Fuji X-E1/X-E2/X-E2S/X-E3 Owners Thread

get it! took some pictures at the bath half marathon yesterday, quite pleased with the AF :)

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I was thinking about the XE-1 or an X-Pro 1 as a move from a Pentax DSLR too. I've got the X100 and love the images from it and the handling is great. However, I think I'd miss the phase-detection autofocus too much. My solution was to wait for the next gen bodies with the phase-detection from the X100s and I've got a K30 with the 35mm ltd lens. It's a small, light and snappy camera that compliments the x100 nicely.

Just some food for thought :)
 
The phase detection will only be in the very centre, if people are after tracking with it they are going to have to be very good at following the subject.

I think it's main use will be focusing in low light which the X-E1 manages ok with a bit of knowledge of how to get the best from the CDAF.
 
A few images from the last week,

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Nothing special as I'm still learning the camera but it was the first day, since I bought the camera, that the sun shined.
 
Fuji have the silver X-E1 refurbs back in stock.

but X20 out in a few days and believe it has better processor and 2nd gen sensor so might wait for some reviews before deciding....would probably only get the zoom with the X E1 anyway, I think ...
 
I much doubt the X20 sensor will be able to compete with the one in the X-E1 :) I am having my eyes set on a refurbished one... we will see how it goes :)
 
Soulman said:
A few images from the last week,

Nothing special as I'm still learning the camera but it was the first day, since I bought the camera, that the sun shined.
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What lens was number two, the trees, taken with? I still can't decide what to get. I was hoping the 10-24 would be out before May but its not till the end of the year now!
 
I keep looking in here and looking at reviews and prices on line and a couple of things keep nagging at me. I buy most of my kit on line and there's next to no chance of my finding one of these in a shop to try so I wonder if you owners could give me some info on a few points...

Firstly - A long standing criticism seems to be focus speed but for the photography I do I doubt it'll be an issue and I watched an on line review against a Nex 6 and the Fuji might have been slower... but not real world slower... So I think I'll be happy. They did however mention that the EVF was very laggy when looking through it and moving. How much of an issue is this?

Secondly - I like shooting with wide aperture primes and the drift away from ISO 100 irritates me as it means I'll be using ND's more. With my G1 I can't use my 25mm f0.95 or 55mm f1.7 wide open without using an ND or two stacked to bring the shutter speed down below 1/4000 sec. Without ND's I'm often limited to f2.8 or narrower. I see that the Fuji will only shoot JPEG at ISO 100 and that doesn't interest me as I shoot RAW so without ND's I'll be limited to ISO 200, 1/4000 and possibly apertures as small as f5.6... that doesn't interest me either and to continue to use wide apertures I'll be using ND's a hell of a lot more than I do even with my G1. TBH this could be more of a killer than any MF/AF criticisms or EVF tearing. How much of an issue is this for you guys?

Thirdly - I assume you can call up a magnified view when using legacy lenses?

I'm sort of drawn to the Fuji for the APS-C sensor, good primes, styling and image quality but the ISO 100 and 1/4000 sec issue worries me and pushes me more towards the Nex 6 which may not be able to match the ultimate image quality but at least has ISO 100 and may therefore suit my shooting style better.

Feedback from users on these points would be appreciated as if I go for a Fuji it'll almost certainly be bought online and untried. Thanks in advance for any feedback. :D
 
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Well I downsized on Sunday. Finally sold off all my DSLR stuff and heavy Canon L lenses in exchange for an X-E1 kit + the 35mm f1.4.

Anyone have any settings that they'd like to share? I shot in Manual on my 50D with shutter speed on the top wheel and aperture on the back wheel. ISO was set (often) prior to shooting. Total control without an eye leaving the viewfinder. I also shot back-button focussing.

Moving to the X-E1 was a real change! However after a lot of internet reading and playing about, I think I've found my ideal setup. Sharing here really for help to others yet to get this far and also to see if there are any other setups that might work better for me :)

- Aperture is set via the focus ring on the lens (manual)

- Shutter speed set to "A". I was concerned about this because it meant losing control, however, setting the shutter speed manually meant losing the Exposure Compensation wheel (it does nothing in full manual mode). Turning the shutter speed wheel with your eye in the viewfinder is also very clumsy. There is minor control on the back of the camera (3x1/3 stop's worth of shutter speed in either direction) but if you're moving from high to low lit scenes (bright sun to shade) quickly, or if you're just lazy, it can be a pain to change settings.

Setting the shutter speed to "A" may sound less purist, but it does allow use of the exposure compensation wheel with your thumb (+/- 2 stops) for better fine control.

- ISO set to AUTO6400. Not having this feature on my DSLR, (or I never found it!) I didn't know what this did. Apparently, the AUTO bit means that the ISO auto adjusts to expose for your scene. If you imagine the "correctly exposed scene" as a set of scales with three weights. ISO, Aperture & Shutter speed. The camera sets Aperture according to what you've got on the barrel. It sets the shutter speed to at least the value you've got on the shutter speed dial, and the ISO is then set to "balance" the exposure. As an example: I have Aperture f11, Shutter speed 1/125 and AUTO6400 ISO. Point at a sunny scene and the ISO auto sets to 200. Point at a very dark scene and it leaps to ISO 4000.

The problem with this very nifty feature is that the AUTO ISO is set when you half press the shutter (for focus). So if you focus on something dark, your exposure is locked to that too. The only way around this is to set the AE-L/AE-F button to "AE-L" only and make it an on/off switch (AE Lock mode to "S"). So now you can point at your metering point, press the AE-L/AE-F button to lock exposure, recompose, half press the shutter to focus on your subject, then recompose again (if necessary) and shoot. It sounds like a pain but I've got used to it quite quickly.

The last thing that's mystifying me at the moment, is how (and why!) when I set the lens to Manual focus (the 35 1.4) I can use the AE-L/AE-F button to auto-focus! This is back button focus effectively, but my metering method is now broken. Something I need to play with a bit more.

Finally, a quick response to Alan...

1. Focus Speed. I didn't think it would be an issue, but I've found my chickens to be exceptionally hard targets to hit focus wise. I don't do sport or wildlife generally. But I do do cats & chickens. This is a minor gripe though as I can get the cats! This is Maggie at ISO 800, f1.4, 1/250sec

Maggie2 by Harlequin565, on Flickr

2 & 3. I rarely shoot wide open in good light, or use legacy lenses, so I can't comment.

My only advice would be to not buy it untried if you have these requirements! It is an astounding camera and that 35 1.4 is beautiful. I got mine from a physical shop (Camera Solutions in Chester - How "up North" are you?) that is an authorised Fuji dealer and also pricematched WEX and Amazon prices (I took the evidence in!).

Phew! Post Over!

Ian.
 
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Nice post
When you adjust exposure compensation does the scene lighten/darken in view finder-wysiwyg?

Ordered X-E1 today with 18-55 but will be after Easter when delivered- will give me time to mention it to the better half :)
Have down loaded the manual, have you found any other guides on set up etc. Cheers
 
Harlequin565 said:
Finally, a quick response to Alan...
Click to expand...

Thanks.

I'm just south of Middlesbrough so within striking distance of York and Newcastle but it means more or less a full day out to get there and back and I don't get a lot of time truly to myself. I spend much of my time caring for someone and although I love photography I do find it difficult to fit any in with my love life also making demends. For these reasons and the lack of higher end CSC's and even DSLR gear in local shops I usually buy on line but I'm too worried about the various issues with CSC's that I can't bring myself to do it and buying to try and possibly send back seems to be something I can't bring myself to do either.

As I'm worried about EVF issues (light output and eye strain) and the lack of ISO 200 I think I'm going to have to pass on the Fuji system unless I can get my hands on one whilst out one day.
 
nog said:
Nice post
When you adjust exposure compensation does the scene lighten/darken in view finder-wysiwyg?

Ordered X-E1 today with 18-55 but will be after Easter when delivered- will give me time to mention it to the better half :)
Have down loaded the manual, have you found any other guides on set up etc. Cheers
Click to expand...

Yep. The viewfinder changes with exp comp.

No. Not found any other guides on setup. I guess everyone's different. Was hoping to see other thoughts up here :)
 
Grey XE delivered yesterday after I missed the courier Thurs before Easter, would have been delivered in 4 days from China - pretty good, pity my student son who is on hol for 3 weeks for Easter could not get up that morning.:bang::)

Pretty impressed, just need to read the manual now.

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woof woof said:
As I'm worried about EVF issues (light output and eye strain) and the lack of ISO 200 I think I'm going to have to pass on the Fuji system unless I can get my hands on one whilst out one day.
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Alan, I assume you meant ISO 100? I'm not sure about the X-E1 but the X-Pro1 has ISO 100.

Autofocus isn't an issue, I shoot birds in flight with my X-Pro 1 though the AF operation is different to that on a DSLR, you just have to learn how to use it.
There are several ways to do that, conventional half press to lock & then full press, "Mashing" where you just place the focus point on the target and then press the button fully, the camera will lock & take the shot, back button quick focus and finally zone focusing which I've found works really well.

The X-Pro 1's come up on the refurb shop as well, thats where I got mine from and they usually throw in a freebie or two, when I got mine I got a free grip & Fuji notebook/pencil all for £749 at the time.
 
Yes, typo, should read 100. I'm sure I read that ISO 100 is only available as an expanded setting and JPEG only.

TBH I'm pretty happy with my G1 at anything but the highest ISO's and even then it's good enough for small prints and full screen images with care. My only real complaint (other than higher ISO) is the eye strain issue.

I will no doubt get to try a Fuji one day but I don't think I'll have the confidence to buy until I do.
 
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Yes it is in extended mode Alan, truth is the jpg's straight out of the camera are that good that you really only need to shoot raw as well for archive purposes, I used to shoot raw exclusively on my canon, now I dont bother as I cant do better than I get with the jpgs. there's some real magic goes on in camera with them.
 
Fuji have released the (free) photographers guidebook for the X-E1. Shame it's in 4 parts, but it's well worth a look. Some great explanations of basic fundamentals of photography and some very good analysis of general photographic composition techniques.

http://fujifilm-x.com/app/x-e1/en/

Ian.
 
I am more interested on the Zeiss 12mm ! :) if it is anywhere near the price of the 14mm would be a great wider alternative!
 
I'm after the 10-24 and 23mm. Personally I'm very impressed with the lens lineup, I just wish i was all available now.
 
I'm enjoying this camera more and more. Having this level of IQ in a compact package is great and the fact I enjoy using the manual controls more than the dials on cameras such as the Nex 7 is a bonus.
 
Here is my X-E1, with a thumbs up, abrahamsson shutter and fuji leather...

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I am tempted by one of these and I found myself checking prices yesterday, but I just can't get past not being able to shoot RAW at ISO 100, that's a major cock up for an enthusiatst orientated camera IMVHO and I just can't understand this drift we're seeing these days away from lower sensitivities. Madness, IMVHO.
 
Why do you need 100? Wide open in bright sun is one reason but an ND or CP filter will cure that. Plenty of enthusiast dslr have started at iso200.
 
Isn't ISO 200 the standard lowest setting on most Nikon cameras too? I'm sure it used to be.
 
Soulman said:
Why do you need 100? Wide open in bright sun is one reason but an ND or CP filter will cure that. Plenty of enthusiast dslr have started at iso200.
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Why? I'm hard to please... :D and I like shooting with wide apertures.

Years ago I only had an f4 lens and then I got RF's and a f2.8 and then, shock horror... a f1.7. Later I got into digital and I got my first f1.4 which I mounted on a camera with a max shutter speed of 1/8000 sec and oh my God! I could now shot at f1.4 in good light without ND's.

ND's cure the problem of having to shoot at ISO 200 with a max shutter speed of 1/4000 but having to put the ND on for one shot and then having to take it off for the next to get a usable shutter speed or to keep the ISO down is something that I've got used to not doing and going back to juggling ND's and lens hoods annoys me more than just a little bit.

Today I set my G1 to ISO 200 just to see what it was like and despite it not being a dazzlingly bright day if there was a significant amount of sky in my shot without ND's I was limited to the intermediate aperture between f5.6 and f8, which I think is f6.7.

It may not be a deal breaker for many people but juggling ND's isn't really for me if it can be avoided. There are some nice wide aperture lenses about these days but it just seems like some cameras are hobbled in two ways, lower max shutter speed and higher base ISO. Madness, IMVHO.

Anyway, I do like the look of the Fuji but despite looking in here from time to time I really do have to concede and accept that a camera with a base ISO of 200 and a max shutter speed of 1/4000 just isn't going to suit me and how I like to shoot. I've been spoilt by having my cake and eating it with f1.4's and 1/8000 sec. Fuji isn't alone in this. The top end Olympus and Panasonic models are just the same. I might grab a Sony Nex 6 before they go the same way.

Sorry for the interruption... as you were...
 
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Hi. I'm interested in using some of my Nikon AI lenses on my X-E1 and wondered if anyone has experience of using one of the lens adapters available for these cameras.

I obviously know that they could only be used manually or in aperture priority and would need stopping down using the aperture ring. But what I need to know is would I be able to focus them at infinity ?

Any info on this would be much appreciated.
 
G.K.Jnr. said:
Hi. I'm interested in using some of my Nikon AI lenses on my X-E1 and wondered if anyone has experience of using one of the lens adapters available for these cameras.

I obviously know that they could only be used manually or in aperture priority and would need stopping down using the aperture ring. But what I need to know is would I be able to focus them at infinity ?

Any info on this would be much appreciated.
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I have read that some of the adapters can focus on infinity. There are some in Amazon/Ebay that work. Not have any personal experience though, just stuff I have read on forums and other sites.

Metabones seem to be a good brand, but there are cheaper ones out there that do the job as well. People are commenting as well that some of the adapters (depending on what size lens you use) can make the camera a bit front heavy. Something to be mindful of.
 
Based on the current latest firmware is the X-E1 auto focus speed improved at all and comparable to the latest M43 cameras now ?

I'm tempted to try one out but all the slow focusing comments are swaying me of buying as i mostly take my family photos, so I'd prefer the focusing to be similar to recent M43 speed...
 
darkman_uk said:
I have read that some of the adapters can focus on infinity. There are some in Amazon/Ebay that work. Not have any personal experience though, just stuff I have read on forums and other sites.

Metabones seem to be a good brand, but there are cheaper ones out there that do the job as well. People are commenting as well that some of the adapters (depending on what size lens you use) can make the camera a bit front heavy. Something to be mindful of.
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Hi, Good point about making the unit a bit front heavy, I must admit I hadn't thought about that. Probably the longest lens I'd want to use with it though would be the 105mm 2.5 which although longer is only slightly heavier than the 18-55 Fuji zoom. Many thanks for your comments.
 
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