Fujifilm X-T4 vs X-T3 Comparison

If you searching what’s the best mirrorless camera or what’s the best Fujifilm camera to buy or you are confused about what camera to buy the Fujifilm X-T4 vs X-T3 why you should or shouldn’t choose the X-T4 over the X-T3 as a landscape photographer I’ll try to help you to make the right decision.

And if you are wondering should you buy the X-T3 or the X-T4 i’m going to tell you my personal decision for buying the X-T4 and using it over the X-T3 but i’m also going to break down a few of the most important differences.

If you are thinking about either of these two cameras as a first fuji or of upgrading your existing X-T3 I’ll cover some of the noticeable changes like the new flip screen, the ibis similarities, and differences.

If you primarily shoot landscape or Wildlife photography and you are an X-T3 user you will notice a difference about the X-T4.

I can take you through the process with which I consider whether it’s worth upgrading to the Fujifilm X-T4 and really make a good decision to know whether an update is worth it or not.

I’m going to compare the Fuji X-T3 vs Fuji X-T4 and look at the main differences and the similarities between the two cameras and i’m going to help you decide which camera you should get and why.

What Are Key Differences Between X-T4 vs X-T3?

• In terms of the differences between X-T3 and X-T4 is the IBIS in body image stabilization previously seen on the Fuji X-H1. the X-T4 gives 6.5 stops of stabilization and the X-T3 has image stabilization but it’s in the lens and you have to use a lens that has image stabilization because X-T3 does not have in body image stabilization.

• the X-T4 is a little bit bigger and it’s a little bit heavier, there are some differences between the LCD monitors and the EVF the X-T4 has fully articulating screens whereas the xt3 has a tilt screen. the X-T4 has the highest resolution of 1.62 million dots whereas the X-T3 has 1.040 million dots the X-T4 viewfinder is exactly the same as the X-T3 with 3.69 million dots.

• the biggest difference with the X-T4 is the photo and video are separate so when you’re on the still side and you open up the menu you’re only going to get options to change your photo settings now if you’re in the video you’re only good at options to change your video so really putting a separation between those two types of shooters.
• There’s also a new setting called movie optimized control and what this does is basically save your settings and separate them from photo and video. So, if you go in you can set up your video settings, and if you jump over to photo you’re gonna have a completely different set of settings. So, if you’re going back and forth a lot you’re not gonna have to keep resetting your settings every time you want to shoot a photo or video.

• Another major physical difference is that Fujifilm removed the 3.5mm headphone jack from the X-T4 and they replaced it with a USB-C to 3.5mm dongle cable which you can plug in your headphone.
• One of the other differences that Fuji has made is that they’ve swapped out the battery that has almost double the capacity over the XT3 so you’re going to shoot a lot more photos and videos out of this battery.

• So, stills and video have a separate menu depending on the position of the stills video switch before the X-T4 the other X series cameras like the X-T3 and the older X-T2 or the X-T30 use the movie function on the drive dial this makes it much easier to access than it was on the X-T3 where you need to precisely rotate the drive mode controlled by multiple positions to move to and from movie shooting mode.

• There are other small differences between the new X-T4 and the X-T3 the rear dial between the AF on and the Q button has been made more prominent extending further from the back of the camera to make it easier to operate, headphone jack vs usb dongle.

What Are Similarities Between X-T4 and X-T3?

• So, let’s start with the similarities the shape and the size is almost identical, the rear buttons ISO and shutter dial focus mode switches are almost identical, both cameras are weather sealed and they both have two memory card slots.

• the sensor is the exact same so you shouldn’t see any difference in color or low light and then the other features are IBIS, the flippy screen, the viewfinder itself is identical it’s exactly the same in both cameras, dual card recording, the battery life, the stills in the movie switch 240 fps, two film simulations.

• They both have same dynamic range, same colors, same contrast, same details, same performances at high ISO, the quality is exactly the same for each one. They’re going to take the same pictures, they both have the same film simulations and the same fuji colors, both use the same sensor, it’s the same mount there are so many similarities.

Which Camera is Bigger?

When it comes to the body in terms of the buttons and dials on the Fujifilm X-T4 the first thing every photographer will notice is the increase in the grip size there are some changes and a bigger battery is added which is larger in comparison with X-T3.

the X-T4 is a little bit bigger because it has that in body image stabilization so you get a little bit beefier body that has a nice deep grip on it to fit that battery in there as well as just feeling a little more solid in your hand.

the X-T4 grip feels deeper compared to the X-T3 even if you don’t have bigger hands but I think it feels more secure and comfortable to hold when compared to the Fujifilm X-T3.

the ISO dial, shutter dial, and exposure compensation dial on the X-T4 all feel in the same place and they all feel the same with the exception of the shutter dial which feels and sounds just a bit more clicky than the X-T3.

So, these still and movie mode dials come a little bit bigger in diameter which makes handling just that little bit easier on the X-T4, with the still movie dial you can switch back and forth between the two modes and still be able to retain your settings for each mode. the drive dial also has an HDR setting which you can use when you have the drive mode set to HDR and you release the shutter.

There is a new feature on the X-T4 body called the C4 command that allows you to control ISO with the front command dial and you don’t need to dive into the menu to be able to customize it.

the front dial feels about the same when spinning it but the rear dial does feel much better than the X-T3 rear dial.

the X-T4 rear dial sticks out just a little bit more whereas the X-T3 is a little bit more recessed which made accidentally clicking in on the function button of the rear dial more of an occurrence than you would like with the X-T4.

When it comes to the side body the remote port on the X-T3 from the right side is moved over to the left side on the X-T4 a small upgrade next to the mic jack, on the right side you will find the SD card slots both UHS-II.

They’ve also updated the electronic viewfinder to be a little bit bigger and have a little more resolution in this you’re gonna get a clearer picture when you’re using that electronic viewfinder and other than that all of the buttons have pretty much stayed in the same place besides a couple of them switching locations just to make them a little bit easier to access.

Menu

In terms of the menu it’s one menu it’s kind of smooshed together again once you get used to any of these cameras it’s not going to be an issue navigating any either of the cameras so you can start with the X-T4 and then get an X-T3 and you have no problem.

So, whatsoever finding anything in the menus it’s pretty straight forward and it’s pretty clean and fuji’s generally better than other cameras in this regard.

the Q menu is now customizable regarding the number of items that appear when you hit the Q button on the X-T3 you are forced to have 16 items for the Q menu but on the X-T4 you now have the option to reduce it to 12, 8, or 4 items for a more minimal and clean look to your Q menu.

Screen

the screen on the X-T4 you are able to position the screen in ways that it’s visible from all angles if you’re planning to record yourself or record other people. But if you plan to stay behind the camera for the most part the X-T3 screen is perfect and even if you want to record yourself.

So, you can use an external monitor or there’s like mirrors you can put on the top of the camera and that makes the the screen visible so the solutions around that obviously is not as convenient as the X-T4 but still the resolution and the image quality is also a little bit better on the X-T4.

the Fujifilm XT-4 has 1.6 million dots and a fully articulating flip screen just like the Olympus em1 mark II whereas X-T3 has one million dots and a tilt screen and it worked perfectly for getting low angle shots and both the horizontal and vertical positions and some options for shooting above your head.

the screen on the X-T4 makes it super easy to film yourself which is perfect for bloggers there is a workaround to filming yourself with the X-T3, so the X-T4 is a better camera to shoot I prefer the X-T3 LCD over the X-T4 for stills work and X-T4 for video.

the X-T4 flip screen means you can point the screen straight down instead of being limited by the angle of the X-T3 screen.

If you really want to have a fully articulating screen you’ll for sure be happy with the X-T4 but if you are familiar with the tilt screen you can stay with the X-T3.

the articulated screen on the X-T4 is awesome for stills it can articulate in vertically and articulates obviously horizontally so this is a brilliantly designed screen for stills so if you are a hybrid photographer and videographer I would prefer the xt4 screen.

Why is Better to have a Flippy Tilty Screen?

the flippy tilty screen gets made a big deal because when you record a video and if you are somebody who plans on filming yourself then this is a huge advantage having that screen that you can turn around and look at yourself if you’re doing this with the X-T3 you’re either shooting blind.

Sensor

the sensor of both cameras is exactly the same the 26.1 megapixel APS-C X-trans 4 CMOS sensor combined with the X processor for image engine.

Image Quality

So, the image quality of both the X-T3 and the X-T4 is identical, both have the same processor, the same processing engine, and it’s the same output.

Both cameras can produce equally stunning work and both are highly competent and probably the best APS-C sensor.

the image quality is absolutely amazing it’s a joy to edit its raw files very flexible and with wonderful colors, FujiFilm added the new compress option for the raw recording raw images are compressed using a lossy non-reversible algorithm.

So, because the X-T4 deals a little bit better with lowlight the images come less greeny and a bit cleaner with the X-T4.

Video Capabilities

• both do 4k 60 frames a second at 4200 internally
• both do 4:2:2 externally through the HDMI

When it comes to video quality the X-T4 shoots 4K video up to 60 fps and 400 megabytes per second transfer for up to 20 minutes and Full HD for up to 30 minutes which is just the same as the X-T3 and you’ll see no difference whatsoever to the output.

So, both cameras can record 4k up to 60P and 200 Mbps grabbed at one point 18 times for working up to 30P and 400Mbps.

X-T4 has slow motion at 240 fps in HD mode which when you put that out at 24 fps it’s 10 times slow-motion and half the speed of the120 fps that was available on the X-T3 the X-T4 also shoots F log which is fantastic for color grading.

the maximum recording time on both cameras is 30 minutes it’s going to stop at 30 minutes and if you want to find a way around it then you can use an external monitor and record continuously as long as you like

Frame Rate

the maximum frame rate in Full HD which goes up to 240 FPS 10 times slow-motion effect the X-T3 can do a maximum of 120 fps which is half that 5 times slow-motion effect note that the high-speed mode works with the 1.29 time scrub.

the X-T4 can go up to 15fps using the mechanical shutter where the X-T3 can only go up to 11fps if you switch over to the electronic shutter both of them can go up to 20fps or even up to 30fps but you get a one point two five times crop on the image when you’re using those faster frame rates.

ISO Performance

The X-T4 at ISO 12800 handles the noise better than X-T3 when zooming at 100%, they look almost identical, but when you look at the color chart, you can see a little bit more noise on the X-T3.

And, zooming into the color chart at 200%, even in capture one, there are definitely less worms, but there is more noise on the X-T3. If I look at the chair in the background, you can see there is more noise generally in the darker areas.

So, in the lighter areas of the image, the X-T4 does handle the noise better at ISO 6400. Looking at ISO 12800 in Lightroom and zooming into 100%, you can definitely see more noise, if you increase that to 200%, there is more noise.

Autofocus

It is the exact same autofocus system in both of these cameras another thing Fuji has done with the X-T4 is improve the autofocus algorithm instead of just doing distance data it also pulls in shape and color.

So, it’s going to be a lot more accurate it also can go into lower light autofocus much better going to -6 EV versus -3 on the XT-3.

Stabilization

So, the biggest change in the X-T4 from the X-T3 is the IBIS or the in body image stabilization if you do a lot of landscape photography mainly on a tripod you don’t need to worry about stabilization.

Weight

X-T4 is a little thicker in the body and it does have a deeper hand grip because it has a bigger battery and the inclusion of IBIS which means a slightly heavier body, the X-T4 comes in at 607 grams with the battery whereas the X-T3 comes in at 539 grams.

Storage

the card slots have been completely rearranged so that they are vertically stacked up the side of the camera meaning you can remove a card while recording without the risk of accidentally ejecting the active card as could happen with the X-T3 overlapping slots the door to the memory card slot is now removable

the X-T4 like the X-T3 lets you configure how its two slots are used with separate options for stills and video in movie mode you can shoot sequentially to one car and then to the other or both simultaneously to provide redundancy you can set the camera up to shoot movies to one car and stills to the other but if either car fills up it will start recording everything to the car that still has space remaining.

Ports

Concerning physical connection, the X-T4 has a 3.5 millimeters microphone input, a micro HDMI output, a USB type C, port a 2.5 millimeter remote input, and a flash sync port in the front.

the headphone jack of the X-T3 is now gone you need to use a USB-C dongle if you want to monitor your camera audio, the X-T4 still has a USB-C and micro HDMI port but with a separate door so two floppy rubber doors on the X-T4 versus 1 plastic on the X-T3.

Fujifilm almost completely revisited the connectors and their placement on the camera you will find all of them on the left side of the X-T4 whereas the 2.5 millimeter remote inputs on the right side of the X-T3, on the X-T4 the 3.5 millimeters headphone output is completely gone but you can use a USB-C adapter instead included in the box.

last but not least both cameras have WI-FI and Bluetooth connectivity which allows you to do the usual things such as remote controller geo tagging on transfer jpeg images on your phone the interaction between the camera and smartphone continues to be inconsistent.

Sometimes it won’t connect sometimes it drops the connection and doesn’t reconnect her right away there is room for improvement with the X-T4.

Which Camera Have Better Battery?

In terms of battery life, the X-T4 battery is amazing but it’s very expensive it lasts more than twice as long as the X-T3 but it costs twice as much.

The X-T3 battery life is really poor if you try to use it in burst mode and if you’re doing a lot of rapid fire shots or a lot of videos I would suggest that a normal person would need between three and five batteries for a normal day of shooting whereas the X-T4 is probably going to do that same shoot to one and a half to two so there is a big difference in the battery life.

Which Battery Last Long?

Another upgrade of X-T4 is the battery improvement the X-T4 battery has a higher amperage of 2350 mAh compared to 1200 mAh of X-T3 almost doubled the capacity.

The X-T3 can take 390 shots with a fully charged battery whereas the X-T4 can manage around 500 shots as per CIPA standard but still it is safe to have extra battery for your camera.

the new battery pw235 model on the X-T4 offers up to 500 shots on charge in normal mode and 600 in economy mode and a big improvement over the 390 shot battery life of the X-T3 even though the X-T4 is now compatible with a higher power USB PD charger for fast charging.

Battery grip on the X-T4 fuji also changes the position of the remote release connector with the X-T3 Fuji made a huge improvement moving this input to the other side solving completely the problem now with the X-T4 they put it again on the old position.

So, there’s a balance to be found in there and the X-T4 doesn’t come with an external battery charger meanwhile the X-T3 does. You can use battery grips on both cameras and you can also plug in an external charger and do both cameras.

Price Difference

the next thing to talk is the price the X-T4 runs at $,550 which for what you’re getting with this camera is still not a bad price but if you want to save some money or you’re definitely doing more towards the photo side you can pick the X-T3 for about $1,100 at BH Photo.

Which Camera is Better For Video X-T3 or X-T4?

the X-T3 is a totally usable and great video camera with great output but the X-T4 is better particularly when you’re switching back and forth between stills and video.

Why You Should But X-T4 Over X-T3?

The X-T4 was the first in the X-T series it features 5 axis IBIS, offered improved video features to the X-T3, a new, more powerful, and efficient battery, improved tracking, and Eye AF, up to 15fps mechanic shutter, improved controls still, movie mode on the control dial, a multi-angle LCD screen, and some other minor changes or improvements.

So, whether or not you should spend the extra thousand dollars to upgrade over the X-T3 to the X-T4 after that it’s a matter of features and if you need some of its features then you’ll have to upgrade to the X-T4 and spend more money but if you don’t need these features X-T3 is still an incredible camera.

Where X-T4 wins over X-T3?

So, where the X-T4 does better than the X-T3 is switching back and forth between stills and video, first of all, you have the switch under the shutter speed dial but the next thing that’s important is that when you do switch from stills to video in video mode you get only the video menus and in stills mode, you get only the stills menu it just makes it cleaner and faster to operate depending upon which mode you’re in it’s a cleaner break because the video is not stills and stills is not video.

Where X-T3 wins over X-T4?

If you’re planning on recording with one battery only you can plugin your 25 watt fast charger into your camera and when the camera is turned on it won’t charge your battery it will use the charger as the main bar source so you don’t have to worry about battery life but on the X-T4 you can’t monitor the audio at the same time because it uses the same connection the same USB-C charger connection to monitor the audio.

Why Should You Buy X-T4?

If you have an X-T3 and you have a need for a video I would consider upgrading to an X-T4 because the X-T4 is really the better hybrid camera and particularly if you’re a solo content creator the screen sticking out at the side really solves the problem so if you’re doing video and you’re solo content or creator the fully articulated screen is a much better option and really solves the problem.

What are Advantages the X-T4 has Over X-T3?

the X-T4 has in built body stabilization and that comes in really handy while you’re taking video so when it comes to taking shots or just handheld recording having IBIS does make a big difference and when you compare that to the X-T3 which has no in built stabilization there is a drastic difference between recording handheld footage on an X-T4 and recording handheld footage on an X-T3.

the X-T4 has a proper flip outscreen which is usefull because when creating videos at the moment you can’t see yourself on any screen whatsoever with the X-T4 you can flip the screen right out so you can see yourself while filming.

the major advantages of the X-T4 over the X-T3 are the image stabilization system that works with any lens a significant improvement in battery life and the multi-angle LCD screen you need to figure out if any of these three things are a must have for your shooting needs.

Which Camera Should You Buy?

It really depends on you and your needs you can’t go wrong with any of these cameras as for the image and build quality their reliability the enjoyment of using each one of them both have several things in common and they have some crucial differences.

the X-T3 is one of the best steel video cameras on the market it offered a great balance of image quality functionality and availability in stills and video.

the X-T4 is practically an X-T3 under steroids it’s the best of the best for an APS-C camera the design is beautiful thanks to the physical controls and the customization possibilities not a huge difference from the X-T3 from a landscape photographer perspective actually.

f you are not into video I would definitely suggest skipping the X-T4 and going directly with the X-T3 the IBIS is powerful and it’s very convenient to use in a combination with long telephoto lenses.

So, if you are a hybrid shooter who loves stills and video and you don’t mind spending a little more the X-T4 is definitely the right choice for you both deliver excellent performances.

3 Reasons Why you Shouldn’t Upgrade from X-T3 to X-T4.

• When you drop your shutter speed in low-light situations, you’re gonna get subject blur from people moving. So, even you can drop your shutter lower because you have IBIS, but you’re still gonna get blurry photos because your shutter’s so low.

• If you shoot photos and not doing videos, you’re still using the same sensor, the same megapixels, and everything else is pretty much the same then you shouldn’t upgrade to X-T4.
• And the last reason is the flippy screen, the articulating screen on the XT3 makes it easy to flip down low or if you wanna shoot low, whereas, on the XT4, the flippy screen’s gonna have to come out to the side, it just makes everything so much harder, and it takes so much longer to flip it.

So if you’re just a photographer, and you’re not looking to do any video you should stick with the X-T3 or buy a used X-T3.

Conclusion

So, in final conclusion if you’re planning to do Wildlife or Bird photography for the most part then you should really consider buying the X-T3 and maybe get an extra one lenses for the same price you can purchase an X-T4 and if you’re more video focused and you want to be in front of the camera as well as behind then you should maybe think about getting the X-T4 rather than the X-T3.

And, one of the most important upgrades that has been added to the X-T4 is the IBIS it gives you an extra 6.5 stock stabilization that’s similar to what you get with the best stabilized lenses.