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Features

APS-C Cameras Win Big Over Full Frame Models in August

Brett Day
No Comments
08/29/2020
6 Mins read
Chris Gampat The Phoblographer Fujifilm X Pro 3 first impressions product images

Last Updated on 08/30/2020 by Mark Beckenbach

People talk about Full Frame cameras a lot, but APS-C cameras continue to outsell them according to our readers.

Lots of new cameras and lenses found new homes during August. Over the last several months, we’ve seen small sensor cameras outsell Full-Frame models by a large margin. This month, APS-C cameras have been most popular with our readers again, especially the Fujifilm variety. With the X-T3 coming in at just $999 right now, we expected nothing less. Prime lenses have also been popular with our readers during August. After the break, we’ve listed the ten most popular items with our readers.

EDITOR’S NOTE: WE ARE STATING THAT THIS IS WHAT’S POPULAR WITH OUR READERS. NOTHING MORE. NOTHING LESS.

Modern APS-C cameras offer so much for your money. The APS-C cameras listed here sell for as little as $448, and no more than $1,800. They feature excellent sensors, superb ergonomics, and much more. They certainly aren’t like APS-C cameras that used to be sold. We also love primes as much as you guys and gals do. You’ve picked up some brilliant glass this month. Scroll through the list to see what APS-C cameras and lenses your fellow readers have purchased.

Fujifilm X100V

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

  • Feels good in the hand
  • Focuses quickly but the all wide tracking needs a revamp
  • Beautiful overall
  • We like the new ISO dial
  • So simple to use
  • Image quality is nice
  • Built-in ND filter option
  • With the right tweaks, the autofocus can be very good for street
  • We’re finding autofocus with the OVF to be faster than with the EVF
  • Touchscreen focusing is wonderful in protests

Cons

  • Battery life drains too fast
  • Could use a leatherette grip and not this plastic fantastic stuff
  • Exposure compensation dial needs a lock button
  • Touchscreen menu is needed
  • Maybe even a few more Fn buttons
  • Viewfinder diopter adjustment doesn’t lock
  • When you set the camera to viewfinder only for shooting and LCD for playback, the menu system works only in the viewfinder.
  • There are situations where Image Stabilization would really benefit this camera due to the quick “hit and run” style of shooting
  • LCD needs to adapt to lighting automatically
  • Autofocus suffers in very low lighting and in zone setting

Buy now: $1,399

Fujifilm X-T3

aps-c cameras

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

  • Brand new 26.1MP X-Trans CMOS 4 Sensor
  • Brand new X-Processor 4 Image Processor
  • Excellent weather sealing
  • Very solid build quality
  • Excellent image quality
  • In body RAW processing with built-in film simulation profiles
  • Versatile RAW files
  • Amazing video capabilities
  • Dual SD card slots

Cons

  • Battery life can use some improvement
  • Lacks in body image stabilization
  • Low light performance is improved over the previous generation X-T2, but hit rates during high-speed low light situations still leave much to be desired

Buy now: $999

Nikon Z50

aps-c cameras

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

  • The best ergonomics of any APS-C Mirrorless camera out there
  • Weather sealing
  • Nice image quality
  • A nice touchscreen interface (including menus)
  • Capacitive controls make good use of some otherwise dead real estate
  • Astonishing high ISO performance
  • Good all-around autofocus and tracking performance
  • Great battery life
  • A nice, clean menu system
  • The screen does a poppy thing (folds out from the body and down)

Cons

  • The Z mount looks hideously huge on this camera
  • Large Z mount lenses make you gain back anything shed in the size and weight department
  • The touchscreen is not fully articulating: an odd choice for a hybrid camera that’s for video and stills
  • The Z50 is limited to 30-minute captures when filming and has no IBIS nor dedicated headphone jack: again, some odd choices for a hybrid camera
  • Ony one UHS-1 card slot
  • This camera has a serious identity crisis. It’s too expensive for an entry-level camera and those who would have considered the D3XXX or D5XXX DSLRs, and it doesn’t offer enough for the prosumer crowd. There are also too many compromises for the vlogging group as well. Yeah, it’s a strange one

Buy now: $850

Sony A6000

camera deals

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

Excellent autofocus that is very intelligent but still isn’t as fast as Micro Four Thirds cameras. In some ways it is the greatest autofocusing system that we’ve seen

  • Great image quality
  • Very useable high ISO output at 6400
  • Great feeling in the hand
  • Excellent EVF

Cons

  • Really wish that there was a thumb stick for quick AF point selection
  • Tracking a subject as it moved back and forth requires you to stop down to at least f4 to get it in focus

Buy now: $448

Fujifilm X Pro 3

aps-c cameras

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

  • Superia is beautiful (Classic neg)
  • We love the lack of a major screen
  • Autofocus can be fine-tuned for different situations
  • Everyone loves the look of Classic neg
  • You can push the shadows for forever and get details
  • The screen helps you stay focused and aware
  • USB C charging ensures that you can keep using the camera
  • Video features deliver pretty video
  • Arguably, you don’t need to edit the RAW files because the JPEGs let you do so much
  • For street and documentary shooting, the hidden screen will keep you in the zone when shooting
  • Face detection is fantastic when not trying to track erratic movements
  • Acros and clarity enhancements are going to make you fall in love with Fujifilm all over again
  • The Chrome effect for skies is subtle and very nice
  • Autofocus is fantastic for events and most professional work
  • Fujifilm’s collection of small primes pair wonderfully with this camera
  • The best camera to embrace high ISO noise on the market
  • Using the OVF will prolong battery life at the expense of slower autofocus
  • Multiple exposure mode is a very welcome addition
  • Very good battery life

Cons

  • Has problems keeping subjects in focus when they’re continuously moving
  • When you need the screen, it’s a bit of an annoyance
  • This camera desperately needed Blackout Free EVF shooting
  • Touchscreen menu navigation should be on this camera
  • Autofocus needs improvements
  • Rated images in-camera aren’t brought into Capture One Pro
  • Enhancing the clarity makes the camera take extra time to render the image
  • The battery life in long term use is about on par with the new Sony Z batteries
  • For street shooting, the wide and tracking AF area still lets you select a zone, but it shouldn’t.
  • Shooting from the hip? You may accidentally hit the function button and not the shutter release
  • Exposure dial needs a locking mechanism
  • Multiple Exposure mode saves the final images only as JPEGs

Buy now: $1,799

Samyang 45mm f1.8

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

Cons

  • It can freeze the camera and the autofocus up at times, but that’s a primary hiccup it eventually gets over
  • Incredibly plastic fantastic
  • Has a weird metering problem at times, but this hiccup goes away after a while
  • Can’t take full advantage of continuous tracking with lock-on AF

Buy now: $329

Fujifilm 35mm f2 R WR

aps-c cameras

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

  • Great sharpness
  • Nine aperture blades make the bokeh as good as it can be
  • Small size
  • Weather resistance
  • The fastest focusing lens that Fujifilm has offered as of the publication of this review

Cons

  • Just F2â€Ĥa refresh to the 35mm f1.4 actually would have been more appreciated and pushed the system ahead overall

Buy now: $399

Sony 12-24mm f4 G FE

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

  • Lightweight and compact
  • Fun to use
  • Good image quality
  • Close focusing
  • Fast focusing
  • Slight weather sealing

Cons

  • Very difficult to use it with lens filters of any sort

Buy now: $1,773

Fujifilm 23mm f2 R WR

aps-c cameras

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

  • Good image quality
  • Seriously and surprisingly fast focus. This lens is officially Fujifilm’s fastest
  • Fast focus on the X Pro 2, X-T2 and even the X Pro 1. The latter completely shocked me.
  • Nice colors
  • Compact size
  • Weather sealing
  • Turning the aperture ring feels nice and smooth until the clicks come in. It’s a tactile experience that’s just lovely.
  • Sharp images
  • Fairly nice bokeh
  • Affordable price point

Cons

  • Something about this lens just simply doesn’t have the magic that the 23mm f1.4 R does

Buy now: $449.95

Fujifilm 16mm f1.4 R WR

aps-c cameras

Here are the pros and cons from our full review:

Pros

  • Very sharp wide open
  • Very sharp overall
  • The excellent metal build quality
  • The focusing ring allows for zone focusing
  • Pretty decent bokeh for a lens of this type, despite having 9 aperture blades
  • Fast-focusing performance
  • Weather sealed construction
  • Keeps distortion down pretty well

Cons

  • Depth of Field scale could have given us more focusing markers
  • More purple fringing than a modern lens should have despite it easily being removed in post-production
  • Autofocus is just a hair too slow for street photography

Buy now: $849

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