Fuji X-E1: when a dream comes true

I got a phone call today from a camera shop with a very short message: "you can pick it up". I went to the shop and came back with big brown paper bag. Now I have another black box from Fujifilm with E-X1 and 18-55mm lens. For local folk in Brisbane: it is Digital Camera Warehouse. Probably their Melbourne and Sydney shops also got Fuji X-E1 zoom kits. Bottom line: Fuji X-E1 zoom kit is available in Australia.

I've got the camera at the end of the day, so not much time to play.

First impression. Menu is great. Now at the very left you scroll through screens. This is a big improvement over Fuji X10 where  scroll though options within two big multiscreen menus. Layout is very familiar except that I tried to change the aperture with the dial :) Autofocus. I would not worry about it. At the light required iso 2000, f/4 1/50 sec the focus is nearly instant in silent mode. I am a bit slow person, and I tend to press buttons gently. Once the shutter button half pressed you say "one" and the focus is already locked for some time. This was within a room, so the difference between "shots" was just a few meters. I have not done "the real world" testing yet. The colors under an artificial light are good. It seems that X-E1 uses a standard mini-USB cable. If true than kudos to Fujifilm again: Fuji X10 requires a dedicated USB cable. At the first glance the viewfinder is very comfortable.

The lens. I am really impressed with it. I have ZUIKO 14-54mm F2.8-3.5 MkvI and ZUIKO 50-200mm F2.8-3.5 SWD, and I also used several Olympus kit lenses in the past, so my experience with lenses is limited. The feel and the build quality of Fujinon XF18-55mmF2.8-4 R LM OIS is just superb. It is very solid. But I need to get used to the aperture ring located close to the camera body, not near the front element. I also replaced the Fuji cap with cheap cap with a thread: the zoom is the only lens I have at the moment.

Handling.  With the XF18-55mm attached the X-E1 requires two hands. The whole combo is small enough to sit comfortable in the left hand. The camera uses 4:3 rear screen, so the whole preview "frame" is visible with the information display enabled (it still has metering thing, but the "info" panel does not overlap the preview). On Fuji X10 the lower part of the preview is obscured with the metering scale. 

Things to be aware of. Sound of shutter. It is _not_ a silent camera in contrast to Fuji X10. The camera also produces some faint noise. I cannot figure out if it comes from the lens or the body. It is not annoying by any means, but it is there. Switching off OIS in lens, or setting up OIS to Shooting only, or disabling horizon level - nothing of this affects the noise.