Tony Northrup launched a poll, where people voted which images they considered had the best colors.
He starts off analysing, if we just think a certain camera has the best colors because of brand loyalty.
So what he did is the following: sometimes he labeled pictures with numbers, and sometimes he put the fake brand names on the same images that don’t even match up to the pictures.
The results:
Canon has the highest brand loyalty. Canon users picked an image 3.1 times more likely if marked with “Canon” than with a number, even though it was not a Canon image
Sony 2.2x
Nikon 1.5x
Fujifilm 1.4x – the lowest brand loyalty. Tony says “maybe Fujifilm users are the most rational people“
92% of people picked a different image when numbered or marked with brand name, showing that there was no consistency.
Interestingly, the most popular image when it was numbered (the Nr.1) suddenly became the least popular, when Tony wrote “Fujifilm” on it, even though it was exactly the same picture. It seems there is a lot of hate for Fujifilm by Sony, Canon and Nikon users out there.
Tony speculates that this is because Fujifilm users tend to be the meanest of all and can be very hostile, and kind of give “the whole brand a bad name“.
On the contrary, Fujifilm users downvoted only Sony, and not Canon and Nikon, which tells us about the brand rivalry.
Then back to the colors. He says “fake colors” are ok. People don’t upvote the most realistic colors, which is normal. In one example, the Nikon got the colors completely wrong, much to warm, and people voted it the best.
Color science is overblown, because if you see pictures individually, they are just fine. But photographers tend to compare.
White balance is more important than color science. When he adjusted white balance in post, results where much more balanced.
Tony says he adjusts colors in post anyway, so he never really cared much about “color science”.
The results for the best colors:
Sony (1,336)
Fujifilm (227)
Nikon (-518)
Canon (-605)
Read also
fujirumors.com – Sony A9 Vs. Fujifilm X-T2: Who Has Better Colors?
fujirumors.com – Fujifilm X-T2 vs Nikon D500 Shootout: Fujifilm X-T2 Wins Overall… and The Fuji Colors Rock Again (at Least For Me)
fujirumors.com – The Great JPEG Shootout by TheCameraStoreTV
NOTE – Film Simulations Anyone?
I hope I will not pass for hostile and mean if I point this out, but what about film simulations?
Fujifilm is renown and loved for its color science, not because they created the universal profile that is best for everything, but because they offer the film simulations, which are created to give the best results in different shooting situations or to create a certain mood. Velvia for landscapes, Astia for skin tones, Acros for black and white, Classic Chrome for a vintage touch and when the story should stand out more than the colors, Sepia for nothing ;) etc…
And while I get the point that you can change colors in post, if the camera itself offers you a great starting point, then you simply have less work to do in post, which can save you a lot of time. We should not underestimate the value of passing less time on the computer editing images ;).
Overall the Fujifilm X-T3, which is made in China, seems to be well build, with a decent weather sealing and in some aspects also better than the much more expensive Sony A7rIII:
“It’s easy to forget this camera has dual SD card slots when they’re this neatly arranged. Sony’s dual SD card slots on the A7R III are both crammed onto one side of the board and look like they’re at risk of falling off the edge“
SPOILER ALERT: The Fujifilm X-T3 ends on top in all categories but one :).
Chris starts by saying that:
APS-C and M43 offer a lot of versatility and can handle all kinds of photography
Full frame cameras are more specialized tools in a lot of ways
LANSCAPES
Fujifilm X-T3 wins, due to highly effective APS-C sensor and great dynamic range. Excellent lenses. By a hair the winner
Olympus EM-1 MKII and Panasonic G9 are on par. Have multishot pixel shift
Nikon D500 not made for landscape, lower resolution sensor and big body. Not so portable
STREET PHOTOGRAPHY
Fujifilm X-T3. Sexiest looking body. Dial controls very instinctual. Crazy fast AF. Eye AF is great. APS-C image quality better than M43
Panaosnic G9 very close to Olympus. Better viewfinder and faster single AF, better eye AF
Olympus EM-1 MK II
Nikon D500 is big and bulky. Slow live view AF
SPORT/WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY
Nikon D500 offers by far the most lens choices. Rugged and stable DSLR body. Best autofocus in the world
Fujifilm X-T3 has some great lenses like the XF100-400 and new XF200mmF2. Insanely fast AF. Very capable sports and wildlife camera
Panaosnic G9
Olympu EM-1 MKII
PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY
Fujifilm X-T3 is the clear winner. Great lenses. They care about APS-C lenses. Legendary color science with great skin tones. Great AF and vastly improved eye-AF
Nikon D500
Olympus EM-1 MK II
Panaonic G9
VIDEO
Fujifilm X-T3. Terrific video specs and Eterna profile is awesome. No IBIS and better battery life. But Fujifilm X-H2 will fix that. Fujifilm X-T3 is best hybrid video/still camera overall
Panasonic G9
Olympus EM-1 MK II
Nikon D500
Overall, Fujifilm X-T3 is the way to go in the crop sensor world.
