Duncan_Andison Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 Well, my X-T1 & Vertical grip arrived earlier today. Along with a free leather case & 128gb sd card.... some extras they chucked in with the first pre-orders I think. I thought I'd post a few comments on my initial impression of the camera. I currently have the X-Pro1 & E1. Lets get a couple of niggles out the way.... they're only minor and you would get used to them after a short while. 1. The dial buttons on the back are a little too sunk into the case. If you place your thumb over the middle rounded button, which is quite easy to locate, this gives you a good start point to click up, down, left and right. But it isn't easy to go straight to the up or down button etc. 2. When using the vertical grip in portrait mode, it's not that easy to change the focal point while keeping your eye behind the view finder.... may just be a little training on that i guess but it is a little fiddly. 3. One really nice door (sd card). It slides out before opening... the other door is not quite as nice. It's more of a rubberised door that pushes into the casing. It's ok though and is a very minor issue. Now to the good bits... First impression. It feels like a mini Canon 1 series (with the vertical grip).... it's a solid piece of kit. The rubber grip gives a lovely comfortable feel. The free leather case is also really nice as well... normally £99 i think. The camera grip without the leather case/vertical grip is a good size, like a Pro1 plus extra grip sort of size. With the leather case it's even better to hold if you have bigger hands. Worth the extra if you can't get it as a freebee with the camera. LOVE the vertical grip. This makes a big difference and is lovely to use the camera in portrait mode.... so comfortable. They've done well with this. It still remains a nice tight compact unit with it on.... about the same size as the X-E1 without it. EVF...... you need a rope tied round your waist just in case you fall in! The full screen mode is lovely and the twin screen mode in manual is very clever and makes manual focusing even easier. Very responsive but I need to see how it performs in really low light. The way it spins everything round when you rotate the camera to use it in portrait mode is very clever. The overall display is clean and uncluttered, especially in full screen mode and is BIG. Now the big one..... AF speed. I tested it before up-dating the firmware and after to see what the difference was. I would imagine a lot of the ones in the shops will not have the updated firmware on the lenses... some might though. Before firmware, it felt quite a bit quicker than the X-E1 & Pro1 that I have at the moment. The continuous shooting is extremely fast... machine gun fast! Tracking prior to firmware upgrade was okay.... but afterwards it was very good. I will be able to test it out for speed properly when our new four-legged friend arrives this weekend! As I've never tried the X-E2, I cannot comment how much different it is to that camera but the difference between the E1 & Pro1 is significant. The X-E1 with the 60 felt quite pedestrian in indoor low light when compared to using it with the X-T1. Of course, I'd expect far faster results from the 56mm which has a newer af motor etc. The 14mm was more or less instant..... lets face it, it feels pretty dam quick. It will be interesting to see how it does in very low light though. Dials on top are lovely, they've stiffened the compensation dial nicely. You can still turn it comfortably with your thumb but it is unlikely to get knocked accidentally now. And, the lock on the ISO dial is fine. I was expecting it to be a little awkward but it wasn't. I like the way you can switch from one drive mode to another quickly from the dial under the ISO dial. That is a very useful feature. The command dial on the front of the camera is a little awkward to reach at times, maybe it's a case of "getting used to It". Oh, nearly forgot.... the flippy screen. They've done a really good job with that. It has a certain VW thump when it pops back into place. Doesn't feel flimsy at all..... nice to have one back on my camera. And.... I gave the WIFI remote app a quick spin. It's easy to set it up, press a button a couple of times and it connects to your phone / tablet with ease. From there you can control all the main functions of the camera and tapping on the screen to change the focus point. Selecting images to download onto your phone/tablet is dead easy as well. Well.... this is just an initial heads up from the first afternoon playing with the X-T1. If you get a chance, try one out in the shop..... but take your wallet as it is a very tempting piece of kit. I mean, it really does feel professional. The build makes the X-E1 feel a little flimsy even though it's well made itself. Hats off to Fuji, they've done really well with this one! Now back to playing with it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Endicott Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 Wow! Thanks for the review. I am VERY tempted to get one...plus an iPad Mini so I can transfer newsworthy images quickly and upload them from the field. It would be a great advantage! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin P Wilson Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 I will be buying one when the pre-orders are fulfilled (money is waiting in the bank) and perhaps the initial premium has gone. Love the Fuji's lack of weight, the high ISO performance but for sport I am going to be stuck with Canon 1Ds3 (was recently tempted by a low noise and speed of 1Dx but can't justify the cost) and the fast, long lens I have for a while yet. Have you tried it with the 55-200? I am interested to know what the Fujinion super telephoto zoom will be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duncan_Andison Posted February 21, 2014 Author Share Posted February 21, 2014 Wow! Thanks for the review. I am VERY tempted to get one...plus an iPad Mini so I can transfer newsworthy images quickly and upload them from the field. It would be a great advantage! Yeah, it would make a big difference for that. I haven't tried it out with a tablet yet but I would imagine it would be even nicer to control. I like the idea f being able to set up the camera outside the tent.... dive back into the sleeping bag and being able to take shots in comfort I will be buying one when the pre-orders are fulfilled (mine is waiting in the bank) and perhaps the initial premium has gone. Love the Fuji's lack of weight, the high ISO performance but for sport I am going to be stuck with Canon 1Ds3 (was recently tempted by a low noise and speed of 1Dx but can't justify the cost) and the fast, long lens I have for a while yet. Have you tried it with the 55-200? I am interested to know what the Fujinion super telephoto zoom will be. I've got the 55-200. Just updated the firmware. I'll give it a spin and tell you what it was like. I want to know how well they do tonight in a poorly lit room! Oh, by the way. I done a side by side EVF comparison in the living room to see what the lag was like with the X-E1 and the X-T1. The X-E1 looked quite laggy.... nice trailers (panning side to side). Little to no lag at all with the X-T1. Fairly low light. You can see it a touch if you really look for it but nothing compared to the X-E1. If it keeps that up tonight I will be very impressed. Anyway.... I'll have a bit play with the 55-200 Edit.... Ok, had a bit play with the 55-200. I set it up on auto iso 6400 max, min shutter speed 250. Without a pre-focus shot a bird bath 8 feet away and then moved onto a bird feeder about 15 meters away. Again, no pre focus, just press the button. Even in fading light the it focused and locked on very quickly at 55mm i.e. without timing gear you wouldn't be able to measure it.... way less than a second. At 200mm it seemed still readjust, focus and take the picture in a bit less than a second. The images were all perfectly sharp. In a real world situation, I would be confident of quickly looking up and capturing a shot of a walker/runner in the distance before disappearing off. It's just lift, place focus point over object and bam... done. The high speed shooting is just silly.... it's way better for FPS than the 5dmkii I had, even the 40d. I want to try it out on something coming towards me with the continuous shooting mode. If nails that you'll probably hear me whooping from where you are By the way..... did I mention how nice the vertical grip is The X-E1 will be sold.... and I'll keep the Pro1 for now I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidl Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 Thanks for your post. I'm contemplating upgrading to the X-E2 or X-T1 and think the only way to decide is to try them both to see if the viewfinder sways me to spend the extra £300. None of the other difference in features seem significant for my use.I think you'll like the 55-200, it's an impressive lens for the money as most of the Fuji's are.On an aside the latest firmware uprades to the X-E1, 18-55 and 55-200 went in OK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duncan_Andison Posted February 21, 2014 Author Share Posted February 21, 2014 Thanks for your post. I'm contemplating upgrading to the X-E2 or X-T1 and think the only way to decide is to try them both to see if the viewfinder sways me to spend the extra £300. None of the other difference in features seem significant for my use. I think you'll like the 55-200, it's an impressive lens for the money as most of the Fuji's are. On an aside the latest firmware uprades to the X-E1, 18-55 and 55-200 went in OK. I've had the 55-200 for a while.... love it. From the X-E1, I would say the stand out features are the EVF, AF speed, very nice flip screen but, if you do a lot of portrait/studio work, the vertical grip features high up the list. Makes handling a breeze. As you say, I would try it out in the shop as you'll get a better idea of the EVF, and high speed shooting etc. The dual screen manual focus is very handy as well if you're into manual glass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gervais Montacute Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 I watched a Youtube video review and I would get this camera if I didn't have what I already have. It looks great. Not cheap though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duncan_Andison Posted February 21, 2014 Author Share Posted February 21, 2014 Well, even in low light the EVF does not display lag. Comparing it alongside the X-E1 in the living room with 35w ceiling spots for lighting the X-T1 shows little to no lag when panning. The X-E1 is a blur when panning in the same light. The af on the 35mm is still very responsive, snappy, although a couple of times it hunted but not much. The AF of the 18-55 performs a lot better, quiet and very snappy to lock on. I wasn't expecting it to be quite as fast as it is. Locking on to subject matter in the shadows doesn't appear to slow it down much either. All I can say is they have made big improvements over the X-Pro1 / E1. Can't comment on the E2 as I don't have it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Endicott Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 If I may ask...is there a feature for "silent shooting"? The x100S has a feature where you can't hear a thing when I push the shutter...and I absolutely LOVE the feature. Does the X-T1 have that feature? It would be great to use with the tilt out screen. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duncan_Andison Posted February 22, 2014 Author Share Posted February 22, 2014 If I may ask...is there a feature for "silent shooting"? The x100S has a feature where you can't hear a thing when I push the shutter...and I absolutely LOVE the feature. Does the X-T1 have that feature? It would be great to use with the tilt out screen. Thanks. Yes, as with the other X series, it has a "Silent Mode" but this is different to the x100/s. Both of those cameras have leaf shutters that make them totally silent. With the inter changeable lens system, the leaf shutter would have to be built into the lenses.... apparently, so they are not totally quiet in operation. That said, the shutter is fairly quiet compared to some cameras out there. It's more of a muffled click. Even the 8fps is rather subdued. That, the tracking and the flip screen for shooting at waist height will be rather useful I think The movement of the flip screen is rather nice, it has a quality feel a VW ish.... quite robust for something so small. This matches the rest of the camera. The only way I can describe it (especially with the vertical grip), is it has the same feel as my 5dmkii grip to hold (not as big of course). I guess that is down to the solid magnesium body with the grippy rubberised covering that covers camera and V grip. The grip only takes one additional battery... It would have been nice if it had taken two. If you're passing a camera shop, pop in and hold one, with and without the V grip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Bell Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 I have the X-E2 and used it recently on high speed drive 7fps. Even without silent mode it was very quiet. Allan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoff s Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 I notice on the fuji website that it says the WR 16-55 is 'coming soon' in Winter 2014. Is it Winter 2014 now or do they mean December ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Allison J Posted March 1, 2014 Share Posted March 1, 2014 Looking forwarded to getting my hands on one so thanks for the mini review Duncan. A tilting screen is becoming a "must have" for me. Not surprisingly the market is flooding with X-E1s at the moment so I intend to hang on to mine for a while yet Regards john Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin P Wilson Posted March 1, 2014 Share Posted March 1, 2014 John, Exactly my situation. My X-E1 is worth more to me as a backup than as trade in. I will probably buy an X-T1 at the Photo Show on Monday especially if I can do a deal.If not I can wait as latest release of C1 Pro (my choice of raw converter) apparently does not yet support the X-T1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duncan_Andison Posted March 3, 2014 Author Share Posted March 3, 2014 Looking forwarded to getting my hands on one so thanks for the mini review Duncan. A tilting screen is becoming a "must have" for me. Not surprisingly the market is flooding with X-E1s at the moment so I intend to hang on to mine for a while yet Regards john The tilting screen is very good. Has a nice solid feel to it when adjusting it. If you have ordered an X-T1, you will find there are minimal Screen Protectors at the moment. I bought some high quality iPad Mini screen protectors, reduced from £20 to about £4. Each screen protector makes 4 X-T1 protectors so it is real good value for money. I made a card template first and used this when cutting the iPad Mini protectors on a flat sliding guillotine cutter to get a nice straight edge. Worked a treat! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duncan_Andison Posted March 3, 2014 Author Share Posted March 3, 2014 John, Exactly my situation. My X-E1 is worth more to me as a backup than as trade in. I will probably buy an X-T1 at the Photo Show on Monday especially if I can do a deal.If not I can wait as latest release of C1 Pro (my choice of raw converter) apparently does not yet support the X-T1. There was a possible Raw work around reported in the X-Pro thread, I'm testing it now. I'll let you know how I get on! EDIT... Tried and tested. I'm now able to process Fuji X-T1 raws in C1!!! Follow the instructions at the top of this thread (Mac Users). Take a copy of the original raws, just in case! It also meas you have a proper copy for when they release a version that may take into account a few tweaks in the sensor etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Allison J Posted March 6, 2014 Share Posted March 6, 2014 Looking forwarded to getting my hands on one so thanks for the mini review Duncan. A tilting screen is becoming a "must have" for me. Not surprisingly the market is flooding with X-E1s at the moment so I intend to hang on to mine for a while yet Regards john The tilting screen is very good. Has a nice solid feel to it when adjusting it. If you have ordered an X-T1, you will find there are minimal Screen Protectors at the moment. I bought some high quality iPad Mini screen protectors, reduced from £20 to about £4. Each screen protector makes 4 X-T1 protectors so it is real good value for money. I made a card template first and used this when cutting the iPad Mini protectors on a flat sliding guillotine cutter to get a nice straight edge. Worked a treat! Good tip, thank you Duncan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Baigent Posted April 9, 2014 Share Posted April 9, 2014 Duncan How would you compare IQ of the XT1 to the 5D11? Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duncan_Andison Posted April 9, 2014 Author Share Posted April 9, 2014 Duncan How would you compare IQ of the XT1 to the 5D11? Mark In terms of IQ, the X-T1 is more or less the same as the X-Pro and X-E. When I first bought the X-Pro I was very impressed with the IQ but more importantly, how much you could pull the shadows and highlights etc when processing the raw files. I found Adobe's conversion of the Fuji raw files.... well, lacking but Capture One does a really good job. I would say when comparing it to the 5Dmkii, the X Trans 16mp sensor will perform better than the 5d mkii in terms of noise handling and dynamic range. Of course, the mkii is an older camera and the results would be different with the mkiii but, they still hold up well. The only downside is the reduction in resolution, 20mp of the 5dmkii compared to the 16mp of the Fuji. For me, 16mp is the minimum I would want to go to as I need to be able to produce 50mb tif files (8bit). As for handling, the XT1 wins hands down over the X-Pro. I'm using the X-Pro at the moment as I sent the X-T1 in for the light leak to be repaired and I am really missing it. It is much faster, the EVF is a lot better. It makes the X-Pro one look a little small and cluttered. If you like shooting primes, the 14, 23, and 56 will impress. The files produced by these and other lenses are a joy to process. As long as I do my bit, select the right speed etc, I know the shot will be in focus. They are very accurate. This makes the processing a lot easier. I loved my 5dmkii with the 100-400L and even though I wanted to cut the weight down, it was going to take something special for me to sell them. Check out some raw files here (near the bottom).... you might have to change the extension to .RAF from .raf Capture one didn't read it at first. It looks like the raws on the book shelf were taken with the 18mm and that isn't the finest of their lenses but it is still rather good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Bell Posted April 9, 2014 Share Posted April 9, 2014 Slight highjack of thread here but just to say I was out shooting with the, very new to me and for the first time, X-T1 the other day after using the X-E2 for a while. All was going well until it came to the point where I needed to change the ISO on the X-T1 and after searching the menu and fiddling with function buttons for a while and becoming more confused I suddenly realised, of course , ISO is controlled from the knob on the top left of the body. Simples! What an idiot I felt. Must be my age but I will struggle on. Allan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duncan_Andison Posted April 9, 2014 Author Share Posted April 9, 2014 Slight highjack of thread here but just to say I was out shooting with the, very new to me and for the first time, X-T1 the other day after using the X-E2 for a while. All was going well until it came to the point where I needed to change the ISO on the X-T1 and after searching the menu and fiddling with function buttons for a while and becoming more confused I suddenly realised, of course , ISO is controlled from the knob on the top left of the body. Simples! What an idiot I felt. Must be my age but I will struggle on. Allan haha.... that sounds as silly as what I was doing. I kept planting my eye on the left side of the T1, trying to look through the ISO dial.... kept forgetting the viewfinder is in the centre now wish mine was back! The last 7 days have seemed like forever Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Betty LaRue Posted April 9, 2014 Share Posted April 9, 2014 Slight highjack of thread here but just to say I was out shooting with the, very new to me and for the first time, X-T1 the other day after using the X-E2 for a while. All was going well until it came to the point where I needed to change the ISO on the X-T1 and after searching the menu and fiddling with function buttons for a while and becoming more confused I suddenly realised, of course , ISO is controlled from the knob on the top left of the body. Simples! What an idiot I felt. Must be my age but I will struggle on. Allan haha.... that sounds as silly as what I was doing. I kept planting my eye on the left side of the T1, trying to look through the ISO dial.... kept forgetting the viewfinder is in the centre now wish mine was back! The last 7 days have seemed like forever OMG, is this what I get to look forward to? I'm in trouble. And to top that off, I get to learn a new wireless flash system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linda Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 Betty,I'm a Canon user now and really miss the Nikon flash system! For the Fuji X Pro 1 I had purchased that $100 Fuji flash that bounces and goes in a downward mode for macro.I really like it. Don't know how invested you want to be in Fuji but I bought a few of the Youngnuo 560III flash units for $85 and they work better than my Canon 600rt flash You can use cheap poverty wizards with your Nikon flashes for the Fuji for off camera flash. L Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duncan_Andison Posted April 10, 2014 Author Share Posted April 10, 2014 Betty,I'm a Canon user now and really miss the Nikon flash system! For the Fuji X Pro 1 I had purchased that $100 Fuji flash that bounces and goes in a downward mode for macro.I really like it. Don't know how invested you want to be in Fuji but I bought a few of the Youngnuo 560III flash units for $85 and they work better than my Canon 430 whatever it is I have. Quicker recycle. I have not figured out how to keep the Canon flash going after a dozen or so shots.It just stops... You can use cheap poverty wizards with your Nikon flashes for the Fuji for off camera flash. L Yeah, the Yongnuo 560III's are really good. Solid feel to them as well. Did you see the reports that Yongnuo are due to release a trigger that will allow you to set the power output of the 560III's from the camera/trigger itself rather than adjusting it on each flash?!? I'll be after one of those when released! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin P Wilson Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 I will be ordering my X-T1 and battery grip this morning for delivery early next week, probably Monday. If I was not busy with other things I could have probably had it for the weekend, it is in stock. I any case I will be embarking on a 3 night trip with photography as a key element for the first time with only the Fuji X system. Looking forward to trying The X-T1 on sport especially; if it is good enough it may well be the end of my 38 year relationship with Canon sometime next year. It will then depend on when the new fast and long lenses become available. 'citing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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