I recently photographed an indoor event at Homewood and realized that my micro 4/3 setup wasn’t going to work for that kind of photography unless I bought some faster lenses.  I could get good enough image quality, but the shutter speeds were too low and showed subject motion.

My options were to stop photographing those indoor activities, or to buy some faster micro 4/3 lenses, or to shift back to using a larger sensor camera.  The problem was that I needed to stay with as small and lightweight a system as possible.  I finally, after considering a lot of different gear, decided to try another Fujifilm APS-C camera and lenses in order to achieve the minimum level of image quality with suitable shutter speeds.

Going back to the Fujifilm system with the similar, newer cameras that I used before was also going to result in using heavier cameras than I wished.  Too avoid that, I decided to try the Fujifilm X-T30 II camera.  I had never tried any of these cameras before.  It is actually smaller and lighter than the Olympus E-M5 III camera that I have been using, but it is not weather resistant.  That would not be a problem indoors and I haven’t really been out photographing anymore in wet conditions, so losing the weather resistance wasn’t as big a factor as it used to be when I traveled.

Since I am still trying to reduce down to one camera for all of my photography, going back to the larger sensor means going back to larger and heavier lenses, even if the camera is smaller, if I need longer focus lengths.  To avoid those weights, I would have to stop photographing those things that require longer focal length zoom lenses.  At the moment, the heaviest lens that I have for the X-T30 II camera is the 18-55mm Fujifilm zoom lens.  I will see how that works but I may need something a  little longer if I can find a not too heavy lens.

After I finish testing out this Fijifilm gear, I will be thinking about whether to sell my micro 4/3 gear and/or my Pentax system.  Since I photographed the last event I have experienced additional physical issues with my right knee, hip, and shoulder as the result of a fall.  The need to keep reducing the amount and weight of my gear seems to be getting more imperative than ever.  There is no reversing the aging process.