6 reasons why you’ll really want the Fujifilm X-T2
Fuji furnishes its flagship with 4K video skills and faster everything
Video or stills? Lustworthy design or rugged build? Speed or quality? Time was you had to choose between them – but the Fujifilm X-T2 requires no such compromises.
The successor to 2014’s superb X-T1, big brother to Stuff‘s favourite compact system cam the X-T10 and peer to the 5-star X-Pro2, the X-T2 comes from a fine lineage.
But more importantly, it addresses several of the flaws shared by its stablemates while retaining all those qualities that make Fuji’s CSCs such objects of desire. Here’s what you need to know about it.
1) It’s a video star
If cameras had feet, video would be the Fuji X system’s Achilles’ Heel. Well, until now, because the X-T2 joins the 4K brigade, capturing satin-smooth 3840×2160 footage at up to 30fps. Or, if 4K is too much for you, it’ll do full HD at up to 60fps. Plus, it can capture up to 10 minutes of 4K footage, or 30 mins with the optional new vertical grip (more on that below).
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2) It’s megapixel-happy
With the X-Pro2, Fujifilm made the leap from 16MP to 24MP and unsurprisingly the X-T2 also gets the sensor bump up.
As before, it’s an X-Trans CMOS sensor without low-pass filter, which if previous X Series cams are anything to go by should produce superb images well into its 200-12,800 ISO range.
RELATED › Fujifilm X-Pro2 review
3) It’s super-fast
The X-T1 was no slouch but the X-T2 promises to leave it lagging like Wayne Rooney puffing after an Icelandic forward.
It’s had a trio of speed boosts: burst shooting now maxes out at 14fps with the electronic shutter, 11fps with the mechanical shutter plus vertical grip and 8fps in standard mode. But while that last figure is identical to that on the X-T1, it will now fire off 83 JPEGs before pausing, rather than a mere 47.
Autofocus should also be faster – it has 91 focus points rather than 49, and has new tracking skills with customisable settings for different subjects. Overall operational speed, meanwhile, has been massively improved, with Fuji claiming it’ll start up in 0.3 seconds and fire pretty much as soon as you even think about pressing the shutter.
Oh, and the max shutter speed is now 8000 rather than 4000, so that’s four speed boosts. Plus the electronic viewfinder is now faster too, with a refresh rate of up to 100fps. So that’s actually five.
4) It flips
Flip screens on cameras are the kind of things that seem like gimmicks until you actually use them, at which point they quickly become essential. Other Fujifilm cameras have had them, but the X-T2’s is more versatile, popping out sideways as well as up or down. It’s the little things that keep us happy…
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5) It has a clever new friend
Pair the X-T2 with the optional Vertical Power Booster Grip and it gets several new superpowers.
As well as the aforementioned extra video recording capacity and faster burst shooting, it holds two batteries, giving the camera the ability to snap 1000 frames before conking out, and it also has a headphone jack for video-monitoring purposes. Of course it also features all the controls you’d expect and provides a nice grippable, um, grip, making it easier to use the X-T2 in portrait orientation.
6) It looks as gorgeous as ever
One thing that’s not changed much from the X-T2 is its design: it looks every bit as classically beautiful as its forebear and has the same weatherproof, lightweight body with oodles of manual controls for those of us who like to prod and click things rather than swipe and tap. Said controls are now taller for easier operation, there’s a new focus-point selection lever on the back and you get dual SD card slots as an added bonus.
It won’t come cheap though – when the X-T2 arrives on 8 September it will set you back a cool £1399. Ouch!
Now how about checking out our Fujifilm X-T2 hands-on review to see whether we think it’s worth it?
Marc McLaren
Contributor 
