Thanks for your input Jochenb. I just ran across this interesting blog regarding a professional (Gianni Galassi) who sold his Leica system for the OMD.
http://giannigalassi.typepad.com/blog/2012/10/my-four-months-experience-with-the-olympus-om-d.html

canonfan93 wrote:
You're right Rob. Unfortunately, where I live there are only 2 specialty camera stores. One does not carry Fuji or Olympus, and the other one is little far away from my home. So I have been relying heavily on others' perception to help me with the right decision.

I understand completely - I don't have many local camera stores either so online research is critical. This is not a solution for everyone but if you spend a little extra time finding a good price on each you can buy both and then sell the one you decide not to keep. I was able to sell my OMD and m4/3 lenses for essentially no loss other than the shipping charges. In my opinion you just can't fully appreciate the X-Pro 1 until you use it (and I'm sure the XE1 will be the same).

Good luck with your research.. they are both great cameras which makes it that much harder to decide.

Why did you sell your OM-D Rob?

canonfan93 wrote:
Thanks for your input Jochenb. I just ran across this interesting blog regarding a professional (Gianni Galassi) who sold his Leica system for the OMD.
http://giannigalassi.typepad.com/blog/2012/10/my-four-months-experience-with-the-olympus-om-d.html

Interesting read, thanks.

Jochenb wrote:
Why did you sell your OM-D Rob?


There wasn't much that I didn't like about the OMD but I just like the X-Pro 1 more for my purposes. I still have a DSLR that I use primarily for landscapes and occasionally sports and wildlife so my smaller system is used mostly for travel, family events and anytime I want the lighter setup.

I found that many of the things that I liked about the OMD ended up not being that important to me like weather sealing, AF speed, and tilt screen. On the other hand, with the features/functions that I use most often, I prefer the X-Pro 1 implementation -- OVF, size and placement of the controls, and the traditional dials. And the overall build quality and handling is just superb.

Finally, the OMD IQ is really good and more than adequate for me but there is just something about the X-Pro 1 images that stand out to me. The jpgs are also really good and the auto white balance is the best I've seen.

So, other than the small buttons and not so great menu system, I really can't complain about the OMD. It is a great camera and if I thought I could have kept track of three systems I would have kept it!

RobCD wrote:
Finally, the OMD IQ is really good and more than adequate for me but there is just something about the X-Pro 1 images that stand out to me. The jpgs are also really good and the auto white balance is the best I've seen.


Rob, did you tried to shoot RAW with the Fuji, and if so, did you encounter significant "watercolor " problem as described by others?

canonfan93 wrote:
RobCD wrote:
Finally, the OMD IQ is really good and more than adequate for me but there is just something about the X-Pro 1 images that stand out to me. The jpgs are also really good and the auto white balance is the best I've seen.


Rob, did you tried to shoot RAW with the Fuji, and if so, did you encounter significant "watercolor " problem as described by others?
I do shoot raw+jpg and have converted several batches of raw files in LR4. I don't really see the watercolor problem but to be fair I haven't been looking for it and I also don't generally use the X-Pro 1 for landscapes. Many times I just stick with the jpg so I haven't played with as many raw files as I might normally when shooting only raw.

RobCD wrote:
I do shoot raw+jpg and have converted several batches of raw files in LR4. I don't really see the watercolor problem but to be fair I haven't been looking for it and I also don't generally use the X-Pro 1 for landscapes. Many times I just stick with the jpg so I haven't played with as many raw files as I might normally when shooting only raw.

Thank you again for your input. I assume the watercolor problem will also be insignificant if I mostly shoot people (my wife and kids)?