The Fujifilm XT5 was brought out not long after the introduction of the Fujifilm XH2 and XH2s. But we’re still waiting on the Fujifilm X Pro 4. Fujifilm always claimed that the Pro 3 never sold well, and so we’re probably going to have a redesign of some sort due to the polarizing screen. But personally speaking, the X Pro 3 was my favorite camera. What’s more, the X Pro 4 doesn’t need a high megapixel sensor.
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Too Many Megapixels, Not Enough Autofocus
The XT5 is loved by many photographers, but not loved by our staff. And part of that has to do with the autofocus not being all that great. The XH2s is the faster autofocusing camera, and the XH2 is built more around details. But really, the X Pro 4 would be all about capturing fast-moving action. It doesn’t need 40MP, even though Fujifilm states that that sensor was designed for photographers. Instead, the camera needs better autofocus.
The X Pro 4 is bound to be used in photojournalistic situations like weddings, events, protests, news coverage, conflicts, and more. And for that, we need a speedy camera.
As we’ve seen, even Sony agrees that speed requires fewer megapixels. The new Sony a9 III is touted to be incredibly capable. Part of that comes from the fewer megapixels on the sensor at 24MP. But the Fujifilm XH2s has more than that — and so that makes us wonder if the Fujifilm X Pro 4 will even be able to keep up with the demands on working photojournalists and all the great cameras on the market right now.
High ISO Performance
Speed also means that you need cleaner performance at higher ISOs. With Fujifilm cameras, that has mattered the least because of how film simulations help photographers embrace the image quality. However, the versatility of high ISO RAW files on the XH2 and XT5 isn’t the greatest. They just get noisier and noisier when editing the photos. So fewer megapixels could help with this problem. Specifically, we’re hoping that we won’t even need to edit at all. Why bother?
Our dream for the Fujifilm X Pro 4 is to be able to just use Classic Chrome, Classic Negative, or even Acros without needing to edit to pick out more details. This would be ideal not only for photojournalistic needs, but also for wildlife and sports.
Built for Speed
The Fujifilm X Pro 4 could do a slew of other things besides just having a sensor with fewer megapixels. Here’s some:
- Sometimes, we find using the optical viewfinder to be faster than the electronic viewfinder when it comes to autofocusing. Perhaps make both experiences comparable.
- In movie mode, Fujifilm lets you use the wide-area AF to track subjects in the same way that every other camera manufacturer does. Perhaps implement this in stills mode too with subject detection activated.
- Boost mode should make this camera very capable when it comes to autofocus performance.
- More use of the touchscreen. Canon is pretty big on this in situations where it can’t find the subject you want to focus on. Fujifilm’s menu system should also be touch-compatible
I’ve got a bunch of things that I’d love to see in the X Pro 4; but I’m not even sure that Fujifilm would consider implementing them to make it a better camera for speedy performance. It seems like they’re a company that need to take baby steps when it comes to innovations.