Mirrorless camera comparisons

Panasonic Lumix GX7 vs. Olympus Pen E-P5: How does low-light performance compare?

06/10/2013 By Mathieu

About twenty minutes away from the city of Turin sits one of the grandest royal palaces of Northern Italy, the Reggia di Venaria Reale. It is the former royal residence of the house of Savoy and is one of the largest royal residences in the world.

The palace was mostly used as a base for duke Carlo Emanuele II’s hunting expeditions. Inside you will find dozens of rooms, each decorated with paintings by famous court artists of the times, stuccos and statues. Outside are the expansive royal gardens which were destroyed during the Napoleonic domination to make way for a French training ground, but were later rebuilt in a modern style.

Since cloud, mist and rain had engulfed most of Italy on Saturday, we decided to visit the palace to test out the new Panasonic Lumix GX7 with a specific focus on how it compares to its direct competitor, the Olympus Pen E-P5. (We also brought along the Fuji X-M1 but we’ll leave that for a future article!)

Fujifilm X20 vs. Sony RX100 II: Compact no longer means compromise

29/09/2013 By Heather

The words “compact camera” or “point-and-shoot” have long been synonymous with convenience. You can slip them in your trouser pocket, drop them in a bag along with your wallet and keys, and even sneak one into a concert if you have a knack for putting on a poker face – all things you cannot do with a DSLR.

However, even only two or three years ago, convenience called for compromise. The image quality and performance of compact cameras, though much improved over the years, was only enough to satisfy the most casual of users; people who cared about capturing memories and sharing them online. A professional photographer would never have considered dumping his DSLR for a compact on informal occasions, much less for professional work. If worst came to worst, he would simply use the camera on his smartphone for casual shots. In fact, in recent years smartphones have become the most popular cameras because of how easy and immediate it is to share content with the world.

Olympus Pen E-P5 vs. Fuji X100s: Retro never looked so good!

29/08/2013 By Mathieu

A few months ago, we pitted the then brand-new Fujifilm X100s against the OM-D E-M5, Olympus’ Micro 4/3s flagship, to see which camera would emerge victorious. As it turned out, it was impossible to definitively say that one camera was better than the other as they have been designed for very different purposes. Though I risk giving away the punchline of this article in the very first paragraph, I’ll blurt it out anyway: the same stands for the E-P5 and the X100s.

The E-P5 is an MILC (mirrorless interchangeable lens camera) with a Micro Four Thirds sensor, and is very similar to the E-M5 in terms of specifications despite actually being the successor to the Pen E-P3. Thanks to its unique array of features, it can easily be considered a new reference for Olympus–that is, until the new OM-D E-M1 arrives later this year. The X100s, on the other hand, has a fixed 35mm lens and an APS-C X-Trans II sensor, and remains one of two Fujifilm flagships alongside the interchangeable X-Pro 1.

Fuji X100s vs. Sony RX100M2: An “unfair” High ISO comparison!

17/08/2013 By Mathieu

For more than one week, I have been using the new Sony RX100M2 as my holiday camera and I am enjoying it far more than I had ever dreamed. In fact, my Fuji X100s, who has been trapped in my bag more than she’s used to, is getting quite jealous and upset. So, to prove to her that she’s still my main muse, I decided to let the two cameras fight it out on the field with a focus on one of the aspects I care about the most: high ISO performance.

OM-D E-M5 vs. Pen E-P5: Two Olympus flagships go head-to-head

14/08/2013 By Mathieu

The Olympus Pen series has always sat one notch below the OM-D E-M5 in terms of quality. Never would we have expected that out of the middle-end Pen series, a serious competitor for the OM-D would be born – that is, until the Pen E-P5 came onto the scene. Now, like Olympic swimming champion Michael Phelps and teammate Ryan Lochte, the OM-D finds itself with a formidable rival on its own team. Which is better? And more importantly, which is more suited to you as a photographer? Well, you’ll have to read this comparison to find out!