Fuji Announces X-T2

[Mike Farley]

One of the surprises for me last year came when I purchased an end of line Fuji X-Pro1 which was bundled with a couple of lenses and leather case at the price which was the equivalent to the combined cost of the lenses. The X-Pro1 has long intrigued me and buying it was a no brainer as I could have got my money back, possibly more, by selling the items individually.

When I first looked at the X-Pro1 on its release in 2012, the camera was essentially still in beta with what was effectively pre-production firmware. I was distinctly unimpressed. In the intervening years, Fuji isued numerous updates which transformed it and got the best out of the hardware. The result is something which is useable provided the subject co-operates by remaining still. The speed of the autofocus is OK, but is not the quickest and the electronic viewfnder suffers significant lag due to a low refresh rate. True, the hybrid viewfinder has an optical mode, but framing is not accurate and parallax error is a problem at shorter focussing distances. Not really an ideal camera, then, but nevertheless it has a permanent place in my camera bag. The image quality from Fuji's unique X-Trans senso is amazing and makes up for the camera's many shortcomings.

Earlier this year Fuji released the X-Pro2 which has many improvements compared to its predecessor and featured a new 24 MP sensor. Since the X-Pro1 came out, Fuji had produced the X-T1 which had better hardware specifications. It was not difficult to predict that a X-T2 with the new sensor and other enhancements would come hard on the heels of the X-Pro2. Which today it duly has. DPReview has a number of articles, featuring Fuji's announcement, plus hands on and first impressions reviews. It looks promising.

http://www.dpreview.com/news/8595291296 ... ideo-specs

http://www.dpreview.com/news/2952778073 ... ess-camera

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/fujifil ... ons-review

The X-Pro2 has not been overlooked and gets a firmware update. There is also a new lens roadmap which indicates that Fuji is introducing three more weather sealed prime lenses, two of which have f/2 maximum apertures.

http://www.dpreview.com/news/8481938980 ... ns-roadmap

[Mike Farley]

I have just seen the UK price for the X-T2, which is £1,399. Admittedly post Brexit currency exchange rates are likely going to make camera equipment more expensive, in the short to medium term at least, but Fuji does seem to be extracting as much as possible from early adopters. Both the XT-2 and the X-Pro2 before it look expensive, compared to both the competition and the prices of the outgoing models.