X-T1 Ver.4.00 and the Future of Firmware

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Today is the big day. If you’ve got an X-T1, you’re about to get a partially new camera. X-T1 Firmware Ver.400 adds some great new features, and refines others.

There really is only one write-up so far that needs your attention, and that’s Damien Lovegrove’s over at ProPhotoNut. Damien struggled to incorporate Fuji “New Autofocus System” into his own professional workflow, preferring instead to stick with single point AF that he adjusts as needed, however he had more success when it comes to action and fast(er)-moving subjects that can be easily isolated, but there appears to be a speed limit. I also share Damien’s theory of a foreground bias when it comes to Zone/Wide AF areas.

I’ve decided not to compose yet another rundown of what the new firmware update includes since most of that can be found in my X-T10 review. What’s interesting to me is what was excluded, and where I think Fuji should take their firmware in the future.

UI Inconsistency

First and foremost, I don’t want this to come across as looking a gift horse in the mouth.1 I absolutely love what Fujifilm are doing with their firmware upgrades and appreciate it immensely. I wonder, though, if they could do things in a different way that would ultimately be better for Fuji and their customers.

The strangest thing about Firmware Ver.400 for me is that the user interface on the LCD of the X-T1 has not been updated to match not only the X-T10 and X100T, but the UI in the X-T1’s own EVF, which is especially strange since it was the X-T1 that delivered this new UI to begin with. It has resulted in many of the screen items (histogram, exposure compensation, dynamic range, etc.) appearing in different locations on the X-T1 LCD, the X-T1 EVF, and the X100T’s LCD/EVF.2

I have other gripes about the overall consistency of the user experience with these cameras, especially when moving between multiple Fuji cameras, but this UI weirdness exemplifies it perfectly.

One Firmware to Rule Them All

In a recent post, I wrote about how the firmware for each camera is handled by a different team. This, in my opinion as someone who has never actually worked for a camera company before, is the crux of the problem. Imagine if Fuji treated their camera “firmware” as what it actually is, an operating system. In this imaginary world, Fujifilm X-OS, as I’ve dubbed it, would be consistent3 across every camera they make, and available to as many cameras as possible. What I mean by that is the UI can change and evolve across all their cameras, all current cameras would be consistent in their overall user experience, but more processor intensive features like maybe the new AF system would not be available on older cameras that can’t handle them.

Does this approach to operating systems sound familiar? It should, it’s Apple’s. Apple runs a pretty tight ship when it comes to iOS upgrades, and Fuji could do a lot worse than emulate them to the letter when it comes to updating theirs.

This would result in Fujifilm X-OS upgrades to all eligible cameras at the same time, bringing all cameras in line with the same consistent operating system, meaning less of an overall investment in development resources across the various body types so things like no Classic Chrome for the X100S could be avoided, as it would be bundled with the overall OS update.

I’m probably over-simplifying, and could very well be overlooking a ton of logistical nightmares this strategy presents, but it would be awfully nice for Fuji to bring this kind of consistency across the camera line-up, and it seems like it would be worth it in the long run. Maybe the next generation of cameras can usher in a new era of camera OS from Fuji. In the meantime, I’ll be enjoying the awesome update Fuji has given us for the X-T1, and patently awaiting that X100T update.

  1. What a bizarre phrase. ↩
  2. The X100T has its own problems like the histogram being in different places in the OVF vs. the EVF. ↩
  3. At least, as consistent as possible. Concessions would need to be made for cameras with more dials, and those with fewer, but it’s a design problem I’m very confident could be solved. ↩

FUJIFILM XT-1, Back to Basics

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An excellent review of the Fuji X-T1 was posted back on April by Kjetil Kvien Madsen.

While the whole review is worth a read, it was the images that go along with this line that really struck me:

Nikon D800 (With 24 f1,4) and Fujifilm XT-1 (With 23 f1,4) There is a huge difference carrying these cameras around. The bulk and weight of the D800 is quite different.

A friendly reminder from Kjetil Kvien Madsen how much smaller our X-T1’s are compared to DSLRs.

A friendly reminder from Kjetil Kvien Madsen how much smaller our X-T1’s are compared to DSLRs.

The 23mm f/1.4 pictured here is even larger than the 14mm f/2.8, which is closer in focal length to Nikon’s 24mm f/1.4. I had that lens on my D700 and I remember thinking that was a small camera package. It is not. Size and weight soon became a major sticking point for me when it came to photography, and while I can drone on and post weight charts about it, sometimes nothing can tell the story like a photo.

Fuji X-T1 Firmware Update

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With the announcement of the Graphite Silver X-T1 and its enhanced feature-set, Fuji has once again done the honourable thing by promising existing owners of the X-T1 a firmware update that will include all these new features. The nicest thing about this announcement is when I heard about the new features, I wasn’t the least bit concerned that my X-T1 was going to be out of date. I knew Fuji would take care of me. I can’t think of another camera company with customers who can feel more at ease.

The upgrade is going to be a big one, with a combination of user-requested features, and some other added niceties. Let’s do a quick rundown with some commentary. One of the features I’m most excited for hasn’t received a lot of press that I’ve seen.

Main Features

Electronic shutter, max speed of 1/32,000 second

This is a big one for me. It’s going to be really nice to not have to worry about neutral density filters in order to shoot my faster lenses wide open, even in broad daylight. I might be even more excited by the silent shutter. I’m occasionally conflicted about whether to bring the X-T1 or X100 with me exclusively because that silent leaf shutter on the X100 is so nice. Soon we’ll be able to take ultra covert pics of unsuspecting street subjects (don’t be creepy) without any concern that the shutter will be heard.

Classic Chrome Film Simulation mode

Some people don’t care about this feature. Others are gushing and hash-tagging about it like there’s no tomorrow. One thing’s for sure, I’m looking forward to testing it out for an extended period of time. I did have some time with it in the X30, but not enough to really gauge if it will become my go-to. I’m still finding new uses for the current Film Simulations, the latest being cranking the Shadow Tone to +2 with PRO Neg. Hi. As I’ve mentioned before on this site, it’s nice that Fuji are being so selective with these Film Simulations and not spamming users with endless presets. I guess it helps when your business model isn’t based on selling presets.

Natural Live View

This would have come in really handy just the other day. I was looking to preserve the highlights in my RAFs while shooting landscapes, but I also wanted to capture a Velvia JPEG. The LCD and resulting photo/histogram would show highlight clipping based on the Velvia Film Simulation, and that resulted in me being much to conservative and underexposing a few images. Natural Live View should give us a more accurate idea of how far we can push things when exposing to the right. Great feature.

“Further Improvements”

1. Direct selection of AF Area

“The update will let users select the focus area using the 4-way controller, without pressing the Fn key.”

Lots of users will be excited for this feature. I would guess that RAF shooters in particular who need frequent fast access to their AF point will love this addition. I say RAF shooters because JPEG shooters likely need at least a couple more controls immediately accessible. This is what I was familiar with in my DSLR days, but after trying it out, I miss being able to use the D-pad for quick access to other features. Perhaps once I have more time with it, and I’m able to move the items I want access to into Q menu I’ll give it another try. For now, focus and recompose is fine for quickly grabbing a shot and when things are slower, I have time to tap the AF selection button.

2. Unlocked AE-L/AF-L buttons

“The function of the AE-L/AF-L button is currently locked, but will be interchangeable, depending on the user’s preference.”

These aren’t buttons I use a whole lot so I can’t say I’m particularly excited about being able to switch them. I probably should have learned to use the AE-L button more given my gripes about how spot metering used to work (more on that below, they fixed it!), but using the AE-L button has always felt somewhat cumbersome for me, and I’m just as happy to go full manual.

When it comes to the AF-L button, Fuji now need to add an option to decouple autofocus from the shutter release so the AF-L button can be used exclusively for acquiring focus, the shutter release button exclusively to release the shutter, without the AF-L button being held. A lot of DSLR owners use their cameras this way, particularly for fast action shooting.

UPDATE: A Fuji vs. Fuji reader wrote in to point out that this can already (mostly) be done.

Menu > Tab #4 > AE/AF-LOCK MODE > set to "AE&AF ON/OFF SWITCH" (default is "ON WHEN PRESSING")

Clearly I need to spend some more time hunting around in the menus. More good, if old news for X-T1 owners, however it still isn’t quite the same as my DSLR days. The difference is in this mode, a second press of the AF-L button doesn’t reacquire focus, rather it merely unlocks the focus, and another press is needed to refocus. It’s debateable whether or not this way of doing it is actually better as I’ve had readers write in to say it is, and others to say it’s not. I’ll leave that for you to decide. For complete decoupling of autofocus from the shutter release, X-T1 owners need to switch to manual focus. More on that in #8.

3. Variable focus area during manual focus

“When working in manual focus mode, the update will enable changing the size of the focus area during Instant AF with the AF-L button.”

A nice addition for manual focus shooters looking to ensure ultra-precise focus on an isolated part of their composition. Again, I can’t say that I struggle with how things are now.

4. Direct selection of Macro mode

“In auto focus mode, the update will enable the Macro function to be turned on or off, without accessing the pop-up menu screen.”

This one is nice. Macro mode is accessible via two quick presses of the Macro button on X-E cameras and the X100(S), but with the advent of user-configurable buttons on the X-T1 and X100T, we lose that functionality. Soon we’ll be able to turn Macro mode on and off with just one button press. This could result in accidental changes to macro mode, but it’s a worthwhile trade-off.

5. Q Menu customization

“To make the Q Menu (used for quick access of frequently-used items) even more efficient, the update will allow its items and layout to be changed to the user’s preference.”

The level of customization offered in Fuji’s cameras now is really impressive. This is something I imagine I’ll leave at the defaults for the most part, and supplement with Function buttons. I don’t want my cameras to operate too differently, and I haven’t heard of these changes reaching back to the X-E2 or X100S yet.

What I was really hoping for, and I’m actually astounded we haven’t got yet, is reversible Q Menu operation. In Western countries, turning the dial to the right should increase the settings effect, whereas turning the dial left should decrease it. As it stands, I’m still constantly having to stop and think about which way to turn the dial to get the setting to change the way I want to. It’s probably the most frustrating part about shooting Fuji cameras for me, and it seems like it would be a fairly simple change.

6. New video frame rates:

“As well as the existing 60fps and 30fps selections, 50fps, 25fps and 24fps options will be available with the update. 50fps and 25fps allow video editing in the PAL regions, such as Europe, without converting the frame rate. 24fps offers a cinema-like view.”

Videographers rejoice! Me? I don’t do video much. I rather configure the record button to behave like another Function button.

7. Manual shooting in Video mode:

“The update will enable ISO sensitivity selection prior to shooting videos, as well as the ability to adjust aperture and shutter speed during movie recording.”

Videographers rejoice! Me? I don’t do… wait. Seriously though, I can’t imagine even attempting to shoot much video without these features. It’s great they’ve been added.

8. Phase Detection AF support for Instant AF

“In Instant AF mode, which is operated by pressing the AF-L button during manual focusing, the update will enable Phase Detection AF, providing faster focusing speeds.”

Even more reason for Fuji to add an option for the shutter release to not trigger autofocus, even without the AF-L button pressed.

UPDATE: See update to item #2, but I’m a little unsure about the whole user experience of this as when a lens with a manual focus collar is mounted, the AF-L button doesn’t do a whole heck of a lot. A complete DSLR-style decoupling of AF from the shutter release button while in autofocus would address this.

9. Interlocking of metering and Focus areas

“Users will be able to interlock the AF area position with the metering area when Spot Metering mode is selected.”

Outside of the lightning fast and silent electronic shutter, this is the feature I’m most looking forward too. This is how Nikon does it and how it should be, in my opinion. Having your AF point and spot metering point independent of each other makes absolutely no sense to me.

10. Expansion of shutter speed in Program Shift mode

“In the current Program Shift mode, the slowest-speed setting is 1/4sec, but this will increase to a maximum of 4secs.”

I haven’t shot in P mode in years, but this strikes me as an odd change. P mode is typically used by novices and is great for people who are just starting out in photography. I started there too. If you’re at the stage of capturing exposures that are 4 seconds in length, you’re likely not a novice any longer and should be fairly comfortable in aperture priority, shutter priority or full manual modes. In any event, if you’re the sort of photographer who likes to set everything but ISO to “A,” you’ll now be able to override the camera-chosen shutter speed to as slow as 4 seconds.

Conclusion

This is shaping up to be a nice upgrade. December is going to feel a little like getting a new camera, and for free. This isn’t a reason why I switched to Fujifilm in the first place—I had no idea they had this firmware strategy—but it’s a big reason why I recommend them. No other camera company adds this kind of functionality to a camera. Most expect you to just buy another camera. I wrote above that I pretty much expected we’d see improvements to the X-T1 like this; that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate it.

Thanks, Fuji.

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On Buttons

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If the rumours are to be believed, Fuji are doing some interesting differentiating with the button layouts of their cameras. Take the most recent leaked photos of the X100T.1 It appears to have a D-pad that’s very much like the one found on the X-T1, no functions assigned to it via icons. I’ll assume it will be the new and preferable clicky variety. The images of the back of the camera look great to me. Very clean. No more scroll wheel. It will be interesting to know if the toggle has moved to a dial as well.

Now, the just-announced X30 has a D-pad that’s more similar to the X-E2, complete with even more icons delineating their function. Fuji’s consumer-centric cameras tend to all feature this more protruding and icon-laden D-pad whereas cameras like the X-T1, which is decidedly more “professional,” has the customizable and more recessed D-pad.2

It’s interesting to me that the X100 line of cameras is taking on the X-T1 style D-pad and I fully expect the X-Pro1 successor to do the same. This suggests that Fuji slots the X100 into less of a consumer space which coincides with it’s price, and the fact that it’s a fixed focal length. The X30 couldn’t be more targeted at the more casual “consumer” shooter.

If these photos are real, it’s nice to see Fuji bringing consistency to their cameras like this. It makes a lot of sense for them to take no the role as expert with the more consumer-focused cameras and tell the user which buttons do what, but let the more serious shooter make up his or her own mind about how the buttons behave.

  1. I have to say, their poor quality and the fact that the OVF/EVF switch has gone back to how it looked on the X100 (non “S”) makes me question their authenticity a little. EDIT: With the addition of the OVF/EVF hybrid mode, it makes perfect sense for Fuji to go back to the symmetrical viewfinder switch as each direction from middle serves a different purpose.↩
  2. The X30’s buttons are all fully customizable as well, but Fuji have provided their suggested designation, which is a subtle suggestion that digging into the menus to adjust things is less of a necessity.↩

X-T1 Autofocus Speed

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A disappointing showing from the Fujifilm X-T1 in The Camera Store’s “Great Mirrorless Camera Autofocus Shootout,” in which they pitted the X-T1 against the Sony A6000, Olympus’ OMD E-M1 and the Panasonic GH4.

While Chris Niccols assures us that they they’ve chosen the best glass available on each platform, I don’t think the variable aperture FUJINON XF 55-200mm has any business being in an AF speed challenge of any kind, and I have a feeling Fujifilm would like him to redo this test once their FUJINON XF 50-140mm f/2.8 hits the market. It’s tough to fault The Camera Store for choosing the 55-200mm though, as the only other option for them would have been the “consumer grade” FUJINON XC 50-230mm, which is likely to perform even worse. Still, a disclaimer or two might have been appropriate.

Another thing I think they should have touched on in the video, is that the GH4 has an MSRP that’s just shy of 50% higher than the X-T1 or the E-M1. If I were spending another $600 on top of the X-T1’s price, you better believe I’d be expecting better AF speeds. Then there’s the A6000. At half the price it shouldn’t be able to leave both the X-T1 and the E-M1 in the dust, but that’s exactly what it did. Impressive. The big surprise for me was the E-M1’s poor single point performance. Every time I handle that camera, I almost marvel at how quick it seems to lock on focus.

Most remarkable is that the GH4 apparently held it’s own against the D4S. That is astounding considering you could get every mirrorless body in the comparison for the price of a D4S and pro zoom. Twice.

The key takeaway is that mirrorless cameras have caught up to, and surpassed DSLRs in their price-point. This has to make you wonder what just about any camera manufacturer1 could do with a $3,000+ mirrorless camera body—let alone one that costs $7 grand—and it makes me excited to see what the X-Pro2 will be capable of.

  1. Aside from Sony’s A7r, but that full frame sensor eats up too much of the MSRP to afford much opportunity for blazing AF speeds. ↩

The X-T1 is ready

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There were a couple of issues that plagued the release of the X-T1. The first that most already know about, was the light leak. The second, slightly less well know is this, the directional pad of buttons (or D-pad) used for menu selection was mushy, somewhat unresponsive, and quite unsatisfying to use.

I want to state early in this post that for any of you who have been reading my thoughts and comparisons of the X-T1, and are concerned about the crummy buttons, you can now safely buy a new X-T1 that has a much better D-pad than those found on the pre-production units, and the the initial run of manufacturing.1 If you’re buying from a store, you can easily tell if you’ve got a good one through the plastic baggy that the camera ships in, so if the dealer is reluctant to crack the Fujifilm sticker-seal, it’s no problem. Just test the buttons through the bag. If the buttons click like this, you’re good. As we know the light leak issue has also been addressed, and clicky buttons also seem to indicate light tightness.

Taking responsibility

Fujifilm came forward pretty quick, acknowledged the light leak, and offered a fix for owners with afflicted cameras. With the D-pad, they have been pretty tight-lipped about the problem. I can only surmise this is because the earliest D-pads, while crappy, do technically work. They’ve also been somewhat cagey about whether or not rumours about X-T1’s going in for service for the light leak, and coming back with a better D-pad are true.2 I’ve heard from at least two other owners that cameras sent in for light leak repair—with the D-pad noted on the bill of service—have come back with the D-pad marked as having “no fault.” This was also my experience. Again, while technically true as the buttons can be considered as not having “fault,” and work as originally designed, the fact remains that manufacturing has been quietly adjusted. X-T1’s are hitting the streets in high quantity with substantially better buttons on their back sides. This isn’t luck of the draw.

The bad news

Unfortunately some early adopters are being left out in the cold. I actually went to the extreme of selling my launch X-T1 privately,3 and buying another. For many, this won’t be worth the loss on the retail price, but it was for me. I can now use my X-T1 without mild feelings of contempt.

The good news

A silent tweak to manufacturing is better than no tweak at all, and that tweak means my biggest, and really only major gripe about the X-T1’s handling has now been addressed.

For those of you still waiting to place your order, now is the time. The more time I spend with this camera, the more I like it, and the more I feel it is the interchangeable Fuji body to own. I’m about to download and install the X-E2 firmware, but I’m confident the X-T1 will still be my primary body, rain or shine.

Fortunately, Fujifilm don’t have a history of releasing X-Series camera bodies with manufacturing issues like these. I don’t think we’re in a “wait and see” position when Fuji release their next camera (yet), but I’m hoping to see better QA with their next release.

  1. I’m not positive, but serial numbers of cameras with the poor D-pad seem to approximately coincide with up to and including the light leak range of serial numbers. Possibly a little beyond. For instance, my X-T1 that suffered both issues was had a starting serial number of 41A05. My new X-T1 is 41A09. My undestanding is ≥41A06 have no light leak. ↩
  2. The official response I got was “Our technicians check all aspects of the camera.” ↩
  3. For the record, I noted in my listing that it was a launch unit with a poor D-pad. Fortunately I was at least able to say it had no light leak. ↩