Fujifilm X-M5 Setup: Menu Settings to Change First

To set up your Fujifilm X-M5, start with the Q Menu, your autofocus mode, metering, drive mode and a Film Simulation, then save it all as a custom preset you can call up from the mode dial. After that, turn the mode dial to Movie and set up your video settings separately, because the X-M5 shows a different menu for stills and for movies.

How the X-M5 menus work

Think of your camera's menu like a closet with labeled drawers. You don't need to open every drawer each time. You only need to know where things live.

On the X-M5, the MENU/OK options change depending on whether you are in stills mode or movie mode, and the same goes for the Q Menu. So if a setting seems to disappear, check which mode you are in first. Your camera isn't broken. It's just showing you a different closet.

The named menu tabs are where you change imaging settings. Press left on the Focus Lever to jump from tab to tab, press right to go into the setting you want, then press MENU/OK to select it. This saves you from scrolling through every single item.

The Q Menu shows information at a glance and gives you fast access to settings. You can also change what appears on it to suit the way you work. A good first-day habit is to put the settings you change most on the Q Menu, so you rarely need the full menu at all.

What you are working with

A few specs shape how you should set this camera up. Here they are in one place.

Feature	Fujifilm X-M5	Source
Sensor	26.1MP APS-C X-Trans CMOS 4
Processor	X-Processor 5
ISO	160-12,800 standard, 80-51,200 extended
Burst	About 8 frames per second
Card slot	SD, UHS-I speed
Battery	W126, CIPA rated around 330 shots
Screen	Fully articulating, 1.04 million dots
Viewfinder	None
Stabilization	No IBIS, digital IS only
Weight	355 grams (about 13 ounces)

Step 1: Set up autofocus

Pick an AF mode

Autofocus is the camera choosing what to make sharp. You get to tell it where to look. On the X-M5, AF MODE is in the Q Menu, and you change it with the Rear Command dial.

• Single Point is highly selective and focuses on one small spot. Picture pointing at one apple in a bowl of fruit.
• Zone is meant for subjects that move around unpredictably. Think of a puppy that won't sit still.
• Wide/Tracking uses the whole frame and includes the Subject Detection modes. The camera looks everywhere and follows what it finds.

A calm way to start: use Single Point for things that hold still, like a person posing or a cup of coffee. Switch to Wide/Tracking when your subject moves.

Turn on Face/Eye and Subject Detection

Face/Eye Detection is turned on from the AF/MF SETTING menu, under FACE/EYE DETECTION SETTING. Subject Detection can be switched on from the Q Menu and the AF/MF SETTING menu, with choices including ANIMAL, AUTOMOBILE, MOTORCYCLE & BIKE, AIRPLANE and TRAIN. Fujifilm says the system can detect animals, birds, cars, motorcycles, bicycles, airplanes, trains, insects and drones.

Set it to what you are actually shooting today. If you are photographing your dog, choose ANIMAL. If you are photographing a friend, use Face/Eye Detection.

Choose single or continuous focus

AF-C means the camera keeps adjusting focus as things move, like your eyes following a ball across a field. You switch to AF-C in the AF/MF SETTING menu. For a subject standing still, single-shot focus is fine. For kids, pets or sports, try AF-C.

Use the touchscreen

PetaPixel's reviewer wrote that they used the touch screen often to set the AF point, and liked having the AF joystick as another option. Try both and keep whichever feels natural to you.

Step 2: Choose a metering mode

Metering is the camera checking how bright your scene is, a little like you squinting to judge the light before stepping outside. Fujifilm calls this setting photometry. On the X-M5, you find it at MENU/OK, then SHOOTING SETTING, then PHOTOMETRY. You can also assign it to the Q Menu or a function button.

If your photos keep coming out too dark or too bright, this is one of the first places to look. A bad exposure is just information. It tells you which setting to try next.

Step 3: Decide how focus and exposure lock

The AEL/AFL button lets you lock exposure and focus on a scene, then move the camera to recompose while keeping those settings. Imagine pinning a note to the spot you care about, then turning to frame the picture.

By default, exposure lock and focus lock are also linked to the shutter button. You can unlink them in MENU/OK, then SET UP, then BUTTON DIAL SETTINGS, under SHUTTER AF and SHUTTER AE. When you are just starting, leaving them linked is simpler.

Step 4: Set the drive mode

Drive settings give you single frame, high-speed burst, bracketing, panoramas and more. On the X-M5, you open them with the button beneath the Film Simulation dial.

PetaPixel lists the burst rate at about eight frames per second, with a buffer that holds roughly four seconds of shooting at max quality. Because the SD card slot is only UHS-I speed, PetaPixel notes it takes a while to clear after bursts.

Start in single frame for everyday photos. Switch to burst for action, and give the camera a moment to finish saving before you turn it off or swap the card.

Step 5: Plan around the missing stabilizer

IBIS is a part inside some cameras that wiggles to cancel out your shaky hands. The X-M5 does not have it. Digital Camera World points out that this limits how slow you can set your shutter speed before hand shake starts to show in your images.

Think of the shutter as a door. A fast door opens and closes in a blink, so a wobble doesn't have time to show up. A slow door stays open longer, and every tiny shake gets recorded as blur.

Fujifilm did include digital image stabilization, which it says helps with minor camera shake and with walking while you film. PetaPixel also notes that many Fujifilm lenses have image stabilization built in. The kit lens is the 15-45mm f/3.5-5.6 OIS PZ. OIS in that name means the lens has its own stabilizer.

For a sense of real-world settings, Digital Camera World's sample photos with the Fujifilm XF 35mm f/1.4 R include 1/480 sec at f/2.8 and ISO 640, and 1/680 sec at f/1.8 and ISO 640. If your photos come out blurry, try a faster shutter speed first. That one change fixes a lot.

Step 6: Pick your Film Simulation

A Film Simulation is a ready-made look for your photos, like choosing a flavor before you bake. The X-M5 has a Film Simulation dial on the top left. It offers 20 Film Simulations in total, with eight on the dial and space to add three more favorites.

Digital Camera World's reviewer wrote that the dial made them change Film Simulations more than they would if the options were buried in menus. The same review praised the standard Provia mode for its color and dynamic range, and noted extra options like film-like grain, boosted dynamic range and color chrome effects that change the saturation in skies.

Another Digital Camera World writer argues that shooting JPEGs straight from the camera is a good way to learn, because you have to get it right in camera. Fill your three favorite slots with looks you like, then spend a week shooting with them.

Step 7: Use Auto mode on purpose

Auto mode is a perfectly good place to begin. On the X-M5, you can even tell it what kind of scene or subject to prioritize: press MENU/OK, go to SHOOTING SETTING, then AUTO MODE SETTING, and choose one of 15 preferences.

Use Auto as training wheels. When a photo comes out the way you hoped, look at the settings the camera chose. Over time, those numbers start to make sense, and you'll be ready to make the choices yourself.

Step 8: Save your setup as a custom preset

Once your settings feel right, save them so you never have to rebuild them. Fujifilm's quick start guide describes the final steps: press DISP/BACK to return to the previous menu, select SAVE CURRENT SETTINGS, and choose OK to confirm. To load your preset, turn the mode dial to the custom number you assigned.

Many people make one preset for still subjects and one for moving subjects. That way, switching is one turn of a dial.

Step 9: Set up Movie mode

Pick resolution and frame rate

To get into video, turn the top mode dial to the Movie option, the movie camera icon, then press MENU/OK. The menu switches to a movie layout, and you choose resolution and frame rate in MOVIE SETTING, then MOVIE MODE.

The X-M5 can record up to 6.2K at 30p in 10-bit 4:2:2 open gate, up to 60p in 4K, and up to 240p in 1080p. Open gate means using the whole sensor, which gives you room to crop for wide or vertical videos later. PetaPixel notes that 4K at 60p adds a minor 1.18x crop. If you are new to video, a simple 4K setting is an easy starting point.

Set video autofocus

Fujifilm's guide suggests switching to AF-C in the AF/MF SETTING menu, setting AF MODE to MULTI, and turning on Face/Eye Detection so the camera tracks people around the frame as you film.

PetaPixel found that in video, the camera often shifted focus to the background or drifted before finding the subject again, and that adjusting the defaults made tracking stickier but not perfect. Record a short test clip before anything important, so you know how it behaves.

Watch the heat

In PetaPixel's testing, the X-M5 recorded 6.2K open gate at 30 frames per second for an hour and fifteen minutes before stopping, and overheated within forty minutes at 4K/60p. PetaPixel also mentions a long-play mode that should extend record limits. For longer sessions, Fujifilm's FAN-001 cooling fan attaches to the back of the camera without a cable.

Set up sound

Digital Camera World reports that you can change the built-in microphone's pickup from all around the camera to reduce noise from behind it, in front of it, or both. The camera also has a mic jack and a headphone jack. If you are talking to the camera, try cutting sound from behind so the background stays quieter.

Try Vlog mode

The X-M5 has a Vlog setting on the mode dial with touchscreen controls built for selfie-style filming. It includes a product priority mode that shifts focus to an item held up to the camera, and a mode that uses the shallowest depth of field to blur the background. Digital Camera World also describes a vertical video mode that films a short 1080p vertical clip while the camera stays horizontal.

Screen and battery habits

Since the X-M5 has no viewfinder, you compose everything on the rear screen. PetaPixel's reviewer had to turn the screen brightness to maximum on sunny days, which they noted will hurt battery life. The battery is the W126, CIPA rated at around 330 shots.

Carry a spare battery, especially on bright days. A charged spare in your pocket turns a dead camera into a two-second swap.

Where to go next

If you want a broader look at how Fujifilm menus are organized, read the Fujifilm Camera Menu Setup Guide. If you are still weighing the X-M5 against the Sony ZV-E10 II, which PetaPixel compared it to, the Sony ZV-E10 II setup guide shows how that camera's menus compare.