Finally in this latest camera by Fujifilm we now have 5-axis In Body Image Stablisation (IBIS) which means that you can get a lot more steady handheld shots in low light or night scenes. I decided to test this capability of the X-T4‘s IBIS as I know that I’m quite poor at shooting hand held in low light conditions. Generally I can shoot at 1/60th or 1/50th of a second but anything slower I will get blurry shots, or I’d need to crank up the ISO in order to get a stable shot.
But with the X-T4 we now have the ability to stablise the frame up to 5 stops thanks to IBIS. This feature is also quite useful for shooting video but for this test I just wanted to focus on Still images only.
Test Case
My car in my garage was the test subject on a cloudy overcast day. Thanks to COVID-19 and my hesitation to risk roaming alone at night with brand new loaned camera from Fujifilm Australia. This was the safest option!
So I use my X-T3 to film the setup and create the final video for YouTube, I use the X-T4 with the XF 56mm F1.2 Lens to shot various detail shots of my Benz. The lens does not have any OIS (Optical Image Stablisation) so the test case if purely looking at the Fujifilm X-T4 alone and its built in IBIS capability.
I also limit myself to fixed ISO 160 for the entire shoot. This will further force the X-T4 to shoot at the lowest shutter it can depending upon the light it can capture. Black interior of the car also doesn’t help reflect much light so I add Aputure AL-M9 (at its lowest setting) to accentuate some of the features of the car.
As a crouch around in the back seat of the car, I start to see the camera taking some of these shots at 1/4th of a second. I think that if this kind of shots are sharp out of the camera and in focus, then this is HUGE improvement!
At least from my perspective anyway. I have head people state that they can hand hold at some brutally slow shutter speeds. But in my case I know my limit so if the camera is extending my limit and capability then this is the right camera for me.
The Review
You have to be relatively new to photography to not know that everything in the back of the camera (on that tiny screen) looks sharp and in focus. Its not until you get these photos on the computer and start to review do you realise that shot are out of focus or have camera shake.
So, the only way to know if these photos are any good and as such the IBIS capability of the X-T4 in Low Light situations, is when you download the photos on your computer.
What I see is hard to believe? Off the total shots only 5-10% are out of focus or blurry.
Rest of the images are all sharp and in focus. Hence usable!!
Conclusion
Overall, I’m impressed with the IBIS capabilities of the X-T4. It’s truly amazing how it manages to compensate in low light and slow shutter photographs resulting in a sharp and in focus shots.
Certainly the 5-axis stabilisation is a great addition to the X-T line of cameras. I was keen after hearing the rumours when they surfaced that the X-T4 would have this included to test it out. Having played around with the X-T4 for a couple of weeks I am really liking this added skill that I have developed, thanks to this camera. It was always something I was lacking but now I am able to handhold and shoot very slow shutter shots.
Looking forward to buying my own.
