Friday 27 February 2015

Fujifilm X100T

Fujifilm X100T silver black

If you’ve resisted the charms of Fujifilm’s retrostyled X100 up until now, the latest version may win you over with its updated hybrid viewfinder, revised ergonomics and a host of new features. By Paul Burrows

When Fujifilm launched the original X100 back at Photokina 2010, the mirrorless interchangeable lens camera was a still an unknown quantity and the smartphone was yet to reshape the fixed-lens compact market as dramatically as it has subsequently done. So, heading towards five years on, the camera world has changed a lot. Of course, the X100 started its own revolution, legitimising the return to more traditional, dial-based control layouts which has since been taken up by the designers of both CSCs and D-SLRs, as well as other fixed-lens compacts. Fujifilm itself has expanded its line-up of X Series cameras to include lots of other goodies, including the brilliant X-T1 and its rangefinderstyled cousin, the X-E2. So… where does all this leave the venerable X100, updated in early 2013 as the X100S and again, now, as the X100T? After all, there are now a few tasty alternatives, including some offering the extra versatility of interchangeable lenses.


There’s undoubtedly still a market for higher-end fixed-lens compacts as proven by recent arrivals from the likes of Canon, Olympus, Panasonic, Sony and Nikon. And Fujifilm still offers a unique feature in its clever hybrid optical/electronic viewfinder which undergoes a further evolution in the X100T. Then there’s the simple fact that the previous versions have been so successful because Fujifilm got the basic concept just so right. Consequently, the X100T maintains all the key ingredients of Fujifilm’s original recipe – the aforementioned viewfinder, a highquality fixed lens and an all-metal bodyshell that’s unashamedly retro looking. But, as with the ‘S’ model, there are a host of revisions, updates and additions which further enhance the appeal, abilities and applications of the basic X100 configuration.

While the first incarnation of Fujifilm’s hybrid optical/electronic viewfinder was pretty interesting, it’s the subsequent developments that have been more remarkable, adding yet more electronic-based components to the opticallyderived view. The latest is perhaps the cleverest and Fujifilm calls it the ‘Electronic Rangefinder’ or ERF. As before, you can have a full electronic viewfinder (EVF) display or an optical finder with the EVF-generated read-outs, but now there’s a third option, the ERF display. This is still essentially optical, but in addition to the read-outs, there’s a small panel – projected from the EVF – in the lower right-hand corner of the finder and this displays either the ‘digital split image’ rangefinder or the magnified image section that’s used in the EVF to assist with manual focusing. In other words, you’re now pretty well getting the best of the EVF and OVF worlds in the one display… all the conveniences of the former combined with the unsurpassable image quality of the latter. Of course, the ‘digital split image’ device was available on the X100S, but only with the EVF where, to be honest, its central location and size tended to get in the way of viewfinding. The ERF implementation means that it only intrudes into a small section of the bottom right corner of the frame. You can now even have a focus peaking display with the optical viewfinder and… wait for it… the video feed when recording movies. Clever or what?

BETTER VIEWS


Fujifilm has also made some changes to the basic viewfinder components so the EVF panel steps up to a resolution of 2.36 million dots and has the same 54 fps refresh rate as the X-T1 (with a claimed lag time of just 0.005 seconds). You can choose between ‘Natural’ or ‘Shooting Effect Refl ection’ modes; the latter replicating the colour saturation, contrast and white balance of the selected ‘Film Simulation’ presets (more about these soon).

The optical finder’s coverage increases to 92 percent and automatic parallax correction is provided for the picture frame so it adjusts according to the focusing distance (particularly important when shooting close-up). With autofocusing, the focusing zone adjusts position too.

As before, a small spring-loaded lever on the camera’s front panel – Leica RF style – switches between the viewfinder’s configurations via successive right clicks while, in the optical setting, a left click activates the ERF panel. The eyepiece incorporates proximity sensors which enable automatic switching between the viewfinder and the monitor screen, or you can choose to have one or the other operating individually. The X100T also gets an upgraded monitor screen with a bigger 7.62 cm TFT LCD panel and a much higher resolution of 1.04 million dots.

BUTTONED UP


While the X100T looks pretty similar to its predecessor on the outside, the sharp-eyed will note quite a few other changes apart from the bigger monitor screen.

On the top panel, the exposure compensation dial is now marked across a range +/-3.0 EV, and the aperture collar on the lens is adjustable in 1/3-stop increments for more precise exposure control. The rear panel’s control layout has been significantly revised, starting with replacing the rear input lever – which was more in keeping with a compact camera – with a proper control wheel so the tricky arrangement of command dial and navigator keypad has gone too. The latter is now on its own and redesigned with larger keys. Although unmarked, each of these four keys also serves as a function button; with the macro mode, white balance settings and focus area modes selected this way as on the X100S, but with the fourth key now used to access the ‘Film Simulation’ presets rather than the fl ash settings… which is logical given it’s likely to be more frequently used for this. However, these are just the defaults and you can change them in the Shooting Menu which provides a choice of 27 functions for each, and these are also available for three other customisable buttons on the X100T. Alternatively, the four-way navigator can be set to AF point selector duties.

The customisable buttons include one on the top panel which is, by default, for movie recording start/stop, but if you don’t shoot video, you can switch it to do something more useful, including depth-of-field preview. This scope for customisation is significantly greater than what was possible with the previous models, and it really allows the new camera to be precisely fine-tuned to personal preferences in terms of the ‘workfl ow’.

These may all sound like relatively minor changes, but collectively they do improve the X100T’s ergonomics which are now also closer to those of a D-SLR or CSC. The main dials have even stiffer detents at each setting so it’s now very difficult to make accidental shifts, especially of the exposure compensation settings.

Retained is the cable release socket in the shutter release, although there’s also a connection for an electronic remote trigger which doubles as the input for a stereo microphone. Also unchanged is the ability to fit the battery pack incorrectly (in all three of the wrong orientations) which is presumably something you stop doing after you’ve owned the camera for a while. Alternatively, you can simply leave the battery in situ and recharge it in-camera via the new USB cable charging facility.

Fujifilm X100T silver black back

TAKING CONTROL


While Fujifilm has been commendably busy building up its X Mount lens system, it hasn’t neglected the accessory side of things either, so the X100T can be fitted with a neat little optional grip – which is worth considering as it does actually enhance the handling – as well as all the existing X100 add-ons.

It’s interesting to note with this third iteration of this camera that, nearly five years on, the basic design is still hard to resist and is still classically beautiful. It’s still as well made as ever with diecast magnesium alloy top and bottom plates over an aluminium chassis, although it hasn’t acquired weatherproofing yet which you’d think might be a handy thing for a street camera.

Once again, all the dials are milled from solid billets of aluminium, and the whole thing just feels right in the hand, not to mention the innate intuitiveness of its controls. Fujifilm has resisted the temptation to add touch screen controls (although this must surely come), but it’s updated the ‘Quick Menu’ control screen which is the next best thing.

Firstly, the ‘Q’ button has been moved closer to the input wheel so it’s easier to thumb the display into action (along with the AE/AF lock button). Additionally, the menu can be customised with the option of creating a total of eight banks of function tiles (‘BASE’ plus C1 to C7) with these banks created from a long list of capture-related settings and then also arranged in any desired order. You can do this either via the camera’s ‘Set Up’ menu (Edit/Save Quick Menu) or through the ‘Quick Menu’ itself. In reality, the choice of possibilities here is slightly bewildering so you’ll probably end up just creating the one personalised ‘Quick Menu’ and sticking with it (although you could conceivably set up separate menus for specific subjects or shooting situations).

THE INSIDE STORY


As on the outside, on the inside Fujifilm has retained the key X100 ingredients, but spiced them up with some new elements along with some small – but still important – improvements to specifications.

So, unchanged is the ‘X-Trans CMOS II’ sensor with its 6x6 RGB filter pattern which is designed to eliminate the need for a low-pass filter. It also incorporates embedded sensor arrays to enable phase-difference detection autofocusing which the X100T uses to supplement sensor-based, contrast-detection focusing. The sensor is mated to the ‘EXR Processor II’ which enables, among other things, continuous shooting at up to 5.8 fps with continuous AF, and Full HD video recording at 50 fps with progressive scanning.

To recap, Fujifilm’s ‘X-Trans’ sensors have a 6x6 RGB colour filter array rather than the conventional 2x2 RGGB arrangement of the Bayer filter. This more ‘random’ arrangement of RGB pixels results in a higher aperiodicity which effectively lowers the frequency at which a moiré effect will occur with repeating patterns. This eliminates the need for low pass filters, enabling more of the sensor’s resolution to be realised. Moiré isn’t entirely eliminated, but it’s much less likely to occur and won’t happen with very fine frequency patterns such as the texture of fabrics. Additionally, as there are more RGB pixels in each vertical row and horizontal line, colour accuracy is also enhanced.

The pixel count remains at 16.3 megapixels, but the sensitivity range is slightly expanded – no doubt thanks to further tweaks to the noise reduction processing algorithms – so the high ISO range can be pushed an extra stop to 51,200. The native range is still equivalent to ISO 200 to 6400 with a one-stop ‘pull’ to ISO 100. As on the X-T1, the Auto ISO control can be set to default sensitivity, maximum sensitivity and minimum shutter speed.

RAW capture is at 14-bits per RGB channel and there’s a choice of three aspect ratios – 3:2, 16:9 and 1:1. JPEGs can be captured in one of three sizes in each aspect ratio and there’s the choice of Normal or Fine compression levels. RAW+JPEG capture can be set to JPEG/large/fine or large/normal. Images are stored on an SD format memory card and its slot shares the same compartment as the battery which is accessed through the camera’s base. The X100T supports UHS-I speed SDHC cards, but doesn’t have the UHS-II speed capability for SDXC cards that’s provided on the X-T1. There’s a small internal memory with a capacity of 55 MB which isn’t much, but probably enough for a couple of frames if the unthinkable has happened…

CLASSIC LOOKS


The X100T isn’t only classiclooking on the outside, it also has a new ‘Film Simulation’ picture preset which processes JPEGs to give them a more classic look. It’s called, appropriately, Classic Chrome and is essentially designed to mimic the particular colour palette of the legendary Kodachrome… so the colours are still quite rich, but look different to those created by the Vivid/Velvia preset.

The unique Kodachrome process always looked different to an E6 transparency film – even one as sharp and saturated as Fujichrome Velvia – and that’s what Fujifilm has been able to replicate quite convincingly with the Classic Chrome preset. Consequently, these images look nicely saturated, but with a little more subtlety and ‘restraint’ compared to the Velvia preset. And compared to the famous Kodak film, you’re no longer restricted to the ISO speeds of 25, 64 or 200… you can range from ISO 100 to 51,200!

The remaining ‘Film Simulation’ choices are Standard/Provia, Soft/Astia, Pro Neg Standard, Pro Neg High, Monochrome, Sepia, Monochrome+Yellow, Monochrome+Red and Monochrome+Green. Up to seven customised ‘Film Simulation’ presets can be created via adjustments for colour, sharpness, highlight tone, shadow tone and noise reduction. Additionally, ‘Film Simulation’ bracketing allows for three images to be captured simultaneously in any choice of three different renditions. Retained from the X100S is the choice of eight ‘Advanced Filter’ special effects which are applied at the point of capture. These are called Toy Camera, Miniature, Pop Colour, High-Key, Low-Key, Dynamic Tone, Soft Focus and Partial Colour (which can be set to retain only red, orange, yellow, green, blue or purple). Both the ‘Advanced Filter’ and ‘Film Simulation’ profiles can be applied to RAW files when they’re subsequently processed.

The other image processing options aren’t very much changed from the X100S, starting with dynamic range expansion which offers the choice of automatic correction or three manual settings which – using Fujifilm’s long-established terminology for this – are labelled ‘100%’, ‘200%’ and ‘400%’.

The auto correction is based on the brightness range in the scene and adjusts both the exposure and the tone curve accordingly to brighten the shadows and pull down the highlights. There still isn’t a multi-shot HDR capture function, but the X100T now has an intervalometer which can be set to record up to 999 frames at intervals of up to 24 hours. Multiple exposure and motion (a.k.a. sweep) panorama functions are available and, in keeping with all the recentlylaunched X Series camera, there’s a built-in Wifimodule which allows for wireless image transfer and remote camera control via a smartphone or tablet running the ‘Fujifilm Camera Remote’ app. There’s also the option of sending files to the Instax Share Smartphone Printer which subsequently produces an instant print. As on the X100S, the multiple exposure facility has a live preview facility to enable more accurate compositing of the overlaid images.

WORKING THE LIGHT


The lens is the same Fujinon Super EBC 23mm f2.0 prime wide-angle as has been fitted to the two previous models. It’s equivalent to the classic 35mm focal length which, in practice, is actually surprisingly versatile. The optical construction comprises eight elements in six groups, including one aspherical type created via glassmoulding techniques and designed to help minimise distortion. The diaphragm has nine blades to give a smooth out-of-focus effect and the minimum aperture remains at f16. A built-in neutral density (ND) filter is available to reduce the exposure by three stops. Two matched conversion lenses are available to give the equivalent of the 28mm and 50mm focal lengths.

The X100T retains a conventional leaf-type shutter, but now also has a fully sensor-based shutter which allows for a much faster top speed of 1/32,000 second and, of course, is totally silent in operation. You can opt to use one shutter type or the other, or select a hybrid arrangement which automatically switches between them when required. The slowest speed available with the sensor shutter is one second while the leaf shutter can be set all the way down to 30 seconds. Its top speed is 1/4000 second, but because it’s combined with the aperture diaphragm in the lens, it’s only available between f8.0 and f16 (as is the case at 1/2000 second too). This is why the ND filter is included because, in bright conditions, a top speed of 1/1000 second may not be short enough.

Like its predecessors, the X100T has both a built-in fl ash and a hotshoe. The onboard flash modes include fill-in, red-eye reduction, slow speed synch and ‘commander’ (but this is limited to the remote triggering of photocell-equipped units and doesn’t extend to wireless TTL control). As with the previous models, flash exposures are controlled by what Fujifilm calls ‘Super Intelligent Flash’ which performs scene analysis to accurately balance the flash output with the available light.

Exposure control is via the standard set of ‘PASM’ modes, and the auto modes are selected by setting the aperture collar and/or the shutter speed dial to ‘A’. The overrides comprise program shift, an AE lock, auto bracketing and the extended range of exposure compensation which, additionally, is available with manual exposure control if the ISO is set to Auto. The auto bracketing range remains at +/-1.0 EV, set over three frames. There’s also bracketing functions for sensitivity, white balance and dynamic range expansion. The multizone metering uses 256 segments and is supplemented with average and spot measurements, the latter now able to be linked to the active focusing point.

The white balance controls comprise automatic correction (based on scene recognition analysis), seven presets, one custom measurement, fine-tuning and manual colour temperature setting. The latter’s range is from 2500 to 10,000 degrees Kelvin while the fine-tuning is available over nine steps in the colour ranges of red-to-cyan and blue-to-yellow.

Fujifilm X100T black

SHARP SHOOTING


As before, the AF system employs 49 focusing points (arranged in a 7x7 pattern) with a choice of auto or manual selection, the latter with the option of adjusting the AF target frame to one of five sizes. When using the optical finder, there are 25 focusing points (arranged in a 5x5 pattern). New is the addition of a ‘Multi-Target Auto Area AF’ mode which, as its name suggests, employs multiple points to give better coverage of larger subjects.

The single-shot and continuous modes are selected by a switch on the side of the camera body which also has a position for manual focusing. We’ve already mentioned the ‘Electronic Rangefinder’ viewfinder configuration, but obviously it’s also possible to run the various aids for assisting with manual focusing in the standard EVF. The focus peaking display – which indicates the plane of sharpest focus by highlighting the areas of maximum contrast – has the option of High or Low settings with a choice of three colours; white, red or blue. The operation of the ‘digital split image’ rangefinder has been improved so there are more distinctive splits making it much easier to use and enabling better fine-tuning. Both this and the focus peaking display can be combined with a magnified image. As before, there’s also a distance scale display to guide manual focusing and it employs a red indicator needle within a white band which shows the depth-of-field. The focusing collar, being fly-by-wire, still has a vaguely disconnected feel, but the direction of rotation can be set to either right or left.

On the subject of displays, the rather clunky process of first having to select a configuration has gone and now the ‘DISP’ button cycles through the various alternatives like on any other camera. The main display can be configured with a guide grid, real-time histogram and level indicator which, through the magic of the hybrid viewfinder, you can also have superimposed over the optical view too. There’s also the option of customising the status indicators and displays with a further 13 items available to be checked (or unchecked) in the ‘Display Custom Settings’ menu. There’s also the option of an ‘Info Display’ which switches off the live view feed and shows only status indicators, including a grid of focus points and a real-time histogram. This is handy if you’re using the optical viewfinder. The displays in the EVF can be set to re-orientate automatically when the camera is held vertically, but curiously, those in the monitor screen stay put.

The menu system is unchanged from that of the X100S so it comprises three sections for Shooting, Set Up and Playback (although the latter is only displayed when the camera is actually in playback mode). Each section is divided into pages which can be directly accessed by selecting a tab or by simply scrolling through them. Progressive right clicks access the sub-menus and settings while the ‘OK’ button in the centre of the fourway controller serves as the enter key. The playback displays include a thumbnail with a histogram and a focus point indication while the modes include zooming, thumbnail pages of either nine or 100 images, and a slide show with a fader effect. The image editing functions comprise the basics (i.e. crop, resize, rotate and red-eye removal), but there are provisions for searching via a number of criteria and in-camera RAW-to-JPEG conversion with a choice of 12 processing parameters, including dynamic range, ‘Film Simulation’ mode, white balance, white balance shift, sharpness, noise reduction, highlight/shadow tone adjustment, colour space and colour saturation. Fujifilm’s ‘Photobook Assist’ compilation function is again provided.

SPEED AND PERFORMANCE


With our reference memory card – Lexar’s Professional 600x 64 GB SDXC UHS-I speed device – loaded up, the X100T captured a burst of 33 JPEG/large/fine frames in 5.384 seconds which represents a continuous shooting speed of 6.12 fps. This is slightly faster than the quoted maximum and also better than the quoted burst length. For the record, the test file sizes were around 9.0 MB on average.

The hybrid AF system is fast and accurate, although when shooting in the macro mode (i.e. between 50 cm and ten centimetres), you can only use the EVF so there’s time involved in switching from the optical setting. The multi-zone metering is reassuringly reliable even in very contrasty situations, but it’s useful to have the spot mode now linked to the AF point for more selective work. As we noted with the previous models, the Fujinon 23mm f2.0 lens is extremely well corrected, exhibiting hardly any chromatic aberrations or distortion, and delivering exceptional uniformity of centretocorner sharpness across the aperture range. There’s a small amount of fall-off at the corners at f2.0, but it’s quickly eliminated by stopping down, even just to f2.8. As before, Fujifilm’s ‘Lens Modulation Optimiser’ (LMO) processing operates in the background to correct for optical aberrations such as diffraction blur across the lens’s aperture range. However, fl are can be an issue when the sun or another bright light source is positioned just outside the frame so it’s worth budgeting for the optional lens hood (which is supplied with the required adaptor ring).

After testing the X-T1, we noted that Fujifilm’s ‘X-Trans CMOS II’ sensor was one of the best ‘APS-C’ size imagers in the business, and it seems to be getting better with each newer application. Obviously Fujifilm continues to improve its data processing because the X100T looks to be better in a number of imaging performance areas than its predecessor, and not just at the higher ISOs either. Definition appears to be improved so the resolution of very fine detailing is exceptional and the dynamic range looks better too, especially in terms of the deeper shadows (and is maintained even at the higher ISOs). The DR expansion processing appears to most benefit the highlights. As before, the ‘100%’ setting is the default and the facility can’t actually be switched off. In practice, the Auto correction appears to be the most effective in most situations.

Noise isn’t discernible across the ISO range from 200 to 1600, but the quality of the images recorded at ISO 3200 and 6400 is noticeably improved, in terms of both definition and saturation.

The extended sensitivity settings exhibit progressively more reduction-related artefacts so the new ISO 51,200 setting is really only useable if only small-sized reproductions are needed. None of the ‘push’ ISO settings are available with RAW capture so it’s not possible to apply more judicious noise reduction processing post-camera.

When shooting JPEGs though, the scope for tweaking the way a picture actually looks is considerable and Fujifilm’s ‘Film Simulation’ presets work very well indeed. Especially if you’re of a fan of the classic transparency stocks such as Velvia and Kodachrome with their enhanced saturation and contrast.

Alternatively, the Provia (or Standard) preset delivers exceptionally accurate colours across the spectrum.

Fujifilm X100T black

MAKING MOVIES


While Fujifilm has further enhanced the X100T’s video recording capabilities, it’s hard not to conclude that this is, first and foremost, a still camera. Nevertheless, it now has a stereo audio input to supplement its built-in microphones, although it’s a non-standard 2.5 mm terminal rather than the more universal 3.5 mm type. Sound recording levels can be manually adjusted and level indicators are shown in the monitor and/or the EVF.

Also new is the provision of a Type D micro HDMI connection rather than the Type C mini type provided on the X100S.

At the Full HD resolution of 1920x1080 pixels, the PAL standard frame rates of 50 and 25 fps are now available (with progressive scan), along with the ‘cinematic’ speed of 24 fps. As before, you can still record at the NTSC speeds of 60 or 30 fps. Clips are recorded in the MOV format using MPEG 4 AVC/H .264 compression.

Apertures, shutter speeds and exposure compensation can be adjusted during recording, and many of the processing functions available for still images can also be used when shooting video – such as the ‘Film Simulation’ picture presets, including Classic Chrome which means you replicate the look of the Kodachrome cinematic stock. However, only the native sensitivity range of ISO 200 to 6400 is available for shooting video. Continuous autofocusing is available while manual focusing is made easy via the focus peaking display. As noted in the main text, the new ERF display panel in the optical viewfinder can show the video feed.

THE VERDICT


When the original X100 appeared it was very much out of left field, but we’ve now become more accustomed to interesting combinations of sensor, styling and body configuration. Retrolook designs are also much more commonplace and the mirrorless interchangeable camera is slowly but surely heading for world domination, so is Fujifilm’s latest version of its modern classic just as compelling as before?

Well, it’s still unsurpassed as a camera experience, from the visual to the tactile. It looks right, feels right and works just the way you think it should. The hybrid viewfinder continues to improve in its functionality – especially in the way that more electronic elements have been added to the optical view – and the various operational tweaks add to both the enjoyment factor and the useability.

Despite the increased choice of alternatives – even from within Fujifilm’s own stable – there’s still something quite special about the X100, and the ‘Mark III’ version keeps this very much alive.

If you could only have one camera with one lens, the completeness and cohesiveness of the Fujifilm X100T would have to put it at the top of many photographers’ lists.

VITAL STATISTICS


Type: Fixed prime lens digital compact camera with hybrid optical/electronic eyelevel viewfinder.

Lens: Fujinon Super EBC 23mm f2.0 (equivalent to 35mm). Eight elements in six groups (one glass-moulded aspherical type). Aperture range is f2.0 to f16 adjustable in 1/3-stop increments.

Focusing Type & Range: Hybrid phase/contrast-detection measurement with 49 focusing points. Auto/manual point selection, centrepoint and ‘Multi Target Auto Area’ modes. Focus frame adjustable for size. Range is 50 cm to infinity. Macro focusing down to 10 cm. Manual switching between single-shot and continuous modes. Low light/contrast assist provided by built-in illuminator. Face detection available. Manual focus assist via magnified image, focus peaking display or ‘Digital Split Image’ electronic rangefinder (also available in the optical viewfinder via inset EVF panel). Real-time automatic parallax correction.

Shutter Type & Speeds: Electronicallycontrolled leaf combined with sensor-based exposure start, 30-1/4000 second plus ‘B’ (up to 60 minutes). Sensor-based shutter has a speed range of 1-1/32,000 second.

Metering: Multi-zone (256 segments), average and spot (2.0% of frame area). Metering spot can be locked to the active AF point.

Exposure System: Program (with shift), aperture/shutter-priority auto and manual. Up to +/-3.0 EV exposure compensation, an AE lock and auto exposure bracketing. Built-in ND filter (equivalent to -3.0 EV).

Sensitivity: ISO 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200 and 6400. Extended to ISO 100, 12,800, 25,600 and 51,200.

Sensor: 15.6x23.6 mm Fujifilm ‘X-Trans CMOS II’, 16.3 million pixels total (16.3 MP effective).

Image Size: 3:2 aspect ratio – 4896x3264, 3456x2304 and 2496x11664 pixels. 16:9 aspect ratio – 4896x2760, 3456x1944 and 2496x1408 pixels. 1:1 aspect ratio – 3264x3264, 2304x2304 and 1664x1664. 14-bit RAW (.RAF) files captured at 4896x3264 pixels. RAW+JPEG capture available.

Video Recording: MOV format at 1920x1080 pixels; 60, 50, 30, 25 or 24 fps (progressive scan) and 16:9 aspect ratio. MOV format at 1280x720 pixels; 60, 50, 30, 25 or 24 fps (progressive scan) and 16:9 aspect ratio. MPEG 4 AVC/H .264 compression. Stereo microphones built-in. Stereo audio input provided. Full HD maximum recording duration is 13 minutes with a 4.0 GB memory card, 26 minutes with a 8.0 GB card.

Continuous Shooting: Up to 5.8 fps – with continuous AF – for a burst of up to 25 images with JPEG/large/fine capture and seven images with RAW capture. Low speed continuous shooting at 3.0 fps.

Formats: JPEG, RAF, MOV. DPOF and PictBridge support.

Flash: Built-in with GN 4.6 power (ISO 100). Auto, red-eye reduction, fill-in, slow sync and commander modes. Flash range = 50 cm to 6.4 metres (at ISO 800). Up to +/-2/3 EV compensation. External flash units sync via a hotshoe.

White Balance: TTL measurement via image sensor. Auto, seven presets, one custom measurement and manual colour temperature setting (2500 to 10,000 degrees Kelvin). Finetuning over the red-to-cyan and/or blue-toyellow colour ranges.

Viewfinder: Hybrid optical/electronic eyelevel viewfinder plus a fixed 7.62 cm LCD monitor (1.04 million dots). Optical viewfinder = 0.5x magnification and 92 percent frame coverage. EVF = 0.65x magnification, 2.360 million dots resolution and 100 percent frame coverage. Eyepiece strength adjustment built-in. Auto/manual switching between OVF/EVF and monitor screen.

Storage: SD/SDHC/SDXC memory cards with UHS-I support plus 55 MB of internal memory. Interface: USB 2.0, Micro HDMI (Type D), 2.5 mm stereo audio input.

Additional Features: 11 ‘Film Simulation’ presets (Provia/Standard, Velvia/Vivid, Astia/Soft, Classic Chrome, Pro Neg High, Pro Neg Standard, B&W, B&W+Yellow, B&W+Red, B&W+Green, Sepia), adjustable picture parameters (Colour, Sharpness, Highlight Tone, Shadow Tone, Noise Reduction), eight ‘Advanced Filter’ effects (Toy Camera, Miniature, Pop Colour, High-Key, Low-Key, Dynamic Tone, Soft Focus, Partial Colour red/orange/yellow/green/blue/purple), auto bracketing modes (exposure, ‘Film Simulation’ presets, ISO, white balance, dynamic range), noise reduction processing (Low, Medium Low, Standard, Medium High, High), long exposure noise reduction (On/Off), single-axis level display, dynamic range expansion processing (Auto, 100%, 200%, 400%), sRGB and Adobe RGB colour space settings, auto bracketing functions (exposure, ISO, ‘Film Simulation’ presets, white balance and dynamic range), multiple exposure facility, intervalometer, ‘Lens Modulation Optimiser’ processing, electronic level display, in-camera panorama mode (120 or 180 degrees sweep), dual-delay self-timer (two or ten seconds), real time histogram display, guide grids (3x3 or 6x4), selectable shutter sounds, silent mode (switches off shutter noise, flash, etc), 4/9/100 thumbnail displays, playback zoom, slide show (with fader effect), image search modes (Date, Face, Favourites, Scene, Type of Data, Upload Mark), ‘Photobook Assist’ function, in-camera RAW-to-JPEG conversion (12 parameters), built-in
Wifitransmitter.

Power: Rechargeable 3.6 volts, 1700 mAh lithium-ion battery (NP-95 type).

Dimensions (WxHxD): 126.5x74.4x52.4 mm.

Weight: 400 grams (without battery or memory card).

Price: $1749. Available in either black or silver.