My Fuji X-E1 Setup

I know I've only had the X-E1 for a few weeks, but I spent the first few days setting up the camera for how 'I' like to shoot - and thought it might be helpful to outline my process. Standard caveats apply: this is 'my' shooting style etc, etc... and your style and mileage may vary.

I'll go over most of the basic settings I'm using to take my images - but what I'm not going to cover in this post are my film simulation recipes. I'm going to leave them for their own individual posts.

That said, what attracted me to the Fuji system other than the retro styling, was the promise of using film simulation modes. I still shoot film occasionally, and although I get that the Fuji film simulations are just that - simulations of the analogue process - the ability to set Astia or Velvia on a Fuji camera is very enticing. And from all that I've seen and read on-line, the jpegs straight out of the camera with these film simulations baked in are exceptional. But that's another topic for another time (spoiler alert - they are exceptional).

First things first, I'm an aperture priority shooter 99% of the time. So the shutter dial is set to 'A' and the ISO is generally set to the lowest I can get away with - or I set it to auto as well and let the camera take care of it within a certain range. I have found the low-light performance of this x-trans sensor to be excellent, so my 'auto' range for ISO is 200 to 6400, with a 1/125th shutter speed value. To facilitate a quick ISO change, I've programmed the Function (Fn) button to bring up the ISO menu so it can be changed quickly.

Since the 16-50mm kit lens doesn't have an aperture ring, I control the aperture with the control dial on the back of the camera - and then dial in exposure compensation as I see fit. I'm constantly riding the exposure compensation wheel, placed very conveniently on the right side edge of the camera's top plate. Compensation range is 'only' + or - 2 stops, but I've found this to be enough of a range so far.

I'm also an old-school single central autofocus point and recompose kind of guy. A throw-back from growing up shooting with manual focus film cameras. Autofocus is central-point, single shot, and I use the main shutter button to lock both focus and exposure. I don't use back-button focusing with the E-X1 (although I do on my DSLR's).

Because I am using film simulation modes, I shoot in RAW + Jpeg Fine, so I can see the film simulation in the evf and lcd screen. I use the histogram to make sure I'm protecting my highlights, and if they are ok on the jpeg then they will be ok on the RAW file too. I also use the custom display option and have grid lines for composition, number of shots remaining, exposure compensation, shooting info (aperture/shutter speed/iso) and low battery indicator warning. That sounds like a lot, but it's fairly uncluttered and gives me all the info I need to make a perfect exposure and composition in the evf before taking the photo. Because of this, I have image display turned off. I don't need to see the image I've just taken for 2 seconds in the viewfinder after I've taken it! On the Olympus OM-D E-M5 MkII I used to flip the lcd screen around so the back of the camera was blank. I'd do the same with the X-E1 if it had a flippy screen (it doesn't).

A lot of the other settings are dictated by which film simulation recipe I happen to be using. Common to all is shooting in sRGB, since I'm shooting mainly for the web, or lab prints. I have the evf and lcd brightness set to normal (0), the electronic beep turned off, auto power off set for 5 minutes, and image ratio is set to 3:2.

And that's about it really. Pretty simple to set-up, operate, and shoot with. The 'Q' quick function button is fantastic for accessing any of the important settings you might like to change, or quickly dial in one of the seven custom film simulation recipes you can program into the camera (more on them in other posts).

Other items of note; I don't use the provided Fuji camera strap, opting instead for a Peak Design Wrist Strap system. It's a small, light camera and is easy to carry around one-handed most of the time.

I've also added a soft-touch shutter release that screws into the thread of the shutter button. It elevates the shutter slightly, making it more comfortable to use - and it looks cool 😉

I don't have an additional attachment for the X-E1 to bulk the grip out, but this is something that I would consider adding in the future. I don't have big hands, but I do like a lot of grip to hang on to. The standard grip really isn't much to write home about at all, so a little more purchase for the fingers would be helpful. I've also seen those metal thumb rests that you can get that attach to the hot shoe and give your thumb a better place to grip as well. This is also something that I might investigate in the future. I don't want to bulk the camera up too much - it's supposed to be a lightweight travel camera after all. But I also don't like feeling like I'm gripping a 'toy' camera for dear-life!

Having just said all that, I do find the X-E1 to be a very well thought-out camera to use. Button placement, and size, are generally excellent, and I wouldn't change much. I notice that on the X-E2 Fuji have left the same basic layout, but moved the 'Q' button away from the thumb and up to the top middle of the camera (where the 'view mode' button is on the X-E1). This is the wrong move in my opinion. The 'Q' button is in the perfect place on the X-E1. Why they moved it is beyond me (although I have to presume it was for good reason)?

One final word on the evf. It's a very hi-res 2.36 million dot finder, and as such is reasonably large, bright and clear. But it does have a little bit of a 'lag' when moving around, and it can take a second or more to refresh and 'kick-in' when you hold it up to your eye. Not a deal breaker for landscapes, but not ideal if you're chasing the kids around and wanting to capture moments quickly. If you're a fast-action style shooter, then the X-E1 probably isn't for you.

So far, I've loved using the X-E1. It has its quirks, no doubt. But what camera doesn't? What it also has, in spades, is fantastic IQ (image quality) from its 16MP x-trans sensor. The images that this little camera can produce are fantastic - sharp, detailed, with good dynamic range, and excellent low-light performance. Shouldn't that be the most important factor with any image-making tool?