Within the next couple of weeks two very special mirror less cameras will hit the street: the Sony NEX 6 and the Fuji X-E1. At first glance both cameras have a lot in common: 16MP APS-C sensor, EVF, small bodies with built in flash and both come at a similar price. So it is not easy to decide which camera to choose. Well, I don’t think so. Both are completely different. But how do I know when both cameras do only exist on the web?
FinePix X100 (23mm, f/2, 1/60 sec, ISO2500)
I got a Sony NEX 5 in 2010 and shot over 7.000 images with it so far. I also got a Fuji X100 in 2011 and until today I have made about 7.500 pictures with this camera. It’s save to say that I know both cameras very well. Both have their strong points and both have their weaknesses. I want to give you an impression about how it feels to take images with them.
Let’s start with the image quality. Today everybody seems to be obsessed with image quality. It’s true: If IQ isn’t good nothing else matters. You might use a newer camera already but you still have all the photos in your library you took with your old one. If it was a camera with a rather poor IQ you will regret it forever. Good news is that today IQ on a modern APS-C camera is no longer an issue at all. Looking at my NEX and X100 I would say that the difference in IQ is very small compared to all the other points like AF, performance and handling and of course the lenses.
But as IQ plays such an important role here it is:
1. Image quality:
1.1 noise:
I think Fuji has slightly the edge regarding noise performance. With the X100 I shoot comfortably till 1250ASA where image quality is still very impressive. On the NEX I prefer to stay at 800ASA or below for best quality. Don’t get me wrong you can use higher ISOs on both but than there is a certain degradation in IQ. To get noise performance into perspective I can tell you that both are better than a Nikon D300 or a Canon 500D and the Fuji is better than a Canon 5D which has a 12MP full frame sensor. As the X-1E and the NEX 6 will be at least 1 stop better than X100 and NEX 5 I think you can’t go wrong with either camera. By the way: The shot in the Museum was taken at 2500ASA! with the lens wide open ( f2.0 ) and 1/60s. This is real low light. As I`m converted to digital in 2002 I`m still impressed regarding the development. This looks better than 400ASA on my Nikon D1.
1.2. colors and contrast:
OK. Fuji has the edge regarding noise but now it’s getting more complicated. Fuji is famous for it’s colors and Sony somehow how can I put it: infamous? It should be a clear win for the Fuji but I don’t think so. They are different but it’s not that clear at all. I want to describe the images of both cameras to give you an idea. And I will use other cameras to give you an idea about the different approach of both camera makers.
Fuji X: The X100 gives you very natural colors with a slightly yellow tone in it. It’s especially visible in green foliage or in blue skies. Otherwise colors are neutral and skin tones are impressive. Images have a rather lower contrast and that’s why they don’t look punchy right out of the camera. Especially on landscapes I prefer more contrast and higher color saturation than the Fuji offers. Not a big deal because you can saturate and image and you can add contrast. It’s easier than the other way around. Anyway if you prefer punchy images right out of the box the Fuji is not the best camera for you unless you use the Velvia setting for JPEGs. On the other hand the Fuji is awesome indoors and outdoors at the blue hour or at night. It you are into available light photography the Fuji gives you impressive results. In short: Fuji is best for low light, indoor, night and portrait. The files also beautifully convert into black and white.
Sony NEX: The NEX is a little different. Colors are maybe more neutral than with the Fuji. Rather cooler and the reds are maybe a tad too red but nothing compared to earlier Sony cameras. I had a Sony compact once and it was crap. Red was so over saturated it was crazy. That’s gone. Colors are punchy and contrast is higher which give the NEX the edge in landscape shots. The NEX gives you a great outdoor images right out of the box. There is no need to increase contrast or saturation. The images are ready to print, display or whatever. Greens and the blue skye look different and I think they are more true to live. For outdoor and landscape in daylight I prefer the Sony NEX over the Fuji. Indoors it’s completely different. The Sony is clearly not as good as the Fuji. The same is true for night shots. Portraits: It’s wrong that you can’t use the Sony for portraits it is just that the Fuji is better for that. But it’s clear: A higher saturated more contrasty image it is not as good for portraits than a less saturated less contrasty one. For landscapes it’s the other way around.
1.3. white balance:
White balance have been one of the biggest issues in digital photography. For some reason I don’t know my early high end Nikon DSLRs D1 and D2H had such a poor auto white balance that I stuck in cloudy for outdoor shots and worked with manual WB indoors only. My Canon point and shot cameras never seem to have such problems. To be fair even my 5D is not a king regarding auto white balance. Why I’m telling you this?
Well the Fuji X100 is nothing short of impressive when it comes to auto white balance. It even manages to give good skin tones in artificial light. It get’s it right almost all the time. This is simply amazing and everybody who is old enough to started shooting digital about 10 years ago will be delighted. The Fuji is second to none when it comes to auto white balance. There is a natural feeling to all photos but especially to portraits that is breathtaking.
The Sony NEX 5 is not that bad either but just not as good. The strange thing on the Sony is that sometimes WB is off in outdoor shots without any reason resulting in a too cool image. This is very obvious in the greens that simply look wrong. Last time I experienced this was will hiking in the mountains at an altitude of over 2.000 meters. Light is bluer there and WB needs to correct it. If it doesn’t colors are off. I first discovered this effect when I shot the same image with my Canon 5D. The image of the Canon looked far better because it was warmer. It’s not too hard to fix in Lightroom but it is annoying.
Conclusion:
To keep the conclusion as simple as possible: The Fuji is the better portrait, indoor and available light camera and the Sony is the better landscape and outdoor at daylight camera. RAW images can be altered in post processing of course but this is what you get right out of the box.
It reminds my a little bit of the time when I changed from Nikon to Canon. I preferred Canon from the start regarding indoor and portraits but missed the punch of the Nikon images outdoors.