Fuji X-T1 First Look follow-up questions

If we set Bulb on the shutter speed dial do we gain that functionality in the app or are you saying no bulb control no matter the dial settings? Wonder if the firmware functionality is there but untapped...

You also mentioned a possible SDK for developers in your review. Is that something Fuji has stated or your gut feel? Can't imagine it would be a high priority anytime soon with the aggressive development path they have chosen, but tethering did score 4th or 5th in your reader's pole for requested updates. However, I'd gladly give up the tethering right now for a more-suited bracketing function. Hopefully someone at Fuji got the message from your review.
 
No remote bulb. Really! ;)

You also mentioned a possible SDK for developers in your review. Is that something Fuji has stated or your gut feel?

Fuji has stated that an SDK may or may not come.
They also stated that full-frame may or may not come.
They also stated that predictive AF may or may not come to the X-E2.
They also said that remote control may or may not come to the X-E2.

And so on. :)
 
Hi, Rico.
One question about this quote. "However, exposure compensation is still useless in manual mode with active Auto-ISO."
I had written about this problem to Fuji. Now after three days I've recieved an answer from official Fuji Russian support (I'm from Russia) where they wrote (translation from Russian): “According to the manufacturer’s info, this function is present both in X-E2 and X-T1″. That’s really strange. Could you please recheck this in X-T1? In my turn I'm gonna ask them again in order to be sure that they haven't got me wrong.
 
Thank you, Rico, for replying.

I'm unfamiliar with the operation of Fuji cameras, so this little video by the Fuji Guys was helpful in explaining the purpose of the Focus Assist button. (Go to 13:58 in the video below):



Rico, thanks for fielding some questions.

I believe one of my questions is the same as what Phil is asking:
(1) What exactly does the Focus Assist button do? Does it simply activate the AF assist lamp? Is it usable for focus peaking? Is this button customizable?

View attachment 3140
 
Hi Rico,

Thanks for your work on the XT1 first look, it's still by far the most informative look at the camera I've seen.

I shoot a mixture of commercial and wedding photography. The X Pro 1 and X100s have become my main cameras for much of my wedding and event work. However, the lack of predictive AF has meant that for some jobs I have to go back to my Nikons (currently the D800 and D700). So the XT1 is potentially very exciting for me as it may all me to leave my Nikons in the bag for longer. (As things stand, selling them off would be impossible though - for some jobs I rely on flash powered by a quantum turbo and none of Fuji's current line up allow for that.)

My question is have you had a chance to test the tracking/predictive AF on the XT1 in low light? The kind of application I'm thinking of is when you have a bride walking up the aisle or the couple walking out. With the D800 I am always confident that even at F2.8, the vast majority of images of a moving couple, even in low light, will be sharp. If the XT1 can cope in a similar way, I think I'd be able to shoot a whole wedding on the Fujis, which would be great from a back/shoulder pain-saving point of view.

Elsewhere on the web, I found one comment that made me wonder if the XT1 wouldn't be up to this. It was in a post on Mirror Lessons by X-photographer Max De Martino who apparently shot the first wedding with this camera. While he is full of praise for it, he says:

"I couldn’t risk missing the ring exchange or the moment when the happy couple left the church, which (I fear) will remain the job of the Nikon."

Here's a link: http://tinyurl.com/o5mcjga

I'd love to hear if you've had a chance to try the XT1's predictive AF test in low light and whether you share his concerns for this kind of situation?

Thanks again for your great work on the Fuji X series - your book on the X Pro 1 was a big help when I first got it and many of the conversations here have been a source of great inspiration.
 
My question is have you had a chance to test the tracking/predictive AF on the XT1 in low light?

Sadly, we don't ride when it's dark, plus even the 1.2 lens (that I already had to send back to Fuji) wouldn't be bright enough to shoot action under such conditions at reasonable ISOs, so can't really test it. There's is no clear definition of "low light", we would have to agree on measured EV values and what lens to use, as the maximum aperture defines how much light hits the sensor and how effective the AF system can be.

Tracking also works with CDAF, of course, but it's not predictive. Which doesn't matter as long as the subject doesn't move too fast towards the camera. Personally, I don't share any concerns, as I'd have no problems catching shots like this with an old X-E1 or Pro1 and the "autofocus trick". Heck, I shot trotting horses that way, and those tend to be faster than a bride leaving the church (hopefully!). ;)
 
"There's is no clear definition of "low light", we would have to agree on measured EV values and what lens to use, as the maximum aperture defines how much light hits the sensor and how effective the AF system can be."

"Personally, I don't share any concerns, as I'd have no problems catching shots like this with an old X-E1 or Pro1 and the "autofocus trick". Heck, I shot trotting horses that way, and those tend to be faster than a bride leaving the church (hopefully!). ;)

Thanks for your reply, much appreciated.

I completely understand your point about the need to define low light, but as an example, my layman's definition would be anything that requires ISO 1600 or above to get a correct exposure for skin tone at 1/125 F2.8 to F4.


When it comes to "reasonable iso", for most event or wedding images I would argue it can be anything up to iso 6400. I regularly shoot the brides entrance at around 1/125 F2.8 iso 3200 on the D800 or even D700, and have also been happy with results at 6400. The great thing is that up to 3200, I'm really happy with the Raf files from both the X Pro and X100s, and I'm fine about using them at 6400.

By the "autofocus trick", are you referring to putting the camera in manual then using the AE-L/AF-L button to focus? Or is it something else?

Maybe with a little more testing I would be happy to use the X Pro for these aisle shots, but to date, wedding-day nerves have made me stick with the Nikons at these moments as I know the results will be good. Getting it wrong would be painful, so I'm really hoping the XT1 will prove to be a step forward in this regard.
 
AF trick is shutter mash, as described in my book, taking advantage of the camera's focus priority (as opposed to release priority). It should work with all APS-C X cameras, but it sometimes works better or worse depending on the current firmware version. Fuji sometimes changes its CDAF method in order to "improve" it, and that can lead to greater lag times between focus lock and exposure.

The lighting you describe should not be much of a challenge with a bright lens like the 1.2/56mm or 1.4/35mm or 1.4/23mm. Of course, there are also other factors: PDAF likes vertical lines, so landscape or portrait format can make quite a difference when only one kind of lines is present in a shot.
 
AF trick is shutter mash, as described in my book, taking advantage of the camera's focus priority (as opposed to release priority). It should work with all APS-C X cameras, but it sometimes works better or worse depending on the current firmware version. Fuji sometimes changes its CDAF method in order to "improve" it, and that can lead to greater lag times between focus lock and exposure.

The lighting you describe should not be much of a challenge with a bright lens like the 1.2/56mm or 1.4/35mm or 1.4/23mm. Of course, there are also other factors: PDAF likes vertical lines, so landscape or portrait format can make quite a difference when only one kind of lines is present in a shot.

Ah, Shutter Mash, now I know exactly what you are referring to. I use this technique a lot and find it makes the XPro and X100s a lot more reactive to split second moments than some people seem to believe.

However, I've not tried Shutter Mash when photographing an bride or couple walking up the aisle - the problem I have is that with barely any time to be sure you've locked on, I find it harder to trust that it's worked than when using AFC on a Nikon. I guess that more testing next time I'm in a church or similar may or may not help overcome this.

I assume the XE2, with it's tracking autofocus may have been able to track a bride in the way I'm describing, but your XT1 shots of the child running in the snow were so accurate I figured the XT1's predictive object tracking may be the leap I was hoping for.

In theory, if the XT1 is capable of acquiring focus in any given low light situation, is there any reason why the predictive object tracking would then fail?

Also, when you say "The lighting you describe should not be much of a challenge with a bright lens..." are you referring to working with the XT1, XPro, X100s or all of them?
 
In theory, if the XT1 is capable of acquiring focus in any given low light situation, is there any reason why the predictive object tracking would then fail?

I refer to the X-E2 and X-T1.

PDAF only works with the 9 center frames and needs better light than CDAF. So prediction is limited to these frames. Of courts, you only need it for fast-moving subjects.
 
rico..on the xt1, when one has the view through viewfinder only chosen, can you still review your shots on the lcd or will they appear in the viewfinder only. this is a problem with the sony a7..if you choose to use viewfinder only then you can only review your shots in the viewfinder..a real pain..thanks
 
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