Shopping for a Camera: Sony a6700 vs Fujifilm X-E5
I have been wanting a real camera again, something better than a phone for photos of projects, family, and whatever else catches my eye. After a lot of reading I narrowed it down to two: the Sony a6700 and the Fujifilm X-E5. Instead of agonizing over spec sheets I ordered both and shot them side by side for a while.
What I loved about the Fuji
The X-E5 is a genuinely fun camera. The output is beautiful, and the thing Fuji is famous for turned out to be true for me. You can just take pictures and get polished looking JPEGs straight out of the camera. No editing session afterward, no raw processing. Point it at something, pick a film simulation, and the shot comes out looking finished. It is also a compact, good looking camera that I did not mind carrying around.
But I kept fighting the autofocus. Compared to the Sony I had a hard time getting it to lock where I wanted, and I missed shots because of it. That matters more to me than I expected.
Where the Sony pulled ahead
The a6700's autofocus is great. It just grabs the subject and holds on, which made it easier to try different compositions and trust that things were actually in focus. Less time confirming, more time shooting.
I was also more interested in a hybrid camera. I wanted something that shoots high quality video as well as excellent stills, and the a6700 is a much stronger video camera.
The lens situation helped too. Mine came with the 18-135mm kit lens, so I had a lot more zoom range to work with out of the box.
The decision
I sent the Fuji back and kept the Sony. It came down to a few things:
The video capability was the biggest one. The autofocus was a close second, because being able to move around, recompose, and know the shot is sharp changes how you shoot. And while the Fuji's JPEGs are special, I found I could get a similar look out of the Sony files with a little editing. The Fuji look was a nice head start, not something irreplaceable.
I also picked up the other kit lens for the Sony, so I have a compact option now too. The setup is not quite as small as the X-E5, but it is still pretty compact. I could shove it in a pocket if I had to.
The photos
Everything I shoot ends up in the galleries at photos.digitalporch.net. The first shoot up there is a 1985 VW Quantum, and it actually includes frames from both cameras from the week I was testing them, if you want to compare for yourself.