I arranged to get these three top cameras at the same time and tested them on the same indoor shot (bookcase of colorful books) with room light at ISO 3200 and 800 and flash at ISO 200. Had to use different lenses of course (18-55mm zoom on Sony, 24-85mm zoom on Nikon, 18-55mm zoom on Fuji), and all shots were JPEGs, so this comparison does not make it possible to distinguish the relative contributions of sensors, lenses, jpeg processors. All the noise reduction settings were on defaults. Just for fun I threw in my Canon S95 pocket camera and my iPhone5. All pix were blown up to the screen equivalent of about 24" wide.
A word about JPEGs vs. RAW: It is important to understand that modern lenses including these three are no longer just hunks of glass; they are designed to be used with the in-camera JPEG processing firmware, which undoes the inherent distortions on the wide angle side. Vignetting is also corrected, and chromatic aberration. It is no longer necessary to design lenses depending so much on the difficult correction of glass elements with additional glass elements, aspherics, etc. Lenses are now part software, which results in better optics at lower cost. In principle a poor single element lens could give near perfect results, limited only by the processing power of the little computer in your camera. You can see this for yourself; watch the LCD image and then fire the shot - you'll see the replay image come up with the whole field visibly altered by software distortion correction. For this reason it would require a lot of skill and Photoshop time to do the same thing manually starting from the RAW images. JPEG's are the way these lenses are designed to be used, so that's how they should be evaluated, as part of the whole camera.
Results at ISO 3200:
- Nikon D600 (full frame) gave the nicest image, as we should certainly expect for the sensor size, camera size and weight, and cost. Image was creamy, clean and contrasty.
- Fuji XE1 was second. Image was just a bit noisier and rougher than Nikon full frame.
- Sony NEX6 was third. Although it had more contrast than the Fuji, this varied by colors; in some areas, such as red type on a blue book cover, the image actually washed out completely. Noisier than Fuji and evident compression artifacts.
- Canon S95 quality is not in the same ballpark at high ISO and magnification; very rough.
- iPhone5; like a juvenile delinquent in a class full of straight A students!
Results at ISO 800:
ISO 800 is my basic setting in daily photography. All three images were beautiful.
- XE1 was the cleanest, but the Sony NEX had more punch and contrast.
- Nikon D600 was a bit rougher and noisier than the other two, but of course had the highest pixel density when blown way up.
Results at ISO 200:
- Nikon D600, Fuji XE1 and Sony NEX 6 are quite comparable, with the choice being almost a matter of taste. Here the D600 is a bit noisier than XE1 in some areas and many people would say the Fuji XE1 half frame actually looks better overall than the Nikon full frame, which is remarkable. Sony NEX is right up there with them; the three images have different qualities, but there is no obvious winner. Canon S95, although still raggedy compared to this company, is not bad at all at low magnification and low ISO.
What is amazing about comparing XE1 and D600 is not that the Nikon DSLR is superior but that it is only SLIGHTLY superior and then only under extremely low light and high magnification. Fuji really seems to have some special sauce on their half-frame sensor which allows it to capture photos almost as good as a full-frame DSLR. At ISO800, they are all very good but XE1 is best. If your goal is best image with least bulk to lug around, XE1 is the winner. The XE1 is an improvement over XPro-1, simpler, smaller, but still a bit quirky and the interface odd. Sony NEX was just a bit muddy at high ISO, but superb at ISO800 and below. Also, there are so many other good things about Sony NEX (focus peaking, in-camera HDR, articulated LCD, wireless, ability to use legacy lenses easily in MF mode, picture effects) that I use mine all the time.
Let's talk about viewfinders. I have a soft spot for my Nikon, and greatly prefer the optical through-the-lens viewfinder to EVF or LCD, but objectively speaking, purely in terms of image quality per unit weight/size, there is no longer any real justification for DSLR. Fuji is a unique instrument for the photographic artist. Sony NEX is also so good as to make the need for full frame DSLR questionable, and is the most flexible, ergonomic and cleverly fabricated of the three. You may have various reasons to choose one of these three, but image quality is no longer the deciding factor. Finally, all three of these are cameras for photographic fanatics; for ordinary folks looking to capture uncropped snapshots in good light at a viewed size about 4x5, the tiny Canon S95 and iPhone5 results don't look that much worse to the naked eye.
So that's the good news; now for the other news. If image quality were the ONLY consideration, we would all still be using 8X10 view cameras. There is also useability in day to day picture taking, and here the XE1 is going to make many photographers unhappy. Besides the EVF, which many folks will not like, the autofocus is slow and in some cases (60 mm lens) borderline unacceptable. Also the latency (time from button press to shutter release) is lacking. Although the XE1 looks like a Leica and has wonderful precision materials, it does not equal the Leica's lghtning fast street photography. The XE1 is quirky and idiosyncratic in its menus and has a significant learning curve. Five stars because the IQ is so outstanding, but an overall assessment would be lower.
Update in June 2013: My predictions about customers not necessarily liking the XE1 even though the images it makes are stunning is proving to be correct. Fuji is reducing prices subtantially, which can only be because sales are not meeting projections. I suspect there are significant levels of returned product as well. In addition, the main reason for mirrorless was size and weight over DSLR, but Canon has recently put out the SL1 which is smaller and lighter than the XE1!
Bottom line is that the XE1 is a lovely instrument but not for everyone; you really should try it out before buying.
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Reviews with images
Still a good camera despite some flaws
I picked up one of these on a special deal an ex display model, with 12 months warranty. The X-E1 has been discontinued, but remains very attractively priced if you can find older stock or a second hand buy. This model sits between the entry X range and the X-Pro 1 and X-T1 and has been replaced with the X-E2. This bundle includes the XF 18-55 mm f/2.8-4 OIS lens this is quite a good optic and is a cut above the normal 18-55mm kit lenses being both better build and faster aperture wise it's a good all round lens.Warts aside the camera has had some significant firmware updates, and retains the same X-Trans CMOS sensor that the X-Pro 1 has, even though there are newer models the image quality is virtually identical between all the cameras (at least in raw)My summary of stronger and weaker aspects of the camera having shot with one for a few weeks nowGood points:+ Solid build, partial magnesium alloy it's not quite as beefy as the X-Pro 1 but a step up in build v the entry models+ Good high resolution EVF 2.3 million dot OLED+ Excellent sensor, good details and dynamic range lots of latitude for raw processing at both ends+ Very good jpeg processing (in fact much nicer than the newer models) contrast isn't too high, dynamic range is very decent and it doesn't suffer from the aggressive noise reduction new models do+ Great low light performance (though Fuji are overstating the actual ISO somewhat)+ Easy to use and mostly intuitive operation Q Menu is very useful and makes most settings within easy reach+ Some useful features like panoramic sweep, electronic level, option to store up to 7 custom settings+ AF + MF allows you to manual focus after autofocus (with latest firmware update)+ Focus peak feature useful for manual focus or using non Fuji lenses with an adapter, 2 levels of magnification+ Metering and Auto White Balance are mostly on target, appealing tonality and “look” to images (very subjective but many do like the Fuji look)+ Traditional “range finder” feel in both handling and style, shutter speed dial and exposure compensation give a more “hands on” experience, two buttons can be user set to specific functionsWeaker aspects:- EVF lags in lower light conditions (quite a bit)- Rear LCD is a perfectly usable 460k 2.8” panel but it's not up to the newer displays nothing stand out here- No way to remove the EV compensation on the EVF display (cuts into the image on the left hand side)- Continuous autofocus isn't great, central AF point only not really suitable for action or moving subjects (at least not moving quickly)- 2.5mm microphone socket the whole world uses 3.5mm and Fuji picks a non standard size (you can buy an adapter for it)- No shutter speed setting on the dial for the 1/180 sec flash sync speed. No “auto” setting for min. shutter speed (you just set it, not focal length aware useful but not as good as it might be) EVF doesn't show actual exposure until half pressing the shutter button (can be an issue in low light)- Cannot change battery or card when on a tripod (door is covered)Notes:Buffer depth is approx 12 frames at 6fps for raw (with a fast card)Battery life is quote at 350 frames, it's near to that actual world shooting (get a spare though)Video mode has no direct access though you can set it to one of the Fn buttons, you have a few options (not many) you can use an external mic and video is 1080p or 720p at 24fps (and only that)Video quality is passable but shows some signs of false colours and not really for serious use.There are no scene modes you can access shutter priority via the top dial (and use the D pad to select speeds in between those marked) Aperture priority is on the lens or if you have a lens without the ring on the rear dial. The closest to Auto is A setting on the shutter dial and A on the lens (i.e. a Program mode)The pop up flash works reasonably well though it's not hugely powerful, you have a hot shoe for external flash, a mini USB connector and HDMI out are under a door on the left hand side.**Firmware updates**Over time Fuji have done some significant updates for this model the latest firmware is:Ver.2.40Updates have included improvements to AF speed and accuracy (it is now on a par with the X-M1 X-A1 models) Min shutter speed can be set to 1/500 second, focus peak function was added, Fn 2 button added (to the bottom D pad button) option to MF after AF is confirmed (menu setting) and more.There are some important differences for users who are using non Fuji lenses with adapters, the viewfinder alone helps stability and hand holding significantly, the min shutter speed is 1/500 second (this is capped to 1/200 second on the entry models) this is a better choice than the X-M1 or X-A1 esp for longer focal lengths. For other users this is in most ways very much a “back to the old ways” type of camera, no face detection only a handful of features (panoramic and double exposure) and a complete lack of “scene modes” you are back to a shutter speed dial and aperture ring (if the lens has it) putting the emphasis on simplicity and not on snazzy features. For new users they might feel more at home with the entry level X models to start with, but more experienced shooters will probably enjoy the simplicity of the camera.Whilst the weaker points are worth looking at, esp the lag of the viewfinder in low light (the X-E2 resolved this), the camera still has a lot going for it, image quality is excellent even the jpegs strike a good balance between details and noise reduction (much better than the newer models here for some reason). Dynamic range is very good though do experiment with the DR settings 200% and 400% which improve the highlight details more. Newer models have ironed out the kinks and niggles of this camera and it doesn't sport the improved AF or some of the more advanced features/big EVF of the X-T1, but you can pick one of these up for a song and even if you don't have a lot of Fuji lenses DSLR users can pick up an adapter and use their own lenses (you'll have to focus and change aperture manually but in some ways that adds to the retro charm)I have one of these in addition to my SLR equipment, it makes a useful side kick and a capable camera in it's own right, but it's not for action shooters (the AF isn't up to the job) but for other tasks like landscape and portrait/street work, it's still a capable model. Something of a flawed gem but still worth hunting out.
Top reviews from other countries
Markiewski
The button placement is annoying when you switch from the xpro1 to xe1
Reviewed in Canada on March 23, 2015