Leica X Vario and Fujifilm X-E2- How Do They Compare?

[vcs700s]

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Here is the link to my new review comparing the Leica X Vario and Fujifilm X-E2.

 

I hope you find it objective and informative.

 

Leica X Vario vs Fujifilm X-E2- How Do They Compare? | Vic's X Vario Blog

[Ecaton]

Here is the link to my new review comparing the Leica X Vario and Fujifilm X-E2.

 

I hope you find it objective and informative.

 

Leica X Vario vs Fujifilm X-E2- How Do They Compare? | Vic's X Vario Blog

 

A balanced review but for comparison it should include the X Vario price including EVF, the max shutter speed difference, the fact that the Fuji is the much better low light shooter (at the long end probably 4 stops of advantage) because of better high iso performance, faster lens and lastly a very effective OIS. I own neither of these cameras, but had the X-E1 and it looks as if the X-E2 is what its predecessor should have been. As mentioned in your review, one of the impressive things about Fuji is how it listens to its customers.

[Archiver]

Thanks for that comparative article, Vic. If you have future articles that compare the image quality from each camera, that would be very interesting, too. Of particular interest is the response of their raw files to processing, and whether one can 'take' more than the other, or if they are about the same.

[rob_w]

Thanks Vic. This is the comparison that begs to be made, and you have done it.

 

Seems to me IQ is still the key question. The XV stands or falls by the quality of that zoom lens, reported to be outstanding. The X-Trans sensor in the Fuji continues to elicit complaints in many quarters -- even LR5.3 does not de-mosaic as well as usual Bayer pattern sensors, apparently.

 

From your report it seems you found the IQ of each to be roughly equivalent. Have I read correctly, and are there any comments you would add?

 

I would like to buy one of these but do not want to buy both as you have done!

[bill]

...The X-Trans sensor in the Fuji continues to elicit complaints in many quarters -- even LR5.3 does not de-mosaic as well as usual Bayer pattern sensors, apparently....

 

Good point. The problem lies not with Fuji but with many of the raw developer software suppliers, which have yet to "catch up". In the meantime you have an elegant solution built-in to the camera - a raw development facility. It is straightforward to copy the jpg to something with a larger screen then "develop" the raw file in camera according to taste.

 

I have had an X-E1 for over a year now and will upgrade in the future. Fair to say, however, that never mind the X-E2, the X-E1 already knocks the XV into a cocked hat for handling, price, having a built-in viewfinder, interchangeable lenses (including M...), level, raw processing, manual focussing, etc, etc, etc.

 

The irony is that Fuji was Leica's "digital partner" long before Panasonic. Somewhere in an alternate universe, they still are, and the "XV" would never have seen the light of day...

[rob_w]

Ha, ha!

 

Maybe, Bill. But wrong universe for you and I

[spylaw4]

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Now there is little doubt that the XE-2 is an improvement over the XE-1, which I enjoyed up to a point when I owned it. Indeed the images taken by it form the majority of one of my Blurb books - Reunification.

The killer was the (for me) cumbersome process described by bill to deal with raw development satisfactorily. Combine that with LR's seeming inability to cope adequately with the X-trans sensor and the XE and lenses had to go, especially as by then the X Vario had arrived and after trialling it my initial doubts vanished.

I have and will never claim that the XVario is a camera for everyone, and even Leica have admitted that the marketing campaing pre-launch was a disaster. What astounds me is the vehemence and language that people use to denigrate what is in fact a very competent and useful camera

[2wk]

I posted some image comparasons between the X Vario and the Xpro1 on the RFF:

 

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=139271

[vcs700s]

Thanks Vic. This is the comparison that begs to be made, and you have done it.

 

Seems to me IQ is still the key question. The XV stands or falls by the quality of that zoom lens, reported to be outstanding. The X-Trans sensor in the Fuji continues to elicit complaints in many quarters -- even LR5.3 does not de-mosaic as well as usual Bayer pattern sensors, apparently.

 

From your report it seems you found the IQ of each to be roughly equivalent. Have I read correctly, and are there any comments you would add?

 

I would like to buy one of these but do not want to buy both as you have done!

 

Pics from both cameras can be found at the links at the end of the article.

[larsv]

I have the XPro1 and I don't like the raw files when compared to the leica raws. I find the leica raws more detailed and more robust to play around with. With fuji lots of micro contrast and details are gone. It's not bad, but just not at the same level. But that's just my opinion.