XE-2, XE-3, or X-E4... The Dilemma

Threaded wrote:

The XE line is kind of interesting as it’s the only Fuji model that’s never really stayed the same. Initially it was the smaller, cheaper X-Pro alternative for those who couldn’t afford Fujis only other ILC, and that was still the case up until the XE2, but after that Fuji widened the range and, notably, introduced the XT1 which immediately sold like hot cakes and rather supplanted the X-Pro at the top of the line.

As Someone who purchased the X-Pro 1 and sold it at the first moment the XE1 hit the market and someone who can and could afford (and purchased before) much, much more expensive cameras, I tell you that a lot of people bought the XE1 because it was the same technology as the X-Pro1 but much smaller, lighter, and without the absolutely useless OVF…

The success of the XT1 lead to the XT10, which essentially repackaged the XE2’s internals but in a shape that was proving more popular and cheaper to produce (in China). By that time Fuji were so uncertain over the purpose of the XE that they didn’t bother designing a new one, and just reworked the same body with newer firmware to produce the XE2S.

Fujifilm did not just offer the same XE2 with changed firmware as a „new camera called XE2s“ but reacted to complaints of customers about some problems with the XE2… IIRC the XE2s offered much better AF performance than the XE2 that could NOT be solved by a simple firmware-update (though firmware updates were possible and were made for the XE2)…

The subsequent redesigns of the XE3 and XE4 just seem to reflect the fact that Fuji are still continually rethinking just where or if the XE still fits in the lineup. I’m sure both are good cameras in their own way, but they’re both quite distinct from the original and targeting different markets. Neither really seem like satisfactory replacements for the XE1 or 2 because, I guess, Fuji felt those replacements already existed elsewhere.

Evidently you do not know that Fujifilm officially did stop the XE line with the XE3 without any successor. For 6 months the XE line was dead.
But a lot of XE- customers protested and demanded to go on with the XE-line.

Again, Fujifilm cared for their customers and reanimated the XE-line.

Evidently they did some market analysis and found that the XE-customers appreciated the ergonomics of the XE-line, it’s low weight and nice little dimensions… and tried to „cultivate“ these big points.

Maybe they believed that the XE-customers wanted to go that (too much) puristic design of Leica - especially because a lot of Leica owners appreciated more and more the Fujifilm- Technology and its philosophy.

But the XE fans were split in two groups: one that loved the extreme purism and one that found its design just exaggerating on purism just for its own sake and leaving the path of user-friendly ergonomics… I am one of the latter mentioned group…

The XT-line is for many people the perfect DSLM  camera. At least for the  XT4  I think so as well. The only thing I‘ d like to have is the EVF at the left side positioned  exactly like in the XE models.

cheers