Hi Joe,
Oh yes, that’s right. I’d forgotten about that to be honest.

All the best
David

Hi Stephen,

I have my eye on a very similar area as there are a lot of places of interest up that way. I just have to find time to plan a trip, maybe in 2026 if I’m lucky.

Best
David

Thanks for that David. Good advice. I’m looking at going north from Manila exploring Luzon – not so much the touristy beach islands south. But we’ll see… it’s not till 12 months away 🙂

Hi Stephen,
That’s fantastic to hear that you’re planning a visit here. I’m sure you will enjoy it. Where are you heading to?
There’s a few reasons I prefer primes. The main one is actually because I have realised that I need a constraint to focus properly. Zooms give me to many options and I end up with nothing good. One focal length at a time concentrates my mind and lets me concentrate on the composition. Next would be because I prefer the way they render. I’ve never found a zoom that quite performs at the same level. The larger apertures allow shallower depth of field and better low light performance which I do use regularly. I don’t tend to change lenses in the field much. I usually pick my lens before I head out and that’s it, I’m shooting that focal length and have to make it work. Sometimes I’ll shoot two bodies for more options. In all honesty, I’ve never found changing lenses an issue when out. A couple of simple things make dust and debris unlikely to hit your sensor. I always turn the camera off to remove static charge on the sensor attracting dust. I hold the camera facing down and remove the lens in that direction and firstly, I prepare the lens that I’m going to mount by loosening the rear cap which makes for a quick swap.

Having said all that, there is nothing wrong with using zooms and the 16-55mm f/2.8 II is by all accounts very sharp and covers a great focal range so if you chose to go down that route, I’m sure it would give you plenty of fantastic images from your trip.

Yes the 23mm f/2.8 would certainly make for a compact package on the X-T5 but I’m not sure that even I could justify another 23mm having the X100VI, 23mm f/2 and 23mm f/1.4 😀

Whatever lenses you go with, I’m sure you will enjoy the X-T5 in the Philippines as there are so many great subjects and people are really friendly.
You might like a couple of other articles on my website about the X-T5 and lenses. I’ll link to them for you here. https://thecotswoldphotographer.com/best-fujifilm-xt5-lenses/
https://thecotswoldphotographer.com/fujifilm-xt5-review/
https://thecotswoldphotographer.com/best-fujifilm-travel-cameras-lenses-2025/

All the best and enjoy your trip.
David

Ah sorry about that. I live by a rule of never regretting anything as every decison made brings you to the exact point in your life that you are at. The good news is that once you have set the camera up to your liking, you probably wont have to use the menus too much. Perhpas carry a couple of little notes on your phone with instructions on where to find your most accessed menu items in case you forget while on vacation.
All the best
David