I am a very demanding photographer when it comes to the equipment. Even the newest and the most advanced inventions cannot convince me if I don’t find a real use for them for my purposes.
I get attached to cameras and I know almost everything about them.
I use medium format FUJIFILM GFX at work every day, so compromising quality is not an option.
But what if I’m not working? Just traveling with my family or being on vacation? Are there cameras that can serve as a family camera, used by all family members for various purposes?
My wife likes to record lifestyle situations, my 16-year-old daughter loves to make short videos of a family life, and I document life while traveling.
Taking photos with a phone is out of the question – I like the flexibility of cameras and the ability to choose the right lens for different situations. And this is where the tiny Fujifilm X-M5 camera comes in handy.
Being used to large cameras, I picked up this inconspicuous but very solidly built camera with a slight discomfort. On the one hand, the lack of a viewfinder surprised me, on the other hand, the large screen that tilts in every direction quickly convinced me that it can be used even in a very bright sunlight.
Both at work and for family photography, the Fujifilm’s Film Simulation is my indispensable companion. Three dials on the top of the camera enables an immediate access to the camera’s most important functions – filters, camera and video modes, and the exposure compensation – this gives me a sense of a quick control without having to enter the camera’s menu.
At first, its inconspicuous size and amateurish appearance confused me a bit. At that moment I haven’t realized that I had in my hands one of the most multi-tasking cameras I have ever tested.
Very fast autofocus with intelligent working modes, great sensor, fast response of the shutter button, as well as excellent video quality made me think a lot whether such cameras will be the future of family and travel photography, where size is important and quality compromise is not a matter of question anymore.
Paired with Fujinon XF lenses, it gives us a full range of possibilities: from sports, through portrait, to stills photography. I had two lenses at my disposal: a very bright XF16-50mmF2.8-4.8 R LM WR zoom, which turned out to be a great choice for the X-M5.
The sealed construction of the camera and the lack of retractable elements that usually suck in the dust around us worked great in my test on the Polish Baltic Sea. And this is where the adventure begins.
Getting familiar with the X-M5, its strengths and weaknesses (no viewfinder), I went on vacation with my 8-year-old son who never stops moving and my 16-year-old daughter who studies at a film high school and was keenly interested in the filmmaking possibilities of this small camera.
Things happen quickly with children, before you know it, they are somewhere completely different. At this point, the experience of a professional portraitist is of little use. At work I have a lot of time, people would follow my instructions, I can think and choose the right frame.
Here everything happens fast – races on the beach, swimming in the sea, football, baseball, frisbee and the constant pursuit of dogs, squirrels and other kids make you feel like a sports photographer.
This unobtrusive camera works great, I have never missed a shot with the speed of the autofocus and the shutter release, and the quality and dynamics of images are completely sufficient for all the publications I make professionally on a daily basis.
The compatibility of the Fujifilm camera interface is fantastic. I can navigate the X-M5 without any problems, without any instructions, knowing one Fujifilm camera you intuitively understand the arrangement of keys, dials and joystick in this model.
My daughter, who is used to shooting videos with a phone, quickly found out that the small FUJIFILM X-M5 offers many more possibilities. It was obvious that she had a great fun shooting with this camera, and the tiltable touch screen was a natural transition from using a mobile phone.
From landscape photography, capturing family relationships, portraits, to high-quality film shooting, you have the impression that this camera poses almost no limits anymore.
This is the type of a small camera that will be an ideal solution for travel photography and capturing everyday life, where size matters and the variety of use and strong construction will make it a go-to device for many years to come.
