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Fujfilm X-T200 Review: Point and Shoot

At the beginning of the year Fujifilm started debuting refreshed iterations of mirrorless cameras for its X-Series, with one of the first being the X-T200. Unfortunately this relative entry-level offering in the X-Series took awhile to reach our review desk, but you probably already know why that was the case.

Regardless we were able to use the Fujifilm X-T200 over the past few weeks, and the wait was certainly worth it. This mirrorless camera serves up a familiar form factor, while being extremely easy to come to grips with and yielding great photos no matter the environment.

As such it has come in for high praise from us, so here’s what makes it a great option to add to your arsenal, or simply upgrade to if you’re wanting a great value for money camera.

Well styled

As always we start with design. We’ve eulogised many times about the retro-inspired aesthetic of the X-Series cameras, and in particular the smaller models. The same rings true here of the X-T200, which is particularly handsome silver accent that our review model came in.

At 370g including battery and memory card, but sans lens, the X-T200 is a relatively lightweight option. Luckily though, it has enough heft to it that larger lenses won’t make the camera feel unwieldy. That said, if you start going north of the 18-55mm lens that our review model came with, balance might be off a tad.

For those wondering, if you’re looking to purchase the X-T200 with a lens kit, you’ll likely encounter a 15-45mm lens bundled with it at most local photography retailers. As such, the quality of images you get may differ from the ones you spot in the gallery below.

Back to the design, and things feel familiar here in terms of button layout, as well as being premium. The dial to switch to different types of photography modes snaps nicely when rotated, with only issue being cramped spacing of dials on the right side of the body, which our pork sausage fingers weren’t always fans of.

This is an otherwise none issue, given that the X-T200 does not need much fiddling with in order to yield great photos.

Get up and go

On that front the 24.2MP APS-C CMOS sensor and auto detection capabilities of the camera make for an impressive combination.

Here, the SR+ (enhanced automatic settings) reminds us very much of the object recognition found on most flagship cameras, and of course there is an AI onboard here, but you can see a small icon appear on the flip out rear screen indicating what kind of object is in focus.

Our experience with this system yielded very little complaints, only requiring us to adjust the focal point and distance from the object on a handful of occasions while snapping pictures. The only area that proved a little troublesome was close up shots, and the macro setting in particular, which took a couple tries to frame the desired object.

Whether or not the experience would differ or improve with the 15-45mm lens instead is unclear, but may be something worth noting.

Looking at some of the features touted on the X-T200, it can manage up to 4K (3840×2160) video recording, but you’re likely to get a maximum of 15 minutes from the camera at that resolution.

The FullHD (1920×1080) footage should stand you in good stead though, given our experiences with it, plus you get twice as much continuous shooting out of it at 30 minutes.

Sticking with battery life, the unit onboard yielded a solid week (seven days) of life before a charge was needed, and this was under mixed use conditions. As such for weekends away, or a day where a lot of pictures are going to be taken, if a full battery is on hand, there won’t be anything worth worrying about.

All scenarios

As for the all-round photography performance of the X-T200, again, there is little too complain about.

We shot in a variety of environments – poorly lit indoors, sunny outdoors, overcast and fogged – and the X-T200 could handle it all.

If we are being hyper critical, the image of the fireplace above may have pointed out a weakness, with the flames looking a tab blurry given the speed at which they move. The central portion of the image is solid, but towards the edges you can clearly see the crispness and vividness is lost.

We’re splitting hairs here, and in the greater scheme of things, the X-T200 never let us down, but if you’re wanting to do nuanced sports or wildlife photography, perhaps one of the larger, better specced X-Series is worth looking at.

If, however, you want a well priced mirrorless camera that can do a bit of everything, and do it well, the X-T200 is a good bet.

Final verdict

For the body only, you’re looking at roughly R14 295 for the Fujifilm X-T200 and R16 495 for the 15-45mm lens kit (depending on the retailer). Interestingly that’s a few thousand Rand more than the recommended pricing that Fujifilm South Africa advised at the beginning of the year, so we have COVID-19 to thank for that.

Slightly bigger price tag aside, the results yielded from the X-T200 speak for itself, and show that you don’t to go into the very expensive X-Series lineup go get a great all-around mirrorless camera.

Whether you need to add a new camera to your arsenal as a pro, or simply want to refresh your primary camera because it’s been a few years, the X-T200 comes highly recommended.

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