itchy shutter finger

I have two X-E3 camera bodies, one I bought in 2019 and one in 2020. In the first days of the Camera Remote App (Android), it was awesome to be able to operate the camera from the phone. It created possibilities I never experienced before. It was inconsistent though, and in short order it didn't work at all. As years passed it became painfully obvious I should have no expectations of a solution to the remote app failure, since it appeared Fujifilm all but abandoned this generation of models in favor of newer ones. Imagine my surprise on hearing this week of firmware upgrades for these older models to better work on the Camera Remote App. With some skepticism, I upgraded both of my cameras, and I am pleased to say that after the upgrades, I can quickly, easily, flawlessly, and reliably pair both cameras to phone, and operate them from the phone without fail. I'm shocked this happened at all, and even more shocked it works so well. I'm not pleased this took five years, but I give Fujifilm heavy credit for staying the course and ending with a good product.

Which command dial? When I set my top dial to any manual speed (which are indeed a stop apart), the rear dial will override that speed in + or - 1/3 stop increments. If you do not have shutter speed on your rear command dial, dive into the menu; it is selectible.

I had this problem shooting two different X-E3's (hardware similar to X-T2). When set to fixed aperture, fixed shutter speed, and fixed ISO, the shutter speed would very often be something other than its manual setting. Exposure was frequently way off, and the speed to make the shot was noticeably slower, which was very unfortunate since these were action jobs. Rather than spend too much time under the hood trying to out-think firmware code, I tried using auto ISO, and it's all good now. The ISO varies to no detriment, response is improved, and I get the aperture and shutter speed I selected.

I'll venture a guess here that the other flash units you tried have their own battery power. Fujifilm cameras compatible with the EF-X8 have an extra pin to supply power to the flash, as the EF-X8 does not carry its own power onboard. It sounds to me that something is wrong in the power supply circuit of either the body or the flash. If I remember correctly, EF-X8 compatible bodies have a pin to the top left of the hot shoe through which the body and flash communicate. I would also need to review the settings manual, because I don't know if it is possible through settings to de-energize that pin. Did B&H explore these avenues? I would be surprised if they didn't. I would expect that if anyone could run down the problem, it would be B&H. To summarize, my off-the-cuff guesses range from a dirty communication pin to a circuit failure to that pin, or a menu setting de-activating that pin. I will review my info and post an update if I find anything. For five years now, I use an EF-X8 for daytime close range TTL, but mainly as a commander to manage arrays of off-camera flash units, and so far the EF-X8 is 100% bulletproof.

I own two Fujifilm bodies and six Fujifilm branded lenses. I love them all. Fantastic technology and quality. However, I also like Fujifilm because of their commitment to customers through Kaizen - the continuous improvement of their products through firmware updates - Oh wait...never mind... Not really snark. I'm just showing Fujifilm the same they are showing me, except I never bait-and-switched them with now-false promises.

The only camera body failure I had was deterioration of the light seals - after about 30 years of use. I rebuilt that camera about 10 years ago, and it is as good today as the day I bought it. A Nikon FE. Digital has it perks, but I really miss film. Getting into this century though, I had a dumpster load of failure with electronic cameras both film and digital. But this is the key point - every single one of those failures was user error. All my own fault. I think today's cameras are beyond amazing, probably to a fault. But for quality and reliability, I like the Fujifilms, given today's shutter loads and electronic complexity. What would I like my next large purchase to be? A bunch of film for my Nikon.

I observed the same when shooting indoor action without flash (flash not allowed) in aperture priority with auto ISO and auto DR. The resulting photos were disappointing. Shutter speeds were all over the place, and I could not see what the shutter speed would be before taking the shot. I set the aperture and shutter to fixed values, and let auto ISO resolve the remainder of the exposure triangle. Results were very good. I think Greybeard's explanation is spot on. By forcing the camera to resolve two variables, it must iterate its decisions multiple times, delaying the eventual shutter speed selection.

In what way does the 18-55 fail your needs? Focal length? Image quality? Focus speed? Weight? Weather seal? For your journalism work, are you more inclined to try zooms or primes? For portrait work, the Viltrox 56mm f1.2 seems to me to be a credible choice. Among Fujifilm zoom lenses, I am a big fan of of the XF18-135. It's a little large and heavy, but I really admire the image quality. Two clues in your post suggest to me you may looking for a longer focal length. Is this the case? I am not a professional, much less a photojournalist, but after coming to Fujifilm after 40 years of Nikon, weight suddenly became very noticeable for me. I use 4 XC lenses, and not for the lower cost, but for the much lower weight. I have focal lengths from 15mm to 230mm, and a prime. My XF18-55 now lives in a storage box. I'd like to try out the 56mm Viltrox myself, but I get satisfactory portraits from the XC50-230. Again, not a pro.

I just came across something I forgot about. All of the X-Trans III cameras had firmware upgrades to fix the problem this thread describes. The upgrades were released in September 2020. No poster in this thread specifies what camera body they are having issue with, but right now my money is on X-E3, X-T20, X-T2, or X-Pro2.

Would your exif data be similar to the OP as shown in the original post? Which camera body are you using? Can you give some of the shooting settings, such as metering mode, etc.; and the flash settings? Without knowing any details of your system, and thinking on nothing more than TTL flash and a black photo, the first two things that pop into my mind are commander mode or the flash syncing on the wrong curtain for the chosen shutter speed. Unless there is an electronic problem with the EF-X500, there are sooooo many.... opportunities for an errant setting, and the EF-X500 is the flash with the most features, and settings for those features. I do not own an EF-X500 (but I would like to), but I use the little EF-X8 as a commander for large widespread flash arrays, and I am always amazed at the possibilities with this system...and it has the ability to take a black photo. If the flash is not defective, it's always going to be in the settings... Another fleeting thought, if your camera body is X-Trans2 or older, it may not support all that the EF-X500 can do.

Is your shutter set to Mechanical Only? Flash will not fire if Electronic Shutter is engaged, and this can occur if the shutter is set to Mechanical+Electronic.

Whoa! I didn't mean to ask such a difficult question (dynamic range setting), but thanks for digging so deep into it.

What was your dynamic range setting on that shot?

The comprehensive essence of photography in one collection. Wow! Just Wow! Very well done, and thanks for sharing this work with us.

Yes, it's my go-to lens for unscripted shooting. It is quirky, but I love the image quality. The XC35 prime has better image quality and speed, but I find the XC15-45 very versatile.