When the Fujifilm X-T50 turned out to not fairly be the X-T30 II alternative many have been anticipating, some speculated Fujifilm is perhaps turning its consideration away from the entry-level digital camera market to extra premium fashions. Nonetheless, just some brief months later, Fuji has proven up not simply with a brand new inexpensive entry-level mannequin, however one which defies the entry-level label.
The Fujifilm X-M5 is the sequel to the unique X-M1 launched in 2013 – though with a naming soar to mirror Fujifilm’s present fifth era of digital camera our bodies. A compact rangefinder-style physique – though with out the viewfinder to qualify it as such – the X-M5 is a pocket-sized digital camera suitable with Fujifilm’s vary of XF lenses.
With the marketplace for content material creation cameras exploding, the X-M5 is straight aimed toward vloggers and video makers with a mix of ease-of-use video modes, a rotatable display screen, up to date microphones, and highly effective video specs. The headline spec being 6.2K open-gate video, which for lots of content material creators out there’s a enormous deal that units the X-M5 a step above comparable fashions from the likes of Sony and Nikon. Though with Fujifilm’s beloved movie simulations and recipes, improved autofocus, and a strong 26.1MP sensor, stills photographers would possibly discover rather a lot to like right here as properly.
Fujifilm X-M5: Specs
| Sensor | 26.1 MP X-Trans CMOS 4 (APS-C) |
| Processor | X-Processor 5 |
| Lens Mount | Fujifilm XF |
| Viewfinder | None |
| Display | 3.0-in 1.04M-dot vari-angle contact LCD |
| Burst pace | 5fps handbook shutter / 30fps (1.25x crop) 20fps (no crop) digital shutter |
| Picture stabilization | None |
| Video | 6.2K30p, 4K60p (1.18x crop), HD240p, 4:2:2 10-bit, F-Log, F-Log2 |
| Reminiscence | Single UHS-1 SD slot |
| Climate resistant | No |
Fujifilm X-M5: Value
At $799 / £799, AU$1,449 for the physique solely, or $899 / £899, AU$1,649 with a Fujifilm XC 15-45mm lens, the Fujifilm X-M5 would possibly simply be one of the best worth digital camera you should buy proper now.
Certain there are a few tremendous low-cost entries from Canon just like the EOS R100 (normally $479, however usually closely discounted) – however Canon’s choices can’t maintain a candle to the X-M5’s design and options. You may also go the opposite approach – the Panasonic S9 presents the identical compact vlogger-inspired physique because the X-M5, however with a full-frame sensor and picture stabilization – though at a a lot steeper $1499.
The true rivals to the X-M5 come from Sony, with the Sony ZV-E10 II going toe-to-toe with the X-M5 for type and options. Nonetheless, Sony’s mannequin is available in at a not insignificant $200 greater than the X-M5 (each physique solely). I described the ZV-E10 II as one of the best worth vlogging digital camera once I reviewed it a number of months in the past – I will admit once I’m flawed.
Fujifilm X-M5: Design & Dealing with
Stylistically, the X-M5 is not an enormous departure from the unique Fujifilm X-M1. Out there in both black or silver, the X-M5 follows the identical design as Fujifilm’s different classically styled cameras just like the X-T5 or X100VI, with its faux-leather wrapped steel physique and dials up high – and regardless of the cheaper price, the digital camera feels glorious within the hand.
I used to be absolutely ready for the digital camera to really feel rather a lot cheaper than the X100VI I take advantage of day-to-day, nevertheless it actually doesn’t, the X-M5 feels strong and expensive-ly weighty – though it solely weighs 355g. I attempted onerous to seek out some flaws with the construct, however all of the dials really feel strong, the flaps and battery door really feel safe, and the buttons – whereas a bit of bit too tiny for my clumsy fingers – have a pleasant click on. The one damaging I can increase is that the underside panel isn’t one single piece and has a barely ugly seam, however actually, I’m simply being pedantic.
The general dimension of the digital camera is simply so small although I may simply slip it into my coat pocket. One of many causes that the X-M5 is so small and inexpensive clearly stems from the shortage of an digital or hybrid-optical viewfinder. Whereas the shortage of a viewfinder will likely be an enormous disappointment to the contingent of Fujifilm followers holding out for an X-E5, the X-M5 does sport a flip-out rotating display screen that’s excellent for composing vlogs and different pieces-to-camera, and if you’re used to capturing totally on a cellphone, then this offers a lot the identical type of expertise.
There’s additionally now not a built-in flash, one other sign that that is extra a video digital camera than a stills one. I discover it onerous to actually care about this, however would have a number of years in the past at college when much more of my photographs have been at night time, however, with tiny hotshoe flashes or LEDs more and more inexpensive, there are definitely fast and straightforward methods round this.
The digital camera has a really slight raised grip on the entrance and a thumb grip on the rear, which is nearly sufficient to cling onto, however I did discover holding the digital camera a bit of awkward, however these with smaller palms would possibly fare higher, nevertheless, the X-M5 isn’t as snug because the ZV-E10 II.
I’m principally utilizing the digital camera with Fujifilm’s final era 35mm f/1.4 and XC 15-45mm lenses, that are the proper dimension on this digital camera, however the digital camera must also honest properly with Fuji’s dinky f/2 prime lenses and could be a fully very best match for the Fujifilm XF 27mm f/2.8 pancake lens (if yow will discover it in inventory).
Sadly, the equipment lens the X-M5 is bought with – the XC 15-45mm lens – is simply such a mediocre lens I discover it actually disappointing that Fuji didn’t at the least supply some pricier kits, however with the 27mm or 16-55mm lens as a reduced choice. The 15-45mm isn’t a foul lens in any respect for simply an additional $100, however with its annoying extension when the digital camera is on, its irritating zoom sound, and its common high quality, it is going to possible depart you itching to improve it earlier than lengthy.
Specializing in the X-M5 controls, the rear panel is the largest departure from the X-M1, with the gathering of buttons across the D-pad nearly fully phased out within the final era of Fujifilm cameras. The again is now rather more modern and minimal, with the overall button format in line with the remainder of the Fujifilm household for simple switching between fashions, and there’s additionally a welcome addition of Fujifilm’s directional joystick.
The X-M5 can also be the second digital camera within the Fujifilm lineup to get a devoted movie simulation dial. I’ve blended ideas on this, I don’t like it or hate it – however on a digital camera like this the place handbook controls are usually not the main focus and also you don’t need to sacrifice a dial – it fully is sensible. However I’ll say, it does what it is meant to do – it made me change my movie simulations greater than I might in the event that they have been simply within the menus.
In case you are a movie recipe individual, then there’s a customized choice on the dial, which defaults to whichever movie simulation you saved in your recipe when creating it – it doesn’t auto-update your saved customized profiles when you by chance flip the dial, phew! Additionally, a facet notice to Fujifilm’s designers; I feel that the middle a part of the dial that doesn’t transfer could be a unbelievable place for one more button.
On the opposite facet of the digital camera, you will have a mode dial, which has 4 choices for customized settings (once more excellent for recipe fans), and that is additionally how one can soar between photograph modes, and vlogging or normal video modes.
There’s additionally an unmarked dial that may be custom-made to a variety of capabilities together with aperture, shutter pace, publicity compensation, or curiously regardless of the brand new dial – movie simulations. And on the entrance, there’s a wheel that may management the identical capabilities, however you possibly can change between every one by urgent the dial in. You may also flip these dials off fully when you so want (for instance I solely ever actually shoot in aperture precedence, and the lens ring handles aperture, so each my dials solely do publicity compensation).
Fujifilm X-M5: Efficiency
It ought to actually come as no shock that the picture high quality out of the X-M5 is superb when it shares a sensor with so many nonetheless beloved Fujifilm cameras just like the Fujifilm X-T4 and X-S20. It doesn’t have the decision of Fujifilm’s newer 40MP sensor, however this doesn’t maintain again the X-M5 as for the digital camera’s meant functions of informal capturing and social media, the 26.1MP sensor is greater than sufficient decision and the next pixel depend would make photographs bigger and extra cumbersome to work with.
Photographs straight from the digital camera are key for the X-M5, and Fujifilm’s processing continues to be glorious, with unbelievable colour science, and a fantastic dynamic vary in normal Provia mode. The true enjoyable comes with tweaking your photographs although, and there are many choices, each from Fuji’s movie simulations, but in addition choices just like the addition of film-like grain to your photographs, boosting the dynamic vary, or taking part in with the colour chrome results to alter the saturation in skies.
Pansonic and Sony are gunning for Fujifilm right here by including photograph LUTs to their cameras for nonetheless photographs, I nonetheless discover Fujifilm’s system much more easy and intuitive, though extra limiting to get in-depth with grading colour. You possibly can shoot with the X-M5 in F-Log or F-Log2 and colour grade later if that is your factor.
Fujifilm has introduced its newest autofocus algorithms to the X-M5 with the inclusion of the X-Processor 5. This implies the X-M5 is able to recognizing topics together with human faces and eyes, in addition to animals, birds, bugs, vehicles, and different autos. The AF right here performs rather well, I had no difficulty selecting up birds swimming on the lake in my native park and will detect the attention of a goose who wandered as much as me in quest of meals. Sony selected to depart its AI-coprocessor out of the ZV-E10 II, which limits the themes it will probably acknowledge to only people and a few animals, a choice they could now remorse.
The largest omission that’s more likely to have an effect on your images is in-body picture stabilization – which is able to restrict how low you possibly can drop your shutter pace earlier than the consequences of hand shake begins to creep into your photographs. In current fashions, Fujifilm has provided round 7.0 stops of compensation.
If this issues to you possible is determined by each how regular your palms are, and the way a lot you shoot in low mild conditions, nevertheless it definitely isn’t a dealbreaker. Till a number of years in the past it was uncommon to even have IBIS in a digital camera, and no different cameras round this value have IBIS, together with Sony’s ZV-E10 II. You need to use optical image-stabilized lenses just like the XC 15-45mm which is able to assist, however a number of different producers do supply extra image-stabilized lenses than are within the XF lineup.
The massive query is does the shortage of a viewfinder make this any much less of a images digital camera? As somebody who normally composes each photograph by way of a viewfinder, I did discover this considerably restricted my expertise – I simply discover it much more satisfying to close out the world round me and give attention to solely what’s in my body. For steadiness, it is a criticism I’ve additionally leveled at Sony’s ZV cameras and the Lumix S9. Perhaps fewer of Fuji’s goal market now use viewfinders and that is the long run, however I discover it onerous to imagine when analog movie cameras have had an explosion in recognition amongst the youngest generations.
Fujifilm X-M5: Pattern Photographs
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Fujifilm X-M5: Video
Fujifilm is banking rather a lot on this digital camera’s enchantment to video makers, and fortunately X-M5 excels on this space – however the X-S20 set a precedent early final 12 months for what Fujifilm X-series are able to relating to video. Following the blueprint of the X-S20, the newer processor paired with the older sensor (with its fewer megapixels) provides the X-M5 the mandatory processing energy and pace to provide video as much as 6.2K 10-bit open-gate video as much as 30p.
In case you are unfamiliar with the time period open-gate, it refers back to the capacity to make use of your entire sensor space, this provides a extra unusual 3:2 ratio to footage fairly than the normal 16:9, nevertheless it provides much more flexibility relating to cropping later. That is extremely helpful if you wish to shoot one video that will likely be utilized in multiple place, corresponding to YouTube (horizontal 16:9), TikTok (vertical 9:16), and Instagram (4:5), with 6.2K affording some cropping with out dropping an excessive amount of element.
The choices don’t cease there. You may also file in F-Log2 if you wish to get in deep with colour grading or max out the dynamic vary. Different recording choices embrace oversampled 4K as much as 30p with no crop, or 4K60p with a 1.18x crop issue. Picture high quality in video appears nice in all of those, and you can even slap on a movie simulation to your video to provide it an immediate look – though like photographs this isn’t fairly as in-depth because the downloadable LUTs out there on different techniques.
The vlog modes from the Fujifilm X-S20 have additionally migrated over to the X-M5, giving the digital camera a extra user-friendly touchscreen interface, with key settings lining the sides of the display screen. There are additionally particular modes for showcasing merchandise, leaping the main focus to something that’s held as much as the digital camera, clean pores and skin choices for immediate in-camera retouching, and a brand new vertical video mode, that may movie a brief 1080p vertical video whereas the digital camera is horizontal, which is perhaps helpful when you don’t need to transfer the digital camera.
In an effort to take the battle to Sony’s ZV cameras, which have three capsule microphones within the high, that seize much better sound than what you normally get from a built-in mic – Fujifilm has upped the audio capabilities of the X-M5. There are usually not solely extra microphones, however you can even change the directional pick-up sample from omnidirectional (throughout) to both isolate noise from behind the digital camera, in entrance of it, or each.
I discovered this to be fairly efficient, however not excellent – and nonetheless nowhere close to the standard you’ll get from utilizing an excellent exterior microphone. Outdoors with a lot of highway noise, birds chirping, and a few wind, the inner mics didn’t fairly isolate my voice in my exams as clearly as I might have hoped – though the directional pickup made my voice a lot clearer than the omnidirectional sample. In case you are actually critical about your audio high quality, then nonetheless my finest recommendation is to choose up an exterior mic, however for extra informal customers, this would possibly properly be sufficient tuning to your wants.
Like with stills, the largest difficulty with the X-M5’s video is a scarcity of in-body Picture stabilization. That is clearly positive with a tripod or when you intend to maintain the digital camera static and wouldn’t even be a consideration for say, magnificence vlogging. However exterior transferring about with the digital camera there’s some very noticeable digital camera motion although. Fujifilm does have a model new digital picture stabilization algorithm, and it really works fairly properly, though I discovered it truly overcompensated and made the footage look a bit too inflexible.
There’s additionally the key draw back of your footage being penalized with a hefty 1.32x crop – the 23mm lens I used to be utilizing is already a 35mm lens because of the APS-C sensor crop, nevertheless it turns into a 46mm lens with digital picture stabilization utilized which is way past the focal size I had in thoughts once I purchased it.
Fujifilm X-M5: Lab Information
For our lab information comparability we in contrast the Fujifilm X-M5 to 3 comparable entry-level APS-C mirrorless cameras: the Canon EOS R50, Nikon Z30, and Sony ZV-E10 II.
Decision (line widths/image peak):
The X-M5 and Sony ZV-E10 II each use 26MP sensors, so it is sensible that they resolve probably the most positive element on this check. The 24MP EOS R50 follows shut behind, and it is no shock that 20.9MP Z30 cannot match the element ranges of the opposite cameras on this comparability.
Dynamic vary (EV):
Dynamic vary is a measure of a digital camera’s capacity to file excessive brightness ranges and nonetheless retain element within the brightest and darkest elements of the scene. It is measured in EV (publicity values, or ‘stops’).
Fujifilm’s X-Trans sensors historically carry out properly in our dynamic vary testing, and the X-M5 isn’t any exception. Its sky-high ISO100 rating is a bit of suspicious, however in any other case the X-M5 delivers constantly broad dynamic vary all through the examined sensitivity vary, and is very good at increased ISOs.
Sign to noise ratio (decibels):
This check compares the quantity of random noise generated by the digital camera at completely different ISO settings as a proportion of the particular picture info (the ‘sign’). Larger values are higher and we anticipate to see the sign to ratio fall because the ISO is elevated.
The X-M5 delivers the cleanest photographs of this group, and by a large margin. The Z30 is nearly in a position to match the Fujifilm digital camera, however solely at very excessive sensitivities, and solely by having a lower-resolution sensor. If low picture noise is especially essential to you, the X-M5 is the digital camera to beat at this value level.
Fujifilm X-M5: Verdict
I used to be stunned by how a lot of an excellent time I had capturing with the X-M5. It is compact, fashionable, feels nice within the hand, and provides extra highly effective specs than the direct competitors – all whereas being cheaper than its closest Sony rivals. I feel that is presently one of the best worth digital camera you should buy (new) at this time.
In case you are a vlogger or video maker particularly, then that is the digital camera that ought to be high of your record for consideration. The video specs for such a small and inexpensive digital camera are glorious. Open-gate goes to turn out to be more and more essential as the necessity to make content material for a number of side ratios will increase, so is an actual plus right here over rivals, though, video high quality in normal 4K isn’t value leaping ship for when you aren’t already deeply embedded in one other producer’s system.
Relating to images, whereas I battle to look previous the X-M5 not having a viewfinder, if you’re used to taking photographs in a cellphone and composing on a display screen then this actually received’t be as a lot of a difficulty. Autofocus is a breeze because of the newest processor giving entry to all of Fujifilm’s newest algorithms – not one thing you get with each producer. And on the finish of the day, the photographs regarded simply pretty much as good as these popping out of my X100VI which value twice the value.
| Options | Highly effective video specs and the newest AF | ★★★★★ |
| Design | Strong-feeling compact physique with small lenses to match. Though no EVF for photographers | ★★★★☆ |
| Efficiency | Nice high quality stills and video, with movie simulations providing ready-to-share content material | ★★★★★ |
| Worth | Undercuts rivals on value however not on energy | ★★★★★ |
✅ Purchase it…
- In case you are a social media content material creator then this is a wonderful small travel-able digital camera that additionally takes unbelievable photograph and video made for sharing.
🚫 Do not buy it…
- In case you are primarily a photographer and never all that involved in video then the X100VI or T-T30 II is perhaps extra up your avenue, or you possibly can try to discover an X-E4 second hand.