Fuji or Olympus

Teagan

Teagan

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Gerard
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Having now sold most of my Nikon equipment I will be switching systems in the new year. The main reason I will be switching systems is purely down to weight.
I mainly shoot birds but will also be shooting landscape,other wildlife and family days out.
I've held onto my Nikon D7100 with 300 f4 and 1:4 tc for shooting birds until either system comes out with a comparable set up. Although Olympus and fuji I think are bringing out new telephoto lens next year.
I've recently bought a Nikon V1 and although it's a nice camera it doesn't replace the d7100.
Finally the question, which system would you recommend to switch too? baring in mind what I like to shoot,weight savings and future lens ie proposed telephotos. Now I know basing a decision on proposed lens would be silly but it's just one part of the equation hence my reason to hold onto the Nikon setup.
Opinions appreciated.

Regards Gerard.
 
They are both good. M43 does have more lenses and more bodies, if you include Panasonic. Although the EM1 is probably the only one to consider for birds. Also m43 lenses are compacter as the sensor diagonal ratio is different. And I think Fuji have leapfrogged Olympus with their new auto focus and firmware updates. However if you find a body and lens to suit you, and feels right, then go for that. As next year there will be new bodies and new lenses on both sides.
 
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The thing is, continuous autofocus is currently the sore spot of most mirrorless cameras. All camera manufacturers are trying to get around that problem, mainly by implementing phase detection autofocus points onto the imaging sensor, but that still hasn't been nearly as efficient as the autofocus system in the D7100. However, there are some excellent bird photos shot on mirrorless system cameras (and some half-decent ones I shot myself), so it isn't anything impossible.

Samsung is actually one to keep an eye on. Their new NX1 seems very promising for anything photographic that involves fast moving action. The technology that Samsung has thrown in seems impressive to say the least, at least on paper: perhaps the most sophisticated autofocus system of all cameras around, as well as a maximum burst rate of 15 fps with tracking autofocus. (I personally think it's ridiculous and too much for practical shooting scenarios involving birds, as the buffer probably won't hold that much; fortunately, I heard the camera allows choosing the burst rate to whichever one you want).
Of course, the camera is only a small part of the whole story. Samsung has shown a 300mm (450mm equiv.) f/2.8 lens at Photokina, saying it's under development. I assume it will be launched early next year, though I haven't seen any official announcement. Honestly, such lens won't be much smaller than a 300mm f/2.8 for DSLRs, at least not due to the sole reason of it being designed for the shorter flange distance; 300mm f/2.8 lenses from Canon and Nikon are made to cover a 35mm frame sensor, while that lens from Samsung is probably being designed for the APS-C sensor's smaller area, but that probably won't make a huge deal of difference in size.

As you probably know by now, Olympus is on a roll with telephoto lenses: The new 40-150mm (80-300mm) f/2.8 that's already on the market seems like a terrific lens all around, and one I'll definitely get one day (hopefully by this year's end, even). It's no bigger than a 70-200mm f/4 for DSLRs. They also have a 300mm (600mm equiv.) f/4 in the works, that shouldn't be much bigger than the 40-150mm. And unlike any other mirrorless system, Olympus has a 1.4x teleconverter that's compatible with those two lenses.

Fuji has a 140-400mm variable aperture zoom on the roadmap. Seems pretty nice for wildlife during the day. Autofocus is my main concern, though; even though the X-T1 and X-E2 are pretty fast, they still lag behind Olympus in that regard, from my understanding. And it's not like the OM-D E-M1 is that good in continuous autofocus.
 
I would try and get a hold of the cameras and have a play. I have an X-T1 and an Oly Omd EM1. Both really nice cameras and I can't tell the difference between the quality of their images, even at high ISO.
I have had the fuji for a while and bought the Olympus because I think M43 have a better lens range. I have a 12-40 f2.8, 75-300 and 14-150. All fantastic lenses and all sharper than they should be, especially the 14-150.
Which do I prefer? Well, the Olympus seems a tad snappier in use than the Fuji, and as soon as I am convinced that the Olympus images are as good as the Fuji, the Fuji will be finding a new owner.
So, in answer to your question, from me anyway, probably Olympus.
Allan
 
Teagan said:
I've recently bought a Nikon V1 and although it's a nice camera it doesn't replace the d7100.
Click to expand...

Gerard, what's the problem with the V1?
- what do you like about it?
- what do you not like about it?
- what would it need to do for it to be the camera you want?

The answers could be useful in ruling in or out other mirrorless options.
 
Hi Alastair, I like the size,weight and simplicity of the V1 however I don't like having to go into the menu to change settings plus a lack of external controls. The auto focus is quite good all the same.
It's a great camera for family days out and I had high hopes of the new cx30-300 lens for wildlife. However user reports gave it negative reviews especially with bird photography.
The camera I want has to be lightweight,nice ergonomics with a good range of lightweight lenses for the subjects I want to shoot. Quick autofocus with high Iso capability that gives nice sharp,clean pics.

Regards Gerard.
 
IMO you can't compare the V1 to the higher end Fuji's in IQ and ease of use, I have had 2 V1's. If I remember correctly the V1 will probably beat the Xpro, & XE1 in AF but Im not so sure for the XT1, I find the XT1 to be as fast as the D7000 I previously had before changing to the Xpro1 earlier in the year. @Nod maybe able to advise more as I believe he still owns the V1and has the XT.

Another thing to consider if you went the Xpro1 route, I found I suffered with my eyes when using the EVF for long periods of times as I prefer zooms. My optician recently told me I was suffereing from mini migraines from using? Its the reason I changed to the XT1 and the promise of the super tele which should have beeen released around now, from original Fuji Lens Roadmap.

I have sold my XT1 this week as Fuji have delayed the release of the Super Tele by twelve months and Im going back to a DSLR or M4/3 just for home use, small bird photography. If a DSLR, it will be too heavy for me to lug around. I will buy another CSC or good compact for going out.

As been mentioned take a memory card to the shops and see which feels best in use, its what I have done this morning.
 
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I thought my ears were burning!!!

The V1 and X-T1 are very different animals, although both labelled as CSCs. Where the V1 comes into its own IMO is with longer lenses but in my case they tend to be slightly hampered by being F-mount lenses using the FT-1 adaptor. Having said that, you can get some great closeups with relatively pedestrian lenses - the 70-300 VR is my longest lens but on the I series, it has a 35mm equivalent focal length of 810mm... I've even had a play with a 600mm f/4 and a 1.4x teleconverter on the 1 AW and that's silly long! Worked a treat though!
The X-T1 behaves much more like a crop bodied DSLR in most ways, the only real difference being the EVF rather than a real OVF but the X-T's is supposedly the best so far with minimal lag and plenty of resolution. The ability to zoom in on the focus point when MFing is handy too. As Simon says, the 140-400 lens seems to still be 12 months away which is a shame but birds aren't really my area of photographic interest so I'm happy to wait for it! One thing that feels and looks a bit odd when using the X-T in continuous AF is that it appears to be constantly hunting but in fact it's just constantly adjusting itself for best focus (which is I suppose a sort of hunting but it doesn't seem to miss when the button's pressed!)
Of the 2, I would keep the X-T1 if I had to choose between them but luclikly the V1 was cheap enough 2nd hand to not be a financial burden so I can keep it for the few times I want/need the reach.
My experience with Olympus when one of their products failed terminally just out of warranty was not good so I'll never have another. Unlike Fuji, whose warranty department sorted one of their compacts outside the normal warranty period.
 
Food for thought. Interesting about Olympus warranty problem. Ive used the V1 and ft-1 adapter but its still too heavy with the FF lens. I'm in no real rush to switch systems as I can hold onto the V1 and d7100. I might even wait till the two companies bring out their longer lenses but life is too short so I'll not wait indefinitely.
It's a difficult decision,favouring the Fuji over Olympus one minute only to opt for the latter the next. Need to head to a camera shop to actually get the feel of both systems.

Regards Gerard.
 
The Fuji lens roadmap is promising a 'super telephoto' in the second half of 2015, anyone's guess as to the spec.

http://www.fujifilm.com/products/digital_cameras/xf_lens/roadmap/

I guess the Olympus has access to more lenses currently, but I can't fault the image quality from any of the Fuji ones I've used. However, I think the Fuji camera bodies are physically bigger than the Olympus ones, certainly my X-Pro is surprisingly big, but definitely lighter than an SLR. The AF isn't that quick though so you'd probably be better considering an XT1, or an Olympus if you want small with quick AF and a bigger lens choice sooner rather than later.
 
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Looking through some of my previous pics most are with a telephoto lens. But that was part of the problem. There was many an occasion when I was going to places with brilliant landscape views and I didn't have the right lens or camera equipment at all purely because of the bulk and weight issue. I hope to address this by changing systems so I'll be looking at landscape lenses also when choosing which one.

Regards Gerard.
 
If you still intend to photograph birds I can't see you coming up with anything much lighter than the D7100 300f4 combo that you have, not if you want to keep the relative focal length. The Fuji xt1 isn't that much smaller and any future longer lens would be pretty much the same weight and size as an equivalent Nikkor
I can't see a M4/3 sensor coming anywhere near the D7100 for IQ, cropability etc
 
Lots of options for m4/3rds, it's already been mentioned but the new 40-150 Pro plus MC-14 will give you similar reach to your current 300 mm.
Image quality wise I wouldn't worry either, here's a shot taken with my E-M5, manual Tokina 300 f/2.8 and 1.4TC via and FD to m4/3rds adapter.


And here's another example, again with the E-M5 but this time with the Lumix 100-300 at 300mm.
 
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