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Archive 2013 · X-E1 and Canon 6D - image quailty?

  
 
Daniel Smith
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · X-E1 and Canon 6D - image quailty?


Anyone with practical comparisons of image quality between the Fuji X-E1 and the Canon 6D?

I do a lot of low light work, some moonlight-star-aurora photography and am interested in how the two compare in final image quality.

Does one actually give better shadow and low light detail? One better with holding highlight detail? Greater density range one can see in a finished print?

I don't need 8 frames a second, but do need longer exposures with low noise. Tripod mounted use for the most part.

I know both produce good images but a comparison head to head would be nice to see.



Oct 16, 2013 at 12:59 PM
jcolwell
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · X-E1 and Canon 6D - image quailty?


I've compared the X-Pro 1 and 6D with a variety of lenses in decent light. With excellent lenses on both cameras, the IQ is very similar. With an excellent lens on one camera and a not-so excellent lens on the other, the IQ is noticeably different - no surprise.

Here's a quick summary of results: XF 14/2.8 (on X-Pro 1) vs Oly OM 21/3.5 (on 6D), the XF 14/2.8 is much better (it's a really good Oly); XF 18/2.8 vs. CZ Distagon 28/2.8 MMJ, the CZ is much better; XF 27/2.8 vs, EF 40/2.8, virtually identical IQ; XF 35/1.4 vs. CZ v-sonnar 35-70/3.4 at 50mm, the XF 35 is definitely better at the edges and corners; XF 55-200 OIS vs 70-200/4L IS (and 1.4x III), the XF is relatively poor at all focal lengths and apertures (even at 300mm when compared to 1.4x III on the EF zoom).

I use the X-Pro 1 with 14/2.8 and 35/1.4, and X100 (now X100s) alongside the 6D with 70-200/2.8L IS II for low light, indoor events. The 6D has much faster AF than the X-Pro 1 in low light (also with the 24-70/2.8L II, 50/1.2L and 85/1.2L II), but the X-Pro 1 is just fine for stationary subjects. When I expect to have moving subjects in low light, I use my 1DX, 1DIV, and 6D, and the Fujis stay in the bag.

I haven't done head-to-head comparisons of low light IQ for the X-Pro 1 and 6D, because both deliver what I need. The 6D is better at 12,800 than the X-Pro 1.



Oct 16, 2013 at 03:22 PM
Jman13
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · X-E1 and Canon 6D - image quailty?


jcolwell - I think you have a bum 55-200. My 55-200 is razor sharp at all focal lengths wide open over 80% of the frame, and slightly softer on the edges (but still quite good). Is it as good as the 70-200/4L IS? Hard to tell. Probably not quite, but it isn't far off. I haven't had the 70-200/4IS in a few years, though. Here's a quick grab shot I took last night of my daughter watching TV with the 55-200. This is at 164mm wide open:

Full image:
http://www.jordansteele.com/2013/chloe_tv.jpg

100% crop:
http://www.jordansteele.com/2013/chloe_tv_crop.jpg



Oct 16, 2013 at 03:31 PM
jcolwell
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · X-E1 and Canon 6D - image quailty?


Hi Jordan,

That's excellent. Most of my experience with the XF zoom is at considerably longer distances, say 25 metres to infinity.

I'll send a couple of my comparison photos to Fujifilm Canada to see what they have to say.

P.S. my experience with the 55-200 OIS "jives" with most of the reviews that I've read.



Oct 16, 2013 at 03:34 PM
Jman13
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · X-E1 and Canon 6D - image quailty?


Ok...went back through my old images, and this is about as close as I can find with regards to framing and focal length that I took with my 1Ds II and 70-200/4 IS. This is at 200mm, f/4 (one thing I notice also is how much cleaner the Fuji is than the 1Ds II...the model's a bit younger too.):

http://www.jordansteele.com/2013/chloe_70200.jpg

http://www.jordansteele.com/2013/chloe_70200_crop.jpg



Oct 16, 2013 at 03:39 PM
Jman13
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · X-E1 and Canon 6D - image quailty?


The 55-200's been pretty good to me at longer distances too. Not quite as sharp as close up, but certainly nothing to complain about. This is at 180mm wide open, and I think there's some atmospheric haze that is softening things a little.

Full image (didn't do any color correction...just wanted to show detail):
http://www.jordansteele.com/2013/fuji_full.jpg

100% center:
http://www.jordansteele.com/2013/fuji_center.jpg

100% edge:
http://www.jordansteele.com/2013/fuji_edge.jpg



Oct 16, 2013 at 03:52 PM
Jman13
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · X-E1 and Canon 6D - image quailty?


jcolwell wrote:
Hi Jordan,

That's excellent. Most of my experience with the XF zoom is at considerably longer distances, say 25 metres to infinity.

I'll send a couple of my comparison photos to Fujifilm Canada to see what they have to say.

P.S. my experience with the 55-200 OIS "jives" with most of the reviews that I've read.


This is the second copy I've used. The first was a review unit. I was very impressed with that lens, and it was made me save up to buy a copy for myself. It was very good. Quite sharp throughout the range, a little softer on the edges, but not bad.

The copy that I bought for myself I think is better than that one. It's not a big difference, but I don't think it falls off as much at the edges as the one I originally reviewed, and as you obviously saw...it's darn sharp. Really nice bokeh for a zoom lens too.



Oct 16, 2013 at 03:55 PM
Jabberwockt
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · X-E1 and Canon 6D - image quailty?


Some people on this forum have mixed feelings about Canon. I think there is an advantage larger sensors have when it comes to tonality. Low light will probably edge out the XE-1 too. The fuji wins on size and weight. The 6D will probably hold at current resale prices until next Christmas when Canon hits their two year product update cycle. The XE-2 is rumored to be around the corner, which doesnt bode well for XE-1 resale values.


Oct 16, 2013 at 04:44 PM
jcolwell
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · X-E1 and Canon 6D - image quailty?


Jman13 wrote:
This is the second copy I've used. The first was a review unit. I was very impressed with that lens, and it was made me save up to buy a copy for myself. It was very good. Quite sharp throughout the range, a little softer on the edges, but not bad.

The copy that I bought for myself I think is better than that one. It's not a big difference, but I don't think it falls off as much at the edges as the one I originally reviewed, and as you obviously saw...it's darn sharp. Really nice bokeh for a
...Show more

I know what you're saying, but you really have to go head-to-head to compare performance differences between specific lenses on specific cameras.

Here's a sequence of three examples with the EF 70-200/4L IS on 6D and XF 55-200 OIS on X-Pro 1, at "FF" equivalent focal lengths of 70mm~82mm, 200mm, and 280mm~300mm, ISO 800, lenses wide open, handheld, IS~OIS on. In each case, there is a 6D + 70-200/4L IS 100% crop in the top left frame, a similar 100% crop from the X-Pro 1 + 55-200 OIS in the top right frame, and a PS CS6 "Navigator" window at the bottom, which shows the location of the 100% crop in the red square.

The XF 55-200 OIS has decent detail in the edges and corners, but the EF 70-200/4L IS (+1.4x III at 280mm) is killer sharp. No contest.

I will see if Fujifilm Canada can get me a better 55-200 OIS...

















Oct 16, 2013 at 06:40 PM
Jman13
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · X-E1 and Canon 6D - image quailty?


Yeah, that doesn't look very good at all.


Oct 16, 2013 at 07:02 PM
dthrog00
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · X-E1 and Canon 6D - image quailty?


I don't have Fuji, but have lots of real world 6D images here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/68255851@N05/

I think performance is pretty good. Others may feel differently.

Dave



Oct 16, 2013 at 08:09 PM
Daniel Smith
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · X-E1 and Canon 6D - image quailty?


Is it possible the image stabilization makes the comparison Fuji images less sharp?

Most of my use will be on tripods and IS is not something I will be using.

If the Canon is actually better, I'll end up with it. As I said, more low light shooting, mainly tripod mounted.



Oct 16, 2013 at 11:26 PM
justruss
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · X-E1 and Canon 6D - image quailty?


Anyone want to post crops of the 6D vs X-E1 w/ similar good primes at normalized sizes for resolution?

I'd be interested in seeing a 35mm Fuji and 50mm f/1.4 canon/sigma @ f/5.6 -- with the crops normalized to emphasize similar large print size (as opposed to 100% crops that shows us pixel-level comparisons).

I've got a Canon FL 55 f/1.2 (5D2) and the Fuji 35mm (XE), but that's not quite a modern comparison.

Likewise, I don't think Fuji 18mm vs Canon 35L or OM 24 2.8 are really modern comparisons either.




Oct 17, 2013 at 03:16 AM
justruss
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · X-E1 and Canon 6D - image quailty?


^^ The idea is to demonstrate sensor/system at optimized conditions. Hence using sharp primes stopped down in order to attempt to eliminate the impact of a lens comparison.


Oct 17, 2013 at 03:18 AM
Jman13
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · X-E1 and Canon 6D - image quailty?


I think the image quality is frankly going to end up being pretty darn close, except the X-E1 will have about a full stop more dynamic range, and the 6D will have a little higher resolution. Other than that, you're really splitting hairs. Canon, of course, has the much larger lens selection. Fuji has smaller lenses, and fewer, but pretty much all of them are quite good.

I have not shot starfield photos with my Fuji, but it handles long exposures at low ISO extremely well.



Oct 17, 2013 at 06:14 AM
cputeq
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · X-E1 and Canon 6D - image quailty?


If I have time tonight I will try xe1 and 35/1.4 vs 5d3 and 40/2.8 on a tripod, dark room. I don't do stars so really long exposures won't happen, but I do know supposedly the 6d beats the 5d3 when it comes to that.


Oct 17, 2013 at 08:09 AM
jcolwell
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · X-E1 and Canon 6D - image quailty?


jcolwell wrote:
...I will see if Fujifilm Canada can get me a better 55-200 OIS...


I sent the three example comparison photos to Fujifilm Canada today, and here's their reply,

"From the samples provided we do not believe their is an issue with your 55-200."

Edited on Oct 17, 2013 at 06:55 PM · View previous versions



Oct 17, 2013 at 05:55 PM
jcolwell
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · X-E1 and Canon 6D - image quailty?


Daniel Smith wrote:
Is it possible the image stabilization makes the comparison Fuji images less sharp?

Most of my use will be on tripods and IS is not something I will be using.

If the Canon is actually better, I'll end up with it. As I said, more low light shooting, mainly tripod mounted.


Canon IS (mode 1) and Fujifilm OIS were activated on both lenses, for all of these handheld tests. The Canon is actually better. Have no doubt about that.



Oct 17, 2013 at 05:59 PM
jcolwell
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p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · X-E1 and Canon 6D - image quailty?


justruss wrote:
Anyone want to post crops of the 6D vs X-E1 w/ similar good primes...


Hi Russ,

Here's some of what you want to see...

Here's some of the comparison photos that I based my initial summary on, at the top of the thread. Unlike the handheld IS/OIS zoom tests shown above, all of these photos were taken on a tripod, with manual focus LiveView for both Canon and Fujifilm lenses (and Alts), two second shutter delay. Each image in the comparison series is the best of three shot with the same aperture. I'm only showing a few parts of each sample photo, so you'll get the idea. Also, I'm only showing results at f/8. Similar trends were evident with the lenses wide open.

My "light lens" landscape kit for stomping around with my 500/4L IS and 1DX or 1DIV will be something like this: Fujifilm X-Pro 1 with XF 14/2.8, 35/1.4, and 60/2.4; Canon 6D with CZ 28/2.8, and 70-200/4L IS. I'll also have my 1.4x and 2x III Extenders. If I'm feeling strong, I might bring my CZ 18/3.5 ZE, CZ 50/2 ZE, and EF 70-200/2.8L II, and leave the XF 35/1.4 and EF 70-200/4L IS behind. Also, my X100 (now X100s) is usually somewhere nearby, just in case.

OK, now for some samples. I'll try to keep them in order. The top left 100% crop window is always on the 6D and the top right 100% crop is on the X-Pro 1, with the Navigator pane below to show the location of the crop. I'm quite content to compare 100% crops, because the cameras have very similar resolution. The colour cast differences are obvious in some cases, and I have not attempted to modify them. No sharpening. All images from RAW files, converted using ACR.

6D + Oly 21/2.5 vs. X-Pro 1 + XF 14/2.8
6D + CZ 28/2.8 MMJ vs. X-Pro 1 + XF 18/2
6D + CZ 35-70/3.4 vs. X-Pro 1 + XF 35/1.4
6D + EF 40/2.8 vs. X-Pro 1 + XF 27/2.8

The title bar on the 100% crop windows identifies the lens and aperture.






















Oct 17, 2013 at 06:45 PM
jcolwell
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p.1 #20 · p.1 #20 · X-E1 and Canon 6D - image quailty?


...






















Oct 17, 2013 at 06:46 PM
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