Amateur Photographer - UK (2020-03-07)

subscribe 0330 333 1113I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI 7 March 2020 9

First impressions

Batterygrip boosts

shooting stamina

TOACCOMMODATEtheX-T4’slargerfootprintand

biggerbattery,Fujifilmhasdesignedanall-new

verticalbatterygrip,theVBG-XT4.Builttothesame

robust,weather-resistantstandardasthecamera’sbody,

it accommodatestwoadditionalNP-W235batteries

thatworkin conjunctionwiththeonein thecamerato

shoot1,450framesbeforea rechargeis required.

UnliketheX-T3’sbatterygrip,allthreebatteriescan

nowberechargedsimultaneouslyviathecamera’s

USB-Cport,in aslittleasthreehourswhenusinga 45W

powersupply.Thegripincludesa setof controlsfor

shootingin portraitformat,includingfrontandreardials

and anAFjoystick.There’sa performanceswitchthat

providestheoptiontoselecteconomy,aswell

asnormalandboostsettings,andusersof

thegripalsobenefit froma dedicated

headphonesocketthat’spositionedbeside

thebatterytraylock.TheVGB-XT4 will be

sold separately for £299.

Pricing, availability

and accessories

ASMENTIONED

previously,theX-T

willrunalongsidetheX-T

in Fujifilm’scurrent

X-serieslineup,andwillhit

themarketwitha body-

onlypriceof £1,549.This

worksoutat £200more

thanthecostof theX-T

whenit waslaunchedin

2018.TheX-T4willalso

bemadeavailablein two

kitconfigurations.

PurchasingtheX-T4with

theXF18-55mmf2.8-

R LMOISwillcost£1,899,

whereaschoosingit with

theXF16-80mmf4R

OISWRwillcost£1,949.

Fujifilmwillalsoproduce

a dualbatterycharger

capableof chargingtwo

NP-W235batteriesat the

sametime,whichwillcost

£60.Usersof theX-T

who’d like to purchase

acquisitiontimeshouldkeeppacewith
thequickerframerate,whilefaceand
eyedetectionandsubjecttrackinghave
alsobeenimproved.
In imagingterms,through,theX-T
offersnoupgradeovertheX-T3.It
employsthesame26.1MPX-Trans
CMOS4 sensorandX-Processor4,and
offersthesamesensitivityrangeof ISO
160-12,800,extendabletoISO
80-51,200.Butthisis stilloneof the
bestAPS-Csensorsyoucanget,
complementedbyFujifilm’sexcellent fi lm
simulationcolourmodes.

Designevolution
Broadlyspeaking,thenewmodellooks
verysimilartoitspredecessors,meaning
thatit’sanSLR-shapedcamerawithan
arrayof dialsandswitchesonthetop
plateforchangingexposureand
operationalsettings.ButFujifilmhasn’t
stoodentirelystillin termsof body
design,witha numberof tweaksand
updatesin a bidtoimproveoperability.
Thethreebuttonsontheupperback
havemovedaround,withtheneteffect
of providinga large,easier-to-reach
AF-ONbuttonbesidetheviewfinder.
Theswitchbelowtheshutterspeeddial
nolongercontrolsthemeteringmode,
butinsteadselectsbetweenstillsand
video shooting – a move that’s sure to

irritatesomepuristphotographers,but

reflectstheX-Tline’sever-increasing

maturityasa videotool.

In facttheX-T4promisestobejustas

capableat recordingvideoasat shooting

stills.It offersboth4Kvideoat 60fps,and

high-speedFullHDat 240fps.Flickingthe

switchtotheVideopositionactivatesan

optimiseduserinterfacethatincludesa

movie-specific onscreenquickmenu,

alongwithentirelyindependentshooting

settings.In thisregardthecameracan

beinstructedtoignorethepositionsof

itscontroldials,allowinguserstochange

settingssilentlyusingthetouchscreen

instead.There’sa newEternaBleach

BypassFilmSimulationmodetoo,which

givesa high-contrast,desaturatedlook.

Videofilescanberecordedto bothof the

camera’sSDcardslotssimultaneously,and

thecardcompartmentcovercaneven

beremovedtofacilitateusein a cage.

TheX-T4willbeavailablein a choice

of blackorsilverfinishesfor£1,

body-only,withvariouslenskitsalso

available(seeright).Fujifilmsaysit

doesn’treplacetheX-T3outright,with

theoldermodelremainingonsalefor

thosewhopreferitsblendof features.

Interestinglythefirmis alsostressingthat

thisisn’ttheendof theX-Hline,either,

witha newiterationpotentially on the

cards in the future.

WiththeX-T3alreadybeingoneof ourfavouritecameras,theadditionof IBIS
naturallyhasusveryexcitedindeed.In factif Fujifilmhadjustdonethatandno
more,we’dprobablybeevenhappier.Buta fewcontentiousdesigndecisions,most
notablytheside-hingedLCD,bringsomepauseforthought.In theAPoffice,the
majorityof uswouldhavepreferredtheexistingscreendesign.
Thatsaid,theX-T4stilllookslikea fantasticcamerathatwillsurelybecomethe
newclass-leaderamongcrop-sensorcameras.It’llcertainlyprovidestiffcompetition
tothelikesof theSonyAlpha 6600 andOlympusOM-DE-M1MarkIII.Thebad
newsis thatwe’llhavetowaita whiletotryit outproperly,asit’sonlyduetohitthe
shopsin lateAprilorearlyMay.As always, we’ll bring you a full review the moment
we can lay our hands on one.

TheX-T4willbe

availablein both

silverandblack

versions

TheBC-W235dualcharger

will employ a USB-C input

Fujifilm’s VGB-XT4 grip accepts two NP-W235 batteries

extraNP-W235batteries

fortheircamerawillbe

abletodosofor£65each.

Otherpointsworthyof

noteincludetheX-T4’s

strapthat’snowthicker,

likethosesuppliedwith

Fujifilm’sGFXcameras,

andthata USBTypeC to

3.5mmadapteris supplied

in theboxforthosewho’d

liketomonitoraudiowhen

the battery grip isn’t used.