Which one Fuji Vs Sony

cliffy

cliffy

cliffy

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14 Nov 2005
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Sold my D750 5 years ago but want to get back into photography again. I think i have narrowed my choise down to teh Sony A7 IV or the Fuji X-H2. I understand the difference in Full frame and crop, i also haev zero interest in video. My type of photography in order of most often taken is

Landscape
Wildlife
Events (fireworks, local football, banger racing)

I live in Cornwall so the vast majority is landscapes. I also like teh thought of astrophotography but have yet to research that. As ther will be lots of clambering over rocks and we get a shed ton of rain down here a sturdy weather sealed body would be best. I have been leaning to teh H2 (honestly based on aesthetics as much as anything) but would really value some input

Cheers all
 
As the X-H2 isn't shipping yet, it's a bit hard to give a real opinion so it might be better to start with the lenses for the two systems to see if both can supply what you need. Obviously, the APS-C lenses will be smaller and lighter than their full-frame equivalents and/or give more reach for wildlife and sport.
 
Personally having owned both the XT3, XT4, Sony A1 and A7c for most uses I'd say they will be pretty comparable minus 1 area...Auto Focus.
Fuji is just nowhere near as good or reliable, for my uses (People & Wildlife) the Fuji's were really good but the Sony's are just in a different league.

Eye AF and tracking AF are just rock solid and very very consistent, when I had the XT4 the results were a lottery. The screen told me the subject was in focus and tracking but the after taking the shots subjects were out and thats what got me out of the Fuji system in the end as I just couldnt rely on the results. I lost the moment of lifetime with a Peregrine Falcon nailing a Dove mid flight and I'd tracked the dive for a good distance, the camera told me everything was in and tracking, I bursted around 33 shots iirc and 3 were in focus.

In pure IQ terms the Fuji's are superb, especially colours and dynamic range so as Landscape cameras they are fantastic, but I can fix colours in post on Sony and they offer about the same Dymanic Range I couldnt fix out of focus shots.
Of course I'm referencing and XT3 & XT4 from a couple of years ago and the XH2 may fix these things so do some research....also on the lens front I didnt really find any meaningful difference in size / weight vs the FF Sony.
 
Snapshot said:
As the X-H2 isn't shipping yet, it's a bit hard to give a real opinion so it might be better to start with the lenses for the two systems to see if both can supply what you need. Obviously, the APS-C lenses will be smaller and lighter than their full-frame equivalents and/or give more reach for wildlife and sport.
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Checked this one and they both seem to have teh lenses i want so thats a tick in both boxes there at least
 
Columbo said:
Personally having owned both the XT3, XT4, Sony A1 and A7c for most uses I'd say they will be pretty comparable minus 1 area...Auto Focus.
Fuji is just nowhere near as good or reliable, for my uses (People & Wildlife) the Fuji's were really good but the Sony's are just in a different league.

Eye AF and tracking AF are just rock solid and very very consistent, when I had the XT4 the results were a lottery. The screen told me the subject was in focus and tracking but the after taking the shots subjects were out and thats what got me out of the Fuji system in the end as I just couldnt rely on the results. I lost the moment of lifetime with a Peregrine Falcon nailing a Dove mid flight and I'd tracked the dive for a good distance, the camera told me everything was in and tracking, I bursted around 33 shots iirc and 3 were in focus.

In pure IQ terms the Fuji's are superb, especially colours and dynamic range so as Landscape cameras they are fantastic, but I can fix colours in post on Sony and they offer about the same Dymanic Range I couldnt fix out of focus shots.
Of course I'm referencing and XT3 & XT4 from a couple of years ago and the XH2 may fix these things so do some research....also on the lens front I didnt really find any meaningful difference in size / weight vs the FF Sony.
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This is interesting and autofocus would definately be an issue as i photograph (could'nt say shoot) a lot of birds. ANy issues with Lightroom on Fuji these days as i last i was into cameras lightroom was not teh best with Xtrans sensors
 
cliffy said:
This is interesting and autofocus would definately be an issue as i photograph (could'nt say shoot) a lot of birds. ANy issues with Lightroom on Fuji these days as i last i was into cameras lightroom was not teh best with Xtrans sensors
Click to expand...

I couldnt say on the XT4 as I didnt use Lightroom then since they went to the subscription model, I use Luminar and Photodirector and didnt have any issues of note.
However on the XT3 I did have issues with the .raf raw files so I converted them to .dng prior to import and they worked fine then, I'm sure thats not an issue now though theres been years of updates.
 
I had pretty much this exact decision to make, and I was all set to go full frame to a Sony a7IV, upgrading from a Sony a6500, which I was already really impressed with, and after 5 years ownership, was still a VERY capable camera! I was then introduced to the Fujifilm X-H2S. What swayed it for me, iscolour science, and Fuji is WAY better than Sony! Also, lenses are less expensive for Fuji, and even the kit lenses you get are far superior to kit lenses from other brands. I've had my X-H2S for about 5 weeks now and do not regret my decision,

I paired mine with an all rounder 18-135 lens and photos come out so sharp and well rendered. I love the 'film recipes that come with Fujifilm too, to replicate various film modes, such as Chroma, and Velvia, you get really nicely processed JPEGS straight out of camera so you can spend less time procesing if you like. Autofocus is a big improvement on previous Fuji cameras too, and not far behind Sony at all. There are various object detection modes, including bird AF, and it works really well. I'd suggest go and have a play with the H2S if you can, if you're not looking for video, the X-H2 will be a good choice though.
 
wez130 said:
I had pretty much this exact decision to make, and I was all set to go full frame to a Sony a7IV, upgrading from a Sony a6500, which I was already really impressed with, and after 5 years ownership, was still a VERY capable camera! I was then introduced to the Fujifilm X-H2S. What swayed it for me, iscolour science, and Fuji is WAY better than Sony! Also, lenses are less expensive for Fuji, and even the kit lenses you get are far superior to kit lenses from other brands. I've had my X-H2S for about 5 weeks now and do not regret my decision,

I paired mine with an all rounder 18-135 lens and photos come out so sharp and well rendered. I love the 'film recipes that come with Fujifilm too, to replicate various film modes, such as Chroma, and Velvia, you get really nicely processed JPEGS straight out of camera so you can spend less time procesing if you like. Autofocus is a big improvement on previous Fuji cameras too, and not far behind Sony at all. There are various object detection modes, including bird AF, and it works really well. I'd suggest go and have a play with the H2S if you can, if you're not looking for video, the X-H2 will be a good choice though.
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I would really like to have a play with the X-H2 (s) unfortunately i do not think there are any camera shops left in cornwall and certainly none that stock teh latest gear. May have to venture up to Bristol or Birmungham to find a proper camera shop
 
The X-H2 does look like a great camera, 40mp with an APSC sensor for £1899, I’m tempted myself as the Fuji glass is brilliant for a 1/3 of the price of Sony GM glass.
 
I dunno if it's 1/3rd of the price, it might be for 1 or 2 lenses but the Fuji 56/1.2 is £1k. Sony 85GM is £1449. I have both of these.

There is also the Sony 85/1.8 for like £500. (I've also had this)
There is also like the Sigma 85/1.4 for £1k.

Both the Sony 85/1.8 and the Sigma Art are brilliant and cheaper than the GM too.

I mean there is a 50/2.0 for about £500 if you want to move the goal post slightly to a different focal length and essentially a 2.8 aperture (bokeh feel). In that case the 85/1.8 is a faster, normal 85mm for the same money.
 
Captain said:
The X-H2 does look like a great camera, 40mp with an APSC sensor for £1899, I’m tempted myself as the Fuji glass is brilliant for a 1/3 of the price of Sony GM glass.
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As much as I love the Fujis, third-party -including second-hand, offers a better buy for the Sony in terms of price and availability for lenses. A used A7RIV would offer "better technical" functionality for the areas of photography mentioned with regards to pixel count benefits IMO.
 
Raymond Lin said:
I dunno if it's 1/3rd of the price, it might be for 1 or 2 lenses but the Fuji 56/1.2 is £1k. Sony 85GM is £1449. I have both of these.

There is also the Sony 85/1.8 for like £500. (I've also had this)
There is also like the Sigma 85/1.4 for £1k.

Both the Sony 85/1.8 and the Sigma Art are brilliant and cheaper than the GM too.

I mean there is a 50/2.0 for about £500 if you want to move the goal post slightly to a different focal length and essentially a 2.8 aperture (bokeh feel). In that case the 85/1.8 is a faster, normal 85mm for the same money.
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When you look at grey market prices they’re a lot better. The Fuji 56 1.2 is £600, fair enough the price isn’t that big when comparing grey to grey but still a good saving.
 
ethan said:
As much as I love the Fujis, third-party -including second-hand, offers a better buy for the Sony in terms of price and availability for lenses. A used A7RIV would offer "better technical" functionality for the areas of photography mentioned with regards to pixel count benefits IMO.
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Yeah definitely but working with 40mp is still a task to learn, even more so with 61mp :p

I had the RIVa but went back to an A7Riii as the mp is just easier to work with.
 
Raymond Lin said:
I dunno if it's 1/3rd of the price, it might be for 1 or 2 lenses but the Fuji 56/1.2 is £1k. Sony 85GM is £1449. I have both of these.

There is also the Sony 85/1.8 for like £500. (I've also had this)
There is also like the Sigma 85/1.4 for £1k.

Both the Sony 85/1.8 and the Sigma Art are brilliant and cheaper than the GM too.

I mean there is a 50/2.0 for about £500 if you want to move the goal post slightly to a different focal length and essentially a 2.8 aperture (bokeh feel). In that case the 85/1.8 is a faster, normal 85mm for the same money.
Click to expand...
Thinking outside the ’native’ box there is also the Sigma 56mm f1.4 which is a stunning lens for Fuji considering the relatively low RRP of £379.

Speaking more generally, I’ve been keeping tabs on the thread with interest and would love to weigh in with my thoughts but I’ve never shot Sony so I’m afraid I could only provide one side of the argument.
FWIW I love the Fuji system and found it really refreshing when I moved over from Canon. The way Fuji embraced the APS-C format and developed outstanding lenses (where most other companies would consider it an afterthought) was what really got me interested in the first place.
 
Columbo said:
I couldnt say on the XT4 as I didnt use Lightroom then since they went to the subscription model, I use Luminar and Photodirector and didnt have any issues of note.
However on the XT3 I did have issues with the .raf raw files so I converted them to .dng prior to import and they worked fine then, I'm sure thats not an issue now though theres been years of updates.
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Also don’t forget Capture one Express and Fuji’s own X Raw Studio, both of which are totally free. Capture One in particular really opened up the Fuji system for me.
 
I own the XT3 and the autofocus has definitely improved since the first incarnation due to firmware updates. I take landscape and seascape exclusively and would recommend a Fuji based on IQ alone.

Playing devils advocate Topaz Labs produce a piece of software that improves out of focus shots and it’s literally a game changer.

Ps that sigma is a stunning lens. Works incredibly well with my XT3
 
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cliffy said:
This is interesting and autofocus would definately be an issue as i photograph (could'nt say shoot) a lot of birds. ANy issues with Lightroom on Fuji these days as i last i was into cameras lightroom was not teh best with Xtrans sensors
Click to expand...

People are critical of Lightroom with the Fuji but I have no problems. You just learn to adapt. When you import a DNG you’ll notice the sharpness has been notched up a little by default. I use standalone Lightroom which you can’t buy anymore but for ease of use it’s brilliant. If I need to edit more complex areas I move the image into affinity photo. I don’t like the subscription model, so all my software is standalone
 
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