Fuji X-E1: My new travel camera

A few posts ago (here and here) I wrote about going to Christhurch and shooting with the Olympus E-P3. Basically I argued that it was still worth carrying around a small, lighter, mirrorless camera system when travelling (vs just using your phone). But I was also aware of the Olympus Pen's sensor limitations when pushed, especially for high dynamic-range landscapes.

So as much as I prefer shooting with a dedicated camera system over my smartphone, I wasn't sold so much on the Pen E-P3. Never one to shy away from a change, I decided to sell the EP-3 kit I had, and 're-invest' that money into another small, lightweight, mirrorless system. But which one?

Ok, I'm not going to drag this out anymore than it needs to be - the title gives it away anyhow. Yes, I've purchased a Fujifilm X-E1.

Why did I move to a Fujifilm camera? And why the Fuji X-E1 specifically? I'll answer the second question first, since that's the easier one... I got the X-E1 because of the price basically. The X-E1 with a 16-50mm Fujinon XC f3.5-5.6 OIS was being sold for exactly the same price as what I sold the Olympus Pen E-P3 for. So it was practically a straight swap. Easy.

The first question - 'why the change to Fujifilm' - also isn't really that difficult to answer. I've been wanting to try the Fuji system for a very long time. They get rave reviews from both reviewers and enthusiastic owners, and of course, they have a beautiful retro quality to them that certainly helps. It's also what attracted me initially to the Olympus Pen system. So I guess if I hadn't gone Olympus, I would have gone Fuji. And now I have 😁

Fujifilm X-E1 compared to the Olympus Pen E-P3

In terms of specs the two cameras are fairly similar. The Pen E-P3 was released in 2011, while the X-E1 was released two years later in 2013. So it's a couple of years newer, has 4 million more megapixels (16 vs 12 on the E-P3) on a larger APS-C sized sensor (giving a 1.5x crop factor just like my Nikon D300), both have a built-in flash, and both are roughly the same size and weight (the X-E1 is a little bigger and heavier which is actually a bonus in my book).

Critically, the X-E1 has a built-in 2.3k EVF (electronic viewfinder), which the E-P3 doesn't. I sorely missed an evf on the Pen, so the inclusion of a very hi-resolution one on the Fujifilm is a huge bonus. It's not as good as the evf's in the Olympus E-P1's or E-P5's, it has a little 'lag' when moving the viewfinder around the scene. But it's not a deal-breaker, and I'd rather have it than not.

Reviewer's have also raved about the image quality (IQ) from the 16MP APS-C CMOS Fuji X-Trans sensor - especially at high ISOs. This is something I was very aware of with the micro four thirds image sensor in the Pen E-P3. I didn't really want to push it past ISO 800 (ISO 1600 on my E-M1), whereas ISO 6400 is very useable on the Fujifilm X-E1 (apparently). Also, the X-E1 (and Fuji X-Pro 1) use the first generation X-Trans sensor, which is talked about in almost biblical reverence in some circles. It is, they say, the most film-like X-Trans sensor that Fuji has used. The X-Pro 1 (and to a lesser extent the X-E1) is still sought after by Fujifilm aficionados because of that first gen X-Trans sensor. Luckily, despite the reverence given to the sensor, the X-E1 can be had now, second-hand, for a very reasonable price.

Perhaps the 'reasonable' price reflects both its age, but also what many see as its achilles heal - slow autofocus. The Fuji X-Pro 1 is notorious for its poor/slow autofocus, and the X-E1 was tarred somewhat with the same brush. Fuji did make the X-E1 quicker and more reliable (as they did in a firmware update with the X-Pro 1), but initial reviews were quite scathing and I guess some of the mud stuck. To be fair, slow contrast-detect autofocus was the bane of all early mirrorless camera systems - although the E-P3 was marketed by Olympus as the fastest autofocusing camera in the world on its release in 2011!

To be honest, having slower, contrast detect autofocus for my travel camera isn't a big deal. I don't want it as a 'sports' shooter, and if you know how to get the best out of contrast detect autofocus then it isn't really as slow as many make it out to be. Especially if you only really intend on using the camera in decent lighting. 

So all the specs are lining up to make this a very compelling camera as an entry point into the Fujifilm system. Great sensor, excellent size and weight for travel, h-res evf and beautiful retro-styling designed for traditional photography.

But the icing on the Fuji cake, for me (and for many others) must surely be the Film Simulation modes (of Fuji films of course). Even more than with Olympus, Fujifilm cameras are known for having superb jpeg output. So good, in fact, that many professional photographers (and serious amateurs) shoot jpeg only out of their Fuji's. I toyed with this myself when I was shooting with my Olympus E-M5 and E-M1, since you can pretty much nail exposure through the evf before you even take the photo. If you can nail exposure, see your composition 100% in the viewfinder, and have classic film simulations processed in the camera without having to spend time in post, then that's a very attractive proposition.

The X-E1 will be my toe into the Fujifilm waters. IF I enjoy the experience, then I may consider jumping back headlong into mirrorless. The X-E1 will certainly not become my main shooter, but something like an X-T1 with grip attached might? We shall see...