Fujifilm X-T2

Fuji X-T2: full review

Fuji X-T2 is the mirrorless that most made the reflex cameras primacy tremble. It’s the model that made the purists of the digital cameras change their minds. Yes, because, especially at the beginning, the prejudice always was: why moving to a lighter camera that performs just a little better than a compact one?

Over time, it became clear that this preconception was totally baseless. And Fuji X-T2 significantly contributed to this, being a fully-fledged professional camera with a very elegant design. Right from its look, I’m going to start this review.

Fuji X-T2: design and ergonomics

Compact, light, easy to handle and portable. These are the keywords defining perfectly the camera body of Fuji X-T2. Moreover, the structure in magnesium alloy gives a solidity feeling that is hard to find in simple compact cameras. A small tropicalized jewel, then. Weight is 507 grams and size in millimeters is 132.5x91.8x 49.2.

Fuji XT2 has two slots for SD compatible cards – SDHC, SDXC, UHS-I /UHS-II – with standard UHS-II, for fast writing mode.

The grip of Fuji X-T2 is not very graspable for big hands. It’s ok for small hands, though. In both cases, I would suggest a prosthetic grip.

Seen from the top, Fuji X-T2 shows aperture, ISO, Exposure and shooting mode rings. The first two rings have a lock/unlock button.

Technical features

The 24.3 megapixel APS-C sensor (X-Trans CMOS III) is without low-pass filter, for image of extremely high quality. Together with fast X-Processor Pro, it guarantees wide color range and digital noise reduction even at high ISO.

With 325 points, the autofocus of Fuji X-T2 – unlike the first mirrorless AF, which had many limits – is precise and fast, thanks to a hybrid system of phase and contrast detection. With a joystick that rotates in 8 directions, you can quickly move the focus area on the image. This is a substantial improvement compared to Fuji X-T1, the previous model. Continuous autofocus, beside, mixes three parameters to get five preset modes that make you able to follow a subject during all its movements, even when it disappears and re-appears again!

The Oled viewfinder is electronic and its performance is very similar to optical viewfinders, while the three inches LCD display is rotatable upwards, downwards and to the right.

Taking pictures and videos with Fuji X-T2

Burst mode of Fuji X-T2 is quite fast, with 8 frames per second that become 14 using Battery Power Boost VPB-XT2. The exposure measurement has a system based on four different modes. A note of credit goes to automatic white balance, which has very high quality.

Fuji X-T2 doesn’t have integrated flash, but in the box there’s a small external flash that can be mounted on the camera body.

The details in the image are amazing in the jpg already, with excellent color performance. RAWs are full of information. If you want to have fun with the film simulators of Fuji, this camera will give you lots of satisfactions, with several modes for big effects results without resorting to post-production.

Moving to video recording, Fuji X-T2 supports 4k, in addition to Full HD and HD. The performance is very good, with reduced digital noise, even at high ISO. As for the images, also videos can “be effected” with nine film filters that simulate a particular grain of celluloid. Excellent is the possibility to change the aperture and the shutter speed during recordings. Sadly, battery life is very limited, so I suggest you to buy a battery grip.

My opinion on Fuji X-T2

I found Fuji X-T2 very funny and performing. The first thing you notice is its contained size, its light weight and a portability not even to be compared with the efforts you make to carry a reflex around. The structure is not to be discussed: solid yet light.

Going back to performance, I can say that even in low light conditions and at high ISO, quality remains acceptable. The customization level makes you experiment a lot and it’s a quality that not every camera has.

Sadly, the two main flaws of Fuji X-T2 – but it’s not alone in the mirrorless segment – are the very short battery life and the limiting grip. Problems that can be solved with the additional “prosthesis”.

Who was Fuji X-T2 designed for? It’s a very versatile camera, excellent for street photography, as well as for reportages, portraits and studio photography. When it was launched, it was one of the best cameras in the mirrorless segment and, still today, Fuji X-T2 gives a hard time to fierce rivals like Sony Alpha 7R, Panasonic GH5 or Fuji X-T20.