It's funny how when a camera doesn't do a thing particularly well and it's something we require for our style of photography, we tend to say it's a bad camera. But if the thing is something we don't use often or we can work around, we say that it's one of the camera's quirks. So rather than say a camera is good or bad, let's see what are some things that it does well and not so well. Then as a photographer, you can see if it fits your needs.
What it does well:
Because I am coming from using mainly micro 4/3rds cameras, i find that the low light abilities of the X-E2 extremely capable. I recently attended an outdoor concert at night and had no problem getting crisp clear images at ISO 3200. even higher if you are converting to black and white. This is due to the lack of anti-aliasing filter and Fujifilm X-Trans sensor that uses non-Bayer sensor. Meaning that you get minimal noise and grain. And a look that is unique to Fujifilm.
Once I memorized where the physical controls were, i rarely had to take my eye away from the viewfinder in order to adjust settings, and the ones that aren't analog show up in the EVF once the Q menu, or relative Fn button is pressed.
I've heard it said that this camera caters toward the more intermediate/ advanced user, but in my experience it IS a camera a novice can use and grow with. While there is no obvious AUTO button to press, you can still leave as much decision making up to the camera as you want. Simply set the various settings to A. Not as quick as others, but it is there if you need it. The analog layout, in my opinion, helps one understand the exposure triangle, the effects of aperture, shutter speed, etc better than other cameras I've used.
It has a really great in camera RAW converter. If you don't have Lightroom or Photoshop, the camera's own converter produces better images than any free software that I have used. This is something beginners will love. Can't decide which film simulation to use? Shot in Raw and recreate images in all of Fujifilm's very own Velvia, Astia, Monochrome, etc, all while adjusting exposure, color, sharpness and others.
It has wonderful focusing aids. Both split imaging and focus peaking are there, and you can zoom in with both for fine tuning. Peaking comes in red, blue, and white.
What it struggles at doing:
It's not strong at capturing fast action. Continuous focusing isn't as reliable as I would like it to be. Although most other mirrorless cameras struggle with this as well.
It has bare bones as far as some features go. My Lumix G5 is older and has a touch screen that focuses and captures by touch as well as a articulated screen. The E-X2 has neither. Suprisingly, this is a feature that i personally didn't miss too much. The X-E2's screen is gorgeous and can go very dark or bright when needed, depending on the location. It has those fun art filters that some people love. Not as many as Olympus or Panasonic but they're there. It does do the aforementioned Fujifilm film simulations.
The wifi is spotty when connected to my Galaxy S3. Usually it disconnects after only 30 seconds. The fujifilm app only offers file transfer and geo tagging. You cannot shoot remotely from your mobile phone.
These are my opinions, which come from someone who worked for a bit in a portrait studio using Canon. Shot a bit with entry level Nikon, and mainly used micro 4/3ds cameras for street photography. so take all of the above as you will. No camera is a bad camera to me. Sometimes you have to see how a camera wants to be used rather than try and do something is wasn't designed to do. If you are like me and is someone who takes a couple of seconds to compose and get setting right, I think this camera is worth a look. Beginners and novices who are looking to get into it should take a look to, It has all the full auto capabilities of a point and shoot when you need it, a nice sized sensor, and is small enough to not be a chore to take around all the time.
One note: the first thing i did when i got this camera, I updated the firmware of both the camera body and the kit lens. I've read that it is slow to focus and hunts for focus if you don't install the latest firmware. In my experience i didn't find that to be the case.