I received the X70 from a friend. Totally at random. I was just talking to him in the group chats about how I was looking for something that was going to compliment my full size X-T3/4 cameras. Then I get to my door one day and theres a box sitting on my doorstep with a note.
I immediately added my own touch to it. I put some gaff tape on the bottom, sharpied some of the nicks and scratches, and got a Red “X” hot shoe cover for it as well as a generic lens cap.
Photographically its perfect. I am not even worrying about shooting RAW with it. Everything is straight out of camera. It focus’s fine, the Kodak Color Negative recipe I think right now is my favorite. I love that I can just turn it on, shoot what I saw, and put it back in my bag. It doesn’t look like a professional camera, its not huge and bulky. As for the cons, well its a bit slow. It does do face detect. Its an 18mm lens or 18.5, so yes its a bit wide but I think that that particular focal length is just it. I can crop in after the fact or just zoom with my feet.
The video on it is ok. Like I said nothing great. But I took it to a Jim Ward show and mostly shot stills. I got this great film vibe when the night got later and light started to leave.
But I’m not in it for the video capabilities. Its a plus but I don’t think I’ll be using that often. I have 3 color recipes set up into it and a black and white. I think for July I will attempt to shoot mostly black and white. I want to see how those images come out and whether I should get the filter thread for it and a red filter.
Is it worth it in 2024 with the likes of the X100V and X100VI? Most definitely. This tiny little camera is a powerhouse of a point and shoot. It will still cost from what I seen over that $700 mark but I think it is worth it. There is no question the image quality that comes out of this is great. I love that it slows you down. It makes you shoot better. This tiny little thing can help make you a better photographer.
My final thoughts on this camera. If you can score one for close to its original listing $700 get it. I don’t think I have seen any under $900. It’s crazy that this old camera can fetch that being almost 10 years old. But I love it. I am grateful to have received it from a friend. This camera has not left my bag since getting it. Get one. Take it with you. But most importantly…just take pictures.