Fujifilm X-T1 (1,299.00 Amazon) has made SLR owners more aware of mirrorless options as a viable option for challenging photographic subjects and fast-moving action. The X-T2 ($1,599 body only) is the successor to this camera. The sensor resolution is increased to 24MP and the autofocus system tracks moving objects at 8fps. It also records 4K video. The Olympus E-M1 is our Editors Choice for the highest-end mirrorless category. It has performed well in lab tests and in real-world usage.
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Design and controls
The XT2 (Amazon: $645.00) looks like a smaller SLR. The viewfinder sits centered behind the sensor and is slightly raised above the mount. Omissions of mirror boxes reduce the distance between lens mount and sensor and decrease the overall body size.
The body measures just 1.1 pounds and is sized at 3.6x5.2x1.9inches (HWD). The flashes are not in-body, but you can attach a clip-on external flash to the camera. Fujifilm has two options for the X-T2: Graphite Silver Edition or black. However, the latter comes at a 200-dollar premium.
The VPBXT2 Vertical Power Booster Grips ($329.99) is available if you want a bigger camera. The grip holds two additional batteries—they have to be purchased separately for $69.99 each. The X-T2's life can be tripled by using the Normal mode, which is rated at 1,020 images and a CIPA rating of 340 images.
The grip also adds a Boost mode that improves overall performance—more on that later. The grip can also double as a charger for three additional batteries if you don't mind plugging it into the wall.
Fujifilm did a great job designing the X-T2. The controls of the X-T2 are intuitive and easy to use. You can access the control dial on the front and an Fn2 customizable button via your right-hand. The default settings for Fn2 are Drive. However, you can change the mapping via the menu system.
The bottom corner houses a focus toggle switch. This can be used to change the drive settings (Single Continuous, Manual), and you will use your left hand when holding the X-2 to your eyes.
The locking ISO dial is located on the top plate to the right of the hotshoe. The A setting is automatic. There are manual adjustments available at third-stop intervals in the ISO 200 to ISO 12800 range. Additionally, there are expanded options for High (ISO 25600), and Low (ISO 100). It also has a Drive mode dial that can be integrated to its base. This allows you to choose from Movie, Bracketing, Continuous High (CH), Continuous Lower (CL), Single, Double Exposure and Advanced Filters.
The diopter control is located to the left of EVF. It adjusts the focus according to your eyesight. The View Mode button is located on the right. It switches between rear LCD and EVF. An eye sensor automatically switches between them.
The Shutter Speed dial is located on the right-hand side of the topplate. It also has a locking mechanism with a button at the center to control whether it turns or stays in the same position. The flash speed can be adjusted from 1 second to 1/1,8000 seconds.
The Metering control dial is located at its base. You can choose from Spot, Average, Center-Weighted or Multi. The most sophisticated, Multi, analyzes the scene's composition and colors to find the best exposure.
On the top plate, the only programmable button is Fn1. This allows you to set default settings for Face and Eye Detection. The shutter release is joined to it by an On/Off switch. It is threaded to accept either a mechanical or soft-release button.
A dial is available to adjust EV compensation. You can adjust EV compensation from -3 to +3EV with marks in three-stop increments. There is also a setting that transfers EV control to your camera's menu system via the C button.
Just to the right of the eyecup, the Delete and Play buttons are located side-by-side on the rear. The AE-L, rear control dial and AF button are located to its left. Right rear is home to an ergonomic thumbrest, which includes the Q button and focus point selection joystick. Four-way direction control can also be found with the Menu/OK button in its middle, as well as the Disp/Back buttons running from top of bottom between the rear display and thumb rest.
The four-way pad has a Fn button that can be programmed. Fn3 is at 12 o'clock. Fn5 and Fn6 are the buttons for White Balance, Performance, Fn4 (Film Simulation), respectively. The focus joystick is a welcome addition to the X-T2—the small nub allows you to move the active focus with ease when the focus area is set to something other than Wide.
You can access additional settings by pressing Q. You can set your focus, white balance and file quality settings. There's also a Custom setting that lets you save up to eight banks of customized camera settings so you can easily switch between favored configurations—set up one for color photography and another for black-and-white, for example. You can also change the display of the Q menu options if the choices are not satisfactory.
Vertical Power Booster Grips are optional and duplicate some on-body controls to be used when photographing in portrait orientation. The shutter release, Fn2, Q and AE-L buttons are all included. There is also a front and rear control dials.
It measures 3 inches and has a resolution of 1,040k dots. The LCD is very sharp and can be easily brightened for outdoor use. Dual-hinge mounting allows the LCD to be tilted to either face down or up. The range isn't quite as wide as that of the Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II (1,549.00 on Amazon). This LCD swings from the body and can be oriented to face forward or down. The X-T2 lacks a touch interface. You can't tap on a portion of an image to adjust focus. However, the tiny focus joystick makes up for this shortcoming.
The EVF can be used to frame images by bringing the camera closer to your eyes. This viewfinder can be used to capture sharp images with a mirrorless camera. The 0.77x magnification rates are comparable to full-frame SLRs. It squeezes in 2.36 million dots within its frame of 0.5 inches. The refresh rate can be increased to 100 fps if you use the Vertical Power Booster Grp and its Boost mode.
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Wi-Fi and connections, Film simulation
The X-T2 has a variety of film emulation options, just like other Fujifilm X camera models. You can choose from Provia (Standard), Velvia, Vivid, Astia, Soft, Classic Chrome (Kodachrome), Pro negative Hi Contrast and Pro negative standard Contrast to make your JPG photos look more like a film. You can adjust the grain level, which includes options for strong, weak, or additional grains. You can also apply digital Yellow, Green or Red filters to Acros and Monochrome modes. I prefer to shoot with the X-2 using Classic Chrome, Acros, and a Yellow filter. However, your mileage might vary.
The X-T2 has Wi-Fi built-in. You can transfer images from your Android device to share online. Fuji Cam Remote is a free application that allows you to control your smartphone's camera manually. You can also tap on the screen to adjust a focal point. You can also push photos from your camera to your smartphone's camera roll or browse and retrieve images wirelessly on your memory card.
When paired with a lens marked WR, the camera's body can withstand weather conditions. A flap on the left side protects the data connection ports—micro USB 3.0, micro HDMI, 3.5mm microphone, and 2.5mm remote. On the right is the memory card door, which houses two UHSII SD/SDHC/SDXC cards. On the front plate is a PC Sync socket that can be used to sync studio flash systems. The Vertical Power Booster Grip can be added to the front plate. It adds a 3.5mm headset jack.
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Performance and autofocus
The X-T2 was designed for speed. The X-T2 starts up, focusses, and fires within 0.8 seconds, which is a great speed for a mirrorless. Comparatively, the Sony Alpha 6300 (Amazon: $679) takes 1.8 seconds.
The X-T2 locks and fires very quickly when paired up with the XF23mm F2R WR (Amazon: $449.00). The focus speed drops to 0.3 seconds in dim lighting. It can shoot at 8fps in burst mode, which is able to handle 29 Raw+JPG, 36 raw, and 403 JPG photos when it's paired with SanDisk 280MBps cards.
When switching to continuous focus (AF-C), the 8fps burst speed is retained. In our standard test where we photograph an object moving towards and from the lens, the X-T2 achieves a high hit rate for focus. The X-T2 also performed well in field testing.
It is very customizable. It is very customizable. I used it mostly in its default Multi Purpose mode. However, it has options for shooting subjects with obstacles, subjects moving at high speed, subjects who accelerate or decelerate, subjects that suddenly enter the frame and subjects that change their speed. You can adjust the frequency that your focus area changes, and you have customizable speed and tracking settings.
The X-T2 will be faster if you add the Vertical Power Booster Grp. Boost mode draws power simultaneously from all three batteries, giving it the extra energy to work a little faster. The speed of the focus is reduced to 0.05 seconds, viewfinder refreshes faster, and the burst rate increases to 11fps. This can be used to capture 24 Raw+JPG images, 30 Raw and 94 JPG photos. The speed of tracking subjects is not at 11fps, it drops to 9.6fps during our tests. However, images are still captured in sharp focus at this rate.
The X-T2 autofocus system is not only fast and accurate. The coverage area covers almost all of the sensor's image. The focus coverage extends from the edge to the edge. There are only narrow areas at the bottom and top of the frame. You won't see this in SLRs. Only the Nikon D500 offers a comparable coverage area.
Image quality
The X-T2 features a 24-MP image sensor and an X-Trans filter. Fujifilm's proprietary X-Trans technology uses a different color filter array to the Bayer sensor that many other cameras. Fujifilm claims that the complex color filter array gives noise (grain), a film-like look and enhances image quality when ISO is increased. The design also minimizes the appearance of color moiré, while at the same time eliminating the need for an optical low pass filter (OLPF)—the result is crisper images than cameras that employ an OLPF.
Imatest was used to test the XT2's ISO performance. It keeps noise below 1.5 percent at ISO 6400 when shooting JPG images with default settings. This is an excellent result. If you push the camera too far, there can be a little bit of loss in detail. The X-T2 can be shot at ISO 1600 with no noticeable image fidelity loss. There is a slight blurring of fine details at ISO 3200. At ISO 6400, there is a little more. ISO 12800 has a bit less blur, but this is not harmful. ISO 25600 has a slightly less blurred image, however I would still be comfortable shooting JPGs at this extreme.
Raw format allows you to capture more detail in high-resolution settings. ISO 6400 produces excellent results. Some lines are ruined by grain at ISO 12800. Photos appear rougher because of this. ISO 25600 gives you a slightly less sharp image, but it is still very good. For shooting in low light, the X-T2 digital camera is among the most powerful APS-C formats.
Video
Video can be shot at 4K resolution with the X-T2. Clips are limited to 10 minutes—30 minutes with the Vertical Power Booster Grip. In 4K, you can either shoot at 30fps or 24fps. Both frames are slightly cropped to the right and left. The jelly-like rolling shutter effect can be seen when panning or photographing subjects moving from one side to the other. If you have a lens without in-body stabilization you will notice a noticeable shake to handheld footage.
Good news: 4K video is crisp and smooth. The X-T2's autofocus delivers pleasant, fluid focus transitions. You can also apply the same film simulation effects that you have when shooting stills to video. The X-T2's strong 4K capabilities are ideal for scenes with slow-moving action or when you work from a tripod.
If 4K recording is important to your workflow, however, you will likely be better served by another mirrorless cam. The Panasonic GH5 will soon be available and offer the best professional video features among all mirrorless cameras. The Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II and the full-frame Sony Alpha 7S II (1,999.00 each at Amazon) deliver superior 4K footage with in-camera stabilization.
Opting to shoot in 1080p—which allows you to up the frame rate to 60fps if desired—delivers an uncropped frame that doesn't exhibit the rolling shutter effect. The 1080p camera will produce a great result if you use a tripod or a stabilized lens.
Although the background noise is a problem, the internal microphone picks up voice clearly. For serious projects, an external microphone is always recommended. The X-T2 also has a standard microphone input.
Conclusions
Fujifilm's X-T2 mirrorless camera is by far the most advanced. The X-T2's excellent autofocus system, backed up by excellent image quality as well as a robust lens system, is a great addition to any camera collection. It feels natural in the hands and has an intuitive control system. Moreover, the WR lens can be used in almost all weather conditions.
The X-T2 will perform better if the Vertical Power Booster Grips is added. This grip is a great investment for fast-moving photographers. The grip will improve the balance and performance of your system if you are using it with one the bigger lenses from the X-F family, such as the XF 100–400mm f/4.5–5.6 OIS WR (Amazon: $1,599.95)
The X-T2's still image capabilities are strong, but it isn't perfect. It omits in-body stabilization, which is a feature that's now commonplace among top-tier mirrorless bodies—it's supported by competing models including the Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II, Panasonic GH5, and Sony Alpha 6500 ($699.99 at Amazon). Although most zoom lenses from Fujifilm have stabilization, none of the current top-of-the-line options do. This is a problem for videographers as image stabilization can help to stabilize handheld footage.
Despite its lack of in-body IS and rolling shutter problems with 4K video, the X-T2 is our Editors Choice premium mirrorless camera. Although it doesn't capture as fast as the E-M1 Mark II it does better in terms of image quality and handling, as well as being $400 cheaper. Although it is slightly more costly than the Sony Alpha 6500 at $1,400, it has dual card slots, a dedicated APS-C lens, and is stronger. The X-T2 is the best option if you are looking for a mirorless camera that does not compromise image quality, speed or control.