Overview of the Fujifilm X100T Camera

As I mentioned in an earlier article, I was a Nikon body shooter all my life until I bought a Fujifilm X100S. I learned photography from my father. I started my camera collection with hand-me-downs from him including a Nikon F.

Fujifilm X100

One day, Tony Werner showed me his new Fujifilm X100. It had a prime lens, a large sensor, and a classic 60’s rangefinder style. The X100 became renown both for its Leica M-series looks and the quality of images produced by the 35mm equivalent f/2 lens. The initial firmware versions were slow, buggy, and quirky. To Fuji’s credit (and unlike many other camera makers), it continued to update the firmware: fixing the bugs, speeding up key functions, and adding new features.

Fujifilm X100S

I first bought into the Fujifilm camera line with the X100S.

The X100S introduced a sensor, a 16.3MP X-Trans CMOS sensor with on-chip phase detection for faster autofocus. It also included a new processor, the ‘EXR Processor II’. This improved image quality and compensated for diffraction and peripheral aberrations. The novel X-Trans sensor had a color filter array designed to avoid color moiré and thereby eliminated the need for an optical low-pass filter. As a result, the X-Trans image quality was reported to be better than Bayer-array cameras with a comparable pixel count, closer to 24MP image quality.

Other improvements to the X100S included:

• a hybrid optical/electronic viewfinder with a 2.35m pixel display; and
• an improved manual focus system with a more responsive focus ring, focus peaking and split-imaging.

Fujifilm X100T Refinements

When the Fuji X100T was introduced, I upgraded to it even though the refinements were less significant than the X100 to X100S update.

The X100T has the same processor, sensor, and sharp lens as its predecessor, the X100S. The biggest change was to the viewfinder, which now has a dual-mode that can superimpose EVF information while using the optical viewfinder. Parallax is automatically corrected in real-time. Additionally, the rear LCD was upgraded from the X100S’ 460k 2.8in LCD to a 3in 1.04m dot display.

Other enhancements included:

• Autofocus was improved over the X100S, including a new face detection mode.
• A new electronic shutter is available for silent shooting as fast as 1/32,000 of a second. (The real advantage of the leaf shutter is that you can combine it with the ND filter and fill flash for wide-open photography even in bright sunlight).
• The camera’s aperture ring can now be controlled in 1/3 f-stops.
• WiFi is included though I found it too cumbersome to use regularly. But, it may become more useful to me now that the new MacBooks lack SD card slots.
• In addition to existing film simulations like Velvia, Provia and Astia, a new Classic Chrome mode replicates Kodachrome when outputting to JPEG (though this isn’t used for RAW images)

Overall, I compare owning a Fuji X100T when I already own a full Nikon gear bag to buying a BMW Z4 roadster when you already have a BMW 4-series sedan. Both appeal to niche audiences. Both are fun, stylish, lighter and more spontaneous. Both experiences are more emotional. There’s a quality to the images captured by the X100T that have a ‘documentary photographer’ feel. That elusive quality is likely the combination of its wonderful bokeh, image detail, impressive low light image capture, and great skin tones, particularly for portraits.

My Camera Bag

I bought the following gear originally for my X100S, all of which work perfectly with the X100T:

• MegaGear “Ever Ready” protective black leather camera case
• Leica strap: made in Germany and more rugged than Fuji’s strap (it also made it easy to recover my X100T when I twice left it on airplanes)
• Hoya 49mm HD2 UV (Ultra Violet) 8-layer Multi-Coated Glass Filter
• LH-JX100 Silver Metal Lens Hood Adapter Ring (primary for the adapter)
• AST Red Big Soft Release Shutter Button
• 3 extra NP-95 batteries. I just buy off brand versions

Sample Images

Resources

The Fujifilm X100T firmware update v1.11 is here.

Tips

• As a photographer, it takes time to adjust to shooting 35mm from 50mm focal length.
• Always, always carry extra batteries. The X100T, like its predecessors, devours batteries.
• Stick some scotch tape above the strap bracket so you don’t scuff the X100T.
• Although Fuji’s JPEG rendering is highly acclaimed, I always shoot photos in RAW. I prefer to enhance images in post-production.
• Given the maximum aperture settings, the X100T doesn’t produce sharp macro images.
• Similarly, the field of view is too wide for anything that’s distant like wildlife or sports.
• Don’t bother using this camera for video. It has soft image quality, terrible moiré, and false color.
  • I now use iPhone 7 Plus in 4K mode. The iPhone 7 Plus has better image quality, is higher resolution, and is certainly more convenient.

Room for Improvement

While autofocus is much improved over the X100S, it is still slow. This isn’t a camera that I can give my wife and expect her to take in-focus images of our two year old. I am more practiced but still occasionally struggle with maintaining focus. For action shots, we use either our Nikon DSLR or iPhone 7.

Fujifilm’s reputation for constant improvement (‘kaizen’) may have included the original X100 and the XT-1 but it never extended to the X100T. Notably, the XT-1, which uses the same processor and sensor, has received 5 major functional updates. These including a number of improvements to autofocus, continuous tracking, auto macro, and eye detection. The lack of equivalent firmware updates for the X100T will be a major factor in deciding whether to upgrade to an X100T successor.

Updated on April 28th, 2017