Fujifilm Drops The Mic With The Retro Chic X-E5 Shooter

One of the reasons we’re such big fans of Fujifilm at Stuff Towers is just how darn good the actual cameras themselves look. We’re camera heads, and just thrilled that Fujifilm has embraced the glorious retro past of photography. The beautiful new X-E5 from Fuji is proof of that.

X marks the E5

It carries with it a wonderful design aesthetic that harkens back to the heyday of single-lens reflex cameras and the photojournalists who used them. There’s also a “newly designed Film Simulation dial which features a precision-cut indicator window.” That means photographers can quickly swap between various simulations on the move.

Yeah… we can’t wait to try that.

The rangefinder-style X-E5 is a significant upgrade over the X-E4, which came out four years ago now. It has a back-illuminated 40.2 megapixel X-Trans CMOS 5 HR sensor and uses the X-Processor 5 high-speed image processing engine, which is also used in Fuji’s flagship X-T5 shooter.

Read More: Fujifilm Instax Wide Evo review – Prints Charming

For Fuji fiends, the X-E5 is akin to the X100VI, but with that rangefinder-style and now has interchangeable lenses. It’s the first in the X-E series to have a five-axis in-body image stabilisation (IBIS) mechanism, offering up to 7.0 stops in the centre and 6.0 stops at the periphery. This will be “highly beneficial in low-light situations.”

The camera now also includes a “1.4x and 2x digital teleconverter function, creating a range of framing options even when shooting with prime lenses.”

The Fujifilm X-E5 body will cost R29,500 when it arrives in South Africa sometime in July (an official date is still under wraps). The kit goes for R35,000, and includes the newly announced Fujinon XF23mmF2.8 R WR pancake lens. It only weighs a mere 90g, is weather-resistant, and will sell for R8,800 if you ever decide to pick it up separately.