Fujifilm X-T50 Review by DPR (Silver Award) and More Reviews

DPReview has published its review of the the Fujifilm X-T50.

They have lots of great things to say about this camera, and also about the new kit lens, the XF16-50mmF2.8-4.8.

From the great JPEG and RAW image quality and the color profiles, the size and weight, the control dials (they appreciate the film simulation dial) and so forth.

In fact, it would be right on track to snap the Gold Award, if it wasn’t for two issues: the price and the autofocus performance.

One more reason to stress Fujifilm again to finally give us that super easy autofocus fix we suggested.

Dear Fujifilm,

Summer holidays are basically over. Call back your engineering team, let them read this article, and it should take them 5 minutes of hard work to get the AF fixed.

PROS

  • Good image quality in JPEG and Raw
  • Great selection of color profiles and a good dial to control them with
  • Quick-access Auto lever is a fun touch
  • Size and weight make it very portable
  • Wide variety of inexpensive, relatively fast primes available
  • Built-in flash is a nice-to-have
  • Robust video features
  • Has enough dials to give you control without being overwhelming

CONS

  • The price
  • Autofocus tracking performance is noticeably a step below peers
  • Switching between face and subject detection is a two-step process
  • Joystick and Q-menu button can be a little hard to reach
  • Tiny viewfinder
  • Relatively short battery life

You can read the full review at dpreview here.

And since we are talking X-T50, down below are more reviews.

Photographing the Belgian National Day with Fujifilm Gear – Guest Post by Olivier Polet

guest post by Olivier Polet – website

I am 57 years old and I have been a press photographer in Belgium for over 30 years.

Like every year, I reported on the parade of July 21, 2024 for the Belgian national holiday in Brussels. This annual report is often an opportunity to renew my archives of the royal families by taking beautiful portraits of them.

When Fujifilm asked me to become their ambassador, I didn’t hesitate for a second. I exchanged my old guns for lighter Fujifilm equipment.
My Fuji equipment: two X-H2S bodies, the traditional optics and also the famous XF 150-600 mm

This fabulous optic allows me to take portraits of members of the royal family with beautiful ambient light.

I placed the 1.4X multiplier on the optics which allows me to work at 1260mm!

I must first of all say that the autofocus, which was sometimes a little hesitant, seems very efficient to me since the latest firmware version. There is no more hesitation, the focus is direct.  Small drawback, the aperture… at 1360 mm I have to work at a diaphragm of f:11 at 1250 iso. For a speed of 1/100. I use a lightweight monopod. The subject does not move and this speed is enough.  I often run the reports through the Topaz software which increases the sharpness and allows for higher sensitivity subjects to remove slight noise. Although the noise is less and less present at high sensitivity with the XH2 S, the Topaz software allows you to work at high sensitivity without any fear.

Another positive point is the lightness of this lens and its stabilization which brings a lot of comfort to shooting.

In addition, the optical unit moves internally which provides additional comfort when shooting!

If we publish the aperture, this optic in 24/36 conversion allows us to cover focal lengths from 225 mm (without the 1.4X) to 1260mm with the 1.4X. With the multiplier. An absolute weapon in many situations which allows me to compete with my colleagues and produce often different images.

It is without hesitation that I take this lens as soon as I can, which remains light for its focal length and which brings me different images.

I work in RAW and develop them with Capture One software.

You can see more picture on my web site: www.photographe-polet.com

All this pictures are done front of the king’s palace in Brussels during the national parade.
The distance between the photographers and the royal family is approximately of 70 meters.

Get Fujifilm X-T5 Alike Sized Viewfinder on Smaller X Series Cameras with This 3D Printed Accessory

Usually when Fujifilm launches a new compact camera, there are always people who wish it had a larger EVF.

Of course that’s not possible, if the concept of the camera is to be compact and small. You have to make tradeoffs.

Personally I am fine with this choice. The EVF on my X-E3 is certainly not big, but big enough for my type of shooting. I am certainly not wishing of a larger EVF on my compact X-E3, but rather for a tilt screen to avoid to shoot like this ;).

And yet, there are plenty of people desiring a larger EVF and if you are among them, then this could be a solution.

Fellow Fujifilm X Shooter Yukosteel has designed a 3D printed solution to use DSLR magnifiers adapted to X-T30 and alike cameras, to make EVF 0.76x – 0.84x magnified, larger than X-T series.

Yukosteel has published article which you can read here and after more testing he also published 3D printable adapter models.

Yukosteel also plans to design an adapter for X-E and X100 series in nearest future, which is a bit more complex task but doable.

Read the full story at yukosteel here.

Fujifilm GFX Zone: Reviews, Experience… and Dreams in a World Fuller than Full Frame!

Today I wanted to share a roundup dedicated to the Fujifilm GFX system.

The roundup will cover the latest and greatest, from the cameras like the flagship Fujifilm GFX100II and the brand new Fujifilm GFX100S II, to G mount lenses such as the (back-ordered) Fujinon GF20-35mmF4 and the new Fujinon GF30mmF5.6 Tilt Shift.

And we will include also “dreams” or “wishes” about a Fujifilm GFX180 and GFX250.

As you know I am a Fujifilm GFX shooter myself, and last year I made one of my best hikes in the Dolomites with it. You can read my experience below.

  • fujirumors.com – A Tale of a Hiking Fuller than Full Frame, a Sony Shooter Lusting after Fujifilm Colors

GFX Zone

** CLICK HERE to Read the Rest of the Article **

How To Quickly Access Your Fujifilm Film Simulation Recipes and About the Missed Film Simulation Dial Opportunity

We just reported about the dedicated Film Simulation Photowalks that Fujifilm USA has organized together with Fujifilm X Weekly.

Well, one more thing just came to my mind, and I thought it is worth to talk about it in this article.

To me, it seems that Fujifilm USA has (finally) understood how important film simulation recipes are for the Fujifilm community.

Sadly we can’t say the same of Fujifilm Japan, who is not putting any marketing effort into promoting film simulation recipes.

Sure, Fujifilm Japan did give us the film simulation dial on the Fujifilm X-T50, but the fact that you can’t assign a recipe to the FS1, FS2 and FS3 position to the dial shows that Fujifilm Japan has not yet understood the importance of recipes for us Fujifilm shooters.

I hope Fujifilm Japan takes a marketing lesson from Fujifilm USA and gives us a simple firmware update that allows us to assign recipes on the film simulation dial.

But with all that said: there is a quick way to access your recipes. You have to go through the C position on the dial and then you can select between 7 recipes that you’ve set. Fuji Guy Francis will run you through it quickly below.

That’s nice and good, but it would have been fantastic to have our favorite top 3 recipes set right on the dial (FS1, FS2, FS3) and accessible with a simple turn of the dial.