My Fujifilm X-T5? Give me Time to HATE it, but For Now it’s (Almost) all Just LOVE

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I know when one only writes good things about something, people get suspicious.

So feel free to mistrust me guys, but so far I really have only great things to say about the Fujifilm X-T5.

But give me time, I will find something to moan about. I just need to actually have time to shoot with it.

Because even if I have the Fujifilm X-T5 since a few days already, in these weeks I was so overloaded with work, that I had zero time to go out and take picture.

And yet, holidays are coming and soon my X-T5 will be extensively tested. I might let you know in the next few days. Can’t wait for it.

So what are my impressions so far?

Well, I wanted to make a youtube video about it, but some readers told me they prefer written stuff. So I went hybrid this time, with text to read and just short video clips of 10 seconds in those cases I feel they are useful.

The First Look

Look, Body, EVF and Grip

  • to me it looks a bit better than the X-T4. Probably because of the ring around the mount being thinner and the little step on the viewfinder hump (see this image comparison)
  • the X-T5 is smaller and lighter than the X-T4, which is also nice
  • the X-T5 grip feels a bit better in the hands than the X-T4 grip
  • the X-T5 EVF might have the same resolution of the X-T4, but it uses the new optics of the X-H2/s, so it gives you better corner to corner sharpness even when your eye is not perfectly centered to the viewfinder. Especially when I shoot wearing my eyeglasses (and hence I can’t fully press my eye into the viewfinder to get it perfectly centered), the new EVF optics turn out useful
  • 3 way tilt screen… enough said ;) – a little fun video about it here on Facebook or here on Twitter

Enjoy the Strap

  • I can wear my strap with joy again, as it won’t get in the way of the screen anymore – see video here

The Joystick – I was about to HATE it but…

Fujifilm changed how the joystick works giving us more options in the menu of the focus lever setting.

This confused people especially when it comes on how to recenter the AF box.

Here the thing:

On the X-T4 (and many other X cameras) in order to re-center the focus point, you simply click one time to enter the Focus Point Display View (where you can edit AF point size and focus area) and then click the joystick again to bring the AF point back to the center.

On the X-T5 you still click the joystick to enter the Focus Point Display View and edit/move your AF point, but then, in order to re-center it, you have to click the Displ/Back button (and not the joystick).

Many prefer to use the joystick to recenter the AF box. And I am one of those.

But for one thing we could hate, there is another we could love.

In fact, on X-T4, once you recentered the AF box using the joystick, in order to exit the Focus Point Display View you have to half press the shutter button, or turn the aperture ring, or any of the dials.

On the X-T5 instead you can just press the joystick to exit the the Focus Point Display View, which some of you might find more convenient than having to change camera settings (turn the dials) or half press the shutter button (which triggers the camera autofocus… and I don’t know you, but when I decide to recenter the AF point, it’s because I am done with that particular image and I just want to bring the AF box back to its default position, meaning I don’t need the camera to focus on anything).

There is still a way on X-T5 to use the joystick to recenter. Just set the focus lever setting to “reset to center”. But in that case, you won’t be able to access the Focus Point Display View to edit your AF box size.

Focus Check

  • when I press the rear command dial for focus check, on the X-T4 I have 2 magnifications available whereas on the X-T5 I have 3 magnifications available. So I can zoom in even more to check focus.

Oh, and since I get this question often: focus check will not work when you are in continous AF mode (which makes sense, as the camera constantly adjusts focus). It works only in Single or Manual focus mode.

Exposure Compensation Dial

  • The exposure compensation dial on the X-T5 is vastly improved over the one on the X-T4
  • it is now a bit bigger and also just a bit easier to turn (but not not too easy)
  • this means it is now easier to turn the dial using the thumb only and it is also very precise
  • the exposure compensation dial on the X-T5 is also much more silent than on the X-T4 – see video here

More Silent for Fast Shooters

  • if you are at a wedding or any event, and need to operate the camera fast, you will probably set it up to work with command dials rather than with dedicated dials (as I have shown in this video)
  • the good news here, the X-T5 command dials are more silent than the ones of the X-T4, when you turn them and when you press them – see video here
  • so now you can operate fast like before, but more silent than before. Which in some cases and at some moments of the event can come in handy

Shutter Speed and ISO dial

  • they sound different. The ISO dial slightly different, the Shutter dial more different
  • on both cameras they have a nice distinct click to it when you turn them. I love that. When I use the shutter/ISO dial I don’t need them to be silent, but to be fun. And to hear and feel nice “click” is part of this fun
  • in case of the shutter dial, I prefer the sound of the X-T4. But I am happy about the solid click on the X-T5, too – see video here

Autofocus?

I suspend the judgment for now, as I had not really opportunity to shoot with in the field. It’s also a new autofocus system that I have never used so far, and I want to give myself some time play around with it.

It certainly looks promising, but I am far from being able to make any final judgment.

Dynamic Range and Noise?

I am less interested in dynamic range, as we know already from proper lab tests it has the best dynamic range of any Fujifilm camera (X-T5 and X-H2 share the same processor and sensor).

And I am also not interested in noise, for the reasons DPReview explained us here, when comparing noise on low and high resolution Sony cameras:

the Sony A7S might inherently have less noise, but since it’s magnified more [when you zoom in or print big], the noise looks blockier, hence it has bigger blocks of color noise. And the Sony A7S files look also quite soft. On the other hand, noise on the high resolution Sony A7R looks better and sharper even in low light. […] Also, since the Sony A7r has more pixels, you can apply more noise reduction and still get away with sharp looking files, which also improves noise performance.

Sharpness !

What I most interested it is sharpness, and how much sharper files I get out of the various lenses I own. I own lenses that are supposed to be able to resolve all 40MP, and others that are supposed to give sharper results, but not get the full 40MP benefit – list of lenses here.

As soon as I have time, I will test it.

Initial Conclusion

So far, so good. It is excactly the X-T camera I always dreamed of: high resolution, solid and feature rich autofocus, good looking, a bit smaller than X-T4, 3 way tilt screen… I am sure we will have lots of great moments together. And one will start very soon, because I will travel to… well, I’ll tell you later ;).

X-T5 in USA

X-T5 in EUROPE & World

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