Fujifilm X-E5 Review

Fujifilm put the flagship sensor in the small body this time. The X-E5 carries the same 40.2 megapixel X-Trans CMOS 5 HR chip and X-Processor 5 as the X-T5, adds five axis stabilisation rated around seven stops, which no X-E has ever had, and wraps both in a top plate milled from aluminium with a film simulation dial where the drive dial used to sit.

That dial is the whole pitch. Turn it to Reala Ace or Classic Chrome, shoot jpeg, stop editing. The files are the best APS-C stills anyone makes, with resolution to crop hard and the Fujifilm colour nothing else has replicated. Autofocus is far better than the X-E4 managed and still a step behind Sony and Canon on a subject running at you. Video is capable rather than serious: 6.2K at thirty frames is fine for a travel film in a body with no fan and a grip too shallow for a rig.

The problem is 1,699 dollars. The X-E4 launched at 849. Fujifilm has doubled the price of the line and added a sensor, a stabiliser and a dial to justify it, which reads as fair on paper and lands badly against an X-T5 that costs the same and gives you a viewfinder hump, a proper grip and a second card slot. Buy this one because you want this shape. That is a real reason, and it is the only one.