Fujifilm X-A2 Performance

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Fuji X-A2 Performance

Timing and Performance

Mixed performance from the Fuji X-A2.

Startup/Play to Record
Power on to first shot	~1.4 seconds	Time it takes to turn on and capture a shot.
Play to Record, first shot	~1.0 second	Time until first shot is captured.

Power on to first shot was slightly faster than average for a mirrorless camera, but not as fast as most DSLRs. Play to Record wasn't bad, but required two shutter button presses to capture an image.

Shutter Response (Lag Time)
Full Autofocus, Single Area (center) AF mode	0.357 second	Time from fully pressing shutter button to image capture, with the lens already at the proper focal distance setting. (*All timing performed with the Fujinon XC 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 OIS II kit lens.*)
Full Autofocus, Single Area (center) AF mode Auto Flash Enabled	0.472 second	Time from fully pressing shutter button to image capture, with the lens already at the proper focal distance setting, TTL Auto flash enabled.
Manual Focus	0.082 second	For most cameras, shutter lag is less in manual focus than autofocus, but usually not as fast as when the camera is "prefocused".
Prefocused	0.057 second	Time to capture, after half-pressing and holding shutter button.

The Fuji X-A2's full autofocus shutter lag was slower than average for a mirrorless camera these days, but still not bad. The Fuji X-A2 produced full-autofocus shutter lag (with the subject at a fixed distance) of 0.357 second using Area AF mode (center). With the built-in flash enabled, the X-A2's full AF shutter lag in single (center) AF area mode was 0.472 second to account for the preflash metering.

Manual focus shutter lag was quite fast though, at 0.082 second, and prefocused shutter lag was quick, at only 0.057 second. This is faster than most DSLRs and faster than many CSCs as well, though not as fast as some models.

To minimize the effect of different lens' focusing speed, we test AF-active shutter lag with the lens already set to the correct focal distance.

Cycle Time (shot to shot)
Single Shot mode Large/Fine JPEG	0.84 second	Time per shot, averaged over a few frames (we no longer test for buffer depths in single-shot mode).
Single Shot mode RAW + L/F JPEG	0.81 second	Time per shot, averaged over a few frames (we no longer test for buffer depths in single-shot mode).
Early shutter penalty?	Yes	Some cameras don't snap another shot if you release and press the shutter too quickly in Single Shot mode, making "No" the preferred answer.
Continuous 5.6 fps Large Fine JPEG	0.18 second (5.45 frames per second); 16 frames total; 6 seconds to clear*	Time per shot, averaged over buffer length of 16 frames. Then slows to an average of 0.45s or 2.24fps when buffer is full.
Continuous 5.6 fps RAW	0.18 second (5.45 frames per second); 12 frames total; 6 seconds to clear*	Time per shot, averaged over buffer length of 12 frames. Then slows to an average of 0.50s or 2.0fps when buffer is full.
Continuous 5.6 fps RAW + L/F JPEG	0.18 second (5.46 frames per second); 11 frames total; 8 seconds to clear*	Time per shot, averaged over buffer length of 11 frames. Then slows to an average of 0.74s or 1.36fps when buffer is full.
Flash Recycling	3.5	Flash at maximum output.
*Note: Buffer clearing times measured with a SanDisk Extreme Pro 95MB/sec UHS-I SDHC card. Slower cards will produce correspondingly slower clearing times. Slow cards may also limit length of bursts in continuous mode. ISO sensitivity and noise reduction settings can also affect cycle times and burst mode performance.

Single-shot cycle times were about average, but difficult to measure accurately because of the pre-press penalty (if you press the shutter button too soon after a previous shot, the camera ignores it and you need to press again). Best case, we measured about 0.8 second for large/fine JPEGs or RAW+L/F JPEGs. (We no longer test single-shot mode with just RAW files, as the result is usually somewhere in between.)

The highest speed "Continuous 5.6 fps" burst mode was mediocre these days, measured at about 5.5 frames per second no matter the file type. The Fuji X-A2 also offers a "Continuous 3.0 fps" mode, but we didn't test that mode. In both modes, focus and exposure are locked at the first frame.

Full resolution buffer depth was only fair at 16 JPEG frames with our difficult to compress target. You'll likely do better with typical subjects. When shooting RAW or RAW+JPEG files, buffer depth dropped to 12 and 11 frames respectively. Buffer clearing was a fairly quick 6 seconds after shooting a max-length burst of JPEGs, 6 seconds for a RAW burst, and 8 seconds for a RAW+JPEG burst, though buffer depths weren't very deep.

Recycling the flash after full power discharges took an average of 3.5 seconds, on the slow side of average.

Bottom line, the Fuji X-A2's performance was mixed in our testing, with slower than average autofocus speeds, a pre-press penalty, mediocre burst speeds and shallow buffers. On the other hand, manual focus and prefocused shutter lag were pretty good. Overall, the X-A2's performance is fair for an entry-level model, and should do fine for a wide variety of photography as long as it's not sports or fast action.

Battery

Battery Life
Good battery life for a compact system camera.

Operating Mode	Battery Life
Still Capture, (CIPA standard)	410 shots

The Fuji X-A2 uses a custom rechargeable lithium-ion battery pack for power, and comes with both a single battery and a dedicated charger. The CIPA rated 410 shots per charge is above average for a Compact System Camera, but lower than most DSLRs. As is usually the case, we recommend getting a second battery for your X-A2 if you plan any extended outings.

The table above shows the number of shots the camera is capable of (on a fully-charged rechargeable battery), based on CIPA battery-life and/or manufacturer standard test conditions.

(Interested readers can find an English translation of the CIPA DC-002 standards document here. (180K PDF document))