Fujifilm X-A2 First Shots posted: Another triumph for a budget-friendly high ISO camera?

posted Monday, May 4, 2015 at 6:40 PM EDT

Those looking to jump into Fuji's venerable X-mount family of cameras without breaking the bank have a new entry-level option: The Fujifilm X-A2. As one of the few X-series cameras that doesn't sport Fuji's unique X-Trans sensor technology, the X-A2 -- like the X-A1 before it -- uses a traditional RGBG Bayer-filtered APS-C sensor. We were rather surprised and impressed by the image quality performance of the predecessor, especially regarding high ISO image quality straight out of camera, and with the new X-A2, Fujifilm has maintained that same 16.3-megapixel imaging chip. Powering the camera is the same EXR Processor II, giving the little X-A2 a full, expanded ISO range of ISO 100 to 25,600 (the native range is 200-6400).

We just received our Fuji X-A2 review unit, and as always, it's straight to the lab. We've completed our First Shots set of lab sample images, and while there are a few tweaks and changes -- such as the 180-degree "selfie" screen, Classic Chrome film simulation and a lower retail price -- the overall imaging pipeline is the same, and the X-A2's image quality appears to closely match the X-A1's well-regarded performance, at least in our lab shots.

Below, you can see a couple 1:1 crops comparing our ISO 3200 shots between the X-A2 and X-A1, as well as the next tier up in the Fujifilm camera lineup -- the Fuji X-M1, which is their base model camera but with the X-Trans sensor. With an MSRP around $550 plus an updated kit lens, the X-A2 looks to provide a nice bang for your buck in the image quality department. To see if you might want to put this camera on your short list, head over to our Fujifilm X-A2 Samples Page for our First Shots batch of lab images. To dig deeper and compare the X-A2 against other Fuji cameras plus any other camera we've tested, check out the Comparometer for quick and easy side-by-side, full-resolution image comparisons.