I don’t like selfies, I don’t take selfies and I don’t care about selfies.
And with a look like that on your face, Mr Grumpyguts, we’re not surprised. But a few minutes with the Fujifilm X-A10 may be enough to change your oh-so-small-minded approach.
Like it or not, selfies are here to stay. So unless you want to be confirmed as the out-of-touch old person you always swore you’d never be, you’d better get on board. And you know what the best way to stick it those those kids would be? Taking selfies that are so special that they’ll be left flabbergasted by your artistic and technical genius. Yeah, that’ll show ’em.
Well, I did once think I might take a selfie at that Springsteen gig I went to…
Exactly, but you didn’t because taking pictures with a phone is just not your thing. But taking pictures with a mirrorless camera… well, that very much is your thing. The Fujifilm X-A10 is in many ways just a very nice, very compact Fuji compact system camera. And we know all about them…
Go on…
The X-A10 slots in at the bottom of Fuji’s range, but don’t call it an also-ran. It has a 16.3MP APS-C sensor, native ISO range of 200-6400 and 49-zone autofocus. It also features six of Fuji’s luscious film simulation modes, including the does-what-it-says-on-the-tin Vivid and our spooky favourite, Classic Chrome. Plus there’s full HD video recording, Wi-Fi for smartphone-connected remote shots and image downloads, and the really handy electronic shutter – which lets it shoot at up to shutter speeds of 1/32,000. And being a Fuji cam, it looks fantastic too – sharply retro without being too try-hard, and enviably small and light.
And we’ll take that as our invitation to return to the subject, thanks very much. The X-A10 is so selfie-tastic it should probably come with a stupid stick that’s only usable in front of Areas Of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It has a swivelling flip-screen thing that turns fully 180-degrees, for starters. Lots of cameras do that, but most can’t then slide out further so that the camera body doesn’t get in the way of your ugly mug. The grip is designed to be equally comfortable when held from either side, and there’s a special command dial round the front which can be used to take the picture in selfie-mode, so that you don’t have to reach awkwardly for the usual button.
Fine, but that doesn’t sound that special…
Oh, but we’re not finished yet. When you flip the screen round the X-A10 will automatically activate the eye-detection mode, which is a nice touch, and there are three innovative self-timer options: Smile Detection will shoot when – you guessed it – the subject smiles, Buddy Timer snaps away when there are two people in the frame together and there’s a Group Timer option that does the same when there’s more of you. There’s even a skin-smoothing Portrait Enhancer mode.
If I buy one, will you stop going on about selfies?
Probably – we hate them too. Fortunately the X-A10 promises to be another nice addition to the growing Fuji range, and it’s not set to be horribly expensive either. So you could just forget about all that nonsense and take nice pictures of landscapes and buildings.