MAKING MOVIEWS
The X-E4’s small size and lightness is going to have plenty of appeal for video-makers, especially for handheld shooting, as it has a pretty serious arsenal of capabilities. For starters, 4K video is oversampled at 6K by using the full width of the sensor (so there’s no additional focal length increase), which offers enhanced image quality, especially with detailing and definition. With 4K, there’s choice of DCI at 4096x2160 pixels and 17:9 aspect or UHD at 3840x2160 pixels and 16:9 aspect. The frame rates are 30, 25 and 24fps, with recording in MOV format using MPEG 4 AVC/H.264 coding and LongGOP interframe compression. You can adjust the bit rate to either 200 or 100Mbps to balance quality and file size.
Full HD footage can be recorded at either a 16:9 or 17:9 aspect ratio and at 60, 50, 30, 25 or 24fps, with the bit rate set to 50, 100 or 200Mbps. There’s also a wide choice of frame rates for high-speed Full HD recording – 100, 120, 200 or 240fps – giving more options for creating slow-mo effects.
Audio features include manually adjustable levels, an attenuator, a wind-cut filter and a low-cut filter. Like the X-S10, the X-E4 records 24-bit sound at 48kHz, so both the audio dynamic range and definition are enhanced. There’s a 3.5mm stereo audio input and a supplied dongle to convert the camera’s USB-C port into a 3.5mm stereo audio output. There’s also a headphone volume control.
4K video with 10-bit 4:2:2 colour can be recorded externally via HDMI, along with simultaneous 4K internal recording, but with
8-bit 4:2:0 colour. The F-log gamma profile is available for both external (10-bit colour) and internal recording (8-bit), giving an extended dynamic range, and there’s an F-Log View Assist display option too. The dedicated Eterna and Eterna Bleach By-Pass cinema Film Simulation profiles are an easier option for those who don’t want to spend hours in post-production.
In terms of video features, the X-E4 has zebra patterns (with an adjustable brightness threshold), time-coding (either rec-run or freerun with a drop-frame correction) and Movie Silent Control, which allows for a number of recording functions to be operated via the touchscreen. Functionality includes the rest of the Film Simulation profiles and their adjustable picture parameters (including the B&W warm/cool adjustments), dynamic range expansion processing, and high ISO noise reduction. Continuous autofocusing is available with face/eye detection and the range limiter. Conveniently, the Quick Menu automatically switches to video mode, enabling direct access to the key recording functions, and you can also switch the aperture displays from f-stops to T-stops.
The big deal for some may be the absence of in-body image stabilisation (or an electronic image-shifting option), but the camera is so small and light – plus quite a few XF lenses have optical stabilisation – it can be worked around. The combination of portability, features and performance are still likely to win out here.