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What's up everyone?
We are back keeping our social distancing in full effect here in Singapore
With another camera review
This time a camera a lot of you have been asking me to do a review on
I've finally got my hands on it
Not on the market just yet
Will be soon though
It is the Fujifilm XT4
Like always we're not paid or sponsored by anyone but I do want to thank Fujifilm Singapore
For providing the camera and lenses for us and the battery grip
With that, let's talk about the camera
Okay first off, let's talk about design
The XT4 looks just like the XT3
But there have been some design changes to it
Some slight design changes which are welcome
First off, the grip
The grip feels a lot better in the hand
Now has been slightly enlarged, not a lot but
Every little bit makes a difference
Now of course I have the new battery grip on it which I love
I love the battery grip on any of the XT series because
I have larger hands
This really feels good in my hand with the battery grip, plus
You can have three batteries in the camera
A lot of cameras out there with battery grips only let you have up to two batteries
Fujifilm lets you have a battery in the body and two in the grip
So that means you're gonna have a lot of battery usage because
In addition to the larger grip you have now
Larger capacity batteries
That means your battery life is pretty much double that of the XT3
So for those who had a pocket full of batteries or a bag full of batteries when you're on shoot with the XT3
You don't need to carry so many with you now because the XT4 covers that
Also, the dials have been refined a little bit, simplified
It still has that kind of classic look the XT3 had
But for some reason to me, I don't, this just might be a placebo effect
But this feels like it's a little bit better build quality than the XT3
I mean I remember reviewing the XT3
We'll put a link in our description below of that camera
And I liked it but everything feels a little bit more solid, a little bit more clicky
The grooves on the dials feel a little bit better
And the overall build quality of camera just feels a little bit more premium
Don't know what it is exactly
I can't put my finger on it but it just feels that way
One of the improvements has been
The removal of the photometry or metering modes
On the right dial
My right, your left dial right here on the bottom of it
Now instead they have Still and Movie Mode which is very welcome because
It makes it a lot easier
Now Fujifilm likes to stack dials on top of each other
Like shutter speed and then you have Still and Movie Mode, then also
Have your ISO dial with your high speed shooting modes there on the bottom of it
So sometimes you can move the bottom dial without realizing it
So do always just double check
It's not a deal-breaker, it's just one of those situations that you have to understand
That's how Fujifilm makes their cameras
But for the most part, the dials feel a lot better in the hand
And turning them it's a lot more clickier
This camera just feels really really good
Besides that, EVF is still the same
3.69 million dot EVF
Three-inch touchscreen display on the back of it, 1.62 million dots on that
These are not flagship level specs
They work and they work well
But talking about the display in the back
One of the big improvements which a lot of people have been wanting from Fujifilm for a long time
ls the fact that you can swivel the display now
But there is a but to this
I'll talk about that in just a bit
it's a big but for photographers out there
Because it does hinder a certain style of shooting
Anyway, another big addition to the XT4 is of course IBIS
Now when we reviewed the GFX 100
That was some of the best IBIS technology I've seen in a camera overall
I mean all my shots were steady along with the image stabilization in the lenses
You have five-axis image stabilization in this camera that's borrowing
From that kind of technology that was in the GFX 100
It is really welcome because
The camera is relatively lightweight, when you're using a lightweight camera
Sometimes you will get shutter shake especially when you're shooting at lower shutter speeds
This IBIS does alleviate most of that
You sometimes will still get it, it's not gonna completely kill
Any sort of shutter shake or any sort of handshake in it
But it does help especially with video
The video is well, video functionality still there, 4K up to 60 all that kind of stuff
Your autofocusing has been improved slightly, it's all there
This is a really really solid camera by Fujifilm
This is to me, is their flagship camera. I know they have their XH1
But we don't know if there's gonna be a XH2. But overall
That is the XT4 in a nutshell
An evolution, not a revolution
Now, let's talk about some of the lenses
Now, I have the 90mm f/2 which is on the camera right now
Also, the 16mm f/1.4 which everybody raves about
As being a fantastic lens and it is, it is a very very sharp lens
One of Fujifilm's best
As well as I have the 50-140mm f/2.8
Which is equivalent to a 70-200mm when you're converting from APS-C to full-frame
Now for me, what I wanted to do is take this camera out to the zoo, shoot some animals
Get some wildlife, get a feel of the camera, the autofocusing capabilities
To the image quality and thus far
And the autofocusing has improved a bit
Is it the best on the market?
No, but it's in the top five I would definitely say
Sometimes I'm missing here and there, could be the lens
It could be a combination of the lens and body but
The one thing that I did notice right off the bat
Is that the IBIS is fantastic especially paired with a lens
That has image stabilization built into it
You're going to get that five-axis image stabilization through and through
And Fujifilm to me, makes some of the best, one of the best ones out there for photography
Now when it comes to video
Slightly different, maybe not as good as Panasonic from other reviews I've seen out there
And I can confirm that, but overall it is much better than a lot of the other players out there
I would definitely put it in the top 2 or top 3
In terms of image stabilization technology
Image quality as you can see in the photos here is really really good
When you nail it, tack sharp, the images come out great
Now Fujifilm
The thing about Fujifilm is, a lot of their lenses, some are older designs versus others
Some of the newer lenses are much sharper
Have better image quality to them
Fujifilm probably does need to update a number of their lenses but
I mean I really don't see a big issue at all
These are not deal-breakers, these are just observations that I'm making
As someone that reviews cameras versus someone who's buying it but I
Talked to a lot of photographers that use Fujifilm through and through
And they are very very happy with the XT4 when they got their hands on it
Now one of the big things a lot of people have been wanting changed on the XT3
Or any of the Fujifilm cameras was the ability to swivel a display out
Especially if you want to do video or vlogging
Fujifilm listened to everybody, they have now done that with the XT4
But, there is a but to this for photographers
You are missing one thing that a lot of you loved especially me
That is the ability to shoot waist level
Before on the XT3, I could just flip the display out
Shoot waist level like this
Get my shot
It was great
Now I have to flip the display out, swivel it
To do the same thing
Makes it a little bit more cumbersome, this is a big thing for a lot of photographers out there
Who are not into videography and some of them have told me
You know what, I'm not going to go up to the XT4
Because I need that waist-level shooting
And you know what, I can't fault them for that
A fully articulated display in 2020 is essential, especially with the video capabilities
And the photography capabilities this camera has
But besides that
There's no really other fault I can find on the XT4
This is a phenomenal camera to use
Now the lenses I had with me of course the 90mm f/2, the 16mm f/1.4 and the 50-140mm
With my friend Ivan Joshua Lowe who's a Fujifilm X ambassador
I did a photoshoot with his Supra
I used the 90mm f/2 and I used the 16mm f/1.4 for that
Got some great shots, we used Broncolour lighting
Was a set-up
Really cool, inside of a car park
I love the images that came out of it the
The images are sharp, the camera performs beautifully with it, no issues at all
Then, I decided to take the 50-140mm to the zoo
Because I want to shoot animals with the XT4
I wanted to see what it was like with the autofocusing
Has it improved?
What's it like to track animals and thus far
And I got some really incredible results from this
This lens and the camera together, are a phenomenal combo
So let's talk about some of the things I wish were improved on the XT4
First off, I wish there was a better sensor
This is the same sensor that is in the XT3
The X-Pro3, the X100V or 5 however you want to say it
You know I mean it's the same sensor throughout
So why didn't Fujifilm give us, let's say a, maybe a 30-megapixel APS-C sensor
They could have
I mean because this is essentially their flagship camera now
But they didn't, they kept it the same
Not a deal-breaker but I wish they would have done that
Another thing is for videographers out there
Your headphone jack is gone, that's right they took it out
I don't know why they would do that because this camera's more
In a way, you could say this is more a videographer's camera than the XT3 is
But there is an option to use a headphone
You have to use the USB-C dongle that you can attach to that
Or if you get the external battery grip which I have on the camera
There is a headphone jack there
But that is a very bit odd to put a headphone jack here
For your video, do you know I mean?
It kind of just makes sense that everything would come out right here
Especially if you're using, let's say, a SmallRig cage or something like that
But they didn't do that
So it's almost like they realized after the fact
Oh whoops we didn't put a headphone jack in
Let's put it in the battery grip, kind of a thing
No come on Fuji, you guys are better than that
That should have been included but at least you got the USB-C option there for you
So I can't fault you for that
But a headphone jack in a camera like this
It needs to be there
What else
I would have liked to seen a higher-res EVF
3.69 million dot EVF is not flagship level
Now it's five point something now and above
So I wish they would have included something in there like that
It would have been nice because well the image is clear
And it's sharp in the EVF
It does look a lot better when you use a higher resolution version
That I've used in, let's say, the Sonys and the Leicas and the Panasonics
So maybe we'll see it in the XT5 or maybe the XH2, if that ever comes out
Sort of like a one of those legendary cameras that we don't know will ever make it to the market
But if it does maybe we'll have that there
Otherwise, the XT4 is a solid camera
I've enjoyed using it
Really one of my favorite Fujifilm cameras to date
Really that good
So overall, while this video is not as long as our XT3 review we had initially a few months back
The reason for that is because this is essentially an XT3 plus
As I mentioned this has IBIS, the flippable display
Better batteries, a more refined buttons and dial system
But besides that it's an XT3
It's the same sensor, the same processor, same image quality that's coming out of the camera
So the question to you is what kind of photographer, videographer are you?
If you're more mainly into video, the XT4 might be worth the upgrade
Because the IBIS is essential for videos if you're not using a gimbal
And the display flipping out and swiveling around helps make vlogging easier
If you want to do self recording or self taping
Or if you just want to be in certain angles and you want to see your video
How you're shooting it, this helps a lot
So then XT4 will be for you, but if you're a photographer
You might find the XT3 is good enough for you and I can't argue with that
I mean they're both great cameras and the XT3 is now
Cheaper than the XT4
But if you're new to the Fujifilm system
And this is what is gonna be your first Fujifilm camera
Go with the XT4 for future proofing
IBIS, better batteries, you don't have to carry a bag of them
You can ask Fujifilm photographers about that
Fujifilm photographers are known to carry a lot of batteries on them
XT4 eliminates a lot of that and it's just a more refined camera overall
Anyway those are my thoughts on the XT4
Let me know your thoughts in the comment section below
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And we'll talk to you soon, take care