WHAT IS IT?
An elevator-ride explanation of the X-E1 would be that it takes the contents of the X-Pro1 and squeezes it into a smaller body. The core components of the X-Pro1—the 16.3-megapixel APS-C X-Trans CMOS sensor and the EXR Pro image processor—are also found inside the X-E1, which means you’ll get more or less the same results in terms of image quality from the two cameras.
For those who are new to Fujifilm’s dominion of digital cameras, here’s a bit of a backgrounder on their proprietary X-Trans technology:
Typically, CMOS sensors use the Bayer color filter array to decode color information. The problem with the Bayer array is that its repetitive arrangement of filters tends to produce aliasing effects like moiré—strange waves or maze-like patterns—when shooting stripes and other typical patterns. This is an undesirable effect, and it is usually solved by the inclusion of an optical low pass filter (OLPF), which is also known as the anti-aliasing (AA) filter. The filter does solve the problem of moiré, but in turn, there is an apparent loss of sharpness—the image gets softened. What’s special about the X-Trans CMOS sensor is that it makes use of a unique arrangement of color filters instead of the Bayer array, minimizing the occurrence of moiré, thereby eliminating the need for an AA filter. The lack thereof allows the X-E1 to come up with sharper images.