Quick landscapes with the Fuji X-E1

Chances to venture out and get some hands-on time with my Fuji X-E1 have been slim since I got it a few weeks back - but I had a chance to take a few quick grab shots with it on a recent trip to Westport.

Coastal Spray. Fujifilm X-E1 with Fujinon 16-50mm. f/11 @ 1/480th. ISO 800

I did the same trip recently with the Nikon D300, and took almost exactly the same image as the one above - from exactly the same spot (see here). I actually like the above shot more, although that has less to do with the cameras and more to do with the lighting on the day.

I'm very pleased, and impressed, with the Fujifilm's X-Trans sensor and its ability to capture a large dynamic range within the one image. In the photo above I exposed to retain detail in the bright clouds, but it meant that the rocks in the foreground were very dark. Once I got the RAW file into Lightroom and started to increase the shadow slider, I was amazed at the amount of detail and colour that the file exhibited. At ISO 800 it's pretty clean too. Noise is well handled for such an underexposed area. All-in-all a great result and I'm impressed. It looks like the APS-C sensor is definitely giving me the IQ boost I was hoping for over and above the Pen E-P3's micro four thirds sensor.

Westport Tiphead Beach. Fujifilm X-E1 with Fujinon 16-50mm. f/11 @ 1/1250th. ISO 400

Here is another 'grab' shot that has a fairly large dynamic range (I was shooting in the middle of the day). Once again, the X-Trans sensor's RAW data has delivered, with detail retained in the highlights and plenty of recoverable shadow information. Sharpening is about right with the X-Trans sensor as well, since it doesn't use an anti-aliasing filter. So far I'm finding that I don't need to apply any sharpening in post to the Fuji files.

Carter's Beach, Westport. Fujifilm X-E1 with Fujinon 16-50mm. f/11 @ 1/1200th. ISO 400

The clouds were spectacular on this trip, and the X-E1 has managed to capture them in all their puffy glory! These literally are just grab shots, but I'm very happy with all of them. I have done a little work in post - some clarity, dehaze and shadow/highlight tweaking - but it's all fairly minimal work that I would expect to have to do with any RAW image.

Carter's Beach Driftwood. Fujifilm X-E1 with Fujinon 16-50mm. f/11 @ 1/420th, ISO 400 (B&W conversion in LR)

So overall, I'm very happy with the quality of images I'm getting from the little X-E1. It's a lot of fun to use and IQ from even the cheap 16-50mm kit lens is very good. It does have a couple of 'quirks' that I'm learning to live with, but these are minor gripes.

For one, the histogram in the evf goes away once the shutter button is pressed halfway and the exposure is 'locked' on. I guess Fuji figure that you've spent time getting the exposure correct, so you don't need to see the histogram once the shutter button is half-pressed? I'd still like to see it in the viewfinder all the time - even the locked value.

I would also like to see 'blinkies' in the evf as well, prior to taking the image. The histogram helps, but it doesn't have very clear sides to the graph, which makes it difficult to judge clipping. The X-E1 does show blinkies, but only after the fact, during image preview. Blinkies visible in the evf in real-time would be super helpful.

But these really are minor gripes. For a small, lightweight, take anywhere camera system with excellent IQ, the Fujifilm X-E1 is darn near perfect! Add some great film simulations and it's even perfecter! From what I've seen out of the images thus far, I'd be more than happy to take the Fujifilm X-E1 on a serious travel holiday as my only camera. OMG! Have I finally, after all these years, found my 'ideal' travel camera!?