Aperture Group: System Camera Reviews (9) Fuji X-T1 (Phil)

I began my Fuji acquaintance with the fixed-lens X100 and was so impressed with the jpegs that I bought an X-Pro1 with a couple of prime lenses on offer. The X-T1 followed with its superior EVF and tilting rear screen, but I still prefer the Pro1 for handling, though it's hardly compact or even light. The lighter T1 comes with a dinky little flash unit that operates from the camera's own battery, and I have a Metz C20 flash for use with the Pro1.

Most of the kit has been acquired second-hand, and the Fuji lenses can absorb a lot of punishment - I dropped the 55 - 200mm zoom on its mount end onto a pavement, and it showed no damage or malfunction. The prime lenses are very sharp and have real aperture rings, where the variable f-stop zooms require you to check the aperture on the rear screen (the fixed aperture zooms, which are expensive, have a marked ring). I have used two Samyang lenses with the Fujis - the 8mm f/2.8 fisheye and the current 12mm f/2 (=18mm). They are very compact with excellent sharpness and contrast, and are cheap compared to the Fuji equivalents (there is no Fuji fisheye yet) but do not give you any metadata and have to be fired with the 'no lens attached' box ticked in the menu. They have to be used in manual or aperture-priority mode.

This is no drawback, but I have one grumble about the T1: when you choose 2 or 10 second self-timer in the menu, it lasts only as long as you use it. If the camera goes to sleep, you have to reselect and set it again. Certainly it never catches you out like Canon, when you come to shoot an instant pic and find that the self-timer is set, so perhaps I shouldn't grumble. The Pro1 takes a threaded remote shutter release, avoiding all the self-timer hassle, whereas the T1 does not. The filter sizes are different for all the lenses.

To sum up, not the smallest CSCs in the world but no bigger than the Olympus OM-1 of old. Big sensor with enlargement pixel for pixel as good as the Canon 5D Mk. 3. Not the best for action photography yet, but can be used for sport and nature (see Miles Whitworth's images). Autofocus is slow, though perfectly suited to a more measured style of photography.