Despite its involvement in video
and film-making in other areas, Fujifilm was slow to get its stills camera up to speed here, but that’s changed dramatically with the latest generation of X Mount bodies, headed by the X-T2. The flagship model is still the pick of the litter for the more serious video-maker (and, of course, is quite a bit more expensive), but the X-E3 is also pretty capable with the added advantages of its small size and light weight.
It records 4K video at the Ultra HD resolution of 3840x2160 pixels with the choice of 30, 25 or 24 fps, giving a bit rate of 100 Mbps. It uses the full width of the sensor for 4K video which means pixel skipping or binning is employed, resulting in a small loss of sharpness. However, this also means that there’s no additional increase in the effective focal length which would otherwise compromise the wide-angle shooting capabilities. 4K clip lengths are limited to ten minutes. Full HD (1080p) video is recorded at 50, 25 or 24 fps, again with a maximum bit rate of 100 Mbps (and HD 720p at 50 Mbps). The NTSC speeds are also available, but there are no slow-mo speeds.
Streaming to the camera’s HDMI connector is available with both 4K and 2K video (8-bit, 4:2:2 colour), with the option of simultaneously recording 4K internally (8-bit, 4:2:0 colour) to a memory card and streaming Full HD footage to an HDMI device (but, as with both the X-T20 and X-T2, not the other way around). A useful ‘HDMI Rec Control’ transmits the start/stop commands to the external recorder when the camera’s shutter button is pressed (there isn’t a dedicated video start/stop button). The ‘Film Simulation’ presets, ‘Advanced Filter’ effects and adjustable picture parameters are all available when shooting video as is the ‘Grain Effect’ processing and dynamic range expansion.
Full autofocusing – with the choice of point or area modes – performs reliably when shooting video as the does the enhanced subject tracking. The touch focus controls are real bonus, eliminating any handling noise and allowing for smoother pull focusing. Manual focusing is assisted by a magnified image and a focus peaking display (but the ‘Digital Split Image’ display isn’t available). For exposure control, both apertures and shutter speeds can be manually selected, and the full native sensitivity range of ISO 200 to 12,800 is available.
Built-in stereo microphones are supplemented by a stereo audio input, but it’s again the smaller 2.5 mm connector so an adaptor is needed to connect third-party mics with the 3.5 mm plug. Audio levels can be manually adjusted over five steps, and stereo level meters are shown in the LCD monitor. There’s no stereo audio output nor, for that matter, other higher-end video features such as zebra patterns, time coding, the F-Log gamma profile (to flatten the colour for easier grading in postproduction) or electronic image stabilisation. These omissions will undoubtedly have dedicated video shooters looking elsewhere. However, if you just want to shoot video clips when, say, travelling or to record special events, the X-E3 has enough to get the job done to your satisfaction.