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Fuji X-T100 First Look Review of Fujis Mirrorless Digital Camera

We got our hands on the Fuji X-T100 a couple of days before launch, and have reviewed it to see what this compact, mid-range mirrorless camera has to offer. Blessed with a nice sunny day, we set out into the countryside surrounding our Burgess Hill store to play about with our new toy.

The X-T100 replaces the Fuji X-A5, the most significant change being the addition of an electronic viewfinder. It is priced as a mid-entry mirrorless camera, compatible with the Fuji X (and XF) range of lenses.

Who is it aimed at?

Its price point (circa £619 with the 15-45mm kit lens - check the latest price here) places it at entry-mid range, so it makes sense to view this camera as an entry point into the world of mirrorless systems using interchangeable lenses.

It offers a host of manual controls and shooting modes that will appeal to those who seek to add some creativity into their photography, and the 24mp APC sized CMOS sensor ensures that image quality will dwarf the output, say from a mobile phone.

What is clear is that despite the set-up (three control dials on the top of the camera body) appearing to hark back to the old-school, 35mm manual cameras, this camera has a set-up that will appeal to more novice users.

User Friendly Features 

So what are these features? Well, for starters Fuji have cleverly played on their heritage by including 11 ‘Film Simulation modes’ – effectively offering in-camera editing. We love how they are aimed at replicating the different 35mm film styles and colours sets that they are famous for – selecting ‘Velvia Vivid’ offers strong saturation and vivid colours.

The lead control dial also has an advanced portrait mode – aimed at naturally reducing any ‘flaws’ by smoothing skin tones. Your subjects will thank you for the consideration when you post their pictures!

The fold-out screen allows for selfies to be taken, and is especially convenient for filming and taken photos from a variety of angles where you would otherwise be shooting blind. Throw in a few extra in-camera filters (we had fun with the ‘Fisheye’ option), and you can see that you can easily package your shots in-camera.

‘Show me your world’

This is one of Fuji’s principle selling points of this camera – it is designed to complement the Instagram and blog driven era of instant image uploads.

 Bluetooth and Wifi connectivity allows for easy downloading of pictures, and once paired with your smartphone, your phone can send geo-location information to the camera, allowing location tagging once files are downloading.

So all of a sudden the numerous in-camera editing options really start to make sense – you can take this camera out with you, edit your pics, send them to your phone. And then BOOM – your sharp, colourful images are on your Instagram feed before you know it.

Small, smart and stylish

The X-T100 certainly looks the part and continues with Fuji’s retro feel - on first glance it could be straight from the 60s. It is small, so much so that the addition of a screw in grip on the side is a must if you have larger hands (it’s included in the box. We’re not sure why it’s optional to be honest. When out testing we made sure we had the neck-strap attached for that extra level of reassurance – it certainly was useful when holding the camera at a distance for selfies.

The small size makes it a great option if you want something to take out and about with you. With 430 shots available on one charge of the battery, you should be able to get plenty out of the camera.
Gareth, our video man, shot with it for a few hours around London and had no concerns over the battery. Be sure to watch his video review below, and do comment on either this blog or on Youtube with any questions you may have – we will get back to you!

Advanced Features

While the camera is aimed at the mid-market entry point, it has some impressive features for the money - such as focus stacking. Labelled as ‘4K Multi-focus’, this allows the camera to take a series of images, selecting different focus points on each image. It then blends these images, allowing different ‘layers’ of focus.

This is best explained with the photos below. In the first image, the focus point is the small lens on the left. Shot at f/2.8 (with the XF 18-55 f/2.8-4 lens), the depth of field only allows for one lens to be in focus. The second image has been stacked, and all 4 lenses appear in focus.

Video 

Overview 

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By Park Cameras on 24/05/2018