Go Fuji Go!

Fujifilm Canada X-T1 Launch Event was great.

Taken with Fujifilm X-Pro1, XF 14/2.8

I had opportunity to talk to Fuji Global ( Mr. Makoto Ooishi), The Fuji Guys (Greg and Billy) and to test all new products (X-T1, XF 56/1.2, XF 10-24/4) with excellent support and help from Paulo and gentleman from BC ( I am extremely embarrassed for not taking his name. Sorry).  Thank  you All.

My first impressions report.

Modern Classic vs Old Classic.

X-T1 camera is smaller than I expected. Layout is very logical but may be just a bit too crowded around the shutter release button and I didn't like the Movie button placement.

X-T1 reminded me my favourite Nikon F3 HP. Why?

• Same superb build and finish quality. 
• Dials "stiffness" is absolutely 100% perfect (exposure compensation, shutter release, ISO and even ON/OFF button) feels just right now. 
• Shutter sound is very nice, quiet and soft
• Huge bright EVF. The best EVF I've seen to date.
• EVF is not cluttered, GUI is very well organized, nothing obscures the picture
• Fair eye-relief (obviously if you switch EVF mode from FULL to NORMAL it's even better)
• Handgrip is the right size, not too big, not too small.

XF 56/1.2 is a magnificent piece of glass. And also reminded me another favourite classic - MC Rokkor-PG 58/1.2

But don't get fooled by similarities with classic camera and lens, X-T1 is a 100% modern camera with cutting edge technology and excellent performance. 

Shooting experience and some technical notes:

Single AF: Fast. Fast. Fast. Super fast compare to X-Pro 1

Shutter speed dial rotates 360˚(locks at A), like on X-Pro 1

Predictive AF: tracks moving object really well

8 fps - a "little machine gun"- works OK with UHS-I (95 MB/s) card but obviously is much faster with new (and expensive) UHS -II cards

WiFi is a single band (2.4Ghz), I tested connectivity between camera and iPhone. It worked reliably  with iPhone as far as ~50 feet away

Vertical grip: both two dials on the grip behave as dials on the camera, i.e. you can not change shutter/aperture beyond couple stops. It would've been nice to have an option to switch shutter speed control completely to one of the dials on the grip. Fuji engineers took note 

Focus Peaking: red and blue colours are clearly visible in both colour and  B&W modes. Half pressed shutter release still cancels focus peaking (as it is today)

Water resistance: the camera (with upcoming WR lens attached) suppose to withstand light rain/snow, but only with certain water pressure. Q: Can one rinse the camera? A: “Rinsing” could mean different things to different persons,  not officially recommended. 

Exposure Compensation in manual mode + Auto ISO seems doesn't do anything, but I might be wrong

Supplied eye cap is removable and can be replaced with a bigger one

Rear control buttons are smaller than on X-Pro1 and recessed, more difficult to use. 

Sample pictures (Note: camera/lenses are considered as pre-production), all jpegs

XF 56/1.2 @ 1.2 ISO 200

XF 56/1.2 @ 1.4 ISO 100

XF 10-24/4 at 10mm f/4, ISO 1600

Upcoming 2 fast zooms (mockups) compared to XF 55-200 in the middle 

mandatory "Billy's shot" of course!

XF 56/1.2 @ f/1.6, ISO 250 B&W jpeg, MF (names blurred in CS)

Additional notes:

FW upgrades: Fuji’s philosophy is always to cascade latest and greatest functionality down to previous/older models, if hardware permits (means no face detection for XP1/XE1). Fuji is studying potential opportunities for future fw upgrades like FP choice of colours (including yellow), Intervalometer, Remote App compatibility, add View mode selection to a Fn button on XE-2

X-Trans II skin rendering in jpeg/high ISO mode - discussed in details with engineering team from Japan, noted

Clean-up/align current film related pages. Improve presence at analog photo communities (APUG) - noted

Choice of classic silver/black body finish - may be

Mystery "wide angle lens" on the roadmap is a very high quality prime lens, I assume  18mm. No info on "Super Tele", it very well could be fast 200-400 zoom (just my assumption)

No news or updates on X-Pro1 replacement (X-Pro2) and I don't expect it any time soon.

Clarification on Fujifilm Canada Offer
The deal  is for PRE-ORDERS only, ONE XT-1 camera + ONE vertical grip for $1299.99 and is valid until March 31 OR “while supplies last”. I didn't hear about any other offers/promotions (i.e camera+kit lens, etc)

Thats all for today. I may add couple more pictures later when I figure out how to process X-T1 raw files in LightZone.

Thanks for dropping by,

vkphoto