DPReview Fujifilm X-T4 Review – Gold Award: “Attractive Images, Superb Video Quality, $2000 Full Frame Threat but APS-C offers…”

DPReview just published their Fujifilm X-T4 review, and it gets the Gold Award with a rating of 88%.

From their conclusions:

It’s a really good stills camera, it’s a really, really good video camera, but the thing it excels at it switching back and forth between being both. We’re not sure there’s another camera that offers such a strong combination.

The thing that threatens to overshadow the X-T4 is the ~$2000 full frame mirrorless camera

The Sony a7 III and Nikon Z6 both offer in-body stabilization and similarly sized bodies, and are old enough to sell for near the X-T4’s price. Full frame can offer undeniably better image quality if you use lenses that are equivalent or faster, which can’t be ignored. But APS-C offers a different size/weight trade-off, allowing smaller, perhaps more manageable body/lens combinations which don’t necessarily give up too much in image quality. In video, the Fujifilm more than holds its own. If you’re shooting a scene and need to maintain a minimum depth-of-field, the Fujifilm’s 10-bit footage will have similar IQ and be more gradable.

What we like What we don’t
  • Excellent image quality
  • Wide choice of attractive color modes
  • Very good video quality
  • Effective and customizable ergonomics
  • Image stabilization allows hand-held video shooting and more stable stills
  • 15 fps shooting with mechanical shutter and >100 shot JPEG buffer
  • Fully-articulating screen great for video
  • Good separation of stills and video to enable fast switching
  • Separate stills and video menus simplify things even for stills-only shooters
  • Good battery life
  • Can be charged and used with USB power but an external charger is also supplied
  • Extensive customization of buttons and interfaces
  • Strong range of video tools (peaking, zebras, punch-in while recording, corrected preview for Log shooting)
  • 10-bit internal Log capture with selection of useful LUTs provided
  • Autofocus performance is heavily subject-dependent
  • No AF subject tracking in video
  • AF performance highly lens dependent
  • Face/eye detection is awkwardly integrated and not as dependable as rival systems
  • IS system not great at identifying intentional movement (can give ‘grabby’ results)
  • Buffer lasts less than 3 seconds for Raw at 15fps
  • Need to retain USB-C dongle to attach headphones
  • Fully articulating screen may not be your preferred option for stills shooting

You can check out the full review at dpreview here.

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Fujifilm X-T4 Firmware Update Released

Fujifilm released firmware updates for Fujifilm X-T4. [Note: in the original article I wrote also about X-A7 firmware, but that was the one released a few days ago, I removed that part now].

Fujifilm X-T4 ver 1.01 – download here

  1. The phenomenon is fixed that the battery in the camera body cannot be charged by the bundled AC adapter when the USB POWER SUPPLY SETTING is changed to OFF from ON (default setting).
  2. The phenomenon is fixed that repeated turning on and off a camera delays the set time.

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Fujifilm X-T4 vs Sony A7III IBIS Comparison, Viltrox EF-FX2 on X-T4, Peak Design Anchor Mount Solution, NP-W235 Battery Analysed & More

Here is a Fujifilm X-T4 roundup. It includes

  • an IBIS performance comparison between the Fujifilm X-T4 and the Sony A7III. Clear win for the Fujifilm X-T4 here
  • Marteen noticed X-T4 lockups, particularly when the vertical grip and external power source is connected
  • Cameralabs X-T4 review
  • a test of the Viltrox EF-FX2 on the X-T4
  • since the Fujifilm GB-001 screw does not really fit on the Fuji X-T4, a solution can be found on the Peak Design Anchor Mount (images below)
  • & More

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Fujifilm X-T4 Roundup

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

TOP SELLERS (and In Stock): Fujifilm BC-W235 Dual Battery Charger, NP-W235 Battery and Vertical Grip for Fujifilm X-T4

 

Fujifilm is shipping the X-T4 without an external battery charger (you have to charge batteries via the camera).

Until now, the only option you have to charge your batteries externally, is the Fujifilm’s BC-W235 dual battery charger.

Now, I do not pretend a dual charger with a nice LCD indicator to come in the box along with the X-T4, but at least a simple external charger should have been included. It’s just a practical option to have, for example when you want to charge your spare batteries at home or in the hotel room, while you are out shooting with your X-T4.

This is why I ordered one myself.

But that’s how it is. And so far, at least for Fujifilm, it seems to work well, since (as to expect) people are buying lots of those chargers, and BHphoto even marked it as “#1 Seller“.

The big fat new NP-W235 batteries instead are listed as “Top Seller“. Also the Fujifilm VG-XT4 vertical battery grip is in stock.

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Cameralabs Fujifilm X-T4 Review

Gordon from Cameralabs published the full Fujifilm X-T4 review.

I know many of you will probably see this in a hurry on their smartphones, so I will provide the full written summary below.

  • same form factor of X-T3
  • in terms of size, the biggest difference to X-T3 is the thickness, due to IBIS and more powerful battery
  • a bit heavier
  • more comfortable grip hold
  • controls look familiar to X-T3
  • movie mode now has its own switch
  • Fujifilm is gradually understanding the needs of videographers
  • now camera is much easier and practical when switching between stills and video
  • luckily it keeps the D-Pad
  • hard to press Q button accidentally, that’s good
  • articulating screen, a delight for vloggers
  • more rigid eye-cup
  • viewfinder has a boost option for clearer low light view
  • removable SD-card slot great if you work on a cage
  • headphone jack is gone, but you can adapt it via USB-C port
  • new battery is very welcome, rated for 500 shots
  • he exceeded the given battery life, by taking  550 shots using mechanical shutter and IBIS enabled and a few minutes with IBIS stabilized 4K video clips
  • he filmed 3.5 hours clips in 4K 25p with IBIS, with battery expiring 18 minutes and 40 seconds into the 4th clip
  • after the first clip, the X-T4 became very warm, but only became a little bit hotter as the test proceeded
  • at no point it overheated or became uncomfortable to hold
  • total of 109 minutes of 4K25p video on a single charge vs 62 minutes with X-T3
  • X-T4 IBIS is more effective on almost all lenses compared to X-H1
  • X-T4 is slimmer than X-H1
  • on of the best benefits of IBIS is having a stable view while composing your image with non stabilized lenses like the XF16-55mmF2.8, XF56mmF1.2 and XF90mmF2
  • he got sharp results at 1/5th of a second using XF16-55mmF2.8. Without IBIS he could have shot only at 1/80th of a second. That’s 4 stops of compensation (a bit less than what Fujifilm claims, but still great results)
  • IBIS + DIS (digital stabilization) applies 1.1x crop at all video formats, except for 4K@50/60p, where the crop is 1.29x
  • he does not notice any additional advantage using DIS
  • If you use IBIS with Boost mode (best used with static subjects), you see a small improvement over IBIS only. Applies no crop
  • impressive 15 fps mechanical shutter
  • quieter shutter than X-T3. It is incredible silent
  • eye autofocus does a good job, but maybe not quite as sticky as the latest Sony cameras, but certainly now amongst the best out there
  • no animal face/eye detection
  • Eterna bleach bypass is ideal for stylized video
  • annoying: the large color array (where you select your color temperature) can be navigated only with D-Pad (no joystick). It would have been better if one could use the joystick for faster selection
  • images have plenty of detail, but it’s the colors and tones that continue to be a highlight of owning an X series camera
  • X-T4 will be one of the last, if not the last model to use the X-Trans IV sensor
  • recording times: 30 minutes at 4K/30p and 20 minutes at 4K/50-60p
  • X-T4 support ExFAT (does not split longer video files in multiple clips)
  • ETERNA is a great allround use film simulation for video
  • during panning IBIS is easy to catching up on itself, delivering some jarring stumbling effect. To be fair, this effects also many other stabilized systems, but it is something to be aware of
  • walking while filming is more successful (compared to panning)
  • autofocus while filming is OK, but with occasional hunting or overshooting, and lacks the ultimate confidence of Sony and Canon latest systems
  • might not be the best in class AF in video, but it is still pretty good
  • overall the X-T4 is a compelling high-end option for vloggers
  • having 24o fps slow motion is rather impressive, when most rivals top out at 100 or 120 fps.
  • 240 fps footage looks softer than 120 fps. Horizontal resolution is essential the same, but dramatic reduction in vertical resolution
  • Fujifilm Japan confirmed to him, that 200/240 fps use only about half of the vertical data
  • this is not an unusual technique, as lots of other cameras do the same at higher frame rates. Actually, few rivals even offer more than just about half of 240 fps
  • 4K/60p quality is as good as his full frame 4K in his resolution tests.
  • 4K/60p maintains sound
  • Fujifilm says the X-H line will continue
  • Gordon suspects the X-T4 will be the last body to use X-Trans IV sensor. But the X-Trans IV sensor is only 1.5 years old and delivers great results
  • the 6×6 X-Trans filter array makes it hard to implement pixel shift than the 2×2 Bayer pattern (which is what the GFX100 will get)
  • high end APS-C cost about the same of mid-range/budget full frame bodies. The Canon EOS RP costs less (even with lens) and the Canon R costs the same. But neither of those full frame cameras has IBIS, dual SD-Card slot nor 4K/60p video
  • Nikon Z6 and Sony A7III (no 4K/60) are priced a little bit higher, but still within reach of the X-T4
  • Personally Gordon would not trade a bigger sensor for the overall feature set of the X-T4 at least at this price point
  • Fujifilm enhanced a popular mode without compromising its charm
  • arguably the best crop sensor camera to date

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