FUJIFILM X-E5: The Perfect Travel & Street Photography Camera

The FUJIFILM X-E5 has just touched down at the FUJIFILM House of Photography – and there’s no better place to get hands-on with this beautifully compact rangefinder. The new addition to the X Series range is the ideal companion for photographers who live life on the move, delivering professional performance in a portable body and blending modern innovations with an analogue-inspired imaging experience.

Read on to find out why you should head to the FUJIFILM House of Photography for an in-person look, or book an upcoming FUJIFILM School event, where you can try it out while receiving expert tuition on photographic technique.

Photo 2025 © Dawn Eagleton

Classic rangefinder design

Built to inspire creativity at every turn, the X-E5 pairs a sleek aesthetic with a thoughtfully engineered form factor. A machined-aluminium top-plate with a smooth anodised finish gives the camera a premium feel while maintaining a compact, retro aesthetic. The result is a stylish companion that looks as good in hand as the images it creates.

Historically, rangefinder cameras – where the viewfinder is offset to one side of the camera body – were used by photojournalists. That’s because, unlike a camera with a central viewfinder, it’s easier to maintain a connection with your subject.

When making a portrait image, for example, the subject can see more of your face, so they feel more comfortable. Similarly, if you keep both eyes open, it’s easier to watch what’s going on around you – crucial for ensuring you make an image at the perfect moment. And that’s central to the X-E5’s appeal as a travel and street camera: it helps you get more involved with your subject.

Combine that with its compact, lightweight build and intuitively placed controls and you’ll soon see why this camera is the perfect daily carry. If you’re visiting the House of Photography, you can arrange a free one-day loan and experience the X-E5’s handling in real-world settings. Be sure to use that offset viewfinder as you explore the streets and markets in nearby Covent Garden.

Photo 2025 © Dawn Eagleton

Professional performance

Underneath that beautiful design beats the heart of a truly capable camera, and you’ll be guaranteed fantastic results whenever you use it. The X-E5 employs our latest – and greatest – 40.2‑megapixel X‑Trans CMOS 5 HR sensor. This level of resolution means, on those occasions when you have to create quickly, you’ll have the scope to crop afterwards without any discernible drop in image quality. With the X-E5, you can fully immerse yourself in a location, soaking up the sights, smells and sounds to return home with real memories, not snaps.

This is so important for creating compelling street and travel images. Take the time to look around and get a feel for a location before even lifting the camera to your eye – and when you do start making images, leave no stone unturned. The best images are those that record details other photographers would simply walk past – and the X-E5 is fully equipped to help you produce creative masterpieces.

For example, it’s the first X-E series model to feature in-body image stabilisation (IBIS), offering up to 7.0 stops of compensation at the centre of the frame. This makes it easier to work with slower shutter speeds or in challenging lighting without needing a tripod, so you can confidently keep making images all day and night!

If that’s your plan, select one of the three Auto ISO options on the X-E5. Then you can concentrate on making great images, while the camera automatically varies the ISO setting according to the lighting conditions.

Photo 2025 © Dawn Eagleton

Improved Film Simulation dial

Fujifilm’s iconic Film Simulations are a favourite among creatives – and the X-E5 makes them more accessible than ever with a redesigned Film Simulation dial that’s integrated into the top-plate. This new control offers quick and tactile access to your favourite colour profiles without diving into menus.

With 20 Film Simulations available to pick from, the X-E5 lets users experiment with different visual styles straight out of camera. For street photography, we’d recommend dialling in one of the more muted options such as CLASSIC CHROME, CLASSIC Neg. and – if you really want to push the boat out – ETERNA. For travel, Velvia should be your go-to for pumped-up colours, but we’re also fans of ASTIA’s softer tones and the subtly punchy REALA ACE. If black & white is more your thing, it has to be ACROS. All are available at the twist of the dial.

Want to dive deeper? The X-E5 also offers three dial positions for creating and recalling your own Film Simulation recipes. Select FS1-FS3, then follow the simple steps to create your own custom colours. Concocting your own recipes is a great way to help tell the story of a location. You could pump up grain and contrast to give images a grittier feel, for example, or dial back the tones, shadows and highlights to deliver dreamier results. The X-E5 gives you a creative canvas to paint whatever you feel.

Photo 2025 © Cameron O'Connell

Advanced features

Loving the retro vibes of the X-E5? Be sure to try out the new Classic Display mode, which emulates the clean, minimalist interface of traditional optical viewfinders. It’s like looking through an old-school SLR, with exposure information at the bottom of the screen and a needle on the right-hand side showing exposure accuracy. You’ll feel like a photojournalist from the sixties as you walk around getting images of a new location.

Be sure to explore the delights of the front Control Lever too, which unlocks even more flexibility. It’s fully customisable and offers fast access to a range of features including the digital teleconverter, which provides 1.4x and 2x magnification options.

This is so useful for street and travel imagery, getting you closer to a subject in an instant. Think of the applications. Can’t get close enough to that architectural detail? You can now. Want to crop out crowds from a tourist hotspot? No problem. Looking to make great portrait images without a distracting background? Simple. It’s like having extra lenses in your bag, but you don’t have to waste time swapping them over – it’s all at your fingertips.

Photo 2025 © Yvette Scott

New pancake lens

Talking of lenses, the X-E5 is available as a kit with the new FUJINON XF23mmF2.8 R WR – a compact prime that perfectly complements the camera’s slim silhouette. With a full-frame equivalent focal length of 35mm, this versatile pancake lens offers a wide-angle field of view that’s ideal for travel and street images.

Weighing just 90g and measuring only 23mm in length, the XF23mmF2.8 R WR keeps your set-up lightweight. Despite its small size, the lens delivers excellent optical performance, with sharpness across the frame and minimal distortion. And while the X-E5 works brilliantly with this new optic, its interchangeable-lens design means users can pair it with any lens in the X Mount lineup – from ultra wide to telephoto – unlocking a full system’s worth of creative possibilities.

Photo 2025 © Cameron O'Connell

We’ve given you just a few reasons why the X-E5 is perfect for travel and street photography – but it’s got plenty more charms waiting to be discovered. Come and try it out today at our Covent Garden photography hub and start your journey to even better images.

Learn more about the FUJIFILM X-E5 or sign up to loan it here.