I ventured forth and paid a visit to the local dispenser of
photographic objects...
Highly tempted, again, by the X-Pro1. He's got three used/refurbs in
stock for about 300 off.
"Mommy?"
Also there was an OM-D and the new E-P5. I got to handle both. I'm
going to agree with others who have stated that the E-P5 is the better
camera. I would much rather have it than the OM-D. The EVF goiter is a
little disconcerting, but the overall comfort and handling of the
camera is superior to the OM-D. Of course, the EVF is just plain
better, but that's evolution, not revolution.
Turns out that my little handling niggle with the OM-D about the
position of the shutter-release wasn't my imagination. It really is
scrunched over, as compared to the E-P5. It's very close, but the
combination of body shape and button position is about 1/2 an inch
difference between the two cameras in actual handling. The E-P5 is a
"left-handed" camera, of which I've written about many times before,
where the OM-D wants to be a "right-handed" camera. This means that
you will naturally hold the body with either of the two hands, bearing
the brunt of the weight in that hand. If I had to choose between these
two cameras, without a doubt I'd grab the E-P5 for the handling.
Probably would have to have both just for all the other stuff.
Of the mirrorless cameras I've spent the effort to get to know, my all
around favorite remains the Sony NEX-7, followed by the X-PRO1. As
nice as the two models of Olympus are, they just don't move me
anymore. But the E-P5 seems to be the most refined of them all. It's
likely the best mirrorless CSC on the market.
I asked how the sales are going on cameras. Canon remains the #1
seller in the shop and the various Rebel models (of which there are at
least three on the market right now) are solid performers both for the
photographer and for the store. They sell more of those than
everything else combined. The OM-D sales have dried up. Toast. Done.
History. The E-P5 is barely selling. The water faucet got turned off.
The Fujis are his second best seller and the X-100S has been a HUGE
seller for him (150+ units in an environment where the dealers can
barely get them), with all of the other Fuji models being strong too.
Even the low-end ones. Evidently, Fuji is nailing it right now on all
tiers. Nikon and Sony sales have slowed, but not stopped. Sony sales
is being helped right now by the new lenses.
The overall slowdown in the camera industry is evident, as the numbers
would be way down if it wasn't for the quirk of Fuji sales.
His used cabinets have been seeing good turnover. There's a nice
selection of OM gear in there right now, of which there is a good 75%
churn on the stuff that was there last time. (That's a very good
statistic to me). However, to keep things in perspective, the new and
used display cases contain about a total of three feet of Olympus
gear. Even Leica has about 6x the space. Both Fuji and Sony are setup
in their own self-standing cases which showcase the products extremely
well and are placed right where everybody has to pass them.
Just report'n.
--
Ken Norton
ken@xxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.zone-10.com
--
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