Disclamer - I started this review about 6 months ago when I 1st purchased my Fuji XT-2. Since that point I have learnt a lot more things about the camera, both good and bad, and therefore the review has evolved accordingly. Writing a review of something as complex as a modern camera as well as all the lenses that go with it is never an easy task. You want to be objective, but at the same time you are on a steep learning curve. The tendency is to add just one more thought or modify an initial assumption and so the review goes on till the end. At some point however you must say., enough and draw a line in the sand.
All the photos here are mine and from the camera, and generally unprocessed. I have taken better since then, but these were taken on the 1st day of usage so show me at my most innocent and naive.
Finally remember this is IMHO. If you think I have made a mistake, please correct me however if you don't agree with my opinions, fine, but they are just opinions, honestly held and given.
1. No exotic locations
2. No expensive cameras.
The first rule went out the window ages ago, and now only gone and broken the 2nd one.
I am now the owner of a Fuji X-T2 therefore and therefore descending to the level of hypocrisy previously only achieved by the present president of the United States.
So why did I succumb to this heinous crime? and why was the Fuji the instrument of my demise. Read on, dear reader, read on.
Decisions, Decisions
Personally I never understand people who are constantly changing their cameras to the latest and greatest. It takes me months to get to grips with the functionality of any new camera, and years until I get to the point of being comfortable to the point I can use it without to much thought.
Changing cameras is like changing your partner. Whatever the issues and faults, you have grown comfortable with them and accept their irritations and foibles.
A change is always exciting, but after the initial honeymoon wears off, you still find yourself dealing with issues, but are now a lot poorer.
However like life, technology never stops and there comes a point where you have to face facts that you have reached the limitations of what your cameras can do.
I was still on my 1st DSLR, an elderly Sony A-37) plus a slightly more modern Sony A6000. While I still love the A-37, Sony have done little to reciprocate that love over the years letting the DSLR market wither to concentrate on their high end full frame mirror-less cameras
The A6000 is a great little camera for the price, but again with Sony concentrating on their full frame models, the lens choice is less than stellar and the user interface was designed by some intern who obviously had never used a camera before.
Things like poor high ISO performance, small dynamic range and lack of a lens upgrade path was beginning to annoy me. So it was time for a change.
The tough question was though "what my next camera was to be?"
Changing cameras is like changing your partner. Whatever the issues and faults, you have grown comfortable with them and accept their irritations and foibles.
A change is always exciting, but after the initial honeymoon wears off, you still find yourself dealing with issues, but are now a lot poorer.
However like life, technology never stops and there comes a point where you have to face facts that you have reached the limitations of what your cameras can do.
I was still on my 1st DSLR, an elderly Sony A-37) plus a slightly more modern Sony A6000. While I still love the A-37, Sony have done little to reciprocate that love over the years letting the DSLR market wither to concentrate on their high end full frame mirror-less cameras
The A6000 is a great little camera for the price, but again with Sony concentrating on their full frame models, the lens choice is less than stellar and the user interface was designed by some intern who obviously had never used a camera before.
Things like poor high ISO performance, small dynamic range and lack of a lens upgrade path was beginning to annoy me. So it was time for a change.
The tough question was though "what my next camera was to be?"
Obviously the most important consideration would be the price. Me and my wife came to an unwritten agreement years ago, that she wouldn't ask and I wouldn't take advantage of this.
Another important consideration would be that any camera would need to last for at least 5 years. This meant its performance should not lag too much in that period, and I needed to be sure that things like lenses would be obtainable in that period.
As much as I like Sony DSLRs, I just didn't fancy the Sony A99ii. As good a camera as it is, I have lost faith in Sony's DSLR roadmap and did not feel like going down that particular dead end again. I had similar issues with the A6500. Great camera but poor choice in lenses. Also the A6500 always feels a bit like a backup camera, not your main device.
Being a fully paid up member of the EVF fan club, going to a Canon, Nikon or Pentax DSLR would feel like a retrograde step. Plus Canons mirrorless offerings had too many compromises, and Nikon just had nothing to offer (yet) in that area.
So that left me Fuji, Olympus, Panasonic or the Sony Full frame mirrorless cameras.
The Olympus and Panasonic sensor sizes ruled these out. They do great things with them, but as they seem to be behind the curve now, what would they be like in 5 years time?
If I had a infinite amount of money, I may well of plumped for a Sony A7. However an important things I learnt since buying my 1st camera is not to look at the camera on its own, but the cost of the whole system, lens and all. While I could get a Sony A7 within my budget, equipping it with a set of lenses that would cover the major focal lengths would cost a small fortune.
So basically this left Fuji, with what seemed the best compromise in terms of overall cost, long term support, and feature set.
I must admit Fuji cameras had always intrigued me.
Firstly a number of photographer I knew and admired use Fuji, which is always a good sign.
Secondly I was impressed by the way Fuji provides long term customer care, such as providing software upgrades to existing models (Sony in contrast only provide fix bugs, if that). As a software developer myself the commitment to continual improvement impressed me.
Finally, no one seems to have bad word about Fuji lenses. Not only are they sharp, but they are relatively affordable, especially compared to the cost of Sony full frame glass.
On the downside, I have never been totally convinced by the Fuji retro design philosophy, and then their was the reported issues of processing Fuji RAW files were a concern.
But as Fuji seemed the only realistic option, the next decision was what camera would it be. That decision basically came down to the X-T2 or the X-T20. Both are great cameras, and use the same sensor. I was tempted by the cheaper X-T20 and its touchscreen, but in the end, the more pro-centric X-T2 seemed to provide more growth room.
So with decision made and after finding a good body only deal on the grey market for a suspiciously low figure, I went for it.
My plan was to order the camera and by the time it had arrived on the slow boat from wherever it was being shipped from, I would had plenty of time to decide which lenses to buy. As it turned out it arrived 2 days later, meaning I had to cadge some lenses from a fellow MPS member.
Therefore I found myself £1000 poorer and with a new Fuji camera together with a weird mix of a lenses (a 55-200, 55-230, 23mm f2.0 prime and a Samyang 8mm fish-eye lenses).
First Impressions
The thing you notice when you take the camera out the box is its heft.Not so much the weight, but a feeling of solidity. Basically it feels like a tool designed by and for craftsmen, which was in stark contrast to my present cameras which always felt plastic and fragile.
The second thing I noticed was the body and how it was crammed with manual controls and dials. This was in stark contrast to the functional minimalism of the A6000. The controls (with a few exceptions ) are placed where you need them and provide loads of tactile physical feedback.
Saying that still I am still not totally won over by the Fuji retro thing. Sometimes it works, but they do sometimes push the concept to far (more on that in a bit).
Usability
At the end of the day a camera is a tool to help take the photos you can and often is determined about how user friendly is the camera. Usability however is hard to define and measure. You know when its right or wrong but it is often hard to formulate why.When you take a shot you are relying on your muscle memory to control the camera, while you concentrate on framing and composition. If a control is not easily found, or difficult to access, you have to think and recompose. That may mean you lose that shot.
I must admit when I first picked up the camera, I was a bit overwhelmed by the number of dials and buttons. It took me about 3 days to start to understanding how the camera worked and to start making it do what i wanted.
The X-T2 is a camera that very much emphasizes manual user control. While you can use it in Auto everything mode, it almost begs you to take it off the leash and start finessing the controls. You can see why pros love it so much. This is a camera that stretches and rewards the skill of the photographer and unlike other cameras, you feel that you are in control. However there are downsides to this
The top of the camera is akin to a 1960's Film SLR with a similar set of dials. All the critical dials, such as ISO, Aperture, Speed and exposure compensation are there and ready to use.
However some of the dials make more sense than other. While I the dials to set the ISO and exposure compensation are make sense, the speed dial is another issue.
The speed dial allows you to set the shutter speed to speeds between 1 to 1/8000 of a second. However because the speed range is limited by dial space, if you want a speed of about 1/10th second, you would have to move the dial to T mode and set the speed via the rear dual. This means in reality this dial is largely redundant. Most of the time it will be in Auto or T mode, meaning a large amount of camera real estate is wasted.
I would also of liked a lock button on the EVF dial, like the ISO one so to stop it being knocked by mistake. Alternatively a redesign of the dial so they are harder to knock. I found I knocked the ISO dial a number of times, partly because the lock button is not obvious whether it is on or off.
Another problem with the dials approach is that they are difficult to use at night. It would be greatly improved by just raising a mark next to the A on each dial, so it could be located by touch. Even better if the camera itself could provide some illumination like the Nikon D850.
If the speed dial is unnecessary, the opposite can be said for the aperture ring on the lenses. Changing the aperture via a aperture ring just feels right. It is exactly where you need it and makes aperture control so pleasant. This means that for most of the time you will operate the camera in aperture priority mode. The minus side is that it not always obvious whether the lens is in manual or automatic aperture mode because it is not instantly visible. Also it is very easy on primes to set the aperture ring on non-auto when screwing the lens on. Although it works well, a dedicated Auto button makes more sense and is easier to see and use.
Beneath the speed and ISO dial are dials for setting the shooting mode and exposure metering. One problem with these is that these are small and fiddly, making them difficult to set with normal fingers and virtually impossible with gloves on. If Fuji could extend the switches upwards a few mm it would make them both more visible and easier to use.
On the front is a dedicated dial to move between single shot, continuous and manual focus. While useful to have those functions on a dedicated switch its placement leaves a lot to be desired. Being on the front means it is easy to forget about until you cannot work out why the camera is not focusing properly after you left it in manual mode . It would of made more sense to be on the back, or on the top plate.
Most of the other buttons are well placed and customisable. The only switch that I find annoying is the one on the front. Initially I customised it to set the timer delay function, but I found it to easy to catch when holding the camera. In the end I set it to show the levels curve, but even then it is annoying.
One thing that stands out on the camera is the lack of a PASM dial. The Fuji philosophy is that these modes are defined by the state of the aperture switch and and the shutter and ISO dial. That is fair enough, but it does mean you have to check 3 different dials and switches to confirm which mode you are in. You will find yourself spending a lot of time checking the dials and in a hurry you ,may well miss one. I would of really liked a auto override button on the camera for those situations where you just need a shot. There have been situations when I realised to late that I had left the camera in manual focus/High ISO/Manual Aperture.
A great feature of the X-T2, which works far better than I thought, is the focus point selection joystick. I have always liked the idea of touchscreens on cameras, but I have to admit the joystick works far better. Not only does it give you far finer control, it is far easier to use with the eye pressed to the EVF and with gloves on.
Fuji seem to like to incorporate a lot of hidden functionality in their controls. For example it took me a while to find the rear dial could be not only rotated, but pressed as well. In fact with a number of the controls, their behavior changes depending on not only how you use them, but also what mode you are in. Why some of this is intuitive, it does take a while to learn all the tricks.
Fortunately Fuji's are very customisable. First there is the myMenu, which allows you to create a custom menu of well used functions. Then the Q menu extends this further by allowing you to designate some of the functions to a quick graphical menu. Finally you can re-assign a number of functions to various buttons. While I could do the latter on the A6000, I could never remember which button I had assigned to which. With the Fuji has a neat trick to help this. A long press on the Disp button will show the button assignments, which shows the Fuji designers are thinking hard about usability.
On the negative side however, Not all functions can be allocated to either the Q menu or be reassigned to custom buttons, and I feel that Fuji could of pushed the total customization philosophy a bit harder.
The camera menu itself is relatively easy to navigate, but some of the options are in non-obvious places. For example when I first tried a manual lens it would not take an image. I knew there must be a release without lens option, but I just could not find it. In the end I found it in the Button/Dial setup menu!
Finally, you never know how usable a camera is until you have had to use it on a cold winters night on a force 10 gale at night.Any camera is easy to use in the right conditions but the true test is how easy it is to use when you are under pressure or when you are wrapped up against the elements. So how do I rate the X-T2 on this scale?
The top control dials, certainly make it easy to see and access the controls with gloves on, but the lack of illumination means in the dark you are struggling. On the plus side the aperture ring and joystick provide good control while your eye is pressed against the EVF. The button customization and the Q menu allow you to access your many of most used functions easily. However the bracket and metering controls are far to small, and some of the switches like the focusing mode should of been grouped on the back of the camera. So generally it is very good, but a few small changes would make it far better.
Camera Functions
When I decided to go Fuji, there were some things that I was really keen to try.One was the film simulation modes. These allow the output to look like film of old and because you can save both RAW and JPG, you can always recover your original image if you don't like the end result (it is only applied on the JPG). These provide great creative possibilities, and the B&W modes in particular help you visualize what an image will look like.
I was also excited by the multiple exposure mode and its potential creative possibilities. However here Fuji's implementation was a disappointment.
Fuji allows you to take a photo and overlay it with a 2nd image. However you can only overlay the picture taken before in that mode. It would of been far better to allow me to choose any stored image. Secondly, it only allowed to overlay 1 image. Why not allow 2, 3 or more? This would of provided far greater creative freedom.I feel Fuji have missed a great opportunity here to provide a truly useful creative function.
Also surprising is that there is no in camera HDR mode. To be fair, I do most HDR images with post-processing and the camera supports a fair number of bracketing options. However sometimes it is useful to do it in camera if only to see the result, and for some reason Fuji felt that this was not necessary.
Another issue is with the exposure mode. Switching between zone and spot is fiddly using the dial beneath the speed dial. Secondly it does not work in face detect mode, making Face detect less useful because I cannot leave the camera in Face detect mode.
On the plus side, this is the first digital camera that I have felt most comfortable using manual focus lenses. Not only do most manual focus lenses come with a aperture ring, so they fit nicely into the Fuji design philosophy, but the camera provides a number of methods to check your focus, the nicest being pressing rear dial, expands the view in the viewfinder.On the minus side I have found the zebra as not as great as contrast as the Sony, and it does not appear to provide any focus achieved indicator such as the focus squares changing colour.
Even with auto focus lenses, the ability to initiate auto-focus then fine tune with the manual focus ring is excellent. Add to that the control you have over the focus point via the joystick, it should mean that I will never have to desperately recompose my image to try and get the right subject in focus.
The camera itself provides 2 card slots, which can be configured in a number of ways such as backup, extra storage or split between JPG ad RAW's. At present I store RAW on one and JPG on the other, however this means that I double the amount of files I stored.. One issue I found in setting up the cards was that despite choosing RAW and JPG's, I was surprised to find that both cards were filled with jpgs. Apparently you also need to choose the image quality options as well in the menu. It would of been better if these functions were linked or some sort of warning given.
Another strange thing to mention that happened to a colleague was that their camera stopped taking pictures. It was eventually worked out that the camera folder had reached 999 and it would not take anymore until either the card was formatted or a new card inserted and the card renew option pressed. From a usability standpoint this is bizarre and akin to a car stopping when its odometer reached 999999.
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| I have grown to love the Samyang 8mm. |
Lenses
One of the questions you have to ask yourself before buying a camera is
what lenses do you intend to get. In the end you are not buying a
camera, but a system and you need to work out whether you can get/afford
the lenses you will need.
The relative quality of Lenses between manufacturers is always a subject of endless arguments between different sets of camera fan boys. In truth, at the top end there is very little difference between the major manufacturers in terms of quality and price. If money is no object you can get great lenses for any camera. However for those who are looking for value and a lower price point it is far less clear cut.
On of the benefits of Fuji is that virtually all there lenses, from the standard kit lens upwards, are pretty sharp and fast. Comparing this with the Sony A6000 you buy some great lenses if cost was no object, but at the lower end, the quality drops off dramatically. For example kit lens on a A6000 is the is the 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 lens. The Fuji equivalent is the Fuji 18-55 f2.8-4 . Not only is the Fuji faster, but in terms of quality, it leaves the Sony in the dust. In fact, while most kit lenses get discarded soon after purchase, the Fuji is a lens which will get good images in most conditions.
On the downside there is little 3rd party support for Fuji, and virtually no 3rd party autofocus lenses. This could be due to the fact that Fuji lenses are different to most other manufacturers, by incorporating a aperture dial, meaning 3rd party manufacturers cannot easily adapt lenses.
This does mean that you rely on Fuji largely to fill the lens line up, which it does largely, but there are significant holes.For example the longest lens you can get is a 100-400mm f4.5-5.6. This will get you so far, but not the greatest lens for wildlife where you are really wanting something that up to 600mm or 400mm f2.8.
Another thing missing is a good range of Macro lenses. The only true autofocus macro is the XF 80mm f2.8 LM OIS WR. However this is expensive and a more reasonable priced 100mm macro would be welcome. This is a surprise because with the right macro lens the Fuji is a great macro camera. You can get manual lenses such as the Samyang 100mm F2.8, but while most of the time that is adequate, you will sometimes miss autofocus.
So what lenses should you buy?
It makes sense to start with the 18-55mm. Its stabilized, relatively fast and with a good range. Of course there is temptation to go for the constant aperture f2.8 16-55mm. However the constant aperture lenses are considerable bigger than the equivalent non-constant aperture versions, so you have to consider whether the constant aperture is worth the extra weight and cost. The relative quality of Lenses between manufacturers is always a subject of endless arguments between different sets of camera fan boys. In truth, at the top end there is very little difference between the major manufacturers in terms of quality and price. If money is no object you can get great lenses for any camera. However for those who are looking for value and a lower price point it is far less clear cut.
On of the benefits of Fuji is that virtually all there lenses, from the standard kit lens upwards, are pretty sharp and fast. Comparing this with the Sony A6000 you buy some great lenses if cost was no object, but at the lower end, the quality drops off dramatically. For example kit lens on a A6000 is the is the 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 lens. The Fuji equivalent is the Fuji 18-55 f2.8-4 . Not only is the Fuji faster, but in terms of quality, it leaves the Sony in the dust. In fact, while most kit lenses get discarded soon after purchase, the Fuji is a lens which will get good images in most conditions.
On the downside there is little 3rd party support for Fuji, and virtually no 3rd party autofocus lenses. This could be due to the fact that Fuji lenses are different to most other manufacturers, by incorporating a aperture dial, meaning 3rd party manufacturers cannot easily adapt lenses.
This does mean that you rely on Fuji largely to fill the lens line up, which it does largely, but there are significant holes.For example the longest lens you can get is a 100-400mm f4.5-5.6. This will get you so far, but not the greatest lens for wildlife where you are really wanting something that up to 600mm or 400mm f2.8.
Another thing missing is a good range of Macro lenses. The only true autofocus macro is the XF 80mm f2.8 LM OIS WR. However this is expensive and a more reasonable priced 100mm macro would be welcome. This is a surprise because with the right macro lens the Fuji is a great macro camera. You can get manual lenses such as the Samyang 100mm F2.8, but while most of the time that is adequate, you will sometimes miss autofocus.
So what lenses should you buy?
Next is the 55-210mm F3.5-4.8 R LM OIS because its nice to get aa lens with a bit more zoom power. This is not really a lens you will leave on your camera all the time, but it compliments the 18-55 and provides a good reach at a reasonable price. Again there is the constant aperture version f 2.8 , but agian comes with weight and cost concerns.
So those two lenses will cover 90% of your requirements, however for landscape you may feel the need for something wider. The XF10-24mm 4 R OIS is a true wide angle and great for landscape work.. While there are wide primes, the fact it is stabilized and the extra flexibility of a zoom meant that this lens was high on my list.
Filling things out was 35mm F2.0 Prime. This is a good street photography. portrait lens, reasonable fast, very sharp with good bokeh. however it was a toss up between this and the 23mm and its extra FOV. In the end I got both and probably will eventually sell the 35mm. I musch prefere the wider view of the 23mm, and it makes a good carry around lens for when you are around and about.
Like I said, the only true Fuji Macro is heavy and expensive, but the Samyang 100 f2.8 is a good well made macro lens if you are willing to put up with manual focus. Another lenses worth looking at is the Samyang 8mm fisheye lens. Again it is a manual lens, but thats not a reall issue with a fisheye, and provides some nice effects
Battery
Normally I try and ensure I have enough battery for about 2 days shooting. This means that I now need 5 batteries. (2 for the day, plus a spare, 2 charged and on standby for the next day) to be comfortable. This would not be so bad if spare batteries were not about £50 a shot, so forcing me to buy Fuji clone batteries. Fortunately they do seem to work OK, but I would prefer either a bigger battery or lower power consumption
In practice, I have been OK and rarely need more than 2 batteries in a day. However I may well invest in a two battery charger.
One thing I haven't tried is in camera USB charging. This is a useful last gasp measure, but my experience is that charging is always slow with this method.
One thing I haven't tried is in camera USB charging. This is a useful last gasp measure, but my experience is that charging is always slow with this method.
Image Processing
One of my big worries was that my RAW editor would choke on the Fuji RAF file. It didn't and handles both compressed and compressed RAW files. Saying that there is defiantly a lag when a file opens, presumably as it is uncompressed.
The other worry was that the RAW converter would struggle to make the best of the data from the Fuji sensor. There are loads of horror stories on various forums about RAW conversion issues, but to be honest I'm not noticing them, but maybe I'm not being anal enough.
Saying that I am starting to use the Silkypix converter provided free from Fuji, and I must admit the output does seem to be improved over the native Adobe version, albeit with less control over the output. The silkypix converter has the additional advantage that it allows you to add film simulation in processing.
Saying that I am starting to use the Silkypix converter provided free from Fuji, and I must admit the output does seem to be improved over the native Adobe version, albeit with less control over the output. The silkypix converter has the additional advantage that it allows you to add film simulation in processing.
I must admit I don't do as much RAW processing as I did on Sony. Part of the reason is the JPG engine is just so much better meaning that generally the output is already pretty good meaning there is less need for RAW tweaking.
Manual
The camera manual provided is pretty well par for the course on these sort of things in that it talks a lot of what each control does, but very little on why. In fact I would challenge anyone to learn to use the camera from this book.
So instead I bought myself a kindle copy of the complete guide to Fujifilm's X-T2 by Tony Phillips on kindle, which is far better. In fact, I am not sure why Camera manufacturers just don't throw a copy of such books into the camera box, and leave the manual out totally.
So instead I bought myself a kindle copy of the complete guide to Fujifilm's X-T2 by Tony Phillips on kindle, which is far better. In fact, I am not sure why Camera manufacturers just don't throw a copy of such books into the camera box, and leave the manual out totally.
Video
Yes I can confirm it has video....:)
EVF/Screen
Like I said, I'm a EVF guy. I understand the attachment to some over OVFs, but in the end I want to know how my picture will turn out before I compress the button. The EVF is clear and pretty fast with little blackout time. It is dominated by the focus zone square allowing you to put it over where you want to focus.
My only real criticism is some of the graphics symbols are small and not obvious, such as the shooting mode. Also the zebra manual focus assist could be brighter, since sometimes it gets lost in the glare.
The screen itself is clear, bright and has a reasonable level of tilting both in the vertical and horizontal plane, but it is not as flexible as some. Saying that I tend to use the EVF for most things since it means I can use the camera without glasses.
Camera App
Fuji provide a camera app that allows you to control the camera from tablet or smartphone. It pretty well does what it says on the tin, however connecting the camera to the phone was not a quick thing. One other glaring omission is the inability to take photos on a B setting. Since this app will be used largely for long exposures this is a weird omission.
Talking of long exposures, you will at some point want to get some sort of remote release. While Fuji still provide a cable release socket on the shutter button, you may well want something a bit more modern, Fuji will sell you one that fits in the usb socket, but at £35 this is well overpriced for a glorified switch. Instead a Canon one will fit the other shutter release round socket and is half the price.
Performance
In the end of the day, you can have as much technology and bells and whistles as you want, but if it does not take decent pictures it is a waste.
First let me say, that when things are right the camera takes excellent images, far better than I could of for with my old kit. The combination of lens sharpness and the ability to push the ISO to 1600, before you start getting appreciable noise, allows you to hold the shutter speed high, reducing camera shake.
Focusing is pretty fast, although I have had little opportunity to try it on fast moving objects. The ability to easily move the focus point around with the joystick means that composing an image off center is pretty simple.
The in-camera jpg conversion is excellent allowing me to use the camera up to ISO 800 and above with little apparent noise. One thing that I have noticed is now I rarely have to resort to a tripod in low light conditions since I can push the ISO much more.
I have the cards setup for both RAW and JPG, and I know its heresy to say so, but often I found the in-camera jpg, better than I could achieve through the RAW editing, especially when it comes to noise.
Saying that I had issues with exposure. Switching between spot, center weighted and wide aperture modes, does not always work as I want, meaning it sometimes struggle in tricky lighting conditions although the exposure compensation dial helps here.
Conclusion
So whats my conclusion, was I right to buy this camera?The biggest test it had was when I had 3 days in Riga. I managed to pack the camera, 5 lenses, plus batteries and filters in a messenger bag. This meant that I could carry more and gain access quicker than say with a DSLR.
One thing that became obvious early was that this was a camera that needed to be worked. Yes, you can set everything in auto, but the camera is designed for the photographer to fine tune their image continually
Sometimes I found the lack of a dedicated auto dial annoying, and I had to constantly check the controls to see what state they were in. The lack of a lock on the exposure compensation dial was also irritating here, as was the switch on the front of the camera. This often caught me out when I moved from a dark building, forcing me to switch to high ISO to the outside and forget to change back. In these situations I would of loved a simple way to reset the camera to some default settings
This is not a camera a beginner can pick up and expect to get great photos instantly, instead it is a camera aimed squarely at the photography enthusiast. There is quite a large learning curve, and little hand holding. You really need to understand the photography basics and apply them continually. Of course this is why so many semi-pro photographers love it, since it rewards their skills. On the plus side, it is a camera that when used properly creates stunning results
One of the things that put me off Fuji camera in the past is their fascination with retro styling. Things like the aperture dial on the lens work well, however other things like the dedicated speed dial, makes less sense and I would of liked a more pragmatic approach to the camera layout. Also larger illuminated buttons and switches, and rotary controls with the auto mark raised would be useful
In terms of the functions themselves, I must admit I was disappointed with the lack of in-camera processing functions with no in-camera HDR and poor multiple exposure functionality. The panorama function works well, but to be honest my Sony (and my mobile phone) do it better and none of these functions store the output in RAW, which is disappointing.
Fuji Future
There are many things to admire about Fuji as a camera company. There long term support of their camera users, a well defined design philosophy and honest road map are things other camera manufacturers would do well in copying.Saying that, there are dangers ahead that Fuji will do well to avoid.
The first is lenses. Fuji lenses are generally as good as any other manufacturer, however they have significant gaps in their lineup, especially at macro and the long end. Other camera manufacturers have 3rd party support that fill these gaps or produce cheaper alternatives to the native lenses. Fuji however, apart from a few manual only lenses, have none of that support, meaning its generally Fuji or nothing.
That is fine if they do the lens you want at the price you can afford, but other camera makers generally offer a greater choice for less through companies like Tamron or Sigma. One of the problems here is that the Fuji lens design with a aperture ring is different to most other makers. This means that a company like Sigma cannot easily convert there lenses to the Fuji standard.
Secondly is the Fuji sensor. Many man hours have been written about the pros and cons of the Fuji sensor, and I'm not going to add any here. Just to say that if you go your own path, you have to show a sizeable advantage to justify it. Those advantages are getting less and less obvious as companies like Sony push the sensor boundaries. There is a justifiable question about whether the Fuji sensor experiment still makes sense.
Thirdly is computational photography. It is clear Fuji lag in terms of in camera processing compared to say Sony. Poor multiple exposure support and lack of in-built HDR suggest that Fuji do not have the processor horsepower to fully implement some of these functions. Yes they do have film emulations, but i am not convinced these are not gimmicks and can be easily done in RAW post processing anyway.
Finally there is the retro design philosophy. Yes the cameras do feel very good in hand and the manual controls are sometimes very useful. However I still feel that Fuji does retro for retro sake and things like a dedicated speed dial make little sense.
As Nikon counts down to its 1st full frame mirror-less camera and Sony seem to bring a new camera out each week, there is a danger that Fuji will become increasingly marginalized.
Yes they make great cameras and have a loyal fan base. They are also loved by many professional photographers, but the danger is that Sony, Nikon (and Canon if they ever bring out a reasonable mirrorless camera) will squeeze Fuji to the periphery, sort like a poor mans Leica.
The XT-2 is a great camera and will give you fantastic photos in the right hands. However Fuji needs to decide what they are. If they are happy to stay a niche player, fine. If they wish to compete against the Nikons, Sony et al, then maybe they need to examine there whole design philosophy and kill some sacred cows.
