Fujifilm is known all over the world for offering a complete and superb range of digital cameras, CCTV lenses, digital photo printers, binoculars, medical imaging products, medical and. Fujifilm has announced the 2nd body in their mirrorless system series. The X-E1 is smaller as compared to the X-Pro1. It loses the optical viewfinder; however, retains an electronic viewfinder. The X-E1 also affords to squeeze in a built-in flash, which is something that the X-Pro lacked. Although, the X-E1 will be cheaper than the X-Pro1, it does not mean that Fujifilm skimped on X-E as the specifications still pack an astonishing punch than its older sibling.
The large, complex and expensive hybrid finder of X-Pro1 is replaced by a purely-electronic viewfinder in the X-E1. It uses a 2.36M dot OLED unit that replaces 1.44M dot LCD finder of X-Pro1. However, its rear screen is a bit downgraded in terms of both resolution and size, to a still-respectable 2.8 inches, 460k dot LCD. As per Fujifilm, this is essential for keeping the camera’s size down. The outcome is a compact body, which is quite similar in size to the much-loved FinePix X100, as well as, its most obvious competitors such as the E-M5 and NEX-7. The construction ensures a distortion-free sight to all corners of images and maintains the whole field of view even if the eye of the photographer shifts. People, who wear glasses, will be delighted to know that a high eye-point of 23mm will enable them to easily look through the viewfinder without having to take their glasses off. One more notable thing is that contrary to the X-Pro1, the X-E1’s EVF comes with diopter adjustment control.
The X-E1 will come in either all black or with a silver top. The front and top covers are designed of die-cast magnesium alloy as against the X-Pro1, the entire body of which is made of magnesium. Just like the X-Pro1, the X-E1 features physical controls for aperture, shutter speed, and also exposure compensation to allow you decide your setting at a glance without having to power on the camera. The X-E1 uses a new autofocus algorithm along with various sensor drive modes that promise significantly-improved speed, particularly with the XF60mm F2.4 R Macro lens or for shooting in low light.
According to Fujifilm, the X-E1 and X-Pro1 now provide AF speeds to compete some benchmark cameras like the Olympus OM-D E-M5. There is an improvement in the ‘feel’ of the electronically-driven manual focus. The camera sets the aperture largely open in manual focus mode for ensuring truly-accurate focusing through using the EVF. There is also a new 3x magnification mode for assisting manual focus, which should be less prone to issues with shake while using long lenses.
