Conclusion
Pros
- Compact and well-built body
- Good button placement and excellent manual control layout with high levels of customizability
- Responsive controls and quick operation, save for file buffer
- Excellent autofocus – fast and accurate in single shot and very good in continuous focus, especially with Zone Focus
- Accurate eye-sensitive face detection AF
- 8fps continuous shooting
- Nice clear EVF and rear screen
- Wi-Fi implementation is very well done, with good remote controls and transfer ability
- Excellent manual focus aids
- Very good color response
- Excellent dynamic range
- Good noise control for an APS-C sensor
- Outstanding JPEG engine and in-camera RAW conversion capability
- Well-implemented intervalometer for time-lapse shooting
- Video controls and operation are much improved from earlier models
Cons
- The small grip and less than ideal rear thumb grip placement make handling uncomfortable with larger lenses
- 16 megapixel sensor is getting a bit old in comparison with competition
- Buffer is extremely small: less than one second of shooting possible at highest frame rate
- Bracketing is still only 3 frames one stop apart
- Front and rear control dials turn too easily
- Expanded ISOs still only available in JPEG mode
When the X-T10 was announced, I really didn’t know what to think. It seemed odd to make a ‘lesser’ X-T1. However, after using it for the past few weeks, I began to see it for what it really is…not really a lesser X-T1, but simply a smaller and cheaper one. To be honest, the X-T10 is about 90% of an X-T1 for 61% of the price. It’s got the same image quality, the same feature set, the same autofocus capabilities (with X-T1 firmware 4.0), a similar look, similar controls and so on. For most shooters, the X-T10 is plenty of camera and makes a lot of sense. I think the X-T10 slides ahead of the X-E2 for the role of second fiddle in the Fuji lineup, and it makes the X-E2 frankly hard to recommend at this point unless you really much prefer the rangefinder styling. The X-T1 still has desirable upgrades over the X-T10: it’s weathersealed, has an ISO dial, a much larger viewfinder, better ergonomics and a far deeper buffer for burst shooting, but those differences aside, they two X-T cameras are remarkably similar.
Compared to the competition, the X-T10 puts up a nice fight too. The closest competitor is, of course, Sony’s outstanding a6000, which is selling for a few hundred dollars cheaper and has a higher resolution sensor, a bigger viewfinder, a smaller profile, a much deeper buffer, faster frames per second shooting and a more comfortable grip. On paper, it’s a step up. However, in use, it’s a much closer race. I prefer the controls and general operation of the X-T10, and I feel the JPEG output and color response is superior. The Fuji RAW files can also be pushed far harder in the shadows than those of the a6000 and still hold up. Surprisingly, I actually think the X-T10 has better autofocus. The a6000 has better tracking over more of the frame, and it’s the better sports camera due to the deeper buffer, but the X-T10 tracks just as well in the central zone and is superior at locking focus in dim light in single shot situations.
In any case, the X-T10 is a strong entry and a very complete mirrorless camera. It’s a perfect companion as a backup body for those shooting with an X-T1, and it’s a great entry for people who want to shoot those great Fuji lenses but don’t want to shell out top of the line money for a near top of the line body. It’s an excellent effort from Fuji.
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Image Samples
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