In this video Dylan Andersen shares his initial hands‑on impressions of the newly announced Fujifilm X‑M5 after several days of shooting. He begins by noting the community’s expectation for an X‑Pro‑style premium rangefinder and the surprise of receiving the entry‑level XM5, which he describes as a “creator’s camera” or “pocket shooter.” He walks through the camera’s hardware quirks—using an older WP126s battery, lacking an electronic viewfinder, and featuring a low‑resolution rear LCD—while also highlighting ergonomic strengths such as a responsive joystick, comfortable front and thumb grips that accommodate his large hands, and a pleasing aesthetic with the Fujifilm logo on top. He critiques design choices like the fixed film simulation dial, the oddly placed Q‑button, and the mic‑port cap that can be visually confusing. Dylan mentions using the kit lens and testing a Viltrox third‑party lens, and he previews sample photos. He expresses reservations about video performance, especially the absence of in‑body image stabilization (IBIS), and notes that his video experience has been underwhelming so far. He concludes by promising a full, detailed review and a separate Viltrox lens review, inviting viewers to comment and subscribe.
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When the Fujifilm XM5 was first announced, me personally and some of the other folks online all kind of said something pretty similar where we asked the question to Fujifilm, where is the X Pro 4, the X Pro 3, the X Pro 2, the X Pro 1? Those are sort of the quintessential premium rangefinder style experiences from Fujifilm. I think that a lot of people really enjoy. And unfortunately seeing the XM5 come out was a bit of a surprise. Obviously the rumors had been out for a little while that they were working on sort of this X70XM1 successor. And they came out with the XM5. And I think ever since then we've been wondering, where does this camera fit in? And once the price point got released and some of the other details about the camera came out, it was pretty clear that it's going to be an entry level camera with some really great specs for video. Some people have called it a creator's camera, some people have called it a pocket shooter. Some people have even compared it to the Ricoh GR III and GR III X series, which is kind of an interesting comparison. But I think for me personally I was really hoping for an X Pro 4. That's really the camera from Fujifilm that I'm looking forward to getting my hands on whenever that comes out. I know it'll eventually come out, but I think in the meantime, Fujifilm is doing something unique with the XM5. So with that said, I went ahead and picked up the camera. Here it is right here. This is the Fujifilm XM5. I added on a couple things. I put on a shutter release button and I put on the small rig, little hot shoe cover there. Because this is the first Fujifilm camera I've ever owned that didn't come with a hot shoe cover. I know some people say the XS20 and some of the other kind of value cameras don't come with that. But that's such a strange omission. But nevertheless, I think I'm loving this camera. That's really my first impressions and that's what I wanted to talk about today. So I've been shooting with this camera now for about four or five days now. And I've just had such a great experience with it and it's actually surprised me in many ways. So let's get some of the things that are driving me crazy out the way here in the beginning. So number one, the battery here is actually the old style battery. I'll take it out and show you. This is actually the WP126s I believe it is. Yeah. Or W126s. So this is an old style battery. This is what was in the Fujifilm X100V and some of the older cameras. But having an XH2 XH2S and even the GFX100 Mark II that I have all using the newer battery is a little bit frustrating. Not only because it's not compatible with that but because this battery is just not very good. And I think a lot of people know that. So that's number one. Number two, yes. There's no evf, but that's not what's really driving me crazy I think having this mic port right here with this sort of black, you know, cap on there while. And the cap is actually attached to it, which is kind of nice. But your brain starts to think hey, I'm going to look up into that viewfinder because you see sort of this black hole. So I don't know, maybe they did that to kind of trick people into taking a second look at the camera in terms of purchasing. But I think it's kind of strange. I do like the position of that mic poor. So if you are going to film a video on it, that is a pretty cool spot to put it. That's number two. Number three is. I'm sorry, I'm just not a fan of the film dial. I know this isn't meant for me. Somebody who's a prosumer or semi pro photographer. I know that this film dial right here is actually really cool for a lot of folks out there. And nevertheless I think that's where Fujifilm needs to lean in and you know, obviously get their marketing money out of it. So that's not for me. I wish it was some other dial but nevertheless I'm you know, sad that I can't customize it. I think is probably my biggest issue with it. The thing I do like about the camera. Let's move on to that. And again I'll have a full review out. But this is just my initial first impressions after shooting with it for a couple of days. I actually really like the little joystick here. So the joystick here is. This may be crazy to some of you who have other Fujifilm cameras but I feel like it's actually more responsive and a little bit more tactile if you will than maybe the XH2, XH2s and even the X T5. So that's been an interesting sense for me. I also really like the little grip on the front Here you can see there's a very small grip. And then on the back there actually is a kind of thumb grip here. This is. I'm. I have huge hands. I'm 6 foot 4, 230 pounds. I have huge hands. And this has been really good for me to grip so far. So really like that. I know some people have talked about the fact that the Q button is in this really weird spot right here and it's hard to hit. Yes, objectively that's true. But I don't find it all that difficult just to reach in and hit it. Maybe I'm different. Yes, it should probably be here, but there's likely some reason for that. I doubt they did that just to piss people off. What else do I love? I love just the aesthetics of the camera and how small it is. I think it's so cool that Fujifilm put their logo right here on the top. I don't know if it's been like that with other cameras, but that's the first I'm seeing of it. And I just love how small it is. So I've got the kit lens on here. I'm also testing a really cool Viltrox lens that I'll put a review out shortly on, and I've been having a lot of fun with it. The back screen is fine. It definitely is lower resolution and lower brightness than some of the other screens I'm used to on Fujifilm. But having the grip, having everything, it just feels pretty good because I've been shooting with the Lumix S9, which I don't have in front of me right now, lately. I'm actually used to not having a viewfinder, but I think nevertheless, not having a viewfinder here is obviously challenging, but the screen should have been better, I'll admit. But I'll probably talk more about that in my full review. So for the rest of the video, I want to show you some shots that I've taken with the camera so far. I think I can talk about specs all day, but you've probably already seen the specs or you can Google it. But I want to show you some of the photos I've taken. I have taken some video, but I'm going to reserve my judgment on the video for the full review that I do because I think not having Ibis is a big killer in this camera. But I'm going to try it on a tripod and sort of like a grip and see if that makes it any better. But so far, my experience with the video have not been all that positive. So let's take a look at some photos. And again, stay tuned for the full review. And I have a really cool Viltrox lens review coming out in the next couple of weeks as well, so thanks so much for watching. And again, I'm enjoying the conversation that we're having in the comments, so please leave a comment below, subscribe like the video, and thanks for watching. I'll see you guys soon. Enjoy the photos. It's ra. Sam.
