Last Updated on 07/14/2017 by Chris Gampat
One of the biggest enigmas surrounding the Fujifilm [amazon_textlink asin=’B01A8DUR74′ text=’X-Pro2′ template=’ProductLink’ store=’thephobl-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’c774263a-68b0-11e7-9fa6-b53a005a413e’] is the omission of 4K video. Initially, it seemed that this was to do with not having the necessary heat sink to dissipate the heat produced, like the X-T2 was able to have, and that reasoning made a lot of sense–at least that’s what EIC Chris Gampat was told by Fujifilm’s reps. However, that sort of flew out the window when the smaller [amazon_textlink asin=’B01N10DKLK’ text=’X-T20′ template=’ProductLink’ store=’thephobl-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’ce87f9bc-68b0-11e7-847a-851b519712cd’] came out and it also had 4K video, again, without the beefy heatsink the X-T2 featured.
So, the question is, could the X-Pro 2 get 4K video, even a limited 4K video recording mode, through a firmware update that essentially gave it a similar 4K mode to that of the X-T20? The sensor and processor can obviously handle it, and I don’t know if I would believe that the X-Pro2 couldn’t dissipate the heat from a line-skipping based 4K video mode as well as the smaller X-T20 could.
It seems that even some of those inside the Fujifilm ranks believe it should be possible and have been pushing for it. In a video interview with Take Kayo of BigHeadTaco, Fujiguy Billy from Fujifilm Canada (and the Fuji guys) mentions pushing for a firmware update to the X-Pro2 to company execs in Japan. It isn’t the most recent video, but there has been no update to the X-Pro2 since then in regards to the video functionality – so it appears Billy’s push has gone unheard.
**X-Pro2 4K Discussion at 20:58**
For what it is worth, Fujifilm feels that most people using the X-Pro2 are doing so from a portraiture/street photographer perspective, not a video one. Which I can understand, and they aren’t exactly wrong… but if the hardware is capable, why not give people the option to play with it?
If it has been just the X-T2 with 4K this would be a different discussion, the 4K could be written off as not doable on the X-Pro2 as well as a distinguishing feature of the [amazon_textlink asin=’B01I3LNMAM’ text=’X-T2′ template=’ProductLink’ store=’thephobl-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=”]. But with the $899 X-T20 featuring 4K video, that argument doesn’t make sense, and it puts the X-Pro2 in a really odd position as being a flagship camera with lower end features than a camera of the same generation at half the price.