So… The Fujifilm X-E5: Nice Camera, But… I Think You May Have Pulled A Reverse Sony.
Disclaimer/Preface:
I am at all times either a recovering or active Fujifilm head. Have had many Fujifilm cameras. Film and digital.
I still own Fujifim cameras. Film and digital.
And I will own more.
Most pertinent to this externally documented internal discussion are two cameras I have owned in the past. The X100S and X-E2.
What happened that time is that I had a hard time getting my hands on an X100 body, so I first purchased the X-E2 w/ a 27mm f/2.8 pancake.
Nice. But all it did was confirm that I really wanted an X100. So I picked up a used X100S from my local camera shop.
So, to recap.
- Back then, the X-E2 made good fiscal sense. The X-E2 and 27mm cost less than a similarly sensor equipped X100.
- The X-E2 was nice, but I wanted an X100.
And that brings us to the X-E5.
What am I on about? I am glad I imagined you asked.
Sony recently dropped the RX1RIII out of nowhere, and I had thoughts.
It largely centered around the fact that Sony already had two cameras for sale, that were arguably better equipped, if you took size as the main driver off the table, for less money. In that case, the fixed lens was pricier than the interchangeable lens options, even when you added a lens… or two or three.
That is where the reverse part comes in for Fujifilm.
Some are saying that the X-E5…
…is an X100VI killer (I usually wince when that phrase is trucked out. It ignores that often times cameras are a different tool for a different purpose and comparing them is near pointless.). Since the X100VI is near unobtanium a year plus after release some argue that the X-E5 can be a subsitute. But I point back to an Ellen stand up quote I have shared before.
While Ellen, once self described as the queen of nice, has fallen out of favor, she has a joke from her standup days that I think of at times like this.
The setup.
She is at a hotel, and the room has no shampoo. She calls down to the front desk and someone brings more conditioner to her and informs her that they are out of shampoo.
The punchline.
“You do understand that no matter how much conditioner you give me, it does not make it shampoo.”
In this case, the X-E5 is conditioner where I am concerned. Yes, there are similarities.
- Same 40MP sensor.
- IBIS.
- Both are good looking devices.
The X-E5 has things that the X100VI does not.
- The ability to change lenses.
- I count this as a detriment. This will not be my main system, so I do not want another mount to feed. And if it has interchangeable lenses… I will want to change lenses, opening up a lens acquisition rabbit hole, I need like a hole in the head.
- A neat little film emulation dial.
- Very Fujifilm of you.
But the X100VI has quite a few advantages.
- ND filter.
- Optical viewfinder.
- Call it a gimmick or not, I want it.
- While not much smaller, it is smaller.
- Leaf shutter.
- Faster aperture at f/2, compared to the pancake 23mm f/2.8.
- Less expensive than an X-E5 without a lens, even more “value” if you add in a lens.
Sidebar:
While we are at it, if I wanted an interchangeable lens Fujifilm camera, I would get the very much in stock and more feature-rich X-T5 at the same price point.
The only thing you give up is the retro aesthetic, but you gain in pretty much every other category.
Here is a breakdown of X-T5 advantages from CameraDecision.com.
At the same price… and in stock. You can go buy one right now. Rangefinder-ish appearance set aside it makes more “sense” (Whatever that even means within this artificial relevancy construct.) on paper than the X100VI as well. And back to our regularly scheduled program in 3, 2, 1…
Hence, my reverse Sony statement above.
Here, instead of the interchangeable lens option offering better “value”, the combined lens option does, in my humble opinion.
So, the unobtanium issue.
Some point to the X-E5 as an alternative because no one can get their hands on an X100VI for the sticker price. The only path to acquisition is getting on a massive wait list or paying an extortion fee on the used market.
Fair point.
But, in an environment where the previous generation X100V is going for as much if not more than a new X100VI what says that the X-E5 will not face the same issue?
To summarize. For me…
The X-E5 is a fine camera, capable of creating great images, but it is not a replacement for the X100VI.
Your mileage may vary.
All that being said, all of this is nonsense. But if it serves as a distraction for others as it does for me, thank goodness.
Happy capturing.
-ELW
Eric L. Woods 
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