Fujifilm has launched its first sub-$1,000 camera in a a long time and resurrected the 11-year-old “M” brand with the x-M5;elm:affiliate_link;sellerN:B&H Photo;elmt:;cpos:3;pos:1;itc:0;sec:content-canvas”>$799 x-M5. At that price, it's primarily aimed at photographers on a budget or vloggers looking to take a step up from a smartphone. Fujifilm dropped some features like a viewfinder (EVF) to reach that price, but it has the company's latest 26-megapixel x-Trans 4 CMOS sensor and decent video specs.
For a camera without a viewfinder, the x-M5 should do quite well. It has front and rear control dials, along with a top settings dial that includes a new “Vlog” mode. It also comes with the same film simulation dial found on the x-T50, to help users and social media creators create great photos straight from the camera.
When you're in vlog mode, you get a full GUI interface on the touch screen for easy access. That includes things like a “portrait enhancer,” background blur, and product priority, as we've seen in Sony's vlogging products.
For vloggers, it has a 3-inch, 1.04 million-dot fully articulated rear display that's hopefully bright enough to use in sunlight (because, again, there's no EVF). There are headphone and microphone ports for vloggers, but they are not located on the left as usual. Instead, Fujifilm placed the 3.5mm microphone input on the back (where the EVF would normally go) and the headphone port on the right side. This is to prevent the screen from hitting the microphone or headphone cable when opened, as can happen on other cameras.
You'll never mistake it for a sports camera, but the x-M5 can shoot 8fps bursts with the mechanical shutter, or an astonishing 20fps in electronic mode (both with continuous autofocus). You can capture decent 82/60 compressed RAW frames in those modes before the buffer fills, which is also very respectable for such a small camera.
Video is also quite powerful, with 6.2K open gate 3:2 capture, 4K 60p and Full HD up to 240fps (these specs match the x-T50, as you may have noticed). There is a bit of clipping for 4K 60p (1.18x) and FHD beyond 120fps (1.29x), but otherwise everything is one-to-one.
Another thing missing is internal stabilization, so the x-M5 is limited to what the lens or electronic stabilization provides. In the latter mode, there is a minimum 1.32x crop for 4K videos at 30fps and a significant 1.44x when recording 4K videos at 60p. The small body also has overheating limitations when using LP (long play) recording, but these can be reduced with a $200 fan accessory.
Other features include three internal microphones that enable surround sound capture, a 9:16 short movie mode for TikTok creators, high-speed movie transfer, up to 440 frames of battery life, and a single UHS card slot. -YO.
I couldn't understand what Fujifilm was thinking when they released the x-T50 for $500 more than the x-T30 II. Now we know: budget buyers are expected to gravitate toward the x-M5. It goes on pre-sale today for $799, and Fujifilm also introduced the 16-55mm f/2.8 lens (24-70mm full-frame equivalent) that retails for $1,199 and the super telephoto XF500mm f/5.6 lens (equivalent to 750mm) now on pre-order for $2,999.
