- Location
- Switzerland
- Name
- Matt
I seriously splurged today - and did a full-pack Monochrome shootout between the Fujifilm Classic Neo 90 and the Leica Sofort. Quite a bit of fun - and instructive, too.
The most important thing: Their IQ is so similar that I needed to break out the big loupe to check if my impressions were correct - here's the pair of them with the key comparison shot:
The key findings: The lenses on those two cameras are so similar that it would be impossible to tell results apart if you couldn't look at them side by side. However, there actually *is* a difference: The Neo 90's lens renders a tad contrastier, yet with slightly less sharpness at the grain; the Sofort's lens is just a tad sharper, but gives you a somewhat smoother, less punchy image. The signatures are slight, but consistent. I'll check with colour film next, though - it's still possible that the status of the film pack made as much of a difference as the lens, if not more. I'm pleased to say that both cameras can produce worthwhile images. I ended up scanning 10 of the 20 shots - that's a pretty good show!
It's worth noting here that shots at greater distances taken at the "infinity" setting are sharper overall than shots at "normal" distances from both cameras; it probably pays to use the flash more often than I did at that setting. More to the point: The "infinity" setting is the strong range of those lenses - which may be counter-intuitive, but it's what I see.
The most surprising aspect however was that the two cameras are clearly geared towards different use cases, which is reflected in their layout as well as the ease with which you're able to use certain features. Here's the summary:
M.
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The most important thing: Their IQ is so similar that I needed to break out the big loupe to check if my impressions were correct - here's the pair of them with the key comparison shot:
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
The key findings: The lenses on those two cameras are so similar that it would be impossible to tell results apart if you couldn't look at them side by side. However, there actually *is* a difference: The Neo 90's lens renders a tad contrastier, yet with slightly less sharpness at the grain; the Sofort's lens is just a tad sharper, but gives you a somewhat smoother, less punchy image. The signatures are slight, but consistent. I'll check with colour film next, though - it's still possible that the status of the film pack made as much of a difference as the lens, if not more. I'm pleased to say that both cameras can produce worthwhile images. I ended up scanning 10 of the 20 shots - that's a pretty good show!
It's worth noting here that shots at greater distances taken at the "infinity" setting are sharper overall than shots at "normal" distances from both cameras; it probably pays to use the flash more often than I did at that setting. More to the point: The "infinity" setting is the strong range of those lenses - which may be counter-intuitive, but it's what I see.
The most surprising aspect however was that the two cameras are clearly geared towards different use cases, which is reflected in their layout as well as the ease with which you're able to use certain features. Here's the summary:
- The Neo 90 has a dedicated macro button, but makes it tedious to get to infinity (it's buried in the Mode series); it defaults to "normal" (0.6-3m). Its layout is optimised for portrait shooting (as is the Instax Mini film). This camera is best suited for close-up and portrait distance shooting - people shots! It's also worth remembering that it has a slight advantage when taking backlit shots (the "strong overexposure" setting - just +1 EV).
- The Sofort makes it super-easy to get to infinity, while close-up mode is way down in the Mode menu. It's much more straightforward to shoot than the Neo 90 - less "gadgety", so to speak. Its layout is intended for landscape shooting - and in spite of the Neo 90's two shutter release buttons, the Sofort's feels better placed for that purpose as well. Interestingly, the Sofort also has a dedicated "selfie" mode that I've used "successfully" (apart from my mug being completely unpresentable today, so I haven't bothered with scanning the image, but you can get a glimpse of it in the image above). It seems to work better than the Neo 90's close-up mode you have to highjack for that purpose. I'm not one to use scene modes, though - but it's good to know you could.
M.
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