Fujifilm’s XT4 rekindled my love for photography

I am not a great photographer, but I have more than a passing interest in the profession. Ten years ago I bought my first DSLR, a Canon 550D, and it has served me well. Recently, however, my favorite lens has started to lose its autofocus functionality. I tried a few google tips to solve it, but after a decade together I felt it was really time to retire the old workaholic and put myself in something a little more. up to date.

Fortunately, given what I do for a living, great gear recommendations are never far away. I decided I didn’t mind paying a little for a reliable camera that could maybe provide another 10 years of service. I also wanted something that had a solid collection of lenses, that could turn to video and – most importantly – a sponge for light. I live in a north facing apartment, so the window of time for spontaneous product photography is often very narrow. Step into the mirrorless .

A colleague of mine quickly recommended the XT-4 after setting out what I was looking for and what I was willing to spend. I was instantly interested in just the aesthetic (a terrible reason to buy a camera, obviously, but it doesn’t hurt to like the way it looks). Its vintage style gives it a cool ’50s photojournalist vibe, a break from the rather faceless all-black options from Sony, Canon, and Nikon I was browsing.

More importantly for my dismal apartment was the image stabilization in the body of the XT-4 (IBIS). While this is obviously appealing for any video work I would need, the idea of ​​full 5.5 stop compensation with the XF 16-55mm f / 2.8 I intended to use associating it was very attractive. Even better, that was the maximum 6.5 stops of compensation for the next lens I was eyeing, and eventually purchased shortly thereafter (the XF 35mm f / 2).

Going for the XF 16-55mm lens meant a bit more of an upfront investment. (It is often supplied with the 18-55mm lens which sounds similar, but optically inferior.) But I was able to find a good deal online, bringing the initial expense much closer than what I would have paid at a general detailing with substandard glass. Naturally I got the silver model, the black version looks good, but those metallic accents really make it stand out, at least I think.

Appearances don’t matter much if they don’t take great photos, obviously. Fortunately, this is not a problem here. Right out of the box, I was impressed with the overall clarity and balance of footage the XT-4 produces in automatic mode. You can see the first image I took above (my cat was less impressed with my new purchase).

But what about this IBIS? It’s as good as I hoped and has already saved me many hours of swear-laden trial and error. I took test photos with a hand-held 1 second exposure and while the results are not something I would like to publish, the stabilization clearly presents a much nicer image than without, which is very evident in the picture above.

Of course there is a lot more to the XT-4 than its visual appeal and the IBIS. Normally I would lean into the manual immediately and learn every single thing, but there is so much to learn and explore that I like to measure it in small doses. My interest in photography grows stronger with every new feature or setting I discover. Every time I revisit the camera, there is something new to experience or understand. This part of the process was almost as rewarding as the immediate satisfaction of the good photos she produced. Fortunately, you can read all about it in our full review here.