New gadgets galore... fun times!

The Internet has been abuzz with the announcements from Canon and Fujifilm. Nikon doesn’t count because I don’t care about them haha.

Canon PowerShot G1X
Instead of following the market trend of introducing a mirrorless interchangeable lens camera, they decided to create their own niche market by introducing a large sensor fixed zoom lens camera: the Canon G1X.

 

It has a lot going for it:

• Larger sensor than even M4/3 (hence, crop factor 1.8x)
• 14 megapixels
• Retaining the tilt screen from the G11 and G12
• The equivalent focal length of 28-115mm at f2.8-5.2 is both longer AND faster than what a DSLR kit lens can manage
• 1080p @ 24 fps video

But:

• It has an MSRP of $800 USD
• At the end of the day, it’s still a fixed zoom lens even though Canon G lenses are as good as it can get as compact lenses go
• All the material so far does not tout a ‘fast auto focus’ which is disconcerting (why wouldn’t they pimp that feature if it were true)
• It’s also bigger than the G12, which is already not pocketable in any sense of the word

Still, this is a massive upgrade compared to the G12. If AF is fast and DOF is decent (it should be better than what the M4/3 can manage), the G1X will be very hard to beat. Let’s face it, not everyone actually enjoys lugging around many lenses and having to switch between them on the fly.

Could Canon be following on the footsteps of Fujifilm? Introducing the G1X now and introduce a G2X that has interchangeable lens feature next year?

Fujifilm X-Pro 1
Now this one is the ‘Leica M9 killer’, not the X100.

  

It has a ton of pluses:

• It’s pretty
• It’s smaller than a typical mid-range DSLR
• Fast lenses on the get go and which are small unlike those from Sony’s NEX line
• It’s pretty
• IQ that will most likely be superb (like the X100)
• Multiple Fuji film emulations
• No anti-aliasing filter which means pictures should look much sharper

Did I mention it’s pretty?

Having seen one in person on the X100, I have to say the hybrid viewfinder is bar none, one of the coolest things I’ve seen on a camera.

However, there are major concerns with the X-Pro 1:

• End of the day, it’s still an APS-C sensor that has a 1.5x crop factor
• Fuji needs to fix all the problems of the X100 (like slow autofocus, buffer and operations) which they didn’t do even after a firmware upgrade
• Price. At $1700 USD body only with the lenses going for $500-650 USD each, it’s clearly a luxury item. Face it, it’s high for an APS-C sensor camera. I don’t think it’s fair to compare this to a Canon EOS 7D. Totally different target market.
• Brand new X-mount for the lenses. How long will Fujifilm support this?
• No zoom lenses. While fast primes are fun to shoot, zoom lenses (especially with fixed apertures) are still pretty much the practical lenses to go with for travel. Fuji has promised more lenses down the road though.

Fuji has posted sample JPG images on their website. Bokeh looks very nice and creamy but the Hibiscus is not sharp at all at f1.4 while the other photos are small aperture images. I think they need to pimp it more with better images.

I have to admit if I wasn’t already so invested in Canon lenses, the X-Pro 1 will be very hard to resist. It’s smaller than my Canon EOS 60D and is probably less attention grabbing. Even before reviews pop-up, it's a very compelling alternative for someone upgrading from a compact camera.