Retro is completely in at the moment, and Fujifilm is proving it, showing off a new mirrorless camera that oozes the 70s. If it weren’t for the screen, you’d swear it took film.
Hitting Australia next month, Fujifilm is once again showing that it knows more about cameras that producing film, launching a new interchangeable lens camera that forget about the mirror and reflex mechanism, and goes for size and portability.
It’s called the X-T10, and it’s a new camera aimed to be lighter and smaller than some of Fuji’s other cameras, but not compromise on quality, taking advantage of the same 16 megapixel sensor used in another Fuji model, the X-T1.
That sensor brings in ISO sensitivity up to 51200, a shooting speed of up to 8 frames per second, and a focus system providing up to 77 points of autofocus with a “zone” mode allowing photographers to select various sections to focus on, such as an area of 3×3 or 5×5 for tracking areas as opposed to points.
A single point mode is available, however, and the continuous autofocus mode will track to the left, to the right, up and down, and that third axis — the Z axis — tracking further and closer to the camera.
But while the sensor makes the photos, how the camera looks and feels is the other part of the picture, and for that, Fujifilm is keeping things delightfully old school.
The body is made from a die-cast magnesium chassis with aluminium dials along the front and back designed to make a photographer feel like they’re holding an old camera, and the style is definitely close to it, if not for the 3 inch tilting LCD on the back.
Fujifilm’s viewfinder is more of a modern variety, with the traditional optical viewfinder exchanged with a 2.36 million dot screen revealing high definition display, much like that shown on the LCD, but smaller and for your eye, ideal if the sun is kicking around the back screen a little too much.
Even some of the modes are made to feel like the camera is made just for the old school generation, including film simulation modes for those of you who shot on Fuji film.
As such, the X-T10 will let you similar Velvia, Provia, Astia, and even monochromatic films, while some artistic filters will offer up miniature mode, high key, low key, toy camera, pop colour, multiple exposure, and soft focus.
And there’s video, too, with Fujifilm sticking to Full HD for the X-T10, but letting you adjust exposure manually while shooting, as well as offering the film simulation for video modes.
“The X-T10 delivers the high quality images that photographers have come to appreciate from the X Series range, enabling enthusiasts to maximise their creative flair,” said Alex Zitser, Product and Marketing Manager at Fujifilm Australia for Electronic Imaging.
Availability of this little camera is set for June, where the price will be $1299 with a 16-50mm lens, or $1499 for the camera with an 18-55mm lens.
