Decision time - XE-2 or E-M1

dd1989

dd1989

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I can get a Fuji XE-2 with the 18-55mm f/2.8-4 lens for £629 on Fujifilm Refurbished with a one year warranty.

Or I can find an E-M1 online somewhere and get a 45mm 1.8 which I like.

I've an a few Olympus dSLRs, a D300 and now my X100.

I love the Fuji body, it's solid and I like the images it products, however online I have seen some issues with the X-Trans sensor in the new Fujis producing "watercolour" and weird colours in some situations esp landscapes.

I am also concerned as I have never really use Zoom lenses before as I have always preferred a fast prime, however the availability of cheap but good quality X Lenses is limited, whereas there's loads of m.43 primes for as little as £200.

I've come to love the clean files that come with the X100 - I bump the ISO up and don't even think about it, any noise that does creep in is so easy to fix in Lightroom.

I loved my Olympus cameras before - solid, well made, lots of nifty features, very accurate and fast AF - but I always felt like the files weren't giving me 100% compared to some of the other cameras - how much has the 43 sensor size improved since the days of the E-510/E-3?

I have also looked at the E-M10 and the E-M5 but they seem to have a mishmash of features and both are missing things that the other has annoyingly.


Can anyone offer some wisdom?
 
I never had any problems with the X-Trans sensor,and don't believe everything you read on the internet,look up any camera and somebody will have a problem with it :)
 
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EM1 + 45mm = just under 1k
XE2 + 18-55mm = 630

BIG price difference right there.

Availability of Fuji primes an issue, whats missing? 12 (CZ), 14, 16 (coming), 18, 23, 27, 32 (CZ), 35, 50 (CZ), 56, 60, 90 (coming). Compare prices directly with M43 top end lenses then look at the price differences.

The M43 sensor is way better since the last time you used it. The EM10 is better than the EM5.
 
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dd1989 said:
I loved my Olympus cameras before - solid, well made, lots of nifty features, very accurate and fast AF - but I always felt like the files weren't giving me 100% compared to some of the other cameras - how much has the 43 sensor size improved since the days of the E-510/E-3?

I have also looked at the E-M10 and the E-M5 but they seem to have a mishmash of features and both are missing things that the other has annoyingly.

Can anyone offer some wisdom?
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I don't often use primes either and for MFT apart from seldom used zooms I have 20mm f1.7, 25 and 45mm f1.8 and often also use a Sigma 50mm macro lens via an adapter.

I never owned a Four Thirds camera but currently own a Panasonic G1 which is a first generation MFT camera and IMVHO is excellent at low to mid ISO settings and may offer something similar IQ wise to a Four Thirds camera? I don't know and I'm just guessing as they were about at similar times. I also own a GX7 which is a current camera and maybe just a hair behind the very latest Olympus MFT bodied image quality wise.

For me the GX7 improves on the G1 at mid to higher ISO's and I don't have any hesitation in setting the ISO to auto and just letting it get on with it. ISO 1600 and even 3200 seem perfectly useable to me and I'd expect the recent Olympus MFT offerings to be as good or better. I wouldn't worry about image quality and instead just buy of features. One of the things that attracted me to the GX7 was the ability to shot at shutter speeds up to 1/8000 which comes in handy when shooting with wide apertures in good light.
 
If you buy a XE2 body for around £350, you will have £650 left for buying primes vs buying an EM1 and a 45mm.

18mm - £180
27mm - £200
35mm - £250

There you go, an XE2 and 3 primes for a K.
 
How is the AF on the XE-2? The AF with newest firmware on my X100 is a bit slow, and hunts at times.
 
simonblue said:
I never had any problems with the X-Trans sensor,and don't believe everything you read on the internet,look up any camera and somebody will have a problem with it :)
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It was some images a guy uploaded that he had run through LR 5.3 - was an image of the golden gate bridge, the red cables of the bridge were orange and see through.
 
Right - Fujifilm haven't had the XE-2 body only in for ages so I am would probably go ahead and buy the kit with the zoom lens - from reading it's a good lens and I could easily stick on classifieds if need be :)

Still part of me thinking "what if" though with the really fast Olympus AF and other features.
 
dd1989 said:
Right - Fujifilm haven't had the XE-2 body only in for ages so I am would probably go ahead and buy the kit with the zoom lens - from reading it's a good lens and I could easily stick on classifieds if need be :)

Still part of me thinking "what if" though with the really fast Olympus AF and other features.
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The 18-55 is very good for a zoom, you should get around 250-260 for it making it the same price as the body only. Go to a shop and take an SD? What other features, besides AF and IBIS stick out for you?
 
Bigger body - I have big hands, not sure if a grip would do much good on the XE...?
Stabilised shots no matter what lens I use.
The option to convert to all sorts of old manual focus lenses - I used to use old OM Zuiko lenses on my E-510 which was nice - can you get third party adaptors for X mount?
More rugged body.
Much larger EVF.
Cheaper m43 primes.
Easier workflow - I don't really want to have to introduce another piece of software in to a RAW workflow to stop images looking shat in LR.
 
dd1989 said:
Bigger body - I have big hands, not sure if a grip would do much good on the XE...?
Stabilised shots no matter what lens I use.
The option to convert to all sorts of old manual focus lenses - I used to use old OM Zuiko lenses on my E-510 which was nice - can you get third party adaptors for X mount?
More rugged body.
Much larger EVF.
Cheaper m43 primes.
Easier workflow - I don't really want to have to introduce another piece of software in to a RAW workflow to stop images looking shat in LR.
Click to expand...

The grip helps a lot on the XE1 so would do the same for the XE2
IBIS is nice
All sorts of adapters available
Cheaper M43 primes is debatable
Fuji has shallower DOF if you're into that
Fuji has better hi ISO performance
Have a chat with Adobe and get it sorted, I don't take photos of grass or landscapes so it doesnt really effect me

Both are great cameras but don't compare a £800 body to a £360 body, compare the X-T1 to the E-M1 if you want to do that.
 
You can get the £200 even if you just buy the body and a standalone XF lens.
 
Either way works pretty well, only around £70 difference. Depends on if you prefer new new.
 
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I suggest you handle both and see which you feel more comfortable with.
I've had an X-E1, lovely camera but my gear is now based around E-M5 and E-M1 bodies.
 
This would be a huge departure from the cameras listed but I've been considering going back to a dslr and the Pentax k-3 has caught my eye with its weathersealed body and Sony made high ISO 24mp sensor...
 
Just won a 6 month old Calumet UK purchased XE-2 in black with the 18-55 f2.8-4 kit lens for £600 inc postage.
 
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