A comparison of image quality between the Fujifilm FinePix X100 vs Olympus PEN EP2
| Fujifilm X100 in Mirrorless CamerasWe've now completed our review of the much discussed Fujifilm FinePix X100 which you will find here: Fujifilm Finepix X100 digital camera test. And last year we tested a similar sized and equally desireable Olympus PEN E-P1
So here is a quick photo comparison comparing the close up / macro features of the Fujifilm X100 with the Olympus E-P1's recent replacement, the E-P2.
What we wanted to do is see how well each camera focused at close range and compare accuracy of focus, sharpness and rendition at the widest aperture, the optimum aperture and the smallest aperture. The shots are at ISO100. It's obviously not an all inclusive test but will add further evidence to help you decide which of these deluxe compact cameras to buy.
EDIT Please note I state above that it's not an inclusive test. Comments below have suggested we should be looking at other aspects and not close focusing as the cameras are not designed for this sort of use. If not why does one have a "macro" mode! And both offer extremely close focusing. So while not conclusive it will help you assess one aspect of the camera and I'm sure some street photographer will post a review sometime soon.
The shot is an old camera, in fact the grandfather of mechanical cameras, the Leica rangefinder. It's placed on its back on a cushion with sequins. This gives you an idea of the quality of the rendition of the subtle out of focus bits as well the main sharpest point. The cameras were mounted on a tripod and the same position was used for both. The Fuji has a fixed 23mm lens (and a 1.5x crop factor) , the Olympus has an interchangeable lens and was fitted with the 17mm (and a 2x crop factor). So we end up with a similar crop. The focus point was the Leica's slow shutter speed dial bang in the centre of the frame.
The illumination is a large patio door with a silver reflector on the other side to throw some light into the shadows.
The cameras were set to the correct exposure and a bracket was done. A shot at 1/3 under exposure proved to be about right.
Interestingly the Olympus was a much more decisive about what it was focusing on and snapped instantly into place, while the Fuji hunted around a bit. At one point I didn't think it was going to make it, but once locked on it was quick for each of the shots.
The results speak for themselves. Click on the full frame shots to see the full size original photos for detailed comparison.
| Fujifilm Finepix X100 1/10sec at f/8 ISO100 |
Olympus E-P2 1/10sec at f/8 ISO100 |
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| Crop of above shot on Fuji (actual size) |
Crop of above shot Olympus (actual size) |
| Fujifilm X100 1/140sec f/2 ISO100 |
Olympus E-P2 1/50sec at f/2.8 ISO100 |
| Fujifilm X100 0.5sec f/16 ISO100 | Olympus E-P2 0.5sec at f/18 ISO100 |
What do you think? Add your comments below
We also have a RAW file available for you to download and play with here:
Olympus E-P2 1/30sec at f/8 ISO400
Fujifilm Finepix X100 1/18sec at f/8 ISO400
(We just need to do some changes to our database to get the new file format of the Fuji uploaded). Adobe Raw doesn't have a converter yet so please bookmark and return to this page soon.
ADDED INFO: 22 Mar 2011
Thanks for the feedback (see comments below)
As a result of this I've done two more comparisions. Both on aperture prioirty at the indicated meter reading.
1 With both cameras set to f/2.8 rather than their lens' maximum. (Good point)
2 With both cameras set to ISO6400.
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| Fujifilm Finepix X100 1/45sec at f/2.8 and ISO200 | Olympus E-P2 1/100sec at f/2.8 and ISO200 |
Extreme noise test using same subject and f/8 aperture. Both cameras set to low noise reduction. The Fuji, as we reported in the Fujifilm Finepix X100 digital camera test is outstanding!
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| Fujifilm Finepix X100 1/250sec at f/8 and ISO6400 | Olympus E-P2 1/320sec at f/8 and ISO6400 |
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| Fujifilm Finepix X100 shot of rust | Olympus E-P2 shot of rust |
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Photographs taken using the Fujifilm X100
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22 Mar 2011 12:59AMthe f/2 vs f/2.8 is where the fuji loses out I think. I really need to get used to that extremely soft, hazy look the camera produces at f/2.
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22 Mar 2011 1:33AMafter stop down to f/2.8 fuji may win over olympus!
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22 Mar 2011 1:59AM-
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22 Mar 2011 2:50AMOlympus glass is just weak in general for this format. Nice to see that the Fuji file looks so clean, tho.
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22 Mar 2011 6:22AMI just don't understand the f/8 setting; although reasonably sharp at wide open, the Oly pancake is sharpest at f/4.5. Don't know which f-stop the X100 is sharpest at but both cameras should've been set at apertures where the lens are sharpest the most.
Also, you don't get the best dynamic range at ISO 100; ISO 200 is better in that regard (at least for the E-P2). It should also be noted that PEN's noise reduction/filter are relatively strong by default; most users simply turn off 'noise reduction' and to set 'noise filter' to low.
I understand that the E-P2 with 17mm has the same equivalent focal length and has a similar retro design catered to an enthusiast desiring manual controls, but the E-PL2 with Panasonic 20mm f1.7 may have been more interesting (and more applicable for a sharpness test) since it is newer, has weaker AA, and better processing. Also, the 20mm is arguably sharper than the Oly pancake.
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22 Mar 2011 10:39AMTo my mind you have to ask why get one of these cameras. Well to be portable, ok so how is this type of camera better than a top compact like an LX5, S95 etc, well you expect better low light performance. For that you want good wide open performance. The X100 is too soft so do you stop it down to @ f4. but those compacts are @ f2, and have zoom, so what you gain from having larger sensor you throw away because to get the lens performance you end up bumping the ISO up.
I would still want to play with one, but I am wondering if in fact it offers enough performance over a top compact to justify the price?
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22 Mar 2011 10:43AM-
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22 Mar 2011 12:24PMIf you have the cash...it is a hip little side arm, tho!
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22 Mar 2011 12:50PMQuote: If the tests above are accurate
In what way wouldn't they be? The camera is on a tripod so no movement...anti shake is turned off, the controls are set up as described, and I then have to rely on the camera to focus and process the result. I could have switched to manual focus to ensure the point was spot on but I preferred (for the purpose of the test) to see how the AF performed.
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22 Mar 2011 1:13PMQuote:The f2 and f2.8 macro shots of the watch do not look good. The f2 shot is especially hazy. Why do you think that is?
I got an answer to my question in another forum. Someone posted the following quote from the X100 website:
"However, when shooting macro shots with an open aperture in the neighborhood of F2, spherical aberration tends to occur. It is therefore recommended that an aperture value of F4 is selected for macro applications."
That seems like a credible explanation to me.
Jeff
The lens doesn't seem to be designed for optimum performance at f/2.0 - f/2.8 and macro photography.
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22 Mar 2011 1:15PM-
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22 Mar 2011 1:51PMOn the other hand though, the noise control is pretty amazing.
It would be nice if you could use f2 in low light to get sharp AND low noise pictures, rather than having to maybe sacrifice one or the other ( if that's the case... )
*I think I read that somewhere at least...
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22 Mar 2011 2:05PMQuote:Pete, what do you think about the photos you put up... you said "the results speak for themselves", so what do they say to you?
I prefer the slightly warmer tones of the Olympus lens/processing (the Fuji if anything is a touch cold) and the fact it's much better at the wide setting. There really is no comparison at f/2.8 - the Olympus knock the Fuji for six. Fujinon lenses are really good but I wonder why they didn't use a Leica lens design as they have done in the past.
It's a different story at f/8 though and the Olympus starts to be over taken. Check the rim of the lens near the Elmar word. The Fuji is immaculate, while the Olympus shows some aberrations, slight blue fringing and considering it's not near the edge of the frame that's not brilliant.
Same at f/16. So for optical quality if you're shooting wide open the Olympus is the clear winner, but most of us want to stop down and then the Fuji leaps ahead.
It goes without saying the Fuji has really blown the Olympus away when it comes to noise too. The performance is incredible.
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22 Mar 2011 2:11PMSo you got low light situations. But I would think I would often rather prefer a higher iso value then having to go to f/2. I can imagine some situations with low light where I might actually want to use f/2, but I think it will rather be an exception than the rule. And it's not that f/2 is unusable in case you really do need it.
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22 Mar 2011 2:20PM-
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22 Mar 2011 2:35PMI wasn't taking a shot at you...I just haven't seen too many comparison tests like you did up above...
I apologize for the comment...I just felt I was making a comment based on one observation...which I like to have more info from other sources. Sorry...I don't doubt your results.
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22 Mar 2011 2:38PMSo now you found us are you going to join in.
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22 Mar 2011 2:50PM-
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22 Mar 2011 3:03PMQuote:lol @ the 6400 iso comparison
I had to double check to make sure I had loaded the correct file for the Fuji!
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22 Mar 2011 6:02PMFrom this test I get the Fuji x100 is not a practical Macro camera, which I knew because of Fuji's specs and information. I understand the purpose of the test - to see the limits or restrictions of the Fuji Camera/design at macro photography-subjects, but if so I think it would be better used as Fuji suggests - f4/5.6 range and at no less than the optimal distance. (At what distance was the object (camera) from the lens?)
Doing so you'd conclude the same as you've shown in your test, that it's not meant as a macro camera, because the Olympus combo can focus closer with good quality(or another camera system with a macro lens), but it would show that the lens is not as soft for this type of photography.
I think a better test for the camera-lens would be a close distance (but not this close-macro) test scene more akin to street photography, candid portrait/environmental portrait, to see the performance of the lens/camera through its f range and at different distance to subject. Not long distance but something more like taking a shot across a table of a person or a person on the street - etc.
Another doubt regarding focus speed in the test, you mention it took long to focus and almost barely did. Was the camera in Macro mode? was the test done in OVF mode or EVF mode? what about the known settings that hinder AF focus speed> was the camera at its best settings for AF speed?
Thanx
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22 Mar 2011 6:14PMAt f/8, two features on the Leitz Elmar show clear differences between the X100 and the Olympus 17mm: (1) the concentric knurls on the Elmar's focusing knob and (2) the thin rim on the far edge of the lens. When I zoom to the pixels of these, the X100's images are free of color fringing. When I zoom to pixels, the Olympus 17mm's images have obvious color fringing.
It will be very interesting to see a similar comparison with the forthcoming "high-end" M Zuiko Digital single-focal-length lens whose mock-up Olympus showed in February at Japan's CP+ imaging show.
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22 Mar 2011 6:23PMSo if Olympus have optimised the 17mm lens for f4, that is not far off optimising a film lens for f8, just as a defence. So the m4/3 camera could run equal depth of field with the ISO 1 stop lower and the compacts 4 stops lower.
So ISO 6400 on Fuji compares to ISO 3200 on m4/3 and ISO400 on S95/LX5? I think my maths is correct. It makes the noise discussion interesting. And yes the Fuji looks good then. It all comes down to how you would use it.
Random thoughts.
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22 Mar 2011 7:16PMConcerning the results from the EP1, the results would have been better if you had used the Pany 20mm pancake
Would be interesting to see how well this lens handles flare, bright head on car lights, that sort of thing.
Most of the fixed lens rangefinders I have used are excellent in this department.
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22 Mar 2011 7:29PMQuote:Regarding the comparison between the X100's performance at f/2 and the Olympus 17mm's performance at f/2.8, I too would like to see them both at f/2.8.
Pete posted photos of both cams at f/2.8 already ggp.
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22 Mar 2011 8:44PMThe ISO 6400 results from the Fuji are astounding. The sensor pixies must be rushed off their tiny little feet to record an image with so little noise.
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23 Mar 2011 10:27AM-
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23 Mar 2011 11:23AMIf you are paying a high price for an f2 lens, you expect it to have decent performance at that aperture. It looks to me as if that Fuji lens is faulty in some way.
Someone remarks that for street photography you don't need wide apertures. In my view that's exactly when you do need them - because much street photography is done at night.
The f1.7 20mm on my GF1 is stunningly sharp at f2 - there is no reason that the Fuji, at Ł999 cannot match that, especially when you consider that it is a fixed lens. And, a GF2 with 14mm AND 20mm lenses comes in at some Ł300 cheaper than the Fuji. Even if you buy the EVF for the GF2, you still save Ł150.
At a price of Ł500-Ł600 and with a tack sharp lens this camera would be a stunner. At the current price, it looks like a retro fashion statement to me.
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23 Mar 2011 12:19PMQuote:Someone remarks that for street photography you don't need wide apertures. In my view that's exactly when you do need them - because much street photography is done at night.
We probably have a different understanding of the term street photography then.
have a look at In-public , one of the leading sites with regard to street photography. It probably describes better what it is I am referring to when using the term street photography. Only very few photos are taken at night. And of those few, how many would have been taken at f/2?
That said, if the night is your time of hunting, well yes, then the Fuji may not be the best choice because of the f/2 'problem' (even at f/2.8 it's not that great I think). But for me this would hardly be an issue.
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23 Mar 2011 7:08PMQuote:Only very few photos are taken at night. And of those few, how many would have been taken at f/2?
In my case many if not most Koen, life becomes a whole lot more limiting using film and apertures between F1.7 and F2.8 are used a lot.
The images are plenty sharp enough but I`m not shooting subjects from a couple of feet away.
I see that Canon have a patent out, smaller lenses and a smaller mount, interesting times ahead
http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/991818
http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php?topic=734.0
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23 Mar 2011 8:22PMQuote:But for me this would hardly be an issue.
I can understand that for you personally this would not be an issue but speaking for myself, if I pay near Ł1000 for a fixed lens camera, I want that lens to be of exemplary quality.
After all, I do not always know what I will use a camera for - with an interchangeable lens, I can take off the poor lens if I want to shoot at wide aperture and replace it with one that does perform well at wide aperture. With this, I cannot.
You obviously know that you would never want to shoot at f2.0 - I can't be that sure about my own use of a camera so would prefer a camera where the lens performed well at wide aperture just as many much cheaper ones do.
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23 Mar 2011 10:45PMIf u look at other photos @ f/2 on the net. U can see it really Sharp for all subject
s further than 80mm.
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23 Mar 2011 11:58PM(trying desperately to hide that I don't understand a single word of it. Wonder if I succeeded
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24 Mar 2011 2:57AMQuote:(trying desperately to hide that I don't understand a single word of it. Wonder if I succeeded Wink )
lol yeh some even got there rulers out and started taking measurements, i was left just scratching my head
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24 Mar 2011 6:39PM-
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24 Mar 2011 9:37PM-
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24 Mar 2011 10:08PM-
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25 Mar 2011 11:58AM-
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25 Mar 2011 12:01PMQuote:Kind of a silly comparison
Maybe to you, but we write to a larger audience! You only have to look at all the questions in the forums across the globe of people posting wondering which to buy.
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25 Mar 2011 3:05PMIf you still have the x100, would it be possible to see the medium and high iso results in a low light situation-photo?
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25 Mar 2011 3:07PMWe'll hopefully get one again for longer term use once the initial journalist rush has ended.
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25 Mar 2011 3:30PM-
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2 Apr 2011 2:50AMHad photographer from Dreamlife wedding video&photo, just wondering what kind of camera I should buy to have that kind of professional pictures...anyone any advise?!
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30 Jun 2011 8:25PM-
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20 Jul 2011 3:06PMYou must be a member to leave a comment.
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