Quick take: After two weeks with the Fujifilm X-T200, it's my new recommendation for anyone buying their first camera for content, over the Canon M50. Autofocus and image quality are very good, the flip screen is the best I've used on any camera, and it gets you into Fuji's lens ecosystem. My two gripes, both fixable with firmware: you can't map ISO to a dial, and the Eterna film simulation is missing.
Out Shooting
I took the X-T200 out for a socially distanced real-world test early in the pandemic. Normally I self-record with a Sony RX100 VII, and the X-T200 is its replacement. I had the 15-45mm power zoom kit lens and also brought the Fujifilm 16-80mm, which I think is the best kit lens around right now. It makes the old 18-55mm pretty much obsolete.
Autofocus and Image Quality
Instead of a spec rundown, I went straight to an image quality test. Face tracking was really good, and it kept following me around the frame. It could get confused when my hat covered my eyes, but turning eye detection off fixes that. One thing I didn't love: the base ISO in video is 400, which is high in my opinion. This camera isn't really aimed at cinematographers, though, and most buyers will probably leave it on auto anyway.
Vlogging and Stabilization
The vlogging test is the one most people care about, since this camera has a front-facing flip screen. The crop with digital image stabilization turned on is significant, but on a wide lens like the 10-24mm (about 16-35mm equivalent) you don't notice it much, and the footage looks really stable. Video quality isn't at X-T3 level, which is expected from an entry-level body, but I was really happy with both the image and the autofocus.
The Best Screen I've Used
The fully articulating screen is probably the best screen I've used on any camera, including some really expensive ones. It removes the need for an external monitor entirely. Side by side, an X-T200 with a small Rode mic is tiny compared to my X-T3 rig with an Atomos Ninja V and a shotgun mic, and most viewers won't be able to tell the difference in the footage. I also noticed it seems to record longer on the same battery than my X-T3, which wears a battery grip full time.
Who It's For
If you're looking to step up from your phone, or you have an X-T3 but no flip screen to record yourself, this is the camera I'd recommend now. It's the camera I think the Canon M50 should have been when it came out two years ago, and it lets you buy into the Fuji ecosystem and its lenses. If you're shopping for an X-T3, though, you're probably not shopping for this, and vice versa.
Two Firmware Fixes I'd Like to See
Let us map ISO to a dial. The X-T200 has electronic command dials instead of Fuji's usual physical dials, and they lag a little. The bigger problem: in video mode one dial sets shutter speed, one sets aperture with the kit lens, and one does nothing, and you can't map anything to it. I'd map ISO there in a heartbeat. ISO is part of the exposure triangle, you often need to change it on the fly, and it would carry over directly to Fuji's other cameras. I tested an XF lens too, and the dial still can't be mapped.
Bring back Eterna. I understand leaving F-Log out, but not removing a film simulation. Fuji usually puts its latest tech into its newest gear: the X-A7 got the newer autofocus a couple of months before the X-T3's firmware update, and the X-T30 got it a few months later. The 16-80mm is another great example, possibly the best video lens for X mount. I've used it almost exclusively for professional work for the last five or six months, including covering the Arnold Pro Strongman show. That approach is a big reason Fuji got me to switch from Canon about two years ago, and Fuji is good at listening to its users, so I hope these small fixes come in the next update.
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