There are cameras and then there is the X-T1. I can’t believe how hard I’ve fallen for these new Fuji cameras. It’s as if someone in Japan was wiring into my brain to see what I’d like from a camera.
NOTE: Click on the duck photos to make them bigger…
Also – this post will eventually show up at my Fuji-only site called weshootfuji.com – if you like Fuji cameras come over and participate. I am looking for folks who use Fuji cameras to share their photos and stories on that site. Thanks.
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While this camera has been out for a year and is hardly new, the new firmware version for the X-T1 (released at the end of last year) makes it into a whole new beast. Plus it’s new to me so hence the review.
Speaking of the X-T1 (Firmware V. 3.0) it is a joy to use. If you don’t have the 3.0 firmware in your camera or you’ve never handled an X-T1 with firmware 3.0 then we’re simply not talking about the same piece of gear. It’s that different.
As to all the X-T1 specs, I won’t bother with getting into all that. Most cameras outperform their operators so I tend to talk about more ethereal things when I review cameras. But you can get those specs lots of places. Instead I’ll talk about what matters most to me, i.e., image quality, usability, experience and the feeling I get when using the X-T1.
Male Widgeon Photo Copyright Scott Bourne – Fuji X-T1 – Fujifilm XF 50-140mm f/2.8 R LM OIS WR Lens – ISO 500 1/1700th second – f/3.6 – 20 second retouch in Photoshop
Beginnings
This all began with my use of the Fujifilm X100S and then the X100T. Many of the things I love about those cameras are also a factor with the X-T1. The quirks are there (To a lesser extent.) But so is the image quality. And to me, image quality is everything. Just like with the X100S/T, the X-T1 produces some of the best JPEGs I’ve ever seen and some of the cleanest images ANY camera ever produced. So that’s where I was “infected” with Fuji adoration. At least I can trace it to the root!
Aesthetics
I have rarely been drawn to cameras as art objects. But here again, the X-T1 (and most of the Fujifilm cameras) are utterly beautiful and they are worth breaking me out of my normal box. I’ll talk about ergonomics in a minute, but just looking at the X-T1 you get this feeling of certainty. The camera looks like it’s all business, but in the way that a Jaguar looks like it’s all business on a country road. The shape, the lines, it’s all there. It’s not a reason to buy a camera but hey, if it looks good to what can it hurt?
Usability
The buttons, knobs and dials on the X-T1 are a reminder of days gone by, when I could set the crucial exposure via physical controls – not menus. And the X-T1 offers a good old-fashioned ISO dial, an aperture ring on the lens and a dial for setting the shutter speed along with a dial up top to set exposure compensation. These dials will be foreign to those of you who are blessed with youth. Back in the old days this was how it’s done. No nested menus. Just good, honest, easy-to-use buttons, knobs and dials.
Male Ring Neck Duck Photo Copyright Scott Bourne – Fuji X-T1 – Fujifilm XF 50-140mm f/2.8 R LM OIS WR Lens – ISO 640 1/1700th second – f/5.6 – straight out of the camera other than cropping.
When I know a camera is right for me, I know that because the things that should be easy to deal with ARE easy to deal with. I don’t want to have to spend time thinking about how to get to the menu where I set aperture or shutter speed or exposure compensation or ISO. I just want to do it so I can concentrate on the subject.
For me, the dials, switches, knobs, etc are all perfectly placed on the X-T1. They all work very well with one glaring exception that I’ll discuss later in this review.
The ergonomics of the X-T1 are generally off the chart. Except – except for that small, recessed, flimsy D-Pad. The D-Pad controller on the back of the camera has many useful functions. For whatever reason, Fuji decided to make these four little buttons very small, recessed and hard to use. The D-Pad on the X100T is perfect. Why not stick with that? I live with the D-Pad on this camera whereas I LOVE the dials that let me set shutter speed, aperture and ISO.
Handling
There’s no doubt that the Fujifilm X-T1 is a small camera. It’s much smaller than a similarly powered DSLR. The weight savings is appreciated. And the form factor small, which means it’s not going to get in the way. For some, the camera might actually be too small. I have big hands and big fingers and I find it easy to use. I do think that having the Fujifilm Vertical Battery Grip makes the camera a bit easier to grasp and balance.
American Mallard (female) Photo Copyright Scott Bourne – Fuji X-T1 – Fujifilm XF 50-140mm f/2.8 R LM OIS WR Lens – ISO 640 1/1400th second – f/3.2 – straight out of the camera other than cropping
This is VERY subjective, but the camera feels good in my hand. The tilting LCD makes it easy to get shots of subjects from various angles without having to get down on the ground with the camera or up on a ladder when shooting down. It has less value in harsh sunlight because of glare.
The X-T1’s OLED viewfinder (with 2360k dots) is famous for a reason. The EVF is the best there is. It’s big, bright, it has a super fast refresh, it’s clear and it’s accurate. It even offers a portrait orientation view! While it seems like a gimmick it isn’t. It’s really valuable.
Imagery & Shooting
Now THIS is where the X-T1 has few peers. Things like “it’s pretty,” or “it feels good” are always going to be open to debate, but there’s no debate when it comes to the image quality produced by the Fuji X-T1. It rocks. It really rocks.
Images are SUPER CLEAN – those of you who are of the religion of low-light will love this camera. It’s files are spotless. There’s no noise up to about ISO 1600 and to 3200 it’s still better than most DSLRs!
The lens you select will impact everything else from color, to sharpness, to autofocus performance and in almost every case, this camera will perform like a champ in all these areas.
Male Woodduck Photo Copyright Scott Bourne – Fuji X-T1 – Fujifilm XF 50-140mm f/2.8 R LM OIS WR Lens – ISO 500 1/4000th second – f/4 – 10 second retouch in Photoshop
Colors are accurate. Autofocus is very fast. While the continuous AF isn’t as good as the flagship DSLRs you may be used to, the single point AF is nearly as good as any I’ve tried. With fast glass, you will have no trouble finding focus. Even the “cheap kit lenses” Fuji makes focus fast. The continuous AF on the X-T1 is better than the X100T which makes me wonder if Fuji couldn’t fix the X100T to work as well as it does on the X-T1 with a simple firmware update.
The manual focus is great too. In fact, Fuji cameras are about the only cameras my old eyes can manually focus these days. There’s a digital split image, a magnified image and a focus peaking image. You can magnify either the digital split image or the focus peaked image. I prefer the latter. Holding the Focus Assist button is the magic here and I am simply shocked at how well it works. The big, bright viewfinder combined with these tools makes manual focusing a breeze.
I found the camera’s metering system to be flawless. It just nailed exposure after exposure with only one exception. In mottled light (think an object placed near the intersection of bright light and deep shadow) the camera tended to overexpose.
Miscellaneous
You will want to buy at least one extra battery. While DSLRs often can last all day on one battery, mirror-less cameras, including the Fuji seem to need at least two. I do think the battery life is reasonable. It could be better but if you’re prepared, it’s no big deal.
The camera build-quality is quite good. It’s well-built, feels (and is) solid and has good weather, water and dust resistance.
The camera’s film simulation modes work just as well as they do on the Fuji X100S/T. The film simulation bracketing is one of my favorite features on this and several other Fuji X models.
And yes I still shoot JPEG only about 95% of the time on this camera. So far, I have rarely encountered a situation where the RAW file I also shot was necessary. The JPEGS from the X-T1 are simply amazing. Why spend extra time in post only to come out with an image that is essentially the best you could have done shooting JPEG?
The X-T1 doesn’t have a built-in flash but ships with the Fuji EX-F8, a small micro flash that sits on the flash hot shoe and woks very well. It’s high enough that it doesn’t cause red eye in most situations.
The X-Trans sensor in this camera is a scientific marvel from a stills photographer’s point of view. Movie mode on this camera is best left for quick home movies. The Panasonic GH4 is still the king of mirror-less cameras for those who primarily shoot video. Some day Fuji may develop an X-Trans sensor that can do both well, but for now, I’d rather have my stills camera shoot great stills than weaken that capability in order to compromise for good video.
Fuji has a new technology married to its X-Mount lenses called Lens Modulation Optimizer. I can’t give you the scientific break down of how it works, but it works. It reduces visible diffraction so shooting at f/22 is not a problem when using an X-T1 with one of the amazing X-Mount lenses.
And speaking of amazing lenses – while this is a review of the Fuji X-T1 camera, the three lenses I’ve worked with the most so far (the Fujifilm XF 14mm F2.8 Lens Wide Angle Lens, the Fujifilm XF 56mm F1.2 Camera Lens and the Fujifilm XF 50-140mm F2.8 R LM OIS WR Lens) are all utterly amazing and absolutely worth a shout out. They are super, super sharp and offer great IQ across the spectrum.
Needs Improvement
This camera isn’t perfect and no camera is. The question for you dear reader is whether or not the X-T1’s foibles are a problem for you. For me? Not much at all bothers me about this camera. The video could be much better but if it were the still image quality would suffer so I’ll use a Panasonic GH4 when I want to shoot video and stick with the Fuji for stills. The camera’s AE bracketing is very basic, the exposure range should be much, much broader; say five to seven stops. That said you can make HDR shots easily by manually changing the Exposure Compensation wheel on the top of the camera.
The continuous AF needs improvement (as it does on all mirror-less cameras) but in this case it works well enough that I’ll actually use it. (All the shots made of ducks for this post were made using continuous auto-focus.) It had trouble following the ducks when the water started to shimmer. It works about 80-85% of the time. There are better tools if fast moving objects are your primary subjects. That said, the continuous AF works well enough that it would get the job done in most situations, you’d just need to have patience and figure out it’s little foibles.
The horrible back buttons on the D-Pad aren’t a deal breaker in a camera that is otherwise this good, but this should be addressed at some point in time by Fuji. Simply adopting the D-Pad from the X100T will do the trick.
The Fuji’s X-mount lens selection isn’t as mature with as it would be if you picked up the Olympus OM-D lineup, but that said, the lenses that ARE available are all extraordinary. Even the kit lens that ships with this camera in some markets is stellar. The three lenses I listed above can compete with just about anything on the market. But some folks will decry the lack of this or that lens. Research the X-mount lens offerings before you jump in with both feet. For me, the current selection (especially when considered alongside Fuji’s planned lens road-map) offer a wide selection of glass that will work in most situations.
Conclusion
Retro is in. For me retro is actual history that I lived and I am most comfortable with cameras that feel familiar. The Fuji X-T1 fits that bill perfectly. It’s Fuji’s current flagship camera (AN XPro-2 and/or X-T2 are rumored to be coming but who knows when?) and it deserves to be recognized as a high-end body that aspiring and current professional photographers could enjoy. At the same time it has features that enthusiasts will love.
It feels good in the hand, is light, offers unbelievable low-light performance, out-of-this-world native JPEG performance, the best EVF I have ever used and more.
For the money, and pound-for-pound, I think it’s the best camera in its class. I also think it outperforms some of the cameras that most people would think are better. Be careful, if you test one of the Fuji X-T1 cameras you might just be tempted to buy it.
Highly recommended.
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Filed under: Gear, Photography, Reviews Tagged: fuji, Fujifilm, FujiFilm X-T1