Fujifilm's X-E2, Better Results Than I Thought

Masaya, Nicaragua ©2014 Terrell Neasley

I didn't have much expectations about my Fuji XE-2 in the beginning. I knew it took great pictures, but I was used to working with a huge and heavy 36MP Nikon camera. So no way the results would be similar. So my expectations were low comparatively. I'm telling you now, however that I was amazed with the results.

And now YOU can see too.

San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua ©2014 Terrell Neasley

Anonymous Art Model, Nicaragua ©2014 Terrell Neasley

Leon, Nicaragua ©2014 Terrell Neasley

I've just now finished all the edits I think I'll do from that trip. I even did a professional shoot on my way back from Nicaragua. I stopped off in LA to help a friend who asked me about shooting for a business working at the Black College Expo. Some of that was doing convention capture, but then later that day it was fashion work for a clothing line. I got to work with about six models who were excellent. Since I don't like doing a pro gig with one camera, I also rented a Fujifilm X100s to give me some wide-angle aspects since all I had was the 35mm which looks like a 50mm due to Fuji's APS-C sensor (Crop factor of 1.5). The X100s has a fixed 23mm f/2 lens, which looks like a 35mm due to its APS-C sensor as well. I had it shipped ahead to the hotel where I was staying. 

2014 Black College Expo, Los Angeles,
Even Actor/Comedian Michael Colyar dropped by

I got everything I needed and was able to deliver the goods. The file sizes were still around 33MB in RAW form, so I had plenty of information for editing. I still wish I had my 36MP D800E for fashion work, but this crop-sensor Fuji delivered for the purposes intended. And now that I've completed edits from all my shots in Nicaragua, I've still amassed about 80 edited images out of the 965 I came back with, which is closer than I expected to my normal rate as a 10%'er. Even back in my film days, I was still relatively and consistently editing 10% of all my shots.

Models Left to Right,
 Nathan Rachinski, Kevante Wickliffe, Dina Shestacova, Matthew Rice Franklin, Elise Puritz, and Cadwell Samuels

Given all that, I will try my next excursion with the Fujifilm X-T1, which has added weather-sealing. I'm really loving this X-Trans II CMOS sensor. Coupled with the addition of the 23mm f/1.4 and the 56mm f/1.2 to go with my 35, I'll have everything I need. Well, I think I might just indulge myself a bit further. I'm also waiting on the Rokinon 10mm f/2.8 ED AS NCS CS Lens for the Fuji mount to be released. Rok makes some budget lenses but they've been really pulling out the stops on several new additions. So, if I'm gonna try it, its gonna be on one with expected distortion. I just wish I could hurry up and finalize all my travel plans and itinerary!

The Fujifilm XE-2 in Nicaragua

Me, standing in Lake Nicaragua with one of the two
volcano mountains of Ometepe Island in the background

I'm all about trying new things. So when Fuji came out with the XE-2, I was hooked and bought one a week after the thing was released. I bought it, not just because I'm a gear-head, but because of solid conclusive reasoning. First, I REALLY didn't want to take me huge Nikon D800E on the road with the added weight of the lenses as well. Second, my goal for Nicaragua wasn't fine art, so I didn't need the 36MP full frame resolution. And third, I liked the rangefinder format of this system to hopefully better acquaint me with Leica gear that I want to be vested in very soon. Those are the 3 main reasons I got the camera. I bought the kit with the metal barrel 18-55mm f/2.8-4 lens along with a 35mm 1.4. This was a good combination because it was basically equivalent to the 24-70 f/2.8 and the 50mm 1.4 lenses I would have brought with me had I used the Nikon. 

Cathedral San Pedro, Rivas, Nicaragua ©2014 Terrell Neasley

While being so lightweight, small, and manageable, I have yet to mention how beautiful the camera is. You can get one that's all black, but I got the XE-2 Silver edition where the top 3rd of the camera is silver. All black would have been less conspicuous, but the thing is small so its already less conspicuous and an all black one isn't really any less likely to be noticed anyway. So I went with aesthetics and got the one I liked best. 

Local fare at the market in Rivas, Nicaragua

I can review the images I took with the camera. This is supposed to be the world's fastest autofocus system. Is it fast? Sure. Did I clock it at the .08 seconds the specs says it should do? Not so much. It uses phase detection in addition to conventional contrast detection and when its on point, it was on point. What I did notice was less accuracy in low light situations. 

I still ran into another issue and that dealt with the RAW files taken by the Fuji. I'm surprised there wasn't more info on the web that could have aided me, but I finally figured out a solution. Adobe Bridge and Photoshop had a tendency to crash when working with Fuji Raw files with the .raf file extensions. Initially the problem was that my Adobe Creative Cloud programs just needed to be updated. I did this and was able to view some of the files. The big problem came when I tried to append my metadata template to the images. It would crash the system without fail. My solution was to convert the files to DNG and the problem was solved. But I don't think this is a fault, per se of Fuji. They use an entirely different sensor technology from most other camera manufactures. The X-Trans system doesn't utilize the standard Bayer filter array as most systems use. The X-Trans is evolutionary. I like it, but its literally in a class by itself. DXO Mark doesn't even rate it due to the fact that their techniques used to rate sensors can't fairly apply across the board to it. Converting to DNG is a good solution to use with Adobe.

Surf gear, Playa Hermosa (Beautiful Beach), near San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua

If this goes well, Fuji has a wide-angle 10-24mm lens I want! They also have a 56mm 1.2 that I drool over, but I might stay content with my 35mm 1.4. So I guess we'll see. Nonetheless, given the same options tomorrow, I'd still go with the Fuji.