Fuji lm X T4 full review
We’ve been patiently awaiting the X T4’s arrival. Does it live up to our expectation of being the nest APS C mirrorless camera? Michael Topham o ers his verdict
When Fujifilm announced it was introducing in-body image stabilisation (IBIS) to the X-H1 in 2018 many photographers, myself included, began questioning how long it might be before other models in the X-series inherited similar technology. The X-H1’s large, robust SLR-style body had no issue accommodating Fujifilm’s first IBIS unit, but for it to fit inside other X-series models the body size would need to be increased or the IBIS unit to be miniaturised, or a combination of both.
Fujifilm’s X-T series has become very popular with photographers who like the traditional shape of a DSLR combined with the charm of Fujifilm’s classic styling in a body that’s smaller and lighter than many of the full-frame mirrorless cameras out there. As such, it didn’t come as a great surprise when Fujifilm revealed the X-T3’s successor would be next in line to be equipped with 5-axis in body image stabilisation.
The X-T4 was always going to have to offer more than just IBIS though if it was to entice existing users to upgrade and encourage serious photographers to choose it ahead of its rivals. Add a fully articulated screen, uprated AF algorithms, bigger battery, faster continuous shooting and a new mechanical shutter to the mix and you get the sense the X-T4 has advanced on its predecessor in various ways, but is this enough?
Features
When you glance at the X-T4 in isolation it’s hard to tell what influence the addition of IBIS has had. Place it alongside an X-T3 however and you can make out it’s
slightly larger – 2mm wider, 5mm thicker and 68g heavier to be precise. In order to squeeze IBIS into the X-T4 a combination of subtle changes to the dimensions of the body and an entirely new IBIS unit were needed. The X-T4’s version is 30% smaller and 20% lighter than the X- H1’s, plus it uses magnetic springs rather than mechanical coil springs in its construction. Furthermore, its shock-absorbing structure has been refined to stabilise the smallest of shakes and it carries out over 10,000 corrections per second to achieve up to 6.5 stops of stabilisation with 18 out of 29 Fujinon XF lenses. When it’s used with Fujifilm lenses that feature optical image stabilisation (OIS), the OIS corrects angular shake with IBIS left to take responsibility for rotation around the lens axis, along with up/down and left/right movements. Anyone who chooses to use adapted lenses with the X-T4 should be wary that they’ll only get 3-axis IBIS due to focus distance being a requirement for effective 5-axis in-body stabilisation. A breakdown of the number of stops of stabilisation that can be achieved with Fujifilm’s non- OIS and OIS lenses can be found on Fujifilm’s website.
The imaging sensor the IBIS unit is responsible for stabilising is the same 26.1MP APS- C X-Trans CMOS 4 chip as used by the X-T3. This fourth generation sensor has a back-illuminated structure, excludes a low-pass filter and partners up with Fujifilm’s X- Processor 4 to deliver healthy processing speeds. The sensitivity of the sensor is unchanged from the X-T3 and spans ISO 16012,800 (expandable to ISO 80-51,200), but thanks to the addition of a new mechanical shutter it manages to shoot faster. Compared to the X-T3 that could shoot at up to 11fps using its mechanical shutter, this has now increased to 15fps. The new focal plane shutter unit presents other benefits too. It’s 30% quieter and promises twice the durability of previous models with a lifespan of 300,000 shutter actuations. It should be noted the continuous burst rate does drop to 8fps with live view, however the blackout period in live view burst mode has been reduced to 75msec, and the release time is rated at a rapid 0.035sec. Engaging the X-T4’s silent electronic shutter can be used to shoot faster than the mechanical shutter’s 1/8000sec limit up to 1/32,000sec. In addition, the electronic shutter permits even faster continuous shooting at up to 30fps with a 1.25x crop of the sensor.
To keep up with the speed of the faster frame rate Fujifilm has reworked its autofocus algorithms. This has resulted in an acquisition time as short as 0.02sec, with an improved tracking performance that uses colour information and the subject shape to achieve accurate focus when attempting to follow moving subjects. The response of face and eye detection has been uprated too and is said to be twice as good at tracking people’s faces and eyes in burst mode. Improvements don’t end here. The AF system in the X-T4 works down to -6EV in low light, which is quite a jump from the -3EV AF sensitivity offered by the X-T3. The hybrid AF system employs 2.16-million phasedetection pixels on the sensor and the number of selectable AF points remains unchanged.