Fujifilm X70 brief review: small in stature, expensive in industry

Petite and durable are two words you can use to describe the Fujifilm x70. It’s small but is fitted with an all-metal body with a tilting LCD that allows for users to take high quality selfies.

The x70 forms part of Fuji’s X series. As such the camera offers nothing new excerpt the petite body and the new function, touch screen, Fujifilm’s first, and a tilting screen. The Fujifilm X70 has fixed-lens APS-C compact camera that has a 16.3MP X-Trans sensor and a fixed 18.5mm lens. The X70 supports the digital tele-converter mode and users can select mount either a 35mm and 50mm lens.

Fuji has remarkably managed to put an AF system with 49-point single point mode and zonal and wide/tracking mode that use a 77-point area to capture moving subjects.

Related: Fujifilm XT10 review: analogue aesthetic meets modern muscle

The camera’s all metal body does feel good in the hand and the buttons are not changed from the usual X-series layout and so if you are familiar with the X-series, functionality will not be a problem with the X70.

The 3.0-inch tilt LCD is great for taking selfies but if anyone purchases a camera for the sole purpose of taking selfies, they ought to reevaluate their life choices. The touch screen is not bad — there were times when it felt dopey but most of the time it worked without any problems.

The camera has WiFi which Fujifilm has managed to perfect. With the Fujifilm app, users can remotely control the camera, change focus, aperture, shutter speed, ISO, self-timer and others. This is useful in a small camera more affected by shaking hands.

Price is perhaps the one thing that will have a great influence on the consumer’s decision to buy this camera. Its normal price is R11 495 — not a steep but compared to the Fujifilm X-T10 with a 16-50mm lens which retails for R12 395, the Fujifilm X70 does come across as an expensive camera.

Verdict: Compared to other options from Fujifilm and elsewhere the Fujifilm X70 is expensive. If you like taking selfies then this is the camera for you and its seamless WiFi feature will transfer those selfies to your phone fairly quickly. But, in general, you can do a lot better for cheaper.

Score: 7/10