Fujifilm X-T200
MSRP $700.00
“With each substance and magnificence, Fuji’s second try at an entry-level X-T camera succeeds.”
Execs
- Nice design
- Massive, high-res display
- 4K/30 video
- Improved autofocus
- Webcam mode
Cons
- No in-body picture stabilization
- Steady AF could possibly be higher
The X-T200 is the entry-level camera Fujifilm followers have lengthy deserved, and arguably what the X-T100 ought to have been. However after I complained in regards to the X-T100’s gradual autofocus in my video review in 2018, I took lots of flack on YouTube.
“Dude what you anticipate for this camera? That is entry degree camera [sic]. Lol,” stated one disgruntled viewer.
“OMG be real looking,” stated one other.
What folks gave the impression to be lacking is that autofocus efficiency issues not less than as a lot on newbie cameras because it does on skilled fashions.
Sure, there are high-end cameras designed particularly for capturing sports activities that may have autofocus efficiency above and past the remaining, however for essentially the most half, knowledgeable or fanatic photographer is the one who can be taking extra time with their exposures — they’ll afford to be affected person. Because of this the Hasselblad X1D II 50C can have notoriously gradual autofocus, and nonetheless price $5,750.
You could find $8,000-plus Leica rangefinders that haven’t any autofocus in any respect.
However an off-the-cuff photographer making an attempt to snap a photograph of their child or canine doesn’t have the posh of endurance. The camera must work. Now.
The X-T100 seemed even worse after Sony introduced its Actual-Time autofocus to the entry-level A6100. There isn’t a longer any excuse for an entry-level camera with dangerous autofocus.
If the X-T100 fumbled, the X-T200 has picked up the ball and began working. It brings again every little thing I cherished in regards to the X-T100 whereas fixing its greatest issues and including helpful options, like a dirt-simple webcam mode. That is Fujifilm’s greatest effort but at making a premium camera for an entry-level buyer.
At $600 for the camera physique or $700 with a 15-45mm package lens (examined), it’s additionally an distinctive worth.
Design
It might be an entry-level camera, however the X-T200 is the photographic equal of dressing for the job you need, not the job you will have. Type continues to be Fujifilm’s main benefit over rival Sony, and I don’t suppose that’s some extent to be made evenly. The appear and feel of a camera may help encourage you to make use of it, and with all else held equal, why not choose the camera that appears greatest round your neck?
It isn’t all type over perform, both. The a number of command dials, which assist lend the camera its retro look, provide loads of direct-access management however are simply ignored by anybody who finds their presence complicating. In comparison with the single-digit X-T cameras, the X-T200 is actually dumbed down, however you continue to have devoted dials for shutter pace and aperture, negating the necessity for a modifier key as seen on many entry-level cameras, significantly DSLRs.
There may be additionally a perform dial on the left shoulder that may be programmed for quite a few settings. By default, it cycles by movie simulations (coloration profiles, by some other title), however I discovered reprograming it to manage ISO made it rather more helpful — and introduced it consistent with my private X-T2 which has a devoted ISO dial in that place.
In comparison with the X-T100, it’s principally enterprise as normal, however there are a number of design modifications value noting. The primary is the built-in hand grip. Being so small, it’s not essentially the most ergonomic grip on the planet, but it surely helps your hand discover a strong buy on the camera. On the draw back, this considerably ruins the clear traces that gave the X-T100 such a basic, minimalist look. That camera got here with a screw-on accent grip.
The two.36 million-dot digital viewfinder is unchanged, however that’s fairly strong for this class of camera. The LCD touchscreen, nonetheless, is new. It measures 3.5 inches with a decision of two.78 million pixels in a 16:9 ratio, making it bigger and sharper than the X-T100’s. This display is shared with the X-T200’s sister camera, the Fujifilm X-A7, and is without doubt one of the greatest I’ve used on an entry-level camera.
On the again of the camera, you’ll discover the X-T100’s four-way button cluster has been changed with an autofocus level selector joystick. Whereas I respect its inclusion, I would like to have each the joystick and the buttons, however such a setup appears to be reserved for the single-digit X-T cameras. It additionally wouldn’t have match with the brand new, wider touchscreen, which additionally brings a brand new consumer interface — once more borrowed from the X-A7 — to exchange among the performance of misplaced buttons.
Nevertheless, the X-A7 doesn’t have a viewfinder. With that camera, you’re all the time staring on the LCD display, and contact controls, due to this fact, make extra sense; you’ll be able to see what you could contact. However when your eye is to X-T200’s viewfinder, you’ll be able to’t use its contact controls. Bodily buttons, which you’ll be able to navigate by really feel, would have labored higher.
That is an admittedly small grievance. The X-T200 provides extra management than most of its clients will need or want.
Picture high quality and options
I respect the extent of management for handbook mode, however the reality is most individuals who purchase the X-T200 will most likely depend on computerized publicity, not less than to start with. Fortuitously, that additionally works effectively.
Fujifilm’s Superior Scene Recognition Auto mode (denoted by the SR place on the mode dial) is designed to adapt to the scene and topic. I discovered it did a superb job with each focus and publicity, balancing highlights and shadows in a high-contrast scene. Portraits (on this case, selfies — hooray for social distancing) have been completely uncovered.
JPEGs, each intimately and coloration, look unbelievable straight from the camera, which isn’t any shock from Fujifilm. You may get extra from the information in case you shoot RAW, however informal photographers received’t be left wanting for sticking with JPEG.
Flipping the display into selfie place will routinely activate face- and eye-recognition autofocus in any publicity mode (you can too flip this on for non-selfies inside the menu system). It labored very effectively, with the main target field staying glued to my eye or face even after I moved the camera round shortly.
Whereas it carried out admirably for single pictures, it’s barely much less dependable for steady capturing or video when the topic is transferring towards or away from the camera. Nonetheless, I feel efficiency could be simply high-quality in most real-world conditions. The camera shoot at 8 frames per second for roughly 16 RAWs or 25 JPEGs, which isn’t dangerous for the category.
There are additionally quite a few sub-modes to the self-timer for triggering the camera primarily based on what it sees. You may set it to take an image if it sees a face, a smile, a “buddy,” or a gaggle. I couldn’t precisely take a look at the final two, however the face and smile triggers work fairly effectively, though it didn’t all the time acknowledge my smile (perhaps it might inform I used to be faking it). I’m additionally unsure how helpful it’s to journey the shutter the second a face seems within the body, however perhaps you’ll discover a use for it.
Extra impressively, quite a few superior options are included that I wouldn’t anticipate on a camera this degree, like each interval capturing and in-camera time-lapse motion pictures. There’s additionally a sophisticated publicity bracketing mode that permits you to set as much as seven exposures with steps starting from 1/3 to three stops. There may be even a commander mode for the built-in flash, enabling wi-fi management of distant flashes.
These aren’t options the newbie photographer is probably going going to hassle with, but it surely’s good Fujifilm included them. It means it’s best to get loads of use out of the X-T200 for a while to come back.
Video
Now providing actual 4K at 24 or 30 frames per second, the X-T200 is definitely good for video. The X-T100 provided 4K, however solely at 15 fps, making it principally ineffective.
And that’s not all. The X-T200 can even shoot Full HD at 120 fps for slow-motion playback. Clear HDMI output — albeit with out 10-bit coloration or the flat F-log profile of higher-end Fujis — makes it appropriate to be used as a webcam. A excessive dynamic vary (HDR) film mode helps protect coloration and element in excessive distinction scenes, though it’s restricted to 1080p.
There’s nonetheless no sensor-shift stabilization, however the optical stabilization within the package lens works decently for video. There are additionally two types of digital stabilization, referred to as Digital Picture Stabilizer and Digital Gimbal. The latter is the extra excessive, however leads to a extreme crop of the video. In observe, I didn’t discover both to be that helpful — however maybe with a nonstabilized lens, normal digital stabilization would assist. Until you’re filming whereas working, I’d keep away from the Digital Gimbal because it sacrifices an excessive amount of decision.
For causes I don’t perceive, the bottom obtainable ISO in film mode is 400 — in comparison with 200 for stills — which can be problematic for capturing outdoors in direct daylight. However you’ll be able to not less than shoot video in full handbook publicity by turning the mode dial to M, then urgent the devoted report begin/cease button. In case you as a substitute rotate the mode dial to the pink film mode icon, you’ll be restricted to computerized publicity.
Webcam mode
We’ve seen webcam performance change into more and more vital within the wake of the present coronavirus pandemic as extra folks do business from home and depend on videoconferencing instead of in-person conferences. The elevated demand for improved video high quality has led to shortages of HDMI to USB adapters, just like the Elgato Camlink. Digicam corporations have rushed to supply their very own options for purchasers questioning use a devoted camera as a webcam, and Fujifilm was one of many first to do that with its Webcam X software program.
Nevertheless, only a week after this review initially printed, Fujifilm introduced firmware model 1.10 for the X-T200 that provides native USB webcam assist, no software program required (the X-A7 was additionally up to date with the identical performance). The firmware replace provides a brand new choice to the USB Mode choice inside the Connection Setting menu, merely referred to as “USB Webcam.” When activated, the X-T200 will present up as a webcam in supported apps when related to a pc, on each MacOS and Home windows, with out the necessity for a driver.
I examined it out in Zoom, FaceTime, and QuickTime on MacOS and it labored with no hitch, providing vastly improved video high quality with naturally out-of-focus backgrounds, higher coloration, and a lot better dynamic vary in comparison with the built-in webcam. Autofocus responded shortly and stored my face and eyes sharp even after I moved nearer or farther away, and I additionally appreciated having the ability to zoom the lens out and in to get the right framing.
One factor to bear in mind is that solely the video sign is handed by USB, not audio. You’ll nonetheless have to depend on your pc, headset, or standalone USB microphone for audio, however in my testing, audio from the built-in mic on my MacBook Air appeared to remain completely in sync with the video feed from the X-T200. There could also be a delay of a few frames, but it surely’s actually not sufficient to note.
The opposite “draw back” is that USB Webcam mode locks the camera into auto publicity and autofocus (with eye-detection enabled). It additionally forces the movie simulation to Provia (normal). You need to use publicity compensation, however if you wish to manually set the aperture, shutter pace, or ISO — or select a extra inventive coloration profile — you’re out of luck. For individuals who simply want fundamental webcam performance, this can be a non-issue. These demanding extra management, like for skilled livestreaming, will sill want one thing just like the Blackmagic Design ATEM Mini Professional.
Regardless of its limitations, I’m happy to see Fujifilm has responded so shortly to modifications in buyer wants and delivered a easy and free answer that makes the X-T200 much more priceless. I hope Fujifilm finds a approach to deliver webcam mode to extra cameras, because it’s a function increasingly folks may benefit from at present.
Our take
The X-T200 is precisely the camera it must be. Whereas its efficiency could also be imperfect, it’s far above the frustrating-to-use X-T100. It’s a succesful and stylish machine for the informal photographer, sized completely for journey, with a webcam mode that makes it equally helpful once you’re caught at house.
Fanatics could need to save up for the X-T30, which sits between the X-T200 and the flagship-level X-T3 and X-T4, however I used to be nonetheless pleasantly stunned by the wealth of superior options included within the X-T200. Not solely is that this a terrific first camera for learners, but it surely additionally supplies ample room to develop into for anybody who aspires to show their photographic passion right into a ardour.
Is there a greater different?
The Sony A6100 is the apparent comparability. It’s the winner on the subject of autofocus, however in any other case, the X-T200 is the nicer camera to make use of. The Sony’s display, at 3 inches and fewer than 1,000,000 pixels, is way much less detailed. It’s the identical story for the EVF, which has simply 1.44 million pixels. The X-T200 simply appears like a extra premium product, even when it doesn’t outperform the A6100.
How lengthy will it final?
Not like the X-T100, the X-T200 is positioned to final for a number of years. From a specs standpoint, I don’t see so much a room for significant enhancements past small refinements and continued autofocus tweaks.
Must you purchase it?
Sure. For most individuals, the X-T200 is all of the camera you want — however I’d advocate investing in some higher lenses.
Up to date June 22 to incorporate impressions of USB webcam performance added in firmware model 1.10.
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