- New rumors predict that a Fujifilm X-E5 camera will launch in mid-2025
- The X-E series are compact rangefinders with large APS-C sensors
- Separate rumors predict that a new X-Pro model won’t land in 2025
It’s that time of year again – not just for panicked Christmas shopping, but for the camera rumors to go into overdrive ahead of the new year. And of all the speculation I’ve seen for 2025 so far, a new rumor for the Fujifilm X-E5 has piqued my interest the most.
Inevitably, the speculation has come from the reliable Fuji Rumors , whose source has predicted that a new model in the X-E series – which are typically compact, affordable rangefinders with large APS-C sensors – “will come in the summer of 2025”.
A new X-E5 is appealing for a number of reasons, not least because it’d effectively be a Fujifilm X100VI with the benefit of interchangeable lenses (which, as a Fujifilm user, I have plenty of). But what’s made this rumor particularly interesting is a new one today that a new Fujifilm X-Pro model surprisingly isn’t coming in 2025.
At this stage, these are just rumors. But if they turn out to be true, then the X-E5 could potentially become even more interesting as the only new rangefinder-style sibling to the X100VI that we see in 2025. Well, unless you include the rumored medium format Fujifilm GFX100RF, which will likely be beyond my budget.
Since its launch back in 2012 – not long after the original X100 – Fujfilm’s X-E series has gradually shed some of its more enthusiast-friendly features, like its rear command dial and comfortable handling. With an X-Pro sequel still potentially a way off, and the Fujifilm X-M5 recently arriving for beginners and video shooters, the X-E5 could again be free to lean harder into its photographic roots.
What I’d want from a Fujifilm X-E5
As the owner of a Fujifilm X-T5 – which is still one of the best cameras for photography, in my opinion – my main hope for a Fujifilm X-E5 is that it replicates as much of that camera as possible, in a more compact form factor.
There is already the Fujifilm X-T50, but that has more of a mini-DSLR design than the sleeker X-E series, whose electronic viewfinder is tucked away neatly in the top-left corner (like the X100VI and X-Pro 3).
As much as I’d like an X100VI – which is arguably camera of the year – I don’t think I could live with its fixed 23mm f/2 lens. I prefer longer focal lengths to isolate subjects in street and travel photography, so a compact body that could be permanently paired with my XF35mm f/2 and XF50mm f/2 lenses would be an ideal daily carry when I don’t want a larger setup. The Xf27mm f/2.8 R WR would also be a great partner for it.
With the X100VI getting in-body image stabilization (IBIS), that feature seems almost certain for an X-E5 – as does the latest 40MP APS-C sensor, which is handy for cropping. Dare I also hope for weather-sealing? That might be a step too far, but in the absence of a new X-Pro model, perhaps Fuji might take the X-E down a more premium route. I could also probably live with a single card slot and old-school NP-W126S battery.
There are undoubtedly going to be more powerful and innovative cameras than an X-E5 in 2025. It’s been a quiet year for Sony, so I’m expecting it to launch a Sony A7 V and perhaps an A7R VI. Who knows, maybe the rumored Ricoh GR IV or even a Sony RX1 successor will arrive to tempt me elsewhere.
But for my needs, a modern, updated version of the X-E4 sounds like the ideal fit – as long as Fujifilm manages to avoid the stock nightmares that have afflicted that camera and the X100VI in 2024.
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mark.wilson@futurenet.com (Mark Wilson)
