"I had the Canon 5D MkIV with several lenses but was finding it too large and heavy, as well as a little long in the tooth. It is only Fujifilm that has really specialised in the APS-C field and so I started looking at their cameras and lens options, coincidentally at the same time that the X-T5 was being released. Features of the X-T5 The camera is an evolution of its older versions, perhaps with the exception of the all-new 40MP backlit sensor, which is more of a revolutionary leap forward from the 26MP sensor of the X-T4. With about 3.3m contrast detection focusing pixels on the sensor in conjunction with the new X5 processor, along with deep-learning modes for specifying birds, animals, planes, trains and vehicles, I was expecting some impressive autofocus performance. There is also a pixel-shift mode that records 20 RAW files, shifting the sensor a tiny amount after each shot, to produce a massive 160MP picture. Although it has a very good video spec, with full 4K ability without cropping, there is limited 6.2K recording. Fujifilm seems to be marketing this camera as primarily for stills, whereas the H-S2 is now the flagship hybrid model. This is backed up by the lack of a Flash memory slot (though there are 2 high-speed SD card slots) and the buffer filling very quickly when using JPEG and RAW during continuous shooting. The IBIS unit has also improved by half a stop to 6.5 stops. The EVF is the same as the X-T4 but with 0.80 magnification, while the rear screen has been improved to 1.68m pixels and the design has reverted to a tilting version instead of a fully flip-out model. Build and Handling The body is made from magnesium alloy and despite its diminutive size compared with a DSLR, it feels just as solid and tough in the hand as the other main manufacturers. Combined with weather-sealing, it presents a package built for a reasonable amount of inclement weather and casual handling. The top-plate is laid out in the traditional way, with an ISO dial to the left of the EVF housing, and shutter speed (SS) and exposure compensation dials to the right. The dials all turn with definite clicks and ISO/SS are both lockable. Under the ISO dial is a collar for bracketing, panoramas, advanced modes, HDR and drive speeds, while under the SS dial is a simple collar switch for movie or stills. The quality of the plastics of these dials is not as good as some rivals and the collar switches underneath can be knocked from their intended position if you aren't careful. For those who aren't keen on using the dials, there are also front and rear command dials that can can be used instead; they are also pressable for extra functionality. The shutter has the on/off collar around it and a custom button to the right, which defaults to face/eye tracking on/off. On the front panel, there is a PC terminal for flash, the lens release button and a custom button. On the base is the battery compartment access and tripod thread. The grip is large enough to hold comfortably and safely in my medium-sized hand, with my index finger on the shutter button and other 3 wrapped around the grip; the rear thumb grip also works well. It's also comfy in portrait orientation with medium-sized lenses but there is no vertical grip available on this model. To the rear is an AF-ON button and Quick Menu access button either side of the command dial. To the left are the review and delete buttons, while the Menu button is surrounded by the usual 4-way buttons. Above this is the excellent directional button, vital in moving the AF point/area as well as holding other functions. There are also AEL and Disp/Back buttons. Screen and Viewfinder Moving from a DSLR, the EVF takes some getting used to. Having the menus available in the EVF is great as is being able to see the effect of exposure (especially in darker conditions) and WB changes but the lack of detail compared with a mirror is a big adjustment. The screen flips out 90 degrees in landscape and about 70 degrees in portrait orientation after pressing a retaining button. In touch mode, it can be used to focus and shoot, while in review, you can scroll between shots and magnify. The Q menu is also shown here, where you can amend by touch. Autofocus You can choose between 117 or 425 selectable AF points on the screen and I found the former gives plenty of choice and speed in composition. Single point, varying zone sizes and full sensor/auto choices are available. Single shot, Continuous/tracking and Manual focusing are chosen from the switch on the front panel of the camera. The focus stick works well with just the right sensitivity and changing from single to continuous is easy with the front switch. In use and Results The first surprise was actually charging the battery. There is no separate charger included; just plug into the camera's USB-C port, using the supplied plug and lead, leaving the battery in-camera. This is okay but doesn't allow use of the camera while charging a second battery. There is a green light to confirm that charging is ongoing which just goes out when finished. I would prefer a red light changing to green. The smaller size and weight make a huge difference in my willingness to carry the camera kit around for long periods, while at the same time making it more unobtrusive than a full-frame DSLR. With the 16-80mm lens mounted, it feels a tiny bit nose-heavy but not unbalanced. As the lens barrel flares out slightly from the mount, I initially found using the lens release button fiddly but quickly worked out pressing it with my right-hand ring finger and twisting with the left hand was slick. Remember that unmounting a lens exposes the sensor, so if you can, always change lenses somewhere without rain/snow, dust or wind! Here is a weight comparison between my Canon 5d MkIV and Fujifilm X-T5 kits: Fuji Canon X-T5 camera body 476gm 5D MkIV camera body 890gm 16-80mm f/4 lens 440gm 24-105mm f/4 lens 795gm 10-24 f/4 lens 385gm 16-35mm f/4 lens 615gm 70-300mm f/4–5.6 lens 580gm 100-400mm f/4.5–5.6 lens 1380gm Totals 1881gm 3680gm The Fuji kit represents about a 49% weight reduction compared with my old Canon set-up. Having readable dials makes many settings instantly available, without needing to delve into menus or set up custom modes/buttons (though these can be done as well). As well as this, the Q button gives access on the rear screen to 16 settings that can be amended using the touch screen. The items displayed can also be customised if the ones shown don't suit your needs. The combination of the dials, collar and Q menu give me everything I need to access regularly and make for logical and easy handling. The screen cannot face forwards or flip out so is less useful for vlogging and movies but good for street shots and stills in general. Compared with my 5D MkIV where the screen is fixed, this is a huge improvement in handling. The screen has excellent resolution and contrast but touch sensitivity is not quite as good. Autofocus works very well and the single shot eye tracking is a revelation coming from an older generation camera, where there was only face detection that often resulted in less than sharp eyes. I have only tried subject-tracking for birds and cars: birds in water work very well but is not so good for shots of flight; cars are also tracked accurately; I haven't had time to try the other subjects yet (animals and trains). Where subject AF tracking fails, I try using continuous AF instead and that often provides excellent results. Auto white balance generally works well and AI is used in the selection process. However, I have had several instances where it introduced a sort of pink/copper hue in daylight/snow scenes. It seems that the AI may be sometimes selecting the inappropriate WB type, resulting in the unwanted colour cast. To get around this, I have manually changed to the Daylight or Cloudy WB setting. I think Fujifilm may need to make a firmware update to fine-tune this. As for the sensor, I keep my photos as JPEGs at the maximum 40MP Fine setting, producing file sizes of up to 21MB, which means using largish memory cards (I am currently using 2 x 64GB San Disk cards). So far, I have kept noise reduction to the minimum, preferring the presence noise/grain to smoothing over of detail. The base ISO is 125 (compared with 160 for X-T4). Examining JPEGs at 100% shows more or less noiseless shots all the way up to1600 at the centre of the frame. 3200 also seems perfectly useable, while noise becomes more obvious at 6400. Occasionally, at the borders/edges some noise does appear, even at ISO 400. Performance is not quite as good as my old Canon 5D with its 30MP sensor; that said, the 40MP sensor of the X-T5 certainly records as much if not more detail, if not quite as cleanly. Unless you intend to make huge enlargement prints, the difference will be negligible. I suspect the dynamic range of the X-T5 is also a little less but not noticeably so. The amount of detail recorded means that selective cropping while keeping excellent detail is easy. It also makes the pixel-shift mode seem unnecessary beyond specialist needs for static subjects, especially considering the card space used and post-processing needed to produce the final 160MP picture. The film simulation defaults to Provia, which gives a wide range of accurate tones, although I am toying with making mine Astia, giving slightly subtler tones. Whatever your preference for colour or B&W, you will find something you love from the 19 choices. Having such a dense sensor won't help give great results if the images are blurred. The combination of IBIS and lens stabilisation makes use of slowish shutter speeds possible. The minimum effective shutter speed to keep sharp results will depend on the focal length but 0.5 sec is achievable with wideangles, including zooms. Of course, having IBIS means you also have the option of buying non-stabilised lenses with the possibility of low shutter speeds. One thing to be aware of is that slow shutter speeds with moving subjects may result in smudging/blurring caused by subject movement across the densely-packed sensor during the exposure, in which case a faster shutter speed or flash may be needed to freeze movement. Conclusion As a more or less exclusive stills shooter, I love this camera! From the quality build, size, weight and handling, to the very high quality and adjustable JPEG output, I have no regrets about buying this excellent machine. The AF is quick and accurate, while the fine metering and dynamic range ensure well-exposed shots with a wide tonal range. IBIS reduces the risk of blurred shots. Yes, I did have a minor issue with WB; also, the menu layout doesn't seem as logical as Canon's, though this will pass as I get used to it. These are more niggles than major problems, though. Overall, I can wholeheartedly recommend the camera both in its own right and as a very capable alternative to full-frame. Fuji has an extensive lens line-up of primes and zooms, with non-marque lenses extending the choice available, too."