Rangefinder vs Point and shoot
* image 1 : results below
I borrowed my friends Olympus AF-1 Twin and made side by side images using a much more expensive Leica, and my oh my will this experiment ruffle some feathers.
Luckily they’re equipped with 35mm focal lenghts, so the compositions won’t tell much on which is what camera.
To make this even closer I used the same film: Santa Color 100, developed in the same tank with Kodak C41 chemistry. Both films got scanned with a DSLR setup (Fujifilm XT-3->Macro->easy35) and converted in NLP (Negative Lab Pro) using Color Mode: Basic, and with no big adjustments to the sliders.
Clear differences
The rangefinder, a Leica M4-P combined with Voigtlander f/1.4 has a price tag at around 2500 USD, while the Point and shoot Olympus AF-1 Twin comes in at max 100 USD. This might be good to keep in mind when we now go into some comparison details.
*Image 2: results below
Image 3: Olympus (left) Leica (right)
Details
The Leica image is absolutely much more crisper. You can see the lines of the metal wall and the texture on the shopping cart is clearer and more refined.
The Olympus is softer overall, look close on the wall and cart. This is likely due to the lens and the fixed zone focus on the camera.
For some this might be a preferred fix in post but yeh, let’s continue.
Contrast is a tiny bit higher/better with the Leica, the blacks are a touch deeper which abslutely helps on giving the image a more defined look.
The Olympus has a slight lower contrast, the midtowns and shadows gets a bit more compressed which give a more flatter look.
Again, a tiny post adjustment and we might get these even similar.
Rendering and color cast is where it’s most noticable, the Leica has a more neutral and `modern` look. The whites look cleaner and with a minimal color cast.
The Olympus has this magenta/pinkish tint which make the wall and pavement feel warmer.
The fact we can manual focus on the Leica gives it a more cleaner and modern look.
Not all bad for the Olympus as many want these characteristics in their images.
The Olympus has a Lo-fi casual vibe and the Leica, a more deliberate and composed rangefinder precision feel.
*Image 4: results below
*Image 5: results below
Conclusion
My final toughts after this little experiment: - I need to get my self a point and shoot asap.
I was really impressed and the images look fairly similar compared to the much more expensive Leica, for the screens.
I am a big fan of printing work. This is where I believe there is no match between a point and shoot and a manual rangefinder system.
The super precise focus, sharpness and tonal control is just too important when printing and working with clients etc. BUT, for the Instagram, the YouTube etc. I must say there really isn’t too much of a difference in my eyes.
Yes, you can be more clinical with focus and exposing at the spot, but a little post production gets a lot of this work done for you.
Image 6: results below
Image 1: Leica, Olympus
Image 2: Olympus, Leica
Image 3 : Olympus, Leica
Image 4: Leica, Olympus
Image 5: Leica, Olympus
Image 6: Olympus, Leica