28mm Shootout: Ricoh GR IV vs Fujifilm X-E5
The Shootout
Given my two main drivers for street photography are the Fujifilm X-E5 and Ricoh GR IV, I thought to use one of my days in Sicily to compare the two in a nonchalant 28mm shootout. For the X-E5, I had recently purchased a used Voigtlander 28mm f/2.8 and I was excited to put its beautifully constructed pancake to the test. Previous comparison POV videos on my channel had brought in new viewers, as well as delightful spread of witty and war painted comments, so I was keen to follow the same formula and rule set; switch every hour, shoot as I would normally shoot (and edit).Naturally, any time dedicated to street photography is good practice. However, I always like to keep track of the number of 'keepers', which is often most heavily influenced by the weather and location rather than the choice of camera. While one day of photography is a small sample, it turned out that the Fujifilm X-E5 produced a keeper rate of 12.4% (30 edits from 241 photos), which was more efficient than the Ricoh GR IV's 8.6% (28 edits from 324 photos). This could easily be explained by the fact I was using a manual focusing lens on the X-E5, but having compared the 'keepers', the Fujifilm also produced more photos that I would be happy to post online - let's call them 'sharers', which are shown below:Ricoh GR IV (‘sharers’ x 8)
Fujifilm X-E5 + Voigtlander 28mm (‘sharers’ x 12)
Comparing the cameras
While I don't anticipate to use this website to formally review cameras and lenses, I will use this space to share initial thoughts and comparisons. Based on the shootout in Sicily, and having used both cameras since, there's no doubt about their capabilities for street photography. If there is one area that I wouldn't be able to separate them it would be the impressive battery life of both; only a single bar was lost for each during the entire shootout. The below list highlights the strengths of each:Ricoh GR IV (28mm)
+ more discreet (easier to approach/photograph people) + better dynamic range + more accurate metering system + significantly lighter files (a joy to cull and edit)Fujifilm X-E5 + voigtlander 28mm f/2.8
+ preferred contrast + easier manual focus (compared to snap focus) + more tactile (glorious aperture ring)