aceflibble

Depends what you're photographing. You've got an very-wide, a medium, and a short telephoto prime, and then you've got the zoom for speed or as a back up or whatever you consider the zoom to be. You could fill out the wide end a bit with a 16mm, because there's quite a gap from 12mm to 35mm, or you could expand your reach and go for something like the 90mm or 50-140. Really depends what you shoot and which you'll get more use from. As far as the 23mm vs x100T goes, that just depends on whether you think you'll get tired of swapping lenses, and how sharp you expect 'wide open' to be. The 23mm f/1.4 is sharper at f/2 than the X100S/T lens is at f/2, and of course you can open it up an extra stop on top. I think of the X100S/T as being an f/2.8 camera, because f/2 is quite soft. But it is really convenient to have that focal length on its own dedicated body, with no lens swapping and the leaf shutter. There's no clear, obvious winner out of those two. One is technically higher-quality, the other is far more convenient. But if you're considering the 23mm, I'd think hard about the 16mm. That will bridge the gap between the 12mm and 35mm a bit more evenly. (The 16mm angle of view is basically halfway betwen the two; the 23mm is closer in view to the 35mm, obviously.) The only lens mentioned which I'd advise against, almost regardless of what you shoot, is the 100-400. It's a fine lens, but unless you're trying to photograph wildlife or spy on celebrities, it's a bit pointless. Equivalent 152-408mm is real long. That's a tight headshot at the widest end and rare bird-hunting at the long end. It would expand your lens range more than any other lens, sure, but if you mostly shoot landscape, or street, or weddings, or portrait, sports, events... well, pretty much anything normal, then it's just going to be a big, heavy lump in your camera bag.

If you want close focusing, just buy a pair of extension tubes. Don't bother with the official Fuji ones; there's no glass in an extension tube, so there's nothing to be lost from buying the much cheaper third-party ones. Then, when you want to do something requiring closer focus, you can put one of those extension tubes on any of your lenses and turn them into a semi-macro lens. And a pair of extension tubes is far cheaper than a whole new lens.

I doubt that idea has ever crossed their minds. The only cameras which have the vertical grip as a part of the standard body are the Canon 1D and Nikon D[x] bodies. Separate grips as an optional accessory have always been the more popular way to go, for all camera systems. (Disclaimer/honest bit: I actually prefer bodies with the vertical grip built in as standard, but I know I'm one of those weird people who isn't bothered by the size of any camera system, and most people don't like it.) Yeah, the main reason why I didn't take some sources' claims so seriously a few months back was precisely because I'd not seen you mention a touch screen on the front page. Now that I've seen it for myself I'm very happy to write those sources off as either misunderstood or flat-out lying.

Yeah, I'd like to see the grip. I find any camera without a battery/vertical grip really uncomfortable. I'm always left with a finger dangling off the bottom gripping nothing but air, and most of my daily work is shot portrait. I'm one of those rare mirrorless users who actually wants the cameras to be larger. But my friend never uses it; some people just don't like that feel. 'S fair enough. If I get a chance to see it again, and I know ahead of time, I'll be asking if he can bring the grip along. I don't even care about the extra power or speed, personally. I just find cameras less comfortable without grips. If I can check out the burst speed/buffer/focus/etc more, that's an added bonus. As far as the Pro2 goes, I agree, enough people have spoken about there being more power available than the camera currently uses. It makes sense that Fuji would try to make use of that extra power somehow, eventually. I'm expecting the Pro2 to get an update to at least allow a smoother refresh rate on the EVF, after the T2 is officially released. But that is just me guessing; I've no info on any Pro2 firmware to expect, I just hope there is and am assuming so because of how the older cameras had their refresh rates updated, also.

Sort of. I have a rocky relationship with the whole Fuji system. The bits I love, I love. The bits I hate, I hate. The X-T cameras, in particular, are things which I love from a functional point-of-view, but there's something uncomfortable about them. They're an SLR without the history of SLRs. I still buy them over the Pro and E cameras, because they fit my workflow better, but I wish they were just that little bit more... I don't know. They're like the Terminator; incredible machine, but still not quite human. I mean, I'll be buying at least one X-T2. But yeah, it's hard to really be enamoured with it. If the Pro had the same tilt screen, I'd probably buy the Pro, instead. The T gets my money simply because of that functional difference. Not a touch screen. However, as I have said before in the front page comments a couple of months ago—in fact Patrick reposted my comments as an article, HERE—I've been told by other people, who say they have later pre-production bodies, that it does have a touch screen. The problem is the people who have told me that aren't people who live anywhere near me, and I don't know them as well. So I'm reluctant to trust them as much... but at the same time, it wouldn't be the first time that a major feature was absent from a prototype body, to then be in the final design. After all, the prototype X-Pro1 had dual card slots, but obviously the final model didn't. And of course the X70 got a touch screen, so it's not as crazy a suggestion as some of the things people have come up with. (IBIS, APS-H, etc.) So, the body I saw did not have a touch screen, and my other most trusted sources—people who I know for sure have pre-production bodies—all say there's no touch screen on their bodies, either. It looks like none of Patrick's sources have claimed it will have a touch screen, too. But if one did turn up with a touch screen? Well, it wouldn't be the biggest surprise. Crazier things have happened.

Didn't know whether to put this in general or the X-T1/X-T10 board. Move as you wish. Anyway, as I alluded to in the comments a few days back, I have been able to get my hands on a pre-production X-T2... for about 60 seconds. There is nothing new I can report which hasn't already been talked about on the FR front page; Patrick's got everything covered and evidently his sources are in a better position to give you close-up photos and videos and whatever. If you want new information, there's little I can say. What I can do is confirm some of the things people weren't sure about, and give you my impressions from having held it for about the time it took for my friend to eat his muffin, and chatting about it for a few minutes. Which isn't much, but hey; rumours are the best we've got, usually, so hands-on is a small step up, at least. First, a few questions which I know will come up, and I'm just going to shoot down right away: Q: Do you have any raw files to share, did you shoot any 4k video, etc? A: No. It's not my camera. It's not a camera I'm supposed to have seen. It's not a camera I got to go out shooting with. I just got to hold it for literally a minute, look through the viewfinder, turn a few dials, glance at the menu, etc. Q: How did you get it? A: Several of my friends work in the industry; a couple are Fuji X photographers. I met one for coffee, he happened to have the camera with him. He let me hold it while he ate a muffin. That's literally all. There's no exciting super secret 007 spy story. Q: Can you give us [things which would give away your friend's identity]? Can they come and post here about their experience with the X-T2? A: No. I've not signed an NDA or made any embargo agreement with Fuji, so I can say whatever the hell I like. He can't. Every X photographer and member of the press who has been granted use of an X-T2 has signed an NDA. Giving away anything which could lead Fuji to work out who talks to who could mean very real, very serious legal trouble for those photographers. So I won't say anything which could be used to identify any of my friends or info sources, and none of them post here or on any other Fuji-specific forum. They know I talk, but they also trust me to keep their identities completely safe and secret. Q: Why should we believe you? A: Common sense dictates that you shouldn't. Like all rumours, it would be smart for you to take everything with a big pinch of salt. All I can say is that most people who follow the front page probably have a good idea of my track record with talking about design aspects of bodies, which are later confirmed by Patrick's own sources. But if you don't wish to believe me, that's fine. I wouldn't believe me, either. That's the nature of rumours and talking about products which haven't been officially released yet. Q: Did you also see a 23mm f/2 lens? A: No. Okay, obvious questions out the way, here's what I can elaborate on: The photos Patrick's sources have been sharing with him are, undoubtably, legitimate. (As if there was any doubt at this point.) The unit I saw is identical to those. All the things which I've mentioned before in the front page comments and Patrick's had as more reliably-rumoured specs, are right there. All the obvious stuff: dual SD slots, function button instead of dedicated video button, 1/250th sync speed, etc. Again, as if there was any doubt left, I can confirm that everything which has been repeatedly reported on the front page is accurate. This is why I say there's nothing new to talk about. Patrick's coverage has been incredibly accurate. In terms of feel, it does seem a tiny bit bigger and heavier than the X-T1, but having not held an X-T1 for over a year—I sold my pair to 'trade down' to a couple of X-T10s—I could simply be misremembering the X-T1's size and weight. I couldn't exactly whip out a measuring tape and a set of scales to weigh it. In any case, it's not a problem. Still a small body, still a light body. Balanced perfectly with the 23mm f/1.4 which was on it. No need to worry about the size increase. I only noticed it because I was specifically thinking about it. The textured parts of the surface—the fake leather texture—feels a little less rubbery and has a more pronounced texture than I remember the X-T1 having. (Certainly much nicer than the T10 has.) The smooth metal areas feel the same, no change there. The concentric control dials are much nicer than before. I'd been told months ago (and mentioned it on the front page) that the lock buttons had been revised, and it does seem that way. They sit very slightly higher than the dial than they did before and pressing them required a bit more force, with a more definite click as they locked/unlocked. Not so much of a change that it will slow you down, but I can now see how this will definitely be enough to stop any accidental turning of the top dials. The dials are very slightly taller, as you've all seen; they also had a slightly colder feel, which I can only assume means they're being cut from a denser metal than before. Each dial felt very slightly stiffer to turn than before, too; though this could just be because it's obviously a newer body, since those things tend to get looser with age. Viewfinder is bigger than before. How much bigger, I couldn't say; I've no way of meauring it and my friend didn't know a specific figure, either. But he'd told me before that it felt bigger to him, and looking through it myself, it did seem bigger, to me. Again, though, it's been a while since I looked through an X-T1's viewfinder—even when I had the X-T1, I alway use the rear screen—so I could be misremembering, but the T2's is at least as big as the Sony α7II's, a camera I've used more recently and can compare more clearly. Refresh rate seemed flawless. Way above what the T1, Pro2, or α7II give. Again, I've no way of counting a specific number. I know that thing came out recently about it being 100fps. I don't know how I'd count 100fps. All I can say is we were sat in the back of an average-dimly lit high street coffee shop, and I didn't notice any lag or stuttering or anything. By far the most faultless EVF I've seen. The only way I could tell it wasn't an OVF is because of the brightness and the applied colour profile. (Film simulation.) Otherwise it may as well be an OVF. Hell, it's better than an OVF. Much brighter, under those conditions. If Pro2 owners get to look through this, they're going to question why they spent so much money on having an optical viewfinder. Like I said, no way of giving you specific figures, but I can say that the T2's EVF is by far the best SLR-style viewfinder I've ever looked through. Rear screen, other than the new hinging—yes, it hinges just like Patrick's photos show—seems the same as the Pro2's. It's fine; great, even. It's what I typically use 99.99% of the time. But yeah, nothing special to say here, 'cause Patrick's photos have already shown you all of the hinging. Yes, it tilts up, down, and left and right. Or up and down in landscape and up and down in portrait, if you prefer thinking of it that way. Didn't seem any weaker or tougher than the T1's style of tilting. It's fine, it works, don't worry about it. Yes, it's got 4K. He doesn't shoot video at all, and I don't shoot video with SLR or mirrorless, so this isn't an area either of us care about. I just saw that 4K was mentioned in the menu, and he told me that Fuji had told him it has a 10-minute limit on 4K files. So, kinda the same situation as Nikon's in. (They have a 3-minute limit, right?) But yeah, it's not something either of us uses, so I don't know what else I could tell you about this. But it does it, there. Another thing to tick off on the back of the box for marketing. Other video options remain unchanged from the Pro2, as far as I could see/tell with my limited interest in mirrorless video. Focus on a still subject—my coffee cup—under slightly-dim lighting seemed the same as the Pro2. Used the 23mm f/1.4. Same focus point arrangement as the Pro2. Same joystick for AF point control on the back a the Pro2 has. We already knew it had it, of course, but I've seen some people wish for it to be larger, have more positive movement, etc. It felt exactly the same, to me. So no change there. Can't say anything on focus tracking. Didn't test it. Not many high-speed subjects in the back of a Starbucks. Burst rate is faster than the Pro2's. Apparently, Fuji told him it could max out at 9fps. He told me he's experienced some slowdown for focusing, etc, which is normal for any camera. So he reckons 8.5fps is what you actually get. I gave it a quick go just pointing at the table, to see where the buffer would kick in. It didn't seem to last any longer than the Pro2's, but it did get 32 frames of uncompressed raw in the same time span. (About 3 seconds, felt like.) That's about 5 or 6 more than the Pro2 manages, and for the same stretch of time, that does work out to be around 9fps. So I expect Fuji are being honest when they told him 9fps is the max. A dark table in a dim room is a pretty easy and quick scene to capture, so pretty ideal for maxing out the FPS and buffer. Who knows if they'll try to market it as 9fps or 8.5, or even just 8, so people aren't disappointed when it comes to bursting more complex shots. In any case, it got more shots in the same time as the Pro2 does, so we've got a faster burst and a deeper buffer, but ultimately covering the same 3-and-a-bit seconds. Like I said, just pointed at the table, so I can't speak for how well that keeps up when combined with continuous focus tracking. I don't know about the boost mode with the grip. Didn't have it on the camera. If they split the burst so it's 8fps without grip, for consistency, and 11fps with the grip for speed, that'd make sense. Having the camera without the grip be capable of 9fps but only shoot at 8fps is a sensible thing to do for the sake of the shutter's lifespan, write speeds, being able to market a deeper buffer, etc. But right there this afternoon, with no grip, it shot above 8fps. The only thing about the grip I can say is that, having seen the basic body in person, it definitely will be a new grip. There's no way the old grip would be compatible with this body. Different door shapes, different grip depth. Fuji did send the new grip to him with the body, but he's just not a grip user so he's not bothered with it. I am a grip user, so I asked more about it, but yeah, he doesn't use it so not much to say. It's new, it's got that boost mode, and the old grip won't work. Everything we already knew, basically. As far as focusing, burst, and write speeds go, the camera was in the high performance mode. Didn't try putting it in power saving. I can only assume everything slows down in power saving, just like with every other Fuji camera. Write speed for a single frame felt to be about the same speed as the Pro2, with an SDXC card in the UHS-II slot. This wasn't a technical test, no other cards to try in different slots. Start up time seems the same as the Pro2 and wake up time felt a tiny bit faster than the Pro2. Couldn't time it, obviously. But it seemed a fraction quicker. Battery he had in it was the same old NP-W126. I expressed some disappointment on this, because I'm always hoping for larger-capacity batteries. But I remain hopeful, because the battery is one of the things which most commonly changes between pre-production and final release models. I really hope this is changed and we get a bigger capacity for the release. But for what it's worth, this pre-production unit was using the NP-W126, just like the Pro2, Pro1, T1, T10, E2, E1... Nothing new in terms of colour profiles (film simulations), .jpg settings, etc. All the same as the Pro2. No idea on raw handling because, of course, no software supports T2 raws, yet. But my friend said the .jpgs he's been shooting have been identical to the ones out of his Pro2, so yeah. Everything's the same there, as we all expect. Micro USB port, unlabelled, but it looked to me like a micro B, and he told me Fuji said it's USB 3.0, though he's had no use for it. (Of course, no software right now supports the T2.) That should help for tethering, I suppose? Not that Fuji's tethering is worth a damn. In any case, hey, looks like a micro USB 3.0 port is on the cards. (Though wasn't the Pro2 meant to have micro USB 3.0, too? But that ended up having micro USB 2.0. So I won't be surprised if Fuji decides to be cheap and downgrades the T2 to USB 2.0. But hey, pre-production has 3.0.) Mini HDMI port is still there. I'm guessing that it's a D-type, like the Pro2 has; he didn't know which particular version and I don't know enough about the different types of mini HDMI to identify it. It's unlabelled. In any case, hey, it's there, looks just like it is with the Pro2. Ditto for the audio ports. Doors for battery/port/card access all have the same double action hinge and latch as the Pro2's battery door has. It's just less flimsy than the T1 had. Nothing about them suggested to me that it is any better weather-sealed, though. Feels very much like this is still a 'weather resistant' body and not a 'weather sealed' body. All the stuff people have bizarrely asked for, even though it's obvious it would never have, were indeed not there: no IBIS, no pop-up flash, no CF cards, no APS-H or 35mm sensor, no bayer sensor. So, there you have it. Everything I could glean from ~60 seconds with a pre-production X-T2 body. I don't think there's anything else to say, didn't get to give it a proper test or mount my own lenses or memory cards or shoot with it. I'll happily answer questions if I can, but I don't know what else I could say; if you're curious about something which I've not already written about, then chances are it's something I didn't look at or think to ask about. Obviously I'm asking about the camera as much as I can without being annoying, and I hope I'll be able to beg for a little more time with it at some point. But for now, that's about the extent of all I know and saw. This might be interesting to you, it might be boring, I don't know. Just thought I may as well share 'cause I can.

One had something go wrong with the OIS a couple of weeks after purchase, it wouldn't turn off. Second one developed a really clunky and slow AF with a grinding noise, and the third stopped being recognised by either camera. I think some part of the mount wasn't aligned correctly, so it fit on securely but it wasn't making the right connection and the bodies thought there was no lens. Fourth one's been working fine so far, fingers crossed this one survives the year. The 56, eh. 35/85 has never felt right to me. 50/100 is the pair for me. But I acknowledge I get to work in a lot of space and the people I photograph tend to not like anyone getting too close.

I see this is a couple of months old, but for what it's worth (and since it's been bumped anyway), I'll say that for me, shooting similar things—events and studio/structured portraiture—I have found the 56mm to be incredibly underwhelming. I had one, didn't like it, sold it; thought I maybe didn't give it enough of a chance so I bought another one, but I've now sold that, too. Meanwhile I've had three 50-140s break on me, but I've bought a fourth because it so absolutely integral to my work. Hell, I've even bought one of the cheap 70-200 f/4s for my remaining Canon system just so I have a rock solid backup. The key is work. If this is your work, definitely get the zoom, and only pick up the prime later down the road if you really feel the need to complete the collection. The prime's nice; the zoom is world-class. In terms of low light, the 56 f/1.2 isn't too far ahead of the 50-140. For starters, ts transmission is more like 1.6 or 1.7, while the 50-140 seems to hit about 2.9, so with the zoom you're getting closer to what you think you have and there's not a full 2 1/3rd stops of light gathering with the prime as the f-stops would have you believe. While the prime is still faster, the zoom also has OIS. Obviously OIS doesn't help if you're trying to freeze 'action', but in my experience, very wide apertures miss focus on fast-moving subjects anyway, so they kind of both lose. For me, getting good shots of moving people at events, like performers on a stage, generally calls for f/2.8-f/4 and 1/160th-1/250th, so neither lens has a particular advantage for me, other than the zoom having more flexible range, of course. For waist-up or 3/4 portraits, the 56mm focal length is fine, but obviously the zoom does cover that. In terms of depth of field, you're not actually missing much by only going to f/2.8. Both times I had the 56mm, I didn't like using it any wider than f/2 anyway; f/1.2 is noticably less sharp than other Fuji lenses wide open, and the depth of field becomes so small that you can miss focus even when you're standing far back enough for a 3/4s shot. I actually pretty much only used the 56mm for full-length portraits at f/2.8 because any closer and any faster and it totally failed to impress and/or be technically good enough for my clients. For closer, tighter portraits, the longer focal length of the zoom (or the 90 you already have) will 'out-blur' the 56mm because of the compression. Of course your needs/style may vary. For me, it's basically been a repeat of the Canon world; their 135mm f/2, 50mm f/1.2, and 70-200mm f/2.8 all vastly out-sell their 85mm f/1.2, and I expect for the same reasons. Not tight enough for a headshot, too tight for comfortable full-length shooting, and not as practical for heavy work as the zoom. The 85mm focal length has its place, but when you have a good 70-200 zoom (or 50-140 in this case), having an 85mm prime starts to feel really pointless, at least for heavy work use.

I'm double-checking this with an X-T10 in my hands right now—well, it's on the desk because I can't hold a camera and type at the same time—and there's no way to do it. With the lens set to A, you are not in aperture priority. If the shutter is set to A, too, you'll be in program. This allows you to change the shutter and the aperture through various combinations, to keep the same exposure. (E.g. increasing the shutter by a stop also opens the aperture by a stop; closing the aperture by one stop slows the shutter by a stop; etc.) That is done with both the front and rear dials; although the dials are marked as being shutter on front and aperture on rear, because changing one automatically changes the other by an equal amount, the result is both dials control both perimeters. You can see which mode you're in by simply pressing the menu button once and loking at the top of the first screen. If the aperture ring is on an f-stop number and the shutter is on A, it will say you're in 'aperture priority AE' and only the aperture ring can be used to change the aperture. If the lens does not have an aperture ring, the rear dial has to be used to adjust the aperture. If the aperture ring is on A and the shutter is on an exposure time, it will say 'shutter priority AE' and the shutter dial and front dial will, together, control shutter speed. Front dial can adjust the shutter in 1/3rd stop steps up to 2/3rds of a stop faster or slower than the value indicated by the shutter dial; whole stop steps must be made with the top shutter dial. If the aperture is set to A and the shutter is set to T, the menu will say 'shutter priority AE' and the shutter speed will be controlled with the front dial. If the aperture is set to A and the shutter is set to A, the menu will say 'program AE' and both front and rear dials will change the mixture of aperture and shutter speed, in 1/3rd stop steps, to maintain the exposure as the camera meters it. If the aperture i set to an f-stop number and the shutter is set to an exposure time or T, the menu will read 'manual'. Aperture will only be controlled by the ring on the lens, and shutter will be controlled by the top shutter dial for whole step changes, and the front dial for 1/3rd-stop changes. If the lens does not have an aperture ring, the rear dial controls aperture. Pressing the front dial in, in any mode, will bring up the ISO menu. Pressing the rear dial in will enlarge the image preview/live view. You can swap the front and rear dials around in the menu, under button/dial settings. This allows you to switch shutter adjustment to the rear dial and aperture adjustment—when available—to the front dial. There is not, categorically, an option to control the aperture with the rear dial if the lens has an aperture ring. There is a menu option for 'aperture setting', which is where you can adjust the dial settings for controlling aperture if the lens attached is one which does not have an aperture ring. If you attach a lens which does have its own aperture setting, this menu option will be greyed out and you are unable to select it. Short recap: If your lens has an aperture ring, the rear dial can not control aperture. If your lens does not have an aperture ring, the rear dial is the only way to control aperture. If you have ever thought you've been able to use the rear dial to control the aperture of a lens which has an aperture ring, either you're thinking of Program AE mode, or you're simply completely remembering incorrectly.

Yes. The V6 mark II Transceiver ('V6 mark II S', for Sony systems) will be released "summer 2016"—they've not given a specific date yet—and that includes: - HSS (assuming the flash and camera used with it support HSS; it can't force HSS out of a non-HSS flash.) - Automatic detection of flash model (no more need to tell it which kind of flash you're using, it will just know.) - Sharper blue display light instead of the industry standard orange display. Not a big deal, but it's nice to have. Existing Cactus RF60 flashes will need a firmware update to use HSS. RF60 flashes made after the release of the V6 mk II will have that firmware right out of the box. Existing V6 triggers will also have a firmware update to recieve the HSS signal. However, they will not be able to send an HSS signal. So you could use older V6 triggers on the flash itself, and a V6 mk II on the camera, but not the other way around; the V6 mk II has to be the one on the camera. Of course the Cactus RF60 flashes have the reciever built-in, so if you use their flashes then one V6 mk II trigger will be all you need. If you're willing to wait another couple of months for the Cactus system to be updated, and you have/can save up the money for it, the Cactus system is basically the best flash system for Fuji. TTL is the only thing it misses. It is a fair bit more expensive than the Neewer/Yongnuo flash systems, though. There's no point buying Cactus flashes if it eats up all your money. You'll get better results with two or three Yongnuo flashes than with one Cactus flash.

Because, with the aperture on the rear dial and shutter on the front dial, you can change them to any value you want with one hand, at the same time. It's absolutely standard on all SLRs. But yes, you can't force it on the T10. Only lenses which don't have a dedicated aperture dial can have their aperture controlled by the rear dial. (Though you can reverse the shutter and aperture controls, so shutter is on the rear dial and aperture is on the front dial, if you like.) There is no way to have the aperture controlled by either dial if you are using a lens which already has its own aperture control. Same goes for all Fuji cameras. If you ever think you've been able to control the aperture with a rear dial, when using a lens which does have its own aperture control, you're most likely thinking of the controls when using Program exposure; the rear and front dials can both be used to adjust the shutter/aperture balance, but neither controls only the aperture or shutter. You may also be thinking of the shutter control set to 'T', which allows the front dial to control the shutter speed completely. There isn't any similar setting for the aperture.

Pro2 can't tether. T1 is the only Fuji camera which can do tethered shooting, currently. (And it doesn't work anywhere near well enough.) I do expect the T2 will support tethering a little better, and the Pro2 should then get an update to support tethering, too. But I still wouldn't expect either camera to do it well. If tethering is a vital part of your workflow, you need to look at Canon, Nikon, or Sony. Consider tethering on a Fuji camera as a bonus, not a proper feature.

As far as continuous light goes, to give you an example of the sort of light power you get out of a 1000w (equivalent) LED fresnel light with the light concentrated into a medium spotlight, the settings I typically end up with are ISO 400, f/2.8, 1/60th. Obviously, that's nowhere near the kind of exposure you can get from a speedlight, let alone a studio monolight/power pack. That's a continuous light which costs over £1,000. The 650w version, which still costs over £700, gives about 2/3rds of a stop less light. You can increase the light by using more lights or reflecting more of the ambient light on your subject, but it'll never add up to enough to use a faster shutter. Suffice to say, continuous light is very much not a good substitute for HSS if you need high shutter speeds. Quite the opposite; continuous light is for people who are happy to work at slow shutter speeds. If you want to keep the shutter speed, high, you need to use flash of some kind. Even so, bear in mind that not all HSS systems work quite the same. Most do pulse the light, but some only pulse the bear minimum number of times, while others will pulse a lot. How effective a unit is at HSS also depends on its power source, triggers, shutter delay... basically, most HSS shooting works fine, but don't be surprised if it fails you at some point. When you're trying to expose an image at 1/500th of a second or faster, there's a lot which can easily go wrong.

Sounds like the SD card wasn't seated correctly. When you reinserted the battery you probably nudged the SD card into place. I've done that a few times with the X-T10; not gotten that specific error, but accidentally released the SD card or battery when changing the other. Can't say I've had any issue with the firmware update.

I've really come around on the 18mm. I always thought it was 'okay', a bit better than people gave it credit for, but these days it's my #1 always-with-me lens. It's still clearly the worst of the Fuji XF lenses, optically, but it's the most fun. If they ever make a mk II, and get rid of the AF noise and bring mid-frame sharpness up to the standards of the other lenses, that's going to end up being my favourite lens.

Sounds like the 23mm is what you want. The 16mm is bigger, the autofocus is very slightly slower, and obviously you get more subject separation with the longer focal length. Bokeh is identical. Optical quality is identical. In other words, the only thing the 16mm 'wins' on is that it is a slightly tougher lens, but not by much. Focal length is, of course, entirely subjective; though if you're looking for a something to replace the 35mm, the 23mm is obviously closer to that and a more suitable replacement.

Having now soured on a couple of lenses, and found a new appreciation for some others, I'm now thinking my ideal set up of primes would be: 18mm mk II 35mm f/1.4 mkII a 70mm f/2 Given what lenses Fuji actually is likely to make, though, and what's available right now, I'm going to say: 23mm 35mm f/1.4 60mm With the 60mm being replaced by the rumoured 80mm, when/if that happens.

The Nissin works okay, but its only real selling point is it supports TTL metering, which no other flash currently does with Fuji. However, it's also very small, the light quality from it isn't terribly great, and there's limited control. It's a big step-up from the little flash you get for the X-T1, but if you're trying to equal out midday sun, forget it. A larger, simple flash unit like Neewer or Yongnuo flashes will work for this purpose better, as they are simply bigger and have more light output, but they only have basic manual control. Cactus flashes give even more light output and have lots of fancier features—remote zoom control, customisable delay timer, an update soon for HSS, etc—but they're still a manual control flash, on Fuji. Anyway, bearing in mind that ND filters are a bit irrelevant for portraits without flash... What ND filter you use varies depending on the day, the size and proximity of the reflector, and what shutter and ISO you want to use. (And aperture, but you've already said you're looking at f/2.8.) I carry 1-stop, 2-stop, and 4-stop ND filters with me. That way I can cut any amount of light from 1 to 7 stops by adding the filters together. I use Hoya Pro ND filters. They've no noticable colour cast and are even right across the frame. They do reflect the inside of the lens barrel, though, so a a tip is to draw over the white writing on your lens with a black pen. (Look on the front of the lens, you'll see what I mean.) On an average bright day, I'll mostly use 3- or 4-stops of ND to get the light low enough to use something like f/2.8 with ISO 200, 1/125th*, a white reflector, and a Cactus flash on quarter power. On really bright days with absolutely direct sunlight on the subject, or reflected sunlight on them with a silver reflector, I'll use 5-stops; 6-stops would give a 'proper' exposure, but I like my bright sunny pictures to look bright and sunny, so I let them over expose very slightly. There's no one single ND filter I'd recommend to start out with. It's really best to get at least two. A 2-stop and 3- or 4-stop would be a good pair. Then add a 1-stop once you're used to working with combining filters, reflected light, and flash. 'Course nothing stopping you from buying all three at once, if you can afford it. Point is, there's no one grade of ND which will definitely be right, and variable ND filters should definitely be avoided. *I use 1/125th because that's pretty much the minimum sync speed that all cameras and lights can use, from the cheapest and oldest small units to big modern studio power packs. By sticking to 1/125th I can forget about matching sync speed when I use different systems, and it's just one less thing to think about. This does require a little more ND for flash in strong direct/reflected daylight, though. You could use a stop less of ND and just increase the shutter to 1/180th, the X-T1's maximum, and accept a tiny bit of over exposure, or you could go up to 1/250th. Fuji don't officially support 1/250th on the X-T1, but some people report using it without problems.

The f/1.4 is optically stronger, if we're talking about purely objective resolving power and contrast. Some people may prefer the look the f/2 gives, but as far as 'lab' testing goes, the f/1.4 wins. Both peak at f/4 (arguably f/4.5 for the f/2 version), and of course the f/1.4 stopped down to f/2 beats the f/2 wide-open. There's a fraction less distortion with the f/1.4, and there's a little less vignetting and aberration between f/2-f/2.8, too; both are pretty much aberration-free and vignetting-free by f/4. (Of course the f/1.4 does suffer from more vignetting and aberration wide-open, but that's not an aperture the f/2 can match, anyway; stop down to f/2 and the f/1.4 beats the wide-open f/2, again.)

Fuji's lenses don't benefit from UV filters, and if you're using the lens hood, you're not gaining any protection, either. So I'd forget about UV filters altogether. However, if you were to get into other filters, like a circular polariser, you do want to stick with the thinner-framed ones for the 10-24 and 16mm. The 14mm seems to do fine with regular filters, in my experience.

Figured the 18mm would be a lot of peoples' answer. It's interesting, that one, 'cause it always seems that most of the complaints aren't that it's bad on its own merits, just that it's not up to the standards of the other Fuji lenses.

If you really can't live without as much automatic help as possible, the i40 is your best bet. If you can live with/only use manual control and don't have much money to spend, go with Yongnuo or Neewer, or buy up old flashes and use generic Canon triggers; Canon triggers and cords work with Fuji. If you can live with/only use manual control and you have a fair bit of money to spend, get into the Cactus system. More control than any other system—an update should be coming soon to add HSS as well—and it's compatible with basically everything. If you can live with/only use manual control and you have a lot of money to spend, just buy more Cactus units. As far as Fuji goes, it's literally the best system, hands-down. More expensive Canon/Nikon units are less functional with Fuji cameras than the Cactus system is, so don't bother.

Can't be done with the X-T10. The X-T1 is the only Fuji camera which supports any kind of tethered shooting, and that's not with CaptureOne. (And it also doesn't work very well.) This isn't something CaptureOne can sort out; Fuji's the one which has to do something about it. The closest you can get is to use the HDMI-out to connect to a TV, and review the images on that; of course they won't be in any software until you put the memory card into your computer and import as normal. Tethered shooting is one of those things Fuji didn't think people would use, because they're a Japanese company and their primary concern is the Japanese market, where tethered shooting hasn't ever really caught on. Same reason they've not cared about video until very recently. Don't expect them to really get on the ball any time soon. The X-T2 is going to have better tethered support, but it's most likely still going to be only for Lightroom and using Fuji's bizarre premium plug-in. If tethered shooting is important to you, you need to keep hold of your Canon system. (One of several reasons why I maintain both a Fuji kit and a Canon kit, myself.)

I've not tried to mix V5 and V6, but I've used the Cactus system extensively and I've picked up on a few niggles to keep in mind. First thing is to check you've not set a delay or other different sync option on both triggers. Only have one sync/delay option set on one trigger, and leave the other neutral; triggers don't like it when one is trying to do a delay and the other is trying to do HSS or whatever. I believe the whole system has to be set to TTL mode, too, so flash power is controlled from the transmitting trigger; if the flash itself is set to manual control, it will be ignoring everything the Cactus triggers tell it except to trigger in a basic fashion. Also bear in mind that the delay should be timed to include any shutter lag, AF time, and other delays caused during normal use of the camera. It could be that the trigger is delaying the flash properly, but the shutter isn't being released until later than you think, so the flash seems to come toward the start of the exposure anyway. Now to test if you have a problem, first thing I'd do is swap the triggers around, so the V6 is on the flash and the V5 is on the camera. Having not mixed V5 and V6 triggers before, I don't know if the order matters, but it's worth giving a try. The other thing is to put the triggers into optical mode, so they're trigger using the IR beam instead of over radio. Whether this works or not will rule out whether you have radio interference, an incompatibility between the radio signals of the two different generations of trigger, etc. Everything should always work just fine with the optical signal. Make sure the triggers are pointed directly at each other when you test this. Don't put them too close together because Cactus are made to not trigger when they're too close. (Stops accidental battery drain when they're knocking about in a camera bag.) Test them about 36" apart. If it works, that means there's a problem with your radio signal wherever you're trying to use it, but the rest of the system is all compatible and working as it should. If IR doesn't work, that means you've not set the delay mode correctly, or there's a fundamental hardware fault or incompatibility with the camera/flash/flash triggers. The last thing I can think of to test is a different flash unit. The V850 isn't officially supported, I think. Other Godox flashes are, but I can't recall that one being mentioned. I could be wrong. In any case, testing the system with another flash wouldn't be a bad idea, if you can. Lots of flashes which are not officially supported do still work, so I can't think why the V850 wouldn't, but it's something to consdier and test if you can. I can say that I've never had any problems with V5 pairs triggering each other in any mode (though the V5 can't control delay itself, of course) and I've not had any problems with pairs of V6s, either. For what (little) it's worth, while writing this I tested my V6s doing a 500ms delay with an old Canon 430EX flash and the X-T10, and it's working each time. Like I said, I've not tried mixing V6s and V5s, though. There is a new version of the V6 coming soon, which will support HSS, and you might want to consider replacing the older V5 with one of the new V6s.

If you ever decide you want to go further with flash, and you get a little more money, take a look at Cactus flashes. They are getting an update soon to support HSS on all systems, they support remote control for all systems, and have a host of other features; however, they do cost a bit more than Neewer/Yongnuo flashes, so leave them alone for now but keep them in mind for when/if you decide to advance your flash work.