For fast moving object focus, you would be better off with the D750, the x-t1 and mirrorless is almost there. However, I prefer the xt-1. I have a D700 and D3s as well as the xt-1 and 56 1.2. If I know I am going to be shooting action like sports or wildlife I grab the Nikons. For everything else I grab my x100s and x-t1 even when I go to family event where my nieces and nephews are running around the house.
If I were you and you decide the fuji route I would skip the Nissin flash and just get a yongnuou flash unless ttl is a must have. Fuji is rumored to be developing a new flash and enable HSS as well as ttl.
Thank's a lot. I have used bounce flash and TTL a lot with my Nikons, but the Yongnuou looks interesting. Lot of things have happened since I looked at cameras last time (5-6 years ago) :-)
0
Matthew SavilleRegistered Users, Retired ModPosts: 3,352Major grins
For fast moving object focus, you would be better off with the D750, the x-t1 and mirrorless is almost there. However, I prefer the xt-1. I have a D700 and D3s as well as the xt-1 and 56 1.2. If I know I am going to be shooting action like sports or wildlife I grab the Nikons. For everything else I grab my x100s and x-t1 even when I go to family event where my nieces and nephews are running around the house.
If I were you and you decide the fuji route I would skip the Nissin flash and just get a yongnuou flash unless ttl is a must have. Fuji is rumored to be developing a new flash and enable HSS as well as ttl.
I hope we are just 1-2 generations away from the Fuji AF being as good as the Nikons for stuff like that super-shallow portraiture and candid photography. As much as I'm loving my current D750 setup, I'll be happy to switch to something like an XT-1 and a handful of primes...
I hope we are just 1-2 generations away from the Fuji AF being as good as the Nikons for stuff like that super-shallow portraiture and candid photography. As much as I'm loving my current D750 setup, I'll be happy to switch to something like an XT-1 and a handful of primes...
=Matt=
Actually it is pretty good for that sort of stuff right now which is the reason I went ahead and bough the system. During our family Christmas events I handed the x100s over to my 11 yr old niece and she was having a great time taking people shots. For portraits, the AF is just fine and accurate for shallow DOF.
The main knock for me is AF for moving objects. For kids moving around at the beach it is a struggle at times but not enough for me to leave the x-t1 at home. The convenience of having a small system so I can put empahsis on more on-location ligthing gear more than makes up for that.
The big quirk on the AF is it re-focuses every time. Interestingly in manual mode the AF-L button will actually AF and in the viewfinder you can select different assist modes letting you know the subject is in focus so you can then manually tweak. What I do is acquire focus using AF-L button and then just fire away so AF doesn't refocus each time. Great for weddings where the couple is standing at the altar and you are waiting for the kiss.
I posted this in its own thread, but thought I'd share one of my early faves with the Fuji. Darn glad I made the switch so far, which is an understatement. I have the Fuji 23mm f/1.4 and the Rokinon 12mm f/2.0 lenses at the moment and looking to grab the either the new 16-55mm or 18-135mm shortly. Would be nice to have a little reach again, but I love me some primes right now.
I posted this in its own thread, but thought I'd share one of my early faves with the Fuji. Darn glad I made the switch so far, which is an understatement. I have the Fuji 23mm f/1.4 and the Rokinon 12mm f/2.0 lenses at the moment and looking to grab the either the new 16-55mm or 18-135mm shortly. Would be nice to have a little reach again, but I love me some primes right now.
A beautiful image, and hey, how are you liking that Rokinon 12mm? It is MONEY on the 1.5x crop mirrorless, for how small and light and affordable it is. I really envy how, well, full-frame DSLRs will simply never be capable of offering an 18mm f/2 that small and light, lol...
I posted this in its own thread, but thought I'd share one of my early faves with the Fuji. Darn glad I made the switch so far, which is an understatement. I have the Fuji 23mm f/1.4 and the Rokinon 12mm f/2.0 lenses at the moment and looking to grab the either the new 16-55mm or 18-135mm shortly. Would be nice to have a little reach again, but I love me some primes right now.
Awesome shot, how much PP is there? I gotta say though, I don't get the point of the XT1 if you're going to use zooms on it. I guess if the zooms are just a compliment to a set of primes...
-Jack
An "accurate" reproduction of a scene and a good photograph are often two different things.
A beautiful image, and hey, how are you liking that Rokinon 12mm? It is MONEY on the 1.5x crop mirrorless, for how small and light and affordable it is. I really envy how, well, full-frame DSLRs will simply never be capable of offering an 18mm f/2 that small and light, lol...
=Matt=
Thanks! The jury is still out on the 12mm as I haven't used it enough to get a solid idea about it. Though early impressions are certainly good. The lack of autofocus is of course a challenge, but it does seem to be sharp with only minor distortion depending on the frame. I tried a few candids on the fly with it in Paris this week and focusing in those conditions certainly proved challenging. Though when on a tripod and using focus assistance on the X-T1 it is easy to focus.
Edit to add: pic below that shows what the 12mm can do! Looks sharp heh?! Image is SOOC.
Awesome shot, how much PP is there? I gotta say though, I don't get the point of the XT1 if you're going to use zooms on it. I guess if the zooms are just a compliment to a set of primes...
Thanks for the comment! It is a 3 shot HDR processed in Photoshop then back to LR. The sky is actually quite close to the SOOC shot but the foreground needed the assistance from the HDR merge as it was getting dark quick. The barn was brightened a bit but otherwise not much work beyond the quick HDR merge and removal of some distracting dead bushes in the bottom left corner.
I hear you on the zooms and did just fine this week with the two primes in Paris. It was a fun project after using zooms for so many trips to go prime only. I usually do a 'prime challenge' once each trip but this entire trip was the prime challenge! The ability to throw on a lens and have some wiggle room on zoom range is still appealing though.
My Father just swapped his Canon 60D for the X-T1, and enjoys it, though its a steep learning curve with all the buttons and knobs. For me, I Love the aperture ring, brings me back to my old Olympus OM-1D.
So question to the switchers: low light. Low light shots are what I desperately need. I have late afternoon cross country, and evening concerts that I would love to get shots of, but I simply run out of runway with my Canon 40D. (especially indoor concerts). Is there any improvement on that front, or will I be best off going with the 5D or switching to Nikon 750D?
From a 40d even a 7d or 5dII is going to be a huge step up in low light performance! Jump to the 5dIII, 70d, or 7dII and you'll have all you need I'd have thought. If the form factor/performance combo of the Fuji works for you then go for it, but given you're using nearly a 10yo camera, I think ANY upgrade is going to give you a huge improvement in low light. Fwiw, I regularly use my 7d at 1600 and 5dII at 2000+. Yes, they need cleaning up, but the shots are 100% useable.
... So question to the switchers: low light. Low light shots are what I desperately need. I have late afternoon cross country, and evening concerts that I would love to get shots of, but I simply run out of runway with my Canon 40D. (especially indoor concerts). Is there any improvement on that front, or will I be best off going with the 5D or switching to Nikon 750D?
If you already have good lenses, a Canon 5D Mark III is probably going to work great for you. Add "Magic Lantern" (ML) firmware overlay (free) and you add still capture features like:
Custom Kelvin whitebalance.
Auto ETTR (Expose To The Right).
Exposure Lock for manual mode.
Quickly switch between two exposure presets.
Toggle exposure simulation on/off (Liveview).
Bracketing for exposure, flash, or depth-of-field.
In-camera intervalometer.
Custom bulb timer for extra-long exposures.
Motion detection.
Record voice tags for photos / videos.
Trap focus.
Plus the latest versions include:
Auto HDR Bracketing, Exposure bracketing for HDR images and timelapses (To start bracketing, take only the first picture and ML will continue the sequence.)
Plus a bunch of functions for video that are generally unavailable in other cameras.
My Father just swapped his Canon 60D for the X-T1, and enjoys it, though its a steep learning curve with all the buttons and knobs. For me, I Love the aperture ring, brings me back to my old Olympus OM-1D.
So question to the switchers: low light. Low light shots are what I desperately need. I have late afternoon cross country, and evening concerts that I would love to get shots of, but I simply run out of runway with my Canon 40D. (especially indoor concerts). Is there any improvement on that front, or will I be best off going with the 5D or switching to Nikon 750D?
I shoot a lot of low light stuff including concerts, The Fuji excel in low light.
I also just picked up the 18-135mm and really like it for that 'all around' feeling. Plus it is my only weather sealed lens at the moment so I can confidently get outside when it's crappy out. As a recent convert from Nikon I am now a huge fan of Fuji.
I also just picked up the 18-135mm and really like it for that 'all around' feeling. Plus it is my only weather sealed lens at the moment so I can confidently get outside when it's crappy out. As a recent convert from Nikon I am now a huge fan of Fuji.
I also just picked up the 18-135mm and really like it for that 'all around' feeling. Plus it is my only weather sealed lens at the moment so I can confidently get outside when it's crappy out. As a recent convert from Nikon I am now a huge fan of Fuji.
Thanks for posting your review Nick, and thank you Dan for responding to my questions in one of your recently posted threads.
I've been thinking (or rather fighting with myself) about buying an XT1, finally ordered one last week. It's been a weekend of experimenting... and so far I'm very happy! I'll post my first impressions, probably later this week. For now, here are a couple of photos, one taken with the 18-135mm, and one with the 60mm macro.
I have the same issue wanting the d750 but lusting after the xt1. I have decided on buying the xt1 for now, it will become my backup camera by next year when I will purchase the 750.
I have the same issue wanting the d750 but lusting after the xt1. I have decided on buying the xt1 for now, it will become my backup camera by next year when I will purchase the 750.
I just posted my first impressions of the X-T1 on my blog. If you're interested, click to first impressions :: Fuji X-T1.
Thanks for that Denise. A few questions:
When you want to go out and take some photos, which camera do you grab? Do you miss your 7D when you have the Fuji?
Here is what I really want to know: lets say you have a family member, niece/nephew that has a recital in the school auditorium. Which camera do you take and why?
When you want to go out and take some photos, which camera do you grab? Do you miss your 7D when you have the Fuji?
Here is what I really want to know: lets say you have a family member, niece/nephew that has a recital in the school auditorium. Which camera do you take and why?
I still use both cameras but right now I'm more likely to grab the Fuji. One thing that stops me from grabbing it always is that I don't have a long lens for it, my longest is 18-135 where I have a 70-300 for the 7D. Fuji is projecting release of a 100-400 XF lens next year so my behavior may change. To see the available and planned XF lense, see http://www.fujifilm.com/products/digital_cameras/xf_lens/roadmap/.
The one thing I miss on the Fuji is that I used graduated neutral density filters on the 7D. Without a through the lens focus on a mirrorless camera I haven't found those useful on the XT1.
I can't really answer your recital question since my shots are primarily outside, with some inside conservatories that are well lit (think flowers and butterflies). One person who I suspect can answer your question is Karen Hutton. She posts on Google+ and is a partner with Fujifilm. I know she uses both an XT1 and an XT10. You could try the contact form on her website, http://karenhutton.com/blog/.
When you want to go out and take some photos, which camera do you grab? Do you miss your 7D when you have the Fuji?
Here is what I really want to know: lets say you have a family member, niece/nephew that has a recital in the school auditorium. Which camera do you take and why?
I would take my x-t1 and this is coming from someone who has a Nikon D3s and D700. Since buying into the fuji system I have been using it for all my professional work since the end of last year save for a couple of instances where I needed longer reach. My work involves family portraits, weddings, and events in all kinds of conditions. The DLSR has the advantage when it comes to AFS but it is close and not enough of a difference to give me concern. I have just as many keepers.
As it happens, my Dad bought the Fuji XT1, selling his Canon 60D and selection of lenses. So I gave it a try in my 'recital scenario' above.
The camera is very good at low ISO, but not as good as a newer full frame like Canon, Nikon or Sony. It is likely comparable or perhaps a bit better than a current APS-C from the big guys, though I don't have any direct experience with them. I do know for sure that it crushes the Canon 40D in terms of low light capability.
Here is the sample photo, taken in a choral recital. Camera is set to Auto ISO, and aperture priority. The camera gave me ISO 1600 at 1/40 f2.8:
Very good results I think. Not noise free, but darn good. There is some slight clean up in Lightroom on this, as I shot RAW. The OIS is extremely useful, as this is handheld!
For those that are pixel peeping, here is the same shot, first the JPG from the camera: ( a tad warm I thought)
And the same RAW file, with zero noise reduction applied:
I also found that I could up the shutter speed to 1/60, and simply push the exposure in post with no noticeable effect, so there is no real tradeoff to shooting slightly underexposed.
After a few days playing with it, I find it a great system, with no real downsides. But, I find it very fiddly, with so many options it will make your head spin. I quickly got up to speed with ISO, shutter and aperture adjustments, and really like how they work. The switches under the dials are constantly getting knocked, and getting put n weird settings, and that was frustrating. They need to be much stiffer. I think I shot 20 shots in that Bracketing mode as the switch had moved from Single shot to Bracket every time I took the camera out of my bag.
In the end, this no substitute for a 5DMk3/D810/A7x in lowlight, or for sports. But if you are considering any other camera, I would take this one hands down. It is the perfect travel camera, with a great mix of portability and all the control you could ever want from a DSLR. The kit lens is extremely sharp, bordering on L quality.
If I had the cash, I would buy this in a second, as a 'walking around' camera.
Comments
Thank's a lot. I have used bounce flash and TTL a lot with my Nikons, but the Yongnuou looks interesting. Lot of things have happened since I looked at cameras last time (5-6 years ago) :-)
I hope we are just 1-2 generations away from the Fuji AF being as good as the Nikons for stuff like that super-shallow portraiture and candid photography. As much as I'm loving my current D750 setup, I'll be happy to switch to something like an XT-1 and a handful of primes...
=Matt=
My SmugMug Portfolio • My Astro-Landscape Photo Blog • Dgrin Weddings Forum
Actually it is pretty good for that sort of stuff right now which is the reason I went ahead and bough the system. During our family Christmas events I handed the x100s over to my 11 yr old niece and she was having a great time taking people shots. For portraits, the AF is just fine and accurate for shallow DOF.
The main knock for me is AF for moving objects. For kids moving around at the beach it is a struggle at times but not enough for me to leave the x-t1 at home. The convenience of having a small system so I can put empahsis on more on-location ligthing gear more than makes up for that.
The big quirk on the AF is it re-focuses every time. Interestingly in manual mode the AF-L button will actually AF and in the viewfinder you can select different assist modes letting you know the subject is in focus so you can then manually tweak. What I do is acquire focus using AF-L button and then just fire away so AF doesn't refocus each time. Great for weddings where the couple is standing at the altar and you are waiting for the kiss.
Crested Butte by nl_photo, on Flickr
A beautiful image, and hey, how are you liking that Rokinon 12mm? It is MONEY on the 1.5x crop mirrorless, for how small and light and affordable it is. I really envy how, well, full-frame DSLRs will simply never be capable of offering an 18mm f/2 that small and light, lol...
=Matt=
My SmugMug Portfolio • My Astro-Landscape Photo Blog • Dgrin Weddings Forum
Awesome shot, how much PP is there? I gotta say though, I don't get the point of the XT1 if you're going to use zooms on it. I guess if the zooms are just a compliment to a set of primes...
An "accurate" reproduction of a scene and a good photograph are often two different things.
Thanks! The jury is still out on the 12mm as I haven't used it enough to get a solid idea about it. Though early impressions are certainly good. The lack of autofocus is of course a challenge, but it does seem to be sharp with only minor distortion depending on the frame. I tried a few candids on the fly with it in Paris this week and focusing in those conditions certainly proved challenging. Though when on a tripod and using focus assistance on the X-T1 it is easy to focus.
Edit to add: pic below that shows what the 12mm can do! Looks sharp heh?! Image is SOOC.
Thanks for the comment! It is a 3 shot HDR processed in Photoshop then back to LR. The sky is actually quite close to the SOOC shot but the foreground needed the assistance from the HDR merge as it was getting dark quick. The barn was brightened a bit but otherwise not much work beyond the quick HDR merge and removal of some distracting dead bushes in the bottom left corner.
I hear you on the zooms and did just fine this week with the two primes in Paris. It was a fun project after using zooms for so many trips to go prime only. I usually do a 'prime challenge' once each trip but this entire trip was the prime challenge! The ability to throw on a lens and have some wiggle room on zoom range is still appealing though.
http://www.nicklasurephotography.com/blog/2015/2/25/packing-light-in-paris-a-journey-with-the-fuji-x-t1
So question to the switchers: low light. Low light shots are what I desperately need. I have late afternoon cross country, and evening concerts that I would love to get shots of, but I simply run out of runway with my Canon 40D. (especially indoor concerts). Is there any improvement on that front, or will I be best off going with the 5D or switching to Nikon 750D?
If you already have good lenses, a Canon 5D Mark III is probably going to work great for you. Add "Magic Lantern" (ML) firmware overlay (free) and you add still capture features like:
Auto ETTR (Expose To The Right).
Exposure Lock for manual mode.
Quickly switch between two exposure presets.
Toggle exposure simulation on/off (Liveview).
Bracketing for exposure, flash, or depth-of-field.
In-camera intervalometer.
Custom bulb timer for extra-long exposures.
Motion detection.
Record voice tags for photos / videos.
Trap focus.
Plus the latest versions include:
Plus a bunch of functions for video that are generally unavailable in other cameras.
http://www.magiclantern.fm/
http://wiki.magiclantern.fm/userguide
Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
I shoot a lot of low light stuff including concerts, The Fuji excel in low light.
#1
XT1, ISO 3200
#2
XT1, ISO 3200
#3
XT1, ISO 3200
#4
XE2, ISO 3200
#5
XT1, ISO 6400
#6
XT1, ISO 6400
Unsharp at any Speed
Little in camera fun.
Some sports and people stuff here from that gear.
http://eph28.smugmug.com/Photography/XT-1/i-VpkTwF4
http://danielplumer.com/
Facebook Fan Page
I also just picked up the 18-135mm and really like it for that 'all around' feeling. Plus it is my only weather sealed lens at the moment so I can confidently get outside when it's crappy out. As a recent convert from Nikon I am now a huge fan of Fuji.
Very good review, and very helpful. Thank you
http://danielplumer.com/
Facebook Fan Page
http://danielplumer.com/
Facebook Fan Page
http://danielplumer.com/
Facebook Fan Page
I've been thinking (or rather fighting with myself) about buying an XT1, finally ordered one last week. It's been a weekend of experimenting... and so far I'm very happy! I'll post my first impressions, probably later this week. For now, here are a couple of photos, one taken with the 18-135mm, and one with the 60mm macro.
--- Denise
Musings & ramblings at https://denisegoldberg.blogspot.com
I've tagged the photos from my first outings with the camera with a keyword. If you'd like to wander through the photos, click here.
--- Denise
Musings & ramblings at https://denisegoldberg.blogspot.com
http://danielplumer.com/
Facebook Fan Page
--- Denise
Musings & ramblings at https://denisegoldberg.blogspot.com
By then you'll realize you don't need the D750
Thanks for that Denise. A few questions:
When you want to go out and take some photos, which camera do you grab? Do you miss your 7D when you have the Fuji?
Here is what I really want to know: lets say you have a family member, niece/nephew that has a recital in the school auditorium. Which camera do you take and why?
The one thing I miss on the Fuji is that I used graduated neutral density filters on the 7D. Without a through the lens focus on a mirrorless camera I haven't found those useful on the XT1.
I can't really answer your recital question since my shots are primarily outside, with some inside conservatories that are well lit (think flowers and butterflies). One person who I suspect can answer your question is Karen Hutton. She posts on Google+ and is a partner with Fujifilm. I know she uses both an XT1 and an XT10. You could try the contact form on her website, http://karenhutton.com/blog/.
--- Denise
Musings & ramblings at https://denisegoldberg.blogspot.com
I would take my x-t1 and this is coming from someone who has a Nikon D3s and D700. Since buying into the fuji system I have been using it for all my professional work since the end of last year save for a couple of instances where I needed longer reach. My work involves family portraits, weddings, and events in all kinds of conditions. The DLSR has the advantage when it comes to AFS but it is close and not enough of a difference to give me concern. I have just as many keepers.
The camera is very good at low ISO, but not as good as a newer full frame like Canon, Nikon or Sony. It is likely comparable or perhaps a bit better than a current APS-C from the big guys, though I don't have any direct experience with them. I do know for sure that it crushes the Canon 40D in terms of low light capability.
Here is the sample photo, taken in a choral recital. Camera is set to Auto ISO, and aperture priority. The camera gave me ISO 1600 at 1/40 f2.8:
Very good results I think. Not noise free, but darn good. There is some slight clean up in Lightroom on this, as I shot RAW. The OIS is extremely useful, as this is handheld!
For those that are pixel peeping, here is the same shot, first the JPG from the camera: ( a tad warm I thought)
And the same RAW file, with zero noise reduction applied:
I also found that I could up the shutter speed to 1/60, and simply push the exposure in post with no noticeable effect, so there is no real tradeoff to shooting slightly underexposed.
After a few days playing with it, I find it a great system, with no real downsides. But, I find it very fiddly, with so many options it will make your head spin. I quickly got up to speed with ISO, shutter and aperture adjustments, and really like how they work. The switches under the dials are constantly getting knocked, and getting put n weird settings, and that was frustrating. They need to be much stiffer. I think I shot 20 shots in that Bracketing mode as the switch had moved from Single shot to Bracket every time I took the camera out of my bag.
In the end, this no substitute for a 5DMk3/D810/A7x in lowlight, or for sports. But if you are considering any other camera, I would take this one hands down. It is the perfect travel camera, with a great mix of portability and all the control you could ever want from a DSLR. The kit lens is extremely sharp, bordering on L quality.
If I had the cash, I would buy this in a second, as a 'walking around' camera.