Fujifilm's X70 compact may hit the street-photography sweet spot
Just when you thought cameras with 1-inch sensors were crowding out the few APS-C compacts, Fujifilm strikes back with the new $700 X70.
While it lacks a lot of the features of the similarly priced Sony Cyber-shot RX100 III, the new little brother to the Fujifilm X100T has something that and its competitors lack: an APS-C-size sensor. The brand-new X70 slips into Fujifilm's enthusiast-compact line between the small-2/3-inch-sensor X30 and the has-a-cool-viewfinder X100T.
With a fixed focal-length 28mm-equivalent f2.8 lens it has more for the X100T photographer on a budget than the X30's, but on the other hand it replaces an enthusiast-staple viewfinder with a consumer-friendly flip-up display.
Shop for Fujifilm X70 (black)
See all pricesFujifilm expects to ship the camera this February for $700, £550 and $1,050.
The X70 seems like a somewhat niche camera for street shooting; with the 16.3-megapixel X-Trans CMOS II sensor and autofocus system of the X-T1 (49-area contrast plus 77-point phase detection), it sounds like a faster, more full-featured version of the Ricoh GR II. Fixed focal-length cameras don't really appeal a lot to people who are upgrading from phones, because their goal is usually to get a zoom lens, not just better photo quality. It uses digital zoom to crop for 35mm and 50mm-equivalent angle of views, but 16MP isn't really sufficient resolution for decent digital zoom.
It also lacks image stabilization; a lot of manufacturers don't put stabilization in cameras with wide-angle lenses, though I'm of the opinion that every lens/camera can benefit from some image stabilization.
A modern camera with its specs, price and size does sound like it might become a street-photography favorite; the similarly priced Ricoh GR II and now-discontinued Coolpix A are both essentially old models. Usually these models have fixed displays, so maybe the tilting/flip-up LCD will help soften the blow of no viewfinder.
Comparative specs
Fujifilm X70 | Ricoh GR II | Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 III | |
Sensor effective resolution | 16.3MP X-Trans CMOS II | 16.2MP CMOS | 20.2MP Exmor R CMOS |
Sensor size | APS-C (23.6 x 15.6mm) | APS-C (23.7 x 15.7mm) | 1-inch (13.2 x 8.8mm) |
Focal-length multiplier | 1.5x | 1.5x | 2.7x |
OLPF | No | Yes | Yes |
Sensitivity range | ISO 100 (exp)/ISO 200 -ISO 6400/ISO 51200 (exp) | ISO 100 - ISO 25600 | ISO 80 (exp)/ISO 125 - ISO 12800 |
Lens (35mm equivalent) | 28mm f2.8 1x | 28mm f2.8 1x | 24 - 70mm f1.8-2.8 2.9x |
Closest focus | 3.9 in/10 cm | 3.9 in/10 cm | 1.9 in/5 cm |
Burst shooting | 3 fps unlimited JPEG/n/a (8fps for 10 frames JPEG) | 4fps unlimited JPEG/4 raw | 2.5fps (10fps with fixed focus and exposure) n/a |
Viewfinder (mag/ effective mag) | None | Optional Reverse Galilean (GV-1, est $230; £150; AU$300) | OLED EVF 0.4-inch/10.2mm 1.44m dots 100% coverage |
Hot shoe | Yes | Yes | No |
Autofocus | 77-point phase-detection AF 49-area Contrast AF | 190-point Hybrid AF | 25-area Contrast AF |
AF sensitivity | n/a | 1.5 - 17.5 EV | n/a |
Shutter speed | 30 - 1/4,000 sec (1/32,000 electronic shutter); bulb to 60 minutes | 300 - 1/4,000 sec; bulb; time | 30 - 1/2,000 sec; bulb |
Metering | 256 zones | n/a | n/a |
Metering sensitivity | n/a | 1.8 - 17.8 EV | n/a |
Best video | H.264 QuickTime MOV 1080/60p @ 36 Mbps | Motion JPEG AVI 1080/30p, 25p, 24p | XAVC S 1080/60p, 30p, 25p, 24p @ 60Mbps; 720/120p |
Audio | Stereo | Stereo | Stereo |
Manual aperture and shutter in video | n/a | No | Yes |
Maximum best-quality recording time | 14 minutes | 25 minutes | 29 minutes |
Optical zoom while recording | n/a | n/a | Yes |
IS | None | None | Optical |
LCD | 3 in/7.5 cm Tilting touchscreen 1.04m dots | 3 in/7.5cm Fixed 921,600 dots (plus another set of white dots for brightness) | 3 in/7.5cm Tilting 921,600 dots (plus another set of white dots for brightness) |
Memory slots | 1 x SDXC | 1 x SDXC | 1 x SDXC |
Wireless connection | Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi, NFC | Wi-Fi, NFC |
Flash | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Wireless flash | Yes | Yes | No |
Battery life (CIPA rating) | 330 shots | 320 shots | 320 shots (LCD); 230 shots (Viewfinder) |
Size (WHD) | 4.4 x 2.5 x 1.8 in 113 x 64 x 44 mm | 4.6 x 2.5 x 1.4 in 117 x 63 x 34.7 mm | 4.0 x 2.3 x 1.6 inches 101.6 x 58.1 x 41 mm |
Body operating weight | 12 oz (est.) 340g (est.) | 8.8 oz 248 g | 10.2 oz 289.2 g |
Mfr. price | $700 £550 AU$1,050 | $700 £630 AU$890 | $800 £700 AU$1,100 |
Release date (US) | February 2016 | July 2015 | June 2014 |