The EM5 and the X100

[Keith]

It's occured to me that the X100 I had has the reliability record from hell!

The camera was replaced after a week because of erratic over exposure (replaced by Fuji) ... the second camera lasted a week before I noticed severe banding (replaced by Fuji) ... the third camera ultimately went to Paul in the US who has just received the camera back from Fuji with a replacement lens assembly because of the re-ocurring over exposure problem that he started suffering with it recently.

Hopefully my OMD will be blessed with better reliability.

[Paul T.]

This is a question I've pondered, especially as I own a GF1 and hence the Pana 20/1.7.

But isn't the Olympus far more expensive than the X100? The latter is around £650 in the UK, but the Olympus is more like £1000. I'd buy one during my trip to Japan, but even there it's nearly £800. It's a lovely camera, but I think we're paying a premium price for its cute looks.

[shadowfox]

Originally Posted by Paul T.

It's a lovely camera, but I think we're paying a premium price for its cute looks.

I think you're confusing the OM-D with Nikon-1

How can you say it's just about the looks of the camera?
By now there are plenty of hands-on reviews that acknowledge the versatility and the performance of the camera in daily use. Some even from people who used to think that m4/3rd cameras are mere toys.

[semilog]

Originally Posted by jsrockit

You got to be kidding here...

I use both various Oly's and an X-Pro. They're all fine, and both cameras implement a quick menu rather nicely. Despite its quirks I like the X-Pro more than any digital I've used. Feels right in the hands, delivers fantastic files. The B&W JPEGs are the best I've ever seen out-of-camera.

It was a tough choice between the X-Pro and the OM-D but that remarkable, lovely OVF won the day for me.

[dreilly]

Keith,
That might have been just a bad sample. It's really hard to get a good sense of reliability because the ones who have the bad samples are more likely to write about it. So it's hard to say. Mine was trouble-free. The statistical spread is hard to say. If I had a bad one, however, I would be shy to try another for sure. I guess human brains were wired more to base their decisions on anecdote (aka experience) rather than statistics. Of all the digital cameras I've owned, I've rarely had any problems. I had a D700 refurb with bad AF out of the box, I had to repair an E-5 with a cracked LCD hinge. Other than that they have been remarkably trouble-free.

[bhop73]

Originally Posted by dreilly

I don't think it was hyperbole to say the X100 is a digital camera with far more controls than a Leica M ever had, so I'll stand by what I said....
Now that I think back on it, the big pain for me with the X100 was toggling back and forth into macro focusing mode. That really slowed me down...for many shooters that wouldn't be an issue. But I will often try to take in a wider angle scene and then hone in an a detail, toggle toggle...

Every digital camera has more controls than a Leica M..

As far as the macro mode.. it's just one button on the back.. I don't really get what's difficult about it, but oh well.

Personally, I set my x100s menu only once. The only times I've had to "dive into the menu" is reformat my card, everything else has a button or dial. I like using the x100 for the most part, but i've found it's not a reliable camera. I've had a lot of issues with autofocus missing and i've had the sticky aperture blades issue repaired twice. If I had to do it over again I might go with the OM-D.

[semilog]

the big pain for me with the X100 was toggling back and forth into macro focusing mode.

Not a problem with the Leica M, generally, now is it?

I LOVE the custom settings. I LOVE the ability to toggle between OVF and parallax-free EVF. I LOVE the ability to see my DoF scale and a live histogram through the OVF.

More settings... but also new and very useful capabilities.

I still love my M6 (it is not lonely and still eats plenty of 2TMY) but it is not the end-all and be-all.

[dreilly]

Originally Posted by bhop73

As far as the macro mode.. it's just one button on the back.. I don't really get what's difficult about it, but oh well.

Well, let's see. Focus on the chef flipping eggs. A few frames, did I get it in focus? Okay, good. Oh, that looks great on the plate. Use my feet to zoom in on plate. Try to focus. No good. Too close. Step back. Too much clutter in the frame. Take camera away from eye, locate macro button. (Later I got to know the button by feel and eliminated this step.) Change to macro mode. OVF turns into EVF, reframe...plate taken away by waitress! Chef turning sausages on grill, lots of fire, quick, damn, AF is slow because it's stuck on MACRO. Locate macro button, toggle, awe, crap, fire is gone, the moment lost...

Having a macro mode accessible only by a few button clicks was not fun for me. YMMV, but I think my issue was pretty reasonably frustrating. The X100 is great for some things but it's just not as nimble as the OM-D.

[gilpen123]

Have both, love the Fuji colors but not as fast as I would want it to be. Yesterday, I shot with the OMD during the Philippines' Independence Day celebration and I would say it hold it's own very well. I use it with the grip, a 20 1.7 and 45 1.8. It's an excellent fast action machine, one needs to understand very well it's UI to maximize the potential. Still learning it though.