Fuji XE-2 versus Olympus OM-D E-M1

This week I had an enquiry from a photographer considering moving from a Canon DSLR  to a lightweight mirror-less camera. She referred to it as a downgrade but there are some who would say it is as an upgrade.

The shift to high-end compacts has been surging for the last 18 months.  High end compacts are capable of producing images equal to or better than many DSLRs. More photographers are taking advantage of the physical advantages afforded by smaller, lighter cameras with superb optics, especially for travel and street photography.

'I am looking at an Olympus OM-D E-M1 or the Fuji X-E2' my enquirer wrote.

My reply: 'The Olympus is a neat little package. One of my pro colleagues owns one and loves it. It also shoot very rapidly. Its not on my recommended list, mainly because of the sensor size.

Pic 1: Fujifilm XE-1 18-55 lens 1/4000 @ f4 250ISO 37mm

In brief, the Olympus weighs almost twice as much as the X-E2 but its sensor is little more than half the size of the Fuji. That just doesn't make sense.  Olympus  hasn't worked out the fundamentals as well as Fuji. I'm not saying the Olympus is a bad camera. Its not. But if image quality and weight are two important issues Fuji is clearly in front.'

My enquirer wrote back asking what lens I'd recommend for the Fuji XE-2.

Pic 2: Crop approx 5% of original image

'I think the Fuji 18-55 is a great all round travel lens affording you wide angle through to short telephoto. Its very sharp.

I have the XE-1 and thats the lens I use. If you want to be very clever you can buy an adapter further down the track and fit the Fuji with Leica lenses. The lens comes with a lens hood. The only extras you should consider is a a UV filter (Hoya)  and a camera case (Lowepro).  The XE-2 is lightweight with beautiful balance in your hand and good ergonomics so it should be a pleasure to use.'

oOo

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