Fujifilm X-T20 Review

March 6, 2017 | Mark Goldstein | Rating star Rating star Rating star Rating star Half rating star

Introduction

The Fujifilm X-T20 is a new mid-range compact system camera that's smaller, lighter and crucially a lot cheaper than the flagship X-T2 model. The X-T20 features a 24.3 megapixel APS-C sized X-Trans CMOS III sensor, 4K video recording, AF-C Custom Settings where you can choose from five AF-C presets, a tilting touchscreen LCD screen, ultra-fast auto-focusing speed of 0.06sec, 325 AF points including 49 phase-detect AF points, and the latest X-Processor Pro engine. It also offers a built-in pop-up flash, 2.36m dot resolution OLED electronic viewfinder with a lag-time of 0.005 sec, 8fps burst shooting (14fps with the electronic shutter), expandable sensitivity range from ISO 100-51200, exposure compensation up to ±5 stops, wi-fi connectivity, interval timer shooting, in-camera raw conversion, a range of film simulation modes including the new ACROS mode, multiple exposure and panoramic shooting modes, Digital Split Image and Focus Peaking for easier manual focusing, an ultra-fast electronic shutter that is capable of exposures up to 1/32000sec, Natural Live View function that removes the image quality settings from the viewfinder image while shooting, a dedicated Auto Mode Switch Lever, and a traditional threaded cable release. The Fujifilm X-T20 is available in black or silver and costs £799 / $899 body only, £899 / $999 in a kit with the XC 16-50mm lens, or £1099 / $1199 with the XF 18-55mm lens.

Ease of Use

The new Fujifilm X-T20 is smaller, lighter and "squarer" than the X-T2, soliciting admiring looks and comments wherever it went, especially in the silver and black guise that we reviewed. One of the key differences between the X-T2 and X-T20 is that the latter is still not weather-proof, which is in keeping with its mid-range status, but something that's important to note if you're deciding between the two. Another key difference is the X-T20's high-resolution OLED electronic viewfinder. Although it offers the same 2.36m dot resolution as the X-T2, the magnification is only 0.62x rather than 0.77x. Still, with a very short lag-time of just 0.005 sec, in practice it answers one of the most common complaints about electronic viewfinders.

The Fujifilm X-T20 is another very well-built X-series camera, with almost no flex or movement in its chassis thanks to the die-cast magnesium alloy top and base plates and machined aluminium control dials. At the same time, it's actually a little lighter than a cursory glance might suggest, weighing in at 383g body only with the battery and memory card fitted and measuring 118.4mm (W) x 82.8mm (H) x 41.4mm (D).

The X-T20 has a small hand-grip at the front and a prominent rest at the rear for your thumb, with your grip helped in no small part by the textured faux-leather surface that runs around the full width of the camera. Two small metal eyelets on either side of the body are used for connecting the supplied shoulder strap. A metal tripod mount is positioned slightly off-centre from the lens and next to the battery/memory card compartment, so you'll have to remove the camera from the tripod to change the battery or the memory card. The X-T20 only offers compatibility with Ultra High Speed UHS-I SDXC memory cards, whereas the X-T2 is also compatible with faster UHS-II cards, and the latter also has two card slots rather than one. The X-T20 still offers a fast continuous shooting rate of 8fps for 62 JPEGs or 25 Raws if you use a UHS-I SDXC card, increasing to 14fps when using the electronic shutter, which is certainly up there with the fastest compact system cameras in its class.

The viewfinder has a stunning Graphic User Interface that no optical viewfinder could ever hope to emulate. The default Full mode does what its name suggests and displays an uninterrupted view of the scene with all the settings information displayed outside the frame so that you can really concentrate on your subject. Normal provides an optimum view, including the shooting settings. The very clever Dual mode takes advantage of the EVF's size to display a split view of the scene before you, with the full frame on the left and a smaller 100% manual focus area on the right, complete with either focus peaking or Fujifilm's digital split image function. The displayed settings in the Full and Normal modes automatically rotate when the X-T20 is held in a portrait orientation (although sadly not for the Dual view). Finally, Fujifilm have added the Natural Live View which cleverly removes the current image quality settings and provides a more real-world view similar to that offered by an optical viewfinder.

At the heart of the X-T20 is the brand new 24.3 megapixel APS-C sized “X-Trans III” CMOS sensor, with APS-C being a size that's more commonly used by the majority of DSLR cameras than by compact system cameras. Fujifilm actually claim that the X-T2's sensor will deliver image quality that surpasses most APS-C DSLRs and even some full-frame ones, thanks to the unique sensor which has a type of colour filter array that mimics film grain and no optical low-pass filter for higher resolution images, and as our test photos and sample images on the next two pages show, the X-T20 actually does live up to those claims.

Fujifilm X-T20
Front of the Fujifilm X-T20

Helping to keep the image quality high is the 18-55mm standard zoom kit lens that we predominantly tested the X-T20 with. This offers fast maximum apertures of f/2.8 at 18mm and f/4 at 55mm, with the added benefit of built-in optical image stabilisation to help keep your images sharp. There are aperture and manual focus rings on the lens barrel, which in conjunction with the shutter speed and exposure compensation dials on top of the camera body makes it straight-forward to set the exposure. We did find though that the aperture ring is easily moved, particularly when taking the lens on and off the camera, so watch out for an incorrectly set aperture. The XF 18-55mm f/2.8-4 OIS is a really nice standard zoom that's certainly a cut above the kit lenses that ship with most interchangeable lens cameras.

The large APS-C sensor makes it easy to throw the background out of focus and achieve some really nice bokeh effects, and the extensive ISO range of 100-51200 makes the X-T20 very well suited to low-light shooting, allowing you to hand-hold the camera in places where you'd usually be reaching for a tripod (if allowed) or other support. The clever ISO Auto Control setting allows you to set a maximum sensitivity (up to 6400) and a minimum shutter speed (1/30th is a good starting point), with the camera over-riding your ISO choice if it thinks you're being too ambitious whilst maintaining a shutter speed that won't introduce camera shake.

The X-T20 actually has two kinds of shutter, mechanical and electronic. When using only its mechanical focal-plane shutter, the X-T20 has a very adaptable top shutter-speed limit of 1/4000th second in all shooting modes. There's no built-in ND filter, so if you want to use the XF 35mm lens at F/1.4 in very bright sunlight, for example, then it's a good idea to buy an actual glass ND filter. The X-T20 utilises a focal-plane shutter rather than the leaf shutter that the X100/S cameras have, much like a regular DSLR camera. This results in slightly noisier operation than on those very quiet cameras, although the shutter on the X-T20 is pretty stealthy by DSLR standards, and a much slower flash-sync speed of 1/180th second (versus the X100/S's 1/400th second). To make the camera less obtrusive there's a Silent menu option which turns off the speaker, flash, AF-assist lamp and most importantly the shutter-release sound, instantly making the X-T20 perfectly suited to more candid photography.

Fujifilm have also added a completely silent electronic shutter to the X-T20 which provides a much faster top shutter speed of 1/32,000th second. This allows you to continue shooting wide-open with fast aperture lenses in the brightest of conditions without having to resort to fitting a glass ND filter or using external flash and lights. There are some important caveats with the electronic shutter - the ISO range is restricted to 200-6400, you can't use the flash at all, and the slowest shutter speed is only 1 second, but overall it's a great addition that makes the X-T20 more versatile. It's also possible to set the electronic shutter in 1/3 steps from a range of 1sec to 1/32000sec.

The X-T10 was no slouch when it came to auto-focusing, but Fujifilm have made the X-T20's AF system even better. It can auto-focus in as little as 0.06 seconds and offers an increased number of AF points - 91 versus the X-T10's 49 - again laid out in a 7 x7 grid, with a lot more of the imaging area covered by fast and precise phase detection AF pixels.

Fujifilm X-T20
Rear of the Fujifilm X-T20

If you want even more control, you can select the 325 points option which splits the same area of the frame into a 13x25 grid of smaller AF points, of which the central 77 are phase-detection points. The X-T20 is the latest X-series camera to offer Zone and Wide/Tracking modes which utilise the larger 325-point area to capture moving subjects. In Zone mode, you can select a 3x3, 5x5 or 7x7 zone out of the 325-point AF area. During AF-C focus, the X-T20 continually tracks the subject, positioning it at the centre of the zone. The centrally positioned 3x3 and 5x5 zones in particular deliver fast focusing thanks to the on-sensor phase detection AF.

The Wide/Tracking mode combines the Wide mode (during AF-S), in which the X-T20 automatically identifies and tracks the area in focus across the 325 point AF area, and the predictive Tracking mode (during AF-C), which uses the entire 325-point area to continue tracking the subject. This feature enables continuous focusing on a subject that is moving up and down, left and right or towards and away from the camera.

Fujifilm have drastically improved the AF-C algorithm to make the X-T20 better able to track moving subjects. You can now determine how the camera reacts to the way the subject moves within the frame, how fast the subject moves and where in the frame the camera prioritizes focus, with five AF presets offered and the ability to create up to 6 of your own. The AF-C system is so complex behind-the-scenes that Fujifilm have created a special microsite to explain it in more detail (http://fujifilm-x.com/af/). The X-T20 also offers Eye Detection AF, which as the name suggests automatically detects and focuses on human eyes You can also define the area of priority focus, for example the right or left eye, or the eye closer to the camera.

There's also the continued ability to change the size of the focus point via the rear command dial to achieve more precise focusing. As well as the extra AF points, one of the positive effects of the high-performance X Processor Pro image processing engine is much faster AF speed - about 2x quicker than the processor used on the X-T10 camera - making the X-T20 the joint-fastest AF performer in an X-Series camera with the X-Pro2 and X-T2.

Manual focusing is activated by setting the focusing switch on the front of the camera to Manual and using the ring that encircles the lens to focus. The X-series lenses have an electronically coupled focus-by-wire manual focusing ring, rather than a physical one. We criticised some older X-series bodies for taking a lot of turns to change the focus from 0.1m to infinity, commenting that it was a much better idea to use the AEL button on the rear of the camera to set the focus automatically, then use the focusing ring to micro-adjust the focus manually, if required. This is still a viable technique, but is perhaps no longer required as Fujifilm have cleverly made the focusing ring more sensitive to how you use it - turn it slowly and the focusing distance changes slowly, but turn it more quickly and the camera quickly moves through the distance scale. It now only takes less than 2 full turns and a couple of seconds to jump from the closest focus distance to infinity.

Fujifilm X-T20
Top of the Fujifilm X-T20

The X-T20 offers not one, not two, but three ways of manually focusing. Firstly, there's a handy blue distance scale along the bottom of the viewfinder (both the OVF and EVF) and on the LCD screen if you're using that for composition, with a red bar indicating the the focusing distance and a white bar showing the depth of field, which actually changes in line with the current aperture - very clever. In addition to the AEL button, the X-T20 has another trick up its manual focusing sleeve in the shape of the Focus Assist button. As its name suggests, you can press this in to magnify the view in the electronic viewfinder. Furthermore, if you hold down the Focus Assist button, the manual focusing aid then switches to Digital Split Image, and then to Focus Peaking - a very neat way to change between the three modes.

The second manual focusing method is the Digital Split Image feature. Harking back to film cameras of the past, this displays dual images on the left and right which then need to be lined up together for accurate manual focusing, enabling accurate focusing especially when shooting wide-open or for macro shooting. It's much easier to understand in practice than written down. The third and final method is the Focus Peak Highlight function, which displays a white line around the subject when it's in focus, something that Sony NEX users in particular have been enjoying for a while. Both of these functions make manual focusing on the X-T20 more of a pleasure than a chore, although the revised fly-by-wire manual focusing ring operation is arguably more important.

The Fujifilm X-T20’s 3-inch 1040K-dot LCD screen is touch-sensitive, which means you can use it to set the AF point too, or even fire off the shutter release. On the left hand side of the screen you’ll see a small icon which if you press allows you to choose between using the screen to set AF point, or to have it focus and then take a picture. If you prefer, you can turn off this functionality altogether, but it’s much quicker than using the buttons to set the point. The screen is mounted on a hinge that allows it to be usefully tilted up by 90 degrees and down by 45 degrees.

The LCD screen has a handy Info view which presents all of the key settings at once, or you can switch to the Standard or Custom Live View modes, with the latter offering 14 customisable options (these are also used for the electronic viewfinder). The X-T20 has a built-in eye sensor so that you only have to hold the camera up to eye-level to switch between the rear LCD and the electronic viewfinder (or you can press the View Mode button on the side of the pentaprism).

Fujifilm X-T20
Tilting LCD Screen

In terms of operational speed, the Fujifilm X-T20 is very satisfying to use. Shutter lag is virtually non-existent on this camera (0.045 second), so once you have set the focus, you'll never miss the moment because the camera can't fire the shutter quickly enough. The shot-to-shot time is just 0.17 second, and it starts-up in only 0.3 seconds. The write speeds from pressing the shutter button to recording to the SD / SDHC / SDXC memory card are fast too. Continuous shooting speeds have been improved too, as we've already explained above. Thankfully the camera doesn't lock up completely for a long time if you shoot the maximum number of images in a burst, allowing you to continue shooting after just a few seconds. The X-T20 also offers interval timer shooting for time lapses, with intervals of 1 second to 24 hours and up to 999 frames.

One area in which the Fujifilm X-T20 excels is its handling, thanks in no small part to the numerous external controls that make changing the key settings a breeze, especially when holding the camera at eye-level. Surrounding the 18-55m lens is a circular aperture ring, although it has no markings due to the variable aperture. This dial also allows you to choose third-stop apertures. On top of the X-T20 is a large, tactile, lockable control dial for setting the shutter speed, with settings ranging from 1 second to 1/4000th second, an Auto option, a T setting for longer exposures (2 to 30 seconds, set via the circular command wheel) and a Bulb mode for exposures up to a whopping 60 minutes in length.

Alongside the shutter speed dial is another tactile dial for changing the exposure compensation, with a range of +-3EV and a new Custom setting, and on the left-hand side is a third dial for moving between the bracketing, burst, multiple exposure, advanced and panorama functions, with a switch underneath for releasing the pop-up flash. One key difference to the X-T2 is the lack of an ISO speed dial, perhaps understandable given the X-T20's reduced size and different target audience, but still annoying for more experienced users. Instead, you need to dive into the menu system to set the ISO. There's also no dedicated dial for setting the metering mode.

There's a small lever on top of the X-T20 for turning on the dedicated Auto Mode. In this Advanced SR AUTO mode, the X-T20 automatically selects the optimum shooting settings from 58 preset scenes, including the best AF mode. More confident beginners can then use the rear Command Dial to select a specific scene type. While this new switch makes it easy to enter full Auto mode, we did find ourselves accidentally turning it on quite a lot, as the switch is very similar to the On/Off switch and also positioned near it.

Fujifilm X-T20
The Fujifilm X-T20 In-hand

Four other controls complete the X-T20's top-plate. The small but responsive shutter release button is encircled by the On/Off switch, and there's a thread for a traditional mechanical cable release, something that's missing on the X-T2. Alongside is the Fn button, which by default provides quick access to the Wi-Fi options, but can be customised to suit your own needs from 12 different settings. Further customisation is available via the 7 Custom Menu options, which let you create, save and recall up to 7 sets of user-defined settings, and no less than 7 configurable function buttons. The X-T10's one-touch Movie Record button has been replaced by a dedicated setting on the shooting mode dial. Finally there's an external flash hotshoe for suitable dedicated external units, along with the new built-in flash which has a guide number of 5.

The X-T20 features enhanced built-in wi-fi connectivity. Install the FUJIFILM Camera Remote App and you can transfer your pictures immediately to a smartphone or tablet PC and then edit and share them as you wish, transfer stills and video onto the camera, and embed GPS information in your shots from your smartphone. You can also control the camera remotely, with the list of available functions including Touch AF, shutter release for stills and movies, shutter speed, aperture, exposure compensation, ISO sensitivity, Film Simulation modes, White Balance, macro, timer and flash. The built-in wi-fi also provides a simple means to backup your photos to your home PC.

The Fujifilm X-T20 can now record 4K video, with 24/25/30p frame rates on offer. What's more, Fujifilm have introduced the concept of "Quick 4K", where the camera can be set to apply one of the built-in film simulation modes to your footage to avoid having to grade it during post-processing. If you don't need 4K, the X-T20 can also record Full HD 1080p movies at 60p / 50p / 30p / 25p / 24p for up to 15 minutes with stereo sound. There is a HDMI port for connecting the X-T20 to a high-definition TV, and you can adjust the level of the internal microphone and attach an external mic for better sound quality via the Mic and Remote ports. Strangely, despite the increased emphasis on video recording, the X-T10's one-touch Movie Record button has completely disappeared (it's now been assigned to the drive mode dial).

The X-T20 has a logical enough rear control layout. Above the LCD screen and to the left of the viewfinder are two buttons for choosing image deletion or playback, while on the right is the AE-L button, rear control dial and the AF-L button. Beneath those is the Quick Menu button. This provides quick access to lots of frequently used shooting settings including the ISO speed, White Balance, File Size and File Quality, with the 4-way controller and command dial used to quickly change them. In the middle of the controller is the Menu button, which accesses the eight Shooting and Set-up menus. Underneath is the Disp/Back button which is used for changing the LCD display or going back.

Image Quality

All of the sample images in this review were taken using the 24 megapixel Fine JPEG setting, which gives an average image size of around 10Mb.

The Fujifilm X-T20 produces images of outstanding quality. It recorded noise-free JPEG images at ISO 100 all the way up to 6400, with a little noise at ISO 12800 and more visible noise and slight colour desaturation at the faster settings of ISO 25600 and 51200, an amazing performance for a camera with an APS-C sensor. The RAW files were also excellent, exhibiting more noise but still producing very usable images from ISO 100-12800.

The night photograph was excellent, with the maximum shutter speed of 30 seconds being long enough for most after-dark shots, and the Bulb mode allowing much longer exposures if required. The Dynamic Range settings subtly improve detail in the shadows and highlights, while the Film Simulation modes hark back to a bygone era, with the new Acros mode being a nice addition.

Noise

There are 10 ISO settings available on the Fujifilm X-T20 for JPEGs and RAW files. Here are some 100% crops which show the noise levels for each ISO setting.

JPEG RAW

ISO 100 (100% Crop)

 
iso100.jpg iso100raw.jpg
   

ISO 200 (100% Crop)

ISO 200 (100% Crop)

iso200.jpg iso200raw.jpg
   

ISO 400 (100% Crop)

ISO 400 (100% Crop)

iso400.jpg iso400raw.jpg
   

ISO 800 (100% Crop)

ISO 800 (100% Crop)

iso800.jpg iso800raw.jpg
   

ISO 1600 (100% Crop)

ISO 1600 (100% Crop)

iso1600.jpg iso1600raw.jpg
   

ISO 3200 (100% Crop)

ISO 3200 (100% Crop)

iso3200.jpg iso3200raw.jpg
   

ISO 6400 (100% Crop)

ISO 6400 (100% Crop)

iso6400.jpg iso6400raw.jpg
   

ISO 12800 (100% Crop)

ISO 12800 (100% Crop)

iso12800.jpg iso12800raw.jpg
   

ISO 25600 (100% Crop)

ISO 25600 (100% Crop)

iso25600.jpg iso25600raw.jpg
   

ISO 51200 (100% Crop)

ISO 51200 (100% Crop)

iso51200.jpg iso51200raw.jpg

File Quality

The Fujifilm X-T20 has 2 different image quality settings available, with Fine being the highest quality option. Here are some 100% crops which show the quality of the various options, with the file size shown in brackets.

24M Fine (11.8Mb) (100% Crop) 24M Normal (7.00Mb) (100% Crop)
quality_fine.jpg quality_normal.jpg
   
24M RAW (48.2Mb) (100% Crop)  
quality_raw.jpg  

Night

The Fujifilm X-T20's maximum shutter speed is 30 seconds in the Time shutter speed mode, and there's a Bulb mode which allows exposures up to 60 minutes long, which is excellent news if you're seriously interested in night photography. The shot below was taken using a shutter speed of 30 seconds at ISO 200.

Night

night1.jpg

Dynamic Range

The Fujifilm X-T20 has three dynamic range settings - 100% (on by default), 200%, and 400% - and an Auto setting if you want to let the camera take control. These settings gradually increase the amount of detail visible in the shadow and highlight areas, with the side-effect of more noise appearing in the image. Note that you can't actually turn this feature off.

100%

200%

dynamic_range1.jpg dynamic_range2.jpg
   

400%

 
dynamic_range3.jpg  

Film Simulations

The Fujifilm X-T20 offers 9 different film simulation modes to help replicate the look of your favourite film stock from the past.

Provia / Standard

Velvia / Vivid

film_simulation_01.jpg film_simulation_02.jpg
   

Astia / Soft

Classic Chrome

film_simulation_03.jpg film_simulation_04.jpg
   

Pro Neg. Hi

Pro Neg. Standard

film_simulation_05.jpg film_simulation_06.jpg
   

Acros

Monochrome

film_simulation_07.jpg film_simulation_08.jpg
   

Sepia

 
film_simulation_09.jpg  

Advanced Filter

The Fujifilm X-T20 offers 13 different filter effects which can be previewed on the LCD screen.

Toy Camera

Miniature

advanced_filter_01.jpg advanced_filter_02.jpg
   

Pop Color

High-Key

advanced_filter_03.jpg advanced_filter_04.jpg
   

Low-Key

Dynamic Tone

advanced_filter_05.jpg advanced_filter_06.jpg
   

Soft Focus

Partial Color (Red)

advanced_filter_07.jpg advanced_filter_08.jpg
   

Partial Color (Orange)

Partial Color (Yellow)

advanced_filter_09.jpg advanced_filter_10.jpg
   

Partial Color (Green)

Partial Color (Blue)

advanced_filter_11.jpg advanced_filter_12.jpg
   

Partial Color (Purple)

 
advanced_filter_13.jpg  

Sample Images

This is a selection of sample images from the Fujifilm X-T20 camera, which were all taken using the 24 megapixel Fine JPEG setting. The thumbnails below link to the full-sized versions, which have not been altered in any way.

Sample RAW Images

The Fujifilm X-T20 enables users to capture RAW and JPEG format files. We've provided some Fujifilm RAW (RAF) samples for you to download (thumbnail images shown below are not 100% representative).

Sample Movies & Video

This is a sample movie at the highest quality setting of 3840x2160 pixels at 30 frames per second. Please note that this 16 second movie is 198Mb in size.

This is a sample movie at the quality setting of 3840x2160 pixels at 25 frames per second. Please note that this 16 second movie is 196Mb in size.

This is a sample movie at the quality setting of 3840x2160 pixels at 24 frames per second. Please note that this 16 second movie is 197Mb in size.

Product Images

Fujifilm X-T20

Front of the Fujifilm X-T20

 
Fujifilm X-T20

Front of the Fujifilm X-T20

 
Fujifilm X-T20

Front of the Fujifilm X-T20 / Pop-up Flash

 
Fujifilm X-T20

Side of the Fujifilm X-T20

 
Fujifilm X-T20

Side of the Fujifilm X-T20

 
Fujifilm X-T20

Side of the Fujifilm X-T20

 
Fujifilm X-T20

Side of the Fujifilm X-T20

 
Fujifilm X-T20

Rear of the Fujifilm X-T20

 
Fujifilm X-T20

Rear of the Fujifilm X-T20 / Image Displayed

 

Fujifilm X-T20

Rear of the Fujifilm X-T20 / Turned On

 
Fujifilm X-T20

Rear of the Fujifilm X-T20 / Main Menu

 
Fujifilm X-T20

Rear of the Fujifilm X-T20 / Quick Menu

 
Fujifilm X-T20

Rear of the Fujifilm X-T20 / Tilting LCD Screen

 
Fujifilm X-T20

Rear of the Fujifilm X-T20 / Tilting LCD Screen

 
Fujifilm X-T20

Rear of the Fujifilm X-T20 / Tilting LCD Screen

 
Fujifilm X-T20

Rear of the Fujifilm X-T20 / Tilting LCD Screen

 
Fujifilm X-T20

Top of the Fujifilm X-T20

 
Fujifilm X-T20

Bottom of the Fujifilm X-T20

 
Fujifilm X-T20

Side of the Fujifilm X-T20

 
Fujifilm X-T20

Side of the Fujifilm X-T20

 
Fujifilm X-T20

Front of the Fujifilm X-T20

 
Fujifilm X-T20

Front of the Fujifilm X-T20

 
Fujifilm X-T20

Memory Card Slot

 
Fujifilm X-T20

Battery Compartment

Conclusion

The Fujifilm X-T20 once again successfully repackages the key features of the flagship X-series camera, the X-T2, into a smaller, lighter and cheaper body, resulting in a compelling mid-range mirrorless camera that offers a lot of advanced functionality, although it is noticeably more expensive than the X-T10 was on launch (especially in the UK).

As you might expect, image quality is very similar to the X-T2 that we reviewed last year, that is to say, outstanding. Despite the resolution increase to 24 megapixels, noise is noticeable only by its almost complete absence throughout the ISO range of 100-51200, the JPEG quality is so good that you could conceivably never need the Raw files, and the extensive range of lenses are almost uniformly well-regarded by reviewers and photographers alike. The excellent 18-55mm kit lens is once again worthy of mention, delivering sharp results throughout the focal range.

Fujifilm have addressed most of our criticisms of the original X-T10 - in particular, the slightly underdeveloped auto-focusing, especially when it came to moving subjects, has been completely overhauled with the same system as the flagship X-T2. The X-T20 is also the latest X-series camera to deliver 4K video recording, again expanding the appeal of the range to keen videographers, while the touchscreen LCD control is something that even the X-T2 doesn't offer.

In conclusion, the Fujifilm X-T20 offers a lot of the X-T2's core functionality at a much more attractive price-point, which together with the new touchscreen should make the X-T20 appeal to an even wider audience. Highly Recommended!

4.5 stars

Ratings (out of 5)
Design 5
Features 4.5
Ease-of-use 4.5
Image quality 5
Value for money 4.5

Main Rivals

Listed below are some of the rivals of the Fujifilm X-T20.

Canon EOS M3

The Canon EOS M3 is a new compact system camera that offers 24 megapixel resolution, full 1080p high-definition videos, a faster auto-focusing system, and a touch-screen interface. Other key features of the EOS M3 include a tilting 3-inch LCD screen, ISO range of 100-12,800, wi-fi and NFC connectivity, and a built-in flash. Is Canon's new mirrorless model finally a real contender? Read our Canon EOS M3 review to find out...

Fujifilm X-T2

The Fujifilm X-T2 is a new compact system camera that builds on the success of the popular 2-year-old X-T1, most notably by adding 4K video recording, a more sophisticated auto-focusing system, and a wealth of other improvements. Read our in-depth Fujifilm X-T2 review to find out if it's worth the upgrade...

Nikon 1 V3

The Nikon 1 V3 is the latest flagship compact system camera from Nikon, boasting an amazingly fast 20fps burst shooting rate with continuous focusing (60fps without), a new tilting touchscreen LCD, built-in wi-fi, new 18.4-megapixel "CX" format sensor and a more compact design . Read our in-depth Nikon 1 V3 review to find out if this is the best Nikon compact system camera yet...

Olympus PEN-F

The new Olympus PEN-F is a new premium compact system camera boasting a gorgeous retro design and some pro-level features, including a new 20 megapixel sensor, 5-axis image stabilisation, 10fps burst shooting, vari-angle 3-inch LCD touchscreen, 4K time-lapse movies, an electronic shutter and built-in wi-fi. Priced at £999 / $1199 body-only, is the PEN-F all style and no substance? Read our in-depth Olympus PEN-F review to find out...

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX80

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX80 is a new mid-range compact system camera. With a 16 megapixel Micro Four Thirds sensor with no optical low pass filter, new dual 5-axis image stabilization, built-in electronic viewfinder, 3 inch tilting LCD touchscreen, 4K video and photo modes, and integrated wi-fi connectivity, can the Panasonic GX80 live up to its early promise? Read our in-depth Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX80 review complete with sample images, test shots, videos and more to find out...

Sony A5100

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Review Roundup

Reviews of the Fujifilm X-T20 from around the web.

stuff.tv »

The Fujifilm X-T2 is pretty much the best all-round camera on the planet – a mirrorless mélange of wonderful photo quality, sparklingly sharp 4K video, rugged design and pro-friendly handling.
Read the full review »

Specifications

Number of effective pixels 24.3 million pixels
Image sensor 23.6mm x 15.6mm(APS-C)X-Trans CMOS III with primary color filter.
Sensor Cleaning system
Ultra Sonic Vibration
Storage media SD Card (-2G) / SDHC Card (-32G) / SDXC Card (-256G) UHS-I*1
File format
Still image
JPEG (Exif Ver.2.3)*2, RAW : 14bit RAW(RAF original format), RAW+JPEG
Movie
MOV (MPEG-4 AVC / H.264, Audio : Linear PCM / Stereo sound 48KHz sampling)
Number of recorded pixels

L: (3:2) 6000 x 4000 / (16:9) 6000 x 3376 / (1:1) 4000 x 4000
M: (3:2) 4240 x 2832 / (16:9) 4240 x 2384 / (1:1) 2832 x 2832
S: (3:2) 3008 x 2000 / (16:9) 3008 x 1688 / (1:1) 2000 x 2000

<Panorama>
L: 2160 x 9600 (Horizontal : 9600 x 1440)
M: 2160 x 6400 (Horizontal : 6400 x 1440)

Lens mount FUJIFILM X mount
Sensitivity Standard Output Sensitivity : AUTO1 / AUTO2 / AUTO3(up to ISO12800) / ISO200 to 12800(1/3 EV step)
Extended output sensitivity : ISO100 / 25600 / 51200
Exposure control TTL 256-zone metering, Multi / Spot / Average / Center Weighted
Exposure mode P(Program AE) / A(Aperture Priority AE) / S(Shutter Speed Priority AE) / M(Manual Exposure)
Exposure compensation -5.0EV - +5.0EV, 1/3EV step
(movie recording : -2.0EV - +2.0EV)
Image Stabilizer Supported with OIS type lenses
Shutter type Focal Plane Shutter
Shutter speed
Mechanical Shutter
4 sec. to 1/4000 sec.(P mode), 30 sec. to 1/4000 sec.(All modes)
Bulb mode(up to 60 min), TIME : 30 sec. to 1/4000 sec.
Electronic Shutter*3
4 sec. to 1/4000 sec.(P mode)
1 sec. to 1/32000 sec. (P / A / S / M modes)
Bulb mode : 1 sec. fixed, TIME : 1sec to 1/32000sec.
Mechanical + Electronic Shutter
4 sec. to 1/32000 sec.(P mode), 30 sec. to 1/32000 sec.(All modes)
Bulb mode(up to 60 min), TIME : 30 sec. to 1/32000 sec.
Synchronized shutter speed for flash
1/180 sec. or slower
Continuous shooting Approx. 14.0 fps [Only Electronic Shutter](JPEG: 42 frames Lossless compression RAW: 23 frame Uncompressed RAW: 22 frames)
Approx. 11.0 fps [Only Electronic Shutter](JPEG: 56 frames Lossless compression RAW: 24 frame Uncompressed RAW: 23 frames)
Approx. 8.0 fps (JPEG: 62 frames Lossless compression RAW: 25 frame Uncompressed RAW: 23 frames)
Approx. 5.0 fps (JPEG: 68 frames Lossless compression RAW: 28 frame Uncompressed RAW: 25 frames)
Approx. 4.0 fps (JPEG: 73 frames Lossless compression RAW: 29 frame Uncompressed RAW: 25 frames)
Approx. 3.0 fps (JPEG: 81 frames Lossless compression RAW: 32 frame Uncompressed RAW: 27 frames)
  • * recordable frames depends on recording media
  • * Speed of continuous shooting depends on shooting environment and shooting frames
Auto bracketing AE Bracketing(±2EV / ±5/3EV / ±4/3EV / ±1EV / ±2/3EV / ±1/3EV)
Film simulation bracketing(Any 3 types of film simulation selectable)
Dynamic Range Bracketing (100% · 200% · 400%)
ISO sensitivity Bracketing (±1/3EV / ±2/3EV / ±1EV)
White Balance Bracketing (±1 / ±2 / ±3)
Focus
mode
Single AF / Continuous AF / MF
type
Intelligent Hybrid AF (TTL contrast AF / TTL phase detection AF)
AF frame selection
Single point AF: EVF / LCD: 13x7 / 25x13 (Changeable size of AF frame among 5 types),
Zone AF: 3x3 / 5x5 / 7x7 from 91 areas on 13x7 grid,
Wide/Tracking AF: (up to 18 area)
  • * AF-S : Wide
  • * AF-C : Tracking
White balance Automatic scene recognition / Custom / Color temperature selection (K) / Preset : Daylight, Shade, Fluorescent light (Daylight), Fluorescent light (Warm White), Fluorescent light (Cool White), Incandescent light, Underwater
Self-timer 10sec. / 2sec.
Interval timer shooting Yes (Setting : Interval, Number of shots, Starting time)
Flash Manual pop-up flash (Super Intelligent Flash)
Guide number : approx. 7 (ISO200 · m) / approx. 5 (ISO100 · m)
Flash modes
FLASH MODE
TTL(FLASH AUTO / STANDARD / SLOW SYNC.) / MANUAL / COMMANDER / OFF
SYNC. MODE
1ST CURTAIN / 2ND CURTAIN
Hot shoe Yes (Dedicated TTL Flash compatible)
Viewfinder 0.39-in., approx. 2,360K-dot OLED color viewfinder, Coverage of viewing area vs. capturing area : approx. 100%
Eye point : approx. 17.5mm ( from the rear end of the camera's eyepiece), Diopter adjustment : -4m ~ +2m-1(dpt)
Magnification : 0.62x with 50mm lens(35mm format equivalent) at infinity and diopter set to -1m-1.
Diagonal angle of view : approx. 30°( Horizontal angle of view : approx. 25°) Built-in eye sensor
LCD monitor 3.0-inch, aspect ratio 3:2,
approx. 1040K-dot Tilt-type TFT color LCD monitor (approx. 100% coverage)
Movie recording [4K (3840x2160)] 29.97p / 25p / 24p / 23.98P, 100Mbps Continuous recording : up to approx. 10 min.
[Full HD (1920x1080)] 59.94p / 50p / 29.97p / 25p / 24p / 23.98P, 36Mbps Continuous recording : up to approx. 15 min.
[HD (1280x720)] 59.94p / 50p / 29.97p / 25p / 24p / 23.98P, 18Mbps Continuous recording : up to approx. 30 min.
  • * For 4K movie recording, use a card with UHS Speed Class 3 or higher.
  • * Although movie recording will continue without interruption when the file size reaches 4 GB, subsequent footage will be recorded to a separate file which must be viewed separately.
Photography functions Advanced SR AUTO, Face / Eye detection AF, Auto Red-eye Removal, Select custom setting, Panorama, Color space, Setting (Color, Sharpness, D-range, Highlight tone, Shadow tone), Framing guideline, Frame No. memory, Histogram display, Preview depth of focus, Lens Modulatioon Optimizer, Pre-AF, Focus check, Focus Peak Highlight, Digital Split Image™ *4, Electronic level, Multiple exposure, Release priority / Focus priority selection, Fn button setting , ISO AUTO control, Instant AF setting (AF-S/AF-C), AF-C CUSTOM SETTINGS , SHUTTER AF , SHUTTER AE , AF-ON , Interlock spot AE & Focus area, Focus area setting, AEL/AFL button setting, Edit/Save Quick menu, Preview exp./WB in manual mode, Shutter Type, Touch Screen Setting
Touch Screen Mode
Shooting Mode
Touch Shooting, AF, Focus Area, OFF
Playback Mode
Swipe, Zoom, Pinch-in / Pinch-out, Double-tap, Drag
Film Simulation mode 15 modes (PROVIA / Standard, Velvia / Vivid, ASTIA / Soft, Classic Chrome, PRO Neg.Hi, PRO Neg.Std, Black& White, Black& White+Ye Filter, Black& White+R Filter, Black& White+GFilter, Sepia, ACROS, ACROS+Ye Filter, ACROS+R Filter, ACROS+G Filter)
Grain Effect STRONG , WEAK , OFF
Dynamic range setting AUTO, 100%, 200%, 400%
Advanced filter Toy camera / Miniature / Pop color / High-key / Low-key / Dynamic tone / Soft focus / Partial color (Red / Orange / Yellow / Green / Blue / Purple)
Playback functions RAW conversion, Image rotate, Auto image rotate, Face Detection, Red-eye removal, Photobook assist, Erase selected frames, Multi-frame playback (with micro thumbnail), Slide show, Protect, Crop, Resize, Panorama, Favorites
Wireless transmitter
Standard
IEEE 802.11b / g / n (standard wireless protocol)
Encryption
WEP / WPA / WPA2 mixed mode
Access mode
Infrastructure
Wireless function Geotagging, Wireless communication (Image transfer), View & Obtain Images, Remote camera shooting, PC Autosave, instax printer print
Other functions Exif Print, 35 Languages, Date/Time, Time difference, Sound & Flash OFF, Performance Setting, Preview exp. in Manual mode, LCD Brightness, LCD Color, Preview Pic. Effect, DISP. Custom Setting , Copyright Setting
Terminal
Digital interface
USB2.0 (High-Speed) / micro USB terminal
  • * connectable with Remote Release RR-90 (sold separately)
HDMI output
HDMI micro connector (Type D)
Other
Φ2.5mm, stereo mini connector [Microphone]
Power supply NP-W126S Li-ion battery (included)
Battery life for still images*5
Approx. 350 frames (When XF35mmF1.4 R is set, LCD monitor ON)
Actual battery life of movie capture*5
  • *Face detection is set to OFF
4K: approx. 50 min., FULL HD: approx. 60 min. Continuance battery life of movie capture*5
  • *Face detection is set to OFF
4K: approx. 70 min., FULL HD: approx. 95 min.
Dimensions 118.4mm (W) x 82.8mm (H) x 41.4mm (D) / 4.66in. (W) x 3.26in. (H) x 1.63in. (D)
(Minimum Depth : 31.9mm / 1.3 in.)
Weight Approx. 383g / 13.5 oz. (including battery and memory card)
Approx. 333g / 11.8 oz. (excluding accessories, battery and memory card)
Operating Temperature 0°C - 40°C (+32°F - +104°F)C
Operating Humidity 10 - 80% (no condensation)
Starting up period Approx 0.4sec.
  • * Fujifilm research
Accessories included Li-ion battery NP-W126S
Battery charger BC-W126
Body cap
Shoulder strap
Metal strap clip
Protective cover
Clip attaching tool
Owner's manual

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