There is something strangely appealing about the X-A7: it somehow manages to exude old-school charm while offering pretty much everything a modern phone photographer needs to wean away from the smartphone. It neatly picks up where the X-A5 left off, getting some physical tweaks to the camera body along with performance upgrades.
Long story cut short: it’s a small, lightweight, entry-level mirrorless camera that performs marvellously well in the real world, although handling the little snapper can take some getting used to.
Check Fujifilm X-A7 Price
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Fujifilm X-A7 Mirrorless Digital Camera w/XC15-45mm F3.5-5.6 OIS PZ Lens, Silver | Check Price |
To please its target audience, Fujifilm has overhauled the rear LCD display, which not only offers a more detailed view of the frame but is now a vari-angle screen that’s great for shooting from different angles.
As before, there are a plethora of creative modes to choose from that give the user many ways to express themselves, while also offering 4K video recording at 30fps (as opposed to the rather disappointing 15fps in the X-A5). And with better autofocus performance than its predecessor, there’s a lot to commend the X-A7 for, provided you don’t need to hold it in your hand all day long.
Key features
- New 24.5MP APS-C CMOS sensor
- 3.5-inch vari-angle touchscreen
- 4K/30p video
From the front, the X-A7 looks identical to its predecessor, using the same X-mount on which you can attach either the bundled Fujinon XC 15-45mm f/3.5-5.6 OIS PZ kit lens (that exact same one that came with the X-A5) or use any of the better X-mount optics. Fujifilm didn’t send us the kit zoom lens to test the new camera, so we used the XF 18-55mm f/2.8-4, which seems to have been a far better option than the bundled glass. Our colleagues over at Digital Camera World were able to test the full kit and found the CX lens to be disappointing.
It’s the back of the camera, though, that will provide smartphone photographers a sense of comfort when they transition over. The rear display is now a 3.5-inch touchscreen with a 2,760k-dot resolution that’s fully articulating. It’s also wider with an aspect ratio of 16:9, meaning you get a bigger and sharper view of the world when compared to the X-A5’s 3-inch display that had a resolution of just 1,040K dots and an aspect ratio of 3:2.
However, it’s the brand-new sensor under the hood of the X-A7 that makes the brand new camera worth the upgrade. It might share the same 24.5MP pixel count from earlier but the new Bayer-filter sensor, Fujifilm promises, has copper wiring that significantly reduces noise levels and offers faster readouts too.
The sensor also has way more phase-detection autofocus pixels than before, giving users a very respectable 117 selectable AF points to choose from (compared to the 91 AF points on the X-A5), with an extended ISO range of 100-51000, both of which are excellent for an entry-level camera. Weirdly, though, the sensor defaults to a 16:9 aspect ratio, perhaps to match the rear screen and emphasize the camera’s video capabilities, but the usual 3:2, 1:1 and 4:3 aspects are also available.
Turning to the video: 4K recording is, of course, the norm now, but thankfully it’s available at 30fps on the X-A7, as opposed to the rather disappointing 15fps upon the X-A5. A microphone socket is available but, like the X-A5, it’s the non-standard 2.5mm type that may require an adaptor, but thankfully it ships with one.
Specifications
| Model Name | FUJIFILM X-A7 | |
| Number of effective pixels | 24.2 million pixels *1 | |
| Image sensor | 23.5mm x 15.7mm (APS-C) CMOS with primary color filter | |
| Sensor Cleaning system | Ultra Sonic Vibration | |
| Storage media | SD Card (-2GB) / SDHC Card (-32GB) / SDXC Card (-256GB) UHS-I *2 | |
| File format | ||
| Still image | JPEG (Exif Ver 2.3)*3 / RAW (RAF format) / RAW+JPEG (Design rule for Camera File system compliant / DPOF-compatible) | |
| Movie | Movie File Format: MPEG-4 Movie Video Compression: H.264 Audio: Linear PCM Stereo |
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| Lens mount | FUJIFILM X mount | |
| Sensitivity | ||
| Standard output sensitivity | AUTO 1, AUTO 2, AUTO 3, ISO200-12800 (1/3 step) | |
| Extended output sensitivity | ISO100 / ISO25600 / ISO51200 | |
| Exposure control | TTL 256-zone metering, Multi / Spot / Average | |
| Exposure compensation | -5.0EV – +5.0EV, 1/3EV step (movie recording : -2.0EV – +2.0EV) |
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| Face / Eye detection AF | Yes | |
| Shutter type | Focal Plane Shutter | |
| Shutter speed | ||
| Mechanical Shutter | 4 sec. to 1/4000 sec.(P mode), 30 sec. to 1/4000 sec.(Other modes) Bulb mode(up to 60 min), |
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| Electronic Shutter *4 | 4 sec. to 1/32000 sec.(P mode), 30 sec. to 1/32000 sec.(Other modes) | |
| Mechanical + Electronic Shutter | 4 sec. to 1/32000 sec.(P mode), 30 sec. to 1/32000 sec.(Other modes) Bulb mode(up to 60 min) |
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| Synchronized shutter speed for flash | 1/180 sec. or slower | |
| Continuous shooting | Approx. 6.0 fps Approx. 3.0 fps * Recordable frame number may vary depending on the type of memory card used. * The frame rate varies with shooting condition and the number of images recorde |
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| Self-timer | 2sec. / 10sec. / Smile / Buddy (LV.1 – LV.3) / Group (1-4 subjects) / Face Auto Shutter | |
| Flash | Manual pop-up flash (Super Intelligent Flash) Guide number : Approx 4 (ISO100·m) / Approx 5.7 (ISO200·m) |
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| LCD monitor | 3.5inch, aspect ratio 16:9, approx. 2,760K-dot vari-angle type, TFT color LCD monitor | |
Check Out: Best Fujifilm X-A7 Lenses
Verdict
The X-A7 has some pretty impressive specs for an entry-level camera, and has the performance to match, with a significant improvement to the camera’s autofocus performance over its predecessor. Image quality is exceptional and 4K video capabilities have also been upgraded, making this compact, lightweight snapper an ideal travelling companion.
