My Sony NEX 5n and Fuji X100

One thing about the two cameras above that I have at home is that I feel no need to upgrade.  Yes, the new 16mp sensor in the X100S would be better, and a viewfinder like on the NEX 6 also nice, but neither are going to make a huge improvement to my photography.  I am looking for something that will be substantially better in image quality, usability and give me something that I can't do now.  As an example, a full frame mirrorless, like an E mount RX-1, would be something I would seriously consider worthy.  Until that time, I'll stick with what I've got.

Brown ale - Fuji X100

Leica CL in the park at winter time

         

A while back I wrote about my adventures here in Sunnybrook Park with a Leica CL, a Sony NEX 5n and a pair of snow shoes.  I fitted the cameras with the Voigtlander 21mm f4 and the Sigma 19mm f2.8, loaded some Fuji Neopan into the CL and ventured off.  

The CL is a cool camera.  It's really small, about the same size as a Sony NEX 6/7, and with the compact Voigtlander 21mm lens, it is almost pocketable.  The rangefinder is not even in the ballpark of the excellent Leica M3, but is comparable to cameras like the Fuji GS645S and the Canonet QL17.  With a slow wide angle lens like the Voigtlander, as long as you have focusing approximately right, there won't be an issue as the depth of field is so large.

Like I have written before, the Voigtlander is an excellent lens, and on film offers lovely tonality, commensurate with the Neopan film.  Compared to the shots with the Sony NEX, the contrast is much lower, with many more gradients of gray showing.  I will admit that I had set the NEX contrast artificially high, but I was still surprised to see the difference.

Sony NEX 6 vs Fuji XE-1

I must say that this is one of the most interesting match ups to come out in quite a while.  Both cameras are of a similar size, both have the Sony 16MP sensor (Fuji's has some of their own magic fairy dust added), both use the Sony XLA OLED viewfinder (the NEX-6 having a faster refresh rate), both come with interesting kit lenses (Sony's collapsible and wide 16-50mm f3.5-5.6 vs the fast aperture Fuji 18-55mm f2.8-4) and both are premium priced in the mirrorless market.

However the Fuji is quite a bit more than the Sony.  With the kit lens the Fuji is a full $400 more (MSRP $999 vs $1399).   Is it worth it?  That remains to be seen, but I think for Fuji it will be a stretch to show customers the extra value.

As a side bar, I've seen used X-Pro1 bodies now starting to really drop in price on the used market.  Most are going for $1,100 or less now, a little under a new XE-1 with tax.

Sony NEX 5n with Leica 50mm Summicron M