Bigger & Better: We go hands-on with the 24MP, 4K-shooting, beefier Fuji X-T2 (Plus gallery images!)

by William Brawley

posted Thursday, July 7, 2016 at 1:00 AM EDT

Fujifilm's certainly made a name for themselves, especially as of late, not only for their sleek and stylish retro-inspired cameras, but also for said cameras' overall excellent performance, high quality images and unique features. A big hit with portrait shooters, street photographers and travelers, Fuji's smaller rangefinder-styled cameras, like the new Fuji X-Pro2, have certainly been well-received, but for those wanting a more SLR-style camera with all the Fuji goodies were left wanting until the release of the X-T1 a couple of years ago.

Offering SLR-like contours and a bevy of physical controls, the X-T1 was Fuji's answer to the DSLR ditchers wanting Fuji lenses and image quality but still a rather sleek and compact camera. In our eyes, the Fuji X-T1 is a clear winner on many counts, but we came across a few particular issues with the camera, a number of which had to do with ergonomics and the camera's physical controls.

Now, with the debut of the all new Fujifilm X-T2, it appears the folks at Fuji have addressed a lot of the smaller issues and finer points of the camera without completely re-doing the whole thing. The X-T2 is still the characteristic SLR-styled camera we know and love, but made better.

We were able to spend some time with a pre-production prototype of the camera, and while the firmware is far from finished -- therefore no lab testing yet! -- we were able to get a feel for the camera, its refreshed design and ergonomics as well as take it out and about to shoot some (beta) gallery images. For starters, the camera is bigger than the X-T1; it's subtle but noticeable, especially when you add on the new dual-battery-wielding Booster Grip. The top-deck buttons are larger and easier to operate, and the new joystick button from the X-Pro2 comes along for the ride, which is very handy.

Under the hood, we see some changes as well. There's a new, higher-resolution 24.3MP APS-C X-Trans CMOS III sensor -- similar to that from the X-Pro2 -- as well as the faster X Processor Pro. The new Fuji X-T2 now has more AF points, faster burst shooting, and reportedly much better continuous autofocus performance. It's also the first X-series camera to offer 4K video recording. With 4K Ultra HD video at 30p and 24p (as well as PAL), the X-T2 is looking much more favorable to multimedia shooters out there.

Fuji X-T2 sample gallery image (pre-production firmware)

For all the details about this bigger, beefier Fuji camera, check out our Fuji X-T2 Hands-On Preview. Click here to jump right to the hands-on tour, or to see more real-world gallery images (from the prototype, mind you) head over to our Fuji X-T2 Gallery Page.