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.

No Fuji X-E1 zoom kit in Down Under

I was told in local camera shop that the X-E1 kit is expected to arrive in Australia around mid-December. It seems that the kit zoom is very popular, so there might be a supply/demand issue as with Fuji X100. The bodies are available in several Brisbane shops. For me, zoom is just very convenient. I may buy 60mm macro, but in this case the total package will cost me extra A$400+. Price of X-E1 zoom kit + 60mm is ~A$2100, while X-E1 & 60mm kit + 18-55mm is close to A$2500.

The problem is that at the moment I can use only Olympus E-30. The thing is just heavy. I also get used to Fuji colours. 

I don't really like XF1 because UI (not enough buttons) and slow lens. Fuji X100 looks like a very good camera but I am not in street or indoor photography, so it might be not the best camera for me.  The forgotten camera, Fuji X-S1, is just too big for me, and I don't really need a superzoom. I can get another Fuji X10 but in local shops it is still priced at around A$600. In Kogan it is under $400 which is really tempting price. I don't know if these cheap X10 are orb-free or not but the orbs do not bother me. And I do like Fuji X10.

The picture below was taken at 7mm (28mm eqv), f/3.6, 1/85 sec., iso 400, exposure compensation -1. It was windy. The photo was edited in GIMP (levels were changed). The full resolution image  is available on flikr. To get the same depth of field even on (m)4/3 camera the aperture need to be closed and the iso boosted to something like 1600 or more. It is possible on Olympus OM-D E-M5 but I would not do it on my Olympus E-30.

Pavetta australiensis | Fuji X10

Still waiting for the X-E1 zoom kit in Australia

I am still reading posts written by new E-X1 owners from around the globe except for Australia: no sign of the Fuji X-E1 zoom kit in Brisbane yet. Australia got X-E1 body only long time ago but the zoom lens is apparently not here yet.

I am amazed by the fact that the majority of people posted on Fujifilm X forum at the DPReview site are happy with X-E1. Obviously, it would not be the DPReview forum without any complains. First, some people are not happy with slow change of the picture in the viewfinder with rapid change of the lightning (from shade to sunlit area). It seems that the camera has some sort of buffering for the exposure  adopted from the X-Pro1. Similar question posted on the DPReview forum resulted in several dozen comments but without explanation of the problem :~). Then, the autofocus: current mirrorless cameras do not match DSLRs in autofocus speed (but Nikon 1 came close). Also, mirrorless cameras use a different method for autofocus and require slightly different tricks for the best performance (my old post with the links). The same story about short battery life: true for most CSC with very few exceptions such as big Pentax K-01 and Nikon 1 V1. On X-E1 the battery life can be slightly improved by switching off "fast wake up" mode.

Another well written review of Fuji X-E1, by Martin Castein: [the camera] "makes you fall in love with photography all over again". That is exactly how I feel about Fuji X10.

But our Fuji X10 went on long trip, and I left with heave Olympus E-30 which make my eyes sore. I wish it would have a viewfinder of a full frame camera...

At the UQ lakes | Olympus E-30