Why I finally moved from D800 to Fuji Xpro1 and Olympus OM-D

Note: this article is in spaghetti English only. For this I must say sorry in advance to both Italian and English language readers 🙂

At the beginning I was shooting with Nikon, starting from D40 up to the last one, the D800.
When I started working on mountain tracks, and travelling a lot, I immediately felt that the Nikon kit was too heavy and too bulky.
You cannot run 25k on mountain tracks carrying a D800 (or previously the D700) with you.

So I started my second kit based on micro 4/3 system.

When I finally got the E-M5 I started thinking that the D800 could be not necessary any more. Of course the IQ is better, but during this 18 months I used the D800 only twice, and the OM-D almost always. I sold all my Nikon lenses, keeping only the great 14-24 and the 50mm 1.4D, and I bought all the lenses I needed for my Oly kit.

I kept the D800 and the 14-24 for that works where I was supposed to use tripod and not having troubles about moving around with my photography equipment. But again, when I came to some works where the D800 would have been the better choice, I was so confident with my Oly that I tried to use it just to see if I really was missing the Nikon. I wasn’t.

The following shots where taken in Barcelona Catedral in two different times and places (the position isn’t exactly the same) but here I started thinking that maybe the D800 was not necessary any more…

Olympus OM-D
Lumix 7-14 F4 @ 7mm (eq FF 14) F4		 Nikon D800
Nikkor 14-24 F2.8 @ 14mm F2.8

But still I was not sure: I did some “home comparisons” and I found out that, in low light conditions there was still a big difference between D800 and OM-D. I know, everybody knows that, but I like to waste my time in such kind of things, sometimes. So I did some home made, not technical, really non-scientific tests:

My home made, non technical, non scientific comparisons

Then the final moves: few days ago I found in my usual shop a used Fuji X-pro1, in perfect conditions.
The price was so attracting that I decided to do a final test: a comparison between D800 with 50 1.4D and Fuji X-pro1 and fujinon 35mm (in FF would be 52mm) 1.4
The results here:

Image #1
Fujifilm X-pro1
Fujinon 35mm @ F1.4		 Nikon D800
Nikkor 50mm @ F1.4
Fuji 400 ISO
 Nikon 400 ISO
Fuji 1600 ISO
 Nikon 1600 ISO
Fuji 3200 ISO
 Nikon 3200 ISO

 

Image #2
Fujifilm X-pro1
Fujinon 35mm @ F1.4		 Nikon D800
Nikkor 50mm @ F1.4
Fuji 400 ISO
 Nikon 400 ISO
Fuji 1600 ISO
 Nikon 1600 ISO
Fuji 3200 ISO
 Nikon 3200 ISO
Fuji 6400 ISO
 Nikon 6400 ISO

 

Image #3
Fujifilm X-pro1
Fujinon 35mm @ F16		 Nikon D800
Nikkor 50mm @ F16
Fuji 400 ISO
 Nikon 400 ISO
Fuji 1600 ISO
 Nikon 1600 ISO
Fuji 3200 ISO
 Nikon 3200 ISO

 

Conclusions

I know I’m not that good in comparisons and technical stuff, but this last tests confirmed that X-pro1 IQ is great. Noise control is more or less similar to D800 one, and the “feel” of images is better. I couldn’t exactly say why, but I prefer it. So I did the last “move”: the D800, 14-24 and 50 F1.4 (and the Fuji X100s) are gone, and now my kits are this two (I know, that’s a lot of money for all this stuff, but I had a really good D800 kit so mainly I just replaced parts, where possible buying used pieces. Anyway the big expenses where already done, so I only did a “conversion”):

Micro 4/3

I find this as the perfect traveller and sports solution. I can run the mountains for hours carrying in my little waist bag the E-M5, the 9-18 and the 45 (plus spare battery and charger). When travelling, I can easily pack all the equipment in a little backpack. Thanks to it’s advanced features and strong customization capabilities, this solution is also perfect for my usual HDR work.

Bodies

  • Olympus OM-D E-M5 as main body (replaced soon with the new E-M1)
  • Olympus PEN E-P5 as backup body and always-carry-in-bag solution (mainly with Panasonic 14mm pancake)

Lenses

  • Samyang 7.5mm fish-eye
  • Panasonic 7-14 F4 (great for interiors, urban and landscapes)
  • Olympus 9-18 (perfect for running activity both for photo and video)
  • Panasonic 12-35X F2.8 (soon to be replaced with the new Olympus 12-40)
  • Olympus 45mm F1.8
  • Olympus 60mm macro
  • Olypmus 14-150

Fuji X-pro1

When the best possible IQ is required, for street photography, portraits and similar stuff the Fuji solution is great. Micro 4/3 is not so far, but when it comes to “pure pleasure” the Fuji is unbeatable. A piece of art, a real joy to use. Two primes (maybe three) and that’s all you need:

  • Fujifilm X-pro1 body
  • Fujinon XF 14mm F2.8 (eq. FF 21mm) – waiting for it
  • Fujinon XF 23mm F1.4 (eq. FF 35mm) – maybe coming
  • Fujinon XF 35mm F1.4 (eq. FF 53mm)