Fuji X-T2 announced

[Akira]

http://www.dpreview.com/news/8595291296/now-with-4k-fujifilm-x-t2-offers-24mp-improved-af-and-video-specs

Some product images:

http://www.dpreview.com/news/2952778073/hands-on-review-fujifilm-x-t2-mirrorless-camera

First impressions:

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/fujifilm-x-t2-first-impressions-review

An early review on The Camera Store TV:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QE0M-D39YZM

[Erik Lund]

Looks like yet another winner from Fuji

On a side note; Oh I whish Nikon would announce an 'Roadmap' for lenses,,,,

[Akira]

Apparently Fuji and Olympus seem to be the most enthusiastic about improved the responsiveness of the mirrorless cameras.

On a side note; Oh I whish Nikon would announce an 'Roadmap' for lenses,,,,

Which reminds me that Nikon has never released any roadmap of their products?  Would that be their policy?  Of course, no one would want to publish the roadmap for any "replacement" model. 

[Erik Lund]

In the old days there where 'pre-release' or pre-production versions of optics presented at 'events'

[Akira]

In the old days there where 'pre-release' or pre-production versions of optics presented at 'events'

That's how I saw Bjørn in person here in Tokyo: Nikon invited photographers from various parts of the world to Japan to unveil their epoch making D3.  But the pre-release or the presentation of the pre-production model is not exactly the disclosure of the roadmap: the new products are already there.

[simato73]

Back to the topic, I am very excited and if the upcoming real-world reviews will confirm the expected improvements (for me, especially continuous AF) then I will promptly get one.
Otherwise, I'll still be getting one, but with less hurry so that perhaps I can benefit from price drops.

[Bjørn Rørslett]

There probably will be plenty of second-hand X-T1 cameras available soon ... Good news for anyone keen on getting into the 'X' line.

[Hugh_3170]

Whilst I doubt that I will get into the Fuji X-line of cameras and lenses, the release of a new camera of the calibre of the X-T2 is something that is always of great interest to me, as it presents the other manufacturers with new competitive challenges.  The responses to these new challenges by the other manufacturers will in due course almost certainly benefit me when I buy my next camera.

Therefore let us hope that the X-T2 will prove to be even more successful than its already highly acclaimed predecessor, the X-T1.

[bjornthun]

The X-T2 has got a magnesium alloy body, so the lens mount is not attached to polycarbonate plastic but real metal.

A first for mirrorless is the dual SD card slots in the X-T2.

Fujifilm has by now developed the most comprehensive lineup of lenses, specially designed for APS-C.

[Akira]

Apparently Fuji is relatively more serious about improving the fundamental problems of mirrorless cameras, compared to, say, Sony.

[bjornthun]

An additional improvement for the X-T2 is the new "cursor" or dedicated joystick for moving the AF point around as well as using it for moving the enlarged MF focus area.

The rear LCD of the X-T2 can be flipped out horizontally as well as vertically.

Let's see what the rumoured Sony A9 will look like. Sony seems to be all about "full frame" now. I think the X-T2 will have a much better user interface than the Sony A6000 and A6300. The A6300 did't get the new AF "joystick", and is in many ways just a magnesium alloy version of the A6000, albeit with a more modern sensor.

The A7x series have all got two command wheels + the dial on the back + separate EV comp wheel. This makes the A7x series much easier to use than an A6000/A6300 which has only got one command wheel + the dial at the back of the camera. So, A6x00 = total of two wheels/dials and A7x = total of four wheels/dials. This is a tremendous difference. Now if Sony would add the separate AF "joystick"...

[simato73]

Apparently Fuji is relatively more serious about improving the fundamental problems of mirrorless cameras, compared to, say, Sony.

That's an interesting statement, but I don't understand what you mean.
Would you care to expand the concept?

[Akira]

The rear LCD of the X-T2 can be flipped out horizontally as well as vertically.

What I'm most interested in personally is the construction of this LCD. 

The AF of APS-C Alpha can be Achilles' heel.  The low-light limit of AF of Alpha6300 is rated at -1EV which is a bit outdated.

[Akira]

That's an interesting statement, but I don't understand what you mean.
Would you care to expand the concept?

As mentioned, the low-light performance of AF of APS-C Alpha can be a bit outdated.  Panasonic cameras can focus in the darkness of as low as -4EV (even the entry model GF7).  Olympus doesn't publish the low-light limit of their AF sensitivity, but, based on my experience with E-M5 MkII, its AF performance is practically on par with that of GX8 that I also owned briefly.

The data read-out of the full-frame sensor is inevitably slower than that of the smaller APS-C or m4/3 sensors, which lead to the longer lag in the display of the viewfinder images.

So, neither full-frame or APS-C Sony cameras are as "well-rounded" as those of Fuji or Olympus or Panasonic, even if the image quality offered by the current full-frame and 24MP APS-C sensors can be fantastic.

[bjornthun]

The boost in readout speed in the newest APS-C sensor from Sony comes from the move from aluminium to copper wiring. Likely the full frame sensors can benefit in a similar way. Fuji uses Sony sensors, so Fuji will be behind if Sony is behind, on sensor tech. Sony to the best of my knowledge, is not behind on sensor tech. Note also that Panasonic has not got phase detect AF.

In practice the AF on Sony works well, and -1 EV AF sensitivity has caused me no practical problems. The real challenge lies in the absense of a separate AF point selector rather than AF sensitivity.

Sony's challenge isn't what's inside the cameras, but rather the external user interface of their APS-C cameras.

The menu system should be totally revamped with a touch screen interface like the Hasselblad X1D. This does apply to all manufacturers, since not a single one of them have a really great menu system.