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Sony A7II or Fujifilm XT1

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Kenchi jkt

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Hi all, I am in the midst of deciding between XT1 and A7II. I am not a professional photographer.
I usually use my camera for family trip and personal event coverage

I have played around with A7 and XT1. I like both of them.

While I realize A7 is a full frame camera, the difference in price is quite significant. Here in Indonesia, for 200 USD less, I could get XT1 kit, which comes with 18-55 mm f2.8 - 4.

Any comments/suggestion is highly appreciated :-)

thanks
 
If I were in your situation, I’d take the Fujifilm. I have both X-Pro1 and X-t1 with four (prime) lenses. There’s so very much to like about them and the rest of the Fujifilm gear. Especially the X-T1 is great, since I love dedicated dials and less digging in menus. And I like lenses with aperture rings (most Fujifilm lenses have these).

The Sony system doesn’t yet offer enough lenses (in my view). The Fujifilm roadmap is great, with the omission of a true macro lens. All Sony photographers I know seem to use adapters to mount foreign lenses! While okay, these combinations are not ideal. I fear that Sony aren’t concentrating enough on one lens mount – after all, they have three! Too many!

It’s not only image quality which counts but actually using the gear – and there I greatly prefer the Fuji system. You’ll need to find a comfortable system for yourself. I’m now ready to make the switch from Canon FF to the Fujifilm X-System. Far smaller and far lighter, and equally good IQ for my needs.
 
You aren't providing a lot of information to go on. Will you be shooting raw or jpegs? What focal lengths would expect to be using on each (you might as well specify in 35mm "equivalent" focal lengths since one candidate is an A7II).

How did you you end up narrowing down the choice to this particular set of cameras? If size and weight (and price) are a factor, maybe you should be thinking of an original A7 instead?
 
Member said:
mbaginy wrote:I fear that Sony aren’t concentrating enough on one lens mount – after all, they have three! Too many!
Click to expand...
A mount and E mount.... is there a third that I'm missing somewhere?
 
Clayton1985 said:
Clayton1985 said:
mbaginy wrote:I fear that Sony aren’t concentrating enough on one lens mount – after all, they have three! Too many!
Click to expand...
A mount and E mount.... is there a third that I'm missing somewhere?
Click to expand...
The A7x cameras use FE mount. But you can adapt E mount lenses with a crop mode since they don't cover the whole FF sensor.
 
Gavin Stapleton said:
Clayton1985 said:
Gavin Stapleton said:
mbaginy wrote:I fear that Sony aren’t concentrating enough on one lens mount – after all, they have three! Too many!
Click to expand...
A mount and E mount.... is there a third that I'm missing somewhere?
Click to expand...
The A7x cameras use FE mount. But you can adapt E mount lenses with a crop mode since they don't cover the whole FF sensor.
Click to expand...
It might seem like a minor difference at first but the A7x cameras are E mount. FE does designate the full frame lenses but the mount is E mount and the FE lenses can be used on both the A7x and the APS-C cameras. This certainly reduces the need to maintain lenses for 3 separate lines and is not at all the same as having three different mounts. For example, the 28 f2 (coming soon), 55 f1.8, Loxia 50 and 35, 70-200 and even the upcoming 24-240 lenses are all quite useful on the APS-C bodies. These wouldn't be an option if the FF and APS-C cameras didn't share a mount. Not really any different than Nikon with their full frame and APS-C lenses.
 
The topic has been discussed on this forum rather often, maybe dig through a couple of the older discussions. Best is if course if you just rent both for a couple of days and try them out if possible.
 
mbaginy said:
If I were in your situation, I’d take the Fujifilm. I have both X-Pro1 and X-t1 with four (prime) lenses. There’s so very much to like about them and the rest of the Fujifilm gear. Especially the X-T1 is great, since I love dedicated dials and less digging in menus. And I like lenses with aperture rings (most Fujifilm lenses have these).

The Sony system doesn’t yet offer enough lenses (in my view). The Fujifilm roadmap is great, with the omission of a true macro lens. All Sony photographers I know seem to use adapters to mount foreign lenses! While okay, these combinations are not ideal. I fear that Sony aren’t concentrating enough on one lens mount – after all, they have three! Too many!

It’s not only image quality which counts but actually using the gear – and there I greatly prefer the Fuji system. You’ll need to find a comfortable system for yourself. I’m now ready to make the switch from Canon FF to the Fujifilm X-System. Far smaller and far lighter, and equally good IQ for my needs.
Click to expand...
 
Mbaginy, thank you so much for your input.
I have read lots of good things about Fuji. In fact, according to Ken Rockwell, Fuji has been making lenses for Hasselblad (pardon if I mispelled).



The other thing that I need to ask is, in general, is XT1 better in low light situation than a7ii?
(given each camera is equipped with the same/similar lenses specs)

Again, thank you for your inputs :-)
 
Hello,

It really depends on your current and future uses and how much money you want to tie up in these fun cameras. I have had them both. I started out as a Nikon shooter, then went to Sony when they came out with the A77. Loved it for the most part and took it everywhere. Also grabbed the A99.

Then they came out with the RX10. It has been my most favorite travel camera by a large margin. I grabbed the XT1 when it came out to see if i could temp myself to switch. Loved the camera, but to be honest i could not get it to beat the "fun and usefulness" of the RX10.

So to make a long story short, i've sold all my camera gear except my RX10 and switched to the A7ii. Makes a great combo.

However, after all the above, if i were in your shoes i would likely go for the XT1 and not the A7ii for a couple simple facts based on how you said you were going to use it.

1. The Crop sensor will give you a bit more room for error on the focusing dept of field. The A7 needs more patience.

2. The XT1 will focus much faster and would thus make for a better travel camera....in general.

3. The A7 line is still evolving...fast. Keeps me broke trying to keep up with the lenses and waiting on the next model :)) The XT1 has a couple great lenses....get them and you are set.

Sorry for the long winded response, but wanted to give you a bit of background on my perspective.

You cant go wrong with the XT1.

BUT, if you want to tempt yourself try the RX10. Hands down the most fun Ive ever had with a camera! :)) Get it set up to your liking and you will never want to put it down....and yes, i only shoot jpegs with it how i have it set up. Way too many keepers for my hard drives to handle.

Good luck with the decision.

Chris
 
You're absolutely right - two mounts; "A" and "E" mounts. I had mistakenly thought of the NEX as having a third mount - it obviously uses the "E" mount. (By the way, I absolutely hated the NEX models due to their terrible menu. But that seems to have been changed with newer models.)
 
You're abolutely right, Deed. But the 50mm focal length is a bit on the short side for my liking. The only true alternative is an Olympus, Canon, Nikon or other macro lens with tripod mount and using an adapter. Sadly, I lose the exif data (aperture, focal length).

I'm hoping some manufacturer will produce an adapter which will allow use of my Canon macros (180 and 65) with electric connections (mainly for aperture control).

I've seen some real nice macros shot with the Fujifilm 60mm lens. It may not be a true macro but paired with the extension tubes (sadly not yet available in Germany), it might prove okay. Too bad it doesn't offer a tripod mount.
 
I have no experience with the Sony in low light. But I'm absoluely thrilled with the (graphote silver) X-T1 in low light. This is the first camera with which I use auto ISO. I've set a top ISO of 3,200 and in low light autofocus is great (better than the X-Pro1) and the images are fantastic. I have absolutely no hesitation to rely 100% on the auto ISO and the resulting files. Actually, I never touch the ISO dial anymore - that's a major (and delightful) change for me.

Coming from the analog cameras of the past (that makes me feel old), I enjoy dials and aperture rings. The X-T1 reminds me so much of my Minolta X700 - mainly due to size and weight. I hardly use my Canon 5D Mk III anymore; and I'm not missing image quality due to that. X-System is that good!

The only thing really lacking (not only in the Fujifilm lineup) and dedicated macro components. The X-T1's tilt screen allows for ground-level composition and focusing in horizontal orientation only. Rotate the camera vertically and you need an angle finder. But I haven't found one yet and Fujifilm have replied to my query, that they're not yet considering that. Using an iPhone or iPad via wifi connection isn't my thing. And there's no true macro lens. A "true" macro lens in my view needs a tripod right. But most manufacturers neglect "proper" macro photography today - nit just a failing of Fujifilm).
 
I struggled with the same thing. I wanted to switch to mirrorless, because I think that has the future. It's all sony this and that you hear... really nice camera;s, and loud, not waterproof... and focussing is not there yet. Yes the A7II has stabilisation, but that's only useful if you have a heap of old lenses that you actually want to use... So for people looking for a mirrorless on the side to work with there canon/nikon lensen its great to have the A7II



For me, I wanted to switch to mirrorless totally and then Fuji has the edge. Their lenses, quality, fast focus, waterproof, silent shutter, and support has made me choose for fuji... If you want ois on the fuji get the 18-135/18-55 or the 50-140. Well thats just me..
 
Yes, Fuji (Fujifilm today) have much experience and a long history of manufacturing outstanding lenses and cameras (formerly also medium format). Their lenses are second to none. The Hasselblad X-Pan and lenses were made by Fuji.

Another point to consider is the smaller size and weight of the Fujifilm X-System lenses. Though their 40-150/2.8 is no light-weight lens, it is smaller and lighter than comparable (70-200/2.8) competitors.

I've explained my personal feelings and experiences. Thankfully, other photographers have differing opinions. You'll need to find a system which satisfies your requirements. And I strongly suggest to handle camera and lenes at a local dealer and then buying from him too, instead on buying online. I've bought almost all my gear at a local dealer and he allows me to test lenses and cameras over the weekend before making a choise. That's saved me a great deal of anguish and money!
 
In my experience A7r focuses about the same as my XT1. Where its more different is the predictive AF tracking on the XT1 is fabulous. I haven't really used tracking on the A7r but I am sure its much slower. If anything the A7r is a bit more reliable in AF but neither are awesome and it depends on the lens. The 55-200 can be horribly slow when zoomed out as I discovered again the other day.

It would hunt for ages and sometimes give up in bright daylight unless I focused on a vertical contrast.

Both XT1 and A7ii have PDAF focusing so that is good.

Bottom line is most likely these are the 2 best mirrorless cameras on the market at the moment so you can't go wrong with either but Fuji's big edge is the lenses and Sony's big edge is the full frame sensor both in a small package. It comes down to personal preferences and which aspects you consider most important.

Greg.
 
Last edited:
tesilab said:
You aren't providing a lot of information to go on. Will you be shooting raw or jpegs? What focal lengths would expect to be using on each (you might as well specify in 35mm "equivalent" focal lengths since one candidate is an A7II).

How did you you end up narrowing down the choice to this particular set of cameras? If size and weight (and price) are a factor, maybe you should be thinking of an original A7 instead?
Click to expand...
I like to shoot it in jpegs.

With XT1, I would probably go with the 18-55 kit lens (~27-80mm), since it already offers f2.8 - 4. and down the road, I might add 55-200 (~80-300mm) f3.5-4.8 and 35 (~50mm) f1.4

On A7ii, I plan to go with 28-70 f3.5 -5.6, and maybe, 70-200 f4 (the later one is quite expensive)

Currently I use Nikon d90 with 16-85mm and 35mm lenses. They are very heavy for me to lug around on family trip. I have done some research through internet, and store visits. Therefore, I narrowed it down to a7ii and xt1
 
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