Fujifilm X-A5 Entry-Level Mirrorless Camera Review

The Fujifilm X-A5 is the latest entry-level mirrorless camera from Fujifilm, yet offers advanced features including full manual controls, a flash hot-shoe, and raw shooting. It's also easy to use with a 3inch tilting touch-screen, and the screen can be tilted 180 degrees so you can use it for selfies, vlogging or group photos. Priced at £499 with 15-45mm lens.

Fujifilm X-A5 Features

Designed to be an entry-level mirrorless camera, the Fujifilm X-A5 features a 24.2 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor with a Bayer filter, meaning it does not feature Fujifilm's X-Trans CMOS sensor technology. However, it does still feature Fujifilm's colour technology, with 11 film simulation modes and Fujifilm colour reproduction. Fujifilm says the X-A5 has a faster image processing engine, which is 1.5x faster than previous models, the X-A3 and X-A10.

Introduced with the camera is a new XC 15-45mm f/3.5-5.6 OIS PZ (Power Zoom) lens, a new compact zoom lens with electronic zoom, and a close focusing distance of 5cm, and the X-A5 is compatible with Fujifilm X-Mount lenses. 

SR+ AUTO mode has improved scene recognition accuracy making the camera easy for beginners. More advanced photographers or those wanting to learn more will be pleased to know that the camera has manual controls including A (Aperture priority), S (Shutter priority), and M (Manual) modes available. Exposure compensation now extends to +/- 5. On top is a hot-shoe, and a built-in pop-up flash.

There are 11 film simulation modes, with Fujifilm's famous films available as colour options in the camera, these include Velvia, Astia (soft), Classic Chrome, and Provia, which is the standard colour setting. Advanced filters have been updated so that there are now 17, and there is a new Fog remove and HDR art option. 

The touch-screen tilts 180 degrees so that you can use it for "Selfie's" or group shots, tilting the screen forwards automatically activates the Eye Detection AF function so that the camera focuses on your eyes. Portrait Enhancer mode will soften skin, giving more flattering photos.

Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are built-in, letting you quickly and easily transfer photos to your smartphone, or remotely control the camera. It's also compatible with the Instax Share SP-3, and other Instax printers, so that you can print photos.

The X-A5 will record 4K UHD video at 15fps, or FullHD at 30/60fps. There's also the ability to shoot "4K Burst" at 15fps, giving you 8mp still images. Another feature is 4K Multi-Focus, that takes a series of photos at 15fps, at different focus distances. 

The X-A5 is available in a number of colours, combined with silver, you can choose a brown, pink or black version.

Key Features

• 24mp APS-C CMOS Sensor with Bayer Filter
• Fujifilm X-Mount
• 3inch tilting touch-screen, 1040K dots
• 91 AF Auto-Focus points
• Phase-detection focus / eye-detection focus
• 6fps continuous shooting speed
• 4K burst shooting (at 15fps)
• 4K video at 15fps (up to 5 minutes* firmware update extends this)
• FullHD video, up to 60fps
• ISO100 to ISO51200
• Electronic shutter 1/32000s
• Built-in pop-up flash
• Wi-Fi / Bluetooth built-in
• Available in pink, black or brown

Fujifilm X-A5 Handling

The Fujifilm X-A5 feels good in the hand, with the faux leather covering giving the camera a more premium feel. There is a metal top, with metal dials, with a reassuringly solid feel to them.

The pop-up flash is constructed with a combination of metal and plastic parts. The hinge for the screen is solid. There's a top Fn (Function) button, that can be customised. There's a top command dial, as well as a rear one, that can be pushed down to select settings.

The front of the camera has a handgrip that provides a reasonable area to grip, and on the back, there's a rubberised section for your thumb. We'd still recommend using the provided strap, as the camera may become slippery if you have sweaty or wet hands.

There are 91 focus points. You can easily use the touch-screen to set the focus point, as well as use the screen to take photos, and you can select the focus point from a wide area of the screen. Alternatively, you can switch these features off. 

Viewing angles are good, and the screen is bright and clear, with good colour reproduction. Thanks to the tilting screen, it's possible to angle the screen for the best view, which can help with visibility when using the camera outdoors in bright light. You can also adjust the screen brightness if needed.

The panoramic shooting mode has been added to the mode dial.

Menus – The menus are clearly laid out with a number of photo options and settings. Movie settings are a sub-menu of the photo options, and unfortunately, they don't have their own menu screen. Unfortunately, you can't use the touch-screen to scroll through the menus, choose the scene mode, nor can you use it to change the Q button settings. 

Wi-Fi features - Using Fujifilm's Remote Camera app, available for iOS and Android devices, you can remotely control and shoot with the camera as well as start/stop video recording. You can select photos to transfer to the smartphone/tablet or receive photos sent from the camera. In addition, you can use the app to add GPS / geotagging information to photos. The app is quite easy to use. 

Battery life - Battery life is rated at 450 shots according to Fujifilm / CIPA test results, which is an improvement over the 410 shots the X-A3 could shoot.