Which fixed lens compact?

philxthomas

philxthomas

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Hello. Long story short, I have had many different DSLR body and lens setups and have found that all I ever use is a 50mm equivalent prime lens. I travel a lot too so I'm not a fan of carrying around a big DSLR.

I'm strongly leaning towards a Fuji X-E1 with the 35mm 1.4 but feel its a bit expensive for such a simple setup. Just wondering if anyone has any other advice? An X100 would be great if it used a 35mm lens.
 
The x100/x100s does use a 35mm lens, but its a true 35mm with the crop factor taken into account rather than added.

Believe it or not its hard to get a fixed lens compact with anything other than a wide angle lens these days.

The option your looking at is probably the best option and its worth checking out the fuji shop to see if they have a refurbs available for both the body & the lens.

The lens is amazing, its really up there with the Leica's for build quality, sharpness, lack of distortions & iQ.

Just checked the refurbs for you.. they have both the body (£529.99) and the 35mm (£379.99) available, The lens even comes with a protection filter worth £69.99 for free, all have a full 12 months warranty, just as if new and I've never had an issue with either bodies or lenses from the refurb shop.
 
No, I believe it!

Thanks for the reply! Have had a look in the refurb shop. Still a lot of money and I'm not sure I can justify that much on a camera anymore, though I did have a play with it in the shop this weekend and it was kind of amazing.

I may look into the x100 a bit more.
 
Sigma DP3 Merrill is a 50mm equivalent focal length, and the sensor is simply amazing. I have a DP2 Merrill which easily outclasses the Fuji X100 for pixel-peeping quality, although the Fuji is far nicer to use!
 
Yeah was looking at the Sigmas, had an old DP1 too but couldn't get on with it as it was so awful to use, amazing images though! I hear the newer ones are much better.
 
Yes I have an original DP1 as well, but the new Merrills are much better to use and much more responsive. Lack of built-in viewfinder is the main drawback as far as I'm concerned, and the Fuji X100 has arguably the best one of those, but the images out of the Sigma are simply amazing.
 
I've got an X100 and love it but I'm considering buying an X-E1 as well for the more flexible focal length. I would say they are well worth the money.

But why not consider a small APS-C DSLR with 35mm fixed lens like a Nikon D3200 with 35mm f/1.8. That would be a cheap option and get good results... But I'd pay more for the X-E1 or use the 35mm equivalent of the X100 if it was me :-)
 
Ended up buying an X100. So far, absolutely love it. I may miss the longer focal length but we'll see!

Thanks for the advice!
 
If you do miss the longer focal length then take a look at the Sony RX1. It's still only a 35mm but it's a real 35mm rather than a 35mm equivalent, so it's much easier to lose backgrounds when required.

I doubt that you really will miss it though. I have the X100s and it really is a superb little camera.
 
Congratulations on your X100 purchase. I have just upgraded to the X100s and both of them are fantastic cameras capable of stunning results. There are a couple of very good books available which bolster the rather spartan instruction manual;

The Photographer's Guide To The Fujifilm Finepix X100 by Alexander S White

Mastering the X100 by Michael Diehtierow.

Both are available in print and as electronic copies on Amazon and are very useful.
 
atrendall said:
Congratulations on your X100 purchase. I have just upgraded to the X100s and both of them are fantastic cameras capable of stunning results. There are a couple of very good books available which bolster the rather spartan instruction manual;

The Photographer's Guide To The Fujifilm Finepix X100 by Alexander S White

Mastering the X100 by Michael Diehtierow.

Both are available in print and as electronic copies on Amazon and are very useful.
Click to expand...

Can I ask your opinion on the X100s compared to the X100. Is it much better and worth the extra money?
 
The X100 is on my radar as an addition to my X-E1, thinking of getting an X100 and selling the 18-55 zoom. I could then leave the 35mm on the X-E1 all the time and have the X100 with the 23mm, I'd only have to swap lenses when I wanted to use the 60 macro...

An update on how you get on with it would be great.
 
Well, I have only had it 2 days now but I am really enjoying it. Its really easy to use and the image quality is good enough. I just wanna shoot with it all the time, and it's light enough that I can always carry it with me which is the main reason I got it.

As for the focal length, I did want a 50mm equivalent which is why I was leaning towards the X-E1 and the 35mm but I think in reality it may have been a bit too tight. I can always take a step closer with the X100.
 
For me, the main improvements of the X100s over the X100 are to do with "usability" ie the ability to move the focus point using just one finger rather than holding a button in and pressing another at the same time. Not sure yet about the split image for manual focus but love the focus peaking which makes MF very usable. The AF is definitely improved but still nowhere near DSLR standards especially in poorer light. The extra megapixels do provide more detail or allow for cropping. Also like the Q button which provides instant access to lots of settings without scrolling through the menu. Still need to buy a bunch of spare batteries.

If I was stuck on a desert island and could only have one camera I would be tempted to choose the X100s, not only because of it's image taking qualities but it's whole design and feel which just makes picture taking a joy.

Hope this helps.
 
Another option would have been a m4/3 camera with a prime lens - either the 17/f1.8, 20/f1.7 or 25/f1.4 would have done the job. A GF3/5 plus the 20mm would be pretty tiny!
 
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