Fuji X-E2 Rekindled

Always liked Fuji X-Tran.

Got a X-T20 now my main reference camera.

The old X-E2 could never quite match the Panasonic LX100 for what I do - so it got neglected. Until recently, due to a couple of purchases.

Fuji X-E2 with silicone skin case

It's a silver version - showing some (minor) wear - but being silver they just seem to be more noticeable. That's a silicone skin type case for it - used to be easily available on eBay, but no longer especially for black - Amazon still has it at higher price + exorbitant shipping.

I bought it at the same time as -

7artisans manual focus and aperture lens 25mm (38mm equiv) f/1.8

7artisans 25/1.8

X-E2 w 7artisans 25/1.8

The lens performance is pretty respectable - it seems as good as any nifty-fifty I've ever owned, certainly in the center - the extreme corners never catch up and appear blurred - perhaps the original design was for micro4/3 which would have a smaller image circle on the sensor, and 50mm equiv.

In the center -

wide open at f/1.8

7artisans 25/1.8 center @ f/1.8 - on X-T20 100% pixel level crop - EXIF attached

7artisans 25/1.8 center @ f/1.8 - on X-T20 100% pixel level crop - EXIF attached

@ f/6.7(?) between marked f/5.6 and f/8 - of course improves

7artisans 25/1.8 center @ f/6.7(?)- on X-T20 100% pixel level crop - EXIF attached

Have to set shoot without lens and used Manual Focus Assist Peak Highlight On

With MF assist peak highlight On it seemed very easy to manually focus.

With bands/music - that's kind of what I do anyway (in a slightly different way) Focus and lock then shoot - OK manual focus is slower - but once focused it is "locked" - and I just shoot away - so other than the initial (slower) focus it seems to work the same.

Not only that - with manual focus aid/peaking on, I can see between shots if the scene remains in focus.

As for metering - having the shutter speed set on "A"utomatic - the camera(s) do Aperture priority - in the old days that was my favorite on the Olympus OM-2 and 4.

My usual camera for live music gigs is the Panasonic LX100 - I did a side-by-side direct comparison years ago with the X-E2 (and more recently with X-T20). I just found although the Fuji did give superior IQ - for what I shoot the LX100 worked better for me - as I was limited to slower aperture Fuji zoom lenses Vs the Leica 24-75 equiv f/1.7-2.8 on the LX100. So this manual lens @ f/1.8 is a kind of equalizer -

7artisans on Fuji X-E2 prob f/2.4 - EXIF attached

Panasonic LX100 - EXIF attached

I prefer the X-E2 with manual lens

7artisans on Fuji X-E2 prob f/2.4 - EXIF attached

Panasonic LX100 - EXIF attached

In this latter pair there is no comparison - the X-E2 with manual lens is simply a much better shot.

Just like there is no comparison to this shot below -

Panasonic LX100 - EXIF attached

Found the X-E2 EVF and LCD both seemed very noisy in low light - so put lens cap On (ie: total darkness) -

X-E2 LCD - lens cap On

X-E2 EVF - lens cap On

Did some searching on the web - and eventually figured out the culprit was MF Focus Assist Peak Highlight (any)

Choosing anything except MF Focus Assist Peak Highlight - reduces that noise to negligible levels even with lens cap On.

Now use Digital Split Image and confirm with Focus Check (press center of command dial) - but obviously makes focusing noticeably slower.

Another thing I have noticed is X-E2 seems to underexpose by 1 stop when in very low light.

Fuji X-E2 - 0 comp - EXIF attached

Fuji X-E2 - +1 comp - EXIF attached

The second shot however is in line with the exposure settings of other cameras - so it is just a metering issue on this X-E2.

I just have to remember to dial in +1 stop compensation when shooting low light.

So this X-E2 has got a new lease of life for me.