One of the questions I get a lot is in regard to My Fujifilm X70 Settings.

So today, I'm going to answer those questions.

Firstly though, I want to say "thank you" to all of those that took the time to comment, email and in some cases phone (from Peru of all places) with words of kindness following my rant last week. It means a lot. I mean it.

Now, as it's the 21st century, I've made another little YouTube video to accompany this Fujifilm X70 Settings blog post. If you get a chance, it might be worth looking through it as I talk quite a bit about how I shoot certain images with the Fujifilm X70:

Fujifilm X70 Settings - Zone Focusing & Metering

I mentioned in the video because the X70 doesn't have a native viewfinder, I typically use it via a zone focusing mechanism.

By the way, there is a great description of Zone Focusing on the DPS website if you want to dig deeper into the technique.

In a nutshell, because of the wider focal length than perhaps the X100 range, it's "easier" to have a greater chance of focus accuracy using a wider aperture.

In the image above, I'm using the distance scale at the bottom of the screen (which goes from 0.1 to 10 to infinity in range).

In the example above, the camera is set at F16 and is indicating that everything from around 1.6 meters to around 8 meters will be in focus giving those parameters.

Unfortunately, the X70 does not give HDMI-out recording of anything other than playback so I can't take clean screenshots accurately for this Fujifilm X70 Settings post. Bear with me on the gritty iPhone pictures.

Because of the ridiculously small size of the camera, and it's light weight, this manifests itself as a pretty incredible camera to shoot "from the hip".

When it comes to getting in close, and shooting those angles and shots that you won't get with a camera by raising it to the eye, I think the X70 is probably the best bet in the Fuji X-Series range at the moment.

The above image is shot with the WCL-X70 which gives an even wider field of view (14mm, which is approximately 21mm in full frame terms).

One thing to note when using the X70 and especially when using the wide angle converter is that the edges do barrel a little. The middle three-quarters of the frame will be perfectly fine, but you may need to do a little distortion correction for the edges.

Metering with the X-70 and Function Buttons

The X70 has, like most of the X-Series of cameras, a set of customisable function buttons. Some of these I disable completely, like the one on the top plate which by default is the Video button.

Because I use Spot Metering a lot, I set Fn6 to my photometry. Because the X70 doesn't have a dedicated photometry button or dial, if you do want to change metering frequently, I recommend setting it to one of the function buttons.

I choose Function Button 6 as it's in the same location as the one I use on my X100F.

I use the small button on the left of the LCD for film simulation and the button that is visually labelled as "erase" on the back of the camera, I set to face recognition (which works pretty sweet on this camera).

Back Button Focusing & Meter Lock

One of my complaints about the X70, is the cluttered button configuration on the back of the camera. The left, DISP BACK and AF-L/AE-L buttons are way too close to the LCD for my fat fingers.

That said, short of making the camera bigger, I'm not sure what the engineers could have done.

I always shoot with a back button configuration and, for the X70, as the AFL is not a configurable button, we are forced to use the AF-L button itself.

If there is an update to this camera, I'd love to see the Q or the rear command dial configurable as function buttons for the Fujifilm X70 Settings. And, additionally, the ability to assign AF-L to that button as with the X100F.

I'll typically pop the camera into manual focus on the front, then use the AF-L button on the back to lock my focus.

Note, I pretty much always focus/recompose. I always switch the joysticks off on the cameras that have them and whilst this is a personal choice, I find it a much quicker way of working.

As I said, I'll focus first, then meter accordingly. Once I'm happy with my metering exposure, I will half depress the shutter button to lock the metering in, then recompose. And click.

In Shooting Menu 4, I set the AE/AF-Lock Button to AF-L only. That enables me to control the exposure lock separately.

I also set the AE/AF-Lock Mode to Switch here.

Metering for the highlight area and focusing/recomposing allows me to work really quickly when shooting weddings with the X70, especially when there is a good light contrast in the scene.

Colour & Monochrome Fujifilm X70 Settings

Sadly, the X70 doesn't have the Acros film simulation. But it does have Classic Chrome and additionally, the X70 is a camera that I find myself using the Velvia film simulation on a lot too.

Martin Parr is a favourite photographer of mine, and I often refer to my X70 as my "Martin Parr" camera. Not because the images I take are anywhere near his calibre, but because of the camera itself, I feel, let's me explore better and because I can get so much closer, I can get glimpses into the everyday life that I feel I can't with other cameras.

Monochrome Fujifilm X70 Settings

Monochrome + R Filter
Sharpness +1
Highlight Tone -1
Shadow Tone +2
Noise Reduction -2

Classic Chrome Fujifilm X70 Settings

Classic Chrome Filter
Colour - 0
Sharpness +2
Highlight Tone -1
Shadow Tone +2
Noise Reduction -2

Velvia Fujifilm X70 Settings

Velvia Filter
Colour - +2
Sharpness +1
Highlight Tone -1
Shadow Tone +2
Noise Reduction -2

You'll notice a subtle difference between each three of these settings (which are keyed into to the custom settings).

Primarily, I find the sharpness needs a boost when shooting classic chrome. It may just be my ageing eyes or my perception, but that works for me.

When I'm shooting Velvia too, I'm choosing to do it for a reason - and that is usually because it's a vibrant and colourful day. In which case, I'll set the Colour setting to +2 to give a colour drenched look to the images.

Performance & Battery Preservation

If you have the camera, you'll know it takes the NP-95 batteries. Which are the smaller, lower capacity batteries that the X100/S & T used.

I *think* the batteries are rated at around 350 shots and that's probably a good estimate. I'm fairly sure I get more than that, though I haven't really done a scientific check.

What I will say though, is my battery management is pretty similar across all the cameras. So:

Using the Disp/Back button I will normally have the LCD set to the Custom view. Bear in mind there is no EVF in the camera and unfortunately, there is no way of switching the LCD off (would like to see that in a Firmware Update). I will normally just display battery life and basic exposure date. I don't have things like horizon etc showing as that does take up more battery juice.
I'll have my performance mode set to HIGH. This actually uses up more battery power, however, when coupled with the idea of switching the camera off between shooting sequences it works very well. With High Performance on, the camera wakes up much quicker so you can save a lot of battery power by switching off, rather than relying on the auto-power-off mechanism.

There isn't a lot of other settings that are of note for the X70. Each of the configurations, of course, are personal preference but I hope this little guide will give you a headstart if you are using the camera.

And a great camera it is too!

Buy the X70 on Amazon (if you are quick): http://amzn.to/2qZiT9u

If you are interested, I still have some spaces left on my Wedding Photojournalism workshop in London in July. You can see all my available workshops here.

As ever, I'm happy to answer any questions you may have. Please leave a comment below and feel free to share this post too if you so wish.

Happy Snapping – Kevin (in my Studio in Malmesbury, listening to BBC Radio 4 - The Archers))

My Fujifilm X70 Settings

Fujifilm X70 Settings - Zone Focusing & Metering