Finally the over-leaked Olympus E-M5 camera has been announced (Click here to read all you need to know on 43rumors). Its time for a short comparison with the other top quality mirorrless camera, the Fuji X PRO 1:
Sensor – Image quality
The Olympus E-M5 uses the same GX1 16 Megapixel sensor with some sort of tweaks like faster readout system and improved TruePic VI engine. It also uses a weak AA filter. Anyway, the X PRO 1 can deliver a slightly higher resolution because of the no Anti Aliasing filter.
Fuji wins!
Video quality:
Easy,Fuji didn’t care a lot about the video 🙂
Olympus wins!
Viewfinder:
The Olympus E-M5 has a 1.44 million dot pure electronic viewfinder. Due the fast sensor readout (240fps) this will reduce lagging and rolling shutter. The Fuji has that amazing hybrid viewfinder.
Fuji wins!
Autofocus:
Easy game for Olympus. They claim to have the fastest AF system of all current interchangeable camera systems. And Fuji is known for not having a super fast AF.
Olympus wins!
Body quality:
Olympus and Fuji both deliver an excellent body quality. But Olympus camera is weather sealed.
Olympus wins!
Price:
Yep the Olympus is $600 cheaper but the Fuji has a terrific image quality. So it’s difficult to find a winner here!
That is just a very basic first impression and there are many other factors to consider before to judge the new products. But let me know…
40 Responses
AND WHY COULDN’T HAVE OLYMPUS MADE THIS CAMERA TO BEGIN WITH INSTEAD OF JERKING THEIR CUSTOMERS AROUND WITH THE 43 SERIES, THEN THE EP SERIES? I wonder how long they will stick with this design until they start making another m43 camera which looks like something else. Sheeesh.
Dont forget, price comparison. Mr. Mod.
I’m still waiting for the company that gets it right. Meaning a sub 1k body with evf with a decent mf option. Aps-c sensor and maybe weather sealing. Not designed by some arty farty chair designer(Pentax that’s you!)
Pentax got close but fucked up on the evf and size. Please canon learn from the current generation of evils and do it right. (Still hoping for a canonet revival)
Canon will be the one & than they will be the nr 1. because the others failed!! week management!
Will canon deliver an aps-c based sensor camera? Not sure, maybe the g1x sensor is a hint of whats to come. I wouldn’t count on them making their mirrorless camera weatherproof either. Can they beat m43 in AF speed? None of their contrast detection cameras is particularly fast in that respect. Can they beat NEX in sensor IQ? If the g1x sensor is a hint, it seems NO. Will they support EF or EF-S lenses? That might be a huge advantage for them.
BUT! I trust Canon’s way of doing no nonsense cameras, my guess is its probably going to be a well rounded package – they have had time to watch the market evolve. They are probably going to come up with a very utilitarian camera, without major flaws, discreet design (hear pentax?) and great ergonomics. Maybe not the king of the hill in any specific respect, but a solid proposition.
Specs comparison is not very meaningful. One can have very different preference depending on HOW MUCH better the image quality is with the X-PRO 1, and HOW MUCH slower its autofocus is.
+1
The Fuji is at 16mp not 18.
Typo sorry!
I think you forgot about the Sony NEX-7… I don’t like sony NEX cameras but I think it is another top quality mirrorles camera, albeit it hasn’t the appealing retro style 🙂
Really nice this OM-D camera!
i think this comparison was about cameras you cant buy currently 😉
then I sew my mouth 🙂
Until is see reliable independent image samples of each camera I cannot have a preference. It is impossible to base any assessment on and info that comes from either Fuji or Olympus.
I think a far more relevant comparison would be with the G3. Is the Oly worth the extra ?
Simply because of the large lens line-up at this moment together with its small size, i vote E-M5. Also Olympus feels a bit more developed where the fuji seems a bit quirky at times like the x100 as well, for example the autofocus and the firmware department. Plus weather-sealing is awfully nice.
— We don’t know anything about how the Fuji sensor actually performs, because it’s a new type and has never been used. Also, many people who are cheering “no AA filter” may not be so excited when they discover the downsides (moire, color fringing, spurious colors in specular highlights.) And will there be any “orbs”? Silly to say “Fuji wins” when it’s such an unknown quantity.
— Likewise, silly to say the Fuji viewfinder is better when nobody has actually looked through this version of the “amazing hybrid viewfinder.” Base magnification 0.37x sounds awfully skimpy to me.
— System support should have been an important category. Fuji: Three lenses, one manufacturer. Olympus: Lots of lenses, multiple manufacturers.
I want to like the Fuji because the concept is so audacious, but it makes no sense to proclaim it “the winner” when it hasn’t even shown up for the game yet!
Plus…the fact that people say there is no AA filter is just wrong. There is one…but a really thin one.
Even on Leica digital M bodies there is an AA filter.
The AA filter on M8 is 2mm thick and that is why there is the IR issue with the black looking magenta.
On the M9…they just put a thicker AA filter to avoid the problem which is 5mm thick.
That is the reason why, + the M8 crop factor of 1.3x wich just takes the best of M lenses, some people say the M8 sensor is slightly sharper than a M9.
???????????????
A 5mm thick AA filter on the Leica M9?
That would be half a centimeter 🙂
The Leica M9 has no AA filter, according to Leica. Maybe you have other sources with special infos…But it has an IR Filter like every camera – it is 0,8mm thick.
Yeah, no AA filter on either the Leica M8 or M9. Really helped the M8 punch above its weight, as it were, in comparison to other sensors — as long as the ISO was 160 or 320, then noise got in the way.
Cannot abide by slow auto-focus,
Nothing more maddening than that. 😐
Having used Fuji’s nifty but crappy Hybrid finder, the E-M5 wins that comparison hands-down. The Hybrid finder is very cool but the low magnification (0.3-0.6x) means that it’s next to useless in EVF mode while the E-M5 will be a mild improvement over current 1.44MP pure EVF’s, which are already a ways ahead of the Fuji finder. Sony’s still got the best EVF though.
Fuji’s going to come out behind in AF, they can’t match current Sony’s, let alone Oly’s current performance.
As to IQ, in RAW, it’ll be no contest, the Fuji wins. They’re using what’s clearly a (very) custom variant of Sony’s superb 16MP sensor and the preliminary samples indicate that in most regards it performs quite similarly to the stock version. The lack of an AA filter will give it more resolution though. As to the E-M5, I’m expecting RAW performance comparable to the GX1 and G3 with Oly’s superb JPEG engine delivering the extra stop of claimed performance (as it proved to with the E-P3, which performs comparably to the other 12MP 4/3rds bodies in RAW but is about a stop better in JPEG).
+1 exactly my thoughts, i just dont get how people are hyping, whats basicly a hole to look through enhanced by a bad evf… and the latest image samples of the Fuji also implied that its far below its own hype in IQ.
i’m a Nex user, but i have to say the Oly is the first m4/3 i find awesome and i really hope it will be a great competition to the Nex
thank god some people dont buy into this low mag. tiny viewfinder.
i have even seen some people compare it to the leica.
While the Fuji is a very nice camera, with for me limitations in the viewfinder due to glasses. It only has 3 lens available, and no support for legacy lens(yet?).
The E-M5 has over 50? native mFT lens available (from Panasonic, Olympus, Sigma, Voigtländer, etc. , and support for countless legacy lens. It has a very competent flash system, and other support items like diving housing. It is also weather proof, has a IBS system.
So while the Fuji might be a better camera, the E-M5 is part of a much better camera system.
For comparison, Contax G only had 7 lenses in its lifetime, 3 of which would not work on the original G1. A launch of a new system with 3 well chosen primes (and 2 more lenses on the roadmap) will satisfy the X-Pro1’s target user base. There is a M mount adapter announced, and users will be able to set frame lines and magnification levels on the (tiny) hybrid viewfinder.
Having said that, I do think m43 is a more mature and versatile system, and the EM-5 is definitely a promising camera. Given the choice, I’d still go for a GH2, as the EM-5’s listed video specs don’t sound promising (1080i, 20 Mbit video, no automatic spanning, and a much less mature modding community). The EM-5 wins over the GH2 in build quality and weather sealing, but for $700, it’s hard to beat the GH2’s compelling video features, should that be a priority for the user. It also appears that the GH2 has a larger viewfinder (1.4x vs 1.13x), though of course Panasonic does not support wireless E-TTL flash (bad Panny!).
Without looking through the viewfinder, I would not know which camera is better. Yes, I also wear glasses. I use MF legacy glass. So while Fuji looks better from a point of “poor man’s M8”, it might just fall short of being a true alternative to M8 because of lack of rangefinder. But again, seeing is believing. Forget about specs and marketing lies, handle the camera and see if it feels right.
Ironically, The Fuji shoots video at both 1080 and 720 24FPS only,
while the Oly shoots 1080 & 720 (interlaced) at 30FPS only? WTF?
You’d think for all the retro style/feel of the 70’s flavored Oly, that they would’ve included Native 24FPS support for cinematic looks?
Not sure if 24FPS is sensor-driven?, or can it be added later via firmware update?
An adjustment dial around the lens mount would have been interesting.
This comparison makes no sense… The cameras don’t even play in the same league.
The Fuji is an APS-C sensor.
The Olympus is a micro 4/3 that crams the same amount of pixels in a 40% smaller area so the image quality will be greatly inferior. And I’m not even talking about the AA filter issue…
The Olympus camera is aimed at m43 hipsters who want a retro looking camera, the Fuji aims at advanced users looking for dslr level quality in a smaller package…
What!!!???? 4/3 here and nothing of new Sigmas ?
I am still using my Pana GF1 with 20/1.7 lens which takes amazing photos. Can’t decide yet whether to go with Fuji XPro1 or Oly OM-D.
I also want to switch to f1.4 lens at the same time regardless of which body I go with, want more speed, and preferably in the 35mm lens range instead of 20mm.
Any opinions?
I had to figure out for a while what the heck is a comaprison. Then I let my imagination free.
Nikon D800E looks the most interesting to me, a cheaper alternative to Medium Format.
Considering the new Olympus’ offering in OMD is at $1000, Fuji should consider to offer one standard lens free of charge to go with X-Pro body at the current body listing price. Or the earlier success story of X100 can’t be replicated for certain. At $1699 + lens price of $599, All the potential fan base would have gone for OMD(low budget) and Nikon D4/D800(potential professional uses) by the time of X-Pro’s arrival.
Fuji X-Pro is the digital Leica M5.
Look like M5
Priced like M5
But it is a digital camera that will be replaced by the next great Fuji or Olympus (in 2 month)
Fuji should reduce the price for max revenue, or miss the opportunity to make money from price sensitive buyers like Olympus E5 did.
How right you are Rich! Let’s hope that the similarities with the M5 stop there, we don’t want to add reliability issues, dubious build quality or questionable technical choices…
BOTH DUDS COMPARED TO THE NEW SIGMA DP1 M