Fujifilm X-T5 Review After 9 Months: The Perfect Daily Carry Camera?
After nine months with the Fujifilm X-T5 as my daily carry, I’ve discovered a camera that strikes the right balance between portability, handling and image quality. Paired with the Zeiss Touit 32mm, it delivers a classic, film-like rendering and colours that often look perfect straight out of camera. In this long-term review I share real-world experience, sample images and why the X-T5 remains one of the best everyday cameras in 2025.
In December 2024 I started carrying the Fujifilm X-T5 with me most days. One body, one lens: the Zeiss Touit 32mm f/1.8. No bag full of glass, no back-up system, just a camera that felt right in the hand and produced images I wanted to look at again and again.
This isn’t a technical breakdown of specifications. You can find endless lists of megapixels and autofocus modes elsewhere. This is a real-world account of what it’s like to live with the X-T5 as your daily carry camera for months — walking through markets, hiking in the mountains, photographing friends, pets, and everyday life.
Mountains of Gudauri, Georgia before sunrise
Why the X-T5 Works as a Daily Carry
The X-T5 strikes the sweet spot between capability and portability. It’s not a pocket camera, but it’s light and compact enough that you never think twice about taking it with you. And that’s the real test of a daily camera — whether it comes along for the ride every single day.
Handling is excellent. The body feels solid, the dials make sense in practice, and the overall design encourages you to shoot. The one drawback: the grip is small, especially if you’re carrying it for hours. But it’s a trade-off you accept for the form factor.
Battery life is strong, weather resistance adds peace of mind, and nothing about the camera feels fragile or fussy.
A Classic Look with the Zeiss Touit 32mm
For this whole period, I shot only with the Zeiss Touit 32mm (about 48mm full-frame equivalent). Limiting yourself to one lens can feel restrictive, but in practice it was freeing.
This lens and sensor combination has a rendering that feels almost film-like — a classic look with natural colours and beautiful tonal transitions. It’s sharp when you need it to be, but never clinical. Whether I was shooting mountain light, a street market, or an interior, the results had a consistency that reminded me why a simple set-up often produces the best work.
Soviet stuff, Dry Bridge Market, Tbilisi
The Colours: Fuji Finally Gets It Right
Fuji’s film simulations are well known, but with earlier models I often felt the need to tweak or post-process to get the image where I wanted it. The X-T5 changes that.
For the first time, I found myself happy with many shots straight out of camera. The JPEGs look so good that I often didn’t bother opening Lightroom. When I did, using Fuji’s film profiles in Lightroom Classic gave me a perfect starting point — close to how the scene actually looked with my own eyes.
That natural rendering is a big part of what makes the X-T5 special. The files aren’t exaggerated. They’re true.
Everyday Performance
Street & Daily Moments – Fast enough, quiet enough, and discreet in hand.
Cityscapes & Low Light – Excellent dynamic range, smooth highlight roll-off, and natural colours at dusk and night.
Landscapes – At 40MP, detail and tonal depth are superb, especially with snow and sky.
Pets & Events – Autofocus is more than capable for daily photography. This isn’t a £5,000 sports body, and expecting it to perform like one is missing the point.
Interiors & Products – Accurate colour reproduction and plenty of resolution for commercial use if needed.
Spring Blossom
A Few Things to Know
After months of use, here’s the short version:
The handling is excellent, but the grip could be deeper.
Image quality has a classic, film-like rendering that never gets old.
Fuji’s in-camera film simulations are finally good enough that I often skip post-processing.
The menus are straightforward. Autofocus is reliable. For a £1,700 camera, it delivers everything it should.
Is the Fuji X-T5 Still Worth It in 2025?
Absolutely. The X-T5 is more than just a spec sheet. It’s a camera that encourages you to shoot — to carry it, to use it, to trust it.
After nine months of daily use, it’s clear: this is the first Fuji I’ve used where the straight-out-of-camera files are so consistently good that editing feels optional. Paired with a single, versatile lens, it has all the capability most photographers will ever need.
If you’re searching for a daily carry camera in 2025 — one that balances portability, quality, and joy of use — the Fuji X-T5 should be at the top of your list.
