Some of this was posted in the E-P5 thread, but since I don't want to hijack that, I'll post here. Got the X-M1 today with the 16-50...primarily for the lens, since it fits my needs for a standard zoom better than the 18-55 (wider and cheaper). I was going to sell the X-M1 (and I still very well may), but I'm kind of liking it so far...we'll see how I feel after shooting with it for a week or so.
In my quick testing, the Fuji 16-50 seems to be a very nice kit lens with a great range. At 16mm, center is very sharp and edges are pretty soft, but stopping down a bit sharpens them up considerably. By f/5.6-f/8, the corners are even quite sharp...at least in quick down and dirty shots that I've taken in the 10 minutes I had to shoot after opening the camera. At 50mm, I'm actually finding it to be quite good. I've noticed some sample variation in the reviews at 50mm...some saying it's pretty good (mine jives with that), others showing it to be only so so. For me, it's actually quite sharp (not glass cutting resolution, but certainly clear and nice) over the vast majority of the frame wide open at 50mm. I haven't shot with it outside yet, but so far, it looks to be a pretty decent lens.
The X-M1 could be a pretty fun little camera too. It's well laid out and relatively comfortable in the hand. The X-M1/16-50 combo is quite lightweight and produces quite good images. The X-M1's screen is quite good, and the tilting is nice and easy to maneuver. I'm finding the control wheels quite easy to operate and well positioned. The vertical wheel looks weird, but in practice it's good...it prevents accidental operation while still being easy to access. It also clicks down just like the regular command wheel clicks in on the X-E1 and X-Pro 1, and has that functionality. The buttons have very nice feel to them, and the top dial has a good resistance and feel. The mode dial is stiffer to operate than the top dial (usually EC in A mode), which is nice to prevent accidental mode change. Nice little cam. Definitely all plastic, but still put together well. It's very small...about the size of the Panny GX1. The lens is all plastic too, but again has pretty tight tolerances and feels quite solid. No real images to show yet, but here's the cam. I like the Fujis in silver:
I can see picking this up for a really small combo with the 27mm pancake. But I'm not sure the size reduction is significant enough compared to the X-E1 to make it worthwhile. Glad to hear you're liking it.
I should be getting my pancake lens this week. Been looking forward to that one for a while!
The X-M1 is quite a bit smaller than the X-E1. It's got the better rear screen that tilts too. X-E1, of course, has the EVF and dedicated EC and shutter dial. One thing the X-M1 does better than the X-E1 is write to the card...it writes files a LOT faster than the X-E1. The X-M1 with 27 pancake will be a very small combo indeed (roughly the same size as the Panasonic GX1 with 20/1.7).
I was a bit wary about Fuji electronics after my X100 ownership. Hopefully the AF is better and more reliable as well. The E1 I played with at B&H a few weeks ago was still missing AF indoors one out of every six times.
There was a pretty major improvement in AF performance with all the X-series cams with the latest firmware update on the 23rd. There was definitely an increase in speed, but the biggest improvement came in indoor target acquisition, IMO...I used to miss a fair number of shots indoors due to AF failing to lock on. The latest firmware for the X-E1 (and the original FW for the X-M1) fixes this issue, and now I have AF locking failure on par with pretty much any other camera I've ever owned...that is, very rare.
Oh...and one other thing...the X-M1 seems to be able to do the one thing that still drives me insane on the X-E1...that is, you can magnify the image when manual focusing without having to wait for the camera to finish writing to the card. On the X-E1 with adapted lenses, this can sometimes be crippling when you really need to zoom in to check focus...with the slow write speeds, after you fire off a few shots, it might be 10 seconds before you can magnify. The X-M1 allows you to magnify at any time, regardless of the buffer status. Don't know whether the processor in the X-E1 just can't handle both tasks (the X-M1 has a faster image processor), or whether it's just something they finally fixed, and hopefully will be released in a firmware update on the X-E1.
FlyPenFly wrote:
Cool. What I noticed was that it locked on and AF was achieved but actually it was lying.
Love to see some samples of the 16-50 compared to an Oly 12 or another good 24mm equiv.
Unfortunately I don't have the Oly 12mm any more. (In fact, I don't have any 24mm aside from the range covered by my m4/3 UWA zooms). I'm interested to see how it performs outside. This evening I should be able to get out and shoot a bit...I'll post some samples tonight.
Hows it handle with a larger lens like the 14 or 12mm on it ? I was thinking the flip out screen would work pretty well with the way I use the 14mm/2.8, but wasn't sure if it would prove to be the issue I often run into of smaller body not feeling balanced with larger lens.
The 14mm feels fine. It's slightly front heavy, but not bad at all. The grip on it, while not as grippy as the other two X cameras, is nicely formed for a pretty secure grip. It feels good in the hand.
So....took the X-M1 and 16-50 out for a spin. The 16-50 is a good range for a walkabout, and it can produce pretty decent images, though it isn't going to best the 18-55. Wide open at 16mm, the corners and edges are pretty bad, but the center is sharp. Stopping down to f/8 brings up the sharpness into 'good' territory, but not the excellence of something like the 14/2.8 (I'm spoiled here). At 50mm, it's pretty sharp over about 80% of the frame wide open and good on the edges stopped down a bit. Low CA and other aberrations, so it's a better than average kit lens with a good range. Worth the $100-200 you pay in a kit...probably not worth it at the $400 they're asking separately, but it might if the range fits your style.
Surprisingly, I found the X-M1 very fun to shoot with. It's just a nice fun camera to use. It's more responsive than the X-E1, and the rear screen is nice. Overall, the light weight combo of the X-M1 with the 16-50 makes for a great all-purpose carry.
Jman13 wrote:
......with the slow write speeds, after you fire off a few shots, it might be 10 seconds before you can magnify. The X-M1 allows you to magnify at any time, regardless of the buffer status....
This drives me batty with the X-E1 - I was hoping it would be addressed with the latest FM update.
michael49 wrote:
This drives me batty with the X-E1 - I was hoping it would be addressed with the latest FM update.
I think the main reason probably for the faster write speeds is because the X-M1 uses the same processor as the one in the X100s which as I understand is faster than one in the X-E1 and X-Pro1.
Jordan, how is face detect autofocus in the X-M1? I read somewhere that it's included in X-M1.
jonrock wrote:
Jordan, how is face detect autofocus in the X-M1? I read somewhere that it's included in X-M1.
I've only tried it out a little this morning. It seems to work fine. With really shallow DOF, it may focus on the rear eye as often as the front eye, but it finds the face well and does focus there just fine. I only tested it in indoor light (ISO 1600, f/1.4, 1/100s), but it worked fine. I'd imagine in better light it would find the faces even faster, but don't know.
The Fuji grips aren't worth the cost in my opinion. I have the one for my X-E1, and it's plastic and covers the battery/card door, so you have to remove the grip every time you offload photos to your computer. Pain in the rear.
I recently picked up this guy for my X-E1, which is awesome (it came yesterday). It's very light (the same weight as the Fuji grip), FAR more rigid (as solid as anything from RRS), has full A/S dovetail along the bottom and an L bracket (which can be removed separately...the connection point is rock solid, though) AND it has access to the battery/card door....
