Why You Can Trust CNET Fujifilm X-T1 ILC is ready for cold, action
The company's new flagship interchangeable-lens model is weather-resistant and ready for action shooting.
It's taken a while, but camera manufacturers finally seem to be following Olympus' lead to produce higher-end, fast, weather-resistant, interchangeable-lens cameras. Of course, no one can yet beat Nikon's submersible AW1, but splash-, cold- and dust-resistant still rank pretty high among nice-to-have features. Fujifilm's next in line with its latest X series entry, the X-T1, a more performance-oriented, weather-sealed redesign of the X-E2 with a beautiful new EVF, and built from die-cast magnesium. It's cold-resistant down to -14 14 degrees, compared to 10 degrees for the Olympus OM-D E-M1 -- well, insert current weather joke here. (Editor's note: the press release said "-14 degrees" but it's actually only 14 above.)
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But the standout feature of the camera is the huge, bright EVF; its 0.77x effective magnification is higher than any 35mm or smaller-sensored camera I can find, optical or electronic. Fujifilm puts the extra area to good use with a new dual display; during manual focus, you can see the full scene plus a magnified detail. It also supports the digital split image and peaking views of the X-E2, and Fujifilm claims a much faster refresh rate than that model as well.
Though the innards are similar to the X-E2, there are some differences. New, lower-noise circuitry has allowed Fujifilm to bump the maximum sensitivity to ISO 51200 up from ISO 25600. In practice that usually means you'll get another stop of usability in the midrange and better results at all settings below that; in this case, it probably means more latitude for using ISO 6400. The X-T1 also incorporates supports for UHS-II SDXC cards for longer continuous-shooting runs (currently, it looks like only Toshiba and Panasonic are shipping UHS-II cards), although I'm curious as to whether it actually requires the newer cards to attain the rated 8fps burst rate. That claimed rate is with continous AF tracking, which makes a nice change. Another indication that Fujifilm's going after the power crowd: it will be offering a new vertical grip that holds a second battery rather than just a better handhold.
The company had previously announced 3 lenses on its 2014 roadmap -- the XF18-135mmF3.5-5.6 R OIS WR, XF16-55mmF2.8 R OIS WR and the XF50-140mmF2.8 R OIS WR -- which it now officially updates to weather-resistant; the 18-135mm lens is slated to ship in May. Keep in mind that the 18-55mm kit lens is not sealed.
| Fujifilm X-E2 | Fujifilm X-T1 | Nikon 1 AW1 | Olympus OM-D E-M1 | Olympus OM-D E-M5 | Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sensor (effective resolution) | 16.3MP X-Trans CMOS II | 16.3MP X-Trans CMOS II | 14.2MP CMOS 12-bit | 16.3MP Live MOS 12 bits | 16.1MP Live MOS 12 bits | 16.1mp Live MOS 12 bits |
| 23.6mm x 15.8mm | 23.6mm x 15.8mm | 13.2mm x 8.8mm | 17.3mm x 13mm | 17.3mm x 13mm | 17.3mm x 13mm | |
| Focal- length multiplier | 1.5x | 1.5x | 2.7x | 2.0x | 2.0x | 2.0x |
| Sensitivity range | ISO 100 (exp)/200 - ISO 6400/25600 (exp) | ISO 100 (exp)/200 - ISO 6400/51200 (exp) | ISO 160 - ISO 6400 | ISO 100 (exp)/200 - ISO 25600 | ISO 200 - ISO 25600 | ISO 180 (exp)/ |
| Burst shooting | 3fps unlimited JPEG/ 8 raw (7fps with fixed AF) | 8fps unlimited 47 JPEG/ n/a raw | 15fps n/a (60fps with fixed focus) | 6.5fps (with IS off) unlimited JPEG/ 60 raw (10fps with fixed focus and exposure, IS off) | 9fps 17 JPEG/ 11 raw | 6fps 29 raw + JPEG |
| Viewfinder | EVF 0.5-inch 2.4 million dots 100% coverage n/a | EVF 0.5-inch 2.4 million dots 100% coverage 1.2x/0.77x | None | OLED EVF n/a-inch 2.36m dots 100% coverage 1.3x - 1.48x/ 0.65x- 0.74x | EVF n/a-inch 1.44m dots 100% coverage 1.15x/0.58x | OLED EVF n/a-inch 1.7 million dots 100% coverage 1.42x/0.71x |
| Autofocus | 49-area contrast AF; phase-detection AF | 49-area contrast AF; phase-detection AF | 73-point phase detection, 135-area Contrast AF | 27-point phase detection, 81-point contrast | 35-area contrast AF | 23-area contrast AF |
| AF sensitivity range | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Shutter speed | 30-1/4,000 sec.; bulb to 60 min; 1/180 x-sync | 30-1/4,000 sec.; bulb to 60 min; 1/180 x-sync | 30 - 1/16,000 sec; bulb; 1/160 x-sync | 60 - 1/8000 sec; bulb to 30 minutes; 1/320 sec x-sync (Super FP to 1/8000) | 60 - 1/4,000 sec.; bulb to 8 minutes; 1/250 sec x-sync (flash-dependent) | 60-1/4,000 sec.; bulb |
| Metering | 256 zones | 256 zones | n/a | 324 area | 324 area | 144 zone |
| Metering range | n/a | n/a | n/a | -2 to 20 EV | 0 to 20 EV | n/a |
| Flash | Yes | Included add-on | Yes | Included add-on | Included add-on | Yes |
| Wireless flash | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Image stabilization | Optical | Optical | Optical | Sensor shift | Sensor shift | Optical |
| Best video | 1080/60p H.264 QuickTime MOV | 1080/60p H.264 QuickTime MOV (14 minutes) | 1080/30p H.264; up to 1200fps slow motion at 320x120 | 1080/30p QuickTime MOV @ 24 Mbps | 1080/60i QuickTime MOV @ 20, 17Mbps | H.264 QuickTime MOV 1080/60p/ 50p @ 50Mbps; 1080/30p/ AVCHD 1080/60p/ 50p @ 28Mbps; 1080/24p @ 24Mbps |
| Audio | Stereo; mic input | Stereo; mic input | Stereo | Stereo; mic input | Stereo; mic input | Stereo; mic input; headphone jack |
| LCD size | 3-inch fixed LCD 1.04 million dots | 3-inch fixed LCD 1.04 million dots | 3-inch fixed 920,000 dots | 3-inch tilting touch-screen 1.04m dots | 3-inch tilting touch-screen OLED 614,000 dots | 3-inch tilting touch-screen OLED 610,000 dots |
| Wireless | Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi | Optional WU-1b ($59.95) | Wi-Fi | None | Wi-Fi |
| Battery life (CIPA rating) | 350 shots | 350 shots | 220 shots (est) | 350 shots | 330 shots | 500 shots (est) |
| Dimensions (inches, WHD) | 5.1 x 2.9 x 1.5 | 5.0 x 3.5 x 1.8 | 4.0 x 2.4 x 1.1 | 5.1 x 3.7 x 2.5 | 4.8 x 3.5 x 1.7 | 5.2 x 3.7 x 3.2 |
| Body operating weight (ounces) | 12.7 | 15.4 (est) | 7.5 (est) | 17.5 (est) | 15.1 | 19.4 (est) |
| Mfr. price | $999.95 (body only) | $1,299.95 (body only) | n/a | $1,399 (body only) | $949.99 (body only) | $1,299.99 (body only) |
| $1,399.95 (with 18-55mm XF lens) | $1,699.95 (with 18-55mm f2.8-4 lens) | $749.95 (with 11-27.5mm lens) | n/a | $1,199.99 (with 12-50mm lens) | n/a | |
| n/a | n/a | $949.95 (with 11-27.5mm and 10mm lenses) | n/a | $1,099.99 (with 14-42mm lens) | n/a | |
| Ship date | November 2013 | February 2014 | October 2013 | October 2013 | April 2012 | September 2012 |
With its larger grip, increased number of physical controls, tilting LCD, and better viewfinder, the camera's design seems much more attractive than previous X-series models. Most of the dials lock; my only concern is the exposure-compensation dial, which doesn't. I foresee lots of accidental exposure changes from fumbling gloved hands in my future. That is, if I'm lucky enough to get to test the camera during this frigid winter.
