fuji sensor vs olympus OM-D sensor

[PropilotBW]

I have been thinking a lot lately about moving to the compact systems. It's a hard concept to grasp, but I've also read posts where people will never look back. And I travel for a living, and size matters....thus I am intrigued.

Anyway, As far as the thread title is concerned, it appears the Fuji sensor is identical in size to a crop sensor DSLR, whereas the OM-D series from Olympus is a micro 4/3.
My first thought is that the FUJI should be a much better sensor, especially in low light, due to it's size. Is this accurate thought? Or are there other considerations that I'm missing?



The next question or thought:
If I would go with an Olympus system with their M4/3 sensor, and they would come out with a larger CMOS sensor sometime down the line, all those lenses that I would have purchased for the M4/3 sensor are now useless (or similar to using a DX lens on an FX frame).

I see that there are a lot of users on here who have the Fuji system. Olympus also looks like a front runner in the compact system race.
Thanks for your thoughts!

 

[DarkShadow]

IMO I would go for the fuji just for the sensor size alone and they have some nice glass to.I think your thought with the sensor size and low light ISO is accurate.

 

[pixmedic]

If you are looking for compact, it hardly makes Sense to go with a aps-c sensor camera since you will still need the larger lenses to cover the sensor. For true "compact" mirrorless, go with m4/3.
I have the Olympus epl-5 and love it. The lenses are small, and the whole camera/lens combo is light and easy to carry around.

 

[PropilotBW]

If you are looking for compact, it hardly makes Sense to go with a aps-c sensor camera since you will still need the larger lenses to cover the sensor. For true "compact" mirrorless, go with m4/3.
I have the Olympus epl-5 and love it. The lenses are small, and the whole camera/lens combo is light and easy to carry around.

I appreciate that suggestion. Are you saying that the lenses that come with the Fuji X system are significantly larger than the Olympus OM-D system?

 

[gsgary]

Take a look at the Sony A7 full frame and high ISO's are fantastic

 

[pixmedic]

If you are looking for compact, it hardly makes Sense to go with a aps-c sensor camera since you will still need the larger lenses to cover the sensor. For true "compact" mirrorless, go with m4/3.
I have the Olympus epl-5 and love it. The lenses are small, and the whole camera/lens combo is light and easy to carry around.

I appreciate that suggestion. Are you saying that the lenses that come with the Fuji X system are significantly larger than the Olympus OM-D system?

The bigger the sensor, the bigger the lens has to be to cover it. The smaller the sensor, the smaller the lens needed.
Find a store that has some different models in stock and see them for yourself.

If you really want compact, there's little point in getting a FX or DX size mirrorless. The cameras are only a little smaller than compact dslrs, and the lenses are just as big. I went with m4/3 because I never wanted to drag the dslr and big lenses around when I went out.
I can take the Olympus anywhere, and it fits in my wife's purse when we aren't using it. It weighs very little so even around my neck isn't very bothersome.

The best way to get the answer you are looking for is to go and try a few for yourself and see just how compact you want to go.

 

[Ron Evers]

If you are looking for compact, it hardly makes Sense to go with a aps-c sensor camera since you will still need the larger lenses to cover the sensor. For true "compact" mirrorless, go with m4/3.
I have the Olympus epl-5 and love it. The lenses are small, and the whole camera/lens combo is light and easy to carry around.

I appreciate that suggestion. Are you saying that the lenses that come with the Fuji X system are significantly larger than the Olympus OM-D system?

The bigger the sensor, the bigger the lens has to be to cover it. The smaller the sensor, the smaller the lens needed.
Find a store that has some different models in stock and see them for yourself.

If you really want compact, there's little point in getting a FX or DX size mirrorless. The cameras are only a little smaller than compact dslrs, and the lenses are just as big. I went with m4/3 because I never wanted to drag the dslr and big lenses around when I went out.
I can take the Olympus anywhere, and it fits in my wife's purse when we aren't using it. It weighs very little so even around my neck isn't very bothersome.

The best way to get the answer you are looking for is to go and try a few for yourself and see just how compact you want to go.

Love it Pix, none so righteous as the newly converted.

Pro, Pix has it correct & you can get a lot of great native glass for m4/3 cameras, more-so than any other mirrorless system.

 

[sashbar]

If you really want compact, there's little point in getting a FX or DX size mirrorless. The cameras are only a little smaller than compact dslrs, and the lenses are just as big. .

that is not entirely correct. A mirrorless camera has a shorter flange distance compared to a DSLR (i. e. distance between a lense and a sensor) due to the lack of mirror. It allows for smaller lense even if the sensor size is the same. Fuji lenses are more compact than DX DSLR lenses of the same quality/specs. FUJI lenses are somewhere between DSLR and 4/3 in size.

 

[jaomul]

It may be hard to find to many that can give a direct comparison between both. All the reviews give the new micro 4/3rds photos the thumbs up and give the fugi slightly better reviews. I have the olympus system and am highly impressed. Colours, iso, the whole package is nice. I am sure that a fugi owner will say the same. Someone above suggested trying out both for fit and size. Its likely image quality wont be the deciding factor then as that will be close.

Run by jaomul, on Flickr

 

[DarkShadow]

I was just looking at the fuji and olympus just curious after this thread.I have to say that OM-D E-M1 looks sexy.Love the button layouts and the specs.

 

[PropilotBW]

I was just looking at the fuji and olympus just curious after this thread.I have to say that OM-D E-M1 looks sexy.Love the button layouts and the specs.

I have definitely been leaning towards that Olympus M1, or the next generation of the M5. ( I don't like how the current M5 doesn't have wifi). The lesser M10 has wifi, and is essentially the same camera and sensor, minus a few cosmetic features like weather proofing.
The olympus definitely has the edge over the Fuji in lenses available. I think I counted in the 20s. Others only have around a dozen.

I am curious how action shots look with the M4/3. I read an earlier thread that it wasn't the greatest for wildlife or sports... Why?

 

[Ysarex]

I recently made the switch from full frame DSLR to the Fuji X-E2. I'm very happy overall and have adapted well to the Fuji. The Fuji lenses are superb -- they don't make a bad one. In the APS-C class sensor cameras the IQ from the Fuji's leads the industry. But there's a real big catch. Fuji's X-Trans sensors don't have a classic 4 square Bayer array, but rather a unique and very Fuji specific array that uses two alternating 6x6 filter sets. This novel sensor array allows the Fuji's to dispense with an optical low pass filter and the photos are very detailed and razor sharp as long as your software knows how to deal with the Fuji array. If all you do is shoot camera JPEGs this doesn't have to concern you. If on the other hand you shoot and process raw files then there's a real big catch. You're limited in the raw processing software that works well with the Fuji array. Photo Ninja, Irridient Developer, Capture One and Aperture (RIP) all handle the X-Trans array and deliver superb results. Notice that list does not include Photoshop or LR.

Pixmedic is right the M-4/3 cameras are going to be a whole notch smaller and lighter. Ron is right, one of the really great things about M-4/3 is that it's a system that extends beyond a specific brand and so it has much more market maturity. Sashbar is likewise correct that the Fuji lenses (especially wides) are going to be a little smaller than their DSLR cousins and the missing mirror cage reduces the size and weight of the body.

The reduced flange distance also permits mounting just about anything that will cover the sensor (also true for M-4/3). A simple adapter is all you need. I use my old 60mm Rodagon enlarging lens as a macro on my X-E2. Fuji made doing this type of thing very easy and supports it well with excellent manual focus assist.

Make sure either way you go that you're happy with the viewing systems. No OVF is one of the biggest adjustments. Another big difference related to the missing OVF is auto focus speed. Single shot AF is up to par with a DSLR and the Fuji system cameras will hold their own against your D5100 but they fall away in continuous AF on a moving subject compared to the pro-grade DSLRs. The same tends to be true of the M-4/3s and probably why you heard they weren't ideal for action/wildlife.

Fuji build quality is very high. Here's an idea of the kind of image quality you can expect from the Fuji. This is full-res: smokin_jack and taken with the 18-55mm zoom. This was taken with the 14mm: route_66.

Joe

 

[Ron Evers]

I am curious how action shots look with the M4/3. I read an earlier thread that it wasn't the greatest for wildlife or sports...

Action shots with Oly E-M5.

 

[PropilotBW]

I recently made the switch from full frame DSLR to the Fuji X-E2. I'm very happy overall and have adapted well to the Fuji. The Fuji lenses are superb -- they don't make a bad one. In the APS-C class sensor cameras the IQ from the Fuji's leads the industry. But there's a real big catch. Fuji's X-Trans sensors don't have a classic 4 square Bayer array, but rather a unique and very Fuji specific array that uses two alternating 6x6 filter sets. This novel sensor array allows the Fuji's to dispense with an optical low pass filter and the photos are very detailed and razor sharp as long as your software knows how to deal with the Fuji array. If all you do is shoot camera JPEGs this doesn't have to concern you. If on the other hand you shoot and process raw files then there's a real big catch. You're limited in the raw processing software that works well with the Fuji array. Photo Ninja, Irridient Developer, Capture One and Aperture (RIP) all handle the X-Trans array and deliver superb results. Notice that list does not include Photoshop or LR.

Pixmedic is right the M-4/3 cameras are going to be a whole notch smaller and lighter. Ron is right, one of the really great things about M-4/3 is that it's a system that extends beyond a specific brand and so it has much more market maturity. Sashbar is likewise correct that the Fuji lenses (especially wides) are going to be a little smaller than their DSLR cousins and the missing mirror cage reduces the size and weight of the body.

The reduced flange distance also permits mounting just about anything that will cover the sensor (also true for M-4/3). A simple adapter is all you need. I use my old 60mm Rodagon enlarging lens as a macro on my X-E2. Fuji made doing this type of thing very easy and supports it well with excellent manual focus assist.

Make sure either way you go that you're happy with the viewing systems. No OVF is one of the biggest adjustments. Another big difference related to the missing OVF is auto focus speed. Single shot AF is up to par with a DSLR and the Fuji system cameras will hold their own against your D5100 but they fall away in continuous AF on a moving subject compared to the pro-grade DSLRs. The same tends to be true of the M-4/3s and probably why you heard they weren't ideal for action/wildlife.

Fuji build quality is very high. Here's an idea of the kind of image quality you can expect from the Fuji. This is full-res: smokin_jack and taken with the 18-55mm zoom. This was taken with the 14mm: route_66.

Joe

Thanks for disclosing that caveat. I have Lightroom and Photoshop....just purchased them! I don't want to have to have a special program to view my files.

 

[PropilotBW]

I am curious how action shots look with the M4/3. I read an earlier thread that it wasn't the greatest for wildlife or sports...

Action shots with Oly E-M5.

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thanks Ron!

i was looking at your signature. You have quite the array of lenses to select from. Which would you say is your favorite and the one you use the most?