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I’ve been shooting on Fujifilm now since December, so I figured that’s long enough to beginning offering practical reviews of my experiences with that equipment. Up first is the Fuji X-E3, a nimble, lightweight, rangefinder-styled mirrorless shooter that both appeals to specific needs in photography and to the photo everyman (that’s a feat in itself).

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If you’ve read any of my past reviews, you already know that I don’t bother with scientific testing. Not only am I not interested in those findings, I believe that, for the most part, in today’s world of photography, they are ultimately pointless. Any current Camera (by Canon, Nikon, Sony, Olympus, Pentax/Ricoh, Fuji, Panasonic, or Leica) that you might buy will take great photos; it’s really as simple as that. When a “test” determines one current camera to be better than another current camera, it’s usually only a marginal gain, and never miles. This is why I encourage folks to buy a camera with the features they need (and will actually use), rather than buy into the “it slices, it dices” marketing. If you are already working in photography, then you know what those features are. If you are new to photography, join a camera club or head on down to your local camera store, and put a few models from different manufacturers in your hand- go with what feels good ergonomically, and I’m certain that you won’t be disappointed.

I don’t only offer this advice to others. I follow it myself, which gets us to the point of this article, a practical review of the Fuji X-E3.

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In these pages, I’ve already covered my thinking pretty extensively on why I switched from Nikon to Fuji, but to put it succinctly, it boiled down to size/weight, lens selection, image quality, and how those three metrics related to price. To put that another way, I was very attracted to Fuji’s camera business philosophy: to offer high quality/high performing camera bodies each geared toward a different type of photographer (not experience level, which is where Nikon/Canon/Sony’s tiered, flagship-on-down-to-entry-level model differentiation comes from). I liked that I didn’t have to buy the most expensive camera in Fuji’s lineup to get the camera maker’s best IQ/AF/processor and other functionality core to what a working photographer needs; I could just buy in at the level that fit my needs best, and not worry about having to sacrifice something, as a penalty for being on a budget, that might ultimately cost me a client.

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WHAT I LIKE

SIZE

This entire system has been a joy to carry vs. what I’ve been used to with Nikon. First of all, I bought equivalent systems (same number of camera bodies, roughly the same focal length coverage- though I do get broader coverage with the new system, same lighting scenario, etc), but the footprint between the two both in terms of size and weight is HUGE. In the past, I’ve had to carry a 37 liter pack for on location client work, whereas my new system fits in a 28 liter pack. That’s a big difference when your work takes you into some crazy situations, like onto subterranean lakes…

In Fuji’s lineup (or anyone’s), the X-E3 is about as small as they come. At first, I was worried that this would make handling a problem, but it really hasn’t because of the ergonomics, which I’ll get into next.

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Fuji X-E3 vs. one of my old Nikons

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ERGONOMICS AND PERFORMANCE

I used Nikons for many years, and honestly, I never thought that another manufacturer could improve on the ergonomics of that brand. Handing me a Canon, which students often did, was like handing me a book written in a foreign language, I understood the premise of how it was supposed to work, but nothing made sense. What’s more, Nikon just “felt” right, and I loved the backwards compatibility of the F-mount (something that Nikon has unfortunately begun to eschew in its latest generations).

I was surprised how easily I adjusted to the Fuji X-E3, and how right it now feels in my hands. Despite its small size, the main buttons, dials and rings are spaced out to accommodate fluid, “eye-free” operation. Even after over a decade of using Nikon’s layout, I still occasionally mixed up the aperture and shutter speed dials, whereas there is no mistake about those on the Fuji. Nikon also has a tendency to ever so slightly move the placement of certain buttons (like ISO, White Balance, metering, etc.) between cameras in its lineup and even between generations, which made simultaneous use frustrating. With 90% of the core layout between my X-T20 and X-E3 being identical, and the ability to customize buttons and features to make them even more so, I use both cameras seamlessly on shoots, even though one has a centered viewfinder and the other (the X-E3) is offset. This means that I did not have to buy two of the same body, but could supplement the strengths of two, like the articulating screen of the X-T20 (great for tripod work) and the offset viewfinder position of the X-E3 (great for street shooting).

You probably noticed that I did add a grip, which does slightly improve comfort for long hours of shooting, but was mostly added for the Arca-Swiss style plate and for making the battery door accessible when the tripod plate is installed.

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Fuji X-E3 w/Fuji 23mm f/2

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Fuji X-E3 w/Fuji 23mm f/2 at ISO 6400

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IMAGE QUALITY

The colors coming out of the X-E3 are a total WOW! I shoot is RAW + JPEG, and usually use the Classic Chrome film simulation for the JPEG file. Often times, even for client work, all I have to do is polish up the JPEG a bit and its out the door. The color and JPEG processing in camera is really that good.

One of the excuses that people always give for having to shoot full frame is low light IQ. I’ve shot events for clients at 3200 and 6400 ISO (see above) with no complaint. The low light on this camera is BETTER than it was on the latest crop Nikons I was using, and is pretty equivalent to the low light performance of everything but the highest end of the last generation of full frame cameras from any manufacturer. Unless you are a photojournalist or an indoor sports photographer, you probably are not likely to face situations that would regularly require you to need the small increase in low light performance that you’d get by investing in full frame. But again, this a question you need to ask yourself: Is this small benefit worth the thousands extra I’ll be spending on a full frame system, and if so, will I use it often enough to justify it as a business expense? I’m not going to answer that for you, but I will say that I have not had any complaints about IQ from clients thus far.

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Fuji X-E3 w/Fuji 23mm f/2

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Fuji X-E3 w/Fuji 55-200mm f/3.5-4.8

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MY CRITICISMS

Although I really don’t have a whole lot to gripe about, I will say that the number one issue that I have with the Fuji X-E3 is its small EVF (it’s smaller than my X-T20, which is itself smaller than the X-T# line). I have nearly perfect eyesight, and even I struggle at times to see where the AF cursor is through the viewfinder. For this reason, I have that cursor set to a bigger size than I do on the X-T20, which is disappointing as it somewhat negates the slight AF advantage in low light that the X-E3 has over the X-T20. That said, it’s not a deal breaker for me, as I have no problem composing with it, but I do wish that maybe the red and green square could somehow be made to stand out more from the background.

My number two issue with this cam (and Fuji in general) is that its focus peaking overlay in manual focus mode is imprecise, especially at narrow depth of fields. I don’t typically use my manual focus lenses with people that much, so I usually have the ability to focus zoom and/or make adjustments, but maybe a future firmware adjustment will improve its accuracy.

My final criticism is with the select custom setting feature. You are allowed to save seven custom settings, which could be a powerful way to fine tune the look of favorite film simulations, but it is weakened by the fact that the WB adjustment carries over from the last setting used. I do hope that they will include WB adjustment/tweaking as among the features that stay locked within the custom setting on a future update.

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Fuji X-E3 w/Fuji 50mm f/2

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Fuji X-E3 w/23mm f/2

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SUMMARY

The Fuji X-E3 is a very capable camera that seems as well suited for the intrepid traveller or street photographer as it does for an all purpose shooter like me.

I am extremely satisfied with the quality of images that this camera produces, and with its superb functionality, styling and affordability. The more that I use it, the more the memory of Nikon fades into the rearview for me. I have a feeling that I’ll be sticking with the X-E# line of cameras from Fuji for years and years.

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Fuji X-E3 w/Fuji 23mm f/2

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Fuji X-E3 w/7artisans 7.5mm f/2.8