I have the 12-50mm kit lens. At least for now while I am learning photography and composition, I do not want to have many lenses. Actually, on the OM-D I would probably just want to have two: the 12-50mm so I have something I can just shoot in the Seattle rain without any worry, and a small pancake lens so I can have it with me most of the time. The pancake lens won't be weatherproof so really, whatever the camera ends up being I think I'll just have to take chances with the drizzle!
So if I'm going to have a single small lens all the time (say the Panasonic 20/1.7 or the 14/2.50), and portability and great manual controls is what I care about, it seems that the X100S would be a good match that is a bit portable. I am sure I will miss having a zoom at times (I just went walking around the lake and some pictures of trees trunks floating in water would have been impossible to isolate without one) but I also think that the contrived format of a single lens may help me learn to do compose well. I'm also mostly interested in shooting in black and white unless the subject clearly benefits from color (like some of your cars, or
images like those for example).
I want simple. At least for now. So:
- Pocketable
- Complete (I like the fact that the Fuji has a flash)
- Great manual controls (I want to be connected to the camera; I love the dedicated dials on the Fuji vs the generic ones on the OM-D even though those are a bit more flexible)
- Great JPEGs OOC since I don't have the time or inclination to post process at this time
- Fantastic B&W (and I believe that in the Fuji unlike the OM-D you can select B&W and see that as a preview in the EVF if you wanted to?)
- Fast AF and good low light (should be a close match between the two)
Does that make the X100S the better match?
Unless they're here somewhere, things I'd likely miss from the OM-D would be the instant shadow and highlight clipping indication and the better level indicator (why Fuji only has a single horizon line instead of two like in a plane cockpit or, for that matter, the Panasonic GX-1, baffles me; it seems so easy).
Honestly the X20 might be a good match for me too, with a behaviors that seem to match that of the GX-1 for shutter speed and aperture selection, but I really like the idea of having dedicated manual controls and the rigor of one focal lens (at least "on paper.") I can always get an X-20 (or GX-1 or 2 or whatever) if I feel like I want interchangeable lenses later on.