Review Date: May 4, 2015
Category: Beginner Amateur
Photoxels Gold Award – Beginner Interchangeable Lens Camera
HANDLING & FEEL
Forward-facing LCD for selfies. The Fujifilm X-A2 retains the beautiful retro styling of the X-A1 and adds a tilting LCD that flips all the way up to face forward and slides up so you can see the whole screen.
The front of the camera has a clean design with the AF-assist Illuminator/Self-Timer lamp and the Lens Release Button, both on the left of the mount. It has the X Mount and therefore accepts all the Fujifilm XF and XC lenses, as well as compatible Leica, Voigtlander, and Zeiss lenses using the M Mount Adapter.
The X-A2 has just a hint of a handgrip and I find that, with the XC16-50mm II lens attached, it is more comfortable carrying it by the lens.
The top of the camera has the Shutter Release button with the Power ON/OFF Switch around it. To the right of the Shutter button, there are the Fn button and the unmarked Command Dial. To the left, there are the Mode Dial, the hot shoe and the pop-up flash. When an external flash is mounted on the hot shoe, you most probably will not be able to pop up the built-in flash.
All the control dials and buttons look and feel top notch. The Power Switch seems just a bit on the stiff side for my taste. On the positive side, you won’t inadvertently turn the camera On or OFF as I have experienced on other cameras. The Command Dial can sometimes be inadvertently rotated (happened on the rare occasions) and, when in PAS modes, you should get into the (good) habit of checking the screen to see if you may have mistakenly dialed in an exposure compensation in PAS modes.
The Exposure Compensation ranges from -2 to +2 EV. When using Exposure Bracketing, you can select +/- 1/3EV, +/- 2/3EV or +/- 1EV.
The Fn button defaults to Wi-Fi in Playback. In Shooting mode, you can change its functionality in the Menu [SHOOTING MENU 3 – FUNCTION (Fn) SETTING]. You can set Fn to one of the following: Preview Depth of Field, ISO, Self-timer, Image Size, Image Quality, Dynamic Range, Film Simulation, Photometry, AE/AF Lock, Instant AF, Focus Mode, Face Detection, Location Info Search, Movie Mode, RAW.
TIP: Instead of going through the Menu, just press and hold the Fn button for about 2 seconds to immediately enter the Customize Fn Button screen.
To use Manual Focus, you need to go into the Menu – Shooting Menu 4 – Focus Mode – Manual or select it in the Quick Menu. It is much easier with Focus Peaking set [Menu – Shooting Menu 4 – MF Assist – Focus Peak Highlight – select Low or High]. Click the Sub-command Dial to magnify the image.
In PAS modes, the Command (“top”) Dial affects exposure compensation and the Sub-command (“Rear”) Dial affects Program Shift, Aperture and Shutter Speed, respectively. In M mode, the Command Dial affects the Shutter Speed and the Sub-command Dial affects the Aperture.
TIP: In Program mode, Program Shift is available only if AUTO ISO and AUTO DR are not selected.
Many of these function can also be displayed on the Control Info screen. Press the recessed Q (Quick Menu) button on the back to display the Control Info screen, select using the Selector and set using the Command dial or Sub-command dial.
On the back we have a 3.0-in. LCD with 920k-dot resolution. The LCD is tiltable 175° up and 40° down. It is not touchscreen and does not gain up in low light.
There is no built-in viewfinder on the X-A2, nor is an external one available. Keep in mind that the users this camera is targeting are used to composing on the LCD so the lack of a viewfinder should not pose an issue to them.
On the right side of the LCD are the Sub-command Dial, Playback button, Movie button, Multi Selector, DISP/BACK button and the recessed Q button.
TIP: Press and hold the DISP/BACK button for about 3 seconds to immediately switch to SILENT MODE: all operational sounds are turned off and the AF Assist light and flash are disabled. Unfortunately, the shutter, being mechanical, will always make a subtle noise. Note that SILENT MODE stays ON even when you turn off the camera. So, don’t forget to reset it in the menu.
Above the LCD is the Flash pop-up button. The flash moves freely up and down so theoretically you could use it as a bouce flash (though it does not stay pointed up so you will have to use a finger to hold it in position).
The tripod mount at the bottom of the camera is not inline with the center of the lens and you won’t be able to change batteries/SD card with the camera mounted on a tripod.
Included in the box is a rechargeable Li-ion battery NP-W126 that can take about 350 shots on a fresh charge. A battery charger BC-W126 recharges a depleted battery in approx. 150 min.
The Fujifilm X-A2 uses the SD / SDHC / SDXC memory card.
The Fujifilm X-A2 is well-built, with a feel of quality all around. The handgrip is on the small side so you will need both hands to operate this camera comfortably. The control dials are well thought out and implemented.
Next: Fujifilm X-A2 User’s Experience
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