I’m jumping straight in here. I upgraded from a Fuji XH1 to an XH2 about 7 months ago now. What was the real cost?

I got the XH2 on release day so paid full price for the body at £1899. I didn’t have any CF express type b cards (to use both slots and make full use of the speed of the XH2 buffer) So I got one of those too. My research concluded in the cheaper ones, no surprise, are trash. Either with reliability or their speed, being about the same as an SD card. I opted for a 165GB Prograde Cobalt at £199. Now we needed a card reader. Throw another £50 ontop. The camera comes with a battery, but one isn’t enough. Another £80 for 2 batteries and an external charger. My computer loved the XH1 files, but the XH2 files slowed it down drastically. It was either to update the old sever pc or swap out and upgrade. So that’s what I did. £1299 for a 16” vivobook pro. A laptop means I’m portable and able to tether.. With a £50 tethertools cable. (Should have got an Area 51 cable but I didn’t). All those files chew through storage, so I needed more. 8TB at £200. Then to make the most out of the sensor, I purchased a Viltorx 75mm 1.2. 

• XH2 - £1899
• CF express type b - £199
• Card reader - £50 (a cheap one)
• Batteries and charger - £80
• New laptop £1299
• Tether cable - £50
• Extra storage - £200
• Viltrox 75mm 1.2 - £449

Total - £4226

So as you can see, that’s an extensive list really for a new camera. Seeing that total there is a little eye-watering too! Admittedly I could have got away without a few of those purchases, however, some of them were essential or would be required in the future, and my viewpoint was just to bite the bullet and get them over with. Things like storage are a constant requirement, but these files and how I edit just chew through storage! Although it’s nothing compared to video shooters! 

Let’s be frank, I didn’t really need the upgrade, I just wanted it. I mainly shoot portraits and my XH1 has been absolutely perfect, albeit with autofocus which isn’t the fastest. But for studio portraits, it’s not an issue. The 26MP sensor of the XH1 was more than fine and manageable, but, I do love the ability to crop and have plenty of pixels left with the XH2. I did expect, naively, for the autofocus to be massively better than the XH1, and the eye auto-detect to work great. That isn’t the case though! The focus is definitely faster, but not that much faster. Eye auto detect I have off for the most part as it’s not the most reliable. Making that irrelevant for me too. Build quality and how it feels in the hand is definitely subpar to the XH1 too.

It sounds like it’s all negative, which it really isn’t. I absolutely love my XH2 and the images I’m able to capture with it are awesome. Here is the big but.. If I had fully thought it through and managed to talk sense into myself, I wouldn’t have upgraded. We all know bodies depreciate so fast, and it’s the lenses that give us the image quality. The Viltrox paired with the XH2 is just beautiful. That same Viltrox would be 95% as good on the XH1 though. Image quality itself isn’t everything either. It’s the subject matter that makes great images. I could have still got the laptop and lens, then invested the other amounts into shoots. I could have redone a full portfolio. Or taken a decent trip away!

I’ll reiterate, I love my XH2. But if I could have curbed my GAS, then I’d have been able to do more, and better things. Having the body is cool, but at the end of the day, that's exactly what I have. A camera body. It sits there and gets used. But it’s a thing. I could AND SHOULD have waited to buy the body. I would have had a much more fulfilling time spending that money on shoots. I used a Nikon D700 until about 4 years ago, so I know the camera makes no real difference. I could still shoot a 12MP D700 and get basically the same results. 

That’s my advice to you reading this. Spend the money on shooting, not the gear, UNLESS you actually need it. Then I’d still recommend just hiring it. For a small fee, you can decide whether you actually need that piece of gear full-time or not. Most of the time you’ll find you don’t. I get it though, spending money on gear makes it feel safe. Like that money has been spent on something that “will improve” your photography because it’s better. Whereas spending it on shoots feels like a gamble. You don’t know if it’ll be decent, and not having anything tangible feels like the money has just disappeared into the void. 

The point I want you to take away from this is you spend your money however you wish. But if you really want to get better or even just interesting photos, you need to invest in yourself and be infront of interesting things. And both of those cost money too.