X-E1 vs Nex-6: CameraStoreTV video comparison and quesabesde comparison

TheCameraStoreTV compared this two brand new cameras, the Fuji X-E1 and the Sony NEX-6.

The X-E1 is a really tough rival for the NEX-6. In fact the X-E1 has a better dynamic range, better low light performance, better sharpness and lenses. The EVF of the X-E1 lagging behind when you move it around, but once you focus the camera, the EVF works great. On the other hand the NEX-6 makes better videos, better and flippable screen, faster focus, cheaper…

Who’s the winner? Just look at the video, and tell me in the comments if you agree with the CameraStore verdict or who is the winner for you!

There is Spanish review on quesabesde making the same comparison, and coming to the same conclusions. Read it here (translated version)

Have a great day!

X-E1 in stock status check: ebay US / ebay Noth America / ebay Europe / Amazon US / Amazon GER / Amazon UK / Adorama /B&H / WexPhotgraphic

First Mitakon 35mm f/0.95 X-mount for sale on eBay.

[shoplink 2906 ebay][/shoplink]

The first Mitakon 35mm f/0.95 X mount lenses are now for sale on [shoplink 2906 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink]. This is the fastest native X-mount lens you can buy today. Question is…how good or bad is it? The only image samples I found have been shot on a NEX camera and are availbale at mflenses.com.

found via Slidoo.

the “sexy-one” at night in Vancouver: X-E1 review

image courtesy: mikemander.blogspot.fr

The X-E1 just hit the market, and now the number of reviews is increasing. Not everything can be posted, but I decided to dedicate to this interesting and accurate review an own post. Of course, this is just a short summary. Click here to go directly to the review. You can take a look at a lot of images. Here is the gallery to the night shots, taken on a tripod, except the last two, taken handheld with ISO3200 [take a look for example at this nightshoot: 35mm lens, handheld, 3200 ISO, 1/50 sec at f / 2.5! Now, what do you think? Leave a comment!]. Each image has EXIF data attached. Every image was shot in RAW and processed in Lightroom 4.3.

mikemander wrote a long review about the X-E1 here. He misses the hybrid-VF! But he likes “the accuracy of the exposure preview in the new EVF”. The dynamic range of the X-E1 is “indeed even better than most DSLRs I have tested.” The sharpness is “outstanding, especially with the 35mm and 60mm lenses, but the sensor helps a lot here too.” He also talks about the RAW conversion with Adobe. You already know about the native X-Trans RAW-files support problem “… Amazingly, out-of-camera JPEGs actually look far better in some ways than Adobe’s conversions.” A great camera, but not a perfect one. He makes a list of bugs he noticed. I’ll report here just a some of them:

1) When you lock either exposure, focus or both (depending on your settings) with the rear AE-L/AF-L button, the exposure dials are totally locked out. In other words, say you are f/4 and you press the rear-button to lock focus. Then you realize you want to be at f/8 so you turn the f-stop ring to f/8… well the camera frustratingly stays at f/4!.. Not only should locking focus have absolutely no effect on your exposure of course, but even if you were in, for example, aperture priority mode at f/4 and locked your exposure, the camera should still honour your settings changes. Let’s say you’re at f/4 and the camera has chosen a 1/125 shutter speed and you’ve locked focus or exposure. If you then set the aperture ring to f/5.6, the camera should then simply change the metered shutter speed to 1/60, keeping the same exposure value….. “You want to lock the exposure-value and not lock yourself out of making f-stop or shutter speed changes!”

2) When you are in manual focus mode, playing back an image causes the attached lens to be retracted to its off-state position. Then, when you resume shooting it immediately extends back to its manually focused position. On the 18mm, 35mm and 18-55mm zoom, this seems to work perfectly, but on the 60mm macro I tested, the focus position is shifted slightly.

3) He also has some suggestions, and one of them is to “implement a changeable minimum shutter speed for auto-ISO.”

But none of the niggles, quirks, and bugs he noticed is a deal-breaker, and he really enjoys the X-E1. Also the the 35mm and 60mm lenses “are about as perfect optically as one could possibly expect, especially at their extremely reasonable price points!

He concludes saying that “naturally I’ll keep shooting with my big, heavy and wonderful Nikon D800 (click here)  kit when I want the utmost in image quality, but the little X-E1 comes surprisingly close in many ways and as a compact, lightweight walk-around camera it is very nearly perfect for my still photography needs…

Read much more in the whole article here, and look at the sample images here. There are some macro shots with the 60mm lens here.

X-E1 and 18-55mm lens: some reviews

1) X-E1 review at pocket-lint

Here is the pocket-lint.com review. In short, the PROS and CONS: PROS: Image quality is excellent, build quality is superb, retro style works a treat, high resolution electronic viewfinder, 18-55mm lens has bright aperture range and is well built. CONS: Autofocus not as swift as competition, close focus limitations, exposure comp dial can be knocked easily, 18-55mm lens positions rotational rings close together, small LCD screen, so-so battery life.

2) X-E1 + Fujinon 18-55mm

– A Fujirumors reader anticipated me and already posted the link of photoreview.com in the comments to my previous post. They tested the Fujinon 18-55mm lens. Among the others, the PROS of this lens are the good edge-to-edge sharpness, fast and quiet autofocusing and zooming, built-in image stabilisation… the CONS: don’t buy this lens if you need it for macro photography and extreme close-ups. The overall rating of this lens is 8.8, but as our reader noticed in the comments: “Their rankings are always a bit high though. Almost every single lens they review gets above 8.0.Just read more here. (click here for the sample images)

lightcatch.nl tried out the X-E1 in combination with the Fujinon XF18-55mm lens. Read his impressions here (translated version). He posted some images here.

– First impression of the X-E1 with 18-55 and 35 lens can be read here at the dpreview forum.

3) X-E1 impressions

mikekobal.com posted his review about the X-E1. He is really happy with this camera, saying: “I love shooting with the X-E1. It is just the right size, smaller then the X Pro1 and slightly larger then the X100. I am a big fan of manual aperture and shutter speed dials, being able to see those settings instantly, even when the camera is turned off, is a huge plus”. He also suggest to improved writing and processing speed using the SanDisk Extreme Pro.

We will stay tuned, because he’s waiting for his Sony NEX-6 to come and he will compare it with the Fuji X-E1.

At the end of my post about the open letter of Pedro Kok to Fuji (see here) I asked you to make a list of the bugs you would like to have resolved and suggestions in order of importance. Also mikekobal now made a short wish list for future improvements. Here is his list:

-focus peaking in MF mode
-allow 3x/10x magnification while camera writes data to the card
-Choice of lowest and highest ISO setting for Auto ISO
-Auto ISO in manual mode AND the option to use +- compensation.
-Manual selection of slowest shutter speed in P/A modes

 X-E1 in stock status check:

ebay US / ebay Noth America / ebay Europe / Amazon US / Amazon GER / Amazon UK / Adorama /B&H / WexPhotgraphic

PS.: to our Japanese readers: you can now buy the new Fujinon 18-55mm zoom lens at ebay. Click here to see all the Fujinon available in Japan and worldwide at ebay.