Thread: Dilemma - "X" plus your choice of digits...

Hi all,
I am racked by indecision and hope someone can help! I am selling my NEX-5N - although the IQ is great, I never really got to grips with the controls and menus, or the size of the kit lens to be honest. So I had narrowed my choice down for a replacement to something more compact and with more manual controls, namely the X10. But now the X20 is coming out and the new features look great, and I am also looking at the X100 for the even better viewfinder and APS-C sensor. I know I will buy one of these, the question is which one? Purely financially I should shut up and buy the X10 for £299, but I can stretch to about £500 so both the X100 and X20 are in play... So what do I photograph - I intend to use the new camera for garden photography including macro, architectural shots, and generally "arty" photos that I can see need more control when I'm out and about on country walks. I don't print (or very rarely) and generally view my photos on my 1680x1050 iMac screen. For general travel photography I have my Sony HX20V which is a very neat little device.
Any thoughts would be welcome; I'm sure there are others who have gone through this choice or are facing it themselves now!
Thanks
Martin

If you don't mind a slightly larger camera, the X100 wins without breaking a sweat. I love mine so much I thought I'd pick up an X10 just to have a little zoom range and a cute little buddy to shove in my jacket pocket. The X10 is great..... for it's size. I just couldn't live with the trade-off in IQ. I'm not a pixel peeper, but for me the images are just too noisy above ISO 800.

If most of your photography is as you describe however (outside and in decent light), the X10 will be more than good enough.

That's just my 2 cents.

I'd go X20, though. The new features really are worth the upgrade, IMO. If you use the viewfinder, having the shooting data in the VF is very handy. The sensor should produce better images. Focus peaking might come in handy for macro.

There's also better movie mode and faster AF, but it doesn't sound like you'll need those as much.

The X100 is one of my all time favorite cameras. One of the best IQ's ever in an APS-C sensor camera. On the other hand, the X10/20 are much more versatile due to the zoom lens. For architectural stuff, you may sometimes need wider than the X100's 35mm focal length. For macro purposes, you can get REALLY close with the X10. I'm looking forward to the X20, because of the new viewfinder and the faster AF. But it seems to me that neither a viewfinder nor faster AF are really big factors in your type of photography.

Martin, whilst you can do macro with the X100, I think I would probably recommend the X10/20 for that. You can't get really close with the X100, min focus distance is not close at all (so I get as close as I can, then crop).

But out and about walking, for landscape or almost everything else, the X100 wins, hands down, for me. And the viewfinder is perfect. I mostly use mine in optical mode but the EVF is excellent as well. (which is why I am hanging out for an X-Pro - the hybrid viewfinder is to die for)

What about the X-E1 - you get the bigger sensor and interchangeable lenses...and probably a bunch more that I'm not even aware of right now since I've been on camera buying sabbatical (and still am, alas).

P.S. Don't get me wrong - I still love my X100 and its little sibling the X10. Waaaaaaay back when we did our first Single In January (was that really one year ago?), I used the X10 and got some of my best ever shots, if I do say so myself. I, for one, don't care about the little one's viewfinder, though I love the hybrid on the X100...though truth be told, I'm an EVF viewfinder fan.

Thanks for all the replies, I can see I hold as many different opinions as everyone else
My biggest problem with the X10 is the viewfinder - I've had a good look at one and it is really clear, but no info at all makes it a bit less attractive than the X20. And if the X20 does produce sharper and less noisy images it has to be a better bet.
My usage of macro is not huge really so I think the 10cm closest focus of the X100 would be OK.
I would love the X-E1 but unless I get a huge bonus next quarter that won't happen...
Overall I would definitely prefer a viewfinder - having had 2 SLRs and a bridge with a decent EVF in the past I find I really miss it with the NEX5N (I owned the optional EVF for a few weeks but it was really fiddly to attach/detach whenever I needed the flash so that got sold).
My heart says go with the X100 when I see the quality of images - they seem somehow more immediate and involved than from any other camera I've seen, if that makes any sense!
So I guess I will have to wait to see what the X20 costs when it comes out, look at any images I can find, and make a final decision then.

I've gone for the X20 - should be arriving in early March. I really wanted to get the X100 as well but money won't stretch that far, and I decided for my main camera I really need that bit of zoom, I'm just too used to it.

Congratulations, we await your pictures with bated breath You're right though, it's horses for courses. I bought the X10 at an excellent price but in the end I just couldn't live with a zoom lens. Too much to think about for me and also I'd really got used to the higher iso options of the larger sensor so I bought the X100.

Enjoy your new camera Martin and post plenty of photos when it arrives!