Early impressions of the Fujifilm X70 after about a week of use!
The default color profile coming out of the X70 is subtly different from Olympus m4/3s. Not a scientific test now as I’m not a visual person, but the natural lighting colors do look very slightly more natural, though this is finally really personal preferences. The typical pictures at ISO3200 look less noisy than m4/3 equivalents.
The all-round metallic body feels well-built, cool to touch, and dense. In a nice-touch, the eyelet hooks are also removed as factory-shipped too. That’s always the first things I remove when I get a new m4/3 body.
The Exposure Compensation dial sits at the far right corner. It’s slightly recessed though and quite stiff. Quite helpful in avoiding situations where one accidentally brushes against it and dial in unwanted exposure compensations, as it’s happened a few times with the mode dials on Olympus E-PL bodies now.
The metallic lens cap is internally padded, and fits snugly onto the lens. The lens itself doesn’t have a filter thread, so the dedicated 49mm adapter ring is needed to fit a filter and/or 49mm lens cap.
The menu item layout is more visually appealing than Olympus, though I don’t think the organization is really any less confusing for first users of the Fujifilm system.
Silent shutter option. Nice!
In-camera charging via the micro USB port. Super convenient than having to bring a dedicated charger unit. This feature should be a standard inclusion in all cameras.
And lastly, the X70 offers many of the usual amenities we’ve come to expect from modern cameras – including setting a minimum shutter speed, and lower/upper limits of the ISO setting.
On the other hand:
AF speed is so-so. It’s not nearly as brisk as Olympus’ m4/3 cameras from the last several years now, and the difference is even more evident in low-light situations.
Non-stabilized lens and no provision for in-body stabilization either. I’ve been spoiled by the Olympus m4/3 camera bodies, and especially the 5-axis in-body stabilization system on my E-M5 and E-M1. Sharp handheld shots of 1/5s are totally possibly on those bodies and just too hard on the X70.
No hot-shoe cover. Had to buy cheapo third party replacements for it.
RAW support isn’t available in Program-Auto mode, while Auto-flash mode is available only in Program-Auto. I figure that’s why it’s called ‘auto’ mode, but it would had been better if these options were available for advanced users as an optional items to enable than to disallow them altogether.
Oddly, image playback takes a bit of time to start-up, though once it’s in playback mode, images do scroll briskly.
The Selector quadrant of buttons don’t offer good key travel and are quite stiff. The E-M5’s selector also had low key travel but buttons weren’t nearly as stiff or mushy.
The Auto mode selector level is close to the master on/off switch. The first couple of days I kept accidentally toggling the auto mode from Aperture priority to full-on auto, instead of powering on/off the camera. That took some getting use to.
The package came with accessories, several of which were high quality original equipment from manufacturer – the lens hood, adapter ring, leather case and strap, and an extra battery. The leather case got put aside as while it provides a better grip hold for the X70, also adds more bulk, and I don’t find its design appealing either. The other four accessories are useful though.
A couple of other accessories are also on order, including a 49mm Hoya Pro 1 Digital filter, which is a few dollars more expensive than the normal Hoya filters but which glass elements are easier to clean. Alongside that, a tempered glass ear LCD protector, and finally also – the Meike MK320 TTL flash gun for the X70, which cost less than half the price for the already bargain bin-priced Nissin i40 I’ve got for m4/3. A mini-review for the Meike perhaps once I receive the unit in a few weeks.
Some pictures of the kids next!
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