A Wedding with Nikon, Olympus and Fuji. Which one did I prefer? by David

December 21, 2016 Featured, Fuji, Guest Post, Mirrorless, News, Nikon, Olympus, User Reports 75

A Wedding with Nikon, Olympus and Fuji. Which one did I prefer?

by David

Recently I’ve been lucky enough to have several cameras to work with including the Olympus PEN-F which I reviewed HERE.  The Fuji XT2 I reviewed HERE and  the Nikon D7200 Review of which I reviewed HERE.

I’ve been testing them out for a while now shooting portraits, street photography and a few landscapes too.  This weekend I was asked to photograph a wedding here in the Philippines and I thought it would be a great chance to test these three cameras against each other in a fast paced, unforgiving environment.

Now I’m not a professional wedding shooter. I’ve shot landscapes, portraits and commercial work professionally but wedding photography is a whole different ball game. I made it clear what the couple could expect from me and that they really should hire a pro wedding photographer. However budget was a concern and so I offered to help out as they are friends of my Fiancee.

I also wouldn’t recommend shooting a wedding with a bunch of different cameras as it was really hard work switching between three systems and still trying to get shots of the couple’s big day.

I shot all cameras with prime lenses.

For the Fuji I used the 23mm f/1.4 and 90mm f/2. On the Pen F I had the 17mm f/1.8 and 45mm f/1.8. On the Nikon I mainly used the Nikon 50mm f/1.4 and the 20mm f/1.8.

Handling of the three Cameras

In terms of handling I found all three to be well suited to fast paced shooting where you don’t get a second chance to capture the shot. The Nikon feels solid and well-built but you do start to feel the weight after a full day. I’m writing this article up 2 days later and my arm still feels a little sore so less weight is always better in my eyes as long as I don’t feel I’m compromising on image quality too much.

The Pen F is fantastic for blending in to the crowd and not intimidating subjects thanks to its small size and beautiful looks. Although as the only foreigner at a Filipino wedding it’s pretty much impossible to blend in despite the Pen F’s best efforts.  The Olympus Pen F also offers a fully articulating touch screen and touch to focus which is great for getting shots at interesting angles.

The Fuji XT2 was and is my favourite camera to handle of the 3 because it offers quick access to ISO, shutter speed and aperture via external dials. When you’re trying to photograph constantly changing and moving subjects it’s great to be able to see and change your settings as you bring the camera up to your eye. I can’t tell you how great the Fuji is for that reason alone.

The Nikon feels the most like a workhorse and it certainly is fast to use and solidly built. However during the ceremony I was aware of its louder shutter going off and I opted to use the more discreet Pen F and Fuji XT2 a lot of the time. That’s one of the major benefits of shooting mirrorless. The mechanical shutters are quieter and they have the option to use a totally silent electronic shutter. The Nikon D7200 does have a quiet mode but it’s not that quiet and it slows the camera down.

Some people deride Micro 4/3 because of the smaller sensor but I really don’t think these people use the cameras in the real World. I’ve shot loads of photos with all three of these cameras and as you can see on my website http://thecotswoldphotographer.com/articles/micro-43-vs-aps-c-just-for-fun-shootout  the difference in image quality between M4/3 and APS-C is very small now.
The only real benefit I see to larger sensors is the ability to create more shallow depth of field and the better high ISO noise performance but you only really see a big difference when you jump up to full frame.
Image quality from all three cameras is superb and certainly good enough for professional work.

Of the three I prefer people images from the Fuji XT2 because at high ISO’s it does have slightly less noise than the other two. Just be sure to turn down in camera noise reduction to -4 otherwise any Jpegs you shoot will make your images look like mush. I shot raw at the wedding to give a little more leeway to edit the photos later on so it wasn’t a problem.

I also appreciate the ability to throw the background out of focus a little more than you can with the Pen F. This was especially useful as the locations I was shooting at didn’t always have pleasing backgrounds, in fact some would have quite easily ruined shots had the background been in focus. Obviously the new Olympus 25mm f/1.2 Pro gives us micro 4/3 users a great choice for shallow depth of field shots but I don’t have that lens yet despite it being on my Christmas list.

I had planned on shooting a Nikon D750 at the wedding too but thanks to the postal system here it didn’t arrive in time. I’ll be comparing it with the others once I get my hands on it.
For me the most important aspect of the cameras on the day was auto focus performance. This is where the mirrorless cameras actually kicked the DSLR’s butt. Yes, I know this is where DSLR’s still reign supreme according to most but in reality both the Pen F and Fuji XT2 focus really quickly and only slow down a touch in bad light. They lock on fast and when they give focus confirmation you can be sure you got the shot.
What I found frustrating with the Nikon D7200 when reviewing the photos after was the amount that were out of focus. It just isn’t as accurate to focus as the mirrorless bodies. It may be a millisecond faster but what’s the point if focus isn’t spot on.

The Nikon 50mm f/1.4 is not sharp until you stop it down so the benefit of a larger aperture is lost. Whereas the Fuji 23mm f/1.4 and 90mm f/2 are sharp wide open and combined with the more accurate focus of the XT2 gave a far higher hit rate. The 17mm and 45mm on the Pen F are both perfectly sharp too.

The Pen F in my opinion has the best S-AF of the three cameras as it is quick, silent and deadly accurate. The only down side to the Pen F is that you don’t have direct access to change AF points. Instead you need to press the left D-pad button and then press one of the direction buttons to move the focus point around. It’s only when you are shooting something like a wedding that you notice this tiny delay but it does make a difference occasionally.

I also can’t overstate how useful I find an electronic viewfinder in my photography. I love the WYSIWYG nature of EVFs. It is so much better to use as you don’t need to take a shot then chimp on the LCD screen after to check it. For me the constant chimping needed on DSLR’s does ruin your flow and gets irritating after a while. With the large EVFs on the Pen F and particularly the Fuji XT2 I could quickly change to Acros or the Pen F’s black and white modes and see what my shot would look like in black and white. It also showed me whether the exposure was correct and if focus was spot on.
So which one would I choose if I had to do it all again?

Before I shot this wedding I have to be honest and say that I had a preconception that although I prefer mirrorless cameras for personal use, I would in fact find that the DSLR was still better when it comes to Professional use in a fast paced environment like a wedding.  Well, I was wrong. For me mirrorless cameras have caught up and in fact overtaken DSLR’s in every area that matters and if I was buying just one camera now it would be mirrorless and it would be from Olympus or Fuji.

If I could only have one of these cameras and I thought I may be shooting further weddings then it would be the Fuji XT2 because of the external control dials, slightly better high ISO performance, ability to deliver more shallow depth of field and fast accurate AF performance. I also happen to think the Fuji lens line-up is fantastic. Mind you, so are the micro 4/3 lenses.

If I was buying one camera just for personal use it would be the Olympus Pen F all day long. It is simply beautiful and a joy to use. Lightweight, great AF, excellent image quality and I haven’t even mentioned how much fun the colour dial is for black and white photography. That’s the camera I take with me when I go out with family and friends.

If you are going to shoot a Nikon I’d opt to jump up to full frame because the DX lens line-up is pathetic. The Nikon bodies are very good but I just prefer using mirrorless cameras these days and with the Fuji XT2 the AF is now quick enough to do its job.

If I was shooting another wedding with a Fuji XT2 I’d be buying a lot of spare batteries though as I fully drained 2 before the reception had finished. In fact I would buy the VPB-XT2 grip so you don’t have to worry about battery changes.

The Nikon D7200 after a full day was still showing 80% remaining and the Pen F about 40%. I took roughly the same number of shots with each Camera. That’s the only benefit the Nikon had over the others.

David

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75 Comments

  1. Good post. And good job. I just buy a EM1mk2. And I don’t know if is the case for your. But in mine at the moment is on I ear a motor noise inside the camera. Even if I don’t press any button on it. Been the the store to see the demo and same thing… I curious about the battery life whit a motor always running inside the camera.

    Just let me know about your’s. For the other thing this camera is a machine!

    Thank you

    • Hi Gilles,

      I don’t have an EM1 mk II yet so perhaps Steve might chime in but I presume it’s the cameras IS system. If I remember correctly I think people reported this on the original EM5 and battery life was fine so it’s probably fine on your EM1 II as well.

  3. Thank you very much for your thoughts and sharing. Very nice pictures, nice writting.

    I personnaly own a used X-T10, after a55/a57/ used X-E2, all budget cameras, but that fuji sensor with the correct development tool is a dream for me 🙂 I can not afford prime lens but fuji offers now 35mm f2 and 23 f2 which are absolutaly perfect for small budget, far ahead from sony sal 35 1.8mm.

    ( sorry for my small budget references 😉 )

    • Thanks for commenting.
      Use what you can afford and gives youthe results that you like.
      I’m sure you do just great with what you have.
      When I’m back in the UK next month I’ll be testing the 23mm and 35mm f2 lenses on the XT2. You might want to check it out.

  4. I don’t want to sound like a troll, but colors look excessively green, (maybe is the editing style), and framing is not what I will call wedding photography material, looks more like you were invited to the wedding and decided to do some snapshots. I say this because of the distracting elements in most of the images, and the odd side compositions, nothing from the front. Is a good try but still far from satisfactory.

    • That totally depends on what the couple asked you to do. If they want you to just stay in the background and shoot photos without interfering with the wedding. If they did not show you the location before, you were not there for a walkthrough of the ceremony or… than what you can actually achieve will vary. I have been to German weddings quite often and most of the time the preparations are sparse and the photographer is not part of it. Obviously the results are oftentimes a lot less flattering than what David is showing here. Imho it is the job of the photographer though to explain the couples what needs to be done to get the most out of their wedding photos.

      • Exactly Sebastian. You pretty much summed up the situation here.
        I was asked to turn up on the day and record it for the couple.
        They were busy preparing everything and even cooking their own food for the catering so I had to just fit in with their schedule.

        A quick browse through my replies would have explained this to ailukeswitch hence why I didn’t bother replying to him

        • Thats exactly my point, the style the photographer was looking was more of a documentary one, capturing the day to day activities, not intervening with the couple and people. Its a wonderful style that many look for, but only a few manage to achieve. It still looks like he was invited to the party and shot some side pictures 🙂 I will definitely not been satisfied if i would have hired him. I dont have any affiliation with the following link, but thats what i call documentary photography in a wedding, makes you fill you are inside the action,.. http://www.kevinmullinsphotography.co.uk/documentary-wedding-photographer/

        • Thats exactly my point, the style the photographer was looking was more of a documentary one, capturing the day to day activities, not intervening with the couple and people. Its a wonderful style that many look for, but only a few manage to achieve. It still looks like he was invited to the party and shot some side pictures 🙂 I will definitely not been satisfied if i would have hired him. I dont have any affiliation with the following link, but thats what i call documentary photography in a wedding, makes you fill you are inside the action,.. http://www.kevinmullinsphotography.co.uk/documentary-wedding-photographer/

          • I’m not sure if youre trolling but I’ll give you the courtesy of one response.

            I am not a wedding photographer. I made that clear in the article and to the couple.

            You have just compared me with Kevin Mullins, one of the top wedding photographers in the World. Show me any of your photos and of course I can show you someone who does it better because they have spent years honing their skills in a specialised genre.

            You wouldnt have had the option to ‘book me’ and then be disappointed because I don’t offer wedding photography. I did it as a favour for a couple who didn’t have the budget to book a wedding photographer.

            This enabled them to have photos of their special day when they otherwise would not.

            If you read the article in full and some of the commemts then you would already know this.

  5. Always wanted to switch to a lighter system from Nikon, but at the last generation everyone (after a certain firmware was released) raved about how close mirror-less has come to DSLR. Now the same story again. I tried (=bought) the X-T1, the EM-5ii and was totally disappointed by their speed overall and mainly AF wise and sold them again after months of disappointment.
    Don’t really trust this time it is different. Have a D500 now and just cannot see how anything could focus faster, at lower light or more accurately. It just nails everything you through at it, even in candle light. Price wise the X-T2 is in the same league (at least where I live) so that should be the comparator.

  6. any comment on flash usage ? I find the Olympus flash pathetically underpowered

    Focus ? my D750 blows the doors off my E-M1 (mk 1 )

    • Hi Marc,

      Unfortunately I didn’t use flash so can’t comment.

      In terms of speed or accuracy?

      I have a D750 on it’s way to me. I’ve had one before so I’m familiar with it. The focus on my D750 was always excellent and of course it does really well in low light too. Now if they widened the AF spread that would be even better.

    • try the metz400 or bigger with much improved shot to shot time, high Speed, Strobo and master functionallity (firmwareudate is needed)

      Focus on new E-M1 m2 is … just have a try your self

  7. Using 3 different cameras is a logistic nightmare.(for me).
    If one uses identical cameras, one or two more than sufficient.
    One can concentrate on more creative shots, than simply getting records..
    Digitals have different menus, button placement and features.
    When I did pro work, a camera with a special film, was brought for those creative work.
    Infra-red, Black and white or ultra high speed BW.
    Soft focus filters, BW filters, special flash, or added diaphragms.
    Your pix are OK but concentrate what you could have done?

    • Of course, however part of my reason for agreeing to do the wedding was because it offered a great chance to test out all 3 cameras side by side in an unforgiving situation.

      I also explained this and asked what sort of shots the couple wanted on the day. Luckily for me the couple just wanted a record of the day. There was no spare time to arrange and organise photos so I had to just roll with events on the day.

  8. Obviously you’re entitled to your own opinions, but this read like a pretty biased comparison from the get go. The Fuji with the 90mm is heavier than the Nikon with either of the lenses you mentioned and it’s not that much lighter with the 23mm either. Its grip is also much less substantial and the weight distribution is further forwards, yet the Nikon is the one that makes your arm feel sore two days later? Ridiculous. If I can carry a 300mm 2.8 around an air show all day long and handhold it for tracking shots, I’m sure you can manage an APS-C body with a plastic fantastic.

    • I can assure you I’m not biased. I buy all my own cameras and like them all for different reasons.
      I can’t tell you the weights of the setups off the top of my head but in order on the day the Pen F felt the lightest, followed by the Fuji and then the D7200. I mainly had the 17mm on the Pen, 23mm on the Fuji and 50mm 1.4 on the Nikon.

      If I stick a 24mm f/1.4 on the Nikon it will weigh more than the XT2. I also said my arm was a bit sore, not just from the Nikon but from the day in general. Hence I prefer to save weight if possible. Put the equivalent primes on and generally the Fuji setup is lighter.

      I used to lug around a 4×5″ film camera so I know about weight.

      • David, know exactly how you feel. Used to have a Nikon D300 and the 24mm F 1.4
        Definitely no fun, and it tends to focus all over the place.
        Now using a Pen F and 17mm. Great fun, just a bit of problem with the DOF. Cheers.

  9. I own two XT2’s and a slew of lenses and I’m traveling for the next year around the world – if you use battery saving measures like turning of auto review, pre AF, don’t chimp and turn off the camera instead of letting it sleep, you can easily get 1,000 shots on a single battery. I’ve hit 1,400 with juice to spare.

    I’m carrying 4 batteries, and even with a full day of shooting stills and 4k video I rarely change batteries.

    • I hear what you’re saying and I’ve heard others report the same but my experience was different.
      I had auto review off, pre af off and rarely chimped.
      I’ll test it out again but it seems consistent with my experience of the XT2 batteries so far.

  10. Great insight.

    The M43 is and has been perfectly fine for A LOT of professional use.

    I had and used Olympus OM-D E-M5, 2x OM-D E-M1’s, and an OM-D E-M5 Mk2 for great outdoor portraits in daytime.

    I had to work fast as I had a new group every 30 minutes, and focusing on M43 is often one of the most accurate and is definitely almost always the fastest.

    Coupled with the fact I made good use of off-camera flash via a TTL cable and the FL-600R, it offered plenty of power even with TTL HSS!. which I feel a lot of people have overlooked and it has been a life saver and SO useful especially when shooting wide open outdoors in bright daylight to brighten up my sunshine backlit subject(s).

    My favorite lens was the pro 12-40mm f/2.8 for a long time, then I made good use and used the pro 40-150mm f/2.8 mostly as it was REALLY good for flexible portrait shooting.

    I only switched back to Fuji once the X-Pro2 was about to be announced. I always liked Fuji and had it before all my M43 gear, but it was in its early stages and before all the well-received Kaizen updates. I would love to have kept my m43 gear, but I can only afford 1 camera and system, so I opted for Fuji.. I do like the way it captures people, though Olympus looks pretty good also, jus different.. But, on a technical level, the crop factor does make getting a similar shot harder to get.. it’s not difficult, but let’s say you must exaggerate and push the choice of gear to maximize the effects.. I feel you have to do less of that with the Fuji and APS-C sensor and the crop factor it has.

    IF I could keep both m43 and Fuji, I think I would keep the Fuji for wider to standard range photos and relative lenses, and the m43 with the 40-150mm and other more telephoto lenses to keep a telephoto system as compact as possible.

    I have been using aps-c and mostly m43 for nearly 5+years and never have I got a complaint from anyone that I was using a crop sensor camera, let alone an m43 one… though, some people I worked for said it is looked down upon..pppssshh!.. whatever.. they still accepted and love the photos I produced for their clients for over the 4 years I worked with them. Enough said.

    • Exactly, it’s all about the photos at the end of the day and using whatever you feel comfortabe with to get them is best for you.

      Someone else commented that I could have just bought 1 ‘really good camera’ instead of 3 consumer ones. The thing is these ‘consumer cameras are more than up to the task. Not to mention I review cameras so wanted to compare a number of models.

  11. While what you say may be true for how you use cameras, it is not necessarily completely true. Therefore sweeping statements such as “…mirrorless cameras have caught up and in fact overtaken DSLR’s in every area that matters …” should be avoided because what matters to you may not be what matters to the next guy, and probably doesn’t. Mirrorless cameras are close, and in some areas they are ahead of DSLR’s but at the moment, each have a place depending on use.

      • IMHO Steve invites other opinions. Kind of like a vote. By the wzy: Access to ISO can be had with Fn buttons instantaneously.

        • Maybe I was a bit harsh after a long day.

          However my point stands that I did say ‘for me’. For someone else DSLR’s might be better.
          That’s why it’s great to have choice.
          Merry Christmas to all.

  12. Pen F and 2 new pro.lens 25mm f1.2 AMF 12 to.100mm f4 would be my choose as I don’t shoot action, movies or very low light..if o did EM1 MKII.

  13. David, I found this post of yours very instructive, detailed and welll sequenced. Excellent reading. You made very clear what your interest and bias is in using these cameras, so one can easily figure out if and in how far your comments apply to one’s own style. Kudos to you! I wish there were more posts as substantial as yours on Steve’s site.

  14. Last year I bought a D7200 for its AF performance, in addition to a XT-1 well known for its modest AF capabilities before firmware 4 (I had previously an efficient D300s). Unfortunately, more than 80% of my shots were ouf of focus, even taken on tripod… Despite having sent the body and the lenses to Nikon services, I never got better results. End of the day the XT-1 is by far more accurate … and more fun to use!

  15. If I could offer some constructive critique on your images. Bullseye compositions of the bride while the make up artist is cropped in half doesn’t really work. I would also say the same about people’s eyes. Get them out of the middle of the frame. Nice article non the less…thanks for posting.
    As far as gear goes…I’ve used FF mirrorless, M43 and Fuji in the last two years and quite frankly they can all excel in the right hands…. Each platform offers something different and i have great images from all three systems. I just wish I could combine all the good stuff from each system. That would be one hell of a camera….

    • The perfect camera doesn’t exist yet but a combination of Olympus AF, Fuji controls and Sony sensor would be pretty close.

      Thanks for commenting.

  16. “Some people deride Micro 4/3 because of the smaller sensor but I really don’t think these people use the cameras in the real World.”

    I own 3 Olympus M43 cameras and one Panasonic and I will “deride” M43 all day because of the sensor, including the one in the PEN F. Everything ISO 800 and above looks bad, which is a real issue when APS-C and FF cameras are equally small and cheaper (!).

    The latest Olympus offerings are strictly fanboy-only.

    Other than that this post reeks of GAS and the photos are unimpressive. You could have bought one amazing camera instead of 3 consumer models.

    • So untrue, I use my PEN-F even at ISO 6400 at times. It’s about exposure like with any other camera. I guess those who spend their time with their cameras and learn how to use them effectively get the most out of them. Others just assume its no good at a certain ISO and just decide it’s no good. The PEN-F can shoot way above ISO 800 and be usable. There are thousands of examples of this.

      • Steve, even if I’m doing it wrong, your sample shots of the PEN-F and E-M1 II are equally unacceptable in the noise department.

        (I don’t think I’m doing it wrong, I’ve been shooting Olympus for 5 years now, and I’ve given the system more than a fair chance.)

      • Ok, and instead of only bashing M43 I also want to give my critique:

        #1 – Blown out and blooming from the background – a typical problem that I also have with my PEN.
        #2 – Person on the left cut in half.
        #9 – There is a flag pole coming out of the bride.
        #10 – Confusing photo, poor use of DoF.
        #12 – Blown out and blooming just like #1.

        I do like the last 2 photos of the kid. M43 (I assume these are M43) lends itself better to B/W photography and close up.

        • I could critique the photos myself and every other photo ever taken.
          3 systems, 1 day no time to organise photos except 3 mins before rushing off to the ceremony and not exactly photogenic locations for the most part.

          Sometimes the situation is not ideal but we do what we can to capture photos for the couple.

    • What a load of rubbish. ISO 1600 is excellent on the Pen F. 3200 is fine too unless you’re spending all day pixel peeping but then if you’re doing that you better go buy Medium format.

    • i “deride” any post preferring waxy Images (fuji) over smooth grain (oly), waxy faces look horrable to me (like magazine-covers or cheap portrait-software), btw Nikon traditionally looks best in darkness beside iso

      • Skin tones on the XT2 are only ‘waxy’ if you shoot jpeg and allow the camera to apply NR. I set it to -4 as I prefer the grain to overly smoothed photos.
        Saying that I also like the noise pattern on the Pen F upto 3200, even 6400 when properly exposed is very usable.
        Maybe I’ll shoot some controlled portraits with all 3 and so people can compare.

  17. I love the close up of the child eating. Magic! Overall, I found the B&W pictures to be more punchy. Any ideas on why?

    Have you tried the x-100t from Fuji yet? I am actually tossing up between the 3. Pen-F, X-100t or the XT1.

    I just want a carry along camera as I travel quite a bit with work.

    Congrats once again.

  18. The photos are very good and I am sure the couple are delighted with the results.
    It was a very interesting article with some good points about the various cameras in particular the focus issues mentioned.
    I do not use 4/3 format but the more I see of the results the more I like them.
    The Olympus Pen is the camera I always recommend to prospective street shooters who ask my advise (goodness knows why ?).
    I have photographed weddings myself and was very lucky that nothing crazy happened.
    I think we should leave that to people with extensive experience whose previous work is known to the couple. Thanks for posting

  19. Hi!

    I really liked your pictures and I agree that Olympus have a great line of lenses and camerabodies. When the X-T1 was launched I almost sold my Olympus gear and jumped ship. But, as I compared pictures and the cameras themselves I realised that the Olympus gave me some other benefits. I have a really hard time to change into a system with no built in stabilizer for example, and small as the Fuji camera is compared to Nikon and Canon, the Olympus cameras and primes are really in a league of it´s own. I was actually really impressed with the colors in the last picture and I thought it was from the Fuji. Just goes to show that I do not really see a difference…

  20. Skin tones are very different, Wedding-1-of-1-3.jpg is rather red, Wedding-1-of-1-4.jpg rather yellow (same person). Why are they so different, just pp? Or lightning or lens/camera differences? Which skin tone rendering is the most natural?

    • 1 of 3 (Fuji) has lots of natural light from an open door. The other (Nikon) is poorly lit from artificial light in a small room.

      PP’ed differently too.

      I can’t say one stands out as giving the most natural skin tones because it depends on the lighting. I find Olympus in poor light copes well in terms of colour. The fuji can look a little flat indoors. The Nikon and fuji in good light are both very good.

    • Hi Chris,

      I nearly mentioned in the article that I have set up AF micro adjust with the D7200. It doesn’t help with consistency of focus. When the D7200 nails it then it’s great but I found it to be inconsistent. Don’t get me wrong, I like the D7200 a lot, I’m picking fault with it to differentiate between the 3.

  23. “The only down side to the Pen F is that you don’t have direct access to change AF points. Instead you need to press the left D-pad button and then press one of the direction buttons to move the focus point around.”

    However, the Pen-F is the only one that has a touch screen to let you select your AF target and even with the touchpad AF you can change the AF target while you’re looking through the EVF. I can’t believe that being any less efficient than a joystick.

    • Hi Kian,

      This is true and perhaps I should have practised using the LCD trackpad function more but it just doesn’t come naturally to me. I must be getting old and stuck in my ways 🙂

    • you can also use the two weels (as for most function Settings), very easy, you dont have to put of or changing the Position of your hands

  24. My PEN-F is set up to use the direction arrows directly to move the focus point. It’s set somewhere in the menu by setting the directional buttons to ‘standard’ or something similar. It does make life sooooo much easier when this is implemented.
    And of course, if you are right-eyed, you can set the feature which allows using the touch-screen while you’re eye is at the viewfinder – doesn’t work for me as being left eyed, my nose changes focus point accidentally.
    I did have an X-T2 kit loaned from Fuji for 4 weeks and with their best lineup of lenses and couldn’t find a discernable difference in output quality to warrant a changeover (caveat being that I almost never shoot above 1600ASA as an absolute max).
    I also found the front dial, which I set up for exposure compensation, was so hard to find instinctively that it made it almost impossible to use; the knurled ring around the shutter release on the PEN sits perfectly where I need it to be for on-the-fly adjustments.

    Great review and images though and kudos for having the cojones to shoot a wedding with three different systems…..I would have had a meltdown for sure!!!

    Andrew

    • I’ll have to have a root through the menu again to find that setting because like you say it makes life so much easier. I did spend the night before setting up the cameras how I wanted but must have missed it. The Pen F did really well though. I sure love that camera. I agree if you have a Pen F the XT2 probably doesn’t offer enough to tempt you away.

      ISO at 3200 and up is better on the Fuji but it isn’t night and day.

      I’ve just been going through the files again today for final edits and I’m impressed at how well the Olympus does even at 3200 and 6400.

      It wasn’t exactly a relaxing day for me, especially in 30+c heat 🙂

    • I’ve owned the A7R and A7II and I just don’t bond with them as cameras. I admire what Sony are doing and their sensors are awesome but I have to enjoy using a camera to want to pick it up and shoot. The Sony’s always feel like computers to me. I much prefer Olympus and Fuji but I’m always open to a change of heart should Sony release something that catches my eye.

  27. A more appropriate comparison to the Fuji X-T2 would not be the Olympus Pen-F, but the OMD- EM1 II; not the Nikon D7200, but the Nikon D750. In addition, there is no reason not to use full frame Nikon G, or D lenses on the D7200. The lack choice of DX lenses is therefore a moot point.

    Given that you’ll have to buy two (2) extra batteries, and perhaps the vertical grip for the Fuji to match the Nikon’s battery endurance., it makes the XT-2 camera more expensive ( at least where I live) to acquire over the NIkon D7200.

    Just my 2 cents. 🙂

    • True and when I get an EM1 II I will do that comparison. I just shot what I had.
      I was going to shoot a D750 but it got delayed in the post and never made it to me on time. Although shooting four cameras may have finished me off.

      However I would argue that specs wise the D7200 is closer to the XT2 although I take your point that price wise the D750 is closer.

      Yes you can use full frame lenses but then you are paying a penalty in terms of weight and size (with some of those lens options). It would be nice to see Nikon fill out their DX lens lineup.

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