new XA2: what good is a selfie screen with no touchscreen.

William Ing wrote:

Mirfak wrote:

Tommy TJ wrote:

The addition of a touch screen might be of use, but even with that (and the selfie screen) I can't help but think Fuji have really been quite lazy with this update a number of areas where they could and should have improved their entry model and they have failed to address the obvious points.

Agreed. There are many operational flaws, most of which were fixed on the X30, a P&S camera with a much smaller sensor. The "despised" Canon EOS M is much better operationally.

I can understand your enthusiasm for the EOS M's touchscreen capability, but seriously--"much better operationally" than the A1?

I have both the M and the A1. I love shooting with my A1. With the addition of a relatively inexpensive Clearviewer, I have a platform that gives me the benefits of stable eye level shooting with peak focusing (certainly a huge aid for focusing and composing with MF legacy telephotos) and flip screen capability, all in a smaller, lighter body than any other interchangeable lens X camera.

The Canon EOS M, conversely, I acquired at fire sale prices in order to gain a mirrorless body that would accommodate my existing stable of EF and EF-S lenses. I consider it a tool that conveniently bridges all three of Canon's current interchangeable lens mounts, but in seriously compromised (some would say intentionally crippled) fashion. Sure, you get touchscreen capability (which, btw, doesn't allow you the option of total inactivation), but no peak focusing (without having to resort to Magic Lantern), no flip screen, and 10X focusing aid magnification that, incredibly, requires no less than FOUR separate pushes with your right thumb to activate and then cancel prior to shutter release.

I too purchased the Canon EOS M at a fire-sale price. AF is slower than the X-A1, but I didn't purchase it for moving subjects. And I'll admit that the X-A1 do have a few operational advantages over the M. But there are things on the X-A1 that drive my crazy, plus there are things I prefer on the M:

1) Face detection is exclusive of other focusing modes - if it fails to detect a face -tough. The M simply defaults to standard single-mode AF if it can't detect a face. Thank you Canon. (Fixed in the X30)

2) The touchscreen on the M is infinitely faster than the cumbersome button operation on the X-A1 for focus point selection and for quickly setting other functions.

3) The M has a convenient AF+MF mode. (Fixed in the X30)

4) The M has a My Menu option to store frequently used functions. I don't have to dig through the menu labyrinth as much as I have to do on the X-A1.

5) Video on the X-A1 is a checkbox feature with next to zero control. The apathy for video is further underscored by the all of 2 pages it gets in the user manual. On the M, there are 20 pages on video shooting in the user manual. Actually, at 350 pages, the EOS M manual is far more detailed than X-A1 manual, which tops out at 130 pages.

6) In case you weren't aware, focus peaking and magnification are important in video, but on the X-A1, there features are available only for shooting stills! What a joke.

7) The macro button is useless for AF, and for manual focus, it's non-operational. In manual focus mode, Fuji could have easily set this button to Instant AF...if somebody was thinking.

8) Exposure compensation on the M is wider than on the X-A1 (+-3ev vs. +-2ev).

9) Many scene modes offers some flexibility on the M. You can shoot in RAW, RAW+JPEG, or JPEG. You can change the picture style, and apply a creative filter.

The worst part is that the X-A2 fixes none of the above-mentioned operational issues, save for re-purposing the macro button.

I had no expectations for the Canon EOS M. I knew that it was fairly slow to focus (but like the X-A1, it locks focus well). I swore that I wouldn't buy and interchangeable lens camera without a mode dial, but it hasn't been a problem. When I purchased the camera, the goal was to have some cheaply acquired lenses (18-55mm, 22mm, and 11-22mm) that I would use on the EOS M3 (if it ever appears) and quietly dump the M body. However, I can more than live with the body for now. Magic Lantern sweetens the deal by adding some additional useful operations to the M. I agree that the  live view magnification on the M is poorly implemented.