Review Date: July 7, 2015
Category: Advanced
Photoxels Gold Award – Advanced Mirrorless Interchangeable Lens Camera
HANDLING & FEEL
The Fujifilm X-T10 is the junior version of the award-winning X-T1, using the same excellent 16MP X-Trans CMOS II sensor and fast EXR Processor II processing engine. It is quite compact with a heft that gives an unmistakable feeling of quality. This mid-range mirrorless Interchangeable Lens Camera (ILC, aka Compact System Camera, or CSC) has very good build quality and a precise feel to all the controls. The top and base plates are made of die-cast magnesium. The top plate features three precision-milled aluminum dials.
Looking at the front of the camera, on the left side of the X-Mount, there’s the Front Command Dial just below the Shutter Release button (also acts as Fn2 when pressed, customizable, defaults to AF Mode), the AF-assist illuminator / Self-timer lamp and Lens release button. On the right side of the X-Mount, there is the Focus mode selector (Single AF, Continuous AF, Manual AF).
Barely visible, and easily hidden by a mounted lens, sits a pair of stereo microphones on each side of the X-mount. Where is the speaker? On the bottom of the camera.
The X-T10 has just a hint of a handgrip but the latter works quite well. I definitely don’t like the feeling of the strap eyelet digging into the palm of my right hand and the source of unwanted noise during movie recording. (Other camera manufacturers have already solved this annoyance with an eyelet that is inset into the body of the camera.)
TIP: For those with bigger hands, there is an optional and larger Hand Grip MHG-XT10 (B&H, Anazon.com
) and Grip Belt GB-001.
The top of the camera bristles with dials but does not look confusing as on some other manufacturer’s attempts at retro styling.
Viewing from the back, on the right side of the viewfinder “prism” is the Shutter Release button with the expected Power ON/OFF Switch around it. The Shutter Release button is threaded. To its left is the Shutter Speed Dial which goes from B, T, 1 sec., 1/2 sec. to 1/4000 sec., plus A.
Around the Shutter Speed Dial is a new Auto Mode Selector Lever. Switch this lever to A to put the camera in Scene Position; rotate the Rear Command Dial to select from 14 Scene Modes or to set the camera to Advanced SR Auto mode to let the camera automatically select from 16 scene modes.
For those who are used to the Mode Dial, here are the corresponding Shutter Speed Dial, Aperture Ring and Auto Mode Lever settings on the X-T10:
| Mode Dial | Shutter Speed Dial | Aperture Ring | Auto Mode Selector Lever |
|---|---|---|---|
| P | A | A | – |
| A | A | Select an aperture using the Aperture Ring | – |
| S | Select a shutter speed using the Shutter Speed Dial | A | – |
| M | Select a shutter speed using the Shutter Speed Dial | Select an aperture using the Aperture Ring | – |
| Scene Modes | Doesn’t matter | Doesn’t matter | AUTO and a Scene Mode selected |
| AUTO | Doesn’t matter | Doesn’t matter | AUTO and Advanced SR Auto selected |
TIP: To access shutter speeds lower than 1 sec., set the Shutter Speed Dial to Time (T), then use the Front Command Dial to select shutter speeds between 1 sec. to 30 sec. (In fact, Time allows you to select from the whole mechanical shutter speed range, i.e. from 1/4000 sec. to 30 sec.)
TIP: Bulb (B) allows you to keep the shutter open for up to 60 minutes while the shutter button is pressed; however, if you set the aperture to A on the lens, B is fixed to 30 sec.
TIP: The X-T10 has Program Shift in P mode with the shutter speed range available from 1/4 sec. to 1/4000 sec. In P mode (set both the Shutter Speed dial and Aperture Ring to “A”), the camera selects both the shutter speed and aperture for you, but you can shift the combination settings using Program Shift to use a faster/slower shutter speed or larger/smaller aperture. At all times, the camera maintains proper exposure. On the X-T10, you use the Front Command Dial to Program Shift. Note that an ISO value has to be selected, i.e. ISO cannot be left on Auto to Program Shift.
TIP: Set the Shutter Type to use Electronic Shutter for the fastest shutter speed. MENU – SHOOTING MENU 5 – SHUTTER TYPE – ES ELECTRONIC. This effectively gives you a fastest, action stopping shutter speed of 1/32,000 sec. (Note: the use of Electronic Shutter precludes the use of the extended ISOs.)
To the right of the Shutter Release button is the Movie-record button (customizable Fn1 button). Movie is Full HD 1920 x 1080 60p/50p/30p/25p/24p. Sound can be recorded with external microphones that connect using jacks 2.5 mm in diameter; microphones that require bus power can not be used.
To the right and behind the Movie-record button is the Exposure Compensation Dial (+/-3EV).
On top of the viewfinder “prism” is the hotshoe that will accept an external speedlight.
To the left of the viewfinder “prism” is the Drive Dial marked with BKT1/BKT2 (Bracketing), CH (Continuous High Speed Burst), CL (Continuous Low Speed Burst), S (Single Frame), Adv.1/Adv.2 (Advanced Filters), Multiple Exposure and Panorama.
The Flash Pop-Up lever sits underneath the Drive Dial.
On the back we have the large 3.0-in. LCD which has a respectable 920k-dot resolution and is tiltable.
Above the LCD is a built-in 0.39-in., 2.360K-dot OLED color viewfinder which is absolutely beautiful — and HUGE with a 0.62x magnification. No more peering through a dimly lit tunnel experience. It’s not as large as the one on the X-T1 (0.5-in. 0.77x magnification) but I bet you may not miss your DSLR OVF anymore. Fujifilm claims that the EVF (as well as the LCD) display time lag has been shortened to a mere 0.005 sec. (i.e. almost non-existent).
One neat feature of the EVF is that, if you set it in MENU – SET-UP 1 – SCREEN SET-UP – EVF AUTOROTATE DISPLAYS – ON, then the info display rotates to accomodate portrait shooting. Brillant! Note that this occurs only in the EVF, not on the LCD.
Both the EVF and LCD gain up extremely well in low light, so well in fact you’ll be glad you have an EVF to compose on at night.
There are two controls that are somewhat inconspicuous and are located on either side of the viewfinder “prism”: the Diopter adjustment control on the left side and the VIEW button on the right. The VIEW button gives you access to set the Eye Sensor (view switches from LCD to EVF when you bring your eye to the EVF, and vice versa), EVF only, LCD only and EVF only + Eye Sensor (LCD is always OFF, EVF is OFF until you bring your eye to it).
Above the LCD are the Delete button, Playback button, AE-L (exposure lock) button, Rear Command Dial, and AF-L (focus lock) button. On the right of the LCD are the Q (quick menu) button (which doubles as the RAW conversion button in Playback), Selector / Fn3-Fn6 Function buttons with the MENU / OK button in the center, the DISP (display) / BACK button and the Fn button.
There are seven customizable Function buttons: we’ve already seen Fn1 which is on the front of the camera, just below the Front Command Dial; we’ve also seen Fn2 which is the Movie button on the top of the camera; Fn3 to Fn6 are respectively the UP, LEFT, RIGHT and DOWN buttons on the Selector. Fn7 is the button that is simply marked Fn.
For each Fn button, you can select from:
- BKT/Adv. SETTING
- PREVIEW DEPTH OF FIELD
- ISO
- SELF-TIMER
- IMAGE SIZE
- IMAGE QUALITY
- DYNAMIC RANGE
- FILM SIMULATION
- WHITE BALANCE
- PHOTOMETRY
- AF MODE
- FOCUS AREA
- FLASH MODE
- FLASH COMPENSATION
- SELECT CUSTOM SETTING
- MOVIE
- FACE DETECTION
- RAW
- APERTURE SETTING
- WIRELESS COMMUNICATION
- SHUTTER TYPE
- PREVIEW EXP. IN MANUAL MODE
- PREVIEW PIC. EFFECT
- NONE
Notice that there is no MACRO function. That is because the X-T10 features the new Auto Macro AF mode which automatically goes into Macro mode when needed.
TIP: Press and hold the DISP/BACK button for about 3 seconds to immediately bring up the FUNCTION (Fn) SETTING screen where you can customize each of the seven function buttons.
Tip: Press and hold a function button for about 2 seconds to immediately enter the FUNCTION (Fn) SETTING screen for that function button.
The default options for the function buttons are as follows:
| Fn | Default | My customization |
|---|---|---|
| Fn1 | Movie | MOVIE |
| Fn2 | AF mode | PREVIEW DEPTH OF FIELD |
| Fn3 | Bracketing and Advanced Filters | ISO |
| Fn4 | Film Simulation | SELF-TIMER |
| Fn5 | Flash Mode | WB |
| Fn6 | Focus-Frame Selection | FOCUS AREA |
| Fn7 | Wi-Fi | WIRELESS COMMUNICATION |
Since I customized Fn6 as the FOCUS AREA, to select the focus point, I then press down the DOWN/Fn6 button on the Selector and use the arrow keys to navigate thru 7 x 7 = 49 focus points. The focus points do not extend all the way to the edges of the screen. You can scroll either the Front or Rear Command Dial to change the size of the focus frame.
If you do not want to dedicate a Function button to Focus-area selection, you can also select it via the MENU – SHOOTING MENU 1 – AUTOFOCUS SETTING – FOCUS AREA.
TIP: The camera remembers your AF area even when you turn it off so you may want to get into the habit of recentering it before switching the camera off. Press the DOSP/BACK button to quickly return to center.
The “Q” (Quick Menu) button on the back displays a Control Info screen with settings that you can quickly set using either of the Command Dials.
The placement of the Delete and Playback buttons above the LCD is unusual but not so much so than if they were located to the left of the LCD.
In manual focus mode, the AF-L button can be conveniently pressed for instant autofocus, then you can finetune using the focus ring.
In Manual AF, you can focus the standard way, using your trusty eyes. Or, you can turn on Focus Peak Highlight to assist. Like on the X-T1, the X-T120 also has the new focus mode: Digital Split Image. Go to MENU – SHOOTING MENU 4 – MF ASSIST – choose from STANDARD, DIGITAL SPLIT IMAGE or FOCUS PEAK HIGHLIGHT (and here you have 3 colors to choose from). It displays a three-part split B&W image and you align the three parts to obtain correct focus. This harks back to the two parts split rangefinder focusing that allowed for lightning fast focus and works best when there are strong vertical or diagonal lines. Give it a try.
Single-point AF is very fast and precise and Wide/Tracking capability has been improved.
Unlike on the X-T1, the memory card does not have its own compartment located not on the side of the camera but is in the battery compartment on the bottom of the camera and you will therefore not be able to change memory card (or battery) when the camera is mounted on a tripod.
The tripod mount at the bottom of the camera is not located in line with the camera’s optical axis. However, if you do a lot of panorama shooting, then invest in the optional and larger Hand Grip MHG-XT10 (B&H, Anazon.com
Included in the box is a rechargeable Li-ion battery NP-W126 that can take about 350 shots with the LCD ON (CIPA standard) on a fresh charge. A battery charger BC-W126 comes with a power cord and recharges a depleted battery in approx. 150 min.
The Fujifilm X-T10 uses the SD / SDHC / SDXC (UHS-I) memory card.
Unlike the X-T1, the X-T10 is not weather-resistant.
The Fujifilm X-T10 is a beautifully designed camera with very good handling and excellent build quality. It looks much better in hand than in print, and I prefer the silver version to the all-black one. If you have never used a retro style camera before, you may also actually discover how pleasurable it can be to use a camera that also captures great images. Its compact size, very good handling and blend of retro design and modern digital electronics make the X-T10 a delightful camera to use. Admiring glances thrown in extra.
Next: Fujifilm X-T10 User’s Experience
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