A Comparison of Sony and Fuji Hi-Resolution Camera Kits|
Rob Will – May 2024
Camera selection can be a bewildering and confusing experience. There are many camera companies; each offering a variety of models at various price points. On top of that, there are multiple sensor size formats, each of which has its own advantages and trade-offs. If you are new to photography, or are considering a major upgrade to your existing gear, it’s difficult to know where to begin.
Many of us confuse our “needs” with our “wants”, and it’s easy to get pulled in by lists of features offered by various camera bodies. What we often fail to realize is that every choice we make early in the buying process has ramifications that dictate our options further down the road.
The purpose of this article is not to champion one sensor format over another. Sensor size is an argument that often borders on the religious, with advocates for each sensor type touting its advantages and often ignoring its disadvantages. This article aims to give photographers contemplating the purchase of one of these systems an idea of the overall cost and size of a system once it has been fleshed out with a stable of lenses.
My comparison will be limited to current camera bodies produced by Sony and Fuji that offer the highest resolution available for the APSC, FF, and MF sensor formats. I will be looking at the total cost, size and weight for each selected camera body, and a set of three prime lenses (24mm, 50mm, and 85mm equivalent).
All prices are quoted in Canadian dollars, as per The Camera Store website at time of writing. Pictures are from CameraSize.com.
The Contenders
The highest resolution sensor currently available for an APSC camera is 40 MPx, with a pixel size of 3.04 microns. Fuji offers three interchangeable lens camera bodies that utilize this sensor.
The most compact option is the XT-50, but that body sacrifices features such as weatherproofing and battery life to achieve this size reduction – features that are present in the two more expensive and larger Fuji bodies: the X-H2 and X-T5.
Both the X-H2 and the X-T5 can be considered APSC flagships; the principal difference being body style. The internals of all three bodies are virtually identical, and choosing between them comes down to personal decisions regarding feature sets and price.
The highest resolution full-frame sensor available is the 61MPx one used in the Sony A7rV and A7Cr. These two cameras have very different body styles, but both are considered flagship models in their respective lines. The 61 MPX sensor has a pixel size of 3.76 microns.
The highest resolution Medium Format (44x33mm) sensor is used by the Fuji GFX100 II and the GFX100s II. Both cameras deliver identical Image quality (IQ), but the GFX100 II offers a richer feature set, and is the undisputed flagship of the GFX line. The 102 MPx sensor has a pixel size of 3.76 microns (identical to the Sony 61 MPx sensor).
Generally speaking, a larger pixel size yields less noise and better IQ than a smaller pixel.
No Compromises Comparison
This comparison aims to match flagship bodies for each sensor type with three prime lenses equivalent to the 24mm, 50mm, and 85mm focal lengths in FF. I have selected what I consider to be the lenses in those focal lengths for each sensor format that offer the best combination of speed, price, and versatility.
Sony also offers a 50mm lens with an F/1.2 maximum aperture, but that lens is significantly larger and more expensive than the F/1.4 version that I have selected. A photographer who prefers the F/1.2 version can add $800 and 262 grams to the Sony totals in the comparison.
Fuji offers a pair of APSC flagships, and a photographer who prefers the X-T5 body style to that of the featured X-H2 can deduct $250 and 103 grams from the Fuji APSC totals.
Compactness Comparison
Size and weight matter to photographers who carry their gear around on a daily basis, and I have included a comparison that selects the smallest and lightest body and lens options for each format that can fully resolve the sensor’s resolution. Unfortunately, the MF sensor format used by the GFX system does not lend itself to compact lenses (except the GF 50mm F/3.5). For that reason, MF has been eliminated from this round.
Conclusions
Every camera produced in the last ten years by any manufacturer is more technically advanced than virtually anything that came before, and regardless of what sensor format you choose, you can be assured that excellent hi-resolution options are available. Each format has its strengths and its trade-offs.
Fuji APSC offers the lowest costs, and the smallest and lightest components, but sacrifices resolution and pixel size compared to the competition.
Sony FF offers a balance of resolution, price, size, and a more extensive lens selection than either of the Fuji systems. The 61 MPx FF sensor also has an identical pixel size to the 102 MPx sensor used by Fuji MF. It is not without trade-offs, however. Sony FF sacrifices significant resolution to Fuji MF and costs significantly more than Fuji APSC.
Fuji MF offers the highest resolution of any of the formats compared, while maintaining the same pixel size as FF. It is the largest, heaviest, and most expensive of the three formats, but allows the photographer to crop further into an image with impunity, and produce prints that are larger than the competition. Value conscious photographers that do not require the modularity and higher resolution viewfinder of the GFX100 II may want to consider the GFX100s II, as it is significantly less expensive than its big brother.
Whatever you choose, you can’t really go wrong with any of these cameras. Choose a system that fits your needs and budget, and go have some fun taking photos.–