The Fabulous Fuji X owners thread

Hi all. I have a Fuji X-E1 that has not been used since a uni photography module back in 2015, along with the XF 18-55mm f/2.8-4 OIS kit lens. I have been wanting to take up photography as hobby for a while now as I have since moved to the countryside and have an interest in landscape and architectural photography as well as portrait.

I have read some recent reviews which all seem to point towards various prime lenses as the most versatile and suitable for this camera, rather than the kit lens. I am open to getting a new lens, but am unsure of which one would be best and if this camera (X-E1) is still usable. Looking for advice.

Edit: I'm considering a new lens as I particularly like photography that utilises bokeh, and have found that I cannot achieve this with the kit lens.
 
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Hi all. I have a Fuji X-E1 that has not been used since a uni photography module back in 2015, along with the XF 18-55mm f/2.8-4 OIS kit lens. I have been wanting to take up photography as hobby for a while now as I have since moved to the countryside and have an interest in landscape and architectural photography as well as portrait.

I have read some recent reviews which all seem to point towards various prime lenses as the most versatile and suitable for this camera, rather than the kit lens. I am open to getting an ew lens, but am unsure of which one would be best and if this camera (X-E1) is still usable. Looking for advice.

The 18-55mm is a good all round lens, its optical quality is well above typical 'kit' lenses from other manufacturers - personally I'd save your money until you know what you really want, as you delve into phgotography, after a time the genre thgat you like shooting will emerge and then you can select a lens suitable for the application.
 
I have read some recent reviews which all seem to point towards various prime lenses as the most versatile and suitable for this camera, rather than the kit lens. I am open to getting an ew lens, but am unsure of which one would be best and if this camera (X-E1) is still usable. Looking for advice.

As @Mr Perceptive points out - the 18-55 F2.8 is a decent lens. It's a step up from the traditional 'kit lenses'. And it has optical stabilisation. Not too heavy or large.

The usual advice if you are thinking of a prime and have a zoom is to try working with the zoom your already have as if it were a prime by using set focal lengths and see how you get on. Also it would be worth practicing with manual focus. There are lots of options for primes - ranging from cheap third party manual lenses to expensive Fuji primes. Experimenting with what you have and then taking some time and having a think as to what you would like to do and how much things are worth to you.
 
Hi all. I have a Fuji X-E1 that has not been used since a uni photography module back in 2015, along with the XF 18-55mm f/2.8-4 OIS kit lens. I have been wanting to take up photography as hobby for a while now as I have since moved to the countryside and have an interest in landscape and architectural photography as well as portrait.

I have read some recent reviews which all seem to point towards various prime lenses as the most versatile and suitable for this camera, rather than the kit lens. I am open to getting a new lens, but am unsure of which one would be best and if this camera (X-E1) is still usable. Looking for advice.

Edit: I'm considering a new lens as I particularly like photography that utilises bokeh, and have found that I cannot achieve this with the kit lens.

The 18-55mm is a good all round lens, its optical quality is well above typical 'kit' lenses from other manufacturers - personally I'd save your money until you know what you really want, as you delve into phgotography, after a time the genre thgat you like shooting will emerge and then you can select a lens suitable for the application.

As @Mr Perceptive says, the 18-55mm lens is great. You can get a bit of bokeh with it but you need to get your subject and background in the right place (and it's easier at 55mm than it is at 18mm). I agree with the advice to stick with what you've got for now. If you really want a fast prime on a budget, then look at TTArtisan and 7Artisans; they do a range of manual focus lenses which would give you all the bokeh you want without breaking the bank.
 
Hi all. I have a Fuji X-E1 that has not been used since a uni photography module back in 2015, along with the XF 18-55mm f/2.8-4 OIS kit lens. I have been wanting to take up photography as hobby for a while now as I have since moved to the countryside and have an interest in landscape and architectural photography as well as portrait.

I have read some recent reviews which all seem to point towards various prime lenses as the most versatile and suitable for this camera, rather than the kit lens. I am open to getting a new lens, but am unsure of which one would be best and if this camera (X-E1) is still usable. Looking for advice.

Edit: I'm considering a new lens as I particularly like photography that utilises bokeh, and have found that I cannot achieve this with the kit lens.
Either the 18-55 which is a fabulous versatile lens, or the wider 10-24 which could be more suitable for landscape style of photography…!

Don’t underestimate the X-E1, it’s got that magical sensor…..as like the X-Pro1.


Regards.
Peter
 
Thank you for all the replies, I didn't expect so many so quickly! I'll stick with the current kit lens that I have then and see if I can get some decent results with it. I like the idea of using as a prime and sticking to one focal length (perhaps 55mm). I have a cheap adjustable ND filter too for brighter days.

I am somewhat familiar with the manual controls of aperture, ISO, shutter speed and how they all correlate, but am not familiar with the other functions/controls such as light levels, dynamic contrast, white blanace etc. Is there a decent guide or follow-along tutorial that anyone can recommend to help me get the most out of the camera and lens? One thing that I typically struggle with is the sky being over-exposed and the landscape/subject being under-exposed.
 
Thank you for all the replies, I didn't expect so many so quickly! I'll stick with the current kit lens that I have then and see if I can get some decent results with it. I like the idea of using as a prime and sticking to one focal length (perhaps 55mm). I have a cheap adjustable ND filter too for brighter days.

I am somewhat familiar with the manual controls of aperture, ISO, shutter speed and how they all correlate, but am not familiar with the other functions/controls such as light levels, dynamic contrast, white blanace etc. Is there a decent guide or follow-along tutorial that anyone can recommend to help me get the most out of the camera and lens? One thing that I typically struggle with is the sky being over-exposed and the landscape/subject being under-exposed.

Sky and subject is a tricky one, and there are lots of ways around it - some people will blow out the sky because they're only interested in the subject; some people will use exposure bracketing to get everything correctly exposed and then merge the shots in Lightroom (or other processing program - I use Affinity). My preferred method is to slightly underexpose the subject/landscape and leave some detail in the sky, then bring the shadows back up in post.

I tend to leave white balance on auto, and I think I have Dynamic Range set to auto as well (which I believe means that the camera will decide between off, 100% and 200%). Pal2Tech on YouTube is very good for stuff like that, he has a lot of explainer videos, and I think it's all Fuji. If you just search for what you're looking for though, there are hundreds of tutorials on YouTube for pretty much any question you can think to ask (and also for a lot of questions you didn't know you needed to ask!).
 
How is Lightroom at handling Fuji X-Trans files these days?

I recall a few years ago it was supposed to not be the best but when I had an X-T20, I couldn't really see much of an issue.
 
How is Lightroom at handling Fuji X-Trans files these days?

I recall a few years ago it was supposed to not be the best but when I had an X-T20, I couldn't really see much of an issue.

It's better than it used to be, but as you say it was never a major issue.
 
I’m still looking at a 27mm f2.8, purely for pocketability on my xt20
 
I’m still looking at a 27mm f2.8, purely for pocketability on my xt20
It’s definitely worth looking at the TTArtisan version; I have one and I really like it:


Mine is grey and it matches the silver on my camera really nicely. Got to be honest though, I really like the look of the yellow one!
 
Yes, I’ve been looking at them for a while. I was umming and erring about the TT or the Fuji , the Fuji being a bit smaller, less prone to flare and less vignette but quite a bit more expensive
 
Yes, I’ve been looking at them for a while. I was umming and erring about the TT or the Fuji , the Fuji being a bit smaller, less prone to flare and less vignette but quite a bit more expensive
The TT does come with a tiny little lens hood which seems to help quite a bit with flare.
 
One thing that I typically struggle with is the sky being over-exposed and the landscape/subject being under-exposed.

I tend to shoot multiple exposures and combine them. Works great on my T2 & T3 bodies.
 
My wife fancies having a 10x10 inch print of Max our collie dog, just ordered a glossy print from 'Loxley Colour Labs' (Glasgow) tonight online.
Will eventually have it framed locally.



Max by APM Photography, on Flickr
 
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It's better than it used to be, but as you say it was never a major issue.

I've seen quite a few side by side LR and C1 comparisons and quite honestly, can't see any real world difference unless it's a 100% crop but even then the difference is never day and night, yet I've seen no end of comments on the internet about how bad the worm effect supposedly is... I just wondered what the status was now as it's been about 4 years since I last used a Fuji with X-Trans.

I’m still looking at a 27mm f2.8, purely for pocketability on my xt20

Keep an eye on e Infinity, I got the Fuji 27mm f2.8 original version from them for less than £200 if I remember correctly. Although it's probably my least used lens, when I do use it, I really enjoy the experience and the image quality is excellent.
 
Thanks, they don’t list the lens anymore by the looks of it
 
Thank you for all the replies, I didn't expect so many so quickly! I'll stick with the current kit lens that I have then and see if I can get some decent results with it. I like the idea of using as a prime and sticking to one focal length (perhaps 55mm). I have a cheap adjustable ND filter too for brighter days.

I am somewhat familiar with the manual controls of aperture, ISO, shutter speed and how they all correlate, but am not familiar with the other functions/controls such as light levels, dynamic contrast, white blanace etc. Is there a decent guide or follow-along tutorial that anyone can recommend to help me get the most out of the camera and lens? One thing that I typically struggle with is the sky being over-exposed and the landscape/subject being under-exposed.
Many landscape photographers, including me, prefer zooms over primes. Zooming with your feet often isn't possible when framing a landscape. Obviously primes can be, and are, used but changing lenses to get different focal lengths in the field is no fun. My main zooms for landscapes are the 10-24, 16-55, 50-140, and occasionally the 70-300. If you've got a good one, the kit lens is a great starting point.

I usually, expose for the sky, ensuring that it is not blown-out, and deal with the ground in post processing if necessary. You can usually extract more details out of the shadows than you can retrieve details from a blown out sky.
 
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Hi all. I have a Fuji X-E1 that has not been used since a uni photography module back in 2015, along with the XF 18-55mm f/2.8-4 OIS kit lens. I have been wanting to take up photography as hobby for a while now as I have since moved to the countryside and have an interest in landscape and architectural photography as well as portrait.

I have read some recent reviews which all seem to point towards various prime lenses as the most versatile and suitable for this camera, rather than the kit lens. I am open to getting a new lens, but am unsure of which one would be best and if this camera (X-E1) is still usable. Looking for advice.

Edit: I'm considering a new lens as I particularly like photography that utilises bokeh, and have found that I cannot achieve this with the kit lens.
You can get a bit of Bokeh with the 18-55mm kit lens, you just need to get fairly close to your subject. I'm very happy with the optical quality and the build quality, I can't see me ever selling just because there's so much performance in such a tiny package. Here's some sample images all taken with the 18-55mm lens. I use it for all sorts of things, from travel photography to motorsport, and of course taking photos of my dog.

DSCF4329.jpg

DSCF0971.jpg

DSCF8839.jpg

2022_1006_08361100.jpg

DSCF6002.jpg
 
I've seen quite a few side by side LR and C1 comparisons and quite honestly, can't see any real world difference unless it's a 100% crop but even then the difference is never day and night, yet I've seen no end of comments on the internet about how bad the worm effect supposedly is... I just wondered what the status was now as it's been about 4 years since I last used a Fuji with X-Trans.
You can still get worms but it's caused by adding too much sharpening, nothing more. If you don't oversharpen the image, and use the LR Masking tools and the masking slider in the sharpening panel it's not an issue.
 
You can still get worms but it's caused by adding too much sharpening, nothing more. If you don't oversharpen the image, and use the LR Masking tools and the masking slider in the sharpening panel it's not an issue.

@nx4737 You can create a Custom Profile (your own profile) - I saved a copy of the base Adobe Default Profile with the Sharpening reduced to zero (IMO the LR default is too high for Fuji files) - Then using Edit > Preferences > Presets you can set it to use this profile on Import rather than the Adobe Default based on the Camera Model (select the Override Global Setting For Specific Camera checkbox) - I have done this so my Fuji Imports have my Custom Profile on Import (Fuji Import Default) and any other camera I use retains the Adobe Default

1704444142749.png
 
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That looks like a good way of doing it. I just created a preset, reducing sharpening, as well as a few of my standard image tweaks. Then applied it to an import preset along with some metadata settings.
 
I know MPB get a bit of stick on here from time to time, but I've just had an email from them about the cameras I sent them, and they've increased the offer on one of them because they think it's in better condition than I said. Not a huge increase, but it's definitely put a smile on my face. Just thought I'd share a positive experience :)
 
I know MPB get a bit of stick on here from time to time, but I've just had an email from them about the cameras I sent them, and they've increased the offer on one of them because they think it's in better condition than I said. Not a huge increase, but it's definitely put a smile on my face. Just thought I'd share a positive experience :)
I've sold a couple of things to them and always been happy. I wouldn't buy from them. There's a Fuji 23mm F1.4 WR lens on there at the moment, described as 'Like New' condition, but it doesn't have the lens hood... That's not like new, at all.
 
And before the X-T4 arrived, I had a wander around Southend City Centre* with my X-T30 and the 35mm F1.4. It’s a bit longer than I’m used to shooting, but I really enjoyed shooting with it.


*it still feels weird calling it the city centre!

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Yes it is strange referring to it as a city, but I love it all the same and spend a lot of time there. Some nice shots of the place (y)
Have you seen all the street art around the high street?


Graf Bruv (Mono) by iam_BLOATER, on Flickr


Jeksone by iam_BLOATER, on Flickr


Central Training Academy by iam_BLOATER, on Flickr
 
I've sold a couple of things to them and always been happy. I wouldn't buy from them. There's a Fuji 23mm F1.4 WR lens on there at the moment, described as 'Like New' condition, but it doesn't have the lens hood... That's not like new, at all.

Highly recommend them for selling - just sold my X100V to them before Xmas.
 
I've sold a couple of things to them and always been happy. I wouldn't buy from them. There's a Fuji 23mm F1.4 WR lens on there at the moment, described as 'Like New' condition, but it doesn't have the lens hood... That's not like new, at all.

I bought my 16-80 from them, I went for one of the cheaper ones and the lens itself was immaculate; only sign it was used is a bit of wear on the lens hood. I do know someone who bought a lens with a big mark on it though, so I guess sometimes it might depend on who assesses it or something like that?

Yes it is strange referring to it as a city, but I love it all the same and spend a lot of time there. Some nice shots of the place (y)
Have you seen all the street art around the high street?


Graf Bruv (Mono) by iam_BLOATER, on Flickr


Jeksone by iam_BLOATER, on Flickr


Central Training Academy by iam_BLOATER, on Flickr

Great shots! I haven't seen this year's art, it was too dark when I was there last week, but I am intending to go and see it/shoot it all soon. I got a few shots of last year's, although I missed the day when it was all being painted.

 
Anyone ordered/own or looking at buying the TTArtisan 25mm f2 (manual focus) compact lens for Fuji….?

Seems awesome value at around £60 cost……or thereabouts.
 
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If I send a camera off to the Fuji UK repair centre, do I send the battery too or not?

Website says they don't recommend sending accessories but not sure what this extends to.
 
If I send a camera off to the Fuji UK repair centre, do I send the battery too or not?

Website says they don't recommend sending accessories but not sure what this extends to.

Bare minimum. No battery and just body cap.

Because when they put it back together…they can forget accessories. The body cap is easy and cheap to replace, the batter is not.
 
Any recommendations on free alternatives to Lightroom, Capture One etc? The editing in Apple Photos leaves much to be desired; but I'm not at a place where I want to start paying for software; and Capture One are discontinuing the free version that came with my camera.

Mainly I want to quickly flick through photos, fix a few imperfections (for instance, I've been out this morning and looking back at my photos have noticed a black smudge on the lens :( )
 
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Any recommendations on free alternatives to Lightroom, Capture One etc? The editing in Apple Photos leaves much to be desired; but I'm not at a place where I want to start paying for software; and Capture One are discontinuing the free version that came with my camera.

Mainly I want to quickly flick through photos, fix a few imperfections (for instance, I've been out this morning and looking back at my photos have noticed a black smudge on the lens :( )

More likely to be a smudge on the sensor!
 
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