 "Fuji films it right")
— Ode to a Nightingale by John Keats.
Considering the insanely busy schedule that most of us have, we don’t really have the option of savouring each moment and cherishing it. But there are certain events which change the equation of our lives, certain moments which you wish to capture and hold on to. Precisely for this reason, Steven Sasson, an American engineer, must have invented the digital camera.
Now the point remains, if you have to capture a moment, why not do it in style. Fujifilm XT-1 allows you to do exactly that.
Being an amateur photographer, I often keep trying out various cameras to understand the logistics of photography and to figure out the way the device functions. And, right at the beginning I must tell you that Fujifilm has got most of it right with their latest gizmo, XT-1, as it makes you fall for it at the first look.
Let us now dwell into the technical aspects of the device.
Fuji’s latest compact system camera, or CSC, is a slight departure from the other CSCs in the range. It has a rather flatter design than the XE-2 and X-Pro-1. Interestingly, the XT-1 goes all out, DSLR-like, in its appearance. Packed with dials and button all over, the gadget has a total retro look. The electronic viewfinder has shifted to the centre of the camera from its rangefinder-like corner position. The viewfinder is, without a doubt, one of the highlights of the camera, delivering a huge, detailed image with a number of ways of presenting shooting information and focussing aids.
The X-T1 offers you a pronounced hand-grip at the front and a prominent rest at the rear for your thumb. The textured faux-leather surface that runs around the full width of the camera aids your grip further. Two small metal eyelets on either side of the body are used for connecting the supplied shoulder strap. A metal tripod mount is positioned slightly off-centre from the lens and next to the battery compartment, so you'll have to remove the camera from the tripod to change the battery. The memory card is located on the right-hand flank of the camera. The X-T1 is the first camera to offer compatibility with Ultra High Speed UHS-II SDXC memory cards, which have the main benefit of increasing the data writing speed in continuous mode to about twice that of a conventional UHS-1 card. The X-T1 offers a continuous shooting rate of 8fps for 47 JPEGs if you use a UHS-II SDXC card, and is certainly up there with the fastest compact system cameras.
At the heart of the X-T1 is the 16.3 megapixel APS-C sized X-Trans CMOS sensor. APS-C is a sensor size that is generally used by the majority of DSLR cameras rather than by CSCs. The company claims the X-T1’s sensor can deliver image quality that is better than most APS-C DSLRs. Well, the X-T1 actually does live up to most of those claims.
Helping to keep the image quality high is the 18-55mm standard zoom kit lens. It offers maximum apertures of F/2.8 at 18mm and F/4 at 55mm, with the added benefit of built-in optical image stabilisation to keep the images sharp. There are aperture and manual focus rings on the lens barrel, which, in conjunction with the shutter speed and exposure compensation dials on top of the camera body, make it straight-forward to set the exposure.
The 18-55mm lens’s fast maximum apertures, with the large APS-C sensor, make it easy to throw the background out of focus and achieve some scintillating effects. The combination of the fast apertures and the extensive ISO range of 100-51200 makes the X-T1 well suited to low-light shooting, allowing you to hand-hold the camera in places where you would usually be reaching for a tripod or other support. The clever ISO Auto Control setting provides maximum sensitivity (up to 6400) and minimum shutter speed (1/30th is a good starting point), with the camera overriding your ISO choice, if it thinks you are being too ambitious whilst maintaining a shutter speed that won’t introduce a camera shake.
The X-T1 boasts a focal-plane shutter rather than the leaf shutter that the X100/S cameras have, much like a regular DSLR camera, thus leading to slightly noisier operation than on those very quiet cameras, although the shutter on the X-T1 is pretty stealthy by DSLR standards. To make the camera less obtrusive there’s a ‘Silent’ menu option which turns off the speaker, flash, AF-assist lamp and most importantly the shutter-release sound, instantly making the X-T1 perfectly suited to candid photography.
The Fujifilm X-T1 can record Full HD 1080p movies at 60/30fps with stereo sound and a high bitrate (36Mbps), with the option for turning on this mode curiously buried at the bottom of the Drive menu, although at least Fujifilm has finally added a one-touch record button.
In the era of internet, the X-T1 has moved a step further by rendering built-in wi-fi connectivity. With the Camera Remote App, you can transfer your pictures immediately to a smartphone or tablet PC. You can also control the camera remotely through a smartphone. Verdict:
For those who relentlessly go into the nitty-gritty: Wi-Fi connectivity, bright, clear and functional electronic viewfinder, quickest autofocusing speeds for cameras with an APS-C sized, sturdy build and of course the classic retro look. All of these make it an irresistible gift of science.
For common mortals like me: This is a beautiful camera which lets you take even more beautiful pictures.
Price: You will have to shell out Rs 91,999 for the X-T1’s body, and in case you want it with the 18-55mm, it will cost you, Rs 1,19,999. It’s a significant amount, but I can tell you it is worth it and I have already started saving for it.