Fujifilm review

X-T100, prize for our UK Mountain Photo of the Year comp, takes a trip to the hills

With a multi-day trek around the Lakes planned, I was considering camera options. My DSLR is great, but big and heavy. My camera phone would be with me, but the photo quality isn’t as good as the more dedicated tools. Fuij’s X-T100 seemed like the perfect solution. So... was it? The first impression of the X-T100 is one of quality. The retro metal body feels solid and classy. It’s light too, more in line with the chunkier compacts than the interchangeable lens SLRs. But being a CSC (compact system camera) means it has the extra adaptability of interchangeable lenses. The 15-45mm lens supplied is a good general-purpose starter, offering wider angles for landscapes but also a zoom for portraits and detail shots.

There’s no hefty user manual in the box, just a basic starter guide, with more in-depth details online. There’s also no battery charger, as instead a supplied USB charging lead is plugged into the camera. This has pros and cons: you can charge the battery via the camera using a power pack on the hill, or a regular USB wall charger, which is handy. But it’s not possible to charge a second battery whilst using the camera, as charging requires the battery to be installed. So if this sounds like a nuisance, consider buying an out-of-camera charger too.

Out on the hill

What’s very noticeable is how much more comfortable it is to walk with this camera around your neck. While my SLR feels cumbersome, the X-T100 is far less awkward. The advantage is that it’s immediately at hand when required (though it still needs to be tucked away in the rain).

Despite its retro looks, the camera has lots of modern features. The rear screen folds up and out for composing shots from all angles. It’s also touch sensitive, allowing you to focus, change settings and take photos by tapping your finger on the screen. It is a little too easy to knock this and accidentally change settings though, so needs some care.

Due to the lack of actual space on the body, many of the X100’s features are hidden in menus. These can be tricky to navigate at first, but the wealth of options available enables the X-T100 to capture superb photos and video in a range of situations. There’s also an electronic viewfinder which operates much like the viewfinder on an SLR. However, frustratingly there’s a slight delay before the image is displayed.

The 15-45mm zoom lens is electronically, rather than manually, zoomed. Twist the lens ring a little in one direction to zoom in, the other to zoom out. For those used to zooming by rotating the lens barrel, this is another characteristic that takes getting used to.

One minor limitation of the X-T100 is how it handles while wearing gloves. Due to its compact build and the intricate nature of its control and menu systems, operating the camera with anything other than the thinnest gloves is nigh-on impossible – and that’s before you consider its touchscreen functionality. But given what the camera can do and the near pocketable size of it this is a minor issue to deal with.

On the computer, the RAW files from the X100 are easy to work with, thanks to the amount of detail captured. But if you prefer to simply shoot and share, the in-camera options – such as different film effects and shooting modes – means you can get the results you want without Photoshop. And connecting your phone to the X100 via Bluetooth makes controlling the camera remotely and sharing shots a doddle.

VERDICT

For those looking to make the jump up from a point-and-shoot or camera phone, or SLR snappers wanting a more compact but equally capable tool, the X-T100 is well worth investigating.