When Fujifilm announced the X-E5, I was more excited than any normal person should be that my favorite Fujifilm feature – film simulations – was about to get its very own dedicated dial. When I finally got to get my hands on the X-E5 at a photography show, the camera’s mix of classic dials, metal top plate, and compact size struck me as a rather iconic design.
Yet, as happy as my hands were on the capable yet compact Fujifilm X-E5, there’s one feature that keeps me from adding the rangefinder-inspired mirrorless to my wish list: the X-E5 lacks weather seals.
I’m the sort of photographer who gets excited at the prospect of rain at a photo shoot because toss in a bit of backlighting and that precipitation looks more like glitter than bad weather. While basic rain covers are cheap, keeping a camera under cover in the rain makes those gorgeous dials and controls more annoying to access.
I get that not everyone likes to go out and take photographs in the rain, but you can’t read about the X-E5 without hearing some mention of how the X-E5 is basically like a mirrorless version of the popular X100VI compact camera. With the small size and pancake kit lens, the X-E5 is the sort of camera that’s designed to accompany you everywhere – and everywhere is often going to include some dust and, sometimes, rain.
The new XF 27mm f/2.8 R WR lens that comes with the kit version of the X-E5 is weather-sealed – which makes it seem all the more strange that the X-E5 doesn’t come with its own seals.
Interestingly, the X100VI that the X-E5 gets compared to so often is the opposite – the body is weather-sealed, but it needs the protective filter kit to be considered weather-sealed, as the lens isn’t fully weather-sealed without the add-on accessories.
I suspect the lack of seals on the camera body is a sacrifice made in part to keep the size compact. The seals and gaskets themselves may not be very big or heavy. Still, anything added to a camera is going to require more space to put it in, including weather seals – just look at the Sony RX1R III. This full-frame compact camera costs more than many pro-grade mirrorless cameras and yet also doesn’t have weather seals.
I get that not everyone needs a camera that can go out and shoot in the rain, but weather seals also prolong the life of a camera by keeping out dust – and a camera that’s designed to go with you everywhere could really benefit from that added durability.
The lack of weather-sealing, the lower resolution viewfinder, and the single card slot all position the X-E5 as more of a mid-tier camera, which is still a significant shift from the more budget-minded X-E4.
Keeping the X-E5’s design more mid-tier makes me even more hopeful that Fujifilm will eventually update the X-Pro3. While Fujifilm does have plenty of weather-sealed options like the X-T5 and X-H2, I think a weather-sealed, durable compact mirrorless with a pancake lens would be a hit among street photographers and pros looking for a compact system that doesn’t sacrifice durability.
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