Fuji X-E1 Performance


Timing and Performance

Mixed performance from the Fuji X-E1.

Startup/Shutdown

Power on
to first shot

~2.4 seconds

Time it takes to turn on and capture a shot.

Shutdown

~1.1 seconds

How long it takes camera to turn off before you can remove the memory card.

Buffer clearing time
8 seconds after 16
Large/Fine JPEGs*
Worst case buffer clearing time. -- This is the delay after a set of shots before you can remove the card.
13 seconds after 12
RAW files*
18 seconds after 11
RAW+ L/F JPEG files*
*Note: Buffer clearing times measured with a SanDisk Extreme Pro 95MB/sec 8GB SDHC card. Slower cards will produce correspondingly slower clearing times. Slow cards may also limit length of bursts in continuous mode. ISO sensitivity and noise reduction settings can also affect cycle times and burst mode performance.

Power on to first shot is sluggish even for a compact system camera. Buffer clearing times are good with JPEGs, but slow with RAW and RAW+JPEG files, even with a very fast 95MB/s UHS-I card.


Mode Switching

Play to Record,
first shot

~0.6 second

Time until first shot is captured.

Record to Play

~2.5 seconds

Time to display a large/fine file immediately after capture.

Display
recorded image

~0.6 second

Time to display a large/fine file already on the memory card.

Play to Record is quite fast as is displaying a recorded image, but Record to Play is a bit slow.


Shutter Response (Lag Time)
Full Autofocus,
Single-area AF mode
0.438 second
Time from fully pressing shutter button to image capture, with the lens already at the proper focal distance setting. (All timing performed with the Fujinon XF 35mm f/1.4 R lens. We also tested AF timing with the newer 18-55mm kit lens, and got nearly identical results.)
Full Autofocus,
Multi AF mode
0.523 second
Time from fully pressing shutter button to image capture, with the lens already at the proper focal distance setting.
Full Autofocus,
Single-area AF mode
Auto Flash Enabled
0.577 second

Time from fully pressing shutter button to image capture, with the lens already at the proper focal distance setting, TTL Auto flash enabled.

Continuous AF
0.455 second
This mode usually shows no speed increase with our static subject; we have no way to measure performance with moving subjects.
Manual Focus
0.240 second
For most cameras, shutter lag is less in manual focus than autofocus, but usually not as fast as when the camera is "prefocused".

Prefocused

0.054 second

Time to capture, after half-pressing and holding shutter button.

The Fuji X-E1's autofocus speed is slightly slower than average for compact system camera these days. The Fuji X-E1 produced full-autofocus shutter lag (with the subject at a fixed distance) that ranged from 0.44 second using Area AF mode (center), to 0.52 second using Multi AF mode in our tests. With the flash enabled, the X-E1's full AF shutter lag increases to 0.58s, to account for the preflash metering. Manual focus shutter lag is faster at 0.24 second, though that's not impressive as some CSCs have full autofocus shutter lag in that range. Prefocused shutter lag is quite fast, though, at only 0.054 second. This is much faster than most SLRs and faster than many CSCs as well, though not as fast as some models with electronic first curtain shutters.

To minimize the effect of different lens' focusing speed, we test AF-active shutter lag with the lens already set to the correct focal distance.


Cycle Time (shot to shot)

Single Shot mode
Large/Fine JPEG

0.92 second

Time per shot, averaged over 20 shots with no signs of slowing, 2 seconds to clear*.

Single Shot mode
RAW

0.97 second

Time per shot, averaged over 20 shots with no signs of slowing, 10 seconds to clear*.

Single Shot mode
RAW + L/F JPEG
0.93 second

Time per shot, averaged over 16 shots, 18 seconds to clear*.

Early shutter
penalty?

Yes

Some cameras don't snap another shot if you release and press the shutter too quickly in Single Shot mode, making "No" the preferred answer.

Continuous 6 fps
Large Fine JPEG

0.18 second (5.45 frames per second);
16 frames total;
8 seconds to clear*

Time per shot, averaged over buffer length of 16 frames. Then slows to 0.55s or 1.82 fps after buffer is full.

Continuous 6 fps
RAW

0.18 second (5.56 frames per second);
12 frames total;
13 seconds to clear*

Time per shot, averaged over buffer length of 12 frames. Then slows to 1.01s or 0.99 fps after buffer is full.

Continuous 6 fps
RAW + L/F JPEG

0.18 second (5.56 frames per second);
11 frames total;
18 seconds to clear*

Time per shot, averaged over buffer length of 11 frames. Then slows to 1.32s or 0.76 fps after buffer is full.

Flash Recycling

4.2

Flash at maximum output.

*Note: Buffer clearing times measured with a SanDisk Extreme Pro 95MB/sec 8GB SDHC card. Slower cards will produce correspondingly slower clearing times. Slow cards may also limit length of bursts in continuous mode. ISO sensitivity and noise reduction settings can also affect cycle times and burst mode performance.

Single-shot cycle times are slightly slower than average for a CSC. We measured 0.92 second when shooting large/fine JPEGs, 0.97 second for RAW files, and 0.93 second for RAW+JPEG files.

"Continuous 6 fps" mode speeds are good, ranging from 5.45 to 5.56 frames per second depending on the file type, though that's a bit below Fuji's 6 fps spec and slower than some other recent CSCs. The Fuji X-E1 also offers a "Continuous 3 fps" mode, but we didn't test that mode.

Full resolution buffer depths are fair for JPEGs, at 16 frames with our difficult to compress target. You'll likely do better with typical subjects. When shooting RAW files, buffer depth drops to 12 frames, and 11 frames with RAW+JPEG. Buffer clearing is a fairly quick 8 seconds after shooting a max-length burst of JPEGs, but this increases to 13 seconds for a RAW burst, and 18 seconds for RAW+JPEG burst.


Download Speed

Windows Computer, USB 2.0

9,880 KBytes/sec

Typical Values:
Less than 600=USB 1.1;
600-769=USB 2.0 Low;
Above 770=USB 2.0 High

Download speeds are reasonably fast, quick enough that you probably won't feel the need for a separate card reader. (Note that this test was performed with a SanDisk Extreme Pro 95MB/sec SD card: Slower cards would likely show slower transfer times.)


Bottom line, the Fuji X-E1's performance was a mixed bag during our testing. Startup time was sluggish while autofocus speed was slightly below average these days, as were single-shot cycle times. Prefocused shutter lag was however very good and burst mode speeds good, but buffer depths were only so-so. Buffer clearing was good with JPEGs, but slowed down markedly with RAW files.

Battery

Battery Life
Average battery life for a compact system camera.

Operating Mode Battery Life
Still Capture,
(CIPA standard)
350 shots

The Fuji X-E1 uses a custom rechargeable lithium-ion battery pack for power, and comes with both a single battery and charger. The CIPA rated 350 shots per charge is about average for a Compact System Cameras these days. As is usually the case, we recommend getting a second battery for your X-E1 if you plan any extended outings.

The table above shows the number of shots the camera is capable of (on a fully-charged rechargeable battery), based on CIPA battery-life and/or manufacturer standard test conditions.

(Interested readers can find an English translation of the CIPA DC-002 standards document here. (180K PDF document))

 



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