My Review of the Fujifilm X-T3

Updated: Jul 8, 2020

A Long-Time Fujifilm X Series User

I have been a Fujifilm user for about four and a half years now. From the Fujifilm x100s, X-T1, and my current camera X-T2, I have loved all the Fujifilm cameras. When the announcement came out about the brand new Fujifilm X-T3, I was very excited to check it out.

Sunset

Fujifilm X-T2, 35mm F1.4, 1/1700s, ISO 200

Here I will break down some of this new camera's important specs and give my opinion on each spec. I hope this will help you decide whether or not you should get this camera.

Spec: 26MP X-Trans CMOS 4' sensor

I like that this camera doesn't pump up the megapixels too high, since I like the current file size (around 11mb -13mb on average for my JPEGs). In my situation, as a shooting hobbyist, I want to keep the files compact so that I can maintain a fast workflow.

The new sensor should help to improve the low-light performance. Even with the X-T2, I shot some shots at ISO 12800 in jpeg. (I attached a sample photo from my below in iso 12800). The X-T2 with 56mm F1.2 could handle the low light very well already. I am looking forward to the new sensor performance in low light.

Spec: 425-Point Hybrid AF System

The focus was decent with my X-T2, but it still has lots of room for improvement. I am not a sports action shooter. The most action I ever shoot might be a hair flip. I often need focus hunting in a low-contrast area or under low light. I have to pan to the edge of the face to get more contrast in order for the AF to focus. So improving the X-T3 autofocus will definitely help.

By the way, I don't use the face detection feature because I want to have more control over where I focus. I use the single point focus square box all the time.

Spec: 3.69M-dot electronic viewfinder

3.69-million-dots in X-T3 vs 2.36-million-dots in X-T2. One of the reasons I love about the XT series is the EVF. EVF helps me a lot when I am shooting against the sunset light or in low light situation. Since the refresh rate also gets improved, it will be very nice looking through the EVF.

Spec: 4K/60p from 1.18x crop region

It's nice for Fuji video shooters to have this improvement. I shoot 1080p most of the time for my YouTube Channel. Therefore, this feature is just a nice to have for me since I know that I am not using this very often. I like the 120p firmware update couple months ago for my X-T2. It's very nice to be able to create 120p videos for some B-roll footages.

Below is a video I shot using X-T2 120p and the 18-55mm OIS kit lens.

Spec: 11 fps MS mode with no grip required / 30 fps in ES mode

I like to shoot hairflip. The extra fps capability definitely helps, and X-T3 doesn't require the battery grip boost mode, so it can be done with just the body only.

In summary, I think I will order the new X-T3 and create some hands-on videos for comparison. My most excited features in the X-T3 are the low light performance improvement and better auto focus. Since Fall/Winter seasons are coming up, I will have more night shoots :)