ergonomics. I like what I’m seeing about the GR’s one-handed approach.
If you want it to be truely pocketable, you’re going to put one of the pancake lenses on it. Are you going to get multiple pancake lenses, which would provide you a relatively minor difference in focal length? Probably not. You’ll get the one pancake and leave it on there. What are you gaining over the GR at that point? Not a lot. Once you stick any Fuji lens on there that isn’t a pancake, its not pocketable anymore.
I have become a GR shill 
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I think that many people do this, or a variant, but the gist is the following.
First, I have learned how to visualize various focal lengths. I start with some intuitive aid; for example, I know that the 50mm 4:3 view has a height that is equal to the distance between my thumb and little finger, with my arm fully extended, like this:
Then I practice until I don’t need the hand any more, I can just visualize my 50mm frame without any aid, ±10%.
Second, I compose using this visualized frame. I decide what I want sharp and what I want blurred. It helps that I invested time in knowing my lenses, eg I know that my 25mm f/1.7 Panasonic lens (50mm eq) can be closed down to f/6.3 and practically everything will be in focus, provided that it is at least 2m away from the camera and I focus at 4m (hyperfocal distance calculators are more conservative, this I determined by experimentation).
When I have the composition ready, and I know what has to be in the frame, I turn on the camera and make sure that it is. For this it is sufficient that I see something on my LCD. This works in bright sunlight.
Then I check the aperture and set exposure compensation to avoid large burned out areas, and capture.
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Yes, absolutely, and I have similar issues already with my X-T5. It’s just about pocketable in certain jackets with my 27mm pancake lens, but obviously not with any other non-pancake lens on it. But the option is there to put another lens on it and have a completely different shooting experience. I love my 70-300mm when I want to do some telephoto landscape work.
But after a few years of working like this, I’m realizing that I want something truly pocketable in addition to something like the X-T5, which I’m now starting to see as “big” (it’s basically the same size as a FF body). And this is where your GR shilling is working wonders 
It’s a very tempting option.
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I wouldn’t even accept one for free, that’s how much I enjoy what I already own and am willing to carry around all day. After decades with medium format film, heavy tripods and schlepping Nikon bags all over the place like many other folks, I value compactness over the last bit of IQ. At the end of the day 16MP are all I really need, including for larger prints and these days enjoy my m43 gear more than anything else I ever owned. YMMV.
As to the GR III, I’d really miss an EVF on that thing but again, if OM Systems came out with a really compact fixed lens camera, with a medium wide angle pancake lens, EVF and flip screen I’d probably be all over it.
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If anyone from Fuji is reading this, I do not agree with this person and would happily accept one for free if you are considering it. Thank you!
Seriously @Varietea, I like that you love your current gear. What M43 camera do you have?
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Psshhhh I will take any gear for free.
I’d love a GR III but for the price vs how much I would use it I can’t really justify it based on how much (or little) I travel. I already have a Lumix GX7 which is pretty small too.
On the topic of pocketability, I once managed to fit my Lumix GF3 with the Panasonic 14-42mm lens in my pocket. Though that is really stretching limits of pocketability, literally and figuratively.
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