The Fuji kit - a price comparison

If ever there was a camera system I could get into beyond what I have now (Nikon, Sony NEX and Leica) its the Fuji X series.  I really love my X100, and applying these features and image quality to an interchangable lens system is highly appealing for me.  There is one big problem: cost.

Lets do a comparison to a full frame Nikon DSLR system, with lenses that have a similar adjusted focal length and aperture, in this case assuming that the aperture relates to a depth of field.  ie a 35mm f1.4 on an APS-C body should shoot very similarly to a 50mm f2 on a full frame body.  I'm a prime lens kinda guy, so I'm going to focus on these for both systems, with Canadian MSRP quoted for both in Canadian dollars.

As you can see, to purchase a full Fuji kit is actually more expensive than the equivalent Nikon full frame kit.  Each kit does have advantages - the Fuji body is smaller, the Nikon has far more lens options (both new and used, more megapixels and better high ISO capability as it is full frame.  Lens size wise the Fuji has only a small advantage as we're comparing similar effective apertures, however the body allows the use of tons of different lenses via an adapter that the Nikon cannot do.

Given this, it would be tough for me to make a call to go out and buy a Fuji kit.

Sony NEX 5n vs Sony NEX 3n

A few months back I advised my father in law to buy a Sony NEX 3n, which we found for, at the time, an amazing deal of $299 with the 16-50mm power zoom lens.  He loved it, but it unfortunately was dropped lens first onto something hard, and the lens wasn't fixable.  It turned out that it was cheaper to buy a whole new kit than buy the lens, which is what he did, so I ended up with the Sony NEX 3n body.

 

It has though given me a chance to try them both out side by side, an interesting comparison given that they have the same sensor.  However, the do differ; the 5n has the 900k dot touchscreen, while the NEX 5n has a 460k dot non touch screen, and it is significantly better. It also has a double hinge, unlike the 3n, which makes overhead shots much easier.  The NEX3n has a built in flash and is over all a bit larger.  Unfortunately the NEX 3n subscribes to the Nikon theory of haphazard fill in flash, rather than the brilliance of the Fujis.

Control wise, the cameras are very similar, both lacking the wheel controls of the NEX 5t and NEX 6, though the touch screen makes it easier to navigate screens.

All in all they are pretty similar, and I think you would be hard pressed to find a better deal than a NEX 3n out there right now.