The days following publication of this video were the closest I’ve ever come to impeachment.

Brand loyalty often goes beyond a simple preference for one company’s products over another; amplified in social media silos, it can reach fever pitch.

Amplification is often driven by social media “influencers” whose loyalties, it appears, have a price tag. And so, we see celebrity brand ambassadors, switching brands overnight.

So, perhaps comments on my YouTube channel like “How’s your free nikon z camera doing?” are understandable. Except for the fact that I’m not a social media celebrity, my influence is minimal … in fact, my channel isn’t even monetized. No company has ever approached me to sponsor my channel or review their product, to my disappointment.

Comments on this video were one thing, but the true-believer backlash on Facebook was particularly merciless. One might have thought I’d been accused of stealing an election.

Admittedly, my initial honeymoon with the Fujifilm X-Pro2 was generally a positive affair. I even did a followup review that was complimentary, but for some of the cons mentioned in this video. I provided galleries of photos illustrating image quality.

If I had been more forthcoming, I would have mentioned several occasions where I switched, mid-shoot, to my Nikon D800 because of the temperamental nature of the X-Pro2. On one shoot, I lost half the photos to a bad copy of the XF10-24mmF4 R OIS lens. I never trusted the camera enough to use it alone (I didn’t commit to Fujifilm enough to buy a second X-mount body).

Too bad really, since the APS-C crop sensor produced some nice photos. I’ve done well selling stock images made with the X-Pro2. Aside from my experience with the 10-24, Fujinon lenses are well-made and perform nicely. The size and weight savings were appreciated. With a firmware update released in late 2017, The X-Pro2 enabled my first foray into 4K video.

A few respondents to my divorce announcement concurred with some of my criticisms. I made no observation in the video that isn’t reality-based, after all. A few, at least, acknowledged that I had a right to my opinion.

Fact is, though I’ve owned Nikon cameras for over 4 decades, I’m brand agnostic. Over the years, I’ve also owned cameras made by Minolta, Mamiya, Zenit, Hasselblad, Linhof, Konica. And there was the Fujifilm FinePix S2 Pro, my first digital camera. They all had their place. I made decent photos with them all.

What with COVID restrictions, I haven’t had the chance to sell my Fuji gear yet. I have the X-Pro2, 3 lenses, Really Right Stuff L-bracket and other accessories.

It really isn’t a bad camera. Honest. 🙂