Photography News issue 22

Camera test 39

Photography News Issue 22 absolutephoto.com

Picture options In ADVANCED AUTO SR mode – engaged by moving the lever at the base of the shutter speed dual to AUTO – there are dedicated scene-based subject modes such as snow, fireworks and sport. On the drive dial there are the options of Adv 1 and Adv 2, with these you can assign your preferred advanced filter or bracketing values. Advanced Filter includes Toy Camera and Dynamic Tone settings, the results of which are shown here. Others include Miniature and Soft Focus. Shooting in Advanced Filter mode, even if Raw only is set, and the camera will switch to JPEG and no Raw file is recorded. That’s worth bearing in mind if you want a normal image to work on later, so shoot a Raw too.

Toy Camera

Original

Dynamic Tone

Choose the AF zone to suit

The X-T10 has a 77-point AF system with various options on how to use it. In Zone AF, you can choose to have zones of nine, 15 or 25 points active and that zone can be moved around the whole 77-point area. If you prefer to have just one AF zone working, there is the option of 49 areas to choose from. Here the smallest zone is just one of the system’s 77 sensors working, however, if you select a larger zone then you are going to get several sensors working in combination.

FujifilmXF16mm f/1.4 RWR With 1.5x crop factor this prime lens is a 24mm lens in the 35mm format so you won’t be surprised to learn that it’s solid piece of glass but it’s not unwieldy. On the X-T10 it does make the camera front heavy. The smooth aperture ring is click-stopped in 0.3EV steps like other X-series lenses and there are no other controls apart from the barrel that pulls back to give manual focusing. Manual focusing itself is smooth and minimum focus is 15cm – focus this closely and the lens front is a couple of inches away from the subject. Being able to focus this closely and shoot at f/1.4 gives plenty of potential for creative focusing effects – just make sure you focus accurately though. Sharpness and fine detail rendition is excellent throughout the aperture range, and I experienced no flare problems.

Verdict Existing X-system owners will love the X-T10 as it makes a perfect second camera to an X-T1 or X-Pro1. Of course there are handling differences but there is a great deal of common ground too, and I was switching between the X-T10 and the X-T1 with no confusion at all. For would-be X-series buyers the X-T10 is a truly tempting camera, not just on its great value price but also its creative potential and sure-footed ability to deliver excellent pictures. I shot just shy of 1500 shots during this test and the outright failures, especially in respect to exposure, was limited to a handful. Focusing is also generally consistent and it’s only fast-moving subjects that the system is challenged by. And that’s not to mention the ever-growing range of sensible (although not necessarily cheap) focal length, fast aperture lenses. By definition, a budget or entry-level camera lacks some key features compared with its pricier relations, and it is the case that the X-T10 is no X-T1 so there’s no weather-proofing. But given that the X-T10 is almost half the latter’s price, the X-T10 is a remarkable and highly capable camera that punches well above its weight and comes thoroughly recommended.

How it rates

Features Impressive list at this price Performance Great sensor, good AF and spot-on exposures Handling Not perfect, but generally very good Value for money A steal at £500 body only Overall A great entry-level X-series camera that Fujifilm has got so much right

24/25

23/25

25/25

Pros Small, image quality, X-series lenses, price Cons No lock function, a few handling niggles

96/100