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You've got to have a system - part 2 of 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Published 10/04/2015

Fujifilm X-T1
There will be those who have been tempted by the rangefinder-resembling 'X' series cameras released by Fujifilm of late, with their enticing blend of yesteryear styling yet bang up-to-date technology, but (perhaps) reasoned they wouldn't quite match up to their existing Canon or Nikon digital SLR for handling and performance. However, we feel Fuji's deliberately SLR-styled X-T1 is the closest the company has come yet to silencing those doubters and winning fresh converts. Arriving after the now long-in-the-tooth X-Pro 1 flagship, the weather resistant X-T1 is the current standout model, thanks to pro-like spec and mini DSLR-type design with classic style elements. This is the moment it felt, to us, that Fuji was serious about getting back in the game as regarded enthusiast and pro photographers - and not just because of its price tag circa £1,000. With a magnesium-alloy build, this camera looks and feels like an expensive investment.

Whereas the AF of previous models was criticised for being slightly sluggish, official response time has been subsequently ramped down to 0.08 seconds. We also get a very useful 8fps capture speed and impressively immersive eye-level electronic viewfinder with huge 2.36 million pixel resolution - helping to ensure that performance matches outward indications that this is a semi-pro piece of kit. We found this so highly detailed that the image it relates is virtually indistinguishable from a traditional viewfinder.

The majority of the back plate is given over to a bright 3-inch LCD display with over a million dots of resolution that can be tilted up or down to help enable the framing of low- or high-angle shots. Yet the narrow top plate is fairly crammed with chunky rangefinder-like dials and smaller buttons dotted in between, including one for shooting 1920x1080-pixel video at 60 fps.

There are three wheels in total, governing ISO speed, shutter speed and exposure compensation, with two of them encircled by secondary dials for adjusting drive mode or metering. For those who love a more tactile, manual feel, this is one camera that doesn't involve drilling down into menu screens to tweak the essentials.

Sensor resolution sounds modest at 16.3 effective megapixels, yet the APS-C chip here is larger than that provided by rival CSCs from Olympus, Panasonic, Pentax and Nikon. Combine this with a fixed focal length lens such as Fuji's 60mm XF prime with bright f/2.4 aperture, and we're getting pro-like razor-sharp foreground detail and attractively soft backgrounds. As with the majority of digital cameras, busier scenes could confuse the auto focus and it was still not as lightning fast as the blurb would suggest. In truth this is really a camera for those who want to tweak settings and focus manually. Do so and you'll be rewarded with - if equipped with the 60 mm portrait lens - creamily smooth 'bokeh'.

Aside from improved high-speed auto focus, compatibility with the latest fast-writing UHS II media cards suggests the X-T1 is suited not just to street or social photography, but to sports and wildlife photography too, where the weather-resistant construction is a further advantage. We're not talking about going diving with the camera here, but rather, as with Olympus' competing OM-D cameras, feeling confident when using it in the rain or where it might get splashed.

In terms of comfort in operation, the X-T1's handgrip isn't as large and comfortable as Samsung's equally DSLR-like NX1. But the overall weight (around 440g without lens), particularly after a 60mm prime lens is attached, ensures the camera doesn't feel in any way lightweight or flyaway. Unless you're a pro hankering after a full frame sensor provided by the likes of Sony's A7/A7R, then the APS-C sensor here more than fits the bill. In all it's difficult to see what more the manufacturer could do at this stage to silence any doubters, and within the compact system camera format.

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1st Published 10/04/2015
last update 09/12/2022 15:00:22

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