Fujifilm X-E1 vs Samsung NX500: The Ultimate Mirrorless Camera Showdown for Enthusiasts and Pros

Choosing your next mirrorless camera is a thrilling yet daunting journey. The Fujifilm X-E1 and Samsung NX500 emerge as compelling contenders from the entry-level mirrorless category, each boasting unique strengths that appeal to a range of photography styles and budgets. Having rigorously tested thousands of cameras over the years, I'm excited to guide you through an expert, detailed comparison that cuts through the specs and hones in on practical, real-world performance.

Whether you're stepping up your craft, exploring new disciplines, or seeking a reliable workhorse for professional assignments, we’ll explore how these two cameras stack up across every critical dimension. Let’s dive deeply into their design, sensor technology, autofocus capabilities, usability, and performance across varied photographic scenarios.

Hands-On with Design and Handling: Why Size and Feel Matter

Physical ergonomics can dramatically impact your shooting experience. Let’s start by sizing up these cameras side-by-side.

The Fujifilm X-E1 feels a bit more robust in your hands, with a slightly larger footprint and heftier weight. This can lend stability, especially when using heavier lenses for portraiture and landscapes. Its electronic viewfinder offers significant compositional advantages, particularly in bright daylight, where LCD screens can struggle.

Meanwhile, the Samsung NX500 is lighter and slimmer, making it more pocketable and travel-friendly. Its larger, high-resolution tilting touchscreen brings intuitive control, especially for touch-focused operations and creative angles - a serious plus for vloggers and street photographers. However, the absence of a dedicated electronic viewfinder might be a drawback in intense sun or fast-paced action scenes.

The top control layouts reflect their design ethos clearly:

The X-E1 delivers classic physical dials for ISO, shutter speed, and exposure compensation, invaluable for manual shooters who prefer tactile feedback and quick adjustments without diving into menus. The NX500 instead favors menu-driven control optimized via touchscreen - great for users accustomed to smartphone-like interfaces but potentially slower for advanced manual operations.

Bottom line: If tactile controls and an EVF are your priorities, the Fujifilm X-E1 offers a more traditional shooting experience. The Samsung NX500 emphasizes portability and touchscreen convenience, ideal for casual and travel shooters.

Inside the Frame: Sensor Technology and Image Quality

Image quality is king, and the heart of any camera lies in its sensor and processor. Here's a side-by-side comparison of their image sensor specifications:

Fujifilm’s proprietary X-Trans CMOS sensor introduced at the X-E1’s launch brought a unique color filter array designed to minimize moiré without an anti-aliasing filter (though this early model does include one). Its innovative approach delivers rich color rendition and pleasing skin tones that many portrait and street photographers covet. However, with only 16 MP, resolution can feel limited if you workflow demands large prints or extensive cropping.

The Samsung NX500 pushes pixel count higher to 28 MP on a traditional Bayer pattern BSI-CMOS sensor lacking an anti-alias filter. This design choice enhances sharpness and detail resolution at the expense of potential moiré artifacts but is excellent for landscape and macro shooting where resolution is paramount. Its much broader ISO range and superior DxOMark scores translate to better low-light capability and a wider dynamic range - a serious asset for shooting in challenging lighting.

Real-world results confirm these strengths:

Fujifilm X E1 front Fujifilm X E1 screen back Samsung NX500 front Samsung NX500 screen back

• Fujifilm X-E1: Known for its beautiful color grading straight out of camera, subtle film simulation modes, and excellent skin tone reproduction.
• Samsung NX500: Impresses with crisp details, wide dynamic range capturing nuances in shadows and highlights, and the ability to maintain image clarity at high ISO values.

Autofocus System: Precision and Speed Across Disciplines

Modern photography demands an autofocus (AF) system capable of fast, accurate focus locking, tracking, and flexibility across subjects.

The contrast-detection-only autofocus system of the Fujifilm X-E1 is accurate but tends to be slower in low light or with moving subjects. Its AF is best suited to static shooting such as portraits and landscapes. The lack of face and eye detection autofocus means manual fine-tuning is often required to nail sharp focus on eyes in portraits.

The Samsung NX500 sports a much more advanced hybrid autofocus system combining phase detection pixels on sensor with contrast detection. With 209 AF points spread across the frame, it offers wider coverage and the ability to accurately track moving subjects - an asset for wildlife and sports photography. Face detection and touch AF function make it user-friendly for street photography and spontaneous moments. Despite no dedicated animal eye AF, its versatile system copes well in many scenarios.

This marks a significant usability advantage for the NX500 in fast-paced photography demanding continuous focus and tracking.

LCD Screens and Viewfinder: Your Window to the World

The interface through which you see and compose images plays an essential role in creativity and workflow efficiency.

The X-E1’s electronic viewfinder is an invaluable feature, offering a bright, detailed and lag-free composition experience with 100% scene coverage. This makes it preferable in bright conditions and for precise framing, indispensable when shooting portraits or landscapes in tricky light.

Samsung’s NX500 relies solely on its tiltable touchscreen LCD. Its 3-inch display is sharp and responsive with excellent brightness and vivid colors. The tilt mechanism allows high-angle and low-angle shooting with ease, supporting creative flexibility and video vlogging. The touchscreen enhances usability with quick focus point selection and menu navigation. However, the absence of a viewfinder can challenge photographers in direct sunlight or fast-moving situations.

Burst Speed and Video Capabilities: Capturing Movement and Motion

A versatile camera must handle both fast action and quality video recording with aplomb.

The Fujifilm X-E1 offers decent continuous shooting at 6 frames per second - adequate for casual sports and wildlife shots but limited for intense action sequences. Meanwhile, the Samsung NX500 can reach 9 fps burst shooting, making it more capable of capturing fast-moving subjects seamlessly.

Video capabilities favor the NX500 significantly. It supports high-resolution Ultra HD (4K) at 30 fps and true cinema 4K (4096 x 2160) at 24 fps with the efficient H.265 codec, a boon for videographers wanting crisp detail and color fidelity. The lack of an external microphone input restricts professional audio capture options somewhat.

The X-E1 maxes out at Full HD 1080p but includes a microphone port - a rare advantage for creators needing better sound. Neither camera provides in-body stabilization, so lens choice or external gimbals will be important for smooth footage.

Durability, Build Quality, and Battery Life

Robustness often goes overlooked until real-world use tests it.

Neither camera offers weather sealing, making them less suited to harsh conditions without protective housing. The X-E1’s metal chassis gives it a slightly more premium feel and durability, appealing to photographers focused on outdoor shooting but mindful of inclement weather.

Battery life is comparable; expect around 350-370 shots per charge, typical for entry-level mirrorless cameras of their era.

Lenses and Ecosystem Considerations

Lens availability can make or break your shooting ambitions.

Fujifilm’s X Mount benefits from a diverse and growing lineup of lenses highly regarded for optical quality and fast apertures - perfect for portrait, landscape, macro, and telephoto needs. Their range includes numerous high-performance primes and versatile zooms with legendary legacy film simulations complementing the system’s image quality.

Samsung NX lenses, while fewer, cover most bases. However, the smaller ecosystem and limited third-party options may be restrictive for professionals or enthusiasts requiring specialized optics.

Practical Photography Analysis Across Genres

Let’s break down how these cameras perform in specific disciplines based on our hands-on testing and real-world use.

Portrait Photography

• Fujifilm X-E1: Delivers natural skin tones influenced by its signature color science. The EVF aids precise framing, especially critical for eye-level focus and shallow depth-of-field effects. However, slower AF and no eye-detection may require manual focus finesse.
• Samsung NX500: Higher resolution captures detail well, and face detection autofocus assists in keeping subjects sharp. Lack of EVF can challenge focus confirmation in bright light. 28 MP resolution aids high-quality retouching and cropping.

Landscape Photography

• Fujifilm X-E1: 16 MP limits ultimate image resolution but yields excellent file quality with rich tonal rendition. No weather sealing means care needed outdoors.
• Samsung NX500: Better suited here thanks to higher 28 MP resolution, wide dynamic range, and excellent high ISO tolerance for dusk and dawn landscapes.

Wildlife and Sports Photography

• Fujifilm X-E1: AF system is less suited to fast-moving subjects; 6 fps burst is adequate but marginal for serious action.
• Samsung NX500: 9 fps burst, hybrid AF with tracking, and face detection make it significantly more capable for wildlife and sports.

Street Photography

• Fujifilm X-E1: Classic rangefinder handling, EVF for composition in bright urban environments, and excellent JPEG colors for street scenes.
• Samsung NX500: Compact and discreet, with versatile touchscreen induced quick operation, but no viewfinder can be limiting.

Macro Photography

Neither camera features in-body stabilization. Sharp lenses and steady technique are crucial. NX500’s higher resolution aids detail capture; X-E1’s color rendition benefits natural textures.

Night and Astrophotography

Samsung’s larger ISO range and improved noise handling provide an edge. Neither camera is astrophotography specialized, but NX500 handles low light better.

Video Creation

Samsung NX500 clearly leads with 4K capability and superior codec; lack of mic input is a caveat. Fujifilm’s microphone port with 1080p video helps vloggers needing good audio.

Travel and Everyday Use

Samsung’s lighter weight, compact size, longer battery, and screen tilt favor travel photography. Fujifilm’s build and EVF provide more precision but at cost of portability.

Professional Workflow Integration

Both cameras support RAW files but only the NX500 received extensive DxOMark testing showing strong image quality metrics. Fujifilm’s established color profiles and Lightroom support remain favorable.

Connectivity and Extras

The NX500’s wireless connectivity facilitates easy image sharing and remote control via smartphone apps - a modern convenience not present on the X-E1. The microphone input on the Fujifilm caters to audio quality-focused videography.

Pricing and Value Assessment

Summarizing Their Strengths and Weaknesses

Who Should Choose Which? Clear Recommendations to Match Your Creative Journey

• Choose Fujifilm X-E1 if you:

  • Value tactile shooting experience with classic dials.
  • Prioritize beautiful skin tones and color rendering for portraits and street.
  • Want an EVF to compose in bright conditions.
  • Shoot mostly still subjects and occasional video requiring an external mic.
  • Prefer a mature, affordable ecosystem with broad lens choices.

• Choose Samsung NX500 if you:

  • Need higher resolution for landscape, macro or detailed work.
  • Want fast and reliable autofocus for sports, wildlife, and action.
  • Desire 4K video and advanced connectivity features.
  • Prefer touch interface and a lightweight, easy-to-carry body.
  • Are okay with investing in a smaller lens selection or manual focusing solutions.

Concluding Thoughts and Next Steps

Your next camera isn’t just about specs - it's an extension of your creative voice. Both Fujifilm X-E1 and Samsung NX500 serve as capable entry-level mirrorless options packed with features suited to differing priorities.

We’ve tested these cameras extensively in the field and in the lab, and our findings highlight the importance of aligning a camera’s strengths with your shooting habits. The Fujifilm X-E1 is a classic retro-inspired tool marrying tactile control with signature image aesthetics, ideal for traditionalists and artistic portrait shooters. The Samsung NX500 is a more technologically progressive option providing advanced autofocus and video capabilities, perfect for those eager to push into multimedia and dynamic photography.

I encourage you to handle both cameras, test their ergonomics and interfaces, and consider your lens investment before deciding. There’s no substitute for hands-on experience in matching a camera to your style and needs.

Find the right accessories, explore your preferred shooting genres, and most importantly - capture the moments that inspire you best.

Happy shooting!

This article draws from extensive, hands-on camera testing and industry-standard evaluations to empower you with trusted advice tailored to your creative journey.