Fujifilm X-T50 Camera Review

[SECTION]INTRODUCTION[/SECTION]

 

 

The way Fujifilm works with its X-System is no secret and it has followed the same pattern from the beginning. Simply, Fujifilm develops a sensor, pairs it with an image processing engine and then that combination is deployed across a range of models at different price points. It makes perfect sense and has been successful for Fujifilm. 

The latest flagship sensor is the back-illuminated 40.2MP X-Trans CMOS 5 HR found in the X-H2 and X-T5 which are priced at £1849 and £1449 (body only), respectively. So the X-T50 priced at £1299 body only is the least expensive X-System camera with this imaging solution.

But of course there is much more to the X-T50 than its sensor and processor. Its compact, round-ended body is home to an image stabiliser with 7EV benefit, subject recognition AF, 8fps shooting and 20 Film Simulation modes including the latest, Reala Ace. It’s also available in silver, black and charcoal.

 

Fujifilm X-T50 Features

The Fujifilm X-T50 is a mid-level camera in terms of price, but it has many features from the more expensive and larger X-T5 including a top shutter speed of an incredible 1/180,000sec and a native ISO range of 125-12,800.

The X-T50 is the first double-digit X-System camera with a five axis in-body image stabiliser with a claimed benefit of 7EV, there’s subject detect AF and it is the first-ever X-Series camera with a dedicated Film Simulation dial. More on this later. 

The new stuff is very welcome but the X-T50 has features and design elements found on earlier double digit models including a pop-up flash, fully automatic mode and takes the NP-W126S battery, the same cell used on many past and current Fujifilm cameras. On the X-T50, the battery is said to be good for 305 shots in normal mode, so it’s decent but not cutting edge. I shoot a lot, so I would need a spare on a day out and NP-W126S cells cost £49 so that is good value.

 

 

Many recent launches have opted for a full articulating touch monitor. That extra flexibility is a big benefit for shooting from low and high positions and there’s also the benefit of positioning the monitor so it faces forward for selfies and vlogging. The X-T50’s monitor is hinged so folds out for different shooting viewpoints but that’s it.

 

 

The camera has a nicely rounded body which helps with comfort and the bulge on the right-side helps to give a good grip although its low profile does mean my smallest finger had sit under the body. 

The X-T50’s top-plate design is typically Fujifilm and with most X-System lenses having a marked aperture ring, it means that you can see key settings at a glance from above and without having to switch the camera on.

For point and shoot simplicity, there is a fully auto setting and this is brought into play with a lever with a positive action located around the shutter speed dial. There is no lock on the shutter speed dial, so it is possible to move it off A quite easily. There’s also no lock on the exposure compensation dial which I have found to be an issue on some previous models where it was possible to move the dial inadvertently. On this model, though, its design and the thumb bump does mean this is less likely.

The thumb ledge is home to the Q or quick menu button and pushing this brings up the menu of up to 16 features. This is editable down to 12, 8 and 4 slots. Getting at the Q button does mean a quick hand readjustment but it  is positive in use. 

The headline feature on the left side of the top plate is the Film Simulation dial. This has eight permanent settings, three editable settings and a position labelled C. The lever at its base brings up the integral flash, a feature that’s rare nowadays.

 

 

The Film Simulation dial’s eight presets are STD (Provia), V (Velvia), S (Astia), CC (Classic Chrome), RA (Reala Ace), NC (Classic Negative), NN (Nostalgic Neg), and A (Acros). In total, the X-T50 has 20 Film Simulation settings but that does include four options for Acros and Monochrome where there’s STD (standard) and three contrast filters. Ye (yellow), R (red) and G (green). The Acros setting can be fine-tuned in the menu to one of the filter options. 

The other way of looking at it is to say that the simulation settings that do not have their own dedicated spot on the dial are Pro Neg Hi, Pro Neg Std, Eterna/Cinema, Eterna Bleach Bypass, Sepia and Monochrome with its three filter options. The three custom settings means you can assign three from that list and a fourth if you use C, which lets you set a mode from the Film Simulation menu item directly.

 

 

Operate this dial while viewing the monitor or looking through the EVF and you will see a virtual dial with a live image preview which is instantly updated as you change settings and the option of pushing the Q button for some background  information about the film mode in question. It’s neat and great for newcomers to the feature.

As with seemingly every modern camera the X-T50 is blessed with an array of video features, the headline being able to shoot 6.2K at 30fps from a 1.23x cropped section of the sensor. For full width video, you can shoot 4K/30p or up to 60p with a 1.14x crop. 

IBIS helps to give smooth footage even if you’re walking and shooting and there’s AF tracking available too. The Film Simulation modes can be used for video shooting also.

For serious video users, there’s F-Log2 support which is capable of recording a dynamic range of around 13EV for even greater post-production potential.

There’s a 3.5mm microphone socket but for headphone monitoring you need to use the USB-C slot which also allows battery charging. A USB-C to 3.5mm adaptor is supplied for the purpose but it’s another thing to lose or forget so it’s not ideal.

 

Fujifilm X-T50 Key Features

• 40.2MP resolution
• APS-C X-Trans CMOS 5 HR back-illuminated sensor
• X-Processor 5
• Single SD card slot
• Raw (14-bit), JPEG, HEIF (4:2:2 10-bit)
• Dedicated Film Simulation dial
• Twenty Film Simulation modes including Reala Ace
• Native ISO 125-12,800, extended ISO: 64, 80, 100, 25,600, 51,200
• Subject detect AF (animal/bird/car/motorcycle & bike/airplane/train)
• Mechanical shutter 15mins to 1/4000sec (S/M modes)
• Electronic shutter 15mins to 1/180,000sec (S/M modes)
• 13fps continuous shooting (full format), electronic shutter
• 20fps continuous shooting (1.29x crop), electronic shutter
• Pre-shot mode at 20fps (1.29x crop)
• 3in touch screen 1.84 million dot monitor
• 0.39in OLED EVF, 2.36 million dots
• Bulb, up to 60mins
• Five axis IBIS with 7EV benefit
• Integral flash
• 6.2K/30p video
• 123.8x84x48.8mm (wxhxd)
• Body weight 438g

 

Fujifilm X-T50 Handling

The X-T50 handles well and I found it a pleasure to use once I got my fingers arranged comfortably. The contoured grip certainly helped, as did the raised thumb ridge at the rear. Getting at the Q button and the focus joystick, which I thought should be higher where the AE-L button is positioned, did take a slight hand readjustment to use but that’s the pay-off for a more compact body.

I am a keen back focus user and the X-T50’s AF-ON button is excellent, being large, proud and positioned for easy use. Less impressive is the Fn2 button sitting adjacent to the viewfinder eyepiece which is black against a black background so I forgot it was there. 

The EVF itself has 2.36m dots and a 0.62 magnification so it’s fine and perfectly usable, and pressing DISP BACK button toggles between an info-packed and info-free views. 

Perhaps unusually there’s no red movie record button when you’re in stills mode but the function can be assigned to the AE-L, Fn 1 or AF-ON buttons. In movie mode, selected through the Drive menu, the shutter button is used to start recording.

 

 

As a Fujifilm X-System owner, I was initially a tad sceptical about the Film Simulation dial and the thinking behind it. When I wanted to use a film mode I knew where they were or assigned the feature to a function button for speedy access. Moreover, I would usually set one look to suit the subject, the light or my mood and shoot with it all day long. So, admittedly, perhaps my method is a little lazy. 

However, having used the camera for a short time, what the X-T50 does with a dedicated dial sitting on the top-plate is to prompt much more experimenting and playing with the film modes, and that can only be a good thing. I know I was testing the camera, but I did find myself trying different film styles more than usual. I know I could have used the Film Simulation bracketing option which works for three settings, but it was quicker and more intuitive to engage the dial which also meant I wasn’t limited to three looks.

It is possible to use the Grain Effect and the two Color Chrome settings in conjunction with the simulation modes but if you engage these settings, they will apply across the whole range. At least the C setting does allow one film mode to be tailored to your own ‘recipe’ but that’s it.

 

[SECTION]PERFORMANCE[/SECTION]

Fujifilm X-T50 Performance

The performance section is where we look at the image quality performance of the camera. Additional sample photos and product shots are available in the Equipment Database, where you can add your own review, photos and product ratings.

 

 

On test, the Fujifilm X-T50 proved to be a very capable and competent camera. Exposure and white-balance performance were consistently accurate across a wide range of situations, indoors and out. I shot mostly in aperture-priority AE with multi-zone light measurement and AWB.

The X-T50 can race through Raws at a claimed 20fps but this is with a 1.29x crop and for full format photos the maximum is 13fps, both with the electronic shutter. This drops down to 8fps with the mechanical shutter. 

In my test, I got a maximum of 19fps with the electronic shutter/1.29x crop and 28 Lossless Compressed Raws before the camera slowed down. With the mechanical shutter I got 29 full-size Raws at 10fps before the camera took a breath and the buffer clearly quickly at under six seconds. 

Shooting only Fine quality full size JPEGs I got 130 frames at 13fps and 350 frames at 19fps with 1.29x crop. These tests were done using a Lexar 300MB/s SD card.

At a time when top of the range  cameras can shoot full Raws at incredible continuous shooting rates, the X-T50 is modest by comparison but you have to take into account its market position and price so actually it rates pretty highly. Besides, the burst shooting rates it offers is more than enough for most shooters.

 

 

The X-T50 has a very capable and responsive autofocus system and the subject detect mode performed well. It uses a hybrid phase- and contrast-detect sensor with 117 or 425 sensors arranged across the image area. It’s the same arrangement that we have seen on Fujifilm cameras for years. These sensors can be set to be used in different ways including single spot as well as zone and wide. I tried all three areas, tailoring the selection to the situations.

 

 

New on double digit X-Series cameras is the X-T50’s customisable focus zone feature, where you can choose how many focusing points you want in the zone. With three slots for favourite settings you could, for example, create a tall, thin zone for photographing runners, a horizontal array for birds in flight and a wide foreground area for scenics. The choice is yours, and once selected the focus zone can be moved around the image area using the focus joystick or the touch monitor as normal.

During this review I used a couple of Fujifilm XF lenses as well as the new 16-50mm. The last-named does not have an optical image stabiliser but the X-T50 has five-axis IBIS with a 7EV benefit and that worked well. I took sets of images at various shutter speeds down to one second. With the 16-50mm lens, the slowest speed I used to achieve consistently sharp shots was 0.5sec, although I did manage a few pinsharp photos at 0.9sec.

 

Fujifilm X-T50 Sample Photos

 

Here’s a selection of photos taken using the Fujifilm X-T50 during this review. The Raws were processed in Adobe Lightroom with very basic adjustments made so no extra denoising or masking has been applied while the JPEGs are out of camera. The details are in each caption.

 

Fujifilm XF 16-50mm f/2.8-4.8 R LM WR Lens Test Photos

The Fujifilm XF 16-50mm f/2.8-4.8 R LM WR is the replacement to one of the best kit lenses around, the Fujifilm XF 18-55mm f/2.8-4 R LM OIS. 

The new lens, which gives a 24-76mm range in full-frame terms, is priced at £699, and the zooming action is internal so its size is constant during zooming. The XF-18-55mm extended by around 25mm when zoomed out to the 55mm setting. 

Also, while the new zoom offers a wider wide-angle at the short end, it’s slower at the longer end. There’s no optical image stabiliser, but of course the latest Fujifilm X-Series cameras have in-body image stabilisation. 

The lens is a solid performer, giving impressively contrasty and crisp results across the image frame even at maximum aperture. Stopping down one or two f/stops had a benefit with f/8 being the best all round f/stop, but f/16 and f/22 showed up poorly with diffraction resulting in softer images. 

A good level of performance was seen throughout the lens’s focal length range and quality looked really lovely at 16mm, 23mm and 35mm with 50mm the weakest, although shots were still very decent.

 

Fujifilm X-T50 Lens test images

 

The images shown here are Raws processed through Adobe Lightroom with default sharpening.

 

Fujifilm X-T50 ISO test images

 

This set of ISO Raw images was shot with the Fujifilm X-T50 with XF 16-50mm f/2.8-4.8 R LM WR lens mounted on a Gitzo travel tripod with the camera fired using the self-timer. The files were processed through Adobe Lightroom with default denoising.

ISO performance is impressive and you can shoot with the X-T50 confident on the knowledge that you will get great results even at high ISO speeds. Furthermore, with the powerful denoising options available nowadays even very high ISO settings will give very decent results.

From this set, images are very clean up to ISO 800 and even ISO 1600 gives images rich in fine detail and minimal noise. Personally, I’d be happy to shoot at ISO 3200 and 6400 if the lighting and subject demanded it. Beyond these speeds and fine details suffer and noise is much more obvious so are best avoided unless you had choice.

Overall, the Fujifilm X-T50 showed itself to be a very respectable performer in the ISO department.

 

Fujifilm X-T50 ISO images with Noise Reduction Images

ISO 125 – control

Fujifilm X-T50 with XF 16-50mm f/2.8-4.8 R LM WR

1.6 sec f/8 30mm

 

No Noise Reduction ISO 6400

Fujifilm X-T50 with XF 16-50mm f/2.8-4.8 R LM WR

1/30 sec f/8 30mm

 

-4 Noise Reduction ISO 6400 

Fujifilm X-T50 with XF 16-50mm f/2.8-4.8 R LM WR

1/30 sec f/8 30mm

 

+4 Noise Reduction ISO 6400 

Fujifilm X-T50 with XF 16-50mm f/2.8-4.8 R LM WR

1/30sec f/8 30mm

 

No Noise Reduction ISO 12,800 

Fujifilm X-T50 with XF 16-50mm f/2.8-4.8 R LM WR

1/60 sec f/8 30mm

 

-4  Noise Reduction ISO 12,800 

Fujifilm X-T50 with XF 16-50mm f/2.8-4.8 R LM WR

1/60 sec f/8 30mm

 

+4  Noise Reduction ISO 12,800 

Fujifilm X-T50 with XF 16-50mm f/2.8-4.8 R LM WR

1/60 sec f/8 30mm

 

Like most digital cameras, the Fujifilm X-T50 has in-camera noise reduction that works with JPEG files. This set of shots was taken at ISO 6400 and 12,800 with 0, +4 and -4 levels of noise reduction and these shots are straight out of camera.

 

Fujifilm X-T50 Digital filters

 

 

Fujifilm’s Film Simulation filters are very popular and for good reason. Being able to apply a particular style  to your photos is a simple way of imparting an individual look to your shots without resorting to a computer. There’s plenty of choice too – the X-T50 has 20 Film Simulation settings including Reala Ace. 

The simulation settings are applied to in-camera JPEGs only, but Raw shooters can enjoy them too as the filters are available in Adobe Lightroom and Capture One.

Choosing which Film Simulation to use is clearly a matter of personal  preference – and what suits the subject. For me, I like strong colours so Velvia is one of my favourites but I love Classic Chrome too so I often bounce between those two. For monochrome, the Acros settings (with or without contrast filters) give lovely results with a tad more kick and bite than straight black & white settings.

 

 

The Film Simulation dial on the X-T50 makes hopping from filter to filter really easy. Furthermore, having such speedy access and a constant reminder on the top-plate that the feature is available encouraged me to try the settings that I normally would not bother with. Whether my enthusiasm for the Film Simulation dial will endure over time I can’t say yet, but so far, so good.

 

Fujifilm X-T50 White-balance test images

 

The test scene was lit by four LED lights set to give 5500K output. The photos in this section all started life as Raws and were processed in Adobe Lightroom.

 

Fujifilm X-T50 Sample Video

 

Source: Photography News
Fujifilm X-T50 Camera Review
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