This entry was posted on February 21, 2014.
The Fujifilm XT-1 has just arrived and it is absolutely lovely. The weight of the camera feels perfect as does the body; it's beautifully built feeling solid and like it's a four figure camera.
The control layout is excellent and can be customised to exactly how you would like with the up/down/left/right control functions being chosen from a range of options. A great touch is the function button on the front of the camera which I set to Depth of Field Preview. The depth of field preview toggles on and off exactly like the Contax RTS rather than making you hold the button in which I find a nice touch personally. In fact, it even looks like a Contax RTS!
Image quality is stunning as is expected from Fujifilm. The X-Trans sensor performs wonderfully giving fantastic colours and ISO performance that makes most full-frame bodies blush.
The viewfinder. Oh, that viewfinder. It is wonderful! I wondered if any EVF would ever be as good as an optical viewfinder but we're there. It's just as good as the viewfinder in the XE-2 and X100s, but is far larger. It was as clear and pleasant to use as any full-frame viewfinder I've used. The refresh rate gave almost no 'lag' when panning rapidly and I'd be more than happy to use it for motorsport.
A small thing that isn't really mentioned is the EV lock that is present on the X-T1 (and also the X-Pro 1, and XE-2). When using the camera in Aperture Priority or Shutter Priority the AE-L button works as an EV lock allowing you to change the aperture or shutter speed and keep the correct exposure (just like using a Hasselblad 500).
A good guide for how desirable a camera is is the number of calculators available in the shop when the equipment is delivered as the staff do their sums to find the shortest route to buying one. When we opened the box the shop looked like an exam hall for A Level Maths...
An absolutely stunning piece of equipment.
This is a review by James in our Chelmsford branch - and let me tell you he's a technical guru and for him to give such a glowing report is a very rare thing.