Fujifilm X-M5 Background Blur: Aperture, Distance, Lenses

To blur the background on the Fujifilm X-M5, set the smallest f-number your lens allows, get close to your subject, and leave plenty of space between your subject and whatever sits behind them. If you film in Vlog mode, the camera also has a setting that automatically uses the shallowest depth of field possible to blur the background.

The three things that make a background blurry

A soft, creamy background is the result of three choices working together. It is a bit like baking: no single ingredient makes the cake, but each one helps.

The goal is a shallow depth of field. Picture a slice of bread standing up in front of your camera. Everything inside that slice looks sharp. Everything in front of it or behind it gets soft. A shallow depth of field means a thin slice, so your subject is sharp and the background melts away.

Three choices control how thin that slice is:

• Aperture: how wide the hole inside your lens opens.
• Distance: how close you are to your subject, and how far your subject is from the background.
• Focal length: how zoomed in your lens is.

You do not need all three at full strength. Even two of them pushed in the right direction will make a visible difference.

Know your X-M5 before you start

A few specs shape how background blur works on this camera. Here they are in one place.

Feature	Fujifilm X-M5
Sensor size	APS-C, 23.5 mm × 15.6 mm
Resolution	26.1 megapixels, X-Trans CMOS 4
Lens mount	Fujifilm X-mount, interchangeable lenses
ISO range	160 to 12,800, expandable to 80 to 51,200
Autofocus	Hybrid AF with subject detection, up to 25 x 17 zones
Stabilization	No IBIS, digital stabilization only
Screen	Vari-angle touchscreen, 1.04 million dots
Weight	355 grams, about 13 ounces

The big point for blur is the lens mount. Because the X-M5 takes interchangeable lenses, you can swap the kit zoom for a brighter lens whenever you want softer backgrounds.

Step 1: Open the aperture

The aperture works like the pupil of your eye. In a dark room your pupil opens wide. In bright sun it shrinks to a dot. Your lens does the same thing.

Aperture is written as an f-number, like f/1.8 or f/5.6. The tricky part is that the numbers run backward. A small number, like f/1.8, means a wide-open pupil and a blurrier background. A big number, like f/11, means a tiny pupil and more of the scene in focus. If that feels upside down, you are in good company. Everyone mixes it up at first, and it becomes second nature with practice.

How to set it on the X-M5

The X-M5 uses a regular mode dial, the same kind found on many other cameras. PetaPixel noted that, despite its small size, it still gives you complete manual control without having to share dials.

1. Turn the mode dial to a mode that lets you choose the aperture yourself, such as aperture priority. In that mode you pick the aperture and the camera handles the rest of the exposure.
2. Press in the front dial to switch what it controls. PetaPixel's first look lists aperture, ISO and film simulations as the options.
3. Turn the front dial toward the smallest f-number your lens allows.

The rear dial handles exposure compensation, and PetaPixel found it needs a firm push to turn, which helps stop it from changing by accident. Use it if your photo looks too bright or too dark after you open the aperture.

One small thing to know: menu and Q Menu options change depending on whether the camera is in stills or movie mode. If a setting seems to have vanished, check which mode you are in. If menus still feel confusing, the Fujifilm camera menu setup guide walks through them step by step.

Step 2: Use distance to your advantage

Distance is the free tool. It costs nothing and works with any lens, including the kit zoom.

Think of it with two simple moves:

• Get closer to your subject. The closer your lens is to the person or object you focus on, the thinner that slice of sharpness becomes.
• Move your subject away from the background. Instead of having someone lean against a wall, walk them several big steps forward. The farther the background is behind them, the softer it turns.

Here is an everyday example. Hold a finger close to your face and look at it. The room behind it goes fuzzy. Now look at a finger held at arm's length in front of a wall right behind it. Both stay fairly clear. Your camera sees the world in a similar way.

If your background is still too busy, try changing your angle instead of your settings. Step to the side so the space behind your subject is far away, like an open park or a long hallway, rather than a nearby fence.

Step 3: Zoom in for more blur

Focal length is the millimeter number on your lens, like 15mm or 45mm. A small number shows a wide view. A bigger number shows a tighter, more zoomed-in view.

Zooming in tends to make the background look softer and bigger behind your subject. So if you have a zoom lens, try the long end, then step back until your subject fits the frame again.

The kit lens

The X-M5 kit pairs the body with the 15-45mm f/3.5-5.6 OIS PZ lens. Those two f-numbers describe how wide the opening can go at each end of the zoom. Neither one is very wide, so the kit lens leans on distance and zoom to soften a background.

That is not a mistake on your part. It is simply how that lens is built. You can still get pleasing results by combining all three steps: widest aperture, long end of the zoom, subject close to you and far from the background.

Lenses that make background blur easy

If you want soft backgrounds often, a lens with a smaller f-number does a lot of the work for you. Here are the lenses that reviewers mentioned alongside the X-M5.

Lens	Widest aperture	What the evidence says
Fujifilm XF 35mm f/1.4 R	f/1.4	Digital Camera World's reviewer used it as a main lens on the X-M5 and called it the perfect size on this camera.
Fujifilm f/2 prime lenses	f/2	Digital Camera World said the camera should fare well with Fuji's small f/2 primes.
Fujifilm XF 27mm f/2.8 pancake	f/2.8	Digital Camera World called it an absolutely ideal size match for the X-M5.
15-45mm f/3.5-5.6 OIS PZ kit lens	f/3.5 to f/5.6	Sold in the X-M5 kit; also used in Digital Camera World's review.

For blur, the f-number column matters most. The XF 35mm f/1.4 R opens the widest of the group. The pancake is chosen more for its small size than for its blur.

What reviewers' settings look like

Digital Camera World's review sample photos, taken by Gareth Bevan on the X-M5 with the XF 35mm f/1.4 R, list settings you can learn from. One frame was shot at f/1.8, 1/680 sec and ISO 640. Others were shot at f/2.8, including one at 1/1400 sec and ISO 640.

Notice that none of those were at the lens's widest setting of f/1.4. You do not always have to go all the way. Stepping back a little, to f/1.8 or f/2.8, keeps a bit more of your subject sharp while the background still softens. Try a few f-numbers on the same scene and compare them. That small test teaches more than any chart.

The one-touch option: Vlog mode

If you are filming yourself and want a blurry background without thinking about f-numbers, the X-M5 has a shortcut. There is a Vlog setting right on the mode dial.

PetaPixel describes it as a series of touchscreen adjustments that are handy when you use the camera in selfie mode. One of those settings automatically uses the shallowest depth of field possible to blur the background. Another is a product priority mode that shifts focus to a product you hold up in front of you.

PetaPixel also noted that, unlike many competitors' Vlog settings, the X-M5 keeps most of your advanced recording modes and settings available in Vlog mode. The Q Menu looks different in Movie and Vlog mode, but you can still customize it the same way.

How it compares with the Sony ZV-E10 II

Many people search for the Sony ZV-E10 II background blur button, and the idea is similar. PetaPixel wrote that some X-M5 settings very obviously mimic Sony's Vlog tools, and that the X-M5 can go toe-to-toe with the Sony ZV-E10 II for a lot less money. If you are comparing the two, the Sony ZV-E10 II background defocus guide shows how Sony's version works.

Keep one thing in mind with any automatic blur setting. It can only open the lens as wide as that lens allows. On the kit zoom, distance and zoom still do a lot of the heavy lifting.

Keep the right thing sharp

Here is the catch with a thin slice of focus: it has to land in exactly the right place. If it lands on an ear instead of an eye, the photo looks soft even though the camera did its job.

Pick a focus mode

In the Q Menu you will find AF MODE, and the rear command dial lets you choose between three options:

• Single Point: very precise, good for a still subject.
• Zone: for subjects that move around unpredictably.
• Wide/Tracking: uses the whole frame and includes Subject Detection modes.

For portraits with a blurry background, Single Point is a good place to start, because you decide exactly where the sharp spot goes. PetaPixel's reviewer often used the touchscreen to set the AF point, and the X-M5 also has a focus joystick. Digital Camera World described the joystick as a welcome addition.

Let the camera find eyes

For people, turn on Face/Eye Detection from the AF/MF SETTING menu under FACE/EYE DETECTION SETTING. Fujifilm's quick start guide says that with AF-C on and AF MODE set to MULTI, the camera adjusts focus while you film and tracks people around the frame. The camera can also detect animals, birds, insects, cars and other vehicles.

A heads-up for video

PetaPixel found that in video, the X-M5 sometimes shifted focus to the background or drifted off before finding the subject again. They added that you can change the default settings to make tracking stickier, though it remained imperfect.

A blurry background makes this more noticeable, because the jump in focus is easy to see. Before an important take, record a short test clip and watch it back. If focus wanders, adjust the tracking settings or keep your subject in a steady spot.

If you prefer to focus by hand, Fujifilm says the X-M5 has a range of manual focusing aids to help you get sharp results.

Bright light, dim light and blur

A wide aperture lets in a lot of light. In bright sun, the camera answers by choosing a very fast shutter speed, which you can see in review samples shot at f/2.8 with speeds like 1/1400 sec and 1/2500 sec. That is normal and nothing to worry about.

Dim light is where you need a little care. The X-M5 has no in-body image stabilization, though Fujifilm included digital stabilization. Digital Camera World noted the lack of IBIS will affect low-light handheld shooting. PetaPixel pointed out that many Fujifilm lenses have image stabilization built in.

The good news is that opening the aperture helps here too. A wide opening lets in more light, so you can keep the shutter speed quick enough to avoid shaky, smeared photos. If you still need more brightness, raise the ISO, which runs from 160 to 12,800 in the standard range. The best Fujifilm camera settings for beginners guide covers a good starting point for all three settings.

Common blur mistakes, and what they teach you

Every one of these happens to everyone. Each one is a clue that points to the next fix.

• The background is still sharp. Check the f-number first. Then move your subject farther from the background and step closer yourself.
• The face is soft but the background is blurry. The thin slice of focus missed. Switch to Single Point or turn on Face/Eye Detection, and tap the eye on the screen.
• Only one eye is sharp in a group or close-up. Your slice is very thin. Step the aperture up a little, for example from the widest setting to f/2.8, to give yourself more room.
• The photo is too bright at a wide aperture. Lower the ISO, or use the rear dial to dial the exposure down.
• The setting you need is missing from the menu. Check whether you are in stills or movie mode, since the options change between them.

Try one change at a time on the same scene. Shoot a frame, adjust one thing, shoot again. Side by side, the photos will show you exactly what each choice does. If you want a printed reminder of these steps, the settings cheat sheets in the thecamera.school store keep them handy in your camera bag.