The Fujifilm X-A5 is Still Stellar Even When Night Falls

The heated smartphone vs. camera debate continues raging on, and one of the most noticeable difference you should notice by now is the quality of pictures taken at night. Poor lighting results in all sorts of colours ablaze on your subject’s face, or worse, an underexposed and grainy subject. 

When I was in Gwangju and Pyeongchang in South Korea, I loved to walk around the streets near our hotels after the fashion shows and shoots. It was insanely cold (below zero on some nights in fact) but I felt that the beautiful neon lights in Gwangju and the frosty white snow in Pyeongchang cannot be missed. Fortunately, I didn’t have many issues taking pictures in the dark thanks to the new Fujifilm X-A5.

More Confidence to Shoot in the Dark

Personally, I am not a believer in using flash with mirrorless cameras because I can’t bounce the flash and the lighting would usually be too harsh. The night mode in the X-A5 is a godsend for taking pictures with a low shutter speed and without a tripod. It lets my friends and I take handheld images with reduced noise and camera shake, so that we won’t have to deal with frustrations over grainy and blurred images. My roommate took an OOTD for me in the streets of Gwangju with all the pretty neon lights in the background and it turned out great.

Vanessa on a Korean street at night

Here’s a travel tip: for more shopping options in South Korea, head to Hongdae (Hongik University station) instead, where there are more of these sort of neon lights, but with trendier shops, more street food and happening bars and clubs.

Clarity that Smartphones Can’t Beat

Pyeongchang is extremely cold because it snows almost every single night there, constantly forming fresh sheets of snow.. Snow is probably nothing special for Koreans, but many Singaporeans like me cooped up near the equator with all-year summers would get excited about seeing snow. I took every chance I got to take videos and pictures in the snow until my fingers froze and I had to hide indoors.

Vanessa on a Korean street at nightMy friend took this shot with a phone and the Fujifilm X-A5, both from the same spot. At first glance, the two pictures might look the same, but when they are zoomed in or printed, the X-A5’s pictures have much clearer details.

Vanessa in Korea