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10-02-2014, 02:09 PM - 1 Like   #76
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I'm in the process of going the other way. I've just sold a bunch of Fuji stuff and bought a DSLR.

What I like(d) about the Fuji X:
  • The cameras sure are purdy
  • The output is really very fine. Three years on low light performance is still class leading (regardless of whether Fuji overstate ISO; see below), suppressing unsightly noise (i.e. chroma) while retaining detail well. The luminance noise characteristic, of which there is some, is not displeasing. The JPEG engine is hard to beat even when you develop your own raw files
  • Some of the X-system lenses are very nice indeed
  • Best auto-white balance in the business
  • Regular firmware updates that added useful functionality rather than just fixing software bugs
Neutral:
  • X-Trans. No idea whether the pleasing output is the result of the sensor or special sauce applied by the engineers. Looking at the A1 over on Imaging Resource, it looks as though the Bayer sensor produces output at least as good as the X-Trans. I refuse to get caught up in the "smeared foliage" / "waxy skin tones" / whatever-the-perceived-shortcoming controversies. Can't say I've noticed anything wrong myself. Also provoking an issue then whingeing about it is the height of folly: "Doctor, it really hurts when I do this"
  • Overstated ISO performance. It's a number. If, for whatever reason, the X-Trans sensor needs that number to be higher for the same exposure than competing brand A, so be it. Whether it's ISO 6400 as measured by Fuji or ISO 5000 as measured by some other brand, the high ISO performance is still good.
  • EVF vs. OVF. Swings and roundabouts. The view through a (decent sized) OVF is more pleasant. The view through a (decent) EVF is more informative. EVFs are still getting better, OVFs not so much.
Dislike(d):
  • The controls. Seriously. Aperture rings in 2014? They're just rotary electronic switches anyway and slightly less ergonomic than a dial built into the body. And distinctly variable in how loose they are. The ring on the 14mm would turn in a slight breeze. OK, that's exaggerating, but it was very liable to accidental adjustment.
  • Shutter speed dial. You've got to use the directional buttons to adjust speed from whole stop intervals. When do you actually want to do that? X-sync speed for one along with any speed slower than half a second. You might as well have a dedicated thumb / finger dial like any other non-faux-retro camera and be done with it. Plus mounting anything on the hotshoe obscures it
  • Do you like exposure compensation? I mean really like exposure compensation. I hope so, because you'll be using it a lot whether you mean to or not. The exposure compensation dial turns too easily. Yes, you're generally only a third to two thirds of a stop away from metered exposure for the most part, but it is irksome. Again, a modal thumb / finger dial to apply EC like any other non-faux-retro camera is just plain better. I've taken to using manual because that way the exposure compensation dial does nothing
  • Crappy screen (I have an X-E1). A 460K screen felt like cheese paring when I bought the camera (and it wasn't exactly cheap) and I'm still annoyed. The lower end M1/A1 bodies have much better screens. And better control schemes
  • (Still) no decent flash. I had the EF-X20. Sure, it looked cute (and obscured the shutter speed dial) but it was, in truth, a dreadful piece of kit. I don't think I ever got a pleasing exposure using it. Before anyone points out that I should be using off-camera manual flash, strobist-style: no; most of us do not have the luxury of a studio environment to indulge our inner strobist. You're indoors, it's a bit dark, you want a bit of flash, you don't want it to look too crappy. Fail. On hindsight, I really missed P-TTL!
  • Filter size: all over the place. Thirteen lenses (so far), five thread sizes from 39mm to 72mm. Next two lenses will introduce two new thread sizes (67mm and 77mm). I spent a few bob on neutral density / polarizing filters (my full size Lee filters were not a good match) then a few bob more on step-up / step-down rings. Dinking around with step-up/down rings to use a CPL is, again, irksome. The silly thing is the 55-200, for example, would have worked just fine with a 58mm thread. I have Canon close up lenses (they are big filters) and they cause no vignetting.
  • Depreciation. To be expected, but it's been particularly painful with the X-E1. These days, the residual value is so low that you're pretty much getting a free X-E1 camera with the 18-55 on eBay. Not quite as bad as with MFT but still bad. Today's £900 X-T1 is next year's £400 X-T1 on eBay. That pushes up the TCO.
  • Focus-by-wire. Simply horrid. No idea whether Fuji's implementation is worse than other manufacturers but it's appalling
  • Some lenses really aren't nice at all
So what made me come round to the idea of getting another DSLR after getting rid of my Pentax gear a while back?

Telephoto. If you've read the phrase "mirrorless advantage", here's the thing: it's only true for short focal lengths. I plonked down £585 for the 55-200mm F3.5-4.8 and found that it was really not good: big, ugly, unwieldy. The mirrorless advantage suddenly became a disadvantage. Something like a 60D (or even more so the 100D) with a plastic fantastic 55-250mm would have similar weight, better handling. And while I don't normally whinge about slow autofocus (who cares whether it's a third or half a second?) this lens took the biscuit. I do care when it's a second-and-a-half. I wanted a telezoom in my life but not that telezoom.

Macro. I like macro photography as much as the next nerd and really missed a 1:1 lens. During the honeymoon period, I was prepared to overlook the inadequacies of the Fuji 60mm (1:2) but on reflection it was a bit of a dog. Except I love my dog. Just by the way, that's how come I've got Canon close-up lenses: the 250D brings the magnification of the Fuji 60mm up to 0.8. Unfortunately, the pain-in-the-rear (and completely ridiculous) 39mm thread and dreadful focus-by-wire made this a double-plus ungood combination. Sure, there's the Zeiss 50 but it's still focus-by-wire with no magnification scale and more expensive than the Canon 100mm L, a strong candidate for world's most desirable macro lens. Sod that!

Flash. I think I may have mentioned this already. Just to reiterate, Fuji's flash system doesn't merit the word "system". Their top model is a rebadged (and expensive) Sunpak. Doesn't even begin to compare to Nikon or Canon (or Pentax for that matter).

Fuji 56mm F1.2. Never bought this (or been tempted). That F1.2 is a lovely number but let's face it, the use case is not available light photography since that is well covered by the 35mm F1.4. But it does lead to an interesting piece of arithmetic that's worth considering:
Fuji X-T1 + 56mm F1.2 > Canon 6D / Nikon D610 + 85mm F1.8

I won't use the F-word but when you're aiming this high suddenly the impossible dream is distinctly within reach. And before invoking the mirrorless advantage note that the Canon 6D + 85mm F1.8 is actually reasonably compact. Which leads to another comparison worth considering given that Fuji are just about to release an F2.8 telezoom:
X-T1 + 50-140mm F2.8 ≈ K-3 + 50-135mm F2.8 ≈ 6D + 70-200mm F4

And the DSLRs are going to handle a lot better than the mirrorless.

I was (sorely) tempted by the A7 (not so much the A7r) since that Zeiss 55mm is schweet. But then I saw the FE 70-200mm F4 and thought: I don't want that telezoom in my life either. Mirrorless camera + 1kg lens = lousy combination.

I was also contemplating a K-3 since the K-5 was superb. But:
K-3 + 16-50mm F2.8 ≈ 6D + 24-105mm F4

The body is rather more expensive but the lens costs rather less. And no SDM roulette either. So...

I'm not saying don't go Fuji. I'm just giving you the reflections of someone who has and has gone back. The faux-retro controls are more irksome than ergonomic. Olympus do the modern retro thing a lot better since they retain a modern control scheme. "You can see what your settings are at a glance". So? You can see the same the moment you switch on any other interchangeable lens camera. And because of that silly exposure compensation dial, you'd better get very used to checking your camera settings too!

I'm keeping my X-E1. It's not worth selling and it's a lot more compact than its replacement when paired with a short lens. The 18-55 is still lovely. As is the 35mm F1.4. And the 18mm F2 is kinda cute too.

10-02-2014, 02:23 PM   #77
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QuoteOriginally posted by top-quark Quote
Fuji X-T1 + 56mm F1.2 > Canon 6D / Nikon D610 + 85mm F1.8
Not in my experience. The two are the same in light gathering ability, and 85mm's with moderate apertures are usually a bit sharper and better rendering than large aperture 50-58's.
10-02-2014, 02:37 PM   #78
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QuoteOriginally posted by ElJamoquio Quote
Not in my experience. The two are the same in light gathering ability, and 85mm's with moderate apertures are usually a bit sharper and better rendering than large aperture 50-58's.
I meant cost. £900 body + £800 lens. The APS-C combination is a lot more expensive than the functionally equivalent f-word setup.

And the second comparison is weight. Weight does not seem to have been an engineering consideration for the Fuji guys for that 50-140. Which means that the camera/lens combo is pretty much gram-for-gram the same weight as a functionally equivalent, not-so-front-heavy DSLR setup.

Last edited by top-quark; 10-02-2014 at 02:42 PM.
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