Fujifilm X-A5 Performance

Generally slower-than-average performance for a mirrorless camera.

Power on to first shot was much slower-than-average for a mirrorless camera these days, at just over three seconds. That's significantly slower than the X-A3's startup time of two seconds, thanks to the new Fujinon XC 15-45mm f/3.5-5.6 OIS PowerZoom kit lens which needs to extend first when powered on. Switching from Play to Record mode and taking a shot was also somewhat sluggish at about 1.4 seconds, but a bit faster than the X-A3's 1.5 seconds.

The Fuji X-A5's full autofocus shutter lag was slower than average for a mirrorless camera, though there is a "Pre-AF" option which should help by continuously focusing even when the shutter button is not pressed half way (that does however reduce battery life). The Fuji X-A5's full-autofocus shutter lag (with the subject at a fixed distance) was 0.328 second using Single Point AF mode (center) with the kit lens (without Pre-AF enabled). This is marginally improved over X-A3's 0.374 second, but we were hoping the upgrade from a contrast-detect to hybrid AF system would yield significantly faster results. We tried multiple lenses including some fast primes, but they produced similar results in this test.

With the built-in flash enabled, the X-A5's full AF shutter lag increased to 0.463 second to account for preflash metering, slightly slower than the X-A3's 0.434 second.

Manual focus shutter lag was a bit faster than the X-A3, at 0.154 vs 0.194 second, and Prefocused shutter lag was quite quick, at only 0.043 versus 0.048 second.

We retested the X-A5's lag times using electronic shutter mode to see how using it impacts performance. As you can see it actually increased lag times.

To minimize the effect of different lens' focusing speed, we test AF-active shutter lag with the lens already set to the correct focal distance.

Single-shot cycle times were also slower than average at well over one second, and the X-A5 has a pre-press penalty (if you press the shutter button too soon after a previous shot, the camera ignores it and you need to press it again).

The highest speed full-resolution "Continuous H" burst rate was decent for an entry-level model, clocking in at about 5.8 frames per second for best quality JPEGs, which is pretty close to Fujifilm's 6 fps spec. The frame rate dropped just slightly to about 5.7 fps for RAW or RAW+JPEG files. The Fuji X-A5 also offers a "Continuous L" mode rated at 3 fps, but we didn't test that mode in the lab. We did however test the X-A5's new 4K Burst mode which worked as expected, capturing 8-megpaixel JPEGs at very close to the camera's 15 fps 4K video frame rate. Note that the electronic shutter is used in 4K Burst mode, so there can be some distortion and/or banding depending on subject/camera motion or artificial lighting.

Buffer depth was a decent 22 frames for best quality JPEGs which is much better than Fujifilm's ten frame spec, and much improved over the 9 frames we got with the X-A3. The buffer-full frame rate was also pretty good, at about 4.5 fps. When shooting RAW or RAW+JPEG files, buffer depth dropped to a paltry six frames, the same as its predecessor. Buffer clearing was fairly quick at 3.7 seconds after shooting a max-length burst of JPEGs, 3.7 seconds after a RAW burst, and 4.1 seconds after a RAW+JPEG burst.

Recycling the flash after full power discharges took an average of 1.9 seconds which is good and noticeably faster than the X-A3's 3.4 seconds, however the X-A5 has a weaker flash (GN 4 (meters at ISO 100), versus GN 5 for the X-A3).

Bottom line, much like its predecessor, the Fuji X-A5's performance was underwhelming, with slower than average startup time, mode switching and cycle times, and while AF lag has improved slightly, it is still slower than average. Full-res burst speed was decent for its class and JPEG buffer depth has improved significantly, however RAW buffer depths remain very shallow. Prefocused shutter lag was pretty good, though, and the new 4K Burst mode can capture 8MP JPEGs at a pretty swift 15 fps, however some competing models offer the same feature at 24 or 30 fps.

Battery Life
Good battery life for a mirrorless camera.

The Fuji X-A5 uses a custom rechargeable lithium-ion battery pack for power, and comes with a single battery and an AC adapter for charging in-camera via the USB port. The CIPA-rated 450 shots per charge is above average for a mirrorless camera and slightly improved over the X-A3's 410 shots (at least partially because of the weaker flash), but still much lower than most DSLRs. As is usually the case, we recommend getting a second battery for your X-A5 if you plan any extended outings.

The table above shows the number of shots the camera is capable of (on a fully-charged rechargeable battery), based on CIPA battery-life and/or manufacturer standard test conditions.

(Interested readers can find an English translation of the CIPA DC-002 standards document here. (180K PDF document))