X-E5 Mirrorless Digital Camera XF23mmF2.8 Lens Kit - Black

Rica!

I have only owned full frame cameras before and stayed away from crop sensors, but I am completely in love with this camera – it’s tiny. The images are gorgeous and it’s very easy to use. The ergonomics are not great so a thumb grip and a nice plate grip help a lot.

Pro: +Compact (relative to the X-T5). +Beautiful. +Has just about every feature of the X-T5 including the same 40MP XTrans imager, the IBIS, and the modes including automatic in-camera HDR and automatic panorama. Con: -Not water and dust resistant like the X-T5. -Fewer dials, and I find the film simulation dial silly and worthless. I have mapped the front wheel to ISO so now I still have the dial hat-trick of shutter speed, aperture and ISO. I have mapped the rear wheel to aperture for those few lenses that lack a dedicated aperture ring (the same as I did on my X-T5 and X-T3 and GFX100). -The dials lack locking buttons like the X-T5 etc. So always check your dial positions before shooting. -Cannot map the programmable function button to toggle the HDR mode(!). -Heavy, non-adjustable dumb-looking cord-style neck strap, but this is easily rectified. Full review: I have an X-T5 and wanted a second smaller camera, specifically for ultra-wide-angle shots leaving my extreme zoom 18-300 on my X-T5. This would eliminate me constantly switching between my 9mm f2.8 Laowa (my preferred travel wide-angle lens) and my 18-300mm Tamron zoom (my preferred travel zoom). These 2 lenses cover almost everything when I travel, but switching back and forth made me nervous. I bought the X-E5 with the excellent 23mm F2.8 lens. It is a bit redundant in my kit, but it is thin and lightweight and compliments the X-E5. As you scan through the photos, you will see the camera as it comes, except for the strap. More on that later. I have added the excellent Peak Design wrist strap to the X-E5 to keep it handy even as I have my X-T5 around my neck. The next photo compares the X-E5 to the X-T5 behind it and the GFX100 behind that. The "rangefinder" layout saves substantial volume (if not much weight) over the "SLR" layout of the X-T5. If I could only have one camera in this class, I would choose the X-T5 unless my main use case was travel in which case I would choose the X-E5. The next shot shows the X-E5 with the Laowa 10mm "cookie" lens. This is a my new wide-angle setup and I purchased the 10mm f4 "cookie" as it is much shorter than the 9mm f2.8 but damn is it heavy for such a little lens! You can see the difference in weight between the setups in the photos with the scales (553 to 600 grams, nearly 10% heavier!). You can see the difference between the 28mm kit lens and the 10mm cookie lens in the next 2 photos (90 to 136 grams). I added photos of the X-E5 with some other lenses including the Fuji 8mm, a beautifl lens, but a bit of a beast for travel compared to the Laowa options. The Laowas lack autofocus but at this focal length I just stop down a bit and use the extreme depth of field of these wide-angle lenses. I typically set up the lens at the hyperfocal point for some modest aperture and everything from about a foot to infinity is in focus, so I don't miss autofocus with these extreme wide-angle lenses. I also show the X-E5 with the Fuji 16mm f2.8, a very compact lens and one of my favorite walking-around and street-photography lenses. Then the 35mm f2.8 and the 50mm f2.8. All look very vintage-Leica on this rangefinder-styled silver Fuji. I showed it with the f2.8 lenses as compactness is the X-E5's forté and showing it with f1.4 or f1.0 lenses would not be playing to the X-E5's strengths. I then show it with the older 18-55mm excellent Fuji kit lens, and finally the Fuji 16-55mm f2.8 excellent "bag of primes" mid-zoom. This is a large lens for the X-E5 but the combo is perfectly useable. The last shot is of the X-E5 with the included "cord" neck strap. I couldn't bring myself to even attach this abomination to the X-E5. These "cord" straps are trendy right now, but they are heavy, non-adjustable, and in my opinion ruin the esthetic of this otherwise beautifully designed and styled camera. I will continue to use the hand strap shown and if I want a neck strap I will order the excellent MegaGear brown leather neck strap (adjustable).

I've been shooting Fuji X cameras since 2014... this is my 5th Fuji X camera. I also own X-E1, X-E3, X-T1, & X-T5. Bonus on the X-E5 is the 40MP and IBIS image stabilization. I also shoot Nikon Full frame, but when I travel I find myself grabbing one of my Fuji cameras because they're just so much easier to travel with and I absolutely love Fuji color science and their film simulations. X-E5 has awesome color and film simulations. The new Film Similuation dial was controversial to some, but Im loving having an easy access dial to switch between film simulations. Plus you can edit your own Film Simulations for stylistic color and save them to FS1, FS2 & FS3 on the dial. Plus you still have the entire 7 "Q" custom setting banks for a total of 10 custom image settings. The body is stylish and very well made. This is a gorgeous camera. -And the 23mm F2.8 pancake lens makes the perfect combo for compact travel camera.

This is a great partner to my X-Pro2. I’m still learning it but so far so good. Definitely a great camera for what I need it for.