Conclusion
Pros
- Well-built and lightweight body
- Excellent EVF: high-resolution, low lag and nice and clear
- Large, clear and high-resolution rear LCD with excellent viewing angles
- Outstanding old-school control scheme with everything in easy reach
- Camera is responsive with low shutter lag and quick operation
- Autofocus has been improved, with incredibly fast phase-detect AF and improved and decently fast contrast-detect AF.
- Continuous Autofocus works fairly well, and can track moving objects with good accuracy
- 7 frame per second high-speed burst mode
- Excellent dynamic range and color with real depth to the images
- Low noise means shooting at high ISO is not a problem
- WiFi for transferring images to your mobile device or geotagging your images
- Outstanding manual focus aids, with a good implementation of focus peaking and a truly unique and capable digital split image focusing aid.
Cons
- Buffer is shallow when shooting RAW in burst mode
- Tripod socket is too close to the battery door
- WiFi lacks remote control capability and connection can be a little finicky to set up
- Only 3 frames per second burst when using continuous AF
- Fewer bells and whistles compared to the competition
- Video mode still lacks direct shutter speed and ISO controls
- Auto bracketing is still very limited
- View Mode functionality is not assignable to a function button
When Fuji released the X-E1, they created a camera with great image quality and great controls, but a lot of small issues with performance and operation. With the X-E2, Fuji has addressed nearly every complaint I had about the X-E1. They’ve improved focusing speed, made usable continuous autofocus, improved the EVF lag, improved the rear screen, made the camera more responsive, both in shutter lag, processing, image writing and operation. They’ve added a few nice features like the digital split image focusing and WiFi capability while improving the core user experience all around. The result is a very polished and capable mirrorless camera. It doesn’t have all the bells and whistles that many other cameras have, but the ones it does have are focused on improving the shooting experience. Nikon’s new Df was supposed to be focused on ‘pure photography.’ The X-E2 does that concept right.
One of the big questions for existing X-E1 owners is should they upgrade to the X-E2. It’s not a real cut and dry answer because everyone’s needs are different, but for most people, I’d say yes. The improvements to the EVF, the increased speed, the better autofocus and other changes make the X-E2 a camera that melts into the background and allows you to simply focus on the photography. The Fujifilm X-E2 really has nothing aside from a lackluster video mode that holds it back in the mirrorless space. If you’re a stills shooter like me, that’s a pretty minor point. The Fujifilm X-E2 is a pleasure to shoot. It is a responsive body with wonderful, focused controls, and the resulting images are outstanding. Highly recommended.
Image Samples
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