Review: We take the Fujifilm X-M5 on a Foodtography Tour

By Tim Levy | 6 November 2024

Working in the media and publishing industry does have its perks and benefits. Capture is often invited to all manner of camera launches and experiences – though we don't always have the time to cover everything thrown at us.

Yesterday evening, Capture was invited to one of the more interesting (and tasty) photo experiences that was hosted by the good folk at Fujifilm.

Dubbed “The Fujifilm X-M5 Foodtography Tour,” a band of 15 brave influencers and industry pros gathered for a three-hour culinary expedition across Newtown's King St, armed with appetites and Fujifilm’s brand new and apparently very popular X-M5 camera.

Who's shooting who? This is so confusing! Image: Tim Levy

Led by the spirited Justin from Local Sauce tours, we ate, drank, snapped, blagged and vlogged our way through five eateries, all in the name of ‘content.’

Starting at the city end of King St and wrapping up on Enmore Rd, the group sampled from the following restaurants – all of which I can highly recommend.

Owner and Chef – Jonathan & Anna from Duk Inn. Image: Tim Levy

Don Fred @donfred.au
Duk Inn @duk.inn
The Pie Tin @thepietin
Vandal @vandal_sydney
Hakiki @hakiki_aus

The Fujifilm X-M5 camera

I have owned the Fujifilm X100F since 2017, shoot with it regularly, and must say – I still love it dearly. I've also used the latest medium format Fujifilm GFX100SII (see Full-frame vs Medium format article here), so I'm fairly familiar with the Fujifilm menu system that is used on all their cameras.

While not featuring as many dials as the X100 series, nor a viewfinder, the X-M5 is a stylish, very reasonably priced (street price $1,320), compact vlogging and stills camera.

On being handed the camera, I was able to make a few modifications to the camera setup and familiarise myself with the various dials and buttons. I was also able to exchange the kit lens (XC 15-45mm Lens) to the Fujifilm XF23mm (full frame eq. 35mm) f/2 lens (street price $552).

The Fujifilm X-M5. Large margaritas or small camera? You decide. Image: Tim Levy

Weighing just 355 grams, the X-M5 features a back-illuminated “X-Trans CMOS 4” 26.1-megapixel APS-C sensor, which is significantly larger than typical smartphone sensors, resulting in high-quality photos with excellent detail and colour. Traditional phone Vloggers will love this camera.

It also includes Fujifilm’s X-Processor 5 for fast processing, making it capable of continuous shooting up to 20 fps with an electronic shutter and supporting impressive autofocus with AI-assisted subject detection for stills and video.

Horizontal handling and vertical vlog video mode

The Pie In. Using Classic Neg film simulation @ 6400 ISO. The camera handles high ISO very well.
Image: Tim Levy

The X-M5 offers versatile video capabilities, including 6.2K video at 30p and 4K at 60p, with options for 9:16 portrait orientation at 1080p while holding the camera horizontally. In fact, there is a Vlog setting on the actual camera top dial to access the portrait orientation video mode – nice idea.

So why hold the camera horizontal to shoot vertical video? Because that's the way cameras are ergonomically designed to be held and function. Recently I shot full-frame vertical video over several days in vertical mode on a pro camera, and I didn't enjoy the experience in regards to handling – everything just seems a little out of place.

EVF free shooting

The X-M5 has a a rear 1.04 million dot LCD monitor and no viewfinder. Admittedly, I did miss having a viewfinder / EVF, particularly as I'm long-sighted in my right eye. And having a viewfinder means I can change the dioptre to suit my eyes (lack of) focus.

I also find shooting stills through a viewfinder helps me compose and mentally focus more within the frame, with the bonus ability to replay images in the EVF to rapidly check focus and other image details.

Cruising the backstreet badlands of Newtown. Hand held at 1/10 S. Image: Tim Levy

This all said, using the adjustable flip screen on the camera's back for vertical vlogging, or shooting stills, provides better situational awareness compared to using the viewfinder. This way, you can keep an eye on your surroundings while recording.

And it's probably unfair to compare this camera to a $6,000+ pro camera with an expensive EVF. In fact, I really enjoyed the sans-screen experience and felt shooting off the rear screen allows for more situational awareness in tiny bars and restaurants or walking down the street. I just trusted the camera's autofocus to get it right – and it did just that.

Walking home from hospital with a head bandage? Hope you get better soon mate! ISO 6400 f/2 1/50. Image: Tim Levy

Using the reasonably sized rear flip-screen will also resonate with the camera's target market – phone vloggers who want to level up with far superior images than what a phone can ever provide – especially in low light.

Fujifilm film simulation

The camera also has a dedicated Film Simulation dial, allowing users to apply one of Fujifilm's 20 film-inspired looks to both photos and videos, with my favourite being ‘Classic Neg'. You can also turn up the grain effect if that's your jam.

Some of the different film simulations shot in camera on JPG. "Please hold still while I shoot four different images"
Images: Tim Levy

The test images you see here were (almost) all shot using manual settings on JPG – meaning that the only adjustments I did in post were slight exposure adjustments.

Shooting JPG means that the film preset is applied to the actual image. I also shot RAW, and was able to fix white balance to a couple of images where one particular restaurant's interior lighting was blue, yellow, green and magenta (an auto white balance nightmare).

I was very happy with the results, and this camera will appeal to those who want that film camera vibe – all without the added costs and long wait for film development. In fact, for content creators, it offers direct connectivity with the FUJIFILM XApp, enabling quick sharing via Bluetooth so you can upload to socials almost instantaneously.

At Hakiki Turkish Ice cream. Is there a collective noun for a group of influencers yet?
An inventory of influencers? A vision of vloggers?
Image: Tim Levy

The wrap up

No doubt, Fujifilm has hit a bit of a home-run with this camera. Its price point and functionality will appeal to Gen Z shooters, or vloggers who don't want to get overly technical, or break the bank. Also the lens range for the camera system is quite mature and very affordable – something that should be considered if you are on a limited budget.

The camera is also pretty fun to use, the autofocus is on point, the high ISO is fairly impressive and it has good connectivity for quick social media posts. As a bonus, you can get technical and shoot in manual, or just use auto and let the camera do all the work.

The camera is available for pre-order now, with stock arriving around mid November.

You can read more about the Fujifilm X-M5 camera on the Fujifilm Australia website.

Special thanks to We Are Different PR for arranging the event and hookups.