Things I already don't like about the Fuji XE1

<p>I can lock auto exposure but the compensation dial is disabled so I can't lock exposure and tweak it. Also when AE is locked, the viewfinder doesn't show the selected exposure value but continues to compensate as I move the viewfinder do different parts of the scene. I can't immediately delete a just shot photo that is being displayed on the rear screen. I have to go back to the shooting mode and then back to the review mode to delete it. Where do I find my firmware version?</p>

<p>I do agree that a camera which doesn't show you what exposure your settings are going to result in is completely missing the point, but complaining that exposure lock locks the exposure is also pretty unreasonable. The delete sequence sounds a tiny bit frustrating, but not crucial. More importantly, how reliable is the metering and how fast/accurate is the AF? I found I was getting bad over-exposure problems with the Canon M1, but changed the metering setting and have had very few problems since. </p>

<p>Being able to quickly lock exposure and then compensate that locked exposure is essential to how I work. Both my older Olympus and Panasonic cameras operate this way and it's what I'm used to. The Olympus EP2 has this feature perfectly implemented with its thumb roller wheel. Well, lets see how the Fuji takes pictures tomorrow. </p>

<p>I'd think most people compensate first and then lock the exposure. Don't see the point of locking exposure when it's not what already been decided on.</p>

<p>You might want to snoop around here. It's a smart, friendly group worth joining:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.fujix-forum.com/">http://www.fujix-forum.com/</a></p>

<p>A fairly ordinary performer until the ISO gets to 1600 or higher. This is where the Fuji starts to show its stuff. Shot at my old lighting nemesis, the aquarium at ISO 5000. Nearly noiseless.</p>

<p> </p><div></div>

<p>so there is something you like about the camera, then?</p>

<p>There is a lot to like about this camera. I don't see a complete system switch in the future but with a B&H "rewards" of about $30 to apply toward the $200 Fuji 27mm lens, there may be one more lens purchase coming.</p>

I can see how being able to hit exposure lock and then use compensation dial could be used in some situations. OTOH

you have a real time view of exposure and histogram in the finder and the rear LCD, and you have direct shutter and

aperture control and pretty good ISO control so you can go to manual in any difficult exposure situation.

<p>it takes time to learn any new camera. i ordered the 27mm too, at that price it's a no-brainer.</p>

<p>You may want to post on DP Review for technical questions. Also, I agree with Erik, it does take a while to master a new camera. I've only had mine a week and do not have it down yet.<br>

Fuji firmware: <a href="http://www.fujifilm.com/support/digital_cameras/software/firmware/x/xe1/">http://www.fujifilm.com/support/digital_cameras/software/firmware/x/xe1/</a><br>

There is a firmware update for the lens too.</p>

<p>C. Watson....thanks for the Fuji forum link.</p>

<p>You guys that just ordered the 27 f/2.8 pancake are really going to like it. After I got an X-E2 I put the 27 on my older X-E1 and that became my every day carry briefcase camera. Great field of view, and it doesn't take long to get used to not having an aperture ring on the lens. The lens is tiny, it makes the camera small enough to keep with you all the time - which comes in handy when you spot a nice sunset developing on the way home from work.<br>

<img src="http://frankbaiamonte.smugmug.com/San-Diego/Sunset-Low-Moonlight-01314/i-sFQ5BVs/0/L/DSCF9363-L.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="533" /></p>

<p>By the way, if you don't already have it, the Fuji brand leather half case is a nice way to both protect the camera and add a bit of soft grip to make it easier to hold.</p>

<p>Also, the 14 f/2.8, 18 f/2.0 and 35 f/1.4 are really nice lenses.</p>

<p>I won't be giving up my DSLR for certain things, but the Fuji system makes for a very nice travel camera or for just general walking around.</p>

<p>All of the travel and sightseeing posts <a href="http://www.frankbaiamonte.com">on my blog</a> in the past year or so have been with the Fuji. </p>

<p> </p>

<p>well, i'm excited. 35/1.4 just arrived...</p><div></div>

<p>Sanford, I think while your title is probably valid..for you.. right now, it's only reasonable to give a brand new camera a chance to get used to you as well as you used to it before complaining about it. What might a previous 4x5 user say about the switch to a 35mm Leica... "can't focus a darn through that tiny finder, the negatives are soooo small, etc." Bringing your expectations from a previous manufacturer to a completely new system is challenging. I have had my X E-1 since June of 2013 and there are still things I'm not enamoured of about it, especially compared to my huge, bulky D800E, but I've come to love the little Fuji for what it does so well, allows me to make great images, in low light or good light in places I'd be way too lazy to take the D800, or the 4x5 for that matter. Have fun, enjoy it, be patient with the camera and yourself.</p>

<p>Good points Eric. When I first started using my Olympus EP2 I thought the menu system was the most diabolical thing I had ever experienced, but now it seems perfectly logical-mostly. Each of my growing collection of digitals has unique and unusual features and not one of them could be called the best of the lot. BTW, have you had any experience with the "Auto Dynamic" setting?</p>

<p>The first shoots I had with my GX1 were a biiig disappointment. I felt I'd wasted my money. Not now. It takes a lot to get the best out of it, which one can probably say about many cameras and you end up finding a way to work with it. Apart from the backfocussing on my Nikon, which they wanted to charge me to fix. This has relegated it to the cupboard.</p>

Auto DR is fine for jpg shooting. If shooting raw, leave it in DR 100.

<p>XE1 has great IQ but i'm still figuring out the body functions. the auto dynamic setting raises the ISO, so you dont want to use it in every circumstance.</p>

<p>A bit surprised that "format" and "flash adjust" are buried deep in menus while many things I will probably never change are in the quick menus.</p>

<p>Sanford, I don't think there is anything wrong with complaining about what you don't like. It is true that in time you might adapt to some things, but that doesn't matter because I think we all like "talking" about this stuff..now. You mention having a growing collection of digital cameras, each with its own strengths, and that is an admirably balanced perspective. For whatever combination of reasons, perhaps even just psychological, I still don't quite have a warm and fuzzy feeling for any digital camera. I used to feel my M6 and FM3a, the ends of my camera quest, were so ideal in what they did that I had no issue accommodating them when that was occasionally necessary. I'm just not quite there yet in this digital morning. I found those 2 cameras, together, so well suited to everything I enjoyed doing that I never felt much tempted by any other film cameras. I had a water proof camera and others, but they were very special purpose cameras. I didn't use them much, and that was fine. It is perhaps funny that the only way my 2 go-to users were "unseated" was by a complete change in medium to digital, a feature that by definition no film camera could acquire.</p>

<p>"A bit surprised that "format" and "flash adjust" are buried deep in menus while many things I will probably never change are in the quick menus."</p>

<p>Sounds familiar. I also sense what you are talking about regarding exposure lock. My Fuji X-Pro1's exposure info suddenly disappeared and would only reappear in Lock mode. Several weeks later it all somehow went back to normal. I think it has to do with accidentally pressing buttons on the back. I have trained my hands to avoid buttons when shooting my XP1.</p>

<p>Indeed, it takes time to learn how to use a new camera. I mastered my Leica M 240 in about an hour. The XP1 took weeks, if not months. It is still very much of a mystery to me. Yes, I've read the operation manual, which is so-so at best, and visited various websites that try to explain this camera.<br>

I have reached a kind of peace treaty with my XP1 and it does absolutely shine in available light. But one thing I do not do is use this camera with autofocus because the autofocus mode is not to my taste (to say it diplomatically). If only there was some way to use that nice Fuji 35/1.4 on a Leica. Dream on.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Sanford:</p>

<p>Since I just bought a rash of new compact camera bodies, I quickly compiled mental lists of everything that was "wrong" with each camera. Those things are <em>still</em> wrong, and bug me, and continue to confuse me to this day (e.g., the Nikon Coolpix 'A' "switches" the controls used in manual mode for shutter speed and aperture vs. those same controls when used in aperture-priority mode). Plus, since I'm switching among so many bodies, these issues are amplified, since I have to recall each camera's idiosyncrasies every time I pick it up. That said, even though I like my Coolpix 'A' best operationally, a "normal" DSLR's controls are still <em>much</em> easier to master than most other compacts.</p>

<p>I agree Ralph. Some things you get used to but others are just poor design. The XE1 has four control buttons and a thumb button that do absolutely nothing in shooting mode. They could be assigned to useful functions (ISI, WB, etc.) Although i haven't done the updates yet, this is a slow camera operationally. Ever button push has to be done with slow deliberate care and allowed to perform its function before moving on to the next step. My "computer with a lens" Lumix G2 has direct access buttons or dials to: meter pattern, AF, single/continuous speed, film mode, ISO, WB, metering mode, all the program modes and art filters and the all important panic button, all this without going into the menus. One push of the menu button opens "My Menu", with five user selectable options. Mine are set for: format, number reset, aspect ratio, flash adjust, and guide lines. I almost never have to go into the main menus on the Lumix. Fuji has decided to put the Quick Menu and AE Lock buttons on the thumb rest of all place where I have to use extreme care not to push one when holding the camera vertically. I had to turn off the exposure compensation indicator as it intrudes into the viewfinder area. Fuji should have allowed the 4/3 aspect ration to be selected as an option as this would have allowed space for it. Every digital camera I have used is excellent at base ISO. Fuji has that great sensor that easily allows ISO up to 3200. I got a great deal on this camera and will continue to use and enjoy it, but no XT1 in my future, unless it drops to about $800 when to XE2 comes out next year. </p>

If you haven't done any firmware updates, do them. They improve operation in a lot of ways.