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Fujfiilm X-T4
The Fujifilm X-T4 hit the market a few months ago, but overall passed a bit unnoticed, as, you know, the world was busy handling with other issues in the last few months.
But the X-T series is and remains the one camera line, that gives Fujifilm the biggest financial success, and as a consequence the camera line most X shooters own.
So, today we dedicate a roundup to the Fujifilm X-T4, a camera that is giving great satisfaction to owners (me included).
In today’s roundup, we have:
X-T4 feedback we received from FR-reader Tom
comparisons with Sony A7III and Panasonic S1H
a review from a Sony user perspective
a review of X-T4 for wildlife photography
and much more
Some of the videos come with handy FujiRumors-made summary ;).
Of course each of these 4 motors has its Pros and Cons, you can read about it here.
Today we want to focus only the DC coreless AF motors, which are the best option if you have to move fast and big glass elements without making the lens too big. Some lenses that employ the DC coreless AF motor are the glorious Fujinon XF56mm f/1.2 and the XF23mmF1.4. Of course it’s used also in not so fast lenses, such as one of my favorites mounted on my X-E3, the lovely XF27mmF2.8.
NOTE: FYI: 35/1.4 has a stepping motor
Why do we talk about it today?
Well, we recently shared a Fujinon XF video autofocus review by Philip Bloom, where he showed that the XF56mm F1.2 performs very bad.
What Fujifilm did not tell us, but luckily X guru Rico Pfirstinger told us, is that Fujifilm X-T4 firmware 1.02 also improved autofocus performance with lenses sporting a DC coreless AF motor.
It would be great if Philip Bloom could repeat his test with the XF56mmF1.2. He should notice a significant improvement.
Speaking of Rico…
Rico is offering online workshops (in German). They are usually sold out quickly, with long waiting lists on top of it. But it happens that there are a few last spots left for 2 of them.
Keep in mind, the workshops are in German language.
Fellow Italian X shooter Mario (who is a professional videomaker, formely shooting Canon, then leaving Canon because he fell in love with the Fujifilm X-H1) has shared a video, where he compares the IBIS on the Fujfiilm X-T4 with firmware 1.01 vs. firmware 1.02.
Now, if you don’t understand Italian, you probably want to see the video samples, and get a summary of what he says…. well, I did it all for you down below. :)
Also, fellow German speaking X shooter Pascal shares his feedback about firmware 1.02. Luckily I am also German native speaking, but in this case, Pascal makes the video in English. I’ll include it down below.
He also says “I can’t say any issues that come from the IBIS anymore”.
UPDATE: I have just been contacted by FR-readers, and I have been told that the latest firmware 1.02 for Fujifilm X-T4 improved autofocus during video with older lenses. Philip’s video was recorded before that. Would be fantastic if Philip could repeat the test to verify that.
Philip Bloom wonders, can you trust the Fujifilm X-T4 autofocus for video?
In my opinion, Philip did a great job, and this video is very helpful to figure out which lenses are best for video autofocus tracking and especially which settings are best for which lens.
Before the usual video summary, for those of you, who have no time to watch it right now, I’d like to highlight a few things from the video:
inconsistency: Some lenses work very well and reliably (such as the XF16-55mmF2.8), other were a complete nightmare (for example XF56mmF1.2)
settings nightmare (AF speed + Tracking sensitivity): some settings work great on a certain lens, but use the same settings on another lens, and you get totally different results. You must hence fine tune the settings differently for each lens
older lenses: older lenses are clearly not designed for video autofocus. Newer lenses work better
pulsing & jumping: that’s an issue that occurs with many XF lenses. On some lenses you can mitigate it a lot by changing settings
Confusing Settings: with AF-Speed, the higher you set the number, the faster the AF speed (logical). With tracking sensitivity, the higher the number, the slower it is (not logical).
Eye AF: can lose eye easily, especially if you wear glasses
Internal vs External recording: Record externally, and you have terrible results. Better record internally for best video autofocus
Overall: X-T4 is a fantastic camera (in fact his favorite camera close after the GFX100) and has all the power it needs for great video AF, but it’s the lenses that are holding it back for video AF.
I feel like lots of this is something that Fujifilm could improve via firmware update, even with older lenses, and I am confident Fujifilm will.
I personally used the XF18-55mm a lot for my teaching-vlogging, and it worked well on my X-T4. And in fact the 18-55 is one of the lenses that performed best in Philip’s tests.
Down below you’ll find the summary and the video, so you can see which lens worked best and which settings he recommends.
Philip Bloom did well to highlight all this, and of course here on FujiRumors we report about it, as I believe this is valuable feedback for Fujifilm.
However, we confirm that there will be at least two more firmware updates: one for Fujifilm X-T4 and another one for Fujifilm GFX100. Both should happen within late June.
Will this be all?
Well, I write about Fujifilm cameras on FR since almost a decade now, and the past experience has shown, that Fujifilm likes to organize some massive “download firmware parties” that include several cameras.
To be clear: I do not have specific information so far, but I would not be surprised, if Fujifilm would update even more cameras.
What I am sure, though, is…
… that the very same second new firmware will be released, you will read about it on FujiRumors, no matter when it happens. Let’s say my sixth sense will let know when things are going to happen ;).
So, if…
… if you belong to that group of people, who’d like to get the information instantly and accurately, then I strongly recommend you to stay tuned on FujiRumors.
We recently reported about the first third party alternatives to the original NP-W235 batteries for Fujifilm X-T4.
Now more options are joining, among them arguably the most used and loved Fujifilm third party battery in North America, Blue Nook Wasabi, with the Wasabi NP-W235:
The price on the Wasabi NP-W235 is great, especially if you buy two of them along with the charger. It will cost you the same as buying one single original Fujifilm battery. It all comes with a 3 year manufacturer warranty.
I have used my X-T4 during my mini trip in Tuscany. Battery life was rock-solid, and since I own two original NP-W235 Fujifilm batteries already, I do not really see any need to add a third one in my bag.
It’s done, I made it. An unreal school year is over.
It was A LOT of work for me, to teach online, but I took it also as an opportunity to explore new creative ways of teaching.
And surely it came to my help, that I can use Final Cut Pro X, I have several tripods and cameras etc, as this allowed me to have the tools and skills to translate into video my creative ideas.
But in a part of Italy, where a German minority lives (video of my province). This is why I speak both languages, Italian and German, fluently.
Also, I am a primary school teacher, so I teach German to kids that belong to the Italian language group. Hence German is their second language.
And since my “customers” are kids, I’ve tried to always throw something fun into my lessons, just to put some lightness into a situation that was very hard for them.
For example, in one video, I triplicated myself and made up a fun conversation between three Patrick’s during Grammar lesson, as you can see from the screenshot here.
That’s something I could have never done in the classroom, and only the online teaching allowed me to do.
I started by filming everything with my X-E3, but once I got the X-T4, I switched to it as my main camera, and it has surely served me better than my X-E3, because:
the selfie screen was useful and practical
ETERNA was glorious
longer recording times
better video quality
more creative tools (like super-slow motion)
IBIS for when my wife had to film me handheld for stable footage
solid battery life
So, my first impact with the X-T4 was pure love! Everything I needed, it did it better than my X-E3.
But life is not only video…
X-T4 for my Passion
Last weekend I drove down to Tuscany with my wife (it’s a 4 hours drive only from my home), as a little reward for a frankly extremely busy time.
On that trip, I used the Fujifilm X-T4 only for photography.
Here is what I liked, and what not.
Loves
overall performance… it’s a beast
shutter sound is so buttery smooth
battery life: it just kept running, and running, and running… awesome!
I have my ISO dial back
oh… a D-Pad, how nice is that
Hates
no more one handed operation (on my X-E3 every button and dial is on the right side of the camera and can easily be operated with the right hand only)
bigger and heavier (although with some lenses this is actually better)
for reviewing images on LCD, I always have to flip screen out. On the other hand this helps to review images less, like with the hidden X-Pro3 LCD
And the Selfie Screen?
Well, the selfie screen deserves a special chapter.
I found some unexpected love for it, as well as one hate.
Loves
keep it tilt inwards protects the screen
keep it tilt inwards makes the camera look so wonderful vintage
keep it tilt inwards and you’ll review images way less, like on X-Pro3
keep it tilt inwards and you won’t accidentally activate the touch screen, which happens to me now and then on the X-E3 (I keep the touch LCD always deactivated on my X-E3, but it activates if I accidentally touch the upper right part of the screen)
for my video lessons, I just loved it
unlike the X-T100 screen, the X-T4 can tilt also in portrait mode
Hates
I use the Peak Design Leash camera strap, and when I tilted out the screen, sometimes the strap covered the screen, so I had to move the strap behind the screen. Hence, not only it takes a bit more time to tilt out the screen (as opposed to only flip it out on X-T3), but then also fiddle around with the strap. This was probably the most annoying aspect of the selfie screen. So much so, that I think I am considering to get Peak Design Cuff camera wrist strap and solve the “problem”
Conclusion?
Well, if it wasn’t for the selfie videos I had to do, I’d still consider the X-T3 and X-H1 screen design superior for my needs. But on the other hand the selfie screen has some advantages, that you can’t get with X-T3 screen, especially if you use mostly the EVF and want to keep the LCD tilted inwards.
Hence, I am happy with the X-T4 screen.
Images Anyone?
So, how was my Tuscany mini-trip?
Awesome!
And although we had only one day of good weather, and the other two were rainy and misty, I had lots of fun to be simply out and photograph again.
I shared one image on my Instagram page already, where I tested Classic Negative.
Classic Negative is great. Sometimes it doesn’t work at all, but when it works, it’s just awesome. In street photography it will surely shine, but also in landscape photography, as you can see below, it can give lovely results.
Now I have to get some paperwork done for the end of the school, and after that, I might share more images of my trip on Instagram… and bring you with me on my summer holidays, where so far I have planed nothing actually, except to climb my beloved Dolomites.
take care and have fun with your photography,
Patrick
