Review of the Fujifilm X-T10

James Gilbert at our Chelmsford Store, is a bit of dab-hand when it comes to taking a camera through it's paces.  Here, he's given the beautiful (and CameraWorld favourite) Fujifilm X-T10 a run for it's money...

The Fujifilm X-T10 builds on the well respected, and loved by us here, Fujifilm X-T1 sharing the same 16.1 Megapixel X-Trans CMOS II sensor and EXR II processing engine. Designed as a smaller and lighter version of the XT-1, the Fujifilm X-T10 manages to give outstand-ing image quality in a smaller package whilst keeping many of the features on the higher specced X-T1.

The first thing that immediately comes to mind when picking up the Fujifilm X-T10 is how compact and light the camera is, especially when matched with the Fujifilm 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 XC OIS. The controls are similar to the rest of the Fuji range, with a shutter speed dial on the top-plate to the right of the ‘prism’, an exposure compensation dial in the familiar place in the corner of the top plate next to where the right thumb naturally falls, and the shot selection dial being placed on the left of the ‘prism’ where those who are used to a mode dial on their cameras will find familiar. The buttons on the back of the camera can be customised however the photographer would like. This is done by simply pushing and holding the button in for three seconds and then selecting from a list of options allowing very quick customisation, and allows an easy transition to the Fujifilm X-T10 (it’s also makes our lives easier when doing a demo of the camera as each member of staff can set the camera quickly to how they like it to show all of the features that the camera has; a nice touch that is on the long list of what we like about Fuji!).

Operation of the camera is slick and fast. There are two function wheels on the front and rear of the body giving access to shutter speed and aperture settings, or alternatively the aperture rings on the ‘R’ lenses can be turned in conjunction with the shutter speed dial on the top; a nod to a more ‘traditional’ layout and one that I personally prefer; a quick glance at the camera tells me exactly what it’s set to even with the camera turned off.

The viewfinder on the Fujifilm X-T10 is a similar affair to the XT-1 with an infrared sensor on the back of the camera switching to the ‘prism’ whenever the camera is brought up to the eye. The 2,360,000 pixel viewfinder is sharp and responsive, and with 0.66x magnification and 100% coverage images are easy to compose. A special note should be made of Fuji’s exposure preview setting which shows the photographer exactly what they’re going to get when they push the shutter button; something that is extremely useful in high contrast scenes and saves on bracketing! As the old saying goes; “what you see is what you get”. For composing on a tripod, taking some candid shots from the waist, or shooting over a crowd the articulated screen is extremely useful. Whilst it doesn’t allow for ‘selfies’ (not necessarily a bad thing!) it does allow the photographer to get the camera into positions that would usually end in muddy knees or trying to find a step ladder. For those who enjoy taking ‘selfies’ the Fujifilm X-T10 has built in wireless which, when used with the Fujifilm Camera Application, allows the photographer to use their smartphone or tablet to control the camera. This has a wide range of uses, from having the Fujifilm X-T10 on the table next to you at a café to capture candid street shots, to having it set up by a bird table in the garden to capture the wildlife coming and going. A nice addition for those shooting on a tripod is a screw shutter release mount on the shutter button allowing the traditional plunger type of shutter release to be used (who hasn’t got one of those lurking in the bag or a drawer somewhere?).

The X-Trans CMOS II sensor is at the heart of why the images from this camera are so good, and it deserves a proper explanation of why it gives such great image quality. Bear with me, here comes the technical bit! A standard Bayer Pattern sensor has a checker-board type layout with the lines of pixels alternating between red and green, and blue and green. This means that all three colours are not recorded on each line so when (for example) a landscape scene is photographed the graduation of blue in the sky can some-times be not quite as smooth as it is seen by our eyes. With the X-Trans CMOS II sensor Fuji changed the pattern of the pixels on the sensor; instead of working in lines they worked in blocks of nine pixels giving each line of the sensor the ability to record all three colours both horizontally and vertically. As this pattern doesn’t have as much of a repeat-ing pattern as a standard Bayer Pattern sensor there is no need to have an Anti-Aliasing filter to stop moiré which allows the high quality of the Fujinon lenses to really shine through. Still with me? Good!

This sensor technology, when twinned with the EXR II processor allows the very best quality to be made out of the wide range of Fujinon lenses (Fuji’s in-house lens production team) which are well known for their quality not only optically, but in build as well. Some may remember the Hasselblad X-Pan and X-Pan II, both of which used Fujinon lenses, and a few may have used Fujinon Large Format lenses which were held in very high regard and compared to the very best that Schneider-Kreuznach (often seen as the benchmark for large format photography) could build. Suffice to say that Fujinon know how to make a quality product, and this shows in every aspect of the Fujifilm X-T10 and the lenses.

The range of lenses from Fuji deserve a special mention as they are easily on par with the best lenses that the big names make; the primes especially so. For portraiture the 56mm f/1.2 XF R (85mm equivalent) is absolutely stunning giving razor sharp images even wide open, as does the 16-55mm f2.8 R LM WR (24-70mm equivalent) which puts the Fujifilm X-T10 firmly in the sights of the professional photographer as well as the serious amateur and hobbyist. The 50-140mm f/2.8 R LM OIS WR (75-210mm equivalent) compliments the 16-55mm nicely and between them make up the majority of a ‘Pro’ kit bag covering the group shots at a wedding to candid portraiture and sports work. For street photography the 23mm f/1.4 R XF is outstanding and has a proper focus scale on the focusing barrel, something sadly lacking on modern lenses and invaluable when shooting from the hip at f/8 (as the saying goes “f/8 and be there”). This allows the photographer to see how much depth of field is available at each aperture, set the focus for the range that they are working at, and then know that the subject will be in focus a certain amount either side of that focus distance. This is very useful when capturing the ‘decisive moment’ as the slight delay that all autofocus systems have to lock on is avoided.

The focussing system on the Fujifilm X-T10 is latest and fastest that Fuji have produced on the X Series of cameras which adds a new feature of colour tracking. The Hybrid Autofocus blends Contrast Detection and Phase Detection to allow the Fujifilm X-T10 to track moving sub-jects positively and still shoot at eight frames per second. Low light focussing is fast and accurate due to the EXR II processor matched to the X-Trans CMOS II, and in normal lighting the focusing locks on in 0.06 seconds. An interesting focus mode that should be mentioned is the Eye Detection Autofocus. This works in a similar way to other Face De-tection systems, however it has the ability to distinguish between the subject’s eyes and the photographer can choose to have the camera focus on the left or right eye. This is extremely useful when taking portraits with the subject at an angle from the photographer (rather than the straight on ‘mugshot’ type of portrait) and using a lens such as the 56mm f/1.2 which when wide open has a very shallow depth of field.

All in all this is an excellent camera for both amateurs and professionals alike. As a back-up camera to someone already using the Fuji system the layout and controls will be famil-iar, and for those new to the system the jump to a new system isn’t a shock due to the customisation available and the directness of the controls. The outstanding dynamic range and low light performance exactly what we have come to expect from Fuji and for someone looking to make their kit smaller this is an excellent choice, as well as for those who are looking at moving into an interchangeable system but don’t want the size and bulk of a traditional DSLR. The compact nature of the Fujifilm X-T10 makes it discreet and unobtrusive for street photography, whilst the lack of weight means carrying it all day isn’t a chore. The toughest decision is whether to have it in the black or the silver finish…

All images taken by James Gilbert (pictured above) using the Fujifilm X-T10.
In his own words..."The weather on the day I took these pictures was truly awful! Given the amount of light and colour available, I haven't done the camera justice."