SLR companion camera - Fuji X100S or G16

Diamond hell

Diamond hell

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We're off to Spain later this year, traveling by air, which means no 5D2 and lenses (BOO!) so this would be an opportunity to step up to a trick camera that's (not quite) pocketable.

So the sharp among you will be saying 'but the G16 and X100S are nothing like each other?!' well I know that, but one might challenge me a bit, the other is more likely to be something not only I can pick up and use, but also something Mrs Hell will be able to take pictures with and NOT instantly go 'where's the f*cking zoom on this?!'. They are clearly going to give different experiences and there are reasons to go for either.

So - to those who have experience with the X100S, especially if they run with a DSLR as well - what are your experiences?

Likewise, anyone with a G16 who uses it as a 'camera of convenience' - what are your experiences? I'm tempted to see if I can stretch to a G7X, having looked at the specs, BUT it's that RX100 form-factor, which I don't view as very intuitive, or pleasant to use (I've spent some time behind an RX100 and it just ring my bell, sorry Robin ;)). I quite like the Fuji X20, but as I've got access to one of those I'm thinking the G16 would bring something new/different to our family camera pool.

What would you do (ignore price issues - not relevant - not often you'll see me type that!!)?
 
i shoot with 2 5d mk 2s and have recently purchased an x100s, and will be taking it for a family holiday in a couple of weeks.

I use it for family, street, and weddings.

The reviews of this camera are abundant and all true. It really is quite a camera. There are also some negatives that people raise, one of them being the AF speed. This can be overcome slightly by technique. I have shot kids running on the beach with it quite easily.

I spent months reviewing it and glad i purchased it. Its image quality is incredible. For a 'general' walkabout camera its superb.
There is one other camera that you could consider and thats an olympus OMDEM5 and the 17mm lens. Gives 35mm equiv and has a super quick af.

havent tested them side by side though...

My last general camera was a G10 and although this was great the Fuji is in a different league as you would expect.
 
Don't think I'll get away with the OMD - too much like an SLR!

Don't think the G10 is a valid comparison - that's six years old!
 
Both Pentax and Nikon have a fixed lens aps-c compact similar to the x100. No built in viewfinder though. The Pentax gr is the cheaper of the two.
 
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Why can't you take your dslr travelling by air? I've taken mine on many trips, brought on board, hand luggage. Usually take the camera plus 2-3 lenses with spare batt and cards. Never had an issue.

I bought the X100s when it first came out, thought I'd make much more use of it, brought it to Turkey and on a couple of UK trips. I ended up using the dslr more, I just ... prefer it.

The X100s is great, don't get me wrong ... I just felt the dslr + a 35mm was better in every way. And felt I was only using the fuji besides because I had spent a wad on it. Sold it a few months later.
 
We're only taking hand luggage for 10 days, that's why!

Also I fancy trying something different.
 
I have the G12, a great little camera but the problem is when the lens cover closes dust and dirt can scratch the lens. This happened to me and seems a fairly common occurrence.
I have passed it on to my wife, as she loves the G12 in auto mode, and just ordered a Panasonic GX7 as my back up. G16 may not have the problem I had with my G12 but I thought I should share..hope his helps.
 
The X100s is something different. You get great IQ in a pocketable size. The big difference is (doh state the bleeding obvious) the fixed focal length. In a lot of ways it reminds me of being a kid with an instamatic. You just snap what you see rather than pondering about lenses and zooming. That's an over simplification you can still think about the shot and framing but it's a simpler process. the big downside will be if you usually shoot at a tele end more than a wide one.
 
Go for the x100 I've no experience with either but the Fuji excites me more, the canon compact is just another compact camera.

Nice to see you round these parts too ;)
 
Diamond hell said:
We're only taking hand luggage for 10 days, that's why!

Also I fancy trying something different.
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Why didn't you just say that then? because this

Diamond hell said:
We're off to Spain later this year, traveling by air, which means no 5D2 and lenses (BOO!)
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Sounds like you actually want to bring the dslr.

You also asked what were our experiences with the X100s, which is why I gave mine ... that's why! ... I bothered.
 
If it were me I'd go with the X100s but then I like working with the "limitations" of a fixed lens and want the best image quality. If you simply must have a zoom then there's no choice, but the G16 won't give you the quality of the Fuji.
 
Diamond hell said:
I'm tempted to see if I can stretch to a G7X, having looked at the specs, BUT it's that RX100 form-factor, which I don't view as very intuitive, or pleasant to use (I've spent some time behind an RX100 and it just ring my bell, sorry Robin ;)). I quite like the Fuji X20, but as I've got access to one of those I'm thinking the G16 would bring something new/different to our family camera pool.
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It seems to me, although I have no direct experience of either, that the Fuji X100S will offer very high quality images (does it shoot RAW?) but its lack of zoom severely limits what images you want to capture. Rather than a Canon G16 I would consider a Panasonic Lumix TZ60.

I think the main reason I haven't got on with the Sony RX100 II is that I so much more prefer my Canon DSLR! But all this demonstrates that camera choices are all down to personal and very tactile preferences.
 
This is what I'm concerned about.

Cagey75 said:
The X100s is great, don't get me wrong ... I just felt the dslr + a 35mm was better in every way. And felt I was only using the fuji besides because I had spent a wad on it. Sold it a few months later.
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magicolor1 said:
If it were me I'd go with the X100s but then I like working with the "limitations" of a fixed lens and want the best image quality. If you simply must have a zoom then there's no choice, but the G16 won't give you the quality of the Fuji.
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How much 'better' is the image quality of the Fuji vs the G16? At the moment I quite fancy these limitations - the whole thing of shooting what you see, but I'm nervous about getting there and being like the penguins in Madagascar, when they get to the Arctic 'well, this sucks'.

I'm in Southampton tomorrow - some time with the G16 and the X100S is a must!
 
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RedRobin said:
It seems to me, although I have no direct experience of either, that the Fuji X100S will offer very high quality images (does it shoot RAW?) but its lack of zoom severely limits what images you want to capture. Rather than a Canon G16 I would consider a Panasonic Lumix TZ60.
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Not feeling any love for the TZ60 - I'm not in this for a long zoom, but I am in it for stunning image quality....... but then a smaller camera for video would also be useful in due course - useful to cage-mount, if you know what I mean, Robin ;).

The X100S does shoot video, but it's relatively meh from the reviews. It does shoot raw and I think the fixed focal length is absolutely part of its charm - if a zoom was a priority it blatantly wouldn't be on the list.

T_J_G said:
Go for the x100 I've no experience with either but the Fuji excites me more, the canon compact is just another compact camera.

Nice to see you round these parts too ;)
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I see VW people....

I think dismissing the G16 as 'just another compact' is under-selling it..... but on sensor-size maybe you're right.

Wandering through other options, I think the Ricoh GR is too wide.... I need to look at 4/3s units before concluding, but the X100S is exciting.... can't wait for that chat with Mrs Hell about the missing zoom. :help:
 
The bottom line is, like with any car, get 'test drives' and you will immediately know which you prefer.
 
Have you considered the Canon G1X? Larger sensor than the G16 (larger than micro 4/3rds even), but with a zoom lens. On paper it looks good although I admit I've not tried one myself :D
 
magicolor1 said:
Have you considered the Canon G1X? Larger sensor than the G16 (larger than micro 4/3rds even), but with a zoom lens. On paper it looks good although I admit I've not tried one myself :D
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Looks interesting but I don't know if the sensor is larger than MFT by a significant amount. There's a review on DPR which gives a size comparison, they seem to praise image quality but other aspects such as focus speed seem to be less good.

They give it 76% and say "The G1 X is an excellent camera for some but not for everyone. The camera gives you great image quality and a versatile zoom range in a small package without the need to carry a stack of lenses. However, the sluggish AF, limited close-focusing capability, and lack of manual control in video mode will make some users look elsewhere."

Read all about it...
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canong1x

Personally, the more I read about the Panasonic LX100 the more I'm tempted. Not in the shops yet though and rather expensive, maybe.
 
No complaints with the x100s here. I use a couple of 5D3s for work, and the Fuji for most personal stuff (street, etc). Tiny enough to forget you have it over your shoulder, or in a jacket pocket, and doesn't get in the way like a DSLR does, if you stop in a cafe or restaurant for something to eat.

I'm planning to take just the Fuji to Europe next year, may possibly be tempted to get the TCL (gives you a 50mm equivalent field of view) for it as well, maybe not, we'll see.

Are you sure you can't just take your DSLR if you want to though? I always have in the past. One bag of carry-on luggage, plus one additional item - such as a handbag, laptop, or camera chucked over your shoulder.
 
Jayst84 said:
Are you sure you can't just take your DSLR if you want to though? I always have in the past. One bag of carry-on luggage, plus one additional item - such as a handbag, laptop, or camera chucked over your shoulder.
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TBH space will be a premium and it's also about doing something different, as well as not having a big camera!
 
woof woof said:
Looks interesting but I don't know if the sensor is larger than MFT by a significant amount. There's a review on DPR which gives a size comparison, they seem to praise image quality but other aspects such as focus speed seem to be less good.

They give it 76% and say "The G1 X is an excellent camera for some but not for everyone. The camera gives you great image quality and a versatile zoom range in a small package without the need to carry a stack of lenses. However, the sluggish AF, limited close-focusing capability, and lack of manual control in video mode will make some users look elsewhere."

Read all about it...
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canong1x

Personally, the more I read about the Panasonic LX100 the more I'm tempted. Not in the shops yet though and rather expensive, maybe.
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Theres a recently released mark2 on the market now, no experience of use, but I suppose it's improved over then mark1. It's a 1.5 sized sensor, so in theory you would expect good images. With the zoom and large sensor, maybe of more use to the OP than the X100s and also cheaper.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canon-powershot-g1-x-mark-ii
 
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Soooo many choices! We're lucky really to have these choices. Horses-for-Courses.
 
Swanseajack said:
Theres a recently released mark2 on the market now, no experience of use, but I suppose it's improved over then mark1. It's a 1.5 sized sensor, so in theory you would expect good images. With the zoom and large sensor, maybe of more use to the OP than the X100s and also cheaper.
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In the G16 review on the same site they say that the G1X MKII is quite laggy and the user experience wasn't very good. I agree the larger sensor should be better and make it more of an X100S competitor. I'm also put off by the tilt-and-break-off rear screen. G1X is a more interesting proposition, although the form-factor's not as nice as the other G-series cameras - much like that of the Sony RX100s, which is a bit small for my plates of meat.
 
To John Lewis at lunchtime it was then! (and IKEA, but the less said about that, the better).

So, handily this was easy to create:





Look at the girth on that G1X II! That is DEFINITELY out of the window - way too big.

G16 - I do like this, but the viewfinder is utterly pointless and that was annoying - doesn't react to focusing at all.

However the X100S is quite a thing. Because I've used an X20 a bit I was already reasonably comfortable with the user experience. That view-finder is lurvely to use. It's wide... but then I was expecting that. Just reviewing the images on the back they were beautifully sharp. Leaning towards it some more....
 
Reminds me of a discussion I had with an Italian gent in the '70s about cars.

He accepted that Ferraris were unreliable and very expensive to maintain, but insisted they were the best cars ever made.

Why? - "Just look at it."

Just look at the X100s.

I have one and I love it.
 
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Bugger... you could try playing dumb and tell them it was incorrectly advertised so they have to sell it you at that price. :D

There may be a few on the market once the x100t starts appearing. Or keep an eye out in your local Currys as they may have them on sale cheap to make space for the newer model. I got my x20 for £200. :D
 
Diamond hell said:
Am I missing something there - X100S isn't on that page of offers?

I swapped the two cameras on the end around to facilitate the comparison picture. ;)
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As you swapped the cameras around, the X100s is in the Xpro-1 slot for the display in picture 1. The Xpro-1, currently has a £100 cashback offer with Fuji. ;)
 
I crumpled and went for the G16, not only because of the price difference (£379 from John Lewis online vs £869 for the X100S or +£550 secondhand) but also because I was concerned about how wide the X100S's lens was for holiday shooting. Not sure I'm quite ready for a challenge that big.

By 'challenge that big' I mean the challenge of dealing with the wife over a camera with a wide prime lens. :rolleyes:
 
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