Fujifilm X-T4 & X-T5 High ISO Noise Comparison

How much more noise does the X-T5 have than the X-T4, thanks to the higher resolution - 40.2MP! - in an APS-C sensor?
Here's my wholly anecdotal and unscientific analysis and the conclusion I come to looking at both RAW and JPG comparisons of X-T4 and X-T5 images.

[jamesmatteson]

I agree strongly with your final point in this video. The excitement and energy for me is finding, shooting and processing the images. These days I spend far less time looking for the next best thing in cameras and more time learning to work with what I have. Thanks for your videos. I find these to be informative and interesting.

[randyk]

Great video, and I agree it hardly matters! Still.. I wonder whether there'd be a noticeable difference between the cameras if images from both sensors were viewed at the same size rather than each at 100%. Compared at equal image size the noise "grains" should appear smaller in the X-T5 compared to the X-T4, and if so the new sensor may actually be a net improvement over the T4. So.. in real world (rather than pixel-peeping) scenarios, the difference may simply boil down to how large you wish to display or print your image.

[JoelWolfsonPhoto]

Thanks John. Well done!
I recently switched from X-T3 bodies to X-T5 and the 40MP sensor was one of the least compelling reasons for me. Coming from X-T3 bodies it was a no brainer (had an X-T4 but never liked it) to get IBIS, better battery life, retaining the X-T3 style rear LCD and little improvements in the controls that all make the X-T5 such a pleasure to use. If I were a vlogger or primarily shot video and already owned an X-T4 then it's not as clear cut. But being primarily a stills shooter I would be hard pressed to change very much about the X-T5. Photography has been my full time living for decades and I always run an ROI before upgrading- the return on investment is certainly there. I feel like Fujifilm has finally gotten it right. I am hopeful that they will come out with comparably sensible improvements for their X-Pro line but that's another story...

[KevinG-]

This is a great and very informative video! Putting 40MP's in a 24/26 MP bag... Perhaps Fuji realized there are so many XT3 owners out there that weren't interested in the XT-4 so they'll market the 40MP XT-5 as the "true still photo camera" and make the XH-2 lean towards video? Love my fuji's but when I feel the need for 40MP or higher, it's bigger sensor time! Thanks again John!!

[Hugmir]

Well said, and a nice comparison, too. I often go into 6400+ ISO range, but, having seen different tests and the one you've presented here, I am not really convinced I have anything to be afraid of.

[aviatorman]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I will add that in the age of AI powered de-noise software, the issue of noise from any camera becomes history.

[NJM]

Yes, I agree....only when you zoom in and using silly high ISO's that most people will never use, can you see any difference. The pro of the 40mp is the better detail and cropability - if those high ISO settings are necessary on rare occasions, then Topaz DeNoise AI will take care of any noise whilst retaining the detail

[TheXxPSYCHO]

What about low iso performance? Would that many pixels so close together because detrimental in bright light situations?

[Reddepex]

Doing macro photography, I always zoom in to check for movement of subject or camera. Sometimes I have to go up to ISO 800. Due to depth of field with macro, it is not always possible to get everything in focus at F11, and mostly F16 is just a bit too soft. So then I take more distance, to increase depth of field, and I crop in post. Doing that, I noticed that I can see the difference between ISO 200 and 800 quite clearly. Fuji went down from 200 to 160 to 125 now. And I think that is quite a good development. Good to see they kept ISO in the higher regions acceptable.

[grantnewton]

And when you resize the 40mp image to the same size as a 26mp image (e.g. printing both images at the same size) the noise will will be reduced, so any difference disappears?

[Whalester]

Don't forget the fact that if you down sample the resolution of the 40mp image to a 26mp image in combination with noise reduction settings in the same software, there should be considerably less noise in the down sampled 40mp image than in the 26mp, beating it out. I don't know anyone that does this, but if you're an noise freak and that's what you came to this video for, it's worth mentioning! The X-T5 WILL give you a less noisy image over the X-T4 if you know what you're doing.

[svetlanagrobman]

Well, it depends. If u submit to microstocks, it's almost impossible to submit anything over 800 ISO. The noise is very visible. And u don't have to search for it 😊.

[martijn]

Never compare noise at the pixel level. Always compare noise at exactly the same crop/zoom level of a photo....