Fuji 1 camera 1 lens combo which one though?

scottduffy

scottduffy

Messages
3,348
Name
Scott
Edit My Images
Yes
Hi folks,

I've sold another canon body and I'm definitely moving to a smaller set up probably the fuji x series. My question is for my £700 budget would you buy the xe1 and 56mm lens or the xe2 and 35mm lens? I'm usually just shooting portraits of my son either indoor or outdoor and I felt this set up in would take with me more often when we go out as I found I wouldn't take my canon set up with me to restaurants etc due to size.

I've read reviews till my eyes are square and now I'm wondering if the image quality from the 56mm is enough of a step up from the 35mm to warrant me buying the slower older body.

I actually thought of an Olympus body and 75mm lens as I've read amazing things about this lens but feel it could be just too long for indoors.

What do you think?
 
Xe2 with the totally outstanding 35mm then if money is tight get the 60mm macro which I loved . With just the 56mm I think I would get frustrated with lack of space for indoor shots . The 56 gets rave reviews but I love the 60mm even Damien lovegrove says he preferres it over the 56
 
I'd go with the X-E2, it's about to get another feature boost with the firmware due out on 18th December. No refurb X-E2 bodies available at the moment (but to throw a spanner into the works a refurbed X-Pro1 is only £360). If you started with the XF-35mm and added the XF-55-200mm you'd have a pretty decent set-up for family use. With the very effective IS the 55-200mm is a surprisingly good alternative to the 60mm (I sold my 60mm after I realised I was always using the 55-200mm in preference). I'm tempted to suggest you get the 55-200mm first.
 
Thanks folks. My son has just turned three so he won't fill a frame from a distance so the 56mm wouldn't be too long.

The 55-200 is a lens I never thought of although that could be a decent suggestion as I never felt I missed out when I only had the canon 70-200 on my 50d.

My fear is the 35 will actually be too short but having never had that focal length I'm not sure it would be.

The 18 I think definitely would be on the short side. I found myself cropping into my pictures often when I was out with him as I try to catch him acting normally but as soon as he sees the camera he changes his focus from what he's doing to what I'm doing.
 
Too true regarding the 55 and I'm anything but exceptional with lighting.

Yes not sure about focal length but the 50mm f1.2 canon offering is one of their top portrait lenses so it mustn't be too short. The shortest fixed focal length I've used is the 50 on a crop.
 
I find the 27mm great indoors, the 35mm is great, tack Sharp at 1.4, but the 27mm does focus faster, and rarely hunts in low light like the 35mm does !
 
I'd also recommend the cheaper 55-230mm, is really good ! Aperture is a stop smaller than the 50-200mm, but IQ is great :-). Also have the X-E2
 
Last edited:
The only issue is the AF - Had the XPro (and X100) and while they were excellent in every other way i found the AF slow and very hit and miss! Have 2 young kids so it tended to stay in the bag and used dslr.
 
Last edited:
As a X shooter myself owning both X-Pro1 & X-E1 bodies, I'd aim for the X-E1 body, and if you could stretch to both the XF35mm and XF 60mm macro lenses, that would be a stunning set-up!


The XF 35mm f/1.4 is a stellar lens, love mine!!!!
 
manualfocus-g said:
I'd have thought the 55-200 would be too slow indoors unless you are really good at lighting?
Click to expand...
It's better than the 60mm. The additional stops of shutter speed you gain from the IS on the zoom are greater than the stops of aperture that you lose compared to the prime. Plus, the zoom focusses faster and more reliably than the 60mm in poor lighting conditions. I sold the 60mm and kept the 50-200mm based on my experiences of using both for shooting an indoor party. It's possible the 60mm might perform better on the X-E2, I only had the X-Pro1 at the time.
 
Alastair said:
It's better than the 60mm. The additional stops of shutter speed you gain from the IS on the zoom are greater than the stops of aperture that you lose compared to the prime. Plus, the zoom focusses faster and more reliably than the 60mm in poor lighting conditions. I sold the 60mm and kept the 50-200mm based on my experiences of using both for shooting an indoor party. It's possible the 60mm might perform better on the X-E2, I only had the X-Pro1 at the time.
Click to expand...

Good point about the IS, but I've not found a use for it with a fast moving toddler :D
 
Beat me to it! Fast moving subjects sometimes need fast aperture lenses. Luckily, I rarely shoot fast moving kids so can get away with a set of zooms. Still got the 18/2 as an insurance policy since I know that if I sell it/trade it in, I'll need it the next day!
 
Just to throw a spanner into the works, I'd give some serious consideration to the current X-Pro1 deal. You get the body and two lenses for £799(ish).

http://www.fujifilm.eu/uk/products/digital-cameras/interchangeable-lens-cameras/model/x-pro1/

If you're determined to go for one of the XE models, I'd go for the X-E2 and the 35mm f/1.4

The 60mm is a lovely lens in terms of image quality but it's not the fastest focussing lens in the line-up. The 56mm is an absolute dream of a lens but the cost is way above your budget. If it's any help, I wouldn't part with either the 35mm f/1.4 or the 56mm f/1.2 :)

Cheers,
Si
 
Thanks guys plenty to think about. One point though the 56mm and xe1 would cost roughly 700 used which fits in nicely with my budget. Great help as usual. I'll let you know what I do.
 
Right i've been reading numerous reviews and i've decided that i'm going to aim for the XE2, 60mm and 35mm. I reakon this lot should bring me over budget which is fine and i think i could get all three for roughly £850 or so. Anyone noticed any good new xe2 deals before i buy second hand?
 
Scot, have you considered a refurbished X-E2 with the XF18-55? - £630 direct from Fuji UK. Not the prime lens option you were looking for but well within budget and with a Fuji warranty.

Or play the waiting game with the Fuji refurb site and see if another batch of X-E2 bodies comes up at the £360 special price. It's been a while since I last saw a batch go up - but you won't get a used body that cheaply. There are several of us on the forum that have snapped up an X-E2 at that price. But you need to watch the refurb site like a hawk, and don't think just buy - because they'll be gone as soon as the word gets out.


(refurb prices given above assume that the "paypal12" discount code is still valid for body and body kit purchases from the refurb store - the price advertised on the refurb website will be higher until the discount is added)
 
Thanks guys. I'm hoping that Evan will just slow down !!! Seriously i will give them a go and see how i get on. I will keep an eye on that site too Alastair. I was watching some on fuji forum but since i've not used it uch i'm wary of buying from anyone as i can't see feedback etc like i can on here. Bank transferring money to someone with no feedback is quite unnerving.
 
Jesus. Talk about a spanner in the works. I've just read a whole thread about how plasticky the xe2 renders skin at high ISO. Now given that it's solely jpegs i shoot i am most disappointed with this and i am thinking maybe it's going to be the xe1 after all. Maybe it will be back to Canon !!!!!!!!!!!! Not quite.
 
Blimey, by the time you find the perfect camera your lad will have grown up and left home.

In my opinion if you want the best jpegs its worth looking at Pentax. Their K-5iis has all you want in a fairly compact size, add that to their excellent primes and you might be sorted
 
Last edited:
There. Is. No. Such. Thing. As. A. Perfect. Camera!!!

If only there was such a beast. At the moment, the X-T1 does most of what I want from a body and will be improved by the latest firmware (released today IIRC.) but the system's still lacking a little in the native lens department. For me, the 18-135 lens does most of what I want and was the only lens I used during my September holiday. It's not perfect though, being f/3.5-5.6. Your £700 budget won't get you both either.
 
The budget has increased to 850 and I've just had an offer for an Xe2 accepted but I made the offer before I read about the skin tone problem. Is it a massive problem for jpeg and is the older xe1 much better straight out of camera?

Ps not looking for perfect camera just one that will fit in a small bag and delivery excellent quality.
 
scottduffy said:
The budget has increased to 850 and I've just had an offer for an Xe2 accepted but I made the offer before I read about the skin tone problem. Is it a massive problem for jpeg and is the older xe1 much better straight out of camera?

Ps not looking for perfect camera just one that will fit in a small bag and delivery excellent quality.
Click to expand...
Bear in mind that there are something like 3,500 different in-camera JPG processing options in the Fuji processing engine for every film emulation, and any of these can be retrospectively applied to a raw file in the camera (shoot raw or raw+JPG until you find the processing settings you like - not just JPG, at least not to start with). So phrases like SOOC have very limited value with the Fuji X-series.. ..

(and I suspect many of the problems reported about the appearance of JPGs come from users that haven't explored the JPG settings - in particular the sharpness and noise reduction options)
 
Right I've bought an xe2 with kit lens so I'll be trading that for a 35 hopefully. That'll leave me roughly £250 maybe a bit more so I think the 60 is my only other option. Looking forward to getting used to this when it arrives.

Anyone recommend a nice small bag to carry one camera and 2 lenses?
 
scottduffy said:
Anyone recommend a nice small bag to carry one camera and 2 lenses?
Click to expand...
This .http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tamrac-4252-Jazz-Messenger-Camera/dp/B00AFTGIIO is what, after a lot of research, I settled on for my X-E2 and lens, plus 3 other XF lenses, plus EF-X20. Also holds battery charger etc in outer pockets. Tightish fit, but I get it all in- just. It is the right sort of size for a Fuji X kit, and would accommodate your set up very comfortably. Its a nice really well constructed & good quality bag. I've had lots of bags from different makers over many years, and the only makes that do it for me are Tamrac and ThinkTank.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top