Fujifilm X-T4

When I was in high school, our physics teacher had tried to explain that sometimes lab instruments were too precise for the job at hand. My 15 year old brain had struggled with the concept. How could an instrument be too accurate, how could a knife be too sharp?

Precise and powerful tools are more demanding – they’ll perform well in the hands of skilled operators who know what they’re doing, but will yield inconsistent results and sometimes be dangerous in the hands of poorly trained users.

*ISO on the left, shutter speed center and exposure compensation on the right – the typical Fujifilm User Interface.*

Which brings me to the case of my Fujifilm X-T4. As a tool, it’s very sharp. It’s a highly configurable, 26 mpix APS-C camera, with a great electronic viewfinder and a plethora of dials – ISO, shutter speed, exposure compensation and even a real aperture ring on some lenses. It’s not a camera for beginners or for occasional photographers – there is no “scene”, “green” or “iAuto” mode that you would have found on compact cameras and entry level ILCs, and some useful settings (like choosing between Average, Spot or matrix exposure metering) are hidden deep in the menus.

There is a lot to say about the user interface of Fujifilm’s cameras. Some of their cameras are designed to operate like the first multi-automatic SLRs of the late seventies – with dials and rings that you have to set to “A” (or not) and no PASM mode selector – while other cameras are designed with a modal interface, but with no top plate LCD display and no dial, a bit like an entry level dSLR. The same is true for lenses – some have an aperture ring with markings, some have an aperture ring with no marking, and some have no aperture ring at all. And the camera operates differently depending on the type of lens mounted on it, and on the position of a switch on the barrel of the lens. It’s rather confusing. Honestly, I prefer the modal user interface of Nikon’s high end dSLRs, and I’m not a Fujifilm photographer because of the user interface of their cameras, but rather in spite of it.

*The aperture can be controlled automatically (switch on “A”) or by rotating the unmarked aperture ring*.

The UI quirks aside, Fujifilm “X” cameras have a lot going for them. They are renown for their beautiful “out of the box” JPEGs, for their best in class film emulation, and for offering the most comprehensive range of great lenses of any APS-C mirrorless system. Top of the line models are also very solidly built while still being compact, a benefit of sticking with cropped sensors. But professional reviewers often complain that their autofocus system is not as good as what Sony and Canon ILCs can deliver.

*The X-T4 has a fully articulated LCD, in addition to an electronic viewfinder, of course*.

Over the two years I’ve been using this X-T4, I’ve never been in a situation where the autofocus was lacking (I don’t shoot sports or wildlife), but I’ve struggled with the exposure – sometimes the UI got me confused, and some other times the matrix metering was not as evaluative as I would have like it to be. To the point that for casual or travel photography (when I don’t have to time to sweat on the settings), the camera is generally set to operate in Program mode, with the good old center weighted metering.

The Taj Mahal – Fujifilm X-T4 – Fujinon XF 18-55mm lens

That’s the problem with sharp tools – they need a skilled and well trained operator – and only lots of practice makes you a master of your domain (“Ubung macht den Meister” as they say in German). If you use it frequently enough and are willing to learn its idiosyncrasies, this X-T4 will reward you with impressive images, but an occasional or moderately motivated photographer may be better off with an easier to use camera.

*The so called “Q” menu – where the most important settings can be modified.*

Which is a cruel dilemma if like me you also like to play with old cameras – it’s tempting to shoot with the latest of your garage sale finds, but the time spent shooting with a curiosity is time not spent getting intimately familiar with your main, “serious”, camera. A case of too much equipment getting in the way of better pictures.

*Two APS-C cameras – mirrorless cameras have grown in size, and this X-T4 is not really smaller than the Pentax K-5 next to it. It’s much lighter, though.*

I’ve shot almost exclusively with the X-T4 over the last two months, and I’m definitely more comfortable with it by now. It’s time not to follow my own recommendation and to go back to the oldies. I have a few interesting finds in my pipeline.

In the meantime, I wish you a terrific 2026—may it bring you inspiring subjects, rewarding shoots, and many great images.

Xavier T.

More about cameras and photography in CamerAgX

This series was shot in the North West of India (mainly in Rajasthan) a few weeks ago with a Fujifilm X-T4 and the excellent Fujinon XF 18-55mm f/2.8-4. Being larger, heavier and not shooting as wide as the 15-45 XC Power Zoom, the 18-55 is not as convenient when traveling, but it’s a class of its own when it comes to image quality.

Tiger, Ranthambore Natural Park – Rajasthan (Fujifilm X-T4, 18-55mm lens)

It’s not that I’m competitive, or that I carve for attention. But when I travel with my better half, she also takes pictures, and good ones at that. She has no interest at all in the technicalities of photography, but she has a good eye. And with an iPhone, that’s enough to get very good pictures, most of the time.
Within a few minutes of the picture being shot, it’s posted on one or two social networks, “liked” and commented.
Now, imagine yourself shooting with a 10 year old dSLR, in RAW, of course. You won’t get usable pictures until you’re back home, and find the time to fire up your laptop and launch Lightroom. By the time you’re done, your pictures will be yesterday’s news. Or most probably, last week’s.

The manufacturers of conventional cameras have understood that, and are slowly addressing the problem. The newest digital cameras are much better at uploading the freshly shot images to a smartphone, and they’ve improved their jpeg rendering enough that shooting RAW is not an absolute necessity, and that Jpegs are usable straight out of camera most of the time.

High level, I was happy with my Fujifilm X-T1, but I was ready for something a bit more recent, with a better viewfinder than my X-T1’s. I was still missing the large top of the plate display of the enthusiast oriented dSLRs, and I wanted a better integration with smartphone apps.

So I purchased a very nice Fujifilm X-H1 on eBay, The X-H1 was Fuji’s flagship camera in 2018 – with a 24 Megapixel sensor and – a first for Fujifilm – in body image stabilization. The fit and finish was splendid, the viewfinder much better than the X-T1’s, and the images were stunning – straight out of the camera. But I was extremely disappointed by the battery life of the camera. In the real life, not even 100 pictures per battery charge. I admit I’ve been spoiled with Nikon dSLR and their 1000 shots per charge, but 100 was definitely too little – imagine the logistical nightmare if travelling for a few days in a place without easy access to electricity – having to carry something like six batteries, two chargers, a few power banks to feed the chargers … No way.

So, maybe a dSLR was the solution after all. I still love shooting with a reflex camera – the optical viewfinder of a full frame is a pure delight for the eyes – and over the years I have accumulated a large number of Nikon F lenses. And I feel at home with a Nikon. Every command at the right place. I found a well used Nikon D750 at MPB, and started using it. The battery life was what I expected from a Nikon dSLR, and it was a pleasure to shoot with. But…. there was a long list of “buts”.

It’s not that the camera is large or heavy (in fact, the D750 and its descendant the D780 are the smallest and lightest full frame dSLRs from Nikon, on par with Canon’s smallest and lightest, the EOS 6D), but the lenses are big and ponderous. The more recent, the larger and the heavier. As for my old cherished lenses, they may be smaller and lighter, but they’re a bit overwhelmed by the 24 Megapixel sensor.

You may consider that Fujifilm’s “film simulations” are just brilliant marketing, and that Nikon’s Picture Control does more or less the same (preparing JPEGS usable straight out of the camera). But in reality, Picture Controls are not as easy to use (and not as good) as Fuji’s simulated film, and – in my opinion – the D750 still gives you better results if you shoot RAW and massage your pictures to taste in Lightroom.

Lastly, the D750 is still tied to Nikon’s ancient WMU (Wireless Mobile Unit) mobile app, and the less said about it, the better. This camera was launched in 2014, and it shows.

So, now what? I sold the X-T1, I sold the X-H1, I sold the D750, and finally purchased a lightly used Fujifilm X-T4 and a wide angle zoom. The X-T4 is still small for a modern mirrorless camera, the viewfinder is beautiful, the fit and finish impressive, and the battery life is correct (I did not feel the need to buy a second battery yet, and you can charge it directly from a USB source).

Admittedly, there is no top plate display, but almost all of the exposure parameters are controlled by dials on the top plate. If you buy a Fujifilm lens of the XF series, aperture is controlled by a ring around the lens, which is very intuitive if you’ve worked with film cameras in the pre-autofocus days. Zooms with a sliding aperture (like the 18-55 f/2.8-4) have an unmarked aperture ring, but the recent constant aperture zooms and the fixed focal lenses have easy to read aperture markings.

Because the camera is built around an APS-C image sensor, its lenses are much smaller than optics designed for a full frame camera.

Out of camera, the JPEGs are very good, and there are many film simulations to play with. Lastly, the smartphone app (Xapp) is a significant improvement over the old Camera Remote.

I’m just at the beginning of my new digital journey. I need to test all those film simulations, and I have to create a new workflow, laptop free and Lightroom Classic free. A workflow only relying on iOS devices (iPhone, iPad) and on the mobile version of Lightroom.

CamerAgX – a new life for old gear

Fujifilm X-T4 – of the pros and cons of using a very sharp knife

Looking for my next “serious” digital camera