Are you torn between Fujifim vs Olympus? While both make killer cameras which one comes out on top? Let’s find out with the pros and cons.
Fujifilm vs Olympus introduction
Olympus can pretty much be credited for kickstarting that retro camera craze with the original Olympus PEN EP-1.
It was metal and looked like those old Half-frame film pen cameras. A few years later Fujifilm would enter the fray with the Fujifilm X100, a retro-chic camera with a rangefinder look.
If you are looking at Fujifilm vs Olympus, the one thing both companies have in common is that their camera are incredibly sexy. But there’s more than meets the eyes, let’s look at the pros and cons of each.
Comparing the models
Buy and Large you can segment all the Fujifilm cameras in 3 segments (forgetting about the medium GFX line of course), the X100 series that are fixed APSC sensor cameras, the X-pro line that looks like a rangefinder and the X-T line that takes cues from DSLRs.
Olympus on the other hand is mostly about the PEN line, metallic looking 4/3 sensor cameras that have interchangeable lenses and the OMD line that looks like small DSLRS.
Where Olympus wins and Fuji fails
There’s a lot going for Olympus so far in our Fujifilm vs Olympus comparison, but Fujifilm is also a force to be reckoned with.
Diminutive size
If you are looking for a compact system, there is no contest here, Olympus wins. Even Fuji’s X100F is still larger than a PEN body. When you start taking into account Fuji’s interchangeable lens cameras, some of them approach DSLR territory, especially when you put in fast lenses in there.
For every focal length Olympus will always be smaller.
Olympus has the best looking camera ever
This site is called Fuji crazy because I love Fujifilm. Probably one of their best looking camera is the Xpro line because of the rangefinder looks. While this has to do with taste more than anything, there is a particular Olympus model that is one of the best looking cameras ever, and that is he Olympus PEN F.
In terms of pure looks, the PEN F is sexier than anything Fuji has made, so if what you really want is a retro looking camera then then the PEN F wins by a mile. It’s a sexy beast and a joy to use.
Cheap system
Unless you get a compact camera, you do not buy a camera, you buy a system. And when it comes to price, the more affordable of the two is Olympus. That’s not talking about the bodies either, there’s a few hundred dollar difference for each comparable focal length. So if budget decides, it’s better to go Olympus.
Where Fuji wins and Olympus fails
So, Olympus offers smaller, mostly more affordable cameras, does that mean it wins? Not so fast. There are a few areas where Olympus fails and Fuji wins.
The larger sensor
Mostly all of the Fujifilm cameras are APSC sensor cameras and the Pen are micro 4/3 cameras. This is why their cameras are smaller and more affordable. Larger sensors offer better image quality, better low light capability, and better Bokeh. It is also why Fuji cameras are larger than PEN cameras. But larger sensor also affect something crucial, as we will see in the next point.
That crop factor
If you like adapting lenses on your cameras, this is one of the reasons why Fujifilm wins. If those lenses are M mount, Fuji has a dedicated adapter that can store lens information right in it. But whatever the lens you adapt, the crop factor of the Olympus cameras is a whopping 2x, while the Fujis are x1.5 crop factor.
So a wide 15mm would turn out to be a 22.5mm lens on a Fuji while the same lens would be a 35mm on an Olympus. That 2x factor complexly transforms the lens when adapted on an Olympus camera!
This might be a good thing if you like telephoto lenses (a 50mm would be a 100mm on an Olympus) but if you like wide angles, this is a minus.
That viewfinder
This is mostly if you are looking at the Fujifilm cameras with the Hybrid viewfinders like the X100F and X-pro. Many of the Olympus cameras have a viewfinder but only Fuji has the hybrid viewfinder, one of the most impressive pieces of viewfinder technology there is.
It can turn into an electronic (screen) viewfinder or an optical viewfinder(like those film cameras) with a lever, and you can even have data like a histogram appear too.
Which one is better?
I’ve used both of the best that Fujifilm and Olympus has to offer with the Pen F and X-pro, and while I absolutely prefer the drop dead gorgeous PEN F, I keep wishing that it didn’t have that crop factor for my M lenses and that it had the hybrid viewfinder.
So which one is better? The answer, like everything in life is…it depends. Both have some pros and cons and the best way to decide is to figure out what you want and what your needs are first.
If you want the sexiest camera, the most affordable and smaller system, then go Olympus.
If you do not mind the price and weight, but want that higher image quality, want to use adapted lenses and that optical viewfinder then go Fujifilm. happy shooting!