Im starting a new photography system and need some help

[Gzisis89]

Thanx a lot for your kind and helpful answers. It seems that many people had the same thoughts about me in the past and thats nice cause im not really looking something very niche, just a medium to make my hobby in 2023 and not in 1985 anymore. I love film and that wont change but i quess digital will help me have more keepers or at least try in a different way. That said and after reading all of your comments and googling-reading all night long i think i like the olympus pen f with the 17mm and the fuji xt-3 with the 23 f2 a lot. A member posted a very nice size comparison of the pentax mx and the olympus and i found really nice that the size stays almost the same if not smaller-lighter. How does the xt-3 compare with the pen f on size and picture quality ? I find the xt-3 would fit me better and of course bigger sensor is better but if the weight/size is a lot more than the pen f then id just go to the pen. Does anyone have them both ?

 

[JeffS7444]

Does anyone have them both ?

I don't, but Camerasize.com does:
Compare camera dimensions side by side

 

[Rob-F]

For a smooth transition from film to digital, it's the Fuji X-100, definitely! When I got mine, it was, "Wow, just like shooting my Leica M2 with 35mm f/2 lens, only now it's digital." It is lightweight, has a clear viewfinder, is (slow) autofocus. And you can the original X100, or get any of it's four upgrade versions, depending on your budget. I'm still happy with my original X100. When I want a Zoom lens, I have my Fuji X20: tiny, with really good image quality; but it's not like shooting with a 35mm film camera.

 

[Gzisis89]

For a smooth transition from film to digital, it's the Fuji X-100, definitely! When I got mine, it was, "Wow, just like shooting my Leica M2 with 35mm f/2 lens, only now it's digital." It is lightweight, has a clear viewfinder, is (slow) autofocus. And you can the original X100, or get any of it's four upgrade versions, depending on your budget. I'm still happy with my original X100. When I want a Zoom lens, I have my Fuji X20: tiny, with really good image quality; but it's not like shooting with a 35mm film camera.

The x100 series is surely good and very interesting. Some things bother mee though a lot. The hype has just made the prices explode and one can now buy an x100 first model for about 600 when you could easily buy one with 300 4 years ago. Im not willing to pay for something so old with slow focus and old lens so much money knowing that the technology is so far away now. One can make good photos with his phone too i try to enter the digital place for good af, good low light and some things that make life easier. Id surely try the x100v but not for 1500 without he option to change lenses. I wont change lenses all the time and ill stay for one year with 35mm but options are always good. At 1000 euro id give it a try though

 

[x-ray]

I made a few pix this morning that hopefully will help with a size reference.

I don’t have an Olympus and never seen one so I’m no help there but I did shoot a comparison between my X-T3 and Leica M4-P.

The Fuji is slightly bigger but not by much but the Fuji is noticeably lighter. With the MR meter on the Leica the Leica is taller.

I also photographed my X-T3 with my X-E1. The X-E1 is much smaller and lighter but the VF isn’t as good and focus is slower although for most shooting it’s just fine. I’ve not handled any of the newer X-E cameras but assume they’re about the same size as my X-E1 but with much better AF and VF.

The last three shots are my X-E1.

 

[x-ray]

Although the X-E1 is older technology it still makes excellent images. The color is consistent with what Fuji is known for, vibrant colors and beautiful skin tones.

Shot in October 2022 with the X-E1 and 18-55 in raw and processed through Lightroom 6.14.

 

[joe bosak]

I've had X-E1, X-Pro1, X100T - all sold, regretably given how the X100T would now cost more than I paid new to buy used, as you've more or less noted - and now I have a Pen-F.

Compared to those Fujis, in my view, the Pen-F is small, light and nimble, and a real joy to use. I have it with the 17mm. Manual focus is just by pulling back the lens ring (think it exposes a depth of field scale maybe), so MF easy and works well. AF is fast, it's easy to change parameters like face settings. I like the flip/twisty/whatever-you-call-it screen (great when you actually want a selfie), and it's great to be able to turn it inwards so the screen doesn't show. I also have an Em5ii and that's largely similar except the form factor - and also a joy to use. Both have excellent EVFs. Built-in timelapse intervalometer too. And they come with a nice little flash that doesn't use batteries, really handy, tiltable - I think it rotates as well - with power set by the camera in various ways.

If you're doing still life or similar the Olys have a high resolution mode (80mp or whatever on the Pen-F - though I personally have never found it useful) and others have said they have well-regarded image stabilisation.

The Pen-F seems to hold it's value well- Em5ii is a bit bigger but very light, so maybe that's an option if you're on a tighter budget. And I think it's weather-sealed?

 

[Ko.Fe.]

Pen F digital ebay sold price is around 700 USD for used.
Olympus E-M5 MKII is just as good, costs twice less and honestly this is fair price for used M43 camera in 2023.

If you like primes, try to chaise used X-E4 under reasonable price. Newer than Pen F, bigger sensor, lighter camera.
Olympus is good for IBIS and smaller zooms.

 

[agentlossing]

The Pen-F is really nice. It has an advantage over the EM5II of a 20mp sensor instead of the 16mp one in the EM5II, and some nicer software for customizing JPEG output. But if you want to save some money, I think the EM5II is the closest comparison in terms of build quality. The EM1II is a bit larger, but not as large as you'd think, and also brings the 20mp sensor, with a bit better AF performance than the Pen-F.

 

[cboy]

If EVF is a major factor then I would compare them

Mirrorless EVF Sizes | Neocamera
SL2s is comparatively a smaller body with fairly large resolution evf

Otherwise the sigma fp/l has a large attachment finder 😁

 

[Gordon Moat]

If you want to look at used digital, to keep the budget in good shape, there is a YouTube Channel of Mattias Burling with lots of nice reviews.

https://youtube.com/@mattiasburling

I mostly agree with the Fujifilm recommendation, because they’re close to the older film camera controls. Another camera not mentioned is the Nikon Zfc in black or silver, with some nice compact lens choices.

 

[farlymac]

When I started to make the switch from strictly film to some digital, it made sense to stick with Nikon instead of switching just because I had an idea of what they were doing with their DX line and could still use some of my lenses via an adapter. But I was highly tempted to jump on a Fuji X100F. I actually bought one after doing a wide area search, getting it from Richmond Camera. Only problem was it was a store demo and they tried to pass it off as being brand new. Yeah, brand new with over 100 shutter actuations, big greasy fingerprints all over the place, and a huge scratch on the body. So, I took it back even though it was hard to give up on something I put so much time in hunting down. Then Nikon came out with the Z50 and I decided to go that direction along with a Z5 so I can use my rangefinder lenses on a full frame digital camera. When the (surprise!) Fuji X100V came out I was willing to get one because of the improvements they made to it and it is such a nice take anywhere camera, but had just spent my budget on the Nikons. Later on when I tried to again purchase an X100V or an X-E4 there were none to be had except for some sketchy vendors on eBay. So, for right now I'd say that if you do decide on getting a Fujifilm camera there are several models that are no longer available new. I don't know if they are culling the herd, or just letting the inventory run down before they introduce new versions. But they do have a wide range of models to choose from when they are in stock. Maybe they are designing an X-E5. Now that would be something to wait for.

PF

 

[Gzisis89]

Id sure consider canon and nikon if they had the option of lenses but from what i checked none of them has on apsc system lenses that are the clasic 28,35,50 etc. I didnt research or try cameras for a long time and now i get how confusing it is.

 

[JeffS7444]

Pen-F was always expensive, rarely discounted, and I hesitate to recommend a secondhand unit at 700+ USD because, unless you really, really want it, I feel there are better values to be had, such as Olympus EM5, EM10, Sony A6x00-series, sometimes even Sony A7x-series.

Another camera that I might enjoy trying is Nikon's Zfc. Like Pen-F, I think it's got the potential to remain a unique product, because I doubt that it's been a great sales success, so there may not be a Mk II version in the future. But unlike Pen-F, you can still buy a brand-new Zfc today. Surprisingly light weight, it actually weighs less than Pen-F.

 

[JeffS7444]

For what it's worth, some sample photos taken with Pen-F and some of the lenses that I've mentioned previously:

 

[agentlossing]

Pen-F was always expensive, rarely discounted, and I hesitate to recommend a secondhand unit at 700+ USD because, unless you really, really want it, I feel there are better values to be had, such as Olympus EM5, EM10, Sony A6x00-series, sometimes even Sony A7x-series.

Another camera that I might enjoy trying is Nikon's Zfc. Like Pen-F, I think it's got the potential to remain a unique product, because I doubt that it's been a great sales success, so there may not be a Mk II version in the future. But unlike Pen-F, you can still buy a brand-new Zfc today. Surprisingly light weight, it actually weighs less than Pen-F.

Some might say, too lightweight. I couldn't get behind the feel of the Zfc in hand, but, to each their own.

 

[Gordon Moat]

Id sure consider canon and nikon if they had the option of lenses but from what i checked none of them has on apsc system lenses that are the clasic 28,35,50 etc. I didnt research or try cameras for a long time and now i get how confusing it is.

In both Nikon and Canon, that range is covered by compact zoom. There is an older Canon EOS M, though it’s being slowly replaced by Canon RF mount, and best avoided. The Nikon Zfc with 16-50mm zoom is €959 currently. However, if you want to avoid zoom lenses, then Fujifilm gives the most choices.

 

[JeffS7444]

Some might say, too lightweight. I couldn't get behind the feel of the Zfc in hand, but, to each their own.

You can always add mass to a camera via battery grips and L-plates, but it's far more difficult to add lightness!

 

[jsrockit]

Some might say, too lightweight. I couldn't get behind the feel of the Zfc in hand, but, to each their own.

I think this is always hard when it tries to look like something that already exists (i.e. FM2 etc). That said, I'm not interested in Leica M digital anymore because it is too heavy. I prefer the weight of my X-Pro3 now. It's funny how our views can change.

 

[agentlossing]

I think it bothers me as there are a lot of interesting third-party lens options which are mostly metal and glass, and I feel they would be unbalanced on the lightweight plastic Zfc frame.