Fujifilm X-E5 Discussions
It’s been historically slow for Fujifilm so far in 2026, which makes it more difficult for Fujifilm-related bloggers to come up with interesting content to share with their readers. On the bright side, this can be a good opportunity to find and highlight things that might otherwise slip through the cracks and go unnoticed. That’s what this article is attempting to do. Nothing here is headline news, but hopefully there’s something that you’ll find intriguing or even possibly helpful.
Specifically, we’re talking about the Fujifilm X-E5, showcasing articles that are either explicitly or just vaguely related to it. This is a camera that I own and love. It’s as close as Fujifilm has ever gotten to an interchangeable-lens X100-series model. My favorite aspect of it is that you can program three additional Film Simulation Recipes than other cameras. It’s the most compact and lightweight interchangeable-lens X-series camera with the 40mp sensor and IBIS. There’s plenty to love.
Before we dive in, here’s a little X-E5 tidbit that I bet you don’t know, which I learned while at Fujikina Copenhagen. It takes a massive team—sometimes more than 100 people—to create a camera, but each one has a lead designer. There are several designers at Fujifilm. For example, the lead designer of the X100-series and X-T (single digit), as well as many other models, is Masazumi Imai, who gave a wonderful presentation at Fujikina. Each lead designer likes to leave a little easter egg hidden somewhere in the camera (which mostly goes unnoticed by the users). I’m not sure who was the lead designer of the X-E5, but I learned that the designer of that camera leaves a specific easter egg: hexagon feet. If you turn the X-E5 upside down and look at the four tiny feet at the bottom, they’re six-sided and not round. Any Fujifilm camera with hexagon feet had the same lead designer as the X-E5. I’m not sure which models those are, but apparently there are a few.
Now let’s look at some recent articles across the web that relate to the Fujifilm X-E5. Some of these are explicitly about the X-E5, and some are only related if you squint your eyes a little.
Fujifilm X-E5 Teardown
Kolari Vision just published their teardown of the Fujifilm X-E5. Seeing the X-E5 being taken apart makes a tear fall down my cheek (get it? Tear down, teardown?). Jokes aside, it’s fascinating to see how Fujifilm squeezed so much camera into such a small body. This also illustrates just how intrusive an infrared conversion actually is. I would love to see Fujifilm sell a full-spectrum infrared camera to the public, like they did very briefly with the Fujifilm X-T4 Extended Spectrum, so that you wouldn’t have to take it apart. Thankfully, Kolari (as well as some other companies) know what they’re doing, and your camera is in good hands if you send yours in for a conversion. I don’t have firsthand experience with that, but I’ve talked with several people who do, and they only have positive things to say.
Good Image Quality
There’s an interesting article over at PetaPixel entitled Photographers Are Tired of Big Cameras. Essentially, Chris Niccolls wants a smaller camera than he normally uses, and he’s going for the Fujifilm X-E5. He is constantly using all sorts of gear from all sorts of brands as part of his job, but for his own personal photography, he wants something smaller than the Sony a7R V that he normally shoots with. After trying nearly everything under the sun, he really likes the X-E5 for its compact size and good image quality. The author of the article, Jaron Schneider, then makes an odd disclaimer: the X-E5 doesn’t necessarily have “excellent” image quality; instead the camera has “just good” image quality, which he notes is good enough for Chris. I understand that “good” and “excellent” are subjective, but it was a weird comment that seemed unnecessary for the message of the article. The image quality of the X-E5 is “just good” compared to what? I understand that the people at PetaPixel have experience with pretty much every single camera made within the last 25 years, and some models have better image quality than others, but what aspect of the X-E5’s image quality is subpar? I wish that more context had been provided, because it comes across as a put-down to both Fujifilm and Chris. I think the overall story—a growing trend towards smaller, lighter gear—is fascinating. That Fujifilm is at the forefront of the discussion is also intriguing. So much more could have been said; instead, I’m wondering what was meant by an offhand comment.
Learn
Last but not least, I saw in a Pal2Tech video yesterday that Chris Lee has launched a new project on his website called Learn. He has a ton of great resources, including a Fujifilm X-E5 setup guide (among many, many other things). You should definitely check it out, there’s so much information available. It seems like it isn’t complete, so I suspect that this will only grow into even a greater resource in the coming months.
