I'm not here to review this camera, only to talk about it from my point of view.
If you are looking for technical reviews you will be disappointed. There are way more qualified people out there to give you that, I am not one of them.
Instead, I will share my first thoughts on the latest and greatest from the folks over at Fujifilm.
I began my Fuji journey by reading the X-E1 review by Kale JF. It was extremely well written and covered everything I need to know about the camera.
Kale, who is an official Fuij X Photographer, took the time to advice me and share his love for Fuji. His love and passion shined through his writing, I just had to try this camera!
I have now been shooting with cameras from Fuji's X Series for just over a year and, as of today, I cannot imagine using anything else.
While some of the initial offering suffered numerous challenges (slow and inaccurate AF, lack of good MF support, inability to set proper Auto-ISO), Fuji listened and refined their cameras time and time again through firmware updates. Thank you Fuji.
And boy did that make a difference! Over the course of my ownership of the Fuji X-E1, I saw it progress from something that I had to put up with, to a camera that I could confidently use when out and about.
Texture.
Over the past couple weeks, I have been fortunate enough to be able to acquire the new Fuji X-E2 and XF23mm lens from the folks over at Aden Camera. To tell you I was excited would definitely be an understatement.
When Fuji unveiled the X-E2, I was initially sceptic about whether or not to upgrade. The list of improvements was great, but I simply wasn't sure whether or not it was worth the upgrade.
I ended up taking the leap and decided to trust the people at Fuji — as they have proven time over time that they care about their users — and picked up the new X-E2.
From the new blazing fast autofocus to the improved write speeds (thanks to the new EXR Processor II), everything feels snappy.
While shooting Street Photography at night was a bit of a challenge on the X-E1 due to its common focus hunt in low light, the X-E2 just consistently nails focus first try. Every time.
Even with cute fast moving subjects that only give you one chance :-)
The EVF has also been refined. I say refined because it's actually still the same great 2.36 million dots viewfinder; however, Fuji has put a lot of work in improving the refresh rate in low light conditions. This improvement, which has the EVF refresh rate go from 20 fps to 50-60 fps, may sound minimal but when shooting in poor lighting this makes a world of difference.
Fuji also decided to include Wi-Fi in the new X-E2. I initially dismissed this feature as I still enjoy the RAW workflow but a street encounter made me realize something.
I could now share my portraits with the strangers I photograph in the street.
This allowed me to connect with them even more and they loved receiving their portraits on the spot.
All in all, I am extremely happy with my decision to upgrade to the X-E2 and I can only encourage everyone that is on the fence to go right ahead and do the same.
Having said that, the X-E1 is still an amazingly capable camera. After all the recent firmware updates and with the new lower prices (even less on the used market), it is a no-brainer if you don't care for the X-E2's improvements or new price tag.
I leave you with a gallery of my most recent street photography session with the X-E2 and XF23mm.
Enjoy and please feel free to ask any questions or leave your feedback in the comments section below!
See you around #FujiTuesday ; )
