Published: January 7, 2016
The Fuji X-T10 an APS-C mirrorless camera. It shares many features with the X-T1 including the 16-megapixel X-Trans sensor and image processor. Compared with the X-T1, the X-T10 lacks weather sealing and flash sync port but adds a pop-up flash. The X-T10 provides up to 8 fps continuous shooting and records up to 1080 HD video up to 60 fps.
The X-T10 has a single memory card slot to support SD, SDHC and SDXC Secure Digital cards including UHS-I. Unlike the X-T1, the X-T10 does not support the UHS-II interface. A total of 83 SD cards were tested in the X-T10. Test results are shown below for write speed for continuous shooting of RAW images. An additional table shows the number of images taken in 30 seconds of continuous shooting in RAW+JPEG, RAW and JPEG image modes. Following the tables, an analysis has more information about the results. Recommended SD cards for the X-T10 are suggested based on the results for those seeking the fastest card of this camera.
The X-T10 is secured on a tripod and activated with a remote release timer. The image subject is a detailed test scene with controlled lighting. A manual focus adapted lens is used with fixed aperture.
Write speed is the amount of data written divided by the write time. For these tests, the shot interval during 30 seconds of continuous shooting with the buffer full is used. This provides a more accurate and consistent measurement of write speed compared with the card access indicator since the write indicator illuminates when the shutter is activated and not when the first file begins writing. Each card was tested at least 2 times and the higher result is used. Write speed is provided in megabytes per second, where 1 MB = 1,048,576 bytes. The write speed results are for RAW image mode. RAW+JPEG and JPEG modes result in lower write speed.
Continuous shooting for the Fuji X-T10 uses Continuous HI drive mode with a remote release timer set for 30 second intervals. The time does not include buffer clearing time. The number of shots is provided for RAW+JPEG, RAW, and JPEG image modes. The JPEG setting full resolution, fine quality. The detailed test scene produces 32.2MB RAW and 9.1MB JPEG average file sizes.
The Fuji X-T10 measured up to 60MB/s average write speed during continuous shooting. The camera supports UHS-I mode SDR104 to provide high write speed, but does not support UHS-II. UHS-II cards can be used in the camera, but they revert to UHS-I mode in the camera. Buffer capacity of the X-T10 is somewhat disappointing. Regardless of the memory card used, the camera would only take 7 shots in RAW and RAW+JPEG modes before the camera paused while clearing the buffer. JPEG buffer capacity varied between 12 to 13 shots using different cards.
The difference between SD cards is experienced after the buffer reaches capacity. The fast cards provide up to 1.9 fps in RAW mode while the slowest cards only provide 0.26 fps. In JPEG shooting, the range was 4.3 fps for fast cards to 1.7 fps for the slower cards. Since the buffer is limited, those using continuous high shooting mode for more than 1 second in RAW mode or 1.5 seconds JPEG mode should consider using one of the faster SD cards.
The fastest card measured in the X-T10 was the Lexar 2000x UHS-II 64GB SDXC card (note: UHS-II cards revert to UHS-I mode in the camera). Its highest write speed measured slightly above the rest, but it was not significantly faster compared with SanDisk Extreme Pro 95MB/s UHS-I cards. (The Extreme Pro 280MB/s UHS-II card did not perform as well because it does not support SDR104 in UHS-I mode.)
While UHS-II SD cards can be used in the X-T10, the camera only supports UHS-I mode. The camera does not have the contacts required to support the UHS-II interface. UHS-II cards revert to UHS-I mode and are limited to UHS-I bus speed, so they offer no advantage in the camera compared with fast UHS-I cards. However, UHS-II cards can provide significantly faster download speed when used in a UHS-II card reader. Several UHS-II cards are capable of up 250-300MB/s read speed, which is much higher than the 90-95MB/s provided by UHS-I cards. Is is not necessary to buy the very fastest UHS-II card; there are several moderately-priced UHS-II cards that offer a high read speed and lower write speed. Such cards make a good choice for those seeking to maximize both in-camera performance and the high read speed provided by UHS-II card readers.
The Fuji X-T10 includes a USB 2.0 port for downloading images directly from the camera. In testing, downloading images from the camera by USB provided about 21.5 MB/s transfer rate when downloading 6.3GB of images. The card tested was the Lexar 2000x 64GB UHS-II card. A separate UHS-II compatible USB 3.0 card reader was used to download the same images and averaged over 232MB/s transfer rate. Additional Card Reader Reviews compare card reader performance with different memory cards.