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Fuji X Pro 1 or Olympus EM-5? Which one would you get and why?

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Don't mean to be snarky, but as you're posting this in the Micro Four Thirds Forum, you can expect to hear a lot of comments in favor of the OM-D.

That being said, I have placed a pre-order for the OM-D, rather than the X-Pro 1, (which I considered) for a few reasons.
  • Cost. The body and one lens for the X-Pro 1 costs about US$2,300. For that price, one can buy an OM-D, the Panny 25, the Olympus 45, and the Panny 14. A complete prime setup.
  • Autofocus. I have an E-P1, and while I love it, I look forward to having blazing-fast autofocus. From reports I've seen the AF on the Fuji is useable, but I'm at the point where I don't want useable. I want FAST.
  • Lens selection. Fuji has three lenses. m4/3 has 10x that.
  • The x100. The X100 was plagued with so many problems. Stupid problems. Sticking shutters, and the like. I've not heard of such myriad problems with Olympus gear.
  • No parallax error.
  • Live bulb mode. No other camera has this, to my knowledge.
  • In-body stabilization. This is great for legacy glass.
The IQ may be marginally better for the Fuji, but is it really worth all the tradeoffs?
 
I considered the X Pro 1 long and hard but decided on the E-M5 for several reasons:
  • I already have a collection of m4/3 lenses.
  • The entry price for the X Pro 1 (with the 35mm f/1.4) is more than double the E-M5 body.
  • The screen (and EVF) of the X Pro 1 freezes while the camera is auto-focusing.
  • The X Pro 1 has significant shutter lag when the buffer is not empty.
--
http://www.pbase.com/dot_borg
 
If I had the money, I would get the X-Pro 1. The sample photos I have seen do some things extremely well, and I would love to experiment with that system.

I would like to see the samples from both, when they get put up at DPR and other review sites, just out of curiosity, to compare them....

-J
 
Uncle Albert said:
  • The x100. The X100 was plagued with so many problems. Stupid problems. Sticking shutters, and the like. I've not heard of such myriad problems with Olympus gear.
Click to expand...
No offense, but this sounds like someone who has never actually used an X100. And while I don't want to stop you from repeating whatever rumors you want to, you should know that most people who have the X100 haven't had any problems with it. Certainly some vocal minority has, but the high reviews it has gotten all over the internet are well deserved.

--
http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelthek/
 
Michael Kaufman said:
Uncle Albert said:
  • The x100. The X100 was plagued with so many problems. Stupid problems. Sticking shutters, and the like. I've not heard of such myriad problems with Olympus gear.
Click to expand...
No offense, but this sounds like someone who has never actually used an X100. And while I don't want to stop you from repeating whatever rumors you want to, you should know that most people who have the X100 haven't had any problems with it. Certainly some vocal minority has, but the high reviews it has gotten all over the internet are well deserved.

--
http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelthek/
Click to expand...
It gets good reviews because it takes pictures with great IQ, there's no debating that, however it does have many stupid problems, very much a love/hate relationship.

I was all set with the new X-Pro1, it has literally everything I wanted, I was drooling, I assumed incorrectly they had fixed the AF or at least MF, this is a complete killer blow for me, I come from an E-P2 and want faster AF now, when the specs of the EM5 came out it more than satisfied me, plus I have m43 lens already. I think the EM5 does much more then the X-Pro1, in ultimate IQ however the Fuji will no doubt win, I don't think anyone looking at a print will know.
 
I'm definitely excited about the xpro1. I had originally returned my E-P3 since I had heard that the E-M5 was coming out soon. But after viewing my pictures with the E-P3 and my D7000, I just wasn't satisfied with the E-P3. It's not that the E-P3 produced crap or anything. I just love the shallow DOF. Obviously it's not the camera that makes the photographer but after trying out the X100, the Xpro1 just seems to be on a different level than the E-M5.

I think the E-M5 is improving on an already great camera (E-P3). It's just that this digital "rangefinder" concept is so intriguing and definitely a whole lot of fun to shoot with. It makes you rethink what you want to do with your shot and is extremely rewarding when you get it. I mean that's why people are willing to pay car prices on leica products. If you were to compare the features of a leica to the E-M5, I would say the E-M5 wins. But that's not always what you're paying for when it comes to photography. To me, a lot of it is how much joy the camera can bring to you and your personal preference on how you shoot.
 
Hi,

as a x100 (and Canon FF) user, and I love the x100, I would instantly buy the OM. From my point of view it's the better concept and more versatile.

BG
Daniel
 
These points would drive me insane. It's like 10-12 years ago all over again.
dotborg said:
  • The screen (and EVF) of the X Pro 1 freezes while the camera is auto-focusing.
  • The X Pro 1 has significant shutter lag when the buffer is not empty.
Click to expand...
--
Completely infatuated with the "OMG"
 
Sorry, if it isn't sealed body (especially at Fuji price!) and offer sealed lenses then it wont survive the sand or splashes when I take it to the beach or standing in the rain during soccer games.

Besides that, the Fuji is bigger, slower in every operational aspect and more expensive than the E-M5.

I'm sure the Fuji will be a nice camera for fair weather shooters who shoot static subjects, but the E-M5 creams it in every aspect that's important to me.

--
Shoot the Light fantastic
 
The sticky aperture blade was one of the reasons that turned me away from the X100, plus the slow AF. I didn't want to risk the hassle of sending it in to Fuji and getting camera back which might still have the problem. It is a problem and Fuji knows it. I was going to buy the camera but when I tried it at the store, it just wasn't for me. I could not live with the slow AF and it doesn't feel that comfortable to hold for me.

That said, from the reviews I've seen, the Xpro1 still has a slow AF system. Well not slow, just not blazing fast as the E-P3 that I had before. If people can live with the slightly sluggish AF and don't need fast AF for their type of shooting, then it's a great camera for them indeed. Fuji image quality is excellent.
Michael Kaufman said:
Uncle Albert said:
  • The x100. The X100 was plagued with so many problems. Stupid problems. Sticking shutters, and the like. I've not heard of such myriad problems with Olympus gear.
Click to expand...
No offense, but this sounds like someone who has never actually used an X100. And while I don't want to stop you from repeating whatever rumors you want to, you should know that most people who have the X100 haven't had any problems with it. Certainly some vocal minority has, but the high reviews it has gotten all over the internet are well deserved.

--
http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelthek/
Click to expand...
 
I enjoy camera gear, and definitely not fixated on any particular brand. So this is a good question, since I just put my pre-order and pre-payment in today.

While I have the X100 and its a great camera, I do own the E-P3 & clip on EVF with a few lenses, so I'm not itching to dump my 4/3s system or to add another.

The main thing that was bugging me about the E-P3 appears to be solved in the EM-5. Better low light capabilities & a built-in EVF.

While an APS-C sensor is going to fair better than the 4/3s in terms of picture quality and bokeh, I've seen dPreviews high ISO shots using the OMD and to me I think I'll be satisfied with that. I also don't print many large pictures so having an APS-C sized sensor is not an advantage over the 4/3s to me. Also I do prefer the portability of the 4/3's cameras over the larger APS-C models.

If you enjoy the rangerfinder "type" VF, and don't have 4/3's then the choice is rather simple to me, Fuji definitely is an excellent choice. A wider selection of lenses is on the drawing board, just requires a bit of patience.

However, for myself with 4/3's lenses already the "itch" to add to my existing Ricoh GXR and X100, both of which cover similar fl as the Fuji X Pro-1, was just not "itchy" enough.

I pre-ordered and paid for the the OMD kit package (black body & lens) just 2 hours ago.

--
Best,
Rob
------------------------------------
M9 X100 GXR E-P3 DP2
 
Designed for photographers, with each parameter assigned a button, and excellent DR.

I won't, because it has no lenses to speak of yet, the roadmap doesn't show the lens I need, and I don't trust Fuji not to have messed up in some way.

I'd like to buy the OM-D because it is nicely designed, has high shooting speeds, and good controls (although not as good as the Fuji), and a wide range of lenses (which I already own). I'm slightly dubious because I am worried it might have a cheap sensor biased to high ISO ability at the expense of low ISO DR.

If that's the case I'll buy a D800, which is a lovely camera but, with lenses, fun-spoilingly heavy (maybe get the E-M5 as well ).
LuckysPen said:
As the title says, which of the 2 new cameras will you buy and why?
Click to expand...
--
http://www.flickr.com/photos/acam
http://thegentlemansnapper.blogspot.com
 
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