Would you buy a Fujifilm X-E1 in 2020 ?

Fujifilm XT-3, XE-3 and X100F were introduced to me during my visit to Silk Inspire 2018. Read more about Silk Inspire 2018 in my blog "SILK INSPIRE 2018 : INSPIRE, PASSION AND PHOTOGRAPHY ". Until then, I had not used one personally, however I was always a fan of Fuji due to the manual buttons and the ergonomics. Thanks to Arun Vishnu from FujiFilms India, who introduced me to these devices. I fell in love with them, and my heart yearned to own one. XT-3 coupled by a XF23 f2 and XF50 f2 for work, X100F for street and everyday documentary. But unfortunately, due to the lack of resources, the desire to own them was short-lived.

A few months passed by, and one of my friends in Essen, Germany, told me there were few sales going on. He suggested that I have a look at it. After a few quick searches, I found an offer for XE-1 bundled with a 27mm pancake lens which was a complete steal. It’s an awesome combo for everyday documentaries, and I told him to grab this before it goes out of sale. Luckily in a few weeks time, I flew down to Essen, Germany for official purposes. The XE-1 package arrived at my Essen Office, Germany. 

XE-1 has a 16MP APS-C sensor, and this was used by professional photographers too when it was launched initially in 2012. I was confident it would deliver decent pictures. And this one came with a 27mm pancake lens which would be a 40.5 mm equivalent in full frame which is not too wide and not too tele. This is very much similar to a 35mm full frame equivalent. I tend to use more primes than zoom so I was totally excited to experiment with this kit. I will not go deep into the technical details of the camera (X-E1 spec is shared below.), however I would touch on the reasons for loving this camera. Despite it being too old, I have to point out a few quirky flaws it has. One being the EVF drains a lot of battery as well as has very low res compared to the latest model X-E3. I tend to use the back screen more. The autofocus is very slow when compared to more advanced X-E3 and X100V etc. Nevertheless these helped me to slow down and focus on experiencing the places while interacting with my subjects too.

Fujifilm X-E1 specs

Sensor: 16.3 MP (1.5x crop factor), 4.8µ pixel size, same as on X-Pro1
Sensor Size: 23.6 x 15.6mm
Resolution: 4896 x 3264
Native ISO Sensitivity: 200-6,400
Boost Low ISO Sensitivity: 100
Boost High ISO Sensitivity: 12,800-25,600
Sensor Cleaning System: Yes
Lens mount: FUJIFILM X mount
Weather Sealing/Protection: No
Body Build: Magnesium Alloy, Top and Front covers
Shutter: Up to 1/4000 and 30 sec exposure
Shutter Control: Focal Plane Shutter
Storage: 1x SD slot (SD/SDHC/SDXC compatible)
Viewfinder Type: 2,360,000-dot OLED color viewfinder
Speed: 6 FPS
Exposure Meter: TTL 256-zones metering
Built-in Flash: Yes
Autofocus: Yes
Manual Focus: Yes
LCD Screen: 2.8 inch, approx. 460,000-dot, TFT color LCD monitor
Movie Modes: Full 1080p HD @ 24 fps max
Movie Recording Limit: 29 minutes
Movie Output: MOV (H.264)
GPS: No
Battery Type: NP-W126
Battery Life: 350 shots
USB Standard: 2.0
Weight: 300g (excluding battery and accessories)

This was my first visit to Essen, Germany. So I wanted to document the city, places I visited and my daily activities.I made it a point to always carry my X-E1 with XF 27mm in my bag and made sure to take pictures wherever I went.. My idea was to capture the mood, experience and the look of the places I visited. It was a mixed bag, all the streets, people, objects, and activities were part of this. Fuji XE-1 never failed me. I started enjoying the experience Fuji had to offer. All these images were edited using Lightroom, with minimal corrections on overall exposure, blacks and highlights. I wanted to keep it as much as the original camera would deliver. All these shots were handheld, and no tripods were used. I prefer fast shoots and also to travel light. The idea was to shoot anything which stops me for a second and then move on. 

XE-1 captures very good quality images, the depth it gives is pretty amazing. I love the details the camera delivers. This is a disclaimer, the images are relatively lower quality when compared directly with newer cameras at 100% crop. This camera is not for pixel peepers :-). I have to emphasize the quality a 2012 camera could give at a resolution of 16 MP is pretty amazing. I know this could be subjective, however I was pretty much loving the colours, depth and the organic look the X-Trans sensor was giving. X-Trans original magic was definitely there. 

All the images which are posted in this blog are during my visit to Essen, Germany. It focuses on daily walk around pictures ( street and the like) , colleagues and friends ( portraits ) and few detailed shots (not macros, but just closer pictures ) which sets context to the story. 

I have put this camera through different scenarios, mostly in low light situations and the camera struggled at some points hunting focus. Again, the images with ISO upto 1600 were acceptable and were delivering images which can be used. The image details were acceptable for social media purposes and may even end up in printed albums at home collection. Let me tell you one thing, the images shot with X-E1 gives some timeless feel just like our old film rolls.

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/9.

Essen - Mitten in Europa which means “ Europe in the middle of Essen”. The city wants to share the clear commitment to Europe.

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F3.6 1/30.

Essen DB hauptbahnhof - “Essen DB Central Station”. The main central station for the Essen City, where the train services including long distance to local trains are available. This is one of the busiest stations in the Ruhr Area. 

Portraits with Fujifilm X-E1

I love all the portraits out of X-E1 and the XF-27mm lens. Be it at low lights or at natural light conditions, the lens and the camera gave phenomenal images. The quality and the depth the images screams the situation and the mood of that particular place and time. Few images are shared below.

Portrait of Liphin, one of my colleagues at night with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F5.6 1/30 

Portrait of Jomon, one of my colleagues at night with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/30 

Portrait of Joice, one of my colleagues inside a room lit with warm lights with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/30 

Portrait of Liphin, one of my colleagues during day time with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/4000

Portrait of Lego Sales Person, inside Lego showroom Essen with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/125

Portrait of Liphin, one of my colleagues during day time with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/500

Portrait of Liju Rajan, one of my colleagues during lunch time with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @2.8 1/60

Self Portrait with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/30 

Performance of the servers were pretty good. Overall I was overwhelmed by the X-Trans sensor performance, and how Fujifilm nailed it. Mind it, this is a camera which is 8 years old with a 16MP sensor which is very less when compared to today's standards. All the images were comparable with Full Frame image quality with an amazing set of high quality compact lenses from Fuji like 35mm 1.4 etc. Nowadays, the cameras like X-T3 and recently released X-T4 are used by many happy customers across the globe. These cameras are used full time at weddings as well as for fashion / portraits. But I haven't got one of those yet :-)

Street Stories with Fujifilm X-E1

Street photo series with Fujifilm X-E1 is exceptional. I used my Fujifilm X-E1 to capture the essence of everyday life and the things which I encountered. X-E1 captured all the situations with its raw feel, mood, colours and temperature and it supported me to tell the story more effectively. Street photography has always been an important part of my photography,as it helps me to focus on documenting all my day and life as it goes. More like in a photojournalistic manner. As the moments unfold, I captured it, so I could return back to these memories at any point of my life and to relive and share with our young ones would be the best part which I would love to enjoy. X-E1 did a phenomenal job in helping me attain this.

 

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/1000. 

Essen street, which I used to take daily to reach my office.

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F4 1/250. 

The Ash, American SteakHouse Essen. A great place for steak, with awesome ambience. I used to live right above this place, My Moyo - managed by ipartment, Essen.

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F4 1/250. 

Art nouveau clock tower in Essen, Germany

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/2000. 

Deutsche Bank, Essen. Deutsche Bank AG is a multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F3.2 1/2000.

Traffic Lights

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/125

A high rise, Essen, Germany 

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/60

Suzuki Bike, Essen, Germany

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/1000.

A Classic Citroen 2CV6

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/2000.

Straßenbahn (Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr) is a public transportation provider in the Rhine-Ruhr Region which operates Light Rail lines since 1980.

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F3.6 1/1000

A cast iron monument near Thyssenkrupp Head Office, Essen, Germany

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/1000.

A fine morning at Essen, Germany

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/30.

Lichtburg ("fortress of light" or "light castle") has been a popular name for cinemas in Germany. The main auditorium now seats 1,250 and is still the largest cinema auditorium in Germany. The stage behind the screen enables the space to also be used for theatrical and cabaret performances. 

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/30.

Lichtburg hosting Die Toten Hosen Tour, Essen, Germany

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/30.

Grillo-Theater is a theatre in Essen, Germany. Named after the industrialist Friedrich Grillo, who made the building possible, it opened on 16 September 1892 with Lessing's drama Minna von Barnhelm. 

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/1000. 

An interesting door and steps, Essen, Germany. 

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/1000. 

Museum Folkwang is a major collection of 19th- and 20th-century art in Essen, Germany. The museum was established in 1922 by merging the Essener Kunstmuseum, which was founded in 1906, and the private Folkwang Museum of the collector and patron Karl Ernst Osthaus in Hagen, founded in 1902.The term Folkwang derives from the name of the afterlife meadow of the dead, Fólkvangr, presided over by the Norse goddess Freyja. Museum Folkwang incorporates the Deutsche Plakat Museum (German poster museum), comprising 340,000 posters from politics, economy and culture. During a visit in Essen in 1932, Paul J. Sachs called the Folkwang "the most beautiful museum in the world."

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/250. 

A view from the top of the bridge across the street, near Museum Folkwang, Essen Germany. 

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/250. 

Frieseke & Hoepfner FH99, A beauty of European 35 mm projector design. It is now serving as "public stopper" in front of the former first cinema in Essen, Germany.

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/250. 

FH99 was a jewel. Less than 50 have been manufactured. This machine has a lot of advantages, its design is strictly modular. Could be assembled as a left or right machine, because every part from the film path could be turned left /right and/or upside down during assembling.

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/500. 

A bike track, Essen, Germany.

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/500. 

A Tree Silhouette, near Philharmonie, Essen, Germany.

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/500. 

Saalbau Philharmonie is a concert venue in Essen, Germany, the home of the Essen Philharmonic.

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F3.2 1/4000. 

Postbank, Essen, Germany. 

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/250.

A Street near, Essen hauptbahnhof

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/4000

Bus stop near Alfredstraße, Essen, Germany.

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/4000.

A bridge near Alfredstraße, Essen, Germany.

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/4000.

An employee at Baba Green - Oriental Soul Food, Essen, Germany.

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/4000.

An employee at Baba Green - Oriental Soul Food, Essen, Germany.

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F4.5 1/30.

Ruttenscheider Stern, Underground U11 Line, Essen, Germany.

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/250.

An Escalator ride to Underground Line, Essen, Germany.

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/250.

A view at the Underground line, Essen, Germany

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/30.

A view of Ruttenscheider Stern Station from the U11 Line Tram, Essen, Germany.

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/60.

Essen Hbf, Underground Line, Essen, Germany

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F3.2 1/30.

Another view of Essen Hbf, Underground Line, Essen, Germany

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F5.0 1/30.

A view of the tram train pilot seat, Essen, Germany

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/2000.

Silhouette of trees and tower, Essen, Germany

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/60.

Silhouette of train electrical lines, Essen, Germany. 

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F3.2 1/125.

Hema, Department store in Essen, Germany

An Evening Walk at the park

During weekends, or on public holidays I used to visit nearby open parks where I could spend some time alone and relax. This also gave me great photo opportunities. I enjoyed the walk, and nature without stressing much onto getting the perfect shot. Rather I focused on shooting, and documenting the day / experiences as it threw at me. X-E1 outshined for the evening walks, it was compact and came out with me for every other walk. It was so light and pocketable especially with the XF-27mm 2.8 lens. The images came out very good as well. Well I usually work with RAW files, however even the JPEGs out of the camera images were usable and gave outstanding definition as well as quality. These JPEGs are good even when you bump up the ISOs to 3200. However if it's RAW, even at 1600 ISO I was able to see the grains / noise. It was unbelievable that even those noisy images gave us the old film look. 

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F4 1/1000.

A park near the housing area, Essen, Germany

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F4 1/1000.

Beautiful Ducks in the ponds nearby the park, Essen, Germany

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F4 1/500.

Children's park in the neighbourhood, Essen Germany

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F4 1/500.

Amazing view, and the ponds near the walk ways, Essen, Germany.

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F3.6 1/1000.

Benches, and wooden seats at the park, Essen, Germany.

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F3.6 1/1000.

A flower in one of the public parking lots, Essen, Germany.

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F3.6 1/1000.

A red leaves in one of the public parking lots, Essen, Germany.

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/2000.

Branches of a tree, Essen, Germany

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F4 1/1000.

Blue Sky, Essen, Germany. 

Fun time with colleagues

I only had a short stint at Essen and the purpose of the visit was to have quick knowledge sharing sessions with our highly talented and qualified colleagues. The initial days were pretty tough, as it went through a pretty complicated landscape of things. However it changed as we started to enjoy the new technologies and strategies. We had a lot to learn, restructuring our terraform code. That was just the tip of the iceberg. We were also excited to see the new office space, which was actually an old bungalow, which has a lot of rooms, and floors. Even some of the places in the bungalow were totally converted for games, recreations, etc. The best thing was when I stepped into one room and it was filled with all sorts of gaming devices, from PlayStation, Nintendo switch, Atari 2600, etc. 

While shooting indoors, the Fujifilm XE-1 was performing extraordinarily and showed its glorious outputs even in the low light. A few images were noisy, but that actually gave a different feel to the overall image. 

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/250. 

Office Bungalow, Essen, Germany

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F3.6 1/250. 

Office Space, Essen, Germany

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/30.

Office Space, Essen, Germany

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F3.2 1/30.

Nintendo Switch controller

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F3.2 1/30.

Atari 2600 game Cartridges

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F3.2 1/30.

Atari 2600 game Cartridges

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F3.2 1/30.

Street Fighter Game

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/30.

Recreation Room.

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/250.

One of my colleagues, Gokul Krishnan deep into Infrastructure Coding. 

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/500.

Terraform and AWS services on the road

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/30.

Discussing about the active issues, and figuring out options to tackle it. 

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/2000.

Joice, one of my colleagues, who had to quickly verify a few server health while enjoying the evening walk. Essen, Germany. 

Time to say adios to our friend Angel

It was time for one of our friends, Angel Pozo from Spain, to return back. He was with us all the time guiding us to find the right places to visit and helped us greatly to navigate around the city. We had long train journeys, visited historic places, museums, beaches and what not. He loved to be photographed too . I surely miss his company, and the jokes we shared. We accompanied him to the airport and spent quality time with him. Fuji XE-1 was there with me while we accompanied Angel to the airport. I documented everythiing, right from Essen to Dusseldorf flughafen on the day we said adios to Angel. 

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/2000.

A musical walkthrough grid, near Essen Hbf, Germany. Angel walking over the musical grid. 

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/250.

Joice, Angel, and Ram at Essen Hbf, Germany.

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/2000.

ICE train (Intercity Express Trains), Essen hbf, Germany. The Intercity Express, commonly known as ICE, is a system of high-speed trains predominantly running in Germany. 

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/2000.

Walk way towards Skytrain, Düsseldorf Flughafen, Germany. The H-Bahn (abbreviation for Hängebahn, German for 'hanging railway') in Dortmund and Düsseldorf (there known as "Sky train") is a suspended, driverless passenger suspension railway system. The system was developed by Siemens, who call the project SIPEM (SIemens PEople Mover). A nearly identical monorail system called SkyTrain transfers passengers at Düsseldorf Airport. The system links a station at each Terminal C and Terminal A+B with the long-term parking facility and the long distance train station along a twin line.

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/2000.

SkyTrain, Düsseldorf Flughafen, Germany.

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/4000.

Angel, While traveling towards Airport in Skytrain, Dusseldorf Flughafen, Germany

Exploring German Food

It was time to explore some delicious German food joints and special dishes. First on the list was German Mett. Mett is prepared with minced raw pork which is very popular in Germany. Mett is also prepared with beef, in some places like Denmark and Belgium. Mett is served with black pepper and salt and sometimes with a dash of garlic and chopped onion. It is mostly eaten raw, usually on bread rolls. In Germany, there is a specific law which enforces not to have more than 35% of fat on mett. 

My colleague, Denis, brought us German Mett and bread rolls on his birthday. But we were not sure how to prepare it. However,he was courteous enough to prepare us a pair of Mett served with chopped onion on a bread roll. We had the Mett with Espresso. It tasted wonderful. I was apprehensive about eating raw meat first, but it was really fresh and delicious. 

Vapiano was the next suggested one, which was basically a German restaurant franchise headquartered in Cologne. They offer very delicious Italian food, served custom dishes in pizzeria with a lounge bar style. Another interesting thing was that when we enter the restaurant, guests will receive a chip card which tracks all our meals and drinks we have ordered. Different categories like kiosks are seen inside the store where we can go and pick the dish we need and they would prepare it right in front of us. Once prepared we could pick the food and occupy any free tables around. For pizzas, we will receive a disk which vibrates once the preparation is completed, and we could go and pick our pizza. After dining, we could pay at the exit, after handing in the chip card and they would produce the receipt. 

Burgers have a special place in my heart, and I tried a lot of different ones in Germany. I had tried a few places during my previous visit, like Burgerista, Five Guys (an american joint), McD, etc. This time I tried a few new joints, and BurgerHeart is one which I loved a lot. If you love burgers as much as I do then this is definitely something you should try. All the burgers were made of 100% beef, and are freshly grilled juicy patty. “The Chuck Norris” was my favorite, with german beef, tomato, cucumber, salad with onion, topped with BBQ & burger sauce. The other burgers are also good. This place is not for guys who are on diet, as we would end up eating a lot. 

Dean & David, a famous fresh and quality healthy food joint at Essen, Germany. Dean & David is a synonym for healthy, high-quality ingredients and sustainable consumption. The food here not only tastes good, but also feels good. The food is prepared in live counters without flavour enhancers, animal galantine, colourings and preservatives. Kannan, my friend and colleague who always ends up eating veggies loved this place a lot. They have fresh vegetables as well as fresh meat too. They also serve freshly pressed juices, like orange, apple, carrot and different mixes. It's worth trying the juices and veggies from Dean & David. 

I had a friend who wanted to have delicious homemade cuisine with an Asian touch. Yes we found one named Gourmet Hu, an Asian restaurant. We were happy that the place offered Asian dishes at a decent price. Something which caught my eyes were the special diets for allergic patients. They prepared special dishes without lactose, gluten or anything you are allergic to. We visited this place many times, and I have to tell you this, customer service was not that great. We were treated badly by the waiters and the people who served us. Not sure if it's racism, however I felt that. 

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/60

Denis preparing Mett with chopped onion on Bread Roll. 

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/60.

Liphin and Abhinand enjoying Mett with Espresso. 

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/4000

Vapiano, Essen, Germany.

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/250

Preparing food, at the live counter. Vapiano, Essen, Germany.

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/250

Chip card placed on the machine which reads and updates our meal or drinks which order. Vapiano, Essen, Germany.

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/250

They were our regular chefs, who used to prepare special spicy dishes. Even if we order the normal dishes, they would provide extra spicy versions for us. 

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/250

Drinks and spices, Vapiano, Essen, Germany.

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/250

Pizzas are being prepared, Vapiano, Essen, Germany.

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/4000

In front of the BurgerHeart, Essen, Germany.

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F3.2 1/250

Jens with us at BurgerHeart, Essen, Germany.

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/250.

Yes, fries are so darn tasty. And their adverts are also so funny. 

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/250

Cool interiors, with diamond shaped reflectors. This was the first thing which caught my eyes when we entered BurgerHeart, Essen, Germany.

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/150

Tables at BurgerHeart, Essen, Germany.

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/250

Movie Posters, BurgerHeart, Essen, Germany.

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/250

Burger Love, BurgerHeart, Essen, Germany.

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/250. 

This explains it, BurgerHeart, Essen, Germany.

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/30

Live counter at Dean & David, Essen, Germany. 

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/30

Kannan who introduced Dean & David. He loves it ;-)

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/30

Light fixture at Dean & David, Essen, Germany.

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/30

Coffee beans, Dean & David, Essen, Germany.

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/1000

Near Essen Hbf, Essen, Germany.

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/2000

Visiting Gourmet Hu with colleagues, Essen, Germany.

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/2000

Gourmet Hu, Essen, Germany.

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/30

Few animations at Gourmet Hu, Essen, Germany.

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F3.6 1/250

Buffet platter, Gourmet Hu, Essen, Germany.

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F2.8 1/30

With Colleagues at Gourmet Hu, Essen, Germany

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F4 1/500

Sutharson, Jomon and Jens at Essen Office, Germany

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F4 1/250

Sutharson, Abhinand and Jens at Essen Office, Germany

Shot with Fujifilm X-E1, Fuji XF27mm @F4 1/2000

Blue Sky

We had a great time in Essen, Germany and had time to say “Auf Wiedersehen” to our friends in Germany and fly back to our Indian base.

Final Words

Ah yes, let's get back to our subject. Fujifilm X-E1, is a good choice to buy in 2020. It's still worthy because of its small form factor and comparable output similar to Canon 5D M2/3 or Nikon D800. The physical dial and the ergonomics are really great. Talking about the output, the great JPEG quality Fujifilm is known for is present in this camera. The raw files are the same, yet seen more noisier than JPEG when we go higher than 1600 ISO. If you are a fanboy of Fujifilm and can't afford a newer version then this is a great buy. If you can stretch your budget higher, then there are better mirrorless options in Fujifilm X lineup.

The Fujifilm X-E1 is a perfect camera for me, and almost everything in it feels just right. I wish the ergonomics of X-E series were a little better so that we can hold it even more firmly. Also a bigger battery would be a plus point. The X-T4 was launched recently, with a newer battery and a lot of additions have been introduced which makes it one of the best cameras in the segment. Also it is capable enough to fight full frame cameras like A7M3 from Sony. 

In Short, X-E1 is a phenomenal camera and still holds strong. My purpose of X-E1 is to capture the best memories of my life, as it unfolds and share it with others. Fujifilm helps in enhancing the story. It makes the most out of my camera and never misses a chance to create the memory to share the stories. It has professional level features at fingertips and enhances our creative thoughts, giving us the opportunity to bring out the best in us. The incredible colour science and image quality speaks loud for any situation to make the images exactly as we remember them. Even X-E1 has got great low light performances, need not to say how the technology has grown and Fujifilm has introduced newer cameras with higher dynamic ranges as well as packed full of legendary film simulations. I believe the latest cameras like X-T3 or X-T4 have 10 or 11 different simulations to play with. Hope one day I will get a chance to play with Fujifilm cameras. 

Here are a few of my favorites up against the use cases. If you are planning to buy one then do look up Fujifilm cameras before making the final decision. Few are listed below based on the usage and proficiency levels. 

• Best Fujifilm camera for Street / Photojournalism photography - X100V / X100F or X-Pro3 ( X-E3 can be also considered ) 
• Best Fujifilm camera for Weddings - X-T4 or X-T3
• Best Fujifilm camera for Travel - X-T30 or X100V 
• Best Fujifilm camera for Landscapes and Portraits / Fashion - GFX 100 or X-T4 ( for commercial use cases we could go with medium format cameras from Fujifilm which are great performers )
• Best Fujifilm camera for Beginners - X-T200 or XT-30 
• Best Fujifilm camera for Video - X-T4 or X-T3 ( X-H1 can be also considered )
• Best Fujifilm camera for Vlogging - X-T200 or X-A7

There are alot of lenses to play around with. Do look at different options the Fujifilm X lineup has to offer. Hoping to share more reviews, before that I would like to know your thoughts on this blog. Do share it as comments below. 

 

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Rahul Devakumar

Creative Media Studio

We take photos as a return ticket to a moment otherwise gone.