For all of my short photography life, I have used a DSLR (digital single-lens reflex) camera. Ever since I was small, I had always been told that DSLR cameras were the kind of camera professionals used. And I, as a naïve young brat (or actually a very well behaved kid), in my goal to become “professional” had always aspired to own and use a DSLR camera in the future.

That first goal was achieved when my parents bought me a Canon XS Rebel DSLR camera back in the Christmas of 2010.

I was elated.

I could finally become the pro that I had always wanted!

That means tons of likes and re-blogs on Facebook and Tumblr!

Infinite money for days from National Geographic!

And a whole bunch of fun.

Canon Rebel XS

Looking at this now, I’m surprised a 10.1 megapixel camera entry level DSLR was able to achieve what it could.

Maybe it came from the low expectations of a 15 year old me, or it’s the rose coloured glasses called nostalgia kicking in, but these photos are surprisingly clear.

But as a young kid with a fascination for technological advanced, I soon found myself craving for more. More sharpness, more exposure, more ISO, more bokeh. I didn’t want to buy a lens, because good lens were incredibly expensive, and value lens weren’t the top of the line – so I settled on getting a better camera body.

Canon 60D

In December of 2013, the Canon 60D and it’s 18-135mm kit lens became mine.

And man, was it beautiful.

Never had I seen so much detail in a shot. Never could I have zoomed in so much and still saw clarity and sharpness!

And this was only 18 megapixels.

I remember back then thinking “How in the world can an 18 megapixel camera shoot more detailed photos than those 30+ megapixel cameras being advertised these days?”

And my conclusion?

DSLR’s are magic.

They are for pros.

And that’s when I fell in love with my DSLR.

I continued to shoot photos, each time learning a bit more about photography, and learning more about where I lacked.

I started playing with RAW files out from the camera, and doing a bit of processing them to to make them fit more what I had envisioned during it.

And throughout all of this, I came to believe fully in my DSLR. There was nothing in this world that could surpass its magnificent photographical power.

This was during a time when “interchangeable lens cameras” started to become a thing. Yes – a DSLR is an interchangeable lens camera, but this was when the official naming of mirrorless cameras were still kind of vague (or maybe it was just my lack of knowledge about them then).

I kept hearing about “micro four third” cameras, “mirrorless” cameras, and these “ICL” cameras. And how they were going to take over the camera world. I looked at some reviews of them and found that at the time, they weren’t at the level of a DSLR, and they were far from it.

So I looked at them and laughed.

I wasn’t some weak kid who needed the lighter weight of these over-sized digital cameras. I wasn’t someone who wanted to film video on a camera. And I sure wasn’t someone who wanted worse pictures.

I believed DSLRs were going to thrive, and these lame-o DSLR wannabees would fall.

Some years later, I even tried out a friend’s Fujifilm XT-20 when taking photos for her. As someone who was used to examining photos through the camera screen and viewfinder, the switch to a digital view finder and the pixelated nature of the electronic screens was unsettling to say the least. “There was no way I can make this transition, these things suck!” I thought.

I never looked at these pictures on a computer screen as once the photo session was over, I gave the camera back to my friend and moved on with my life knowing that digital wasn’t for me.

Then in December 2019 I was looking for some new inspiration.

Fujifilm XT-100

I decided to get a new camera. A Fujifilm XT-100 to be exact. The 24.2 megapixel step down series of the XT-20 that my friend owned and decided it wasn’t for me. I was surprised to find that the XT-100 with the kit lens was about $550, which while pretty expensive normally, is relatively affordable for cameras. It was Fuji’s entry level mirrorless camera.

Then busy season work came at work, COVID-19 followed, CFE preparation trailed, and then next year’s busy season finished. Photography time was instead replaced with socially-distance-away-from-strangers time. Or panic-about-exam time. Or maybe even just-work time.

So I never really tried it.

Two months ago I saw the XT-100 sitting on the windowsill beside me. It had been sitting there for probably over a year at this point now. So I started carrying it in my bag to try and get myself interested in shooting again.

It didn’t work.

It sat in my bag for at least the next month. I remember trying to take out the 60D I loved, hoping it would make me interested in shooting something again.

It didn’t work.

So one day I went for a walk in Minoru Park. Not to try and take photos, but rather just because I wanted a walk. On the walk I decided to force myself to try to take some photos, even if I wasn’t feeling it.

So I shot some.

Then a bit later, I shot some again.

And again.

And again.

Last week I actually finally took out the photos to look at on the computer.

And I was impressed!

Look at this thing!

This was shot at night, at 10 PM, without any lights, and just this small flame.

It barely has any noise, it’s at ISO 320, and it’s a straight out of the camera JPG file.

It’s not even an edited RAW.

Insane.

This is when I first realized technology had left my 60D behind. As a technology enthusiast, I was happy to see it come this far, but as sad to realize my old gear has been left behind. Well, at least with cameras I can just get a new body and the lens will still be useful. And because of Canon’s large brand name, no doubt there will be multiple third parties producing lens adapters to adapt any old lens mounts onto a new lens mount should Canon change it up.

But after seeing these beautiful Fuji JPG photos, do I even want to?

Just look at these!

These look amazing for no adjustments and being straight out of the camera.

I am not actually used to having to zoom into the photo in the software in order to see if it’s focused or not. Usually I would just be able to tell by looking at it.

Just looking at it is quite amazing. In spite of the previews on the EVF or the screen on the back looking low quality, the actual photos off this thing is amazing.

I will admit. I am a fan of Fuji’s JPGs.

But they don’t always meet the mark, though to be honest, the blame is on me for not dialing in more appropriate settings (oops I forgot aperture was a thing a for a few of my walks).

But yeah, this experience has made me realize digital is truly insane.

An entry level camera pulling out photos of this level of quality? I would not have thought it would be possible a few years ago. I do realize that the 60D was released in 2010 and the XT-100 was released in 2018, so there’s 8 years of innovation there, but the 60D was a mid-tier DSLR targeted towards semi-professionals and enthusiasts while the XT-100 was an entry-level mirrorless targeted towards people looking to upgrade from their old point and shoot camera or phone. Totally different target audiences and price points. I think the 60D was almost twice the MSRP as the XT-100 too.

The progress of technology is quite insane.

This has made me want to actually transition over to Fujifilm’s mirrorless APS-C with like an XT-4 or an X-S10. But maybe I should just make the large jump to a full frame sensor with Sony’s A7C or something. But I’ll figure it out when Boxing Day or something rolls around again this year and one of them goes on sale.