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What are the still shooters thinking about the new video features?


oxjox

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For those who have the XT4, and don't shoot video, I'm wondering what you think about the new video-centric features like the stills/movie dial and the flip screen.  

I'm using an XT2 for studio (food/product) photography plus general use.
I'm still not sure how I feel about the flip screen. I can see it being an advantage for tripod shooting but otherwise I see it as getting in the way of anything else. 
The new stills/movie dial is incredibly bothersome to me. They took away a feature I used all the time and replaced it with something I will never use. 
Also, I have to wonder why they decided to put all this video stuff in the XT line instead of the XH line. They already had one camera geared towards stills and another towards hybrid shooters. Why not beef up the XH for video and improve on stills features (and possibly remove video features) for the XT? 

Here's the thing, I'm fine with skipping this generation and waiting for the XT5 but I feel like there's a gamble they'll move more towards video and alienate those who only shoot stills. If I'm thinking ahead, I'm a little concerned that I should start looking at other platforms in a couple years. This is going to prevent me from buying any new Fuji lenses if I think I might switch. 

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I already purchased too many lenses to switch!!  I did start to look and find great things in Sony and Olympus.  I came EXTREMELY close to purchasing the last sale from Olympus.  The problem is they use that ugly flippy thing hanging off the side as well.  I absolutely hate that useless camcorder feature.  Bottom line it is not just Fuji making nothing but camcorders anymore - it's the industry!  I have settled on my XT-2 and XT-3 until such time as the industry starts making cameras again.  The only thing the XT-4 is good for is a complete cure for GAS.  My bank account is loving it!!  :)

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This topic is now as old as digital video technology itself. The decision to incorporate video technology was preprogrammed from the start. Since the infrastructure consisting of hardware and software already existed, it was only a matter of time before the performance of the processors was sufficient. The adaptation of the cameras themselves through various features was actually determined by the market and the associated competition. I'm personally not interested in videography at the moment, but if I do, I will invest in an excellent video camera, such as Black Magic.

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23 hours ago, oxjox said:

For those who have the XT4, and don't shoot video, I'm wondering what you think about the new video-centric features like the stills/movie dial and the flip screen.  

I don't shoot video.
I like the stills/video switch as the menu is not "polluted" with unnecessary video settings. Many cameras have the issue that you can accidentally start the video. On those, I disable the 'easy' video start if possible, but a switch like on X-T4 is preferable.
Coming from X-H1, I like X-T4. Not sure about the new flip screen. Currently, I use it in a similar way as the X-Pro3 is designed: reverse for regular shooting, and flip on the side when I want to see the image in LCD or access the menu.

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13 hours ago, oxjox said:

Isn't this what the XH line is for? 

No, otherwise Fuji would have designed the camera differently and provided appropriate features. Overall, it was a good decision because not everyone needs it.

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20 hours ago, oxjox said:

Isn't this what the XH line is for? 

Actually when the XH line came out Fuji stated the "H" stood for Hybrid and the XT line would remain separate as a camera.  At least that was my understanding.  Since then I have heard others say the "H" stands for High Quality.  In reality the XT-4 came out as an XH hybrid camcorder so now XH and XT are one in the same.  What Fuji is going to do with the next XH-2 is anybody's guess since the XT is now an XH.  REALLY CONFUSING!!. 

I'm hoping the XH-2 will actually come out as a camera and NOT a camcorder like it's recent predecessors.  If not I will stick with my XT-2 & XT-3.

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  • 1 month later...

I changed from Sony to Fuji, why, because I had the A7r2 42mp, and nice lenses but the camera was not weather sealed, and would stop working in poor weather, even with a cover, back screen would start flashing, it would not focus etc. and this camera had very poor battery life. The lenses were great but big and expensive, I changed to mirrorless to reduce size and weight and found I should have kept a DSLR.

Along can Fuji, the XT4 just out so I bit the bullet and went for it. I was a little worried about dropping to an APS sensor at 26mp, but should not have been as this camera is MEGA. It is small, great neat lenses, good prices, quick, weathersealing and great battery life.I do not use video and find the stills-movie switch a clever move. Taken quit a lot of pictures and happy with this camera. Should have changed to fuji sooner.

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

I was previously an m43 user who just sold all my gear and moved to Fuji (x-t4 & 16-80)

I never shoot video but I was actually waiting for Fuji to release a camera with the flip out screen and ibis. 
 

I think it suits the Fuji perfectly. You can have the screen facing inwards and only use the EVF so you can focus purely on your photography. It’s also effectively an inbuilt screen protector. When it’s facing inwards the whole body then has the leather look which looks great. 
 

Another advantage of the flipping screen means you can take photos at angles that otherwise would have had to been guess work and chimping until you got it right. I quite often have my camera over an edge or extended my arms to take a shot that I can’t put my eye too. With the rotating screen it means I can check my angle and exposure and get it right first time

Ibis is just great for low light stills as well. I use it all the time

Also agree that the stills/movie switch is a great idea. I now won’t ever waste my time flicking through pointless (for me) video menu items

Loving my new Fuji. The sooc JPEG’s are as good as everyone has said. It’s amazing

Edited by mimsy89
Add something extra about stills/movie switch
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There is a new way of thinking.  Why limit your self?  It used to be that you would need two cameras.  One for film/video, and one for photography.  But things have changed.  The internet, many other things have come around.  So why should we have to buy two when one will suffice?  Why allow creative limits?

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The loss off the metering dial annoyed me until I realized that the Fn button next to the shutter had returned (last seen on the X-T1) and so I wasn't actually losing a control, only the ability to see what metering mode was selected. I would like to see Fuji add a couple metering modes to the menu though, specifically shadow/highlight spot metering and a 'preserve highlights' Multi-segment mode, forcing the metering options into a menu remove any reason to restrict the number of options.

The LCD is a bigger issue for me, as I have an L bracket permanently mounted to most of my cameras. I shoot heavily in the vertical orientation and the hinge on the X-T4 interferes with the L-bracket and/or Arca-Swiss clamp. They also moved the remote socket back to the left side, the location on the X-T3 (right shoulder) was perfect, finally a remote socket that didn't require interesting cable routing when using an L bracket.

Fuji's unique double tilt screen is still the best setup I've come across for stills work, on tripod and off, and was a major reason I bought my X-T2 in the first place. I've owned several cameras with flip/twist screens (Panasonic G1, G3, Olympus E-M5II, E-30) and find it decidedly less flexible than the double-tilt screen. Losing the double-tilt makes me distinctly less interested in the X-T4 that I would be otherwise. IBIS would be nice and longer battery life would be as well, although my X-T2 does well enough on battery when I leave it in normal performance mode. 

 

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  • 1 month later...
On 8/16/2020 at 10:04 AM, mawz said:

Fuji's unique double tilt screen is still the best setup I've come across for stills work, on tripod and off, and was a major reason I bought my X-T2 in the first place. I've owned several cameras with flip/twist screens (Panasonic G1, G3, Olympus E-M5II, E-30) and find it decidedly less flexible than the double-tilt screen. Losing the double-tilt makes me distinctly less interested in the X-T4 that I would be otherwise. IBIS would be nice and longer battery life would be as well, although my X-T2 does well enough on battery when I leave it in normal performance mode. 

I'll admit, as a hybrid shooter, the tilt/flip screen on the x-t4 can be frustrating because I don't care about the flip around (no selfie shooting) -- and I'd rather have the screen in line with the camera body than sticking out. BUT, when in full photography mode, I love being able to turn the screen around to face the camera body... not have my face grease smudging it up! 

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