Fuji XE3 Arrived!

KillRamsey

Hall of Famer
Location
Hood River, OR
Name
Kyle
First new camera since the XT1 in 2014. It's been unboxed, the kit 23 f2 is upon it, I think I have my settings dialed in, and I'm going to walk around the block in the dark shooting whatever I can.

...deep breath.

Took it out of the box, and it felt TOO light. Like a M4/3 camera. Said aloud "man I hope the lens has some heft to it..." this is unnervingly light feeling.
 
First new camera since the XT1 in 2014. It's been unboxed, the kit 23 f2 is upon it, I think I have my settings dialed in, and I'm going to walk around the block in the dark shooting whatever I can.

...deep breath.

Took it out of the box, and it felt TOO light. Like a M4/3 camera. Said aloud "man I hope the lens has some heft to it..." this is unnervingly light feeling.
I think all the XE's feel light. Even when I had an XE1, it almost seemed like it was a hollow shell.
 
Maybe you will warm to it's lightness. I like a camera with some meat to it. I like the "look" of the X-E cameras, but I like the beef and heft of the X-T bodies. And honestly, even though I don't NEED the hybrid VF....I prefer the larger form of the X-Pro cameras....AND I'd like them even more if they weighed a touch more.
 
Walking down the street and back...

From the driveway:
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DSCF0012P
by gordopuggy, on Flickr

Propped on a sign post, "stopped down" to f4, almost a second long exposure, car going past:
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by gordopuggy, on Flickr

Highly secured vending machine:
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DSCF0021P
by gordopuggy, on Flickr

Back home. Translation: "YOU GOT HOME AN HOUR AGO AND YOU HAVEN'T SAT DOWN FOR KITTYLAPTIME ONCE YET GET IN HERE YOU SONFOABITCH"
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DSCF0029P
by gordopuggy, on Flickr

Selfie:
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by gordopuggy, on Flickr

First impressions:

- Q Menu button is too easy to hit with my thumb
- TINY
- FAST
- SILENT
- Holy bejeezus they turbo boosted the autofocus. Not sure how much is sensor and how much is 23 f2, also not sure how much I care. Half press and Sh-BANG, it's focused correctly.
- What an amazing travel / second body.
- Excited for thumb grip to get here, I need places to grab, man. My hands are, by all adult standards, SMALL, and this thing feels almost cramped.
- This 23 f2 lens, I read how soft it was wide open. I see it. It reminds me of the X100 lens, but slightly better. It's such a nitpicky thing unless you're doing studio / parge print work. It would NOT show up on web files at 1024x the long side. Killer lens, so far. Great size, f2, fast as all get out AF, sealed...

Now begins the great workout. Will spend some serious time banging away at this combo til it builds muscle memory.
 
i'd love to hear your impressions about the "feel" and "use".....obviously (in your hands) all of the Fuji bodies perform well enough. I'd love to hear what you think the differences are in use...and maybe in output
 
Here's a cool little button trick if you don't know it already. Or maybe all Fuji bodies do this but I just learned it?
Hold down the trash button for two seconds and then press the rear wheel in for a shortcut to format your card.
 
I didn’t like the swiping so I turned off the touch screen and use the joystick for everything. It’s a tidy little beast and I have a slightly larger lens, the 35 1.4. I’m pleased so far.
 
Here's a cool little button trick if you don't know it already. Or maybe all Fuji bodies do this but I just learned it?
Hold down the trash button for two seconds and then press the rear wheel in for a shortcut to format your card.
Dang, man, why did you put that in my head? My hand will now randomly do that right after I get shots of the alien spacecraft.
 
It's nice to know that the X-E3 can still wow in the age of the X-T3 and X-H1. Enjoy your new purchase Kyle. I'll be interested in your impressions going forward - particularly on overall autofocus performance.
 
While I'm typing, anyone know why my AFL button isn't L'ing my AF? Can't figure out why. Not on hold, not on/off, just never actually does anything period.

1. I acquire focus with a half press.
2. I press AFL (single press or hold, doesn't matter). The focus box does not go green.
3. I point elsewhere and full press shutter, it re-focuses and fires.

...?
 
Impressions after ~30 exposures…

1. AFS….. I don’t have the High Performance option turned on, and it’s already extremely quick, to me. In fairly dim indoor night light, I was rocking back and forth between a close object and the far wall, back and forth, and it never missed. Focus locked on (using the 23 f2) in about a quarter second each time. Anecdotally it felt about half the amount of time the 18-55 on the XT1 would take, and that’s not a slow combo. AF speed in single shot mode is never going to be an issue, with the 23 f2. I can’t wait to see if the older lenses are any quicker than with the XT1. This is “Micro 4/3” quick. Haven’t experimented with tracking, AFC, etc… nervous. I’ve never gotten them to work well ENOUGH on the XT1 to use in real life when it counts.

2. SETUP….. I managed to get almost everything where I want it: Shutter speed dial is always on T and the front dial adjusts shutter speed in 1/3 stops, rear dial = press & roll to adjust ISO (with the 27 pancake or 50-230 which have no aperture ring, just rolling this dial without pressing first = aperture, just like XT1), top Fn button = white balance. That’s 95% of what I touch. I rarely change film simulation, DR, etc. The one thing I do touch next most often is the shutter type. Sometimes I need silence, so I want electronic shutter only. On the XT1, there are more Fn buttons, so I had it on the little flush one next to the lens. Here, there’s less to work with. I am debating between using the touch swipe (gasp), or reassigning the AEL button, which I rarely use. So far, after quick experimentation, touch screen is fully disabled. I reserve the right to change my mind upon further fiddling.

3. THE 23 F2 LENS….. Small enough (what couldn’t be smaller, right?), screaming fast focus, Ap ring feels notchy and crisp and perfect. With shots at f2 with close focus, I see a little green edging when I go 100% crop. Boo hoo. It’s not really visible at normal size, and not a knock against a walk-around general purpose lens. Assuming the sun actually comes up today (heavy cloud / light rain) I can’t wait to go see what smaller apertures do. Very easy to imagine this lens being glued to the XE3 in my Domke, alongside the XT1 with the 56 on it for bike races / events.

4. FORM FACTOR….. If you’ve got even medium-sized normal hands, this thing will need some kind of add-on grip, be it a guy that clips into the hot shoe, a grip that goes around the front, both, whatever. Also, the two buttons on the thumb rest (AFL and Q) are pretty hard not to hit by accident. I have a thumb rest on a slow boat from China, ordered it before the camera even arrived, and now it can’t get here quick enough. I’m pondering some kind of frontal grip add-on as well. I compared, it’s smaller than the old original X100… slightly shorter, narrower, everything. I wish the card slot was on the side, because it’s kinda hard to get the SD card in and out alongside that battery.

5. VIEWFINDER….. No complaints. Big enough, looks good at night, but I no longer have that nice dual screen in MF! I can’t have that little side screen with 100% crop. (sad face).

6. BLUETOOTH….. I can’t port pics over via Bluetooth alone? I have to link with wifi like before? Less cool than I imagined. Need to work with this more, the wife quite often wants pics AS I’m shooting.
 
AFL works now. Got things set correctly. It lets me know it's locked with a tiiiiiny little icon down bottom left of the screen. The XT1 let me know by turning my focus box green, which I liked better.
 
The weight doesn’t bother me. The lack of a moveable screen is annoying however. I have gone to use the moveable screen since I got it only to be balked by its absence :mad:
 
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