DOWNLOAD NOW X-T1 Firmware 4.0 ! Share your first impression

[JoeOrban]

With the 35 f/1.4, faster focus and what really impressed me was spot on focusing under lower light conditions.   Need to exercise the other new feature but initially very pleased with v4.

[darknj]

The new AF microsite shows the AF+MF settings under the new AF menu on P1 of settings (along with most other AF settings like face detection), however, on my camera, AF+MF is sitting on P5 of the settings, just above AF+AE interlock. Is this the case with everyone else?

 

Also, I've noticed under the new firmware with the 18-135mm, it seems like the IS motors in the lens are running full time, whenever the camera is turned on, regardless of the IS setting 1 or 2. I don't remember this being the case under old firmware. Anyone else finding IS is on full time with any lenses on new firmware? It's absolutely killing the battery life.. 

 

The option menu is changed indeed, and it kinda make more sense now since the AF+MF setting is more a shutter option than an Auto Focus one. Just a different option placement, not really affecting me since I have the option to change it in the Quick menu.

 

As for the IS on the 18-135mm, I haven't noticed anything weird about it. Behaves still like before and I had a 25 min, walk back from train station to home yesterday with my camera in hand snapping at random things and I really didn't noticed any deeper impact on the battery.

[John M]

A couple of things which I really appreciate are the new ability to use the front dial rather than having to turn the shutter speed dial for selecting all shutter speeds (when T is selected).  Previously it only allowed selection of longer shutter speeds.

 

I also looked forward to the ability to use the exposure compensation dial when in auto ISO.

 

I've installed the new firmware on one of my XT1s  and left the other alone in order to compare the focussing. Guess I need time to compare them further.

[JimGoshorn]

I installed it and first thing I wanted to do was experiment with the exposure compensation in manual. Well it sort of works. I can make minor adjustments but so far I can't go the full range from -3 to +3. Sometimes it will go a little both ways (+ and -) and others it will only adjust in one direction. So far, I haven't figured out the logic of how it works but it definitely isn't what I was expecting.

 

Focusing definitely seems better even on my 60.

[John M]

I installed it and first thing I wanted to do was experiment with the exposure compensation in manual. Well it sort of works. I can make minor adjustments but so far I can't go the full range from -3 to +3. Sometimes it will go a little both ways (+ and -) and others it will only adjust in one direction. So far, I haven't figured out the logic of how it works but it definitely isn't what I was expecting.

 

Focusing definitely seems better even on my 60.

That happens when you're already at the ISO limit so can't go any further.

[JimGoshorn]

Thanks for smacking me upside the head. I had the dynamic range set to 400 forgetting that that makes the minimum ISO 800. That was a real stupid human trick 

[Tom H.]

First impression of the face and eye detect features? Meh...

 

Tried 30 selfies with the 16 1.4, only 2 shots detected my eye. Taken from close by, but far enough for it to focus.

 

The rest remains to be seen. Continuous seems faster, but still nowhere near DSLR fast. Single AF point will remain my go to mode I guess for the time being.

[T-Man]

If you experience any issues after upgrade, I highly recommend resetting the camera to factory defaults, then configuring it from the scratch.

 

It's a major version upgrade, after all… 

 

I second. Perhaps reset prior to the upgrade.

[T-Man]

I have both (Black and Graphite) versions of the X-T1 and here is my experience:

I upgraded the Black first; it was in "Silent Mode." Restart after the upgrade froze. I pulled the battery out for a bit and restarted; I noticed that the yellow "Silent Mode" symbol was stuck on the screen. Not sure why I could not turn the feature off in FW4.0; factory resetting fixed the problem. For the Graphite, I did a factory reset before running the upgrade and everything ran smoothly. So far, loving the new firmware. Have only tested a few lenses.

Anecdotally, I am finding that metering has improved a bit. I shoot JPEGS (ProNeg-Hi) and prior to FW4.0, I usually compensated between -2/3 and -1 for portraits. Now I am getting quite accurate exposures and if it all I am compensating -1/3.

 

Cheers!

[karlgartland]

Thanks for the response Darknj. I think you misunderstood my point.....Its not locking on to anything moving or static.

 

If I set drive mode to CH, then it behaves more or less as I would expect. But in CL and S drive modes the AF just judders and does not lock. The viewfinder display is different too between CH and the other two.

 

Hi, I am getting this exact same issue with continuous focus.  In 'S' or 'CL' mode and wide tracking with the shutter half pressed it constantly pulses back and forth with lots of focus point randomly appearing and disappearing on the display as if it can't decide what to focus on. In Zone mode using any of the 3 area sizes (3x3, 5x3 & 5x5) rather than constantly pulse back and forth it does it in a more random fashion, again constantly changing the focus points. In CH it is better but still not good. I have reloaded the firmware three times (different downloads), done a reset of all settings and tested it with 3 different lenses (14mm, 35mm & 56mm). I have tried different focus area's i.e. Phase & contrast focus points, with & without face detect, different shutter settings MS, ES, MS & ES, High performance on & off.

 

If I put in it CL and take a sequence of shots, in play back you can see that the chosen focus point jumps all over the place so the miss rate for focus is terrible. I have tried this with a fully static frame and with single and multiple moving objects in the frame, is simply can't seem to decide what to focus on ???

 

In single shot focus all is ok.

 

So all in all, not very good and it won't let me downgrade it back to v3.

any ideas welcome...

 

KArl...

[JRphoto]

A moment later ... it is lens-dependent. I replaced the 35 with the 23 -- a clutch lens. I locked the focus ring -- now it's in autofocus mode. With the camera's own focus switch set to either AF-S or AF-C: still no back-button functionality. But when I moved the focus switch on the camera to M, both of the back-buttons started working.

 

I'm going to report it as a bug. Limiting the functionality that severely doesn't seem like much of a feature.

Have you tried putting "Face detection" in OFF? Mine worked in this way.

[JRphoto]

Since I've installed FW 4.0, I've noticed that the eye sensor IR spot remains lit (red glow) when I switch off the camera. It's weird.

This happens only if "performance mode" is activated. In normal mode, it still behaves normally.

Have you noticed the same thing or am I the only one?

Thanks guy for your feebacks.

Funny...! I can't replicate this on my X-T1... No sign of red glow coming from the eye sensor when switching off the camera when using the "High performance" mode. Wondering why...

[Trenton Talbot]

Funny...! I can't replicate this on my X-T1... No sign of red glow coming from the eye sensor when switching off the camera when using the "High performance" mode. Wondering why...

 

Light pollution. Try it in a really dark room at night.

[MikeA]

With the 35 f/1.4, faster focus and what really impressed me was spot on focusing under lower light conditions.   Need to exercise the other new feature but initially very pleased with v4.

 

I aimed the 35 into a dark corner of the room and pressed AF-L. It acquired focus quickly. This is a considerable improvement. So despite some of the other issues I ran across, I'm pretty impressed.

[T-Man]

Since I've installed FW 4.0, I've noticed that the eye sensor IR spot remains lit (red glow) when I switch off the camera. It's weird.

This happens only if "performance mode" is activated. In normal mode, it still behaves normally.

Have you noticed the same thing or am I the only one?

Thanks guy for your feebacks.

 

Yes. I noticed it last night, but dismissed it. The fact is that I had never noticed it before the upgrade. This is what I am observing now:

1. It comes on with either "High Performance" set to 'On' or 'Off.'
2. It turns off with Power Switch in 'Off" when "High Performance" is turned 'Off.'
3. It also comes on with the EVF turned 'Off."
4. It stays on for approximately 15-20 seconds but their is no fixed pattern.
5. You can turn the light off earlier by popping the battery out.
6. With "Sensor Cleaning" turned off, it only stays on for about 1 to 3 seconds.

Based on limited observations, I conjure that it is somehow being affected by the sensor rather than EVF/LCD.

 

Cheers!

 

Omer...

[JRphoto]

Light pollution. Try it in a really dark room at night.

Thanks for the reply, Trenton. I'll give it a try tonight. Just curious...

[MikeA]

Have you tried putting "Face detection" in OFF? Mine worked in this way.

 

Hm. I don't remember if face-detection was on or off at the time. Need to spend much more time with it...

[MikeA]

First impression of the face and eye detect features? Meh...

 

Also my impression, but it's based on only brief experience so far. Specific lighting conditions seem to make a big difference. I got a message from someone who was demonstrating the new firmware in an X-T1 in a studio setting. He said he demonstrated the new features by turning on face recognition and the eye-aware feature, then aiming the camera toward the model without bothering to compose the shot carefully. He was shooting from the hip, so to speak, using the LCD screen for very rough composition. Both face-related features worked and time after time, he got pinpoint focus on the model's eyes. That was with the 56/1.2. So this works well in some situations.

 

So far I've found that the rectangles within the viewfinder representing the face area and the eyes tend to blink on and off and it is difficult to know if this means "I found the areas to focus on -- take the shot" or "I'm not sure what to focus on -- don't shoot yet." So far those rectangles haven't been lighting up and staying lit-up. There must be a number of variables that affect whether the feature is effective and I haven't even scratched the surface yet. (Hmm. I guess that isn't an the best possible phrase to use when talking about lenses.)

[mrgooch]

First impression of the face and eye detect features? Meh...

 

Tried 30 selfies with the 16 1.4, only 2 shots detected my eye. Taken from close by, but far enough for it to focus.

 

The rest remains to be seen. Continuous seems faster, but still nowhere near DSLR fast. Single AF point will remain my go to mode I guess for the time being.

Do you think that was a realistic test?

[wiriadinata]

love the exposure compensation on manual mode

[Tom H.]

Do you think that was a realistic test?

 

Well, the topic is called "share your first impression" for a reason, no? If it can't lock onto an eye at 60cm, on a static subject, in a very well lit room at noon, I'd call that anything but impressive. I shoot mostly portraits, if eye detect is that unreliable, for me, it's unusable.

 

Tried again today on my wife, the 50-140 does ok, but still 60% of shots fail to detect an eye. On the 16 it's nearly 85% that don't...

[Burb]

I do know that the behavior of the macro function is changed and that it is now automatically selected by the camera. Does anyone know if the display is still showing an icon for macro mode when the camera is automatically going into that mode? I didn't noticed the icon anymore while testing. I don't know if it matters but I don't own a real macro lens. (18-135mm zoom).

[JRphoto]

Yes. I noticed it last night, but dismissed it. The fact is that I had never noticed it before the upgrade. This is what I am observing now:

1. It comes on with either "High Performance" set to 'On' or 'Off.'
2. It turns off with Power Switch in 'Off" when "High Performance" is turned 'Off.'
3. It also comes on with the EVF turned 'Off."
4. It stays on for approximately 15-20 seconds but their is no fixed pattern.
5. You can turn the light off earlier by popping the battery out.
6. With "Sensor Cleaning" turned off, it only stays on for about 1 to 3 seconds.

Based on limited observations, I conjure that it is somehow being affected by the sensor rather than EVF/LCD.

 

Cheers!

 

Omer...

Thanks for sharing. I was curious so I did the same tests but I didn't agree with your 4th observation: in all the tests, when "High performance" was on, the IR light remained ON for more than five minutes. Eventually it went OFF, but I was no more observing it, so I don't know the total time it stayed on. Also I observed differently from your 6th observation: even with sensor cleaning turned off the IR light remained ON for more than 5 minutes.

 

Hey Patrick!!! Hello FUJI!!! I think we can call this a BUG in the firmware!

[darknj]

I do know that the behavior of the macro function is changed and that it is now automatically selected by the camera. Does anyone know if the display is still showing an icon for macro mode when the camera is automatically going into that mode? I didn't noticed the icon anymore while testing. I don't know if it matters but I don't own a real macro lens. (18-135mm zoom).

 

You are correct, the macro icon is gone, it's now just part of the lense minimum focus distance. The biggest drawback is that you need to kind of remember how close you can focus with your lenses now, the 56mm could be the real annoying one with it's 70 cm distance.

[milandro]

true this is a not very nice aspect of the macro function but even when you did press the macro button you had no idea of how close you were to your subject and if you were too close.