Photography News 77 NEWSLETTER

Big test

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PERFORMANCE: LENS QUALITY The FujifilmX100V has a newly designed lens with two aspherical f/2

f/2

lenses out of its eight-element construction to give the best possible resolution and minimal distortion. It proved to be a decent performer, showing its very best at f/8 and f/11 where detail resolution was really impressive. The lens delivered detail-rich, contrasty and sharp pictures in the centre with sharpness less good at the edges at the widest setting. The edges got better with stopping down, with a noticeable improvement at f/5.6 and then on to the optimum settings of f/8 and f/11. For this test, the X100Vwas fixed to a Gitzo Traveller GT2545T carbon-fibre tripod and the exposures made using the self- timer. There was evidence of barrel distortion, but that was easily corrected in editing, while vignetting was not a factor at all. Available in JPEG still shooting, there is the extra versatility of a built-in digital teleconverter, giving the full-frame equivalent of 50mm and 70mm focal lengths. Conversion lenses are also available for the X100V. The WCL-X100 II gives a 28mm equivalent setting and the TCL-X100 II a 50mm equivalent.

f/2.8

f/4

f/5.6

Final word

Verdict

f/8

f/11

You probably won’t be at all shocked to hear that the X100V is the best in the series to date – and, inmy opinion, by some considerablemargin. The autofocus system is really capable and I love having a tiltingmonitor, which has added virtually nothing to the camera’s size. The weather resistance is also plus point, even though you have to pay an extra £99 (or £50 if you buy it with the camera). If you’re in themarket for a first-rate, large-sensored compact and have the budget, I don’t really see the point looking any further than the FujifilmX100V. 24 /25 FEATURES

f/8

f/16

Excellent sensor, tilt screen and skilful AF system give the X100V tremendous appeal. HANDLING Logical control layout, tilting monitor works well and focus lever a benefit. PERFORMANCE Fast AF, accurate exposures, very fine lens at optimum apertures. VALUE FOR MONEY It is a top-end compact and priced accordingly and fairly. OVERALL The X100V is the best in the series by some way.

24 /25

In the Q menu, you can have four, eight, 12 or 16 windows and there are 36 feature options in each window. Plus, the two function buttons, the Q button, the AE/AFL button and the rear command dial can all be customised, each with 58 options. Add the 53 options of the front command dial and the four swipe options on the touch monitor, and you will definitely not be wanting for set-up options. I found the X100V lovely to use and perfect as a really capable take- everywhere camera. The X100V’s AF system showed itself to be very responsive and worked well with face/eye detect. Of course, it helps that it is a fixed 23mm focal length, so

moving the lens focusing group is not too demanding. In single-zone AF, there is the choice of 117 (13x9) or 425 (23x15) individual points, while in zone/ wide there are 117 AF points only, with zone working in 3x3, 5x5 or 7x7 groups. There is a good AF lever that has replaced the D-pad seen on previous models and there’s touch AF while your eye is up to the eyepiece. Indeed, I found I could use my nose to move the AF point and that could be as quick as using my thumb on the focus lever. Checking AF can be done by pushing in the rear command dial, and rotating the dial alters the magnification of the enlarged area.

Shooting 4K video, I found eye/ face detect was picking up on the face – even in profile – at five metres away, with the eye-detect box showing when the subject got closer. With a person walking across the frame or towards the lens, the AF system kept pace well, too. All in all, face/eye detect did a good job of keeping track of a person walking across the frame. On recording 4K video, there is a time limit of ten minutes per recording and it was noticeable that the camera got warm after five minutes or so. Setting video shooting is done via the drive menu, unlike the new X-T4, which has a dedicated stills/video control. WC

23 /25

94 /100

PROS AF, tilting screen, lens quality, hybrid viewfinder, focus lever, 4K video CONS Weather-resistance kit extra, no compensation dial lock, runs warm during video use

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26 Photography News | Issue 77

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