The Fuji Xt1 pros and cons part deux
So a week in owning and using the new Fuji Xt1, I feel I've betrayed my beloved X pro 1 for a new mistress, but will the love affair last ? So far I love many of the features especially focus and tracking, I do feel however that I prefer something a little more stripped down. In some way Fuji have overcomplicated it, certainly my peeve is that there are just too many fn options. For some that's ok for me it's just a pain, all buttons in my view should have a setting disabling the fn buttons. My other pet hate is the video button being so easy to turn on ggrrrrrr.
i must say though that between the two cameras I use, the X pro, and this, the X pro feels sluggish, that's how much Fuji have improved response times and process speeds. I have a feeling the X pro 2 will be mind blowing. In order to maximize the new speed, make sure you update your lenses with the latest firmware updates, they work much better.
There are some cool new features on the Xt1, one of which is the remote shooting app. This is a really neat app and works well. I use it on my ipad and really appreciate viewing live on a larger screen. Some folks have remarked about the difficulty in getting it to work. Here's how I do it.
Initiate wifi through the dedicated button on the camera top plate this starts the process, next go into settings on your ipad/iphone tap on wifi and you will see the fuji Xt appear on your wi if networks. Select that, then start the fuji app you will see the status bar appear and within a few seconds it will connect, you can then select a number of options. Sometimes it can time out and a message comes up on the Xt1 clock ok and it usually connects.
The app screen menus
The shooting setup
Screen image of the controls, it's all controllable from the tablet, from point of focus, ISO settings, wb, film type, it's easy to navigate and setup.
The final image I shot
The shoot for this blogpost took just a few minutes, once I had shot the image I then uploaded it to the Ipad and selected it for use in the blog. It's that simple. Although the app is easy to use it does have one or two glitches which need ironing out. Desperately needs a bulb mode as you can use all the shutter speeds apart from bulb. It's fun to use, great for commercial use, client approvals etc.
How far can you be away from the camera?
I was stood about 50 feet from the camera when I took this, be aware though the further away you are the more delay you get from tripping the shutter to finished shot, I guess around 6 seconds before it was ready for another frame. The other thing to bear in mind is on a bright sunny day like today, the Ipad screen is nigh on impossible to see.
Fuji Xt1 the pro's and con's
So after nearly 18 months of using my X pro 1, I decided to purchase a second Fuji mirrorless body. My original choice was the addition of the Xe2, as I had a play with one whilst out on a Landscape tuition day. I had been very impressed with how responsive it was. Then Fuji made the announcement in late January about the new Fuji Xt1. Having read everything there was to read about the new camera, I bought one along with the 18-55 mm zoom.
First impressions are that its a well made piece of kit, as per the usual Fuji standards. It still keeps it's retro coolness, very good build quality, nice weight, great feel, and those dials, wow! super impressed. Startup response is good, the EVF is fantastic, no lag at all. I like the superwide view mode. Perfect dioptre adjustment, something I sadly missed on my X pro 1, where you have to buy screw in dioptres that eventually unscrew and you spend another few pounds replacing it. The viewfinder is really excellent with some excellent tricks up its sleeve, like dual focus zones for manual focus. Shoot in portrait view and the viewfinder changes axis. All good.
The dials I find are ideal, people have compalined about the fact you have to press a button to twist the ISO, no big deal. They would moan even more if it just span round on its own. I also like the stiffness to the exposure compensation dial cannot really knock that out of place, well I haven't so far. Alll in all the top plate setup is very nice, the dials have a nice expensive feel, and a positive feel when you alter them. My one gripe about the top plate setup is the video on button which sits just to the right of the shutter button, is very easy to knock on. Then you realise your shooting video. I suspect a firmware release will hopefully have a disable video in the menu.
Whilst we are talking of buttons, the Xt1 features no less that six programmable buttons so you can assign functions to each one, a tribute to the earlier comments when the X pro1 came out was that the camera didn't have enough. My own view is that while I like the thought of being able to programme a button to do a specific task like alter the WB or preset film type, metering type etc, I also wish that they would allow you to disable them as well.
I find the idea of having a choice of programmable buttons but six I think is a little ott. Surely it would have been better to use the buttons for items not already in the Q menu as this is easy to go into to alter the shooting characteristics of the camera. I have a job remebering whats what at the best of times. I would like to see a programme button to cycle through the custom settings, that way you could make the camera perform differently for a given situation at the touch of one button. These are really minor nitpicks though.
So a big question I have heard alot of people asking, is how is the AF and focus tracking, well put it this way, my Nikon D3 bodies are totally redundant now. The af and focus tracking speed of this camera is fantastic. I shot an event yesterday where fast camera reactions were needed, shooting with the 55-200 zoom I captured frame after frame of in focus shots, its that quick at focus and tracking,I was also shooting the X pro 1 with the 14mm attached, the speed difference is quite amazing, where the X pro 1 has a little think before shooting, the Xt1 is pretty instant. As good as a DSLR maybe not quite but its a smidgen difference. wI saw many photographers yesterday carting great Dslr bodies around with fast glass and I was so glad I had my lighweight gear. Lens firmware updates are available to take into account the new features on the Xt1. I also tested the 18-55 and cannot believe how quickly this lens aquires focus, as quick as an AFS from Nikon. I also noticed how the 35mm struggles its not slow but its a pace behind the zoom, I guess its different motor tech in the zoom, but its so much faster than the prime.
I will be writing another blog entry for the XT1 covering wifi, remote shooting and the IPad. As well as looking at some of the different menu options.
A few images from the Royal Shrovetide game in Ashbourne Fuji Xt1. Shot with 55-200 mm, high performance mode on, face detection on.
Influences
We all have influences, things that drive us, well my main influences have been how light plays on our landscape. Of course we all know light is the key to photography and to getting great pictures. I believe its the soul of an image, without it we have nothing. I also love shooting in monochrome as I have intimated before. for me creating images with light and in monochrome are my biggest influences in trying to get better at what I do.
Some of my favourite pieces of work
Late afternoon light spills across walled fields creating shadows, whilst cattle feed.
Limestone walls in North Yorkshire, converge together lit by soft afternoon light.
Storm clouds roll in above Ingleton in North Yorkshire
A limestone wall winds its way up a hillside in North Yorkshire
Limestone edge unveiled by sharp light Twistleton Scar North Yorkshire
A broken wall lit by the late afternoon sun whilst a storm forms in the Derbyshire dales
Sheep graze on Ax Edge moor Upper Dovedale Derbshire.
All the images were taken with the Fuji X pro 1 using 14mm and 55-200 mm lenses.
The Magpie Mine
Finally got myself out after a few weeks of miserable weather. What a great day it turned out to be, cloudy then sunny with a breeze to help move things on, my favourite weather for shooting pictures. I had been palnning to go and visit this Mine for awhile now, and I was not disappointed. Lies just to the south of Sheldon in Derbyshire. The place was deserted, and I set about getting some decent pictures with high hopes.
The images were all shot using the fuji X pro 1 using the 14 mm f2.8.
Minninglow a Bronze age burial site
I had been wanting to shoot this place for several months, but never quite got around to it. So it was with purpose that I set off last week, to try and capture some of its beauty. Minninglow can easily be accessed via the Tissington trail, and sits dominating the skyline close to the village of Parwich.
The day I chose was not good weather wise, with a distinct mardy look to it, but thats how January has been, in fact this winter has been very mild compared to last year. The weather did lend itself well to capturing the mood of the place, and late on in the afternoon to be on your own in this place left me feeling quite strange. Minninglow is a Broze age burial site thats stands atop a hill, with a circular stone wall around it.
Its a fantastic place to visit, and has some panoramic views over the surrounding area.
