Fuji at Photokina this year has some really nice releases, even though they are missing what most Fuji fans have been waiting for since the system was introduced: a new X-Pro. While the X-Pro 2 will have to wait, there were a few very interesting items at the Fuji booth, so let’s dive in.
X100T
This relatively minor refresh of the X100s includes some really nice features, especially when it comes to the viewfinder. The rest of the camera is very similar in operation and appearance to the X100s that came before it.
The X100T feels great in the hand and the focus ring on the front has a new knurled finish that I quite like. Operation was quick and snappy, though there’s not much to distinguish it from the S that came before it. So what is improved? The viewfinder. Fuji improved both the EVF and the optical finder on the X100T.
The Electronic viewfinder sees improvement in magnification and responsiveness, falling somewhere between the X-E2 and the X-T1 as far as how it looks. Overall, the EVF looks quite nice, but the star of the show is the improved optical finder. The OVF is bright and clear, and it shows a wider field of view than the lens captures. Because the viewfinder is offset from the lens, the exact framing of the image will change depending on how close you are focusing. To account for this, a white digital frame appears when you’ve focused, showing you exactly where the cut will be for the final image.
However the coolest thing is the small EVF patch that can be superimposed on the optical finder to give you an enlarged view of the focus point, which appears in the lower right corner of the finder. This digital view makes manually focusing with the optical finder work brilliantly (the split-prism focus aid can also be put in this corner, though I though the full color view was easier to see and nail focus). This is a really brilliant bit of engineering which brings one of the best things about EVFs to a very nice optical finder. This patch can be brought up seamlessly by using the viewfinder toggle switch on the front of the camera, and pushing it away from you to bring up the overlay patch. See below for how it looks through the OVF with the overlay on (taken with my iPhone pressed to the viewfinder, so pardon the quality.
The X100T may be simply a refinement of what came before, but it’s a camera that is really reaching full maturity at this time.
Silver Graphite X-T1
The Silver Graphite X-T1 was on display, and it looks as good in person as it does in pictures. They’ve done a beautiful job with this finish. It looks almost creamy, which is an odd term to use to describe a camera body, but it’s the best I can do.
The new firmware features were on display and the electronic shutter is truly completely silent. The new, much higher 1/32,000 maximum shutter speed is accessed by selecting 1/4000s on the dial and using the front command dial to adjust the shutter speed higher from there. Overall, that’s fairly well implemented.
The Fuji representative I spoke to confirmed the new firmware bringing the silver X-T1 features to the black X-T1 will be arriving in November.
Filter size on the 16-55?
77mm
I hope that isn’t final, the 10-24 and 50-140, 90/2 are all 72 and it’d be nice if they kept it consistent!
A step-up ring would fix that. Not ideal, but also no big deal.
Jordan, the zoom picture in picture of the X100T is not any larger than the same section of the image?
Huh. Works for me.
A step-up won’t fix that all my filters are 72mm, or fit under a lens hood 🙁
not if you are using Lee Seven5 filters
Thanks a lot for the report, Jordan.
This year’s Photokina is certainly very exciting!
We are witnessing an interesting shift in mirrorless land. In the past, manufacturers tried to attract the weight/size conscious photographers among us while now they seem more to cater to enthusiasts with large lenses featuring (presumably) excellent optics.
I’m personally not very interested in large lenses despite their probably very high IQ. I wish Fuji would release some more compact lenses even if the IQ were to be slightly inferior (I love pancake designs). The 90 and 50-140 are a bit disappointing in this regard . The Pentax 50-135 is indeed quite a bit smaller and lighter than the Fuji. Also, as you wrote, the 90mm is much larger than the Nikkor 85 f/1.8 for instance (which is faster and covers FF).
It appears as the only manufacturer concerned by size is Panasonic.
Interesting point about the 16-55 lacking IS. The 24-70mm f/2.8II Canon also lacks IS and that’s a very sharp zoom. Hopefully it helps alleviate the cost also. Thanks for the info on the 50-140mm as well. If you get a chance to check the AF speed again and can compare it relative to other lenses(realizing that it’s pre-production) that would be appreciated. Hope you get a chance to take some personal photos and also enjoy the trip!
any word on whether the 16-55 will be internal zooming?
Call me what you want but a slightly updated x100s, an xt1 in a new color and a modified 56 (which barely hit the market) shouldn’t be what Fujifilm build it’a reputition on …
Whete the heck is a mindblowing X-Pro2?
And what about an Xe-3? Or an x200(new sensor)?
I really hope they don’t walk the modest CaNikon way. Panasonic tops it off, as of now. I just hope Fujifilm is picking up momentum again …
Wont swap my black x100s in a decade thats for shure but give me a state-of-the-art X-Pro2!!!
Andrea
Thanks for this detailed report 🙂
Much appreciated.
Is the AF speed of the X100T improved at all? It always seems Fuji cameras have “good enough” AF speed, but always seem to be lacking when compared to other mirrorless competitors like Olympus and recent Panasonic cameras, especially in lower light conditions.
Nothing about a new X Pro 2? Booo. I would like one with tracking focus and best refresh image of the EVF for when I use M mount tele lenses. That is the reason I am impatiently waiting the 50-140 2.8 but nobody have a clue how good works with tracking focus in moving subjects like football with the XT-1. I need teles for my professional work, the 56 1.2 is a beauty but the perspective is still one like a normal lens.
The perspective on the 56mm is not ‘like a normal lens.’ Perspective is based ONLY on distance to subject and has absolutely nothing to do with focal length. I wrote an in-depth article on the subject earlier this year: https://admiringlight.com/blog/perspective-correcting-myth/
“A camera that is really reaching full maturity at this time”. Typically Fuji, not to do the things first time right. Here I’m having two years now this X-Pro1 – still being sold as a top X-series model in all shops over the world – where the word ‘full maturity’ really becomes a bit ironic. Glad kept my DSLR-stuff and this was some kind of lightweight back-up solution. ‘Has just left the prototype stage’ was a better description when I started using it as an early adopter and now, a dozen of firmware updates later, the best description could be ‘ quite enjoyable if the fate is not against me’. Is something better coming up, f.i. and X-Pro2 with this rangefinder feature and finally a mature sensor? Wait about another year and see. Best guess…it will be based on the old revamped Sony 16MP again and some kind of next gen graphical processor. The X-series seemed to have a lot of potential in the beginning but Fuji is just a small player, surfing a bit too much on niches & hyping – and whether this quite expensive stuff is a good investment… look at the second hands value which is nothing less than.
You’re right! We’ve bought into a camera system that is never perfect and needs constant improvements. Yet, I do believe that Fujifilm’s intent is genuine in providing updates and making the user’s experience a positive one. Despite spending thousand of dollars on Nikon equipment over the years, they never provided me with a free firmware update. Does that mean that their cameras were perfect and didn’t need any? Far from it!
The issue that frightens me from the beginning is that the Fuji X-series are more a computer device than a camera. This is the way it was engineered and designed and where the original concepts and assumptions could gradually evolve into something better (what actually happened) the overal reliability and ‘feel’ is a bit at stake (the X-Pro1’s quirky FW remains a plain adventure at some time). It is also very strange that in this concept each new lens release forces Fuji into FW updates of nearly all the X-series cameras they made. I suppose this excessive FW-updating is more debugging and damage control than it is ‘listening to the users’, as some are saying. This Kaizen is just a maskerade-trick to repackage serious control issues and further compatibility with more recent releases of gear. Be honest, Nikon doesn’t require this. The camera might not be perfect, but the firmware is extremely stable and any Nikon photographer buying a new model will get away with it in seconds. The camera’s specs evolve but the ergonomics and handling remain the same. All the glass of the 90’s still works fine. All accessories still do. I think Fuji really need to learn from what competition is doing, there is a lot in their current approach that doesn’t feel solid to me, where I even doubt that it provides the X-series a longterm, brilliant future. At the end, I don’t want to rebuy new cameras and lenses that are fixed versions of the previous gen, if this is the way MLICs are going, its a far more expensive track than working with rock solid DSLRs buying you stability, reliability and a very longterm experience in anything what photography really can become as a mission. For me, Fuji has still a very long way to go to achieve that target.