I was recently in the market for a smaller camera that I can use as an everyday carry when Andrew is traveling and I’m on my own with our dogs. I love my X-T5, but I find it to be a bit too cumbersome to have bouncing around on my neck when I’m on my own on our walks and hikes. I would also hate to lose my footing on a walk around the neighborhood and compromise my main camera on such a mundane outing. That means I usually leave home without a camera, and end up regretting it.
Recently, I’ve been carrying my LUMIX GF1, a micro four thirds camera from 2009. It’s the one camera that I kept when I sold my MFT gear when switching to Fuji, along with the Panasonic 20mm f/1.7 II. And while it’s still a perfectly capable camera for everyday photography, it’s definitely showing its age. I find it just a little too slow to keep up with the faster pace my dogs demand, and its lack of viewfinder means that composing and taking photos takes me a bit longer than I’d like. It’s more suited to solo photo walks where I can give each frame the time it needs.
I knew I wanted something slightly newer than the GF1, and although I spent a few days looking at some other MFT bodies, I decided that picking up another Fuji made the most sense. After all, I already have multiple X-mount lenses. Like the GF1, I also wanted something with a built-in flash. I don’t shoot with flash often, so I didn’t think I’d miss it when I got my X-T5. And while I don’t need it 95% of the time, when I miss it, I really miss it.
I landed on the Fujifilm X-E2, which is from 2013. Old, by most standards, but perfectly suited for my use case. This model has the addition of phase detect autofocus, rather than solely relying on contrast based autofocus like the X-E1, and I find it to keep up quite well. I took many photos during my initial walks with it where I’d shoot from the hip and fire off shots in quick succession to see how it kept up. I also took many, many photos of Wednesday as we played fetch at the dog park, and it didn’t miss focus once. I’m not going to be doing any wildlife or motorsports photography with it, but it can clearly keep up in the areas I need it to.
Though I haven’t had this camera long, I’m already really pleased with the images it produces. Both the jpegs and RAW files have tons of information to work with, and there’s really no change to my workflow when editing photos from the X-E2 versus the X-T5. It’s worth noting that because of the X-E2’s age, it only has a limited number of film simulations. This isn’t a hindrance to me as I always shoot RAW and edit in Lightroom, but I know how beloved film sims are to many Fuji shooters.
On my second day with it, I realized that I forgot I still had it on me as I was walking up a hill at a nearby park. It stays out of my way and essentially disappears when I'm not actively taking a photo, which is exactly what I was looking for in an EDC. Since then, I’ve taken short hikes and long walks with it. In combination with a short strap, it truly melts away. I’ve been using a small divider from Clever Supply Co to carry it in my purses and backpacks everywhere I go. It’s so satisfying to see this old camera getting so much love as it floats all around my apartment to tag along on morning walks, evening hikes, and midday laundromat runs.
Finally, it’s nice to have a second camera that isn’t a phone. I have hundreds of lovely photos of Andrew and the dogs, but the only photos I have of myself are self portraits. It’s going to be so nice to hand him a camera the next time we take a trip so he can take some proper photos, and maybe I’ll finally get some photos of myself while we’re at it.
All photos were taken with the Fujifilm X-E2 + Fuji XF 23mm f/2 R WR.
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