By Yadira B. Arnold 
I’m not a great photographer, but I have more than a passing interest in the craft. Ten years ago I bought my first DSLR, a Canon 550D, and it has served me well. However, recently my favorite lens has begun to lose its autofocus function. I tried a few tips from Google to fix the problem, but after a decade together I felt that it was really time to remove the old workhorse and get something more up-to-date.
Fortunately, good equipment recommendations are never far away, given what I do for a living. I decided that I did not mind paying a little for a reliable camera, which, perhaps, could provide another 10 years of service. I also wanted something that has a solid collection of lenses, can turn to video and, most importantly, is a sponge for light. I live in a north-facing apartment, so the time window for spontaneous product photography is often very tight. Enter Fujifilm’s mirrorless XT-4.
A colleague of mine quickly recommended the XT-4 after he explained what I was looking for and what I wanted to spend. I was immediately there just for aesthetic reasons (a terrible reason, of course, to buy a camera, but it does not hurt to love its appearance). Its vintage style gives it a cool ’50s photojournalist vibe, a departure from the rather faceless, all-black options from Sony, Canon and Nikon that I’ve been looking through.
Even more important for my shabby apartment was the integrated image stabilization of the XT-4 (IBIS). While this is obviously attractive for any video work I would need it for, the idea of a full 5.5 aperture compensation with the XF 16-55 mm 1:2.8 that I wanted to combine it with was very appealing. Even superior was the maximum of 6.5 compensation stops for the next lens I had in mind and bought shortly after (the XF 35 mm 1: 2).
The decision for the 16-55 mm XF lens meant a little more upfront costs. (It often comes with the similar-sounding but visually inferior 18-55mm lens.) But I was able to find a good deal online, which made the initial cost much closer to what I would have paid at a general retailer with the lower specification glass. Of course, I got the silver model, the black version is nice, but these metallic accents really highlight it, at least I think.
Looks don’t count for much if you don’t take great photos, of course. Fortunately, this is not a problem here. Immediately after unpacking, I was impressed by the clarity and general image balance that the XT-4 produces in fully automatic mode. You can see the first picture I took above (my cat was less impressed with my new purchase).
But what about this IBIS? It is as good as I had hoped for, and has already saved me many hours of cursing trial and error. I took a couple of test strikes with a one-second freehand exposure, and although I don’t want to publish the results, the stabilization clearly shows a much nicer picture than without it, which is very clear in the picture above.
Of course, the XT-4 is not just about its appearance and the IBIS. Usually I would immediately go through the textbook and learn everything, but there is so much to learn and explore that I love to dose them in small doses. My interest in photography grows with every new feature or setting I discover. Every time I visit the camera again, there is something new to experience or understand. This part of the process was almost as rewarding as the instant gratification of the good photos he produces. Fortunately, you can read all about it in our full review here.