X-E1 vs D3200 on a budget

[salacious]

I have around £380 to spend and i can either of the following:

Nikon D3200 body only for around £180 this means I can spend £200 on other lens/es

Nikon D3200 + VR 18-55mm £279

Fujifilm X-E1 Body
XC16-50mm lens
XC50-230mm lens
X-Series CSC bag
16GB Class 10 memory card for £379

I dont care about size, I just want a dedicated photo camera as i have a GH4 and manual Nikon AI-S lenses, All i care about is RAW and minimum of 16MP camera, I could get the X-E1 for £160 roughly and invest in one better lens but havent looked at the full line up.

I dont mind investing in a new system as it will be partially shared by me and my partner, however the GH4 is used only for filming and it blew up once while trying to take pictures with it hence my phobia (search GH4 exploding flash).

There is also the X-E1 + 18-55 for £380

so what would you go for?

 

[AlexH]

The Fuji lenses are great, but the X-E1 is a slow camera by D3200 standards. It's kind of quirky. If you truly don't care about size, I'd choose the D3200 or save up for an X-E2 or X-T1.

 

[JDDavis]

If you already have some manual AI-S lens then I'd probably go with the 3200. They won't meter (or AF of course) but they'll still work and you've already got other lens to try. If you can get the D3200 with the 18-55 and 55-200 as a kit for your budget then you have a pretty well rounded kit. If you went body only have a look at the 50 f1.8 and see if it fits in your budget and needs.

 

[Ish]

What do you like to photograph? The X-E1 may not be as fast as the D3200 (which I've never owned) but I've had one for two years now and am very happy with it. The IQ is at least equal to an equivalent DSLR so there's no worries on that score. I used mine alongside a Canon 5DII and was still very happy. The Fuji lenses are very good. The 18-55 'kit' lens isn't really a 'kit lens', it just happens to be the one often packaged with it but it's a good lens in its own right. The aperture, shutter speed and exposure compensation are all done externally so there's less diving into menus. It took me a little while to get used to it but I wouldn't go back now as weight does matter to me.

I can't say if it's better or worse than the D3200 but it's a good camera. Go over to the Fuji-X Forum and have a look around if you'd like more information. Enjoy whichever one you choose!

 

[leighonigar]

WEX would sell you a used D7000 within budget. You could then buy an 18-55 from the same source and be able to meter with your existing nikon lenses.

The XE-1 is lovely but it's not as slick as a nikon DSLR. I would really recommend finding somewhere to play with them. Why not just get another M43 body? The G5 for instance is very cheap (£145 used from WEX again).

 

[aerok]

It's a question of speed. If that's important for you then go for D3200.

I personally find the XE1 has better IQ with better DR and ISO (If shot in JPEG). I also prefer Fuji lenses over Nikkor, the build is just amazing with superb IQ.

 

[leighonigar]

I personally find the XE1 has better IQ with better DR and ISO (If shot in JPEG). I also prefer Fuji lenses over Nikkor, the build is just amazing with superb IQ.

Is the build amazing? I was never that impressed with the XE-1 (I've not used the other fuji models). It certainly feels less well put together than my Nikon cameras (D200, D600, V1). I'm also not a huge fan of the focus by wire lenses.

 

[Miltz]

It's a tough question... I thought about it for a while and I would go with Fuji. I really like the image quality the camera produces and fuji has the best quality mirrorless lens line-up right now. I had the pleasure of using a XT-I for a week and a lot of lens for it, and those lens really matched the highest end stuff from Canon or Nikon. My next camera may very well be a Fuji XT-I mark II or whatever they call it.