Fuji X-Pro1

This should be a fun comparison.  I have the pleasure of having three of the best mirrorless cameras around in my possession right now: a newly acquired Fuji X-E1 with 35mm f/1.4, my trusty Olympus OM-D E-M5 and the Panasonic GH3, fresh into my hands for review.  Expect full reviews of the Fuji X-E1 and Panasonic GH3 in the coming weeks. Anyway, I thought it would be fun to pop the Panasonic Leica 25mm f/1.4 on the two Micro 4/3 cameras and do a controlled studio shot against the Fuji X-E1 with its Fujinon 35mm f/1.4.  Due to the different sized sensors, these setups result in an almost identical field of view, with the 4:3 aspect ratio of the m4/3 cameras allowing for a little wider field of view in the vertical direction. The 35mm on the X-E1 is slightly narrower than the 25mm on Micro 4/3, however (equivalent to the field of view of a 53mm lens on full frame vs the equivalent field of view of 50mm for the Leica). As a result of this minor difference in aspect ratio and field of view, the crops you’re about to see will make the Fuji look like it is rendering things slightly larger.  All images were taken on a tripod with 2 second timer, and all were taken from the same position......

 

Conclusion

Well, the X-E1 is a camera with fantastic image quality, that much is certain.  Not surprisingly, it produces cleaner images throughout the ISO range and retains great detail.  Is the Fuji the best of these three cameras then?  In pure image quality from the sensor?  Yes.  In other ways?  Not so fast….  Wait for my full review of the X-E1 for more detailed discussion, but both the GH3 and OM-D are much more responsive machines when it comes to autofocus.  Still, Fuji has a winner on their hands.  It’s also great to see Panasonic put out a body with very high image quality to match the OM-D on the stills side.