Sony vs Fuji camera for Traveling

APS-C Sony vs Fuji Camera for Traveling? I’m a light traveler, so definitely mirrorless camera is what I need this day. I’m not a pro photographer, I shot JPEG only, and photography is just my hobby. Occasionally I try to send my photos to be published in magazine or local newspaper.

I’m a Sony mirrorless user who recently moved to Fuji mirrorless. Why Fuji? I explain my reasons below. Before you read, this is my personal opinion, so maybe a lot of people have different opinion than me. And why APS-C mirrorless? Because full frame mirrorless like Sony A7 is a little bigger & heavier then my Fuji now (I bought Fuji X-E2S), & Sony FE lens is much bigger & expensive. But for professional photographer, I guess Sony full frame mirrorless probably the best light camera system for now. For APS-C Sony vs Fuji Camera for traveling, both camera are good. But If you must pick one of them, I hope my reasons below can help you pick which one is more suitable for you.

(1) PRICE
First of all is the price! For beginner like me, maybe price is one of the most important thing 🙂

I get my Fuji X-E2S when X-Day launching of X-Pro2, X70 and X-E2S. So it’s really a bargain & no brainer I’ll get my Fuji X-E2S. For almost the same price as Sony A6000 kit 16-50mm with Sony 35mm f1.8, my Fuji X-E2S price come with kit lens XF 18-55mm f2.8-4 (one of the best mirrorles kit lens) and Fuji XF 35mm f2.

Mirrorless price in Indonesia:

– Sony A6000 with kit lens 16-50mm = 9 million rupiah

– Fuji X-E2 with kit 18-55mm (this May 2016 Promotion) = 9,5 million rupiah. And you can googling yourself, Fuji kit 18-55mm is one of the best mirrorless kit lens in this mirrorless world.

I guess for mirrorless APS-C at almost the same price, you can googling from many reviews in the internet, who will win the battle. Most of all, almost every review compare Fuji APS-C with Sony full frame, not with Sony APS-C. Why is that? You can answer it yourself 🙂

(2) CONTROLS
Fuji Controls is way better than Sony! Sony Camera menu is confusing, especially for beginner photographer who doesn’t want to read the manual like me 🙂 Fuji is way better, because you can find almost all of the important menu for photographer in Fuji’s body. Tools like auto exposure, metering, AEL, AFL, etc that I never use before in Sony, I can find it easy to use because it’s right there, in the body. So Fuji Controls really thaught me to be a better photographer.

(3) Sony Colors or Fuji Colors with Film Simulation
Most review in blog is Sony Colors best with landscape, and Fuji colors best with portrait. But what I find is, as a JPEG Shooter, Fuji Color is good enough for everything, especially with Fuji Film Simulation. You can go with vivid color, less saturation like Classic Chrome Fuji, or even Black & White. I’m not a pixel peeper either, and with my needs for photo in blog or magazine, I guess you can already see the details in Fuji JPEG files 16MP. Also Fuji JPEG is one of the best, compare to Sony. Perhaps Sony is better in RAW files, but I’m a lazy photographer who rarely shot RAW 🙂

(4) ISO
Definitely Fuji wins in low light ISO! I can go up to ISO 3200 or even ISO 6400 for my photos that I take, without being afraid of much noise in the photos.

(5) LENS
Fujinon XF lens is one of the best. For Sony APS-C native lens for e-mount, well, you can compare it yourself from any blog or website. Except for Zeiss lens or Sony G, I guess Sony e-mount APS-C lens is not as great as Fujinon lens.

TIPS TO BUY TRAVEL CAMERA

So my tips to choose Sony vs Fuji camera for traveling as a beginner travel photographer is:

– Choose Sony APS-C if your budget is under 10 million rupiah.

– Buy Fuji APS-C in X-Day (Fuji’s launching new product or Fuji Promotion) if your budget under 10 million rupiah. In my case, I can buy Fuji package with 2 lens, and then sell one of the lens later at secondary market.

– Buy Fuji if your budget between 10-15 million rupiah. If you compare light camera to bring when traveling, APS-C Sony or Fuji camera for traveling definitely the best. But if you try to be a better photographer, just read my reason above, then you will understand why I choose Fuji, beside the excellent JPEG from Fuji & better ISO (in APS-C). Fuji has thaught me to be a better photographer.

– Buy Sony full frame mirrorless, especially if you don’t mind about budget & bigger lens. It’s the best option for mirrorless camera this day. Off course there is Leica, but it’s way up of standart budget for mediocre photographer like me. Different story if you’re really like photography, or photography is your main job. But right now I’m not thinking about Leica yet 🙂

– Why not Olympus? Yes I heard that Olympus is great, great autofocus, great ISO, but it’s Micro 4/3. Maybe later after I study more about photography with my Fuji, I will considering Olympus 🙂 Right now, my Fuji camera is definitely my best camera for traveling & to teach me more about photography.

Andy Kristono

Architect, traveler, travel book & blog writer in www.cheaptravelfood.com who lives in Indonesia. He also like photography, you can see more of photos collections in his Instagram.

www.traveling.photography