Is anybody else drooling over the new Fuji X-E1?

[And-Rew]

Oh good, some abuse that needs taming - nothing like a forum to get people acting unreasonably! 

So, to the question at hand - am I drooling over the X-E1?

No - but then I don't need to, I have an X-Pro 1. Though I am glad of the firmware upgrade this camera has delivered to the X-Pro 1

For the fan boi's (I'm from Suffolk and that's how we say it  ) - neither Canon, Nikon or Sony has anything to match the Fuji X range. And so far as IQ goes, it matches the 5D2 and is pretty much about there with a 5D3.
Yes, it's a crop sensor and no, it doesn't have as many lenses as offered by the Canon EF range - but it is soooo much better than either of those cameras in so many ways that pretty much only A/F and dual card support are the only advantages over this range of cameras in terms of body only.

As a 3 year owner and fan of the 5D2 - and a once aspiring 5D3 owner - I'm pretty much sold on this range of cameras for almost all of my photographic needs. Just need that 14mm w/a lens and I'm sorted.

£1600 is a lot of money for the X-Pro 1, but then so is £3k for a 5D3 and £5k+ for a 1DX, and no more than a 5D2 (without lens) which people are still happy to buy!

The real issue is, what are Canon doing, or going to do, about this level of competition - because none of the G series nor the M series can match it, and Nikon are hardly pushing the boat out to raise the game.

[silat shooters]

I'm definitely keeping an eye on this one.  I agree with others here the EOS-M is non-starter for me as well.  I'm looking for something to compliment my 5D III.  I had an NEX 5N that had terrific IQ but focus was slooooow.  Did try their LA-EA2 adapter to mount A-mount lenses and speed up the focus but it made the whole set-up unappealingly large, defeating the compact size advantage.

Tried the OM-D and that's a pretty sweet little camera, it feels like a miniature DSLR.  But I'm not sold on the sensor for low light images.  That's bulk of what I do, ISO 1600 - 3200.

Like others I was a Leica M shooter in the film days and sold it to go digital definitely miss that feel of the Leica, not to mention rich tonality.  Took a look at the X-Pro1, it's larger than anticipated but not heavy.  The viewfinder was very nice (optical) but focus was even slooooooower than my NEX 5N.  So that was a deal-breaker for me.  But images I have seen from it look outstanding.

Now there's a rumor that Sony will introduce a NEX PRO camera this week in addition to their NEX 6, on the 12th.  Mirrorless cameras are clearly here to stay and getting better with each introduction.  Don't forget the Panasonic will also be introducing their GH3 which will like be the best hybrid still/video combo camera out there. 

So the next few months will be very exciting for all of us!  I will look at a number of cameras before committing to one of them.  I still have lenses for the NEX system and my son uses a GH2 (primarily for video), so those two systems have priority as it was be less of an investment and if I go GH3, I can share lenses with my son.  I'd feel good about doing that.  But do dream of shooting more of an Leica M camera again.....

[Rocky]

BTW, Rocky, the M9 is 100% manual focus

That is that exact reason why I singled out the M9. With Zone focusing, it can beat the AF

[HarryWintergreen]

Street photography is something different. DSLR here isn't the best choice. Fuji seems to have taken this into consideration.

[Rocky]

Street photography is something different. DSLR here isn't the best choice. Fuji seems to have taken this into consideration.

The best "street shooter" camera is something with a waist level viewfinder such that the camera need not to be raised to the eye level to draw any attention. Therefore  some canon DSLR is best for the job, e.g. 60D and the T4i. Some mirrorless with swinging screen will do too. In the old film days, both the Hasselblad and Rolleiflex will be excellent choice, dispite of the larger size of the camera, due to the 6 X6 cm waistlevel view finder.