Fuji X-E3 – what I like and what not

This is kind of an addendum to my original post about the Fuji X-E3. I got this camera body (my first Fuji ever!) directly after it hit the shelves in very late September, 2017. Below is a list of observations from my own personal experience with the camera since then. I will maybe update this post whenever I feel it’s worth it!

What I like and what not – after around 5 weeks of use

Let’s start with the positive stuff!

Plus

I love the analogue controls: Fuji X-E3

1. The user interface
   I like how it works. Really perfect for me. The clearly labeled controls for aperture (on the lens), shutter speed and exposure compensation are perfect for me. But it has some small glitche so will also come up in the negative list.
2. The joystick
   This is really a joy! Makes changing your auto focus point such a breeze. Feels so natural to me. Also feels nice and easy to browse through the menus with the joystick. Sooow much better than pressing those four-way buttons of the past. I love this!
3. Image quality
   Coming from the Olympus PEN-F, I feel that the sensor is a step up in terms of dynamic range and also details, if you use the right RAW converter. (Click here to read something about my initial experience with RAW Therapee.) Regarding the details, I find the lenses very well – at least those that I own myself or tried more extensively so far: 14/2.8, 23/2, 50/2, 56/1.2.
4. Quality of JPG images
   I have to say up front I am a diehard RAW user. But the JPG out of camera from the Fuji often have a nice look to them. The colors seem to be very nice. I don’t exactly like the rendering of really fine details – a proper RAW conversion will always yield some extra data. And with a lot of motives, especially when lighting conditions are challenging, JPG out of cam won’t really make the best use of the dynamic range of the sensor. But that’s normal for all cameras. Still, there are plenty images where the JPG already looks really nice to me. I find myself adjusting RAW files to my tasting and then, when I compare it to the JPG afterwards, I found that I basically re-created the look that the camera found automatically itself.
5. Quality feel and size/weight
   The camera is not as superbly finished as the Olympus PEN-F. But overall it has a nice quality feel in your hand. I remember that many years ago I used a Panasonic DMC-L1 camera, back then that was a rather upmarket DSLR body with Micro Four Thirds sensor. That camera, though, felt just a bit hollow in my hands. It felt too lightweight to create a quality feel. Now the Fuji X-E3 is also very lightweight. But it still feels just solid and well-balanced. Again, the note: You have to grab every camera with your own hands and find out if you like it!
6. Viewfinder
   I know, the Fuji X-E3’s electronic viewfinder is a point of debate. So I have to stress I don’t wear glasses (yet) and I successfully trained myself to use the right (instead of the left) eye for the viewfinder, back when I got the Olympus PEN-F. These rangefinder-style bodies are just so much nicer to use with the right eye. Anyway, I really like the view through the viewfinder. I remember that on older Fuji bodies the electronic image still looked very artificial, “digital”. This is no longer the case with the current generation. Also I find it big enough for all my needs. And I like the layout of the information like shutter speed or aperture. Less intrusive than on the Olympus. The Sony A7 cameras also had a nice information layout. But, again: You have to try every viewfinder with your own eyes to find out of you are happy with it.
7. AF point selection
   This is one of the most excellent features of the X-E3, really. Just push around the AF point with the little joystick. No buttons to be pressed. Just a breeze. Awesome!
8. Split screen manual focus aid
   In addition to the usual focus peaking feature, the Fuji also adds a split screen simulation. Wow! This feels soooow much more “natural” and less “digital”. The only small gotcha is that I think that the splitting itself could be more pronounced. In other words, I turn the focus ring of the lens and I think that the split images should move further than they do now. Like you can adjust the strength of focus peaking, you maybe should also be able to adjust the strength of the split screen feature. But overall: I love it!
9. Automatic switching between viewfinder and screen image
   All these mirrorless cameras sport a small sensor right at the viewfinder port that senses the approaching eye and switches automatically between viewfinder and screen. What I really like about the X-E3 is that I (so far) never had any issue with that sensor, like I frequently had with the Olympus PEN-F. The Olympus’ little sensor often was triggered by sunlight, despite my eye right at the viewfinder. The Fuji is better here, never an issue so far and feels very responsive.
10. No built-in flash anymore
    Again, this might seem controversial to some. But look at the top deck of the previous Fuji X-E1 or X-E2 and you’ll see how they squeezed all the dials and the accessory shoe to the right, just to make room for that pop-up flash there. And the plastic cover of that flash also did not really match the material and finish of the top deck itself. We have 2017 today. We have sensors that take beautiful images in darkness. We value camera bodies with a nice clean design. The X-E3 is much cleaner than the X-E2 and part of that is because they – finally! – omitted that pop-up flash. (Don’t worry, if you really need such a small flash for whatever reasons: A seperate little flash unit is included for free!)

Now to what I don’t like about the X-E3:

Minus

Who can think of that? A camera half case without proper mounting to the body …

1. The original leather half case Fuji BLC-XE3
   This is really a stupid design. It does not have a tripod mount. So I was forced to mount those flimsy small metal triangle thingies where you normally put a camera strap on, just to secure the half case. I never use camera straps. This alone is stupid. But even more stupid is that I have to take off the half case when I want to use the camera on a tripod. Remember those half cases are there to protect the camera from small scratches and dents. Such as when you mount it on a tripod …
2. The tripod mount itself
   That leather half case also highlights a small error with the X-E3’s camera body design itself: The tripod mount. It’s positioned way to close to the battery compartment. It should rather be aligned with the optical axis of the lenses. They way it is positioned now, it guarantees that you’ll never have access to the battery / card door when even the smallest of tripod plates is mounted. Such as one from a Gorillapod.
3. The ISO dial
   The front dial can be configured to control the ISO setting. That is very nice, yes. But normally I use very low ISO during daylight, or I use Auto ISO when it gets dark. Now to get from low to Auto, you have to scroll through all the other settings: ISO 100, 125, 160 … 1600, 2000, 2500 … 12.800, 25.600 … and only then you finally get to Auto. After that, it just stops. You turn the dial but it just ends at Auto. Why can’t it be that after you are at Auto, and just continue turning that dial, it starts with ISO 100 again?
4. The rear lens caps
   This is a very small, but kind of strange issue. I find it kind of hard to get off the rear lens caps when I want to change lenses. I read somewhere that it might be that the small rubber gaskets around the mount are the culprits. (Note that not all lenses have those, but my 23/2 and 50/2 WR both have them.) I am used to just grab the lens in my bag, twist the rear lens cap with one hand until it comes off. With the 23 and 50 Fujinon lenses, I sometimes need to take both hands to get the cap off. Not a big issue, but weird.
5. Some settings are always reset when you turn off the camera
   An example: You set it on self timer. Next time you turn on the camera, that setting is lost. Now this is sometimes nice – with the Olympus, I always forgot I was on self timer the other day and then only noticed it when I took a picture and the camera did not react normally. On the other hand, imagine you go out at night for some long-time exposures, and every single time you switch off the camera, it forgets it was on self timer. Then it’s annoying.
6. The remote control app on the iPhone
   I have to admit, I am no expert here. And maybe you Android guys are more lucky. When I bought the camera, I thought that it has a new low-power Bluetooth feature that was specifically designed to make it very easy to connect to the Fuji smartphone app to share images and remote control the camera. With my iPhone 5s (on the newest current operating system), this does not really work that well. I also need a WiFi connection. But worse it that the app sometimes connects easily to the camera, and the next time it takes several tries and is a huge hassle. It seems just not really reliable to me.

So much for plus and minus!

Glow – festival of lights in Eindhoven, The Netherlands. (X-E3 with 23/2 at f/2, hand-held.)

Yes, it’s a perfect camera especially for street and travel photography!

Stuff I can’t really comment on:

1. The touch screen
   I admit I almost never use it. You can swipe from the right, left, top or bottom to control various settings. A few times I used the swipe from the right to change the “film simulation” that affects the way the in-camera JPGs are processed. But I normally prefer using the RAW files anyway, in the end. Anyway, that film simulation swiping feature feels nice and polished. I have to say I prefer that even to pressing some small buttons on the rear of the camera. Maybe just a matter of taste.
2. Continuous autofocus
   I basically never use that feature. The single autofocus is snappy and good, the continuous feature? I have no clue yet.
3. Buffer size
   I never shoot in continuous mode so can’t say much about the camera’s performance in that regard.
4. Video
   I know the X-E3 is capable of recording video and I believe it maybe can do 4k. I am never using that so I can’t comment on anything regarding video, in fact I don’t even know the specifications for sure. :)

That’s it for now. Overall, I really am very content with the little Fuji. Whenever new thoughts come up, I’ll add them on this post.

Read further about the Fuji X-E3 here:

1. My Fuji X-E3 and the Fujicrons
2. Mini review and sample shots of the Fujinon 50/2 WR
3. RAW Therapee and the Fuji X-E3

Cheers,
Thomas