Sample photos with FUJINON XF 18-55mm F2.8-4 R LM OIS lens

The official sample photos taken with the first zoom lens for Fuji X system cameras are available (scroll to the bottom of the page). The lens will be sold as a kit with X-E1, so the sample photos were taken with this camera. I bet the first three pictures were taken in Australia.

Flickr now has several groups dedicated to Fuji X-E1, but the images were taken with primes because E-X1 zoom kits are not available yet.

I tried Fuji X-Pro1 in a shop. It was very comfortable camera to handle but it was somewhat big and heavy. It is lighter and smaller than my DSLR but I would prefer something smaller. I liked the hybrid viewfinder on X-Pro1, it is very big and comfortable comparing to my 4/3 DSLR. On other hand, I do not use a viewfinder on my X10. It is a peephole compared to the viewfinder on X-Pro1. Parallax still should be an issue on X-Pro1 (I need to convince myself that I don't want this camera :)) I can live with EVF only because X-E1 is slightly smaller and lighter, and I like zoom lens and build-in flash. The difference in price between E-X1 (pre-order) and E-Pro1 in Australia (Brisbane) is relatively small, and does not contribute to my preference for the X-E1. Unfortunately, X-E1 has fixed screen but it seems that this feature is reserved for X-Pro2 model.

Actually I am happy with photos from my Olympus E-30. I just want to have a smaller camera. Obviously, I looked on the latest m4/3 cameras such as Olympus OM-D E-M5. From what I saw, the image quality is indeed vey good. It has many buttons (I'm a fan of external controls) and articulated touch screen. I am not sure that I like the hump in the middle of the camera and the external flash. The kit zooms are heavily corrected in JPEGs, but I probably can live with that. Frankly, I think that Olympus PEN E-PL5 is a better deal for the money but it's user interface does not match my taste. But right now Fuji X-E1does look like a perfect camera for me. And it is even lighter than Olympus OM-D E-M5: approx. 350g against 425g. [but the weight will be compensated by Fuji 18-55mm F2.8-4 lens]

What about my current favourite camera, Fuji X10? We took over 9,000 images with it within less than one year because it is joy to shoot with. For daytime it still might be my favourite camera because I like depth of field and supermacro mode. It is small and has very good mechanical zoom lens. As all compact cameras with small sensor it does not like shady areas or areas with low contrast. Judging from the available samples Fuji X-E1 should be better in both situations. The X10 has bigger zoom range at the tele end and bright lens comparing to XF 18-55mm F2.8-4 zoom. For night shots the X-E1 will win hands down. The resolution is better on the X-E1, so it would be possible to zoom by crop. Bottom line is that I may still prefer to use the X10 because it is just very convenient camera. For me it depends on usability and image quality. I suspect that Fuji X10 will win for me in usability while the difference in image quality needs to be obvious for me in order to change the preferences. For example, generally I prefer X10 over Olympus E-30 because the image quality is good enough for my needs but it is more comfortable camera to use. For wild life shooting I use the DSLR with ZUIKO 50-200mm SWD lens but it does not happen very often. Keep in mind that here I compare old (Olympus E-30) and new (Fuji X10) technologies, so it is not fair comparison. I compare my current cameras with perspective models, from my personal point of view. I stated several times that for someone a DSLR camera can be a better choice for the money but for a person who get sore eyes after 20 minutes shooting through a small viewfinder DSLR might be not good choice.

Australian Water Dragon | Brisbane. October 9, 2012 | Olympus E-30, ZUIKO 50-200mm SWD