Take it all away, just leave the viewfinder and shutter button. This is how I judge if a camera is good for me, I need to feel really good about how I use those two features.

I'm currently torn between form & function vs function & assumption regarding my next camera.

Regardless of how cameras are marketed, the primary deciding factor will always be how I feel when I look through the viewfinder and tap the shutter button. If that experience is weird I'll never enjoy using the camera, and that awkward experience will get in the way of how I create images. I'm currently in the process of deciding what will be my next "workhorse" camera, I've been using my x100f on projects recently and I love it, but I picked up that camera with the purpose of it being my daily pocket camera to capture family moments -- not necessarily for client projects.

I am a minimalist photographer, I make it a point to use the least amount of gear possible to get the job done. My preference for tactile functionality over miscellaneous function buttons and programmatic controls is the other reason I consider myself a minimalist artist. I genuinely appreciate the speed and straightforwardness of tactile settings, it gets me back behind the viewfinder quicker. I'm not someone who fiddles with ISO for every shot, to get correct exposure I'll toggle between the shutter speed and aperture.

Relationships are important to me, and my relationship with the x100f is phenomenal. I never knew how much I preferred a rangefinder layout to an SLR layout. Theres something unique about the process of making photos with a rangefinder, and what I didn't anticipate but fully appreciate is how comfortable people are when being photographed with a rangefinder. Almost everyone assumes it's a film camera and that immediately cuts their anxiety about the situation, it's one of the unique qualities of a rangefinder.

Let me get back on topic...

Recently the Fujifilm X-Pro3 was released, its literally everything I'd practically need in a camera, based on my current workflow. My only apprehension would be the rear LCD panel, it’s designed in a way that hides itfrom normal view. I appreciate that design characteristic, but I’m unsure if not having an easily viewable LCD screen would impact my process.

I’ve said all of that to just to say that I’ve done some experiential testing with my X100F to see if the Xpro-3 fits into 0my work flow. (Sorry you had to read all of that just to get here, the point of the post - I’m occasionally long winded)

How I conducted my experiment:

To see if I’d really use the hybrid viewfinder, I exclusively used the Optical Viewfinder
To see if not having a readily visible LCD would be an issue, I turned off my LCD screen from live view.

I'm only able to do this experiment because the x100f is designed to look like a miniature X-Pro camera, the form factor is almost identical.

The testing was favorable to the xpro-3, I was able to create a lot of solid images without needing to fiddle around with the rear LCD screen, and I actually saw benefits of using the OVF, primarily when composing a shot. I spent more time in the viewfinder, which is the point of photography IMO.

Now, with all of that being said, I'm largely leaning towards the Xpro-3, I'm like 90% there with 10% being being allocated to the now affordable the X-T3 (including the bundle package). I wanted the X-T3 for quite some time, but I had no justification for the purchase. So now that I'm in the market for a camera I'm actually tasked with making a decision. As of today, I'm unsure, but I'll post soon about my selection.

I hope you enjoy the photos, and thanks for reading this long post.

Peace!