X-E4 vs X-Pro3? If money is not the main factor. Street photography.

Blood N Guts Murphy wrote:

Joachim Gerstl wrote:

You don't have to be mad to chose a Leica CL over the X-Pro3 but it helps.

Have you used a CL? Seen videos comparing to the Pro 3 but the more comparisons the better.

I think of it more of an XE upgrade than X Pro as it lacks the OVF and is XE sized. The main thing for me will be whether I could get used to the top 2 dials, which seem pretty great next to the mini display. No aperture rings is of course a disappointment. And the silver mount ring ruins the otherwise flawless design imo.

I owned the X-Pro3 for a long time and now have a Leica CL, with the 18mm pancake lens. I think you're correct that it's a "luxury" X-E, as it's about the size of the X-E4, although it has some other interesting qualities that make it special. I got the kit used for a good price because the lens has a big scuff on the front, which doesn't effect image quality; the total cost was just a bit more than what you'd pay these days for a used X-Pro3, body only. It seems to me that the camera was insanely overpriced at launch, which is why it attracted almost no notice—I would never have bought one at the launch price, especially compared to what Fuji was offering—but it can be a decent deal now, especially used. If you're considering one, I'm happy to answer any questions you may have about it as compared to Fuji (perhaps over PM, so as not to derail this thread).

The only reason I'd go for the CL over Fujifilm is if you really wanted to shoot either Leica or Voigtlander lenses. (And there's now a Voigtlander lens for X-mount, and perhaps more coming.) A major reason not to get a CL is that there is no equivalent in L-mount for the Fujicrons. Apart from the 18mm pancake, the smallest lenses you can use on the CL are MF only. (I'm using mine with the 18mm and the Voigtlander 35mm f/2.5 Color-Skopar.) Leica's other TL lenses are big. Sigma makes small APS-C primes with AF, which are apparently coming to Fuji, but, IMO, they are too big and plastic-feeling; I bought the 30mm f/1.4 and returned it because, compared to the Fujicron lenses, it felt like a toy. I really think that, for understated, small-size street shooting with classic haptics, it's very hard to beat Fuji's offerings.

As for X-E4 vs. X-Pro3: they are both great cameras, and the X-E4 is very affordable. Both are coat-pocketable with the 27mm f/2.8. The X-Pro3 is loved by many, including me, for reasons that are best understood after you hold it in your hand or use it on a strap, where the hinged screen really comes into its own as a waist-level finder. In my case, as soon as I held one, I knew that I preferred it to the other RF-style Fuji bodies (X-E, X100), because of the build quality, size, heft, screen design, OVF, and overall look. Note that the X-Pro doesn't have any lettering on the front—so, despite its larger size, it is in that way more discreet. If you can afford the X-Pro3 and are interested in it, I think it'd be worthwhile to find your way to a store and try it out.