Between Fuji and Olympus..... Part II

Note: caution. just a rant. might not make any sense

This is my on going debate on which system is better or better suited to my style. One system has their own pros and cons between them. Sacrifice is inevitable. One had to go.

Ironic.

Last week i had some sort of final say, Fuji wins it for me. I had to sacrifice the small size of Oly for a bigger size Fuji, to be exact, long size Fuji. Not really that much of a difference but with Oly new pancake electronic zoom kit lens, it made the Fuji lens way long! Thats X-M1 by the way, with the X100S it is much similar size but Oly is versatiler or more versatile since it can zoom though im not really a fan of zoom. i like prime lens. One focal length is enough. Sometimes i zoom to 17mm with the Oly just to get that 35mm ala x100s FOV. I just kinda used to that field of view. I love my trusty x100s. Image quality is stunning although it has it quirks but i seem to get around that quirkiness.

Or so i thought...

I was about to sell my Oly and just shoot Fuji exclusively.

But thats about to change.

Features, speed and EVF this is where Olympus smokes the Fuji X100S. I wont go into detail but basic pointers are Wifi remote for Olympus, which is none on X100S but not a deal breaker, just handy. AF speed, Olympus is the speed demon, Olympus is the rabbit and Fuji is the tortoise but u know the ending of that story which has got nothing to do with this.  EVF is crap on X100S. its usable but you have to be slow to compensate the EVF. EVF lags in X100S. Sometimes its like a broken TV. Sometimes its better to use the OVF only and pray if it nails the focus. Most of the time yes, but in some tricky lighting, bye bye focus!

So i decided to sell my Oly for a Fuji X-T1. It was reported that this newest X camera has got most of the features which i mentioned above betterised, if that is an english word. But you just have got to be curious, Fuji claimed the x100s to be the fastest focusing camera but in fact Olympus smokes it. So after few days researching, i found out that the Fuji X-T1 still lags behind Olympus in AF speed, thats what most reviewers said so or claimed so. and that make me wonder should i get the X-T1?

So i've come to realised that i've been talking about speed, speed, speed..... there is a reason for that.

Last weekend i had a pre-wed and also engagement day photo shoot which i think is the best time to put the cameras through its paces. I brought all my 3 cameras, my X-M1. X100S and my Oly EM10. I looked like a christmas tree with all 3 cameras sling over my shoulders and neck. But raise your glass to mirrorless for being small and lightweight, i didnt have a problem lugging it around, strapping it to my shoulders and neck, maybe i just need a better strap system. i was thinking of that double strap solution by Black Rapids but i might just get the rip off double rapid strap from China which serves the same purpose.

Anyway, during the event, i found out that using the Olympus was much easier. With face detection ON, it was quick and easy to lock focus and shoot. Man, Oly is just so good and quick doing AF, where as the Fujis, i need to wait for that extra few milliseconds to get it into focus, ya know, the hunting, it takes a while. For this kind of event, i need to be fast. Because i just want to capture that quick candid moments. The more i shoot, the more i reached for the Olympus. I also used a lot of my x100s, while it was fast, its nowhere fast as the EM10. Shooting "posed portraiture" is fine with the Fuji but capturing moments this is where the Oly has the edge. There are times when you wanna shoot that kiss moments or just some candid moments, most of the times with the Fujis you just gonna miss the shots. or maybe i am just slow. But i bet if you give Billy the Kid a Fuji and the other cowboys using Oly, good ol Bill just gonna start crying. muahaha.

After the event i went to check all the photos i took and some of my x100s shots when zoomed in have got a bit of motion blur to it. Shucks! its not the camera's fault, maybe i shook too much, my poor handling and setting the wrong minimum shutter speed also did not help. i used 1/60 min shutter speed and everything else in program mode so the camera decides to use my min shutter speed most of the time and combined with my poor handling caused the motion blur, it was just frustrating. Not the camera's fault but it's me being a noob although im also dissapointed that the Fuji decided to used the min shutter speed even though it has yet to clip over the ISO limit set. But again, human error rather than camera's error. But the AF did get me frustrated....and the EVF.... and the low battery life....

After looking at all the photos i took, i was surprised that the Olympus pictures are much nicer than the other ones. I also seem to like the sharpness of Olympus photos. its mad sharp. I am ashamed that i bash this little camera for its IQ. I think i have found my way around the noise of micro four thirds. Or i am ready to accept it for what it is. The IQ between both cameras are not far off. If doing too much pixel peep maybe there is a difference but really it was not that much. During the photoshoot i begin to reach more for the Olympus than the Fuji. i knew with the Oly i will get sharp focus photos whereas with the Fuji sometimes it just misfocus. I dont wanna miss shots. This is when i start to trust my Olympus.

This is where i get to the discussion, should i get the X-T1 or get the OMD EM5?
.....as a second body....

almost bought myself an EM5 on ebay yesterday but lose in the last last minutes.

So conclusion to this,
Fuji is fine where you dont need speed. eg. modelling, fashion, portraitures, still life, landscapes.
Olympus is the sh*t if you want speed. eg. street, candid, moments, fashion, portraitures, still life, landscapes.

I didnt know i want to be fast.