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Fujifilm In a busy fewweeks for Fujifilm, we saw the announcement of two cameras, several lenses and a teaser for 26 February when the X-T4 will be revealed
TheX100V is the latest in Fujifilm’s high-endX100 series of fixed lens premiumcompact cameras and is a significant upgrade from its predecessor FujifilmX100V
using a 0.52x optical viewfinder (OVF) with 95% coverage of the image and parallax correcting frame lines or an 3.69m dot OLED electronic viewfinder. The Electronic Range Finder (ERF) feature lets you have small EVF images at the bottom right corner of the OVF. The fixed lens is a brand new 23mm f/2 designed to squeeze every detail from the X-Trans CMOS 4 sensor and give better resolution and lower levels of distortion while maintaining the same compact size and compatibility with legacyWCL/TCL conversion lenses. The X100V’s video facility lets you shoot 4K at 30fps or 120fps at Full HD and there’s the option of recording at 10 bit, 4:2:2 colour externally via the HDMI port and use Fujifilm’s Film Simulation settings such as Eterna. The X100V will be available in silver from 27 February and in black from 12 March at a guide price of £1299. fujifilm.eu/uk/
The FujifilmX100V is a premium compact with a 26.1-megapixel resolution from its X-Trans CMOS 4 sensor and X-Processor 4 combination. The sensor is back-side illuminated for maximum image quality and dynamic range and its unique colour filter array means there’s no need for an optical low pass filter which can impact on fine detail resolution. The powerful quad core X-Processor 4 delivers fast image processing, and with a new algorithm has better autofocus with performance down to -5EV. Being Fujifilm, great attention has been paid to the camera’s looks and on the X100V the top and bottom plates have been milled from single pieces of aluminium and finished in an alumite satin coating. The body is also weatherproofed when the optional weather resistant kit is applied. This kit costs £99.99 normally but is £49.50 if bought at the same time as the camera. A big change is a greatly improved hybrid viewfinder that gives the user the option of
FujifilmX-T200
Lenses for the GFX system The GF45-100mm f/4 R LMOISWR is being added to the line-up this month. Designed for the GFX medium format camera system, the lens fits nicely between the GF32-64mm and the GF100-200mm. It features five-axis image stabilisation, one super ED lens element and near-silent, high-speed autofocus. A dust- and weather-resistant construction allows the lens to operate in temperatures down to -10°C. the X-T200 is dramatically enhanced through the use of phase detection autofocus pixels across the sensor. Fujifilm’s latest camera includes a selection of the X-T100’s popular features, but with evenmore refined and impressive new specs. The X-T200 weighs in at 370g – around 80g lighter than its predecessor – and features a new vari-angle touchscreen. It boasts a high-speed APS-C 24.2-megapixel CMOS sensor. Processing speed has seen improvement, 3.5 times faster than the X-T100. Autofocus performance in
There are some nice improvements in video specs, with HDR video, 4K 30p recording and Full HD 120p slo-mo capabilities all being added. The X-T200 is available as a kit with the XC15-45mm f/3.5-5.6 OIS PZ lens in three colours (silver, dark silver and champagne). It is priced at £749 and available from27 February.
If cameras were judged on their haptic experience then the FujifilmX100Vwould without doubt score topmarks, and of course it’s something not easy to explain. It really is something that needs to be experienced but just run your finger around the edges of the top plate and you know this camera’s finish has been carefully considered.The lift-and-turn ISOdial is another example of this.The dial lifts up, rotates very smoothly and stays up until you push it down at the required setting. Adding amonitor that does anything takes up valuable space and usually results in a deeper body. It is credit to the Fujifilm design team that in theX100V the tilting monitor has no impact on the camera body’s depth. So the benefit of having a waist level shooting option comes at no price in terms of bulk. I do a lot of waist-level street shooting even with cameras that have fixedmonitors and you have tomake an educated guess, so having this facility on theX100V is brilliant. The touchmonitor viewing quality and response ismore or less the same as most other monitors but where there is a HANDS ON
Brains behind the X100V
Fujifilm’s Shin Udono (left), senior manager, and Masa Imai, head of design, show off their pride and joy at the FujifilmHouse of Photography in London’s Covent Garden. “The camera was two years in development,” says Shin Udono.“This is because we changed the lens as well as the hybrid viewfinder so camera development took longer. It was a challenge to keep the lens the same size as previousmodels but with better quality.Adding the special filter, theX100V is also weatherproof.” TheX100Vhas gained a focus joystick but gone is the D-pad on the camera rear.“The advantage of the D-pad is that the user can allocate certain functions for quick access,” continuesMr Udono,“but on this camera we put the priority on quick shooting and easier handling so we wanted enough space for the thumb on the back.You can also see we havemoved the Q button so it will not be used bymistake.”
major change is with the EVFand optical viewfinder.The EVFwith its 3.69mdots is excellent and fine detail looks crisply resolved. I especially like the option of having the optical finder with a smaller inset EVF image. Having the same image sensor and processor combo as theX-T3 shouldmean first-rate image quality and impressive high ISOperformance, so we look forward to testing these aspects of the camera’s performance in due course. Meanwhile, my initial impressions are very positive. I bought the first model in the series, the X100, nearly ten years ago and it doesn't get used much now, but the new X100V does have serious appeal as my take-everywhere camera and for street work.
The GF45-100mm f/4 R LMOISWR is priced at £2049 and is available from 27 February. Fujifilmalso unveiled the roadmap for Gmount lenses. The GF30mm f/3.5 RWR is a compact wide-angle prime lens while the GF80mm f/1.7 RWR is an impressive fast aperture short telephoto lens ideal for when you need a fast aperture. When they arrive these two lenses will take the total line-up of optics for GFX cameras to 13.
Issue 74 | Photography News 7
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