Camera review
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FujifilmX-T1 Fujifilm’s latest mirrorless offering includes some stunning technology designed to give DSLRs a run for their money. We find out if it’s got what it takes ON TEST
For an even more detailed report of the Fujifilm X-T1, see issue 42 of Advanced Photographer , on sale now
seconds. It really is huge and extremely clear, and there’s genuinely no significant delay – when you’re watching the world through the viewfinder, you’re watching it in real time, and when you press the shutter, you capture what you last saw. There are other things about this viewfinder that I love too. One is that there’s no post-capture shot preview, so you never find yourself staring at your last shot wondering why nothing’s moving as you try to frame up for another. There’s also minimal delay between shots, and visually, it’s exactly the same experience as using a DSLR – there’s a short blackout at the moment of exposure, just the same as when the mirror flips up, and then you’re back online and ready to shoot immediately. The other excellent feature is that you can change the view mode, with various options of combining the LCD and viewfinder. Amongst these is the option to have only the viewfinder on all the time, and this solves the incessant EVF problem of a delay as the eye sensor activates it. This brings it as close to an optical viewfinder as possible, since it means the image is there the instant you lift it to your eye, making it the ideal mode for street photography and similar. The only drawback in this mode is that the LCD isn’t automatically activated when you open menus, so you have to navigate in the viewfinder, or switch view mode. To balance things up, it’s worth saying that, as good as it is, the viewfinder isn’t a perfect substitute for an optical version. Fine patterning in a scene can cause artefacts, and it can struggle in artificial lighting, where it sometimes flickers, especially in manual focus mode. But these are pitfalls of most electronic viewfinders, and it’s otherwise easily one of the best of its kind that I’ve used. ABOVE Taking its style tips from old-school film cameras, the X-T1 features plenty of dials, meaning menu delving is rare, but the three- inch tiltable screen and EVF are thoroughly modern. LEFT The X-T1 is consistently accurate in the exposure department. This was taken in aperture-priority at 1/200sec at f/11.
Words by Ian Fyfe
After fantastic success with the X-series in professional, enthusiast and entry-level circles alike, Fujifilm could have taken its laurels and well and truly rested on them. But instead, it’s taken the X-series concept in a new direction, repackaging it in a body styled like a film SLR and giving it an extra injection of speed – the result is the X-T1, and it means business. Once it’s in your hand, the X-T1 is very comfortable to hold, and it feels really well made – it oozes quality. As with the other X-series cameras, most of the handling takes its lead from the film days, with all the exposure settings controlled by dials, and there’s something truly delightful about the way this strips everything back. There’s no mode dial, for example. For aperture-priority mode, you set the shutter speed dial to auto and use the aperture ring; for shutter-priority, it’s the other way around. Set both to auto, and you’re in program mode, or specify settings on each for manual – all simple and intuitive. This is the same as the X-Pro1 and X-E2, but the X-T1 has more on its top-plate – ISO and drive mode dials on the left shoulder, a metering mode switch under the shutter speed dial. There’s almost no reason to enter the menus at all. Perhaps the only handling downside is that the back plate buttons, specifically the AF-L, AE-L, Focus Assist and Q buttons, are quite hard to find by touch when you have your eye to the viewfinder, since they’re so flush to the back plate, and all the buttons lack a little positivity. One problem with the layout of the X-Pro1 and X-E2 cameras has been addressed on the X-T1, and that’s the position of the exposure compensation dial. On the other cameras, this overhangs the corner above the thumbgrip and is easily knocked. On the X-T1, the same dial is further recessed onto the top-plate so there’s no overhang, and this makes it less vulnerable, but it still doesn’t entirely solve the problem. There were still one or two occasions when I accidentally added ⅓EV of exposure compensation.
SPECS
PRICE £1049 body only CONTACT www.fujifilm.co.uk SENSOR 16.3-megapixel X-Trans II CMOS with EXR II processor IMAGE DIMENSIONS 4896x3264 pixels ISORANGE 200-6400 (100-51,200 expanded, JPEG only) AUTOFOCUSMODES Single, continuous, manual EXPOSURE COMPENSATION +/-3EV in ⅓EV steps, AEB +/-1EV in ⅓EV steps SHUTTER 30secs-1/4000sec SHOOTING SPEEDS Single, continuous L 3fps, continuous H 8fps, self-timer LCD SCREEN 3in tiltable with 1040k dots STORAGEMEDIA SD, SDHC, SDXC (UHS-II compatible) DIMENSIONS (WXHXD) 129x89.8x46.7mm WEIGHT 440g (including battery and card) METERING PATTERNS Multi, spot, average
It’s better, but still not ideal and is frustrating because the shutter dial next to it holds the answer – it has a mechanism that allows it to lock on auto. The same mechanism to lock the compensation dial on zero would solve the problem. Amagnificent view Possibly the biggest talking point of the X-T1 is the viewfinder. Not only is it in the centre rather than on the left, as it is on the X-Pro1 and X-E2, but the specifications are impressive: a magnification ratio of 0.77x and a claimed lag time of just 0.005 Whenyou’rewatching theworld through the viewfinder, you’re watching it in real time
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