Fujifilm X-T200 review

The design of the X-T200 has been refreshed, mainly to accommodate the huge LCD, but also to make it more comfortable to hold. In our opinion though, some of these changes haven't been for the better.

Key Takeaways

• The body is well-built, though the back of the LCD and thumb grip feel plasticky
• The dials and joystick are not well-positioned, especially the dial on the left side of the top plate
• The 2.36M-dot OLED viewfinder is typical for cameras in this class
• Four buttons (two physical and two virtual) and one dial can be customized, along with both menus
• Officially, the X-T200 can take 270 shots per charge - which is lower than most of its peers - although you'll almost certainly be able to take a lot more

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In depth

The first thing you'll notice when you pick up the camera is its beefy grip. That, combined with a larger thumb rest compared to the original X-T100 make it easier to use the camera one-handed, though the placement of some of the controls can make that a challenge.

Build quality is generally good thanks to a mostly metal chassis. The faux leather on the front of the body is 'grippy', though the plastic on the rear (especially on the back of the LCD) feels cheap and slippery.

Given the fact that the X-T200 now has a display that takes up nearly the entire rear of the body, there's less room for physical controls. The most notable change is the disappearance of the directional pad, but in return we get an actual joystick. That said, we're not huge fans of the joystick; some of those in the office don't like its placement, while others find it too small.

When shooting stills, the function of the dial on the left side of the top plate varies based on the shooting mode. In Auto mode, it switches between various face detection-based self-timer modes, while in P mode it moves through the available Film Simulation modes. It's also how you switch between scenes in the mode of the same name. The two dials on the right side of the top plate handle aperture, shutter speed and exposure compensation - but neither are customizable. As with the joystick and the other dial, these are placed a bit too far out of reach, requiring you to shift your grip to access them. The movie recording button is stuffed in between those two dials, making it hard to get at.

If you're capturing video, the leftmost dial is used to adjust the shutter speed. Its placement requires you to remove your left hand from the camera in order to access it. The dial does not turn smoothly like the others (it feels just like the mode dial), making it even more undesirable for video shooters.

While we've already covered the camera's giant LCD, we're yet to mention its electronic viewfinder. The EVF is the same as on the X-T100, with an 2.36M-dot OLED panel and a magnification of 0.62x, both of which are in-line with most of its peers. Unfortunately, the eye sensor that automatically toggles between the LCD and EVF does not disable when the display isn't flush with the back of the camera.

And let's not forget the flash, which Fujifilm has concealed around the viewfinder hump. The flash has a working range of 7m at the camera's base ISO of 200. The flash cannot be bounced, so if you want to do that, you'll need to pop an external flash onto the hot shoe.

Customization

Despite being an entry-level, easy-to-use camera, Fujifilm still provides several areas in which the X-T200 can be customized. The two unlabeled buttons above the display can have functions assigned to them, and the same is true for two of the 'virtual' buttons on the LCD. The only dial that can have its function changed is the left-most one on the top plate.

The options on the Q.Menu can be selected, and a new 'My Menu' option lets you put your favorite settings in one convenient location.

Auto ISO

The camera has separate Auto ISO modes for stills and video. For stills, you can select the base ISO, the max ISO and the minimum shutter speed, with an Auto setting taking focal length into account. The camera lets you store three sets of Auto ISO parameters, so you can set one of situations where you're trying to freeze action and another for when you're more concerned about camera shake.

For video, you can select a sensitivity between ISO 400 and 6400, or leave it in Auto ISO and let the camera figure it out.

Regardless of whether it's for stills or videos, exposure compensation cannot be adjusted while in manual mode with Auto ISO turned on. This is a useful feature for video-shooters, since it lets you adjust brightness without affecting the aperture or shutter speed.

Connectivity

The X-T200 has Fujifilm's standard suite of wireless features, which include Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. With Bluetooth you can remotely trigger the shutter and transfer location data to the camera, and receive photos from the X-T200 as they are taken.

When using Wi-Fi (which can be started automatically via Bluetooth) you can download selected images and compose photos from your phone using live view.

Battery life

The X-T200 uses the very familiar NP-126S lithium-ion battery. Using CIPA methodology, the estimated battery life is 270 shots per charge using the LCD, which is below average for this class. Putting the camera into economy mode boosts that number to 450 shots. Keep in mind that CIPA estimates are always on the low side, so you'll likely be able to take a lot more photos, with video capture, flash and Wi-Fi use being the biggest drains.