At the turn of 2014, a travel opportunity to Cambodia came knocking on my doors and I decided that perhaps it’s time to let go of the heavy duty gear and try something light. After some research and some persistence from a friend (Samuel Gan of John 3:16), I opted for the Fujifilm X-E2 instead of taking a plunge with the Olympus E-M1.
Now, I am not paid to do reviews nor do i perform lab style tests like DXO Marks so this is a diary of my journey with the X-E2 based on my usage.
One of the consideration points that caught me eye with Fujifilm was that they had an actual lens road map, with the XF 56mm f/1.2 and 10-24mm f/4 on its way back then and is available now. Fujifilm already had a range of extremely good lens for their range of mirrorless cameras and at the point of purchase, the ones that caught my eye was the XF 23mm f/1.4 and XF 35mm f/1.4. Nonetheless, before investing any further into another system, the body needs to be fully tested and the X-E2 will be put through it’s paces in Cambodia, through dusty roads, low light and high dynamic range conditions.
The photos in this blog are shot exclusively with the Fujifilm X-E2 and the XF 18-55mm f/2.8-4 “kit” lens.
Was greeted with this lovely lily on New Years day 2014 so I thought it be good luck to snap a blooming flower.
While waiting for my wife and her girlfriend, I decided to ambush some unsuspecting passing traffic using the AF-C mode.
Well, obviously my ambushing was an epic fail but the AF-C did its work.
This day, we decided to tour Kompong Phluk under the guidance of our friendly guide. Managed to snap a few photos along the way as well as at Kompong Phluk. I’ll let the photos tell the story.
After the first full day with the X-E2, the first thing was to review the photos straight from the camera and was captivated by the accuracy of the white balance (WB) and metering to reproduce the exact colours we saw.
By the time I was done reviewing all the photos for the day, I was already impressed by what Fujifilm had to offer in the X-E2 package. A sharp and well constructed 18-55mm f/2.8-4 kit lens made of metal, offering images that was sharp from center to corner which Nikon did not offer as a kit.
However, I would think it be premature to conclude anything just yet.
The second day came and this time around, we headed under the cover of darkness to see the sun rise at the ever famous Angkor Wat, Let’s see how the day unfolded.
A handful of photos taken at this great ancient city were done with the Nikon D800 and 14-24mm f/2.8 lens. This was mainly for reasons of me requiring an UWA for the shots I wanted. These shots are not shown here but can be found on my Flickr site.
Hot and covered by dust from our day trip, we retired for the day and with about 2/3 of the day remaining the following day, I decided to put the X-E2 through its low light AF and optical stabilisation test at the Siem Reap Old Market. Let’s see how that turned out.
The amount of light available for photography was unbelievably low and uneven, with the highlights on the ice reflecting light off the ceiling light, creating some localised hotspots. Shot at ISO 1600 and 1/80 sec to freeze the vendor in action counting her collection thus far, this shot while could be done easily with flag ship DSLR like the D4 or the D800/E on a 24-70mm f/2.8 lens, reproducing such a photo would have pushed APS-C cameras like the D7100 to the same limit although I would have reservations if the 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 VR kit lens would had been able to produce similar results.
The above shot was taken at 1/30sec at 40mm and I had a hard time trying to stabilize without having the subject notice that I am pointing a camera at him. It was good that the X-E2 was small and nonintrusive as I continued to lurk around to meter the exposure before seizing the moment to take the shot when he focused on his profession. The only light available was the table lamp he had and I had to push the ISO up till 3200 with center weighted metering to take this shot.
Well, as it this, all good times will have to come to pass. With the setting sun, I squeezed in the shot below before packing up.
After 3 days of using the Fujifilm X-E2, I think the results are pretty evident. It is without a doubt a good camera but it is also an expensive one in the same price range as the Nikon D7100 with kit lens which makes it more expensive than the usual mirrorless cameras.
However, as good as the X-E2 is, it is very much a photographer’s camera as it is devoid of features such as touch screen, articulating screen that is being offered by Sony, Olympus and Panasonic. In its place, shutter speed and EV compensation knobs that photographers are familiar with, as well as a dedicated AE-L button that I personally love. All the Fuji XF lenses come with an Aperture ring and very smooth manual focus ring where manual focusing can be assisted with focus peaking that makes manual focusing a joy. With an APS-C sensor cased in a body the size of an average guy’s wallet and weighing no more than 500g with a very well made and performing kit lens, the X-E2, to me is a holiday photographer’s dream come true.
I have since bought the XF 23mm f/1.4 and will soon write a blog on it after I take it on my coming holiday.
Ambient Pixels 
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