Nikon Z50 or Fujifilm X-S10?

BonMichel

BonMichel

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Bonjour

I have spent a lot of time over the last week or two scouring the internet for articles and recommendations, trying to decide what camera to buy.

I have had half decent cameras in the past, all long past their best by date, but have been using just my iPhone for far too long. Now retired I would like to start taking quality pictures, mainly for my own benefit.

I would be taking landscape / scenery pictures on holidays, and what seems to be described as street photography. I would also like to be able to take good pictures of flora and fauna, sometimes from a distance, sometimes close up. I would also take videos sometimes, mainly music related. I am not particularly interested in portraits or sports photography, and don't see myself buying a collection of lenses.

I am retired, living in France, and obviously not experienced in photography, however I would not consider myself a beginner as such.

After reading all sorts of comments, reviews and comparisons and have come down to two options which appeal to me: Nikon Z50 kit with the 16-50 and 50-250 lenses, and the Fujifilm X-S10 with the 16-80 lens. The Nikon can be had for about €1400 and the Fuji is about €1600 here in France. I do not have any legacy kit to take into consideration.

The Fuji kit does not include a large zoom but a 55-200 can be had for an additional €800. That makes the Fuji €1000 more expensive. However from what I have read the Fuji will produce sharper / clearer pictures. It also has IBIS, and it has a headphone socket for monitoring sound when taking videos which I believe the Nikon doesn't have.

The Nikon covers all my perceived needs at a very reasonable cost but has only 20MP compared with Fuji's 26MP. That sounds a big difference but would there be a huge difference in quality? The Nikon also has some weather sealing.

There is a dearth of camera shops in our region so calling into a shop to discuss my wishes is not a realistic option.

I would welcome any comments from more experienced photographers. Have I missed any important criteria?

Thank you in advance
 
I think it depends on whether you want to shoot primes at some stage.
Fuji has a lot of good quality primes to choose from. Nikon very few.
The XS10 has IBIS, the Nikon does not. However, the Vr on the 2 Nikon zooms is good.
Fuji likely better for video (I have now experience of video with either).

Also, how they feel in your hand can be important.

In the past I’ve owned and used several Fuji’s (not XS10) and found the primes to be very good.

I currently own a Z50 with the 2 kit lenses (along with Nikon full frame kit).

Ultimately I couldn’t afford to run 2 systems so I sold all my Fuji and nowadays stick with Nikon.

I was never impressed with the Fuji standard zooms but always found the primes excellent.
I like the Z50’s AF and also the small form factor with the 16-50 lens.

Good luck with whatever you choose. Both are good cameras.
 
Thank you Peter123, these are helpful comments.
I have discovered another factor to help my decision making: I can buy the Z50 tomorrow; the Fuji seems to be out of stock everywhere!
 
How many videos do you plan to shoot? The X-S10 will be good for video, but the X-T30ii and XF18-55 would be a cheaper bet for stills, and probably a better comparison.
 
I think I will be using the video a reasonable amount. I have had old and clunky video cameras in the past and enjoyed using them. The X-T30II was on my long list but I will have another look. Thanks.
 
On that basis, I would recommend the X-S10.
 
Thanks. I am veering that way. I googled the two lenses and the 16-80 is generally thought to be a better lens than the 18-55. Also, zoom to 80 might be enough for my needs, at least initially. I just need to check availability within a reasonable distance. I am wary of buying something like this online.
 
I don't know what it is like in France, but recently Fuji UK told me I was better getting on a waiting list at a camera shop, rather than waiting for online availability anywhere. That strategy worked for the always out of stock X100V.
 
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