• You could always look at the older X-T1, still a very capable camera but a fair bit cheaper which would free up some money for the zoom lens. There's actually one on eBay at the moment with the 18-55 lens for 600 quid (not mine!). If after using it for a while you decide you really need the extra features of the X-T2 you can always trade the older body in and keep the lens.

    What kind of wildlife are you hoping to take photos of? Birds in the distance will require the longest focal length you can afford but the lens will be big and heavy and won't be much good for catching family moments (unless they are also in the trees with said birds). It might be worth considering a separate lens for wildlife, Fuji do a 55-200 which if you go with the older X-T1 you might even be able to get the body and both zooms for within your 1k budget.

    Probably worth noting that 200 is still relatively short in zoom lens terms if you're doing wildlife photography but a 'decent' one,say the 100-400 will blow your budget immediately unfortunately!

  • Thanks for your replies (also @greentricky @MementoMori), great food for thought.
    Here’s my thinking... up the budget to £1.5k as there’s no rush, I don’t mind saving a bit longer to get the right bits.
    I’d prefer mirrorless and I’m not sure I’m ready to go Pentax as a format as like you say, wildlife - particularly shooting birds will be much easier with technology on my side.
    When I tried the X-t2 it had a 27mm 2.8 pancake lens and I loved its flexibility and slimness for lugging around so again I’m leaning this way but probably only because I’ve actually handled it which means I really should pop into a bricks and mortar shop to play with it’s competitors.
    Zoom lens will probably start with 55-200 but I have a feeling that will come down to luck on the secondhand market.

  • If you do want to shoot birds, 200mm won't be enough, generally accepted on APS-C is you want 300mm as a minimum and even with that you will find you are cropping your photos a lot most of time unless you are shooting large birds reasonably close. So it needs to be a good 3o0mm so you can crop or ideally longer, i don't know what the options are on Fuji. Most people land us using a 300mm with a 1.4-2x teleconverter if that is their longest lens.

    Nikon and Canon have lots of options at all price ranges and I would probably lean Nikon as they seem to have better autofocus. Micro 4/3 is another option for shooting longer focal ranges in a more compact format.

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