A question on the minds of everyone recently has been wether they should buy the Olympus 35rc or the Fuji X100, and I understand their dilemnas. As I have both, I think I can help these indecisive buyers out.
Both cameras resemble a similar form factor and use. They are both compact, metal bodied with black leather and have similar focal lengths. Operation for the two of them is similar too.
While the Olympus 35RC is smaller, it is not much so and both cameras are about the same weight.
In use:
Both cameras have dials for aperture and shutter, facilitating easy use of full manual mode. Both cameras have aperture dials around their lenses but the X100 has tabs to make operation easier. I find it difficult to move the aperture dial on the 35RC and it is impossible to do so without moving the focus ring so always refocus after you change aperture.
The focus ring on the 35RC is very light, it feels like it isn't even attached to anything. This makes it very easy to go from one end of the focus range to the other. The X100, however, has a terrible focus ring. It is connected to an electronic thingymajig and it takes several full turns for it to slugishly focus from near to far and it can not be easily controlled in small increments.
Focus speed on the 35RC and X100 are comparable as they are both quick in daylight with the X100 generally having a slight upper hand and both cameras are frustrating in low light. A short lesson on focussing with both cameras is to find a point of high contrast to focus on and then recompose.
The 35RC also has the uper hand in that it has a focus distance indicator so you can pre set your focus without looking through the viewfinder and this also helps in dim situations.
Both cameras feature corner viewfinders with real time views of the world which is a true asset. The X100 has a larger and brighter viewfinder and the framelines are parallax adjusted, depending on where you are focussed. The framelines on my 35RC are very dim and the rangefinder patch is almost non-existant but it is from 1972 and it will be interesting to see how the X100 runs in 2053. Woah, that seems a lot further in the future than 1972 seems in the past, but I digress.
Durability wise, I would be more ok with banging the 35RC against a building or taking it out on the water than the X100. It is made of a thicker steel and has a more solid, brick-like feel to it. The X100 is metal too but it is a lot thinner and there is far more plastic that makes cheap sounding noises when you push against it. I also don't trust electronics.
The 35RC's next win is that it can be used without batteries. Want to go trekking through Mongolia with no access to a wall plug for 3 months? Take a brick of film and the 35RC. Batteries are cheap for the X100 but they only last a few days in the camera. The 35RC keeps on truckin' without any batteries but if you need shutter priority, the batteries that it needs aren't too hard to come by (unless you live in New Zealand, sorry bro!)
The cameras both carry a similar lens: the Olympus 35RC has a zuiko 45mm f2.8 lens, while the Fuji X100 has a Fujinon 23mm f2 (which is 35mm in film terms). I don't find 45mm and 35mm all that different and both work well as an everyday focal length for anything from landscapes to portraits. The 35RC can stop down to f22 for longer exposures during the day, the X100 only goes to f16 but it has a built in 3 stop ND filter which is a life saver when you are trying to get your blur on in the middle of the day. I would say that the Fuji X100 has a "better" lens attached to it but the 35RC is spectacular in the right situations: stop down to f8 or f11, put it on a tripod and thread in a cable release and you have a serious camera in your hands. The X100 is capable of this too and I have been using it as my primary landscape and infrared camera but it is limited in its inherent digitalness in that it has 16mp and it will always have 16mp, the 35rc can take Velvia, Provia, Ilford Pan... and there are no limits to how you can scan the film as scanners are always getting better.
Olympus 35RC
Olympus 35RC
Olympus 35RC
Olympus 35RC
In regards to colours, the X100 stocks what it calls 'film simulation' modes. These are: Provia, Velvia and Astia. It also has black and white which would be Neopan or something similar. The Olympus 35RC also has film modes but these aint no simulations. I have shot Provia and Velvia on it but also Kodacolor, Kodak Gold, Portra, Ilford Pan, Ilford HP5, Ilford Delta and Kodak Tri-X and there are so many more films available. The one thing the X100 has up it's sleeve is that it can shoot Velvia at iso 6400 which I haven't been able to find in the stores...
Fuji X100
Fuji X100
Fuji X100
Fuji X100
Fuji X100
For people in a hurry, the X100 is a better choice. It has a 2ish second review time from shot to screen while the Olympus 35RC is roughly 7-10 days. Loading the X100 takes 5 seconds to pop a memory card in and out, it is a bit of a longer process on the 35RC.
Fuji X100
Overall I would say that both cameras are excellent choices but it is up to you as a photographer to decide what is more important to you- pixels or chemicals? Considering that you can buy 12 Olympus 35RCs for the price of 1 second hand Fuji X100 and load those 12 35RCs up with 12 different rolls of film and carry them around your neck and look like a complete baller, I think the decision has been made for you.
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