Fujifilm X-T5 First Impressions Review

fcracer wrote:

DanFry wrote:

In your full review, your build quality comments are mainly focusing on the dials. What about the rest - the body itself, lens mount, body plate etc? Having 2 X-H1s, I am hesitant to upgrade for reasons of poorer build quality. As a mainly out in the field shooter, also with the heavier zoom lenses, I am not sure that an upgrade to the X-T5 would be a good move. This besides the smaller pixel sizes and related diffraction issue - not a positive for landscape phogography, unless one is open to using focus stacking, I understand. Would be interested in your thoughts in view of your GFX experience (also the 50 MP version) - due to the shallower DOF, focus stacking may be required as well, won't it? Thx in advance for any feedback on these points.

Hi Dan,

Apologies for the late reply. I was travelling for Christmas and this slipped my mind.

In regards to build quality, the only areas of concern I have are around the dials (feel hollow and don't have a strong enough detent to stop them inadvertently changing), especially the new and larger exposure compensation dial that has become far too easy to turn, and the LCD tilt screen which doesn't have enough spring tension to hold it tightly against the body.

The former is something we'll have to live with given the lighter weight, the latter is something I think Fujifilm will ultimately have to warranty for those that got first batch cameras and fix in production for those buying in the future. None of my previous Fujifilm cameras have had a rattling back LCD with loose tension.

In regards to diffraction and DOF, these can be calculated and compared across cameras.

For diffraction, we can use the excellent tool at photopills.com to do some comparisons of various cameras:

Fujifilm X-T4 @ 26.1MP: Diffraction may become visible at F8 @ 100% crop

Fujifilm X-T5 @ 40.2MP: Diffraction may become visible at F6.3 @ 100% crop

Fujifilm GFX50R @ 51.4MP: Diffraction may become visible at F10 @ 100% crop

Fujifilm GFX100S @ 101.8MP: Diffraction may become visible at F7.1 @ 100% crop

We can see that the extra resolution only brings diffraction into play about 2/3rd to one stop earlier than the lower resolution versions of the same sensor size camera. It's really not an issue for landscape photographers because the peak resolution of most lenses is around F4-F5.6, which is well below the range before diffraction begins to show up. Furthermore, diffraction correction in post processing software can do wonders to bring back some of the sharpness, even at small apertures like F16.

For DOF, we can stay with photopills.com and calculate the DOF for typical landscape lenses, distances and cameras:

Fujifilm X-T5: 16MM at F4 with subject at 3 meters = 43 m depth of field

Fujifilm GFX50R: 32MM at F8-F9 with subject at 3 meters = 43 m depth of field

Fujifilm X-T5: 23MM at F1.4 hyper focal distance: 19m

Fujifilm GFX50R: 45MM at F2.8 hyper focal distance: 19m

In summary, the extra resolution doesn't have a major impact on diffraction or depth of field. The aperture where diffraction starts to have any noticeable impact (at 100% crop) is already higher than what landscape photographers would be using to maximize lens resolution.

Furthermore, there is plenty of depth of field available even at wide apertures if the subject is sufficiently far away. You can use the 35MM equivalent GF45 at F2.8 and have very deep depth of field (~10m to infinity in acceptable focus) by focusing at the hyper focal distance of 18.89m.

For my GFX100S, I typically use F8 for landscapes. For my 100V/X-T4/X-T5, I typically use F4 if I want maximum sharpness in the centre or F5.6 to be on the safe side that the edges and centre will be balanced in sharpness.

Hope the above helps! If you'd like to learn more, I'd highly, highly recommend visiting Jim's blog with the following search criteria:

Depth of Field: https://blog.kasson.com/?s=depth+of+field

Diffraction: https://blog.kasson.com/?s=diffraction

Thanks for your feedback, and sorry on my part for the late reply. And thanks to others' for comments on build quality.

Has anyone else further first hand views/ opinions/ experiences, this time specifically with X-T4 vs. X-T5 in terms of build quality - dials, buttons, lens mount, bottom plate etc.? I am clear about all the other pros and cons of these two cameras.

Thx, Dan