FujiFilm XT5 Review - I Love It with A Few Quirks

[@fri814]

Ordered my X-T5 today. I am just SO excited. My life took a detour about 30 years ago and I sold my Nikon F4 for $35. THIRTY FIVE DOLLARS! This is the first camera that I've bought since then. I'm from Rochester, NY, and like 85,000 other people I worked at Kodak in the early 90s. Fuji was the ENEMY, but the top people at Kodak were SO wedded to the cash-cow that film photography was, they were blinded to digital. For god sake: Kodak INVENTED the CCD! I worked at the Marketing Education Center, where all the top executives and the entire world-wide sales professionals came to train. I was working on the computer of the Vice President of Consumer Photography, and I casually said: What are you guys gonna do? "What are you talking about?" I said "Well, c'mon, film is dead." He looked at me and said: "Don't EVER say that. Don't let anyone ever HEAR you say that." That's when I knew Kodak was doomed. It is such a gratifying feeling to buy a Fujifilm camera. With the exception of Kodachrome, which, IMHO, was the most beautiful photo medium ever invented, Fuji was a better chrome film than any Kodak offering. I just can't wait to use this camera. The silver body and dials take me back to the early days of SLR photography. I could never experiment with all the settings of my Nikon because you had to have every shot developed (and ONLY by Kodak for Kodachrome) and it got expensive. Digital is a dream come true for me; I can bracket, compensate to my heart's content and it is instantly visually apparent what I'm doing. I guess I'm giving my age away (62) by talking about this stuff as if it's a novelty, but for me it's a whole new world.

[@christianmani1730]

Excellent review. Thanks! I waited all the way from the X-T2 to upgrade to the T5 and I have to say in terms of materials used for build quality the T2 is a far more solid and well built camera. The T5 feels like the case and dial materials are made of cheaper/inferior plastics.

[@ericrjennings]

Ok so it’s not just me.

[@MikePGuitars]

Nice review. Funny about just having two profiles. Went I went back through my photos from last year they were all over the place. No cohesive look. Since then I’ve settled on one color profile and one bw profile and that’s it and I’ve been much happier with the results.

[@ericrjennings]

Exactly!

[@donnakeeley4531]

Thanks I really appreciate this review. I'm an XT2 user and looking to upgrade. I don't do videos at all and do not like the flip out screens. I like your personal use of it for a while and the review of actual images it is produces instead of specs. I like the arty look of fuji and was worried the higher resolution sensor might lose the that special look. It has convinced me the XT5 is the camera for me. New subscriber here

[@paulthomas8986]

I finally upgraded from the XT2 and it certainly is a big feature upgrade. Using primes hit the sweet spot with the XT line. It’s nice to see all the third party options now available. The viltrox 75mm looks fantastic, especially for the price. I hope they make a wider pro focal length to compliment it.

[@chacmool2581]

Nah. I thought about it, then came to my senses. A Canon R5 with 45 FF Mpix is what's I'm fixing to get. 😉

[@ericrjennings]

Great camera.

[@cow77cow]

Viltrox making the 27mm f1.2 pro

[@nevvanclarke9225]

I have had mine for 4 weeks and love it .....i cant fault the camera much to be honest. The images really pop to be honest.

[@zacredacted2137]

I’ve been waiting for this! I might have to get one…. I’ve had so much trouble with those Lexar cards…especially on Fuji cameras.

[@chrisburgess9919]

Thanks for this Eric, an informative review. I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on the sigma 56mm 1.4, regards from Scotland.

[@ericrjennings]

The sigma 56/1.4 is a winner. Sharp, small, cheap

[@RyanH0809]

Hey Eric. Appreciate the insight. I have a question about that Sigma 56mm. I just bought a copy from KEH for my X-T4 and I noticed two weird quirks, one of which is a legit problem. 1) when the aperture is closed down any at all, say f2.8, When I half press the shutter button to or press the AEL button to lock exposure, as the aperture blades step down to the value I've set, it's extremely jarring and coarse... It's not smooth at all. It's kind of disorienting.. 2) and the bigger issue, Auto ISO won't choose a reasonable shutter speed. For all my other lenses, Auto ISO forces a shutter speed resembling the reciprocal rule. So for my 18mm lens it goes as low as 1/25, for my 33mm lens it goes as low as 1/50, etc... But with the Sigma 56mm, it's ALWAYS at 1/300 or 1/320, which then forces my ISO up to unnecessarily high values. Have you had any of these issues with the X-T5 or any other Fuji body? I know it's a bug, but I can't find any information regarding a fix for it. I shoot with Auto ISO 98% of the time, so that's kind of a deal breaker for me.

[@sdhute]

The exposure comp on my x100v is always changing on me. The color on this video looks great

[@ericrjennings]

SOOC nostalgic negative

[@hasenmyer]

That dang exposure comp dial has messed up SO many of my photos on my xs10, so hard to catch sometimes particularly if you are using the back screen. I've thought about super gluing it into position. Sounds like you have found a camera that fits your style, and TBH considering the strides Fuji has made if I wasn't so heavily invested in Sony I would be right there with you.

[@artsilva]

How does one "bump" their MCS switch? in ten years and 6 bodies with some sort of an MCS switch I have YET to have that happen. Anyone wondering if this is an issue, it really is not. I do however agree that a lock button on the EV dial would help being that it is more exposed to bumping.

[@ericrjennings]

Not sure. I’ve done it twice. Hanging off my shoulder on a strap

[@chasspiros5624]

Thoughts on XT5 v SL2-S? I have the Leica now but the weight can be fatiguing and I find I leave it at home. Moreover im the AF just can’t keep up with a 5 year old.

[@ericrjennings]

XT5 is better in all respects for those use-cases. The Leica is superior build quality and IQ but the XT5 is no slouch

[@scottallen6172]

Good honest review. Thank you. I have the X-T5, previously the X-T30 and X100T. I only use Sandisk cards, the Extreme Pro 300mb/s 64gb Version II in my X-T5 (my second card being an Sandisk version 128gb Version I card, which seems to work fine for stills). I've never seen the error code you have experienced on any of my Fuji cameras. After watching your video, I tested my V II card in fast CH mode. It worked perfectly. Strange, but I suspect your Lexar card. I don't know what else could cause it.

[@ericrjennings]

I think it’s the card too

[@davidlewis8702]

Excellent program. I’ve turned that drive switch by accident when changing ISO speeds yet it’s the same on my Xt3 and I haven’t made the same mistake there. I just have to pay attention.

[@EdwardMartinsPhotography]

Hi Eric, bumping the dials has always been a thing. It kind of went away when digital cameras no longer had dials and I guess people just lost the habit of checking everything all the time. What I'm saying is if you have dials, you get the added burden of having to check them all the time which is intrinsic in having the dials. It's a compromise. The locks help, but the exp comp should have one too. And yes, the drive dial does move to HDR by itself a lot. That never happened to me on the XT3. XPro4 should be coming along soon I hope.

[@ericrjennings]

I sold my xt5 and am waiting for the next Xpro

[@EdwardMartinsPhotography]

@@ericrjennings An XT is not a rangefinder style camera and if that's what you want, it makes total sense. Fuji is really close with the Xpro3. Bigger battery and even a fixed screen facing the right way round would be a winner I'd buy. Hopefully they won't screw up a new set of things making it stupid again.

[@andrecsaddict]

How about flash?? I want a flash that can shoot like machine gun.. pla2teck has a video that implements a power "bank' that susppent at his neck and shoots unstoppable.. thank you in advance

[@ScaleDreamsStudio]

Fuji does the weirdest things like the grip and other small things like that. it's frustrating!

[@MikePGuitars]

Also - I bump the drive dial when I change iso. A small strip of gaffers tape fixes that. I just tape it on CL and then if I want to change it, I pull the tape and adjust. It’s not just so KZbinrs can hide their Leica logos! 😁 My EC knob is so stiff I can’t imagine accidentally bumping it unless EC is mapped to the rear dial. Don’t think I’ve ever bumped the AF switch either. But tape would fix both of those too.

[@ericrjennings]

I’m going to gaffer them all. Hipster level 1000

[@hasenmyer]

@@ericrjennings next step coffee shop B-roll

[@ericrjennings]

I got that down already

[@MikePGuitars]

You could just mummify the entire thing in tape. Weather-sealed…

[@kalistratov_photos]

Oh, those controls keep rolling, especially when I wear gloves. I really know what you're talking about. Especially camera switching to video or hdr is annoying. However, I agree that other then that camera is great! I take it everywhere, too. The Lexar issue is disappointing, because Fuji has those cards in their recommended list. I use two of them and so far have no issue.

[@ericrjennings]

I’ve continued to use the card after the event and no issues. I wonder if the combination of writing jpeg + raw to both cards and using flash at a quick pace had something to do with it

[@hasenmyer]

you ever used one of the mirrors that sit on top so you can see back tilting screen?

[@ericrjennings]

I have not. I want to though

[@hasenmyer]

@@ericrjennings GAS'n for a fuji..not even sure why. Not convinced my XS10 is at about 90% of the new ones, but you once GAS starts there is basically no stopping it

[@mortenthorpe]

both prograde and newer lexar are not great! sandisk isn’t either, but they’re just slow… the beat cards, are the Delkin Black series - especially for fuji

[@malikharden5124]

Did you prefer the Olympus AF system or the Fuji ? For people

[@ericrjennings]

OM-1 and XT5 are similar

[@EDHBlvd]

Is Olympus that brand that went out of business?

[@malikharden5124]

@@EDHBlvd they were bought out and rebranded to OM SYSTEMS Smaller sensor cameras much lighter typically cheaper pro lenses and much more tough cameras especially weather sealing than any other brands. But not as good in low light bc the small sensor

[@Jeff_St_John]

Thank you for your video! It might sound weird, but I have ended up being less happy with the 40 MP sensor purely from a file size perspective. If I could just use the jpegs, that would be one thing... I try, and it is definitely a goal, but I must be too much of a control freak because I keep going back to the RAWs. But especially if I want to use the software & settings to get the most detail out of the Fujifilm files, I end up with each photo being at around 100 MB. Much like you said, don't need the 40 MP and would rather have the 24-26 MP... but I'd still like the body style to be like the X-T5 versus X-H. Everything else I was pretty happy with... a few AF issues that have been mentioned in some reviews, but that will be something that I think Fujifilm will keep improving on with firmware over time. I wonder what the chance will be that the XPRO (or any other of the more photo-centric models) will end up with anything OTHER than the 40 MP sensor??

[@TCinSoCal]

Interesting you mention file size. It’s a deterrent for me. I shout RAW+JPEG & import to an iPhone or iPad. These files would take forever and have transfer fail risk. Not saying I won’t try the 5.. just picked up the X-T4 and it’s good use an X-T again.. haven’t used one since owning a 2. My other concern with 5 is noise… but a case can be made that slightly noise images that are better in focus win over less noise and not quite as good in focus. .. Thank you.

[@bespokecustomstudio1565]

An XPro 4 with 26 megapixel stacked sensor with all the photography knobs would be glorious. However, I am not sure if they would be profitable. It would be a beauty indeed with awesome build quality

[@simon359]

I’ve had problems with Lexar cards also with Fuji cameras. I’ve learned sanDisk doesn’t give me any issues!

[@ericrjennings]

I think sandisk is the answer

[@BR04LAN]

Yep, I’ve had various Lexar cards fail over the years. SanDisk has been reliable throughout

[@johnspreadbury4026]

sandisc are the best for fuji

[@CAPTOURS]

You found your system

[@EDHBlvd]

For a couple weeks. He’ll move on after. Eric loves to make GAS moves.

[@FotosyMas.]

X-T5 is a wonderful camera. The only downside is the tiny sensor.

[@gilfraser5194]

You are joking right. APSC is clearly not small. Shakes head.

[@ericrjennings]

KeyApertire is a troll and bokeh whore. Pure sensor snob. He’s like Jared Polin … 1.2 is pro and barely fast enough. 😂😂

[@FotosyMas.]

@@gilfraser5194 My sensor is one inch longer than Eric’s.

[@ericrjennings]

You’re like the loser in the lifted diesel truck that never tows anything.

[@EDHBlvd]

I think the X-T5 with that grip is larger and heavier than the X-T4.

[@KyleGustafson1986]

Your stability with the camera makes me feel like something is wrong

[@ericrjennings]

What do you mean

[@KyleGustafson1986]

@@ericrjennings Im just used to you switching systems

[@ericrjennings]

Well if it makes you feel better ik GAS’ing for a Q2, a GFX, and a Nikon Z9 soooo all is right in the world

[@KyleGustafson1986]

@@ericrjennings yes. That is great to hear. I can sleep well now