Buying an APS-C camera? Forget Canon, Nikon or Sony – in my opinion, only Fujifilm deserves your cash

Many photographers do not need a full-frame camera. I have long been of the opinion that for a lot of hobbyists, amateurs and content creators, a lightweight and agile APS-C body is the best choice, providing a significant image-quality upgrade over a smartphone without the weight and expense of full-frame. And for me, there’s only one brand you should choose if you’re buying an APS-C camera, and that’s Fujifilm.

Why? Because Fujifilm is the only brand taking APS-C seriously.

Let’s talk plainly for a minute and admit something that is often skirted around: Canon and Nikon APS-C cameras exist solely as a stepping stone to get you to upgrade to full-frame. That’s it. Canon doesn’t want you using the EOS R50 all your photographic life; it wants you to start chafing against the limits of the thing, and eventually step up to something like the EOS R8 Mark II. Ditto for Nikon, who’d have you going from the Z50 II to the Z5 II.

This is demonstrated by the fact that for both brands’ APS-C offerings, you have two options for lenses, both of them bad. Either you invest in full-frame lenses, which are likely going to be expensive, cropped and heavy, negating the cost and weight advantages of your smaller-sensor body. Or, you pick from the meagre pool of dedicated RF-S / DX lenses, giving you a very limited choice of unexceptional options, all of which you’ll ultimately have to trade in if you ever do upgrade to full-frame, because they won’t work with the larger-sensor cameras.

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