Camera test 31
Photography News | Issue 60 | photographynews.co.uk
Performance: exposure latitude
A nine-frame exposure bracket was shot using theX-T3 from+4EV to -4EV to the correct exposure reading, which was metered at 1/300sec at f/11 and ISO 200. The resulting Raws were corrected in Capture One Express Fujifilm and then outputted as full-sized JPEGs. Overexposure wasn’t handled too well, with the +4EV shot beyond acceptable recovery. The +3EV shot coped better and this sample image looked fine. Scenes with stronger highlights
looked less impressive. Raws overexposed by +2EV and +1EV recovered perfectly well, and virtually matched the correctly exposed image. The underexposed Raws by -4EV and -3EV looked fine in terms of tonality after recovery in software, but there was a noticeable noise increase in the mid-tones and shadows. In the -2EV shot the recovered image had a little noise compared with the correctly exposed shot, while the -1EV shot looked identical.
-4EV
-3EV
-2EV
-1EV
0
+1EV
Original image
+2EV
+3EV
+4EV
Images Raw exposure latitude is good, underexposure being handled better than overexposure.
that light has to travel through the sensor’s circuitry to reach the light- gathering photo diodes sitting on the substrate base. However, the amount of light is reduced by reflections on its journey to the sensor. A BSI sensor is, in effect, a front illuminated sensor upside down, with the substrate base made so very thin that light can travel through it and straight onto the light-gathering sensors without having to fight its way through the wires. The result is that more light is detected and that is averygoodthing, giving, for example, better imaging performance at the higher ISO speeds. So, science lesson over – the X-T3 has a BSI sensor and you can see for yourself how well it performs in the accompanying panels. Beforeweleavethesensor,theX-T3 has gained more phase detection pixels – now 2.16 million – covering almost the entire image frame. This is to give it better, more sensitive, superior all-round AF performance. The AF system is rated to work at -3EV, so we are talking about scenes lit by candlelight.
A great sensor counts for nothing if the information it gathers is not handled efficiently, so the X-T3 has seen a change here, too. It uses the new X Processor 4 that features four CPUs to deliver a processing speed three times faster than that of current models. This gives quicker AF (1.5x quicker than current models) with better accuracy – especially with face/eye detect, with eye detect now possible with continuous AF. ContinuousAFtrackingofmoving subjects during continuous shooting has also significantly improved with new phase detection algorithms. Fujifilm’s popular Film Simulation modes also benefit from the new processor, and the X-T3 has the ETERNA option. There’s more you can do with the monomodes and you can add a sepia or purple tint. Just finally, on the new processor’s benefits: there’s a world’s first with its movie recording skills. the X-T3 is the first mirrorless APS-C format camera to give 4K/60P 4:2:0 10-bit output recorded to the internal SD card. HDMI output is available at the same time. While this might mean little to still shooters, to video makers this has serious appeal and is a significant step forward from previous X Series models. It’s all the sensor/processor changes that make the X-T3 the X-T3 and not the X-T2 Mk II, but there are significant handling and external changes, too. The X-T3’s body shell is identical to the X-T2’s, so no surprise they share the same look and control layout. Cover the camera’s name and I think most people would not spot any differences. One small but significant change is a lockable dioptre control. I am
The AF system is rated to work at -3EV, so we are talking about
scenes lit by candlelight
Below The dioptre control gaining a lock was very welcome and a very simple design change.
Above The new sensor delivers excellent image quality.
always nudging it on the X-T2 (hence mine is gaffer-taped into position) so the lockable version on the X-T3 is very welcome. A close scrutiny reveals the X-T3’s ISO dial now has ISO 160 squeezed in between the 200 and L settings, and the exposure compensation dial on the right is smaller by about
2mm, which might help avoid its unintentional use. The compensation dial couldevengosmaller, but I found the X-T3’s less liable to be moved as the camera is pulled from the bag, so, nice one, Fujifilmdesign people! Also, should you flip out the three- way tilt monitor – which also offers touchscreen operation – and look
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