Three Becomes Four On the Shelf

on May 19, 2020
My daily trolling through the rest of the photo trade sites showed me that there was a great deal of waiting and whooping for the Fujifilm X-T4. Not mentioning any viruses, you understand, but some places that are bigger than us and grander than us had no chance of getting this new camera. It did my heart good to see good old WA and good old CE triumph for a change. It also did my heart good to set one out next to the previous model - the X-T3, and take pictures of them both with my X-T2. No, I'm not going to get a fresh camera, but yes, I would if I needed a change. The X-T4 embodies enough changes to make it a distinctive step from my X-T2. The bodies look very similar - see all the views. What you don't realise is that they have marginally increased the size of the X-T4 to accommodate an IBIS system. And they have further enlarged the grip so as to be able to take a new battery. I cannot say whether the IBIS would be a good thing for me - I do my shooting at 1:160 second with a studio flash or on a tripod for static subjects - but the increased performance from a new battery is sensational news. It is sensational chiefly because the XT1, 2, and 3 have lousy battery performance. That's no praise, faint or otherwise. I go to a four-hour dance show and use the LCD screen for framing much of the time. I know I am going to chew through 4 batteries to get all the shots. I have long since stopped moaning about it and just flick out the empty and throw in a new one once it hits one-bar red. It is what it is, but I wish it wasn't. The one saving grace is the fact that the battery is common to the X-T10, X-Pro1, and X-E2 that I also use. They are nowhere near as greedy as the X-T2. I've even considered adding a battery substitute block and an external power supply for studio and dance shooting. Well, we are assured that the new, bigger battery of the X- T4 will give us DSLR battery performance once more. One more charger, one more set of cells...but if it does what it says, we can only welcome it. The other mystery is for you to solve - we are told that the video capabilities of the new camera far outstrip the predecessor. More settings, faster processing, more detail, easier integration into a video workflow. I see an easier way to tell the camera that you want to shoot movies. The other thing that is encouraging is that this Fujifilm body can now shut the screen away in safety while the rest of you may not be in the same condition. Still a bit fraught with the side-swinging assembly, but you may not need a permanent screen protector clapped onto it as with previous models.
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