Fujifilm New Product Releases (7th Sept 2017)

It’s a big day for Fujifilm today with the release of several new products and some significant announcements. You'll find full details on Fujifilm's own site, but I wanted to do a brief roundup for those of you who are as lazy as I am when going through the news.

1. The new Fujinon XF80mm f2.8 R LM WR Macro will be another stunning lens and I have it on good authority that it might even top the 90mm f2. I've seen some great sample pictures from this lens and they were absolutely stunning.
Take a look at the latest X-Series lens roadmap HERE.

3. The long awaited X-E3 camera body is finally here. Like the X-E2 and X-E2s that came before it, the X-E3 is amazing value for the money (£849 in the U.K.) when you consider how close the specs are to the flagship X-Pro2. If you can live without an optical viewfinder, this might be an option for you. It would also make a great second camera or backup to the X-Pro2. Here's a list of some features

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• First X-Series camera to feature Bluetooth for transferring photos to smartphones and tablets.
• Touch screen (not tilting) with smartphone usability.
• 24.3 megapixel sensor with latest X-Processor Pro.
• 4K Video.
• Brand new auto focus algorithm that is 50% faster at tracking than the current models.
• Focus joystick as found on the X-Pro2 and X-T2.
• Extreamly handy auto switch from the X-70.

2. The Fujinon GF45mm f2.8 R WR is the 6th lens in the GF System. If you are interested in the medium format Fujifilm GFX, then this new 45mm f2.8 will be a beast of a lens. What a system the GFX is turning into!
Take a look at the latest GFX lens roadmap HERE.

4. New Firmware for the X-Pro2, X-T2, X-T20 and X100F is also announced today, but won't be available until November and December this year.

X-T2 Firmware v3.00

1. New AF tracking algorithm for moving subject

Thanks to the newly developed image recognition algorithm, the update enhances AF-C to track moving subjects twice as fast as previous firmware. In addition, the update also enhances tracking to be able to capture up to 50% smaller moving subjects than before.

2. Support “FUJIFILM X RAW STUDIO”

Once connecting a camera to a computer via USB cable, the “FUJIFILM X RAW STUDIO” enables users to convert RAW files with X Processor Pro. The fast batch processing will also be available. The “FUJIFILM X RAW STUDIO” can be downloaded from the FUJIFILM website for free.

3. Improve radio flash controller usability

The upgrade allows users to shoot with compatible third party studio flash in high speed sync. or TTL mode via their radio controllers.

4. Support for backup/restore of camera settings via FUJIFILM X Acquire

Once connecting a camera to a computer via USB cable, the “FUJIFILM X Acquire” allows users to backup/restore camera settings to/from a file. Copying all camera settings from one camera to another is available.

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X100F Firmware v.2.00

1. Support for backup/restore of camera settings via FUJIFILM X Acquire

Once connecting a camera to a computer via USB cable, the “FUJIFILM X Acquire” allows users to backup/restore camera settings to/from a file. Copying all camera settings from one camera to another is available.

2. Supports “FUJIFILM X RAW STUDIO”

Once connecting a camera to a computer via USB cable, the “FUJIFILM X RAW STUDIO” enables users to convert RAW files with X Processor Pro. The first batch processing is also available. The “FUJIFILM X RAW STUDIO” can be downloaded from the FUJIFILM website for free.

3. Improve radio flash controller usability

The upgrade allows users to shoot with compatible third party studio flash in high speed sync. or TTL mode via their radio controllers.

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5. A Fujifilm/Magnum Photo Collaboration

15 Magnum Photographers will explore the theme of “HOME” for the project. Known for their wide range of approaches, Magnum Photos members produce documentary photography that encompasses art and photojournalism. Sharing the agency’s legacy for humanistic photography, associated with its founding in 1947, Magnum’s contemporary practitioners are united by a curiosity about the world. This project invites them to explore a universal subject familiar to us all

“Home” is not only defined as a space for physical living. It holds various other associations that are emotional, biological, cultural and societal. These 15 photographers have been given an open brief to explore the subject through their own individual practices, the resulting work reflecting their personal take on a subject that we all record photographically.

X-Pro2 Firmware v4.00

1. Addition of 4k video mode

The update adds 4k video using the X Series famous Film Simulation modes.  You can input audio from an external microphone (Excluding HDMI output for recording).

2. Support for tether shooting via USB or Wi-Fi

After connecting a camera to a computer, the compatible software (*1) will enable users to transfer images taken with the camera to the computer and save them in a specified folder, or to control the camera from the computer. 

3. New AF tracking algorithm for moving subject

 Thanks to the newly developed image recognition algorithm, the update enhances AF-C to track moving subjects twice as fast as previous firmware(*2). In addition, the update also enhances tracking to be able to capture up to 50% smaller moving subjects than before.

4. Support “FUJIFILM X RAW STUDIO”

Once connecting a camera to a computer via USB cable, the “FUJIFILM X RAW STUDIO” enables users to convert RAW files with X Processor Pro. The first batch processing will also be available. The “FUJIFILM X RAW STUDIO” can be downloaded from the FUJIFILM website for free.

5. Improve radio flash controller usability

The upgrade allows users to shoot with compatible third party studio flash in high speed sync. or TTL mode via their radio controllers.

6. Support for backup/restore of camera settings via FUJIFILM X Acquire

Once connecting a camera to a computer via USB cable, the “FUJIFILM X Acquire” allows users to backup/restore camera settings to/from a file. Copying all camera settings from one camera to another is available.

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X-T20 Firmware v.1.10

1. Touch panel operation when using the EVF

The firmware update will make it possible to use the touch panel while looking into the viewfinder. According to the operation method, it's possible to set the effective range of the touch panel to the full screen, right half, left half, or OFF.

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Participating Magnum photographers

• 　Antoine d’Agata (France)
• 　Jonas Bendiksen (Norway)
• 　Chien-Chi Chang (USA)
• 　Thomas Dworzak (Georgia/Iran/Germany)
• 　Elliot Erwitt (USA)
• 　David Alan Harvey (USA)
• 　Hiroji Kubota (Japan)
• 　Alex Majoli (Italy)
• 　Trent Parke (Australia)
• 　Gueorgui Phikhassov (Russia)
• 　Mark Power (UK)
• 　Moises Saman (Spain/Peru)
• 　Alessandra Sanguinetti (USA）
• 　Alec Soth (USA)
• 　Alex Webb (USA)
•  

Photo Exhibition

• 　New York
• 　London
• 　Paris

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6. Fujifilm X Raw Studio

FUJIFILM X RAW STUDIO enables users to quickly and easily convert RAW files with outstanding image quality, once a camera is connected to a Mac or PC via USB cable.   

Exceptional image quality is retained, as the X RAW STUDIO system utilizes the X Processor Pro in the camera instead of the CPU in the computer, 

Due to the increasing size of RAW files, users have found batch conversion to be an issue, as it takes more and more time as a result. However, using the high performance “X Processor Pro” processor, this batch conversion is handled far more efficiently as a result.

This new software is due to be available from late November 2017.

Key Features:

• -    Convert RAW images on the computer (Single / Batch Process)
• -    Preview converting images
• -    Save, load, or copy conversion profiles
•  
• *Specifications, window images subject to change without notice.
• *RAW conversion is compatible with a RAW file taken by the same model as the connected camera.  

• Availability:

• Application Software FUJIFILM X RAW STUDIO will be available:
• for Mac:    Late November 2017 
• for Windows: Late January 2018 
• FUJIFILM X RAW STUDIO system compatible camera firmware will be available:

• FUJIFILM GFX 50S:    Late November 2017 (Ver.2.00)
• FUJIFILM X-T2:    Late November 2017 (Ver.3.00)
• FUJIFILM X-Pro2:    Late December 2017 (Ver.4.00)
• FUJIFILM X100F:    Late December 2017 (Ver.2.00)

X-T2 Firmware Update Needed For Shooting Video

I love the X-T2, it's such a great all round camera and very capable of handling pretty much anything you through at it. Video wasn't really something I expected to be doing with it, but it happens now and again. I had a video shoot at the weekend with the X-T2 and I ran into a potentially disastrous problem. Thankfully it's something that could be easily fixed in the next firmware update.

WHAT'S THE PROBLEM?

With the latest firmware update (v2.10) for the X-T2, we got the ability to set one of the front or rear command dials to control ISO. Fantastic! Here's how to:

Go to Setup Menu (the spanner) - Button/Dial Settings - ISO Dial Setting (A) The options are Auto and Command. Choose Command. Set the top plate ISO dial on the X-T2 to A. Now ISO can be adjusted by either the front or rear command dials. The Command Dial Settings Function in the same menu allows you to choose front of rear dial.

Shutter Speed (front) F. (rear)

With this configuration, the back command dial does nothing (unless you have a lens attached that doesn't have an aperture ring, like the 27mm). Both ISO and Shutter Speed are assigned to the front command dial and you toggle between which one is active by pressing the dial. The problem is that one of them is always live and can be knocked off easily.

F. (front) Shutter Speed (rear)

With this configuration, shutter speed is changed by the rear command dial and ISO by the front. The upside is that the ISO can be changed using the front dial  and then locked by pressing the command dial. Unfortunately the shutter speed is always live and so easily knocked by a third stop or two, causing rolling vertical lines that cannot be fixed in post. Video footage is useless if this happens. I must have knocked my shutter speed of at least 6 times at the weekend and will be taping the rear dial down from now on.

THE FIX

F. (front) Shutter Speed (rear) is the ideal choice in my opinion. When shooting video, I like to chose my aperture on the lens and select my shutter speed on the top plate SS dial, then make minor adjustments using the rear command dial (for instance: Set the top plate SS dial to 1/60th and then adjusting the SS to 1/50th using the rear command dial when shooting at 25 fps).

update the firmware to allow the rear command dial to be locked by pressing it (just like the front dial for ISO), we could lock both ISO (front dial) and shutter speed (rear dial).

No more moving dials by mistake!

Great New Firmware From Fujifilm, But The X-Pro2 Ain't Feelin' The Love

Fujifilm has released new firmware for the X-T2, X-Pro2, GFX and even (unexpectedly) the X100F. Unfortunately the X-Pro2 got a little short changed this time around and it ain't feeling the love! But hopefully the great peeps at Fuji will put this right soon. You can find the latest firmware and a full list of what's new from HERE. But here are a few of my favourites.

FRONT COMMAND DIAL ISO:

One great feature that's been added to the X-T2 is the ability to control ISO from the front dial. This one appeared first on the X100F and is really handy when you want to lock in aperture and shutter speed and use the ISO to make adjustments to exposure. I do a lot of jazz concert photography and I tend to have to shoot wide open and with the shutter speed at 1/125th (my preferred minimum SS). The ISO dial on the top of the X-T2 is great, but it means taking my left hand of the camera to make adjustments. The front command dial is easy to access and let's me keep both hands on the camera. This feature was not added to the X-Pro2.

REAR COMMAND DIAL BACK BUTTON FOCUS:

Another great one from the X100F that's been added to the X-T2 is the ability to press the rear command dial for back button focus. You can actually assign a variety of functions to the rear command dial switch. I find the AF/L button on the X-T2 a bit too far to the right, but I can't switch it with the AE/L button because I poke my thumb into my eye with that one (I'm a left eye shooter). So pressing the rear command dial to back button focus is a great option. Sadly though, this feature was not added to the X-Pro2.

OPTION OF 'ALL' ADDED TO AF MODE

This one was unexpected and a really welcome feature. By selecting 'All' in the AF Mode you can use any of the command dials to choose any of the AF Modes. We do this in the exact same way as we change the size of the focus point. Press the Focus Selector Lever (the joystick) to turn the focus point green. Now rotate either the front or rear command dial to increase the size of the focus point, which cycles like this:

• 6 different sizes of single point
• 3 different sizes of Zone
• Wide Tracking (it then loops back to the smallest single point)

I have my AF Mode assigned to the bottom button of the D-Pad, but by using this new method, I could leave it AF Mode set to 'All' and free up that Fn button for something else. It's unexpected gems like this that make Fujifil so great, but guess what - this feature is not on the latest firmware for the X-Pro2.

CONCLUSION 

As far as I know, no other camera manufactures virtually give away new cameras through frequent firmware updates. That might seem like an exaggeration, but quite often it really does feel like a new camera. I'm looking forward to the X-Pro2 firmware engineer getting back from his holiday at Skegness and bringing all the latest features to the other flagship X-Series camera - the X-Pro2. 

One firmware request I do have for another camera in the lineup (even though it might be discontinued), is to fix a bug in the X70 firmware. When using the WCL, the manual focus scale disappears from the LCD, which is a problem when zone focusing.

The Next Level :: Fuji X-T1 Firmware v3.0

The much anticipated v3.0 firmware (they totally skipped v2) for Fuji's X-T1 has arrived and boy is this a big deal. It has a whopping 27 new features, with more than a few of my long term requests. I won't go through all of them here as they're listed on the firmware download area on the Fuji site, but I wanted to highlight a few of the most important ones here IMO. If you don't think this update is a big deal, just think of how little difference there is between a Nikon D800 and D810. Now work out how much it would cost to upgrade from the former to the later. Did I mention this 27 feature firmware upgrade was free :o)

Focus Point Selection Without Fn Button This is a big thing and I wish it would come to all of the X-series cameras. It's actually more important for other bodies than the X-T1 as each of the four buttons on the D pad could already be set individually to move the focus point. The difference now is that you can not only do this as a single option (rather than having to set 4 individually), but the focus point moves with the first press instead of being activated by the first press than moving with each press after that. I shoot with five different X-Series bodies (not at the same time though:o) and every one of them has a different way to activate focus point selection. This drives me nuts, but if this feature was added to all the other models it would make life so much easier.

Q Menu Customisation We can now customise the Q menu and although it doesn't cover everything, there is a good choice of items that can be added. This will be super useful! There are a couple of items in the Q menu that I've never used and a couple that I really needed that were missing. Out goes Colour and AF Mode. In comes Silent Mode and Face Detection. I was really annoyed when the X-T1 was released and the ability to access Silent Mode by holding the Display button down for a couple of seconds (as it is on the X-Pro1, X-E1 and X100 series) had been replaced with quick access for function button assignments. So although I'd rather have Silent Mode on the Disp button, I'm happy that it's now in my Q Menu.

Classic Chrome Film Simulation Classic Chrome Film Simulation has been the biggest buzz among Fuji users since it was mentioned around the time of Photokina this year. It's a desaturated look that will work well for documentary photography. I'll need to shoot with it for a while to know if it will become my preferred Film Simulation, but I'm excited by it and look forward to using it this weekend. The downside right now is that none of my other cameras have Classic Chrome, so I will have to shoot with just the X-T1 or switch to another film simulation if I shoot with more than one body to keep the look consistant

Electronic (Silent) Shutter With a maximum shutter speed of 1/4000 of a second, shooting outside, wide open with f1.4 and f1.2 lenses would require an ND filter. But with the addition of Electronic Shutter, we can now shoot up to 1/32,000th of a second. Another big plus to this is that the electronic shutter is absoluly silent. You think an X100 is quiet, this has zero noise. One downside is that if you shoot in fluorescent light with the electronic shutter, you will get shaded horizontal lines across your pictures. So be very careful if you are using this feature at an event that canot be re-shot (weddings etc..)

Preview Exposure In Manual Mode on Fn Button This is another important one for me as I shoot in manual mode a lot. I can be shooting outside, then in a dark theatre or maybe doing some portraits with flash. Having to find this feature in the menu was a pain and could cause shots to be missed. I have chosen to assign this to the front Fn button at the moment, but even in the Q menu (which is now possible) this would still be a lot more accessible.

Instant Macro on Fn Button I have assigned my top Fn button for Macro. This is handy, but one of the great new features is that it acts like a toggle switch, rather that having to press 3 times, or press and use the directional pad and then hit OK. It's worth mentioning that the top plate Fn button can be assigned to a seperate function in shooting mode, but will still work for WiFi when in Playback mode. One button, two functions...nice!

Reverse AE/L and AF/L Buttons Back button focusing could feel a little awkward on the X-T1 because the AF/L button is a little too far to the right. But now the functions of the AF/L and AE/L buttons can be switched, making it move comfortable (especially if you're right eyed).

3 Custom White balance Memories I'm a lover of custom white balance whenever possible. I have both a Colour Checker Passport and an ExpoDisc which can save a lot of time in post processing. Custom White balance now has three slots to store different WB setups, ideal if you shoot regularly in different locations. I didn't expect this one.

AF + MF Another handy feature that allows you to focus in AF mode using a half press of the shutter button, but then tweak it manually using the focus ring. Default is Off, so you need to turn this on after upgrading to v3.0. As with Manual Focus, the viewfinder zooms in automatically to check focus (if Focus Check is turned on in the Screen Setup menu).

A couple of features that I'd like to see added or adjusted in a future update (not wanting to seem ungrateful).

• I was expecting that the Exposure Compensation Dial would work in Manual Mode when using Auto ISO. This one still needs fixed, because without this Manual Mode acts like 100% auto.
• It would be great to have more features available to be part of a Custom Setting. I'm thinking of Preview In Manual Mode and maybe Macro, but there are many more.
• I'd like to be able to use the front Fn button to activate the D Pad as individual Fn buttons while they are in Focus Point Selection Mode. Kind of reverse from what it used to be.
• This might be a strange request, but very useful for street photographers: I'd like to shoot using the viewfinder, but to also have the focus point displayed on the LCD. No image or anything else, just the white box or a crosshair. Then the focus point could be moved into position before raising the camera to your eye.

The main thing (IMO) for future X Series cameras (and legacy ones as much as possible), is to be as consistent as possible in button layout and features. I'm really hoping for updates to my other cameras, especially my X100S. I know the new X100T has similar features to this X-T1 update, but I haven't had the X100S that long and I'd like to get some use out of it.