Fujifilm X-E1 Hands-on Preview

by Shawn Barnett and Mike Tomkins
Posted 09/06/2012

Though they still have "film" in their name, Fujifilm has attracted a lot of attention with their digital cameras over the last two years by giving enthusiasts exactly what they want: Cool-looking, rangefinder-like digital cameras with excellent image quality. The latest model in the X line, called the Fujifilm X-E1, leaves out the rather elaborate hybrid optical/electronic viewfinder in favor of a simpler OLED electronic viewfinder. One of the key goals with this omission is to make a lower-priced model that's not just easier to afford, but also easier to use. Fujifilm also reduced the body size and lowered the weight, but left most of the rest of the design unchanged, using the same 16-megapixel X-Trans CMOS sensor, the same X-Mount lens, and essentially the same set of well-placed controls. As you can see in the shot above right, Fujifilm also added a small pop-up flash.

Expected to ship in November 2012 for essentially US$1,000 body-only, the Fujifilm X-E1 will come in a two-tone black and silver design (harking back to the X100 with its silver top deck and black body) and an all black design. The new X-E1 will also ship as a kit with a new XF 18-55mm lens for US$1,400. The new lens, not pictured here (see below) is the first X-Mount zoom lens, and features a widest aperture of f/2.8-4 across its zoom range, quite bright for a kit lens. The new design also features a linear motor for very fast autofocus.

Missing from the front of the Fujifilm X-E1 is the Viewfinder Selector lever, omitted for the obvious reason that there's no Hybrid optical/electronic viewfinder. The X-E1's logo appears there instead. The left and right stereo microphones are also no longer on the front panel, taking up a new position on the top deck. The AF-assist lamp is just above the grip, and the lens release button is in a great spot for quick lens changes, just left of the lens mount. Finally, the focus mode selector switch is right of the lens mount, as it was on past designs.

New on the top deck is the cutout for the pop-up flash. It's very small, hinged similar to the flash on the Sony RX100, retracting flush with the top of the Fujifilm X-E1. Left of that is the focal plane indicator mark, and to the right you'll find the stereo microphones. A standard hot shoe sits behind that. The rest will feel very similar to the X100 and X-Pro1. While the X-Pro1 has a locking Shutter speed dial, the X-E1's dial doesn't lock, like the X100. The Exposure compensation dial is perfectly placed for easy activation, and the shutter button--threaded for a conventional cable release--is ringed by the Power switch. A small Function button resides in the upper right corner.

Starting in the upper left, the diopter correction wheel returns to the X-E1, to the same position it occupied on the X100 (there is no diopter correction on the X-Pro1). To the right of the electronic viewfinder is an infrared proximity sensor, and the new flash release button takes up a position just right of that. Four buttons line the left of the LCD, and four buttons surround the Menu/OK button on the right. The Command dial is in nearly the same position, making menu and aperture adjustments easy. An AE/AF-Lock button is in good position on the thumbgrip, and a Quick Menu button is just below that.

We had a brief hands-on with an early model of the Fujifilm X-E1, and liked it a lot. It's lighter than the X-Pro1, but feels more substantial than the X100. I really enjoyed the X-Pro1, but not generally because of the Hybrid optical/electronic viewfinder; that was cool technology, and the optical viewfinder was beautiful with an impressive LCD overlay, but it also seemed unnecessary. So the X-E1's use of an EVF/LCD combination doesn't trouble me at all. The OLED display inside was smooth in appearance, without the usual grid pattern seen in LCD viewfinders. Colors were bright, and it gained up well in low light, without a lot of noise. What I saw was early, though, so we'll have to wait and see what ships.

Other aspects seemed just right. The Fuji X-E1's menu is nearly identical to the X-Pro1's, though it seemed a little different at first thanks to the smaller rear LCD panel. Autofocus, too, was fast in both low light and bright. I didn't get to try the new 18-55mm kit lens. Fujifilm says its new linear motor AF system will focus in 0.10 second, which is pretty good. We'll give it a look when we get a final camera in the lab.

Fujifilm X-E1 versus Fujifilm X-Pro1

The Fujifilm X-E1 is slightly smaller than the X-Pro1, making for a less bulky camera overall. It's still larger than most mirrorless cameras, but has that nice rangefinder appeal.

Overall I was pretty pleased with the quality feel and good heft of the Fujifilm X-E1: It's substantial without seeming too bulky. It's still a larger camera, but I'd be happier carrying it around than the larger, heavier X-Pro1. Inclusion of a zoom lens makes more sense for the consumer market, but the good news is the X-E1's introduction also includes another prime to appeal to the X-Mount owner: a 14mm f/2.8 prime. If image quality remains high, the X-E1 looks like another potential winner for Fujifilm.

 

Fujifilm X-E1 Technical Info

by Mike Tomkins

Like the X-Pro1 before it, the Fuji X-E1 is based around a mirrorless Fujifilm X-mount that's just 2.5 mm thick, reducing flange back distance to 17.7 mm. Ten small gold pins at its base provide for communication between body and lens. At its center sits an APS-C sized X-Trans CMOS image sensor with 16.3 megapixel resolution, unchanged from that featured in the earlier camera.	The X-Trans sensor replaces the standard 2x2 Bayer color filter array found in almost all digital cameras with a proprietary, Fuji-designed 6x6 X-Trans array that the company says better emulates film, and in the process reduces the incidence of moire patterns. Just as in the X-Pro1, there's hence no resolution-robbing, moire-erasing low-pass filter in the Fujifilm X-E1.

Output from the unusual X-Trans CMOS sensor is handled by Fujifilm's proprietary EXR Processor Pro, also inherited directly from the X-Pro1. The Fuji X-E1's ISO sensitivity range of 100 to 25,600 equivalents is unchanged; note that only ISO 200 to 6,400 equivalents are available to the ISO Auto function.

Fujifilm expects the X-E1 to deliver approximately the same burst shooting rate as the X-Pro1, at around six frames per second. The company predicts a startup time of around 0.5 seconds, and a shutter release lag of 0.05 seconds.

As promised in June 2012, Fujifilm has created its first X-mount zoom lens, which debuts alongside the X-E1. Although the 18-55mm focal length range (equivalent to 27-84mm on a 35mm camera) is quite standard, the maximum aperture is uncommonly bright, ranging from f/2.8 at wide angle to f/4 at telephoto. It's not only the first X-mount zoom; it's also the first stabilized X-mount lens; Fujifilm claims approximately four stops of correction is possible. Focusing is catered for with an in-lens, linear autofocus motor. (More on that in a minute.) The optical formula features 14 elements in 10 groups, with three aspheric lenses and one extra-low dispersion element. The aperture diaphragm has seven rounded blades, and there's an aperture ring on the lens barrel, as well as 58mm filter threads.
There's also a new 14mm f/2.8 prime shipping alongside the X-E1, which likewise accepts 58mm filters and has a seven-bladed, rounded aperture. The optical formula includes 10 elements in seven groups, two aspherics, and three ED elements. The barrel offers up both distance and depth-of-field scales. This new prime joins the three that shipped when the X-Pro1 was launched, taking the total stock of X-mount glass to five lenses. Five more are planned to arrive by the end of 2013, including three more primes and two stabilized zooms. You can also mount third-party lenses from the likes of Carl Zeiss, Leica, Ricoh, and Voigtländer using Fujifilm's M-mount adapter, announced last May.
We mentioned the linear autofocus motor of the 18-55mm zoom lens: Fujifilm says this is key to the swift performance of autofocus in the Fuji X-E1. Focus lock can be achieved with this lens in just 0.1 seconds, according to the company. We're told that other lenses will also offer improved performance on the X-E1, but won't be quite as fast as the 18-55mm zoom. These improvements are said to be down to firmware--likely an increase in algorithm performance, the speed data is clocked off the sensor, or both.	A key difference from the X-Pro1 is the Fuji X-E1's viewfinder. Gone is the earlier camera's unusual hybrid viewfinder, replaced with a more standard--if very high resolution--EVF. At its heart is an Organic LED panel said to have a resolution of 2.36 million dots, which Fujifilm notes is among the highest electronic viewfinder resolutions to date. Horizontal field of view is 25 degrees, with a 5,000:1 contrast ratio. An eye proximity sensor are included in the design, just as in the earlier X-Pro1; diopter adjustment is a new feature.
On the rear panel is a 2.8-inch LCD monitor. Resolution is approximately 460,000 dots. The new panel is just a little bit smaller than the 3.0-inch panel on the X-Pro1, a concession to the Fuji X-E1's smaller body. We believe it's also a standard RGB LCD, rather than the brighter / lower-power RGBW type used in the pricier camera.
The Fuji X-E1 offers shutter speeds ranging from 1/4,000 to 1/4 second or T (1/2 to 30 sec.), controlled via a photographer-friendly dial on the top deck. There's also a bulb mode.	Exposure compensation is also catered for with a physical dial on the top deck, just as in the X-Pro1. The range of +/- 2.0 EV with a step size of 1/3 EV is unchanged from the earlier camera.
In a nod to the fact that the Fuji E1 is aimed more at enthusiast / prosumer use than at pros, there's now a built-in, popup flash strobe. That's something pros would likely shun, and so isn't found on the higher-end X-Pro1.	Of course, there's still a hot shoe as well. It's compatible with Fujifilm's EF-20 and EF-40 strobes, as well as the attractively retro EF-X20 that was launched alongside the X-Pro1. There's no X-sync terminal though, unlike that camera.

Like the X-Pro1 before it, the Fuji X-E1 includes a good selection of creative functions. Dynamic range can also be bracketed, as can film simulation, exposure, and ISO sensitivity. Hinting at Fuji's film heritage, there is a selection of film simulation modes that reproduce the look of popular Fuji film formulations of days gone by, including Provia, Astia, and Velvia. There are also two settings based on professional color negative films: Pro Neg.Std, and Pro Neg.Hi. Also retained from the X-Pro1 are a two-shot multiple exposure function and a consumer-friendly ability to stitch panoramas in-camera.

The X-E1 also retains the X-Pro1's 24 frames-per-second, Full HD (1080p / 1,920 x 1,080 pixel) movie capture capabilities, but with two important changes. Firstly, there's now an external stereo microphone jack, letting you record off-camera sound, something that's not possible for X-Pro1 shooters without resorting to a separate audio capture device. You can also now use both Film Simulation and Monochrome modes during video capture.

Like that on the X-Pro1, the Fuji X-E1 unfortunately has a tripod mount that's quite a way from the central axis of the lens. That's less than optimal if you're planning on shooting a lot of panoramas. Another issue: it's very close to the battery / flash card compartment door.	Connectivity options include USB data, and a HDMI high-definition video output. The USB port is compatible with Fuji's optional RR-80 remote release cable. You can also use the microphone jack as a shutter release, or a mechanical shutter release cable on the shutter button.
The Fujifilm X-E1 stores images and movies on Secure Digital cards, including the higher-capacity SDHC and SDXC types. Images can be saved in both JPEG and raw formats, and the X-E1 includes the ability to process raw files in-camera. Power comes courtesy of a proprietary lithium-ion battery pack, which the company says will provide battery life in the region of 350 frames to CIPA testing standards, about 50 shots more than for the X-Pro1. (The battery life figure is said to be applicable when using one of the three existing prime lenses; no word on life with the new zoom or prime.)
Available from early to mid November 2012, the Fujifilm X-E1 will be sold both body-only, and in a kit with the new 18-55mm zoom lens. Two body colors will be offered: either black, or a handsome two-tone black and silver. Body-only pricing is set at US$1,000 or thereabouts, well below the US$1,700 tag for the X-Pro1 body. The Fuji X-E1 kit with 18-55mm zoom lens will sell for a US$400 premium, for a final price of approximately US$1,400. The kit zoom by itself will cost about US$700, and the new 14mm prime will list for US$900. If using the earlier X-Pro1 body, you'll need to apply a firmware update to shoot with either new lens. As well as lenses, M-mount adapter, flash strobes, and the remote cable, Fuji will also offer several accessories for the X-E1. These will include a leather half-case, hand grip, and protective filters sized to match the various lens options. No pricing and availability was disclosed for these items.