The Fujifilm X70 for Street Photography
Introduction
During September I had the luck to try out the new Fujifilm X70 compact camera. I was very excited when I received it directly from our friends at Fujifilm Hellas. This is the 3rd camera Fujifilm Hellas has sent us for a review. In July they sent us the Fujifilm X-T1 and in August the Fujifilm X-T10. Besides the cameras sent to us by Fuji we have also reviewed the compact wonder of a camera Ricoh GR, the timeless Fujifilm X-Pro1 which is at the time of this writing 4 years old and still kicking serious butt, and the big and powerful Canon EOS 6D.
All cameras we review here on Streethunters.net are reviewed in a particular way and under specific circumstances. They are reviewed while doing what they are meant to be doing, shooting in the streets! We don’t care about pixel peeping, lens distortions, chromatic aberrations or anything like that. What we care about is how well a camera handles in the streets, in other words, how good it is for street photography. So today is time to look into the Fujifilm X70 for Street Photography!
The Fujifilm X70 For Street Photography
Before we start we would like to repeat what we always say, which is that this review is from a completely personal point of view. Neither myself nor any of the Streethunters.net Editors are a camera expert. We are not pro camera gurus or have any affiliation with any particular camera brand. All cameras that we have reviewed we have used extensively in the streets. In this post you will be reading my personal opinion about the Fujifilm X70, so if you are interested read on.
I would like to mention that if you feel that there is something I have missed during this post, something that you would have liked me to include, please feel free to make your suggestions in the comments at the bottom of the page. During this review I will discuss the X70’s size & weight (portability), build quality, handling, performance, features, low light performance, image quality and value.
Size & Weight = Portability
The size of the Fujifilm X70 is 112.5 x 64.4 x 44.4 mm (4.43 x 2.54 x 1.75″.) and its weight is 340 gr. (12 oz.) including the battery and memory card. This is one small camera! When the tilting LCD screen is closed flat, it can easily fit into a jacket pocket. I wouldn’t try putting it in your jeans pocket, unless you wear really baggy ones. So, from a street photographer’s perspective this camera has an ideal size, it is very light and can be carried around all day without being a burden. Compared to the Ricoh GR which we mentioned in the introduction of this post, it is smaller but the Ricoh GR is thinner, making it that much more portable. Still, the X70 is an ultra portable camera that you can take anywhere with you and for that reason I think it deserves the highest possible mark.
Rating: 10
Build quality
The Fujifilm X70 has a full metal build. The top controls are made of aluminium to keep the weight down to a minimum. In the hands if feels sturdy and robust but it fails to convey the same build quality as the other Fujifilm X mount cameras I have handled previously. It doesn’t have a bad build quality, it just doesn’t feel as good as the rest of the Fujifilm cameras I have used. Of course, this is the only silver Fujifilm camera I have ever held so maybe I just didn’t feel inspired by it, or maybe my perception of the build quality was affected by the not so attractive silver parts of the camera body. The top dials didn’t move with the same heavy and decisive feeling that the dials move on the X-Pro1 and the X-T1 and X-T10. They moved in a more snappy way and felt less durable, even though I am sure they will never fall off. The back dials and buttons all work just fine. No spongy feeling like with the Fujifilm X-T1. They felt very responsive and they were quite easy to handle. The LCD screens is a 3.0-inch 1.04M-dot 180 degree tilting touch LCD screen. It tilts to 180 degrees allowing the photographer to get creative shots from different points of view. The touchscreen capabilities of the camera are great! More on this later. One last thing that we have to mention in the build quality is the amazing Fujinon 18.5mm F2.8 lens! The lens is sharp from edge to edge and produces great results. Fuji is famous for the high quality lenses it produces.
Rating: 8
Handling
If you have used a Fujifilm camera before once you pick up the X70 everything feels natural to you. That is how I felt when I used this wonderful little compact. All dials and controls where were I expected them to be. The Aperture can be changed from the lens aperture ring, the shutter speed from the shutter dial on top and the exposure compensation from the comp dial on top. Of course no camera is perfect and the handling experience wasn’t 100% perfect for me. But this is a personal review of the camera, so you are free to disagree with me if that is how you feel. Let’s take a look at the pros and cons more carefully and see what I liked about the camera’s handling and what I didn’t like.
Pros
As I mentioned before, as soon as I picked the Fujifilm X70 up, I knew exactly how to use it. Everything was where I expected it to be on a Fujifilm camera. The dial positions and handling felt natural to me and I felt right at home. In my Fujifilm X-T1 review I talked about this vintage camera handling style again. It is something only a Fujifilm camera user can understand. Combined with the lovely tilting touchscreen LCD screen on the back, the fast AF capabilities that we will talk about later and the responsiveness of the camera, I thought that the experience of shooting with the Fujifilm X70 was a joy nearly most of the time.
Cons
One negative thing I found about the camera’s handling was that AUTO button on the top. When the camera arrived I just couldn’t figure out how to use it manually because the AUTO button was switched to on. It was in such an obvious place right there on the top of the camera but I just couldn’t see it. Ok, this could be attributed to me not noticing the obvious but it drove me nuts! I was trapped in automatic mode and I couldn’t change shutter speed, aperture or anything for that matter. When I finally discovered what that button did and I unlocked the full potential of the camera, I felt as if I had discovered cold fusion!
The other thing that annoyed me was the placement of the PREVIEW and DELETE buttons on the LCD screen. When shooting with the LCD screen tilted it was hard for me to preview my photos. I felt as if I was going to break the LCD when pressing it, so I would close it and then look at my photos.
The Aperture ring was a bit annoying to use. Because it is so slim fujifilm has added two finger rests on either side of the lens that you can use to click the aperture ring around. My fingers are not small and those little finger rests felt very small to me. I didn’t feel comfortable changing Aperture settings using that ring.
One last thing that I found was disappointing was that I couldn’t use this compact camera with just one hand when I wanted to change my settings. Even though I could go around pointing and shooting in Manual mode, when I had to change Aperture for example, I had to bring the camera down and change the Aperture with my free hand. On the Ricoh GR you literally don’t need a second hand at any time.
Rating: 8
Performance

Just like the other Fujifilm cameras we have reviewed here (except the X-Pro1) the Fujifilm X70 packs a large X-Trans II 16MB CMOS sensor. The image quality that comes out of that sensor is awesome but we will talk about that in detail later. In this part of the review we will examine the Camera responsiveness, Battery life, the Autofocus speed and accuracy and the LCD’s performance.
Camera responsiveness
The Fujifilm X70 is a very responsive camera, although it does have a slight shutter lag that can be noticeable only if you have previously shot with a faster camera. So, for example during the day I used the X70 I also used the Ricoh GR and when I had the X70 in my hands I felt that there was a slight lag when I took shots. After a while I got used to it and my brain knew when to press the shutter button in order for me to get the shot at the precise moment I wanted it. I think that if I hadn’t used the Ricoh GR during the same day, I might have not perceived this, but if I did, that means that it is there, so we have to make a note of it.
Battery life
I was VERY impressed with the battery life! During the test the X70 was being used all day from 11:00 to 18:00 by both myself and fellow Street Hunter Digby Fullam. We only had one battery and the charger Fujifilm had given us wasn’t working, so we only had one charge to get us through the day. We must have shot at least 300 photos and the camera still had plenty of juice. So, the battery life of the camera impressed me a lot. By the way, I fixed the charger later, it turned out there was a lose connection of some sort. It was a really old and beat up charger, it was a wonder it still worked.
Auto Focus
The Fujifilm X70 Autofocus speed and accuracy were most impressive! I couldn’t believe a compact sized camera with a APS-C sensor could perform so well! Even in low light, the camera’s AF was great! There all that much to say about this really, other than well done to Fujifilm for delivering such a good AF system in such a small and capable camera.
LCD performance
Using the LCD was a very nice experience. The only times I hated it was when the sun was very bright. When the sun was bright I found it very hard to compose anything. I had to place my second hand over the screen so I could see what was displayed. Other than that the touchscreen functions were great and so was the responsiveness of the display. I felt as if I was looking through a piece of glass, that is how responsive the screen was. Concerning the touchscreen features, you can choose between having a non touchscreen LCD, a touch to focus touchscreen and a touch to focus and shoot touchscreen! Besides using the LCD to shoot, you can use it to navigate the menus and to preview your photos. All in all the LCD is wonderful, I just hope that in future models they address that issue with the poor visibility in bright sunlight.
Rating: 9
Features
The compact Fujifilm X70 is packed with loads of features for such a small camera! Believe me when I say that it has as many features as a DSLR and maybe even more. If you are looking for a camera that fits in your pocket and can do plenty of things, look no further, this baby has it all! I was very satisfied with what the camera had to offer. Some cool features worth mentioning are the tilting LCD Touchscreen, the lens ring that can be used for focusing or as a function button for switching between other various settings depending on how you set it up, the upscaling digital teleconverter that can produce 35mm and 50mm equivalent images without sacrificing megapixels, WiFi, Interval Timer Shooting, Focus Peak Highlight, Digital Split Image, Electronic level, Multiple exposure and more. Another feature that I loved about this camera was its completely silent shutter. I would actually walk up to people’s heads and shoot multiple shots in their ears just to see if they heard the shutter but nobody did. When activating the Electronic shutter the camera can reach up to speeds of 1/32000th of a second. That give you the ability to shoot wide open in broad daylight and get some pretty nice results. Just as with any electronic shutter you must be careful not to move to much when shooting so you don’t get a wobbly effect in your photos called rolling shutter effect.
Of course, being a Fujifilm camera, the X70 has all the film presets one would find in the Fujifilm X-T1 and X-T10. The Fujifilm presets are what help produce those popping colours Fujifilm cameras are so famous for. So, by getting the X70 you have access to these amazing film presets that will make your photos look awesome from a colour perspective.
The only downside that I can think of about this camera is that it doesn’t have a viewfinder. Maybe some will not miss it, but as with the Ricoh GR I felt that at times I did need it, especially during the time the sun was so bright I couldn’t see anything on the LCD screen.
Rating: 8
Low light performance

Like all Fujifilm cameras the low light performance on this little compact was amazing. The combination of the Fujifilm X-Trans II 16MP CMOS sensor and the Fujinon 18.5mm f2.8 lens allows for easy shooting at 1600 ISO and 3200 ISO. Pushing to 6400 ISO isn’t a risk at all. Results are just great and easily acceptable. This camera doesn’t only produce good images in low light, it actually focuses at a decent speed in low light too. I was very impressed with how it managed to lock on target. It wasn’t the fastest low light AF, but it was workable. Of course the Fujifilm X70 is a compact camera with an APS-C sensor and it can’t be compared to the various full frame beasts that dominate the low light photography landscape, but it is still an excellent choice for someone looking to shoot in low light that doesn’t want to spend a small fortune on a bigger full frame camera.
Rating: 8
Image quality

I will start writing about the image quality by saying three things, Fujifilm X-Trans II 16MP CMOS sensor, no anti aliasing filter and Fujinon high quality glass. That combination is killer and the image results are just fantastic! Crazy colours, fantastic contrast, incredible sharpness & detail and perfect edge to edge image quality. What an amazing little camera. Image quality excellent, enough said.
Rating: 10
Value
The Fujifilm X70 can be appraised as an expensive compact camera or as a cheap marvel of a camera! It depends on how you look at it. As far as I am concerned it is priced well. It could have been priced a little cheaper but even so at the price it is available now it isn’t that bad. Of course there are DSLRs and other Mirrorless options for the same price, but the features this little gem packs in combination with its perfect size and weight are well worth it. I will not give it the highest marks as far as value is concerned but I will give it a good mark because it deserves it. At the time of this writing You can purchase it on Amazon.com new for as low as $599 and on Amazon.co.uk new for as low as £499.00. In the rest of Europe it is sold for €659 new. I guess Fuijfilm thinks that we in Europe can afford to pay that much more for the camera. So the cheapest place to buy it now would be the UK.
Rating: 8
Conclusion
The Fujifilm X70 is an amazing compact camera for Street Photography!
I highly recommend it to anyone that is starting out with street photography just now, or has been at it for years. This little pocket sized monster is fun to use, produces great results, is light, fast and full of features that can make your experience even more enjoyable. The built in 18.5mm f2.8 lens is ideal for street shooting and helps you get close to your subject so you are right there experiencing the scene while capturing it. It might not have a viewfinder but it has a very capable tilting LCD touchscreen that more than makes up for the loss of the viewfinder most of the times. The only times I missed the viewfinder really was when the bright Greek sun was shining and I couldn’t see what I was framing. As I mentioned before it has a good build quality, performs great in low light conditions, has great autofocus and doesn’t chew through the battery as fast as I thought it would. I think that with two batteries in your arsenal you can go shooting all day with the X70. As a camera it handles nicely and the image quality is off the charts!
If you want to know more about the Fujifilm X70, just ask me in the comments. If you would like me to share with you my personal settings, I will gladly do so. All you have to do is ask and I will deliver.
Stay Sharp & Keep Shooting!
I have been using an X70 since Feb 2016. Formally big Nikon stuff, then X-100S then X-T1. The X70 fits wonderfully in my hand. As you said, the camera controls, f-stop ring, shutter speed and others are natural and easy to use. Image quality is wonderful.
Since Feb it is the only camera I have used. It is alway by my side. It is a wonder little camera!
And yes, I’d be instructed in your default settings. I typically use jpg, b/w+Green, +1 hilights, +1 Shadow +1 sharpness
Thanks
Monty
@montysphotos
Hello Monty,
Thank you so much for commenting. I am glad you agree with what my thoughts about the X70. I am seriously thinking of getting an X70 as a backup street camera myself, but I do own the Ricoh GR which I love, so maybe getting the X70 would be overkill. As for my settings, I prefer shooting in RAW & JPG, Pro Neg Hi, +1 Highlights, +1 Shadows, +1 Sharpness.
Stay Sharp & Keep Shooting!
Bravo Spyros for the great review of this amazing camera!
The x70 is the camera that I’m looking to buy for replacing my a6000.
How it performs in zone focusing?
Is the shutter lag noticeable in manual (zone) focusing?
Thanks in advance!
Hello Anastasios and thank you very much for taking the time to read through my review. The X70 is a really exciting street camera and I highly recommend it. Of course the a6000 has interchangeable glass, so you might miss that, but then again you might not. I have the X-Pro1 and the XF18mm is constantly on camera, so it is as if I have a fixed lens 🙂 . Concerning your questions:
1) Performs great at zone focusing because it has a wide lens. So just set it to f8.0, focal distance at 1.5m. and fir and forget!
2) The shutter lag is less noticeable when zone focusing and it isn’t a problem.
Hope my feedback is useful.
Stay Sharp & Keep Shooting!
Nice review, but common, saying focusing speed is mind blowing, it’s a bit to much. Camera is okay for snapshots and day to day images, but focusing only works in afs, continuous focus is not reliable. Afs is okay for static objects, not fast enough for moving subjects, and as soon as lights get dim, it takes forever to focus. Dont get me wrong the camera is great, nice image quality in a very portable size, for that is wonderful, but is no speed daemon.
Hello,
Thank you so much for your comment. I really appreciate your feedback, but I kindly disagree.
In the post I mention that the AF speed is great for a compact camera, I don’t mention that it is mind blowing. Also the AF in low light on the X70 camera I used was great. It delivered for me. I had no issues with it whatsoever. I didn’t try continuous focus and I didn’t review continuous focus, since I don’t shoot street photography in burst mode. Saying it is not good for moving objects, is an understatement in my opinion. I shot my kids running and jumping in the park at dusk and the AF was both fast and reliable. All in all for a compact camera it is fast in my opinion. What cameras are you comparing it with that makes you feel the camera is slow to AF?
Looking forward to your reply.
Thanks
maybe is not as bad as I made it sound, but compare to the Sony a7ii, a6000, Leica Q, em5, it’s much slower. At least it feels way behind…. yes it’s good for what it is, today i spend the whole day walking and just kept the camera in my pocket. But I don’t really know how you can shoot your kids with the camera unles they were static, and that’s juts compare to other mirrorles, compare to a nikon DF and D800 it’s even broader the gap. But sure I didn’t bought the camera for machine gun type of shooting sonfor what it is is amazing.
Hello again! Thank for your reply. My kids were not static. No way! They are 6 & 8 years old so you can imagine! Because I would rather not publish their photos online if you want to see the photos I can send them to you and you can check the EXIF info and see. I have even shot them while running towards me with great results.
No need to I believe you 🙂 maybe it’s a matter of getting use to it… i feel the camera as slow as the Sony rx1 which doesn’t bother me at all, since I didn’t get it for fast moving things. Anyways it’s a great camera for the size, have you used the wide adapter? I am actually thinking of getting it, that way when I go with other cameras to shoot I can have a 21mm in my pocket 🙂
Hi! Am quite interested in this camera but as I’ve only used DSLRs (no mirrorless nor just digital compact since I’ve been seriously into photography) I was wondering how this camera deals with natural light? I’m a big fan of golden hour and involving light with my photos and quite reluctant about the result mirrorless can give about it. Thanks in advance!
Hello C.
Thank you for reading our review. We have examined the Fujifilm X70 from a street photographer’s point of view. Thus we have not conducted any tests in regards for golden hour photography (I presume you are referring to Landscape photography). However, from reviewing my photos taken around that time of day, I would say that I am satisfied with the results. The big sensor, the great processor and the very good quality lens really help the X70 shine in nearly any situation.
Stay Sharp & Keep Shooting!
Hi! Great review of the camera. I’m planning to buy one, but I’m a little concern on the brightness of the display as I often take photos in sunlight.
I have a sony nex and you can pump up the brightness so you still can see the image even with a heavy sun. In X70, does it have an similar option?
Hi Alex and thanks for asking that question. In the following weeks we will be publishing a new Street Hunt video in which we actually test the X70. In it we mention the screen quite a few times. As you might know, I live in Crete and it is mostly very sunny here all year along. I have to admit, I wasn’t satisfied with the brightness of the screen and the fact that it was glossy. In the bright Greek sunlight I had trouble composing photos, even at full brightness. Also, it has this silly dimming feature that I just couldn’t deactivate. I am sure that if I looked into it more, there would have been a way around it, but it became very annoying. After about 10 – 15 seconds the screen would dim. That’s about it. Other than that, the camera is amazing! It has the highest marks in our review section. That is something worth considering!
I’ll be looking forward to the video!
Monty
Hi. An inexpensive fix might be an anti glare LCD screen protector.
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1255901-REG/expert_shield_1e_crcz_57dr_fujifilm_x70_anti_glare_screen.html
Thanks for the tip James!
Hi Spyros,
Your review was one of a few I read that convinced me to buy this camera. Previously I was shooting with my D7000 (a very nice camera but heavy). Most of what I shoot is street photography and so far, using zone focusing I have been VERY happy with the results, under all lighting conditions (f8, ss250 or 500, ISO auto). Moreover I take it with me all of the time, more than I can say about my Nikon.
I bought this mostly (initially) because I wanted a camera I would have with me all of the time, as I just had a baby daughter and wanted a camera that would work from delivery room to living room. I have not been disappointed.
I can’t lie, part of the attraction is simply the looks (and once I got it, the feel) of the camera. I know, seems a bit stupid to want a camera on looks alone but it sung to me. At least to me, if it don’t sing, I don’t bring.
Anyway, to me it’s a great camera for the baby and the highway. It’s very discreet, compact, light, takes great photos and is just plain fun to use. Not the usual techy, gear head comments true but instead, comments from a camera user.
I am happy you found the review useful and even happier you are enjoying your new camera! Stay Sharp & Keep Shooting!
Find a fuji x70 at 400 euros… do you think is a good choice in May 2017 ? my experience with the ricoh GR was ruined for recurrent sensor spots ! Best Regards and thanks in advance
Hello Luciano. A X70 for €400 is a good purchase even now. It is very good and I highly recommend it if that is what you are looking for in a street photography camera.
I own Sony A7ii, but I feel it’s big and heavy when doing street photo and it sometimes “scared” people in the street..Good choice to trade my A7ii with X70…??
The A7ii is a totally different camera to the X70. The A7ii is a complete system camera with lenses and accessories, whereas the X70 is a compact camera. If you will only be using your camera for street photography, the X70 should be more than enough for you, however if you plan on using your camera for other types of photography I wouldn’t recommend the trade. What lens do you have on your A7ii that makes it feel big?
I used to have a GR which I sold because of its nagging habit of focusing on the background rather than the subject. Maybe I had a lemon. I am looking at x70 with some interest. How has been your experience with its Autofocus? Does it have a snap mode like the Ricoh GR? Also does it have custom settings mode like C1, C2 etc which are available at the twist of a knob like in LX3?
Hello. The X70’s AF is much better than that of the Ricoh GR. Actually it is one of the best in compact cameras with such a big sensor. There is no snap focus, but if you know the basic principles of zone focusing you don’t need it because it is basically the same thing. There are no custom settings in the sense that the Ricoh GR has, because the Fujifilm system is built around manual controls. So everything is in the dials. I hope this helps.
Thank you so much for the great review about the camera. i am from India. and now i am using Nikon D750 DSLR for my travel and other category photography purpose except Streets. I want to start Street Photography in here in India. for that i wanted a compact good camera. now i am confused about which one to buy, like whether Ricoh GR II or Fuji X70?? which camera you suggest me among these two ?? kindly suggest 🙂 Thank you.
Hello Shreenivas Yenni and thank you for your message. I like both cameras very much. I think that the Ricoh GR is more compact and has much better ergonomics than the Fujifilm X70 and certainly a more sophisticated menu system, however the Fuji has the Fuji colours. Personally I own a Ricoh GR and I am really happy with that camera and I wouldn’t change it for the world, but my suggestion is for you to try them both and see which one of the two better suits your shooting style.
Stay Sharp & Keep Shooting
Hello! Did you try using fuji x70 for photostocks?
Thanks
Thank you for such a great review. I’ve just bought this camera new here in Sweden, and I’m pleased beyond words. I got the X70 for the everyday run & gun shooting and street photography. The zone focusing as you recommend (f.8 and 1,5m) is great, I set the ISO to Auto (up to 3200) and it works like a charm. The only thing that’s not great is the ergonomics in the back and to the right from the LCD screen, but I won’t nagg about it and I’ll gladly experiment with how to hold it and I’ll find my ways. My next step is to explore deeper the color settings for each of the profiles. It’s gonna be a great summer I guess.
Hello Dragan!
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and experience so far with the X-70! I am really happy you enjoyed the review 🙂
Enjoy your summer, shooting!