Fujifilm X-T4 Review after 4 Years of Use
The Fujifilm X-T4 has been my main camera for almost four years now and I still love it! I love it so much that I have two of them, so all the shots in this blog of the X-T4 are actually taken with the X-T4. In the past I have been known to switch brands and update my cameras fairly frequently but since I purchased this Fuji model my habit has stopped. For the first time I found a camera that had everything I needed and I haven’t had the urge to upgrade since. I mainly use this camera for street, travel and documentary photography and also for making my YouTube videos.
Specs
The specs were pretty impressive at the time of purchase in 2020 and I think they are competitive even today:
APS-C crop-sensor mirrorless camera
607g (with battery and SD card)
26.1MP X-Trans CMOS 4 sensor
4K video up to 60p 10-bit at 4:2:0 internal (this was a major point of interest for me) & Full HD 1080 up to 240p with F-Log view assist
Continuous shooting at up to 15 fps with mechanical shutter
5-Axis image stabilisation
Dual SD card slots
Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity
425 phase-detection AF points
Weather sealing
Variable angle flip out LCD
When I first saw these specs they seemed to me to be way ahead of their time compared to cameras in a similar price category. They ended up being a big deciding factor in going all in with the Fujifilm system.
Ergonomics
The Fujifilm X-T4 has a well-designed and intuitive layout. It has a sturdy build and after several years of use it’s still in great shape. The retro design is very functional and has room for a lot of customisation. There are a range of physical controls, including the basic dials but also other less commonly seen switches like for example the M/C/S switch or the view mode dial. The camera is small enough not to be a pain to carry around yet big enough to feel like it’s a professional camera. It fits in the hand comfortably and the grip is perfect for my size hands.
Build Quality
The build quality is excellent, the body feels well built and is weather, dust and moisture resistant. It’s got a flip screen which is very useful if you are filming yourself. I briefly had the X-T3 before I got this camera so I noticed an immediate practical improvement with this feature. In terms of feel in the hand, the grip is comfortable and the weight is well distributed within the camera. The dials are easy to use and provide a fun experience for anyone learning photography as well as a convenient way to adjust the exposure triangle variables. There are also lots of buttons that can be customised on the body, some of which are super handy like for example setting/locking a custom white balance or adjusting the display parameters with the touch of a button rather than searching through deep menus.
Ports
The camera comes with a 3.5mm microphone jack, a remote release, HDMI Type D Micro connector and USB-C connector. I’ve used the mic port the most to increase the quality of the sound which is internal mics which are OK but not enough for professional sound recording.
Dual SD Cards
The dual SD card slots have proved to be very handy even though I wasn’t particularly looking for this feature in a camera. There are various ways that these can be configured for data. For example, you can have jpegs going to one card and raws going to another or photos going to one and videos to another or just have them mimicking each other so you always have a full back up at hand. The camera can be used with SD, SDHC, and SDXC cards and both UHS-I and UHS-II bus interfaces are compatible.
Lens Compatibility
I’ve only used Fujifilm lenses on this camera but there are now third party lenses by several reputable manufacturers available. Each of the Fijinon lens I have works perfectly with the camera, no issues at all.
Auto-Focus
There is a lot of talk out there about the auto focus not being on par with other brands but for me I haven’t really had any issues with it, perhaps it’s the type of photos that I take. However, I’m not sure as I’ve used this camera plenty of times to film myself (using face and eye detection) and show products etc and it seems to track me well and easily changes focus as required from one subject to another. One thing to remember is that there are some extra settings within the camera menu to adjust the way the auto focus works and responds so perhaps this is an overlooked setting in other reviews. The camera has 425 focus points.
Image Stabilisation
The Fujifilm X-T4 comes with a five-axis 6.5 stop IBIS system. It’s been very useful for both photography and video and I have it switched on most of the time. Having the IBIS onboard also means that any of the Fujifilm lenses that don’t have built in stabilisation can be used without any worry.
Battery
The battery in this camera is great, I rarely think about it. I have a couple of spares but usually one battery lasts the whole or most of the shoot. In standard mode it can do around 450-600 frames per battery depending on which mode the camera is set in.
Flip Screen
This is another one of those features that people either love or hate. I think because I do video work for me it’s been a must but I can see that for others who purely do photography work it could be a hindrance and there have been occasions where I wish the screen operated in the same way as the XT-3/X-T4 but on balance my preference is a flip screen over a non flip one.
Image Quality
I could probably sum up this section in one sentence … the image quality from this camera is awesome! It really is very very good! No matter what profile I use for jpegs or if I shot in raw or if I’m filming a video, I have never been unhappy with how the image looks from this camera. There is something about Fujifilm which is just different and the image and colour science really resonates with me. On top of that there are features that are not normally available on other cameras such as the ability to adjust the tone curve, add grain, alter the chrome effect of an image in camera. There is also a lot of customisation available in terms of image settings so that you can achieve pictures straight out of camera that have similar characteristics to old film stocks like Kodak Portra 800, Fujifilm Acros, Kodak Ektar 100 and Kodachrome 64, Fujicolor C200 and many more.
Low Light Performance
The Fujifilm X-T4 is not a leader in this category however I haven’t had any major issues with noise levels in the type of photos I take including night shots. I think the camera excels in lower ISO ranges of 3200 and below but even at ISO 6400 the image is quite usable. The great thing about the Fujifilm is that even if the image has some noise in it, it still looks pretty good, I think this may be due to its unique sensor array design. The images below are were all shot at ISO 6400 and I think they turned out pretty good in terms of noise.
Wish List
I would love to have an in built ND filter into the camera, I can’t tell you the amount of times I’ve had to switch lens and filters and it’s just a big waste of time doing this over and over manually. Another feature that I would like to see would be an option to meter for the highlights so that an image is never overexposed. I tried this setting in another camera brand and it’s a game changer, no more blown out highlights and the images look unreal straight out of camera as there is such a range between light and shade. Lastly it would be great to have a control wheel at the back instead of selector buttons, having used a control wheel before I can say that it is much more efficient, faster and easier to use.
Conclusion
So in conclusion, the camera is a real all rounder that still has competitive specs even four years on. It is suitable for hybrid shooters that require both photo and video functions and has many features that still rival other cameras on the market. Can I see myself selling this camera in 2024 … not at this stage, it’s still my go to camera and I don’t see this changing in the near future. My only consideration for selling at this stage would be purely because of my concern regarding the warranty which has now run out. Upgrading to a newer model covered by warranty would give me peace of mind for another three years other than that I have no real need for an upgrade and would happily recommend this camera for both photo and video.
