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Fuji XT-1/ XT-10 Focusing Speed and Accuracy in Low Light Situation (Firmware 4)


bryrene

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I am planning to pull trigger towards either both of these models. I have no actual units to try on especially the Xt-1 that now firmware 4.0 has updated. Can anybody give a commend on how well does both of these camera perform in Low light situation? Focusing Speed and Accuracy?

 

I shoot mostly weddings and sometimes it requires me to shoot in low light situation. I have a Xpro1 but it hunts back and forth when focusing in low light.

 

Thanks in advance

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I am planning to pull trigger towards either both of these models. I have no actual units to try on especially the Xt-1 that now firmware 4.0 has updated. Can anybody give a commend on how well does both of these camera perform in Low light situation? Focusing Speed and Accuracy?

 

I shoot mostly weddings and sometimes it requires me to shoot in low light situation. I have a Xpro1 but it hunts back and forth when focusing in low light.

 

Thanks in advance

 

I love the X-T1 but I am not certain that it is the right tool for weddings, specially if it is a paid job.

 

A colleague borrowed mine for a wedding shoot and even after tons of information given, before the cake cutting part they all told me that went back to the car and get the DSLR out of frustration.

 

The issue is two fold, while the camera didn't had the 4.0 update yet, the 3.11 was already present but the AF speed was just a tad bit too slow, also the X-T1 takes quite a lot of time to get used to when you are used to Canikon DSLRs, the front and back dials don't react the same way, that dreafull ISO dial that is super annoying to operate under stress (Why does it have to be press AND turn!!!) and second point, native ISO caps at 6400, anything higher is Jpeg... Whooo.... Mind you, it's a beautiful Jpeg, but still... Jpeg...

 

They all returned the camera to me after some hours of shooting usually.

 

Now things could be a bit better with the T mode on the speed dial allowing full speed control from 30 secs to 1/4000 along the much welcomed AF update but really, that camera is great if you have some time to frame the picture with some lights and not fast moving subjects (the dancing part might be the worst moment with that camera) and you can certainly earn a living with it, I just don't believe that weddings is a scene for it.

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If you're shooting a wedding, don't take any risks. Stick with a DSLR. I've shot in tiny, sticky-floored and very dark clubs with Fuji cameras, but it was by no means easy or fast and the X-T10 and X-T1 4.0 isn't proving any better. The improved low light AF performance isn't really for 'low light', it's more for 'medium light'. It still hunts, it's still slow, it still misses.

I'm not saying it is utterly impossible to shoot a wedding with Fuji cameras, but between the dodgy focus and the battery life, I simply would not risk a job like a wedding, which you cannot possibly re-shoot, on a Fuji camera, or any other mirrorless for that matter. In another 5-10 years, maybe. Right now, it would just be completely irresponsible to take that kind of risk with peoples' one and only big day. DSLR works perfectly for weddings, you know it works perfectly for weddings, you should only be using what absolutely, definitely, 100% works.

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I love the X-T1 but I am not certain that it is the right tool for weddings, specially if it is a paid job.

My Impressions after the first wedding with Fuji was exactly the same. I turned back to DSLRs immediately for several months. All this time I was shooting only static and home scenes with Fuji. As a result my total shooting style changed drastically. What's important, my photos got better. In the end I've tried to shoot weddings with Fuji again and never got back to DSLRs again. Weddings can be shot by Fuji As effective as with DSLRs. One has just to adapt to all the nuances of Mirrorless. Now with new FW, the switch from DSLRs to Fuji will be more easy.

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Agree with Dis.  I have shot weddings for years with Nikon but now shoot 50% X-T1 and 50% Nikon D610.  Haven't fully migrated due to video requirements and $$ to swap all of my fast glass.  I expect next year I'll be 100% Fuji.

 

LARGE learning curve coming from SLR to Fuji X-T1.  Very different cameras.  I shot with my X-T1 a fair bit before taking it to my first wedding.  It's focusing was quite good, not as strong as my previous D3s ... but good enough.  I knew from others that had switched to it for weddings that the common theme others were saying was "it forces you to slow down".  That was exactly true and I knew that going into my first wedding with it on my hip.  For very rushed photojournalistic style of shooting (a small part of my wedding day), it can be a bit slow to change settings (when shooting manual which I mostly do), but other than that ... it has been a pretty good experience once the learning curve is behind you.

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[...]

LARGE learning curve coming from SLR to Fuji X-T1.  Very different cameras.  [...] it has been a pretty good experience once the learning curve is behind you.

 

While I heartily agree with you, I am not certain that learning a new camera while on a paid job is such a good idea in general.

 

But it is true that once you know your tool, you can work around its shortcoming and the X-T1 is really a nice tool once you know it well enough.

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I spent almost a year learning the  X-T1 before feeling comfortable using it for paid events. Now I won't look back as I'm much more efficient shooting with two X-T1s than with my now sold two Canon 5DMKIIIs. The beta version of 4.0 made it a breeze to shoot a wedding last week with very little issues. The one issue I encountered was due to user error. I tried using AF-C with the Electronic Shutter and it obviously failed. With the Mechanical Shutter it worked as well as I'd hoped, much better than before. 

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I've shot several weddings with the XT1 with little to no issues. It's more about learning the camera. It's difficult to learn those nuances when you have one foot in the DSLR camp and another in the Fuji. Definitely play and learn your equipment before taking paid gigs. That goes with ANY equipment.

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My Impressions after the first wedding with Fuji was exactly the same. I turned back to DSLRs immediately for several months. All this time I was shooting only static and home scenes with Fuji. As a result my total shooting style changed drastically. What's important, my photos got better. In the end I've tried to shoot weddings with Fuji again and never got back to DSLRs again. Weddings can be shot by Fuji As effective as with DSLRs. One has just to adapt to all the nuances of Mirrorless. Now with new FW, the switch from DSLRs to Fuji will be more easy.

 

Agreed. I've second shot a couple weddings with the X-T1, and done some local shows, aside from a lot of shooting for myself which usually happens at night.

 

There's definitely a learning curve, but once you get a feel for it, I think Fujis are nearly as effective as DSLRs. It slows you down for sure, but I find I actually get more shots in focus with the X-T1 than the Canon 70D or Nikon D610 I used. With the DSLRs, I would shoot a lot to be safe, then zoom in in Lightroom and see which ones came out in focus (instead of slight misfocuses). This is shooting at f/2.2+ on crop and 2.8+ on full frame to buy myself some depth of field. Too many times the DSLRs would slightly misfocus, and I wouldn't find out until I got into Lightroom.

 

The X-T1 confirms focus more slowly, but it's accurate. And when it does a false confirm, which is rare, it's incredibly obvious so I don't waste shots on it. Now that I've slowed down, I work more on my timing and planning. And that's just talking about the AF. With MF and peaking, I think the Fuji has an advantage. Focus traps are amazing with the peaking. I'm not afraid to shoot lenses wide open now, either.

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I totally agree with the learning curve. From Canon to Fuji took a few months to really understand the characteristics of the Fuji. But once you're there, wow, it's definitely different but in a whole new (awesome) way. 

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I shot my first wedding with the X-T1 after having it for 5 days. Previously shot with a 1Dx, 2 5D3s and L glass. Sure there's a learning curve and a DSLR does some things better, but the X-T1 similarly has it's advantages. I've now sold all my Canon gear and have 4 X-T1s - I wouldn't go back. Anyone who says it's not suitable for pro wedding work is either ignorant or completely incapable of learning a new system. Here's a wedding shot 100% on Fuji, probably some of my best work. http://chasingsummerphoto.com/general/kirsty-and-tims-wedding-echidna-gully-armidale-wedding-photography-nsw/

 

Mirror less cameras are in their infancy, but are undoubtedly the cameras of the future. The DSLR will be dead in 10 years.

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I'm no real photographer and since nobody would consider paying for any of my pics, I obviously don't shoot weddings. However, I still ended up shooting one as a free favor for a friend in May. I used a single pre-production X-T10 with pre-production firmware: https://www.flickr.com/photos/25805910@N05/sets/72157651034658853

 

I didn't encounter any AF problems. 

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I shot my first wedding with the X-T1 after having it for 5 days. Previously shot with a 1Dx, 2 5D3s and L glass. Sure there's a learning curve and a DSLR does some things better, but the X-T1 similarly has it's advantages. I've now sold all my Canon gear and have 4 X-T1s - I wouldn't go back. Anyone who says it's not suitable for pro wedding work is either ignorant or completely incapable of learning a new system. Here's a wedding shot 100% on Fuji, probably some of my best work. http://chasingsummerphoto.com/general/kirsty-and-tims-wedding-echidna-gully-armidale-wedding-photography-nsw/

 

Mirror less cameras are in their infancy, but are undoubtedly the cameras of the future. The DSLR will be dead in 10 years.

Beautiful pictures Anthony, what is the main lens do you use in weddings?

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Unlike much of the optimistic sounding reports I've read using various lenses, my experience with my 55-200mm is that AF speed in decent light is no better and it now refuses to focus reliably at all in very low light where firmware 3.10 used to work quite impressively.  This is checked with a specific high contrast target in my yard using consistent dim lighting and comparing it to my Olympus EM10.

My XT1 used to outperform the EM10 in low light by a couple EV or more with ease.  Now it's struggling and failing at light levels as the EM10 still works at.

When it tries to focus now, the EVF now dims considerably and it hunts, trying to AF.  I get AF confirmation now when the target is grossly OOF, repeated attempts just drive it more OOF altho, occasionally, it wil be close to focused, maybe 1 in 4 or 5 attempts.

 

When using firmware 3.10, anything I could clearly see in the EVF with a vertical contrast feature it would focus on no problem.  Now it even seems to have a harder time in decent light and lower contrast subjects than it used to.

 

I do like all the extra AF groups and control options provided but I'm disappointed with the reduction in low light AF performance on this lens that I make a lot of use of in dim conditions.

 

I wish I could reload V3.10, it worked better for me.

Maybe v4.10 will fix these issues.

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I shot my first wedding with the X-T1 after having it for 5 days. Previously shot with a 1Dx, 2 5D3s and L glass. Sure there's a learning curve and a DSLR does some things better, but the X-T1 similarly has it's advantages. I've now sold all my Canon gear and have 4 X-T1s - I wouldn't go back. Anyone who says it's not suitable for pro wedding work is either ignorant or completely incapable of learning a new system. Here's a wedding shot 100% on Fuji, probably some of my best work. http://chasingsummerphoto.com/general/kirsty-and-tims-wedding-echidna-gully-armidale-wedding-photography-nsw/

 

Mirror less cameras are in their infancy, but are undoubtedly the cameras of the future. The DSLR will be dead in 10 years.

 

Your pictures are simply stunning.  Just beautiful work.  I very recently took many photos at my daughter's wedding, exclusively using my X-T1 (with v3.1 FW).  I was extremely happy with the results (as was the bride) and I was able to provide her with an early look exclusively with SOOC JPGs, which gave me more time to do some extra work in Lightroom on the RAWs.  The images required very little or sometimes no PP work and the camera did a fantastic job.  To be fair, the entire event was shot in a brightly lit room (natural light through windows), so flash was basically unnecessary.  Fuji's one weakness is in the area of flash support, and I might have been a little less enthusiastic about the results if the wedding had taken place in a poorly lit venue.  Either way, I fully agree with your comment about the future of DSLRs.  There certainly are none in my future for sure.  Thanks so much for sharing.

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I love the X-T1 but I am not certain that it is the right tool for weddings, specially if it is a paid job.

 

A colleague borrowed mine for a wedding shoot and even after tons of information given, before the cake cutting part they all told me that went back to the car and get the DSLR out of frustration.

 

The issue is two fold, while the camera didn't had the 4.0 update yet, the 3.11 was already present but the AF speed was just a tad bit too slow, also the X-T1 takes quite a lot of time to get used to when you are used to Canikon DSLRs, the front and back dials don't react the same way, that dreafull ISO dial that is super annoying to operate under stress (Why does it have to be press AND turn!!!) and second point, native ISO caps at 6400, anything higher is Jpeg... Whooo.... Mind you, it's a beautiful Jpeg, but still... Jpeg...

 

They all returned the camera to me after some hours of shooting usually.

 

Now things could be a bit better with the T mode on the speed dial allowing full speed control from 30 secs to 1/4000 along the much welcomed AF update but really, that camera is great if you have some time to frame the picture with some lights and not fast moving subjects (the dancing part might be the worst moment with that camera) and you can certainly earn a living with it, I just don't believe that weddings is a scene for it.

 

Tons of informations given does not equal real experience. There's a dedicated Facebook group for wedding photography with Fujis. I'm glad to be a Fuji photographer especially for doing wedding photography. I used many different DSLR-systems in the past and all options have their strenghts and weaknesses. The Fuji system plays straight into my hands, as I hate to be flashy and obstrusive. The AF is absolutely sufficient to create a wonderful wedding coverage and I promise you that you will get shots that you wouldn't ever had gotten when using a loud and bulky DSLR :)

 

My only gripe would be the low-light capability (speaking of high-iso), which I guess is gonna be overhauled with the next generation of cameras.

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I have also shot weddings with a X-T1 and a X-E1...I mostly use the 27mm, 35mm and 56mm ( I keep the 55-200 in my bag but I rarely use it)

I now shoot weddings 100% with fuji since the beginning of 2015. Before that, I was using Canon.

 

The great thing that I love with the 56mm and X-T1 is that I can shoot at F/1.2 and the shot will be in focus.

 

Indoor, during the reception, I like to use my Rovelight flash ( from Adorama...so you can google it if you don't know what it is) and I bounce it on the ceiling ( since the rovelight is so powerful, it does not matter how high it is)....if the walls and ceiling are wooden or dark, then I bounce thru a white umbrella.

 

Sometimes, during the dancing of the guests I pop the Fuji flash (EF 42) on the X-T1 and use a really slow shutter speed...

 

Yes, indoor for dancing the AF might be slower than a DSLR, but ALL cameras have their own limitations and you learn to work around them :)

 

 

 

 

 

ps : I also shot an Indian wedding with my X-T1....and we all know that Indian weddings are NOT slow paced!!!!

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Something I'd like to add. I've shot with 18mm, 23mm, 35mm, 56mm and out of all those I consider the 35mm the most awesome. The pictures have just that delicious quality of bokeh which for me slightly stands above the rest. So I'm more than excited to put the 35mm to use with the AF improvements. :)

 

@chris would love to do an indian wedding. They always look colourful and spectacular. Not easy to get to do it here in Germany. Consider me jelly :)

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What is very interesting in my experience is that when I upgraded, I had also reset my settings to factory as a precaution. I then shot with all of my lenses and thought: the focus doesn't seem much faster than the 3.x update. However, I was able to focus by candlelight, which was new. THEN, I realized that hadn't turned on High Performance because of the factory reset. THAT made a huge difference. My 35, 56, 55-200 and 18-55 acted like new and improved lenses.

 

So my takeaway is that the 4.0 update not only improved everything on high performance, but it also brought the "non-high performance" performance up too.

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Tons of informations given does not equal real experience. There's a dedicated Facebook group for wedding photography with Fujis. I'm glad to be a Fuji photographer especially for doing wedding photography. I used many different DSLR-systems in the past and all options have their strenghts and weaknesses. The Fuji system plays straight into my hands, as I hate to be flashy and obstrusive. The AF is absolutely sufficient to create a wonderful wedding coverage and I promise you that you will get shots that you wouldn't ever had gotten when using a loud and bulky DSLR :)

 

My only gripe would be the low-light capability (speaking of high-iso), which I guess is gonna be overhauled with the next generation of cameras.

 

Fully agreeing with you here, but still, when a colleague kindly ask if he can try out your new toy, it's not really nice to refuse it if you don't have anything scheduled.

 

I have had my X-T1 for almost 7 months now and it's starting to real really good, the learning curve was rather steep for me at the begining but with the latest update and T mode, things are a lot smoother now.

 

I know that another colleague is looking forward to get his own X-T1 for Metal concerts shooting.

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