BigBlue Dive Light Review (VLT-4200P)
04/01/2022
Fuji Xt20 Underwater Photography / DIVE Housing Review
Lets take a look at the Fuji XT20 Underwater! I joined the Fujifilm family last year after purchasing the XT20 and a few second-hand lenses for an absolute bargain. Being primarily an underwater Photographer I was aware that I had options for underwater housings for my Fujifilm but to be honest I've been more than happy shooting with my Canon G ranges for some time now.
I spotted a deal on the Meikon Underwater Housing for the Fuji XT20 during a January Sale for less than a third of the original retail price… It piqued my interest.
Upon researching further It seemed clear that the offerings from Miekon and Sea frog at least on face value were the same housings with a different print. Also, The Underwater housing for the XT10 is also identical to the XT20 model. It was time to take this camera underwater and see what it can do!
Let's Talk FUJI XT20 Underwater Specs / benefits
325-point autofocus system
4K video + Wi-Fi wireless networking
Easy Rear-panel controls and abck button focus
Full control and Value For Money
Comparing The FUJI XT20 For Underwater Photography
Of course, there are multiple high-end SRL cameras on the market as well as digital compacts which offer incredible shooting experiences, I've always advocated for a smaller form factor and focused on cameras that excel in low light conditions. Since experimenting with my Fuji XT20 on land for over a year I was interested to know if the slightly larger and heavier form factor was worth it vs my usual smaller selection. I've only a few dives on the Fuji XT20 at the point of writing this, so many more hours to play around but I thought I'd write about my first impressions and how I believe this to be an excellent value for money Underwater Mirrorless option for the mid to even professional range.
Importent:
This Camera Housing
Fits Both XT10 + XT20
Camera Models
COOL THINGS AT A GLANCE- Nice To Knows
XT10 and XT20 housings are identical. The bodies and layouts are totally interchangeable from the perspective of the housing. Settings and using back button focus underwater is a real nice change from shooting my Canon compacts. Fujis color science seems to be harder to tweak in terms of natural, fast manual white balance when shooting underwater compared to Canon. The form factor although twice the size of say, a canon g series or Olympus TG6 for example. That said it doesn't feel too big and is very easy to navigate and control underwater.
How Did the FUJI XT20 Feel / Function Underwater?
Ok, obvious functions first. Focusing. I strongly recommend setting up your Fuji XT20 to be back button focus. If you're not aware, the Fuji’s allow almost total customization of your back buttons which means you have total control over setting the camera to use how you feel most comfortable.
If you are used to the traditional Shutter focus trigger, cool… but with the 325-point focus system pushing 1 button to focus and then another to capture gives you the confidence to grab focus before committing to shot. It is super-fast and pretty darn accurate. I usually shoot a small central focus box I manual shift left or right if I'm changing focus composition ( which I can also do with the Fuji) but upon first impression, the XT is very good at say focusing to the left side of my composition or even past the lower foreground to the mid-range subject allowing me to create depth of field shot without having to force or adjust the focus point manually. The more I use this I'm sure it won't get it right 100% of the time, but from my first impression, its performance in this was notably impressive.
Underwater WHITE BALANCE Performance FUJIFILM Review
I dive in a variety of water conditions from lush clear blue to “do you really try and take pictures in that water” kind of conditions LOL. So manual white balance is an absolute must when dealing with particulate galore!
This is what I found with the XT20 manual white balance performance underwater. Setting my manual white balance was one more click than my canon. (on canon you can set up a 1 click white balance read, very handy and fast for underwater) you can customer the white balance to wherever you like on Fuji, but you have to click, set, it, and commit to adding 2 extra clicks to the process. Not a huge issue and was still very easy and fast and provided you are not bouncing your dive profile or the weather conditions above you changing rapidly, you don't need to do this very often anyways.
I think I've been a bit spoiled with Canon's colour science and underwater photography. I'm used to setting it instantly and it has been more or less bang on the money perfect where I like it. On my first dive with eh Fuji XT 20 I noticed the first white balance setting to be quite warm after doing so, with a yellowish tinge. Owt oh I thought! But upon the second attempt and after adjusting the ISO down (which id had set stupidly high for underwater) it started to be more in line with what I expected. I think the main issue here isn't so much the camera, but myself. The camera clearly thinks differently about white balance underwater (obviously like it should) for lower light and exposure. More coming up in the Low Light Performance section next.
XT20 Multiple Shifts Setting White Balance
Low Light Performance FUJIFILM Review
I often like to shoot P mode for just fly-by underwater shooting, letting the camera handle most settings whilst I control the white balance and exposure. You rarely need to touch it on Canon once set and upon changing those setting it doesn't make a visible difference to how to Camera read the manual white balance. Nor these days do the cameras spit out horrendous low light artifacts when you get deeper with super low light levels.
However and to some degree of surprise… The Fuji DID ( on some images). Now lets be clear, Fuji do not have a P mode or anything of the likes. You can the control for the most part But it's largely down to your settings and not the quality of the low light performance per se. You will get variable white balances, based on your other settings. I'm going to play around with this and will update here at a later date. Suffice to say, for now, setting the camera to a reasonable ISO 200- 400 seemed great, along with shutter speeds in the 80 - 120 range giving fast and consistent manual white balances and low light performance I was happy with. However, whilst playing and to some degree fumbling, I managed to take a few shots on less than desirable ISO settings and of course, I got some terrible artifacts on less than deeper dives that were very apparent when adjusting the photos in post. I'm comparing this to similar photos and settings I've taken with Canon and Olympus. This is by no means a deal-breaker and largely my problem as you cant expect good results from incorrect settings for the conditions. Besides, we are all talking about a Fujifilm XC lens which isnt designed to be fantastic in low light so to some degree this could be more down to the lens than the camera. (it is possible to use to 18-55mm XF if you remove the manual zoom function.
FUJIFILM XT20 UNDERWATER HOUSING Review
First impressions, yes, larger and heavier than the likes of the high-end digital compacts such as Canon G16, Olympus TG 5/6 Sony Rx100, etc. This may give some people buoyancy issues since it is been heavier at the front. For me, it wasn't an issue at all and if your underwater camera set was already on the negative weight side due to tray and arms or light, etc then you will have no issues transistioning either. The only people whom this will affect are those who were used to shooting positively buoyant rigs previously.
Secondly, Housing preparation is slightly finicky... Is that the word? Besides the double O-rings and leak alarm (which are stunning, easy to use, and a total surprise on the housing under $200) the problem I had was putting in the camera! Man, it's a super snug fit, due to the groves on the lens which allow you total lens control in housing.
You WILL struggle the first few times getting The XT20 in the underwater housing and many might even quit in confusion, thinking they have somehow got the complete wrong housing! Having problems fitting the Fuji XT20 inside our underwater housing? Well, besides making sure you are using one of the only 2 lenses I believe you can that fit (that's the 16-50mm or the 35mm) when inserting the XT20 with the 16-50mm lens on, you will simply have to trust it… place it in positions and give it the magic wiggle back and forth slowly, almost like a vibration movement to nudge it into the groove and slowly push down. It does go in eventually. It's just the grooves on the lens wheel are tighter than the seal on a fish's butt! For this reason, and as a standard practice anyways, I strongly recommend always preparing the housing BEFORE the boat and in an aircon room where you have plenty of time to do it right. That gives you the best chance to not feel pressured to rush, inspect for hairs, or properly clean and lube your rings and ensure you get that camera in perfect as intended, whilst benefiting from the nice cool aircon, helping you keep both you and camera cool going inside your housing. Your aircon air isn't then going to condensate once it cools down underwater (a common issue with housings in the topics where you prepare in highly humid environments.)
Overall summary: Larger than compacts but manageable considering the obvious upgrade in control and function you get over a typical compact in a housing. Especially when you shoot full manual.. Which you will eventually. Never say never budding Underwater photographers! The back button focus is just.. “how did I live without it!” Overall I found the housing easy and fun to use to access EVERYTHING… The manual zoom dial and focus are a little small but I didnt have trouble gripping and using them but I can see someone with gloves on doing so… but that is the gloves and not a unique issue to this camera alone.
The port is huge too! You can get over-under shots without using a massive dome lens, that's cool I thought. The downside is though, you CANT use a massive dome lens. Not even a wet lens. That's the one downside here.. You are stuck without wet lenses. The housing is designed specifically for the 16-50mm lens any smaller lens will fit, ie the 35mm XF v2… probably a 23 although I've not tried and obviously any pancake although I can imagine some major vignetting on the shorter lens styles due to the depth of the port inside the housing itself.
Conclusions FUJIFILM XT20 UNDERWATER Review
At this point in time (2022) the Fuji XT20 is getting on a bit now. But this is good. This means you can pick up a secondhand version and get into the mirrorless market for less and expand later. The quality in camera technology isnt that different despite its age boasting 4k video and some stunning features worth their weight. Even if you are simply a point and click guy right now, id still says this is worth it, provided you actually have the intention and will to learn more and go further as this camera and housing will suit you all the way up to the most advanced levels and for a fraction of the price without needing to upgrade in a couple of years. BUT BUY NOW the issue with buying older cameras is that they DO NOT make the underwater housing for them forever. Right now these underwater housings for the Fujifilm XT20 and XT10 are bouncing in and out of sales constantly, which leads me to believe they are moving on.. So buy now.. You will not find better housing for under $200 and the Fuji XT20 can be had for $300 - $350.. Which is basically the same price as buying a new digital compact and housing or less, which typically costs in the $600-$800 range minimum. (They retain their value very well especially if you take care of them and the lens will go with you should you upgrade to the XT30 or another X line Fuji camera.)
I hope you found this interesting and/or helpful - Looking for more Underwater Housings or Camera dive gear reviews? Click Here
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See you next time.
Importent:
This Camera Housing
Fits Both XT10 + XT20
Camera
I hope you found this interesting and/or helpful - Looking for more Underwater Housings or Camera dive gear reviews? Click Here
Thanks for reading! If you would like to help us out you can subscribe or even buy us a coffee which we massively appreciate, but never expect, after all, as divers and photographers we are practically family!
See you next time.
