I’ve been spending some time with the new Fujifilm X-T2 over the past couple of weeks and so far the camera looks promising for video shooters.
Like all the X-T2 cameras being reviewed right now mine was a pre-production sample running beta firmware. Because of this I don’t want to go into detail about the image quality, low light performance, aliasing, or gammas of the camera yet. These things are likely to change on the final camera and all I can say is that at this point the results I have been getting show potential.
The release of the firmware I was testing had the F-Log gamma feature enabled for external recording. I tried recording to an Atomos Shogun recorder and it works although again I think it is too early to tell how good the final image will be.
The hardware and operational sides of the camera are less likely to change – although there is still time for that too. The camera controls and operation are clearly designed primarily for the stills shooter and it feels like Fujifilm have had to shoehorn in some of the video functions. That said the controls and features it does have work quite well. There are work arounds for most things and the X-T2 is a lot easier to use for video than an old Canon 5D mkII.
Obvious comparisons will be drawn with the Sony a7S, a7R II, a6300 and Panasonic GH4. The X-T2 doesn’t have the extensive video settings of those rivals, nor does it have the in-built stabilisation or XLR-K2M audio adapter of the certain Sony models. The Fuji lens options aren’t the easiest to use for video and there is no Speedbooster option that will electronically control Canon EF lens apertures. But I suspect many users will be able to make compromises, find workarounds and live without some of these features if the image is better than the competition.
Sadly it is just too early to say whether the X-T2 will have a better image than the established players. We’ll have to wait a while longer to see what the production version brings. Only then will we be able to come to any firm conclusions.
Video shot by Li-Lian Ahlskog-Hou.
