Fuji STX-2 – A Love Affair with a Much Hated Camera. Simple Refinement

This story began in 2012. I was told by a fellow worker one lunch time: “There’s a Nikon film camera for £15 in the Pawn Broker’s window!” I decided to go check it out, thinking there was every chance it would be sold by the time I got there. It wasn’t sold and it wasn’t a Nikon. The Fuji STX-2 was a camera I wasn’t previously aware of but all photographers have heard the Fuji name, whether it be for their excellent film stock or their popular digital bridge cameras, so I thought it was worth checking it over. The battery compartment was empty and clean; the lens had a little dust but was clear; the winder and shutter seemed to work as expected. I handed over the £15 and left the shop thinking about how I was going to justify another addition to my ever growing collection of 35mm film cameras.

Fuji STX-2 Specifications

• Manual exposure with through the lens metering
• Mechanical Shutter with speeds 1/2 second to 1/1000 plus B
• X-Fujinon mount 50mm f1.9 FM lens with f16 minimum aperture
• Self timer
• Depth of Field preview button
• TTL metering with ISO 25 to 3200 range
• Shutter lock
• Battery compartment on top plate takes 2 x LR or SR 44 batteries
• Hot shoe
• Horizontal travel cloth shutter

In Use. Sharp Shooter.

A trip to the Lake District would give me an opportunity to try out this attractive, compact and fairly light camera, so I loaded it with Agfa Vista 200 which cost £1 a roll at the pound shop (those were the days!). We were camping so I was up early the first morning and the light was wonderful. The first three shots were taken at the campsite, which was located on the shore of Derwent Water.

After breakfast we headed south to Rydal Hall to saunter around the gardens and shoot off the rest of the roll.

Shooting with the Fuji STX-2 was quite a pleasant experience. In the viewfinder we have a mechanical shutter speed indicator on the left, controlled by the shutter speed dial, and on the right is a 3-LED exposure indicator. The camera feels small in the hands but it doesn’t take long to feel comfortable in use. The winder has a pleasant action. I have seen many negative reviews on this camera, pointing out the display isn’t very bright and the shutter is quite audible – both true but it did not spoil the experience I had shooting it. What the detractors don’t mention is the quality of the standard lens, yet the sharpness and colour rendering I find to be up there with any of the big names – I love it!

Conclusion and Would I recommend this Camera?

The Fuji STX-2 has become one of my favourites and gets used as often as any of my other cameras. I am never disappointed with the results. However – There are reasons I never recommend this camera when the “What should I buy as I am new to film?” question arises on the forums and Facebook groups, the most important one is that there are very few additional lenses available for this mount and I have certainly been unable to add to the standard lens that came with it, plus Fuji inexplicably decided to call their digital camera lenses “X-Mount” and they are not compatible with the X-Fujinon mount of the STX-2. You have been warned…..

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