Hands-on with the Fujifilm X70
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In addition to its X-Pro2 and X-E2S, Fujifilm also announced the X70, a compact camera with a fixed 28mm equiv. F2.8 lens (shown here with a lens hood). Focal length aside, the X70 is in many way a Fujifilm X100T minus the hybrid viewfinder but with the addition of a tilting touchscreen.
It uses the same 16.3MP APS-C X-Trans II sensor as the X100T and features a similar layout of control points. We had the opportunity to get our hands on the X70 at a press event in Japan – take a look.
Hands-on with the Fujifilm X70
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The X70 looks quite a bit like a classic rangefinder film camera shrunken down. It features direct controls for shutter speed and exposure compensation, both of which are made from milled aluminum. It also has a dedicated aperture ring around the lens barrel, offering 1/3-stop aperture adjustments ranging from F2.8 to F16.
The focus ring on the front of the lens can be set to toggle focus when shooting in MF, or be used as a digital teleconverter, to switch the field of view to a 35mm and 50mm equivalent. The top also offers a hotshoe, video record button, drive button and Auto switch. When flipped down, the Auto switch overrides all other exposure parameters (just like the Auto switch on the X-T10).
Hands-on with the Fujifilm X70
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Just because the X70 has a touchscreen doesn’t mean there aren’t ample physical controls as well. Quite the contrary. The back alone offers a four-way controller, custom function button and a Q button for direct access to the Quick menu.
The touchscreen, by the way, is 3″ in size with 1.04 million dots. In addition to offering touch-to-shot and touch-to-focus capabilities, it can also be used in playback to swipe through images, and even offers pinch-to-zoom functionality.
Hands-on with the Fujifilm X70
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The grip on the X70 is made from a rubber-material; it is moderately-sized and comfortable to hold. The camera can easily be used with just a single hand, but offers enough real estate on the body to also be comfortably gripped with two.
While it’s easy to draw comparisons between the X100T and the X70, spend a little time holding the latter and you’ll quickly find it handles like a very different camera. In addition to its use of a 28mm equiv. F2.8 lens, compared to the 35mm equiv. F2 of the X100-series, it is also substantially smaller than a X100, thanks to its lack of a viewfinder. Moreover, the addition of an articulating touchscreen makes the X70 an even more discreet option than the X100T, especially for street photography.
Hands-on with the Fujifilm X70
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The 28mm equiv. F2.8 lens is composed of 7 elements, arranged into 5 groups. Two of those elements are aspherical to help cut chromatic aberration. The lens itself uses a 9-blade aperture.
The X70 offers Fujifilm’s latest AF system, and features both Zone AF and Wide/Tracking AF, first introduced on the Fujifilm X-T10 (and X-T1 via firmware 4.0). The Hybrid AF system comprises a total of 77-points.
Like all recent X-series cameras, the X70 offers Face Detect and Eye Detect. We had the chance to briefly try Face Detect on the X70 in a press meeting and our initial impressions were positive, despite the fact that Fujifilm cameras have historically lagged behind the competition at AF speed and accuracy when using Face and Eye Detect.
Hands-on with the Fujifilm X70
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The X70 has an articulating touchscreen that flips up 180 degrees and down 90 degrees; this is the first X-series camera to offer a touchscreen of any kind. We had the chance to try out the touch-to-shoot functionality during a product briefing and found the camera to be quite responsive. Street photography purists might scoff at the idea of using a touchscreen to make images, but we’ve found in use, it can be an incredibly handy way to shoot discreetly.
Hands-on with the Fujifilm X70
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For those tempted by the small size and touchscreen of the X70, but afraid they might miss having a viewfinder, Fujifilm will be selling the VF-X21 hotshoe-mountable optical finder, shown here, for $ 200.
Hands-on with the Fujifilm X70
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The X70 uses the same NP-95 battery as the X100-series. However the most logical comparison to the X70, both in terms of price and design is the Ricoh GR II. Both cameras use 16MP APS-C sensor and offer 28mm F2.8 equiv. lenses. It’s clear that Fuijifilm has set its sights on street shooters with the release of the X70; perhaps trying to snag those tempted by the Ricoh GR (and GR II), which is somewhat of a cult classic among urban shooters.
But while both cameras have similar bells and whistles, like Wi-Fi connectivity, direct controls and comfortable ergonomics, all in a nondescript body, the GR II has a fixed LCD, while the X70 has an articulating touchscreen. Furthermore, the X70 has a high ISO of 51,200, compared to the 25,600 on the GR II.
And for those nostalgic for the days of film, the X70 offers 13 baked-in film simulations including the much-loved Classic Chrome.
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)