If you’re a photographer that’s been looking at the high-end APS-C mirrorless camera options out there, then you most likely know that Sony and Fujifilm are the ones that continue to duke it out over and over again. The Sony a6500 is the company’s latest offering while Fujifilm has two flagship cameras in the form of the X-T2 and the X Pro 2. All of these cameras are highly capable, have the same megapixel count and have similar features. But which is the best?
Reviews
These reviews are the reference point for what is being talked about here.
Ergonomics
When you look at the ergonomics of many cameras out there, you have to admit that the companies aren’t doing terrible jobs overall. Their cameras all feel good, but some ergonomics are simply just better than others. Arguably, Fujifilm and Olympus both have some of the best ergonomics in the camera world.
That’s the case here, and Fujifilm wins over Sony. Sony’s a6500 has good ergonomics, but the intuitive nature of Fujifilm’s cameras just seems to make more sense. If you’re a DSLR user though, you may like Sony’s a6500 more. Still, the X-T2 has a lot of advantages over Sony here.
Winner
The Fujifilm X Pro 2 and Fujifilm X-T2 both work here. I personally reach for the X Pro 2, but that’s because I like rangefinder style camera bodies.
Build Quality
All of these cameras are said to be weather resistant. We’ve taken them all out into the rain and they’ve kept working. However, where I’m super impressed is with the X-T2. I dropped it and the camera kept working as it rolled down onto the NYC concrete.
However, during the testing period the X Pro 2 also went into the rain and got thoroughly soaked. But it continued to work.
Sony has a few weather sealed lenses, but they all tend to be pretty expensive. Fujifilm’s, on the other hand, aren’t. So with that said, I have to once again hand it to Fujifilm.
Winner
Fujifilm gives you weather sealing, but it does so at a more affordable price point.
Ease of Use
Fujifilm’s X-T2 perhaps has the least complaints when it comes to the interwebs. Sony’s menus are becoming easier to navigate, but the touch screen doesn’t really help to make it simpler. Canon does this and it’s fantastic.
Again though, I personally go for the X Pro 2. However, lots of folks don’t understand how to use the ISO dial. This is a camera that is designed for photographers to lock in the ISO and not go around changing it often. To me, it’s brilliant. You can set the ISO to Auto if you wish. But as it is, I have no major reason to constantly change the ISO setting.
Winner
The Fujifilm X-T2 takes it home here. Sony’s almost there though, but the menus are very deep.
Autofocus
Now here is where things become a bit crazier. You see, Fujifilm has greatly improved its autofocus capabilities, and with fast focusing lenses, Fujifilm can perform well in really hard to focus areas. But so too can Sony. With the right lenses, Sony can also capture fast moving sports in certain situations. Fujifilm can’t perform as well for tracking focusing.
So honestly this is kind of a mixed bag.
Winner
Fujifilm’s X Pro 2 is better in low light situations when it comes to focusing speed. Sony is better with tracking focusing situations. Overall though, Sony can be more reliable even in good lighting too.
Image Quality
Alright, are you ready for all the hate and butthurt that the internet is bound to spew at one another because their camera isn’t superior?
RAW File Versatility
As far as the dynamic range goes, Fujifilm seems to get more details from the highlights. However, Sony is capable of pulling and pushing slightly more data from the pixels. With colors, Fujifilm tends to have better color depth.
High ISO Output
In my tests, the grain structure is quite different. Fujifilm’s X Pro 2 has very nice output and the details in the images are still there. The X-T2 has less noise but at the risk of less detail. Sony’s a6500 has less detail the higher you go–but is about on par with the X-T2. Overall though, you can only really tell this if you’re looking at the images while pixel peeping.
I’ve made prints recently from all three of the cameras at the same ISO settings and I tend to find the X Pro 2’s output more pleasing in terms of detail rendition. However, the image noise from the Sony a6500 is also very nice, if a bit larger. If the prints from all three cameras were converted to black and white, I highly doubt anyone would be able to tell the differences here.
Winner
It’s splitting hairs here.
Conclusions
In all honesty, all of these cameras are very good. It’s possible to do professional work with all of them and in fact, many photographers have. Sony is better for an all-in-one package. If you want to shoot photojournalism style video with the Fujifilm system then you need the X-T2 and the vertical grip. But Sony has a headphone jack and a microphone jack.
Sony also has better third party support.
The cameras themselves are all very good though. Fujifilm takes it home with build quality, Sony wins in some areas when it comes to image quality though it lacks in the ease of use, and Fujifilm’s tactic of having two APS-C flagship cameras helps them out in so many ways here.
I’m very torn as I use both companies’ cameras. But if I had to do a job where I need to do video and photos, Sony would win. If I needed to shoot a wedding with TTL flash output, Sony would win again. If I were in a studio or doing very careful deliberate work, I’d reach for Fujifilm.