Fuji X-T1 Digital Camera?

[davedownsouth]

Hi All,

I am thinking about getting this camera, primarily for taking none-astro photos, but I might well use it for the odd widefield shot of the Milky Way / constellations.  Are there any reason why this camera would not be suitable for taking the odd widefield shot; and I have no intention of ever attaching it to my scope,

Cheers,

Dave:

NB.  This is what I will be getting:-

http://www.wexphotographic.com/buy-fuji-x-t1-digital-camera-with-18-55mm-lens/p1548155

[Space Hopper]

Hi Dave

I have an older XE-1, with the 18-55, 55-200 (not used yet) and 35mm prime.

The sensor on these cameras is highly regarded in the photo industry, and the lenses are up there too.

I'm not really much of an imager, but do a bit of prime focus stuff from time to time. I'm happy with my results, though i've yet to try imaging with my Astrotrac yet.

The XT-1 has rave reviews and is very highly rated : read this  http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/fujifilm-x-t1

I'd love to upgrade to the XT-1 ; i'm just waiting for the price to come down a bit first 

[Shiggy]

Hi Dave,

I had an XT1 (bought it when it was released). I was disappointed I couldn't tether it but the quality and noise control was decent. There are some great lenses available if you don't mind the fact that they are almost as big as full frame lenses. I had a 56 1.2, 23 1.4, 28, 18-55 and 70-200.

There is a knob on the left that you will bump constantly that switches shooting mode from single to multiple to bracketing, stitching etc. It is in an easy to bump place and a big design flaw. There is also the mushi greens aspect of all the xtrans sensors most noticable in vegetation.

Still I loved all the dials (except the aforementioned).

I sold it all a couple of months ago and bought a Sony A7S which is amazing. I am actually using it almost exclusively with leica m mount lenses which are almost as small as m4/3. The A7S is the same size body as XT1 but full frame with a gorgeous super sensitive sensor that blows anything on the planet away at the moment for low noise. I can shoot at 12500 as if normal. It goes up to 400,000 ISO but I would use beyond 50,000-100,000. To compare 3,000 = 100 ISO on a standard dslr in terms of noise.

For the night sky I love manual focus lenses with distance numbers. Just set infinity and go. Oh and yellow focus peaking is awesome for starry skies! 

You can get the sony AF lenses (FE mount) which are the same size as the Fuji X line but full frame. But to me the A7S has such a small body that it begs to be used with Leica M mount.

[davedownsouth]

I have had the XT1 for the best part of a month now and I am loving it. Mainly been used for normal family photos / photos at gigs, but have stuck it on to the ZEQ25 and taken a few shots of the Milky Way / Cassiopeia, which I like

[Coco]

I have had the XT1 for the best part of a month now and I am loving it. Mainly been used for normal family photos / photos at gigs, but have stuck it on to the ZEQ25 and taken a few shots of the Milky Way / Cassiopeia, which I like . Also got to stick it on an Astrotrac last Saturday & liked it so much, I put an order in for one today. Hope to get it in a couple of weeks, can't wait . It has been a bit of a steep learning curve to workout what all the buttons / dials do, but I am beginning to learn my way round it now. NB, very good service from WEX photographic, they were very helpful.

How are you getting on with that X-T1 Dave, am thinking of buying one

[davedownsouth]

Hi Coco,

I like it a lot, but I am no expert on cameras so I would take my opinion with a big pinch of salt.  It is very light, easy to use and once you have got the extra bits of kit (remote timer etc), works really well.  I have mainly used it with the Astrotrac for wide field shots, but intend on trying it with the scope attached soon,

Cheers,

Dave

[buzz]

There are few bad cameras these days. Lots of folks get up tight on this spec or the other. It never ends. Over the last 30 years I have owned too many; you name it, I probably had it at one time, in all formats. You quickly learn that the body is only a part of the story. Leica, Mamiya and Schneider Glass (with the occassional CZ too) had more lasting impact.  The X-T1 does a lot of things very well. Their lenses are very good indeed.  The ergonomics appeal to those of us who remember what it was to make our own exposure and focus decisions. It has to have one of the best viewfinders around at the moment, (very very important to be able see the image to compose the shot) and the standard colours are fantastic. Those who shot transparencies on Leica will know what I mean.

The images do not need sharpening or tweaking. Who wants to Photoshop hundreds of images? The recent firmware 4.0 release just made it better still.

Things do get more technical for astrophotography. I did some testing of my Fuji against an EOS 1100D.  Without modification, the Fuji was picking up Ha and SII very well and the noise level was very low indeed. I estimated the SII sensitivity was the same as the Canon's  Ha sensitivity. There is tethering software now, and WiFi remote control but it has some way to go before it is integrated into a live-view over USB into the mainstream acquisition packages. You can also get a battery converter - that helps with long exposures (I found one on fleabay), that I rigged up, via a DC voltage converter to my 12V battery. I even found an adaptor and my Contax G Carl Zeiss lenses, which works very well with the 45 / 90 mm.

I have read about the green mush but never seen it in practice. Mush or Moire - take your pick.  Sharpness is overrated. Tonality creates mood.

[Coco]

Bought the X-T10 because I was running out of time before going to the states, glad I did, it’s a wonderful little camera, with the 27mm pancake it fits my front pockets perfectly. The jpg’s are great fun. Not sure if it can be tethered to the PC, would be nice to have a go on my VX6. any ideas?

[buzz]

Coco The X T1 can be tethered with the HS V5 software (about £80) through USB but the software does not mention it being compatible with the X10.  I'm just about to use mine for a holiday with an Astrotrac.  I'm going to use tethering software for framing and focus (using a focus mask) and then revert back to a simple Chinese intervalometer for the exposures. (The tethering software only goes up to 30" exposures.)

[buzz]

Just an interesting development. Fuji announced a X T1 camera without filtering. It does UV through to IR. If they could improve their tethering software a little....I think I might write to their head office...

[buzz]

Managed to use the X-T1 to successfully record the supermoon eclipse.  I used their tethering software to download a sequence of images of a bright star through a focus mask and then controlled it for the lunar exposures.Now the 'wow' part. I was able to read the RAW files directly into PixInsight. It worked out the complex Bayer pattern and correctly generated the image. How cool is that!  It took Adobe the best part of a year to convert the RAW files from the Fuji sensor...

[dyfiastro]

I have been using the XT1 for a little over 12 months now after downsizing from from a 5D Mark III and a shed load of L Lenses.

I can tell you now that it is a lot lighter and a very capable camera.

For anything such as Landscapes, Portraits, Still Life and Product photography its simply fantastic. To be honest unless you are shooting with very fast glass or printing large you will be hard pushed to tell the difference between an XT1 image and an image from something like a 5D Mark II (which I have also owned).
The Noise I would say is better than most APS-C cameras (a LOT better than my 7D was) and about the same as some of the older full frame models.
The EVF is fantastic, being able to see your exposure and final image as you shoot can be a massive bonus (you do have an option to turn this off if shooting with strobes). 


Now I am no fan boy and it does have its draw backs.

The biggest drawback is its AF.
Since the latest firmware it has gotten a LOT better but compared to a DSLR it is still not there yet.
If you intend shooting a lot of fast moving sports or wildlife then it may not be the camera for you. A mate of mine who also has one did however comment the other day regarding how well it coped with his kids rugby match so it does go to show how much the new firmware has improved the camera.

The standard 18-55 kit lens is fantastic for what it is and I would say that unless you really pixel peep it was as good as my Canon 24-105L
As I shoot a lot of Landscapes the 10-24 sits on my camera most of the time. This lens is fantastic, better than my 17-40 L was.
The 55-200 Is a great lens, I have not had a chance to really test this one out so much yet.

If you are looking to do some wide field astro shots then the camera does very well (again for an APS-C camera).
There are two lenses that I would suggest, either the Samyang 10mm f/2.8 or the Samyang 12mm f/2.
Both of these lenses are simply fantastic and offer a lot for the money. They are both completely manual but cheap as chips with very little to no coma.

One little tip I can give you is that the cable release and indeed the cheap timer release cables from the Canon xxxD series of cameras (with the mini jack) work just fine with the fuji XT1 (the headphone socket doubles up as a cable release socket) and a lot cheaper than fujis own.

To give you an idea of what the XT1 can do here are a few shots.

Landscapes:

DSCF6103 by Mark Illsley, on Flickr

DSCF3796-Edit by Mark Illsley, on Flickr

Astro:

DSCF5981-Edit by Mark Illsley, on Flickr

DSCF5898 by Mark Illsley, on Flickr

I actually intend to use the XT1 as my main camera when I get my scope and mount setup, I have heard good things from a few people so it will be interesting.

If you need any more information please feel free to ask.

Regards

Mark

[wxsatuser]

Managed to use the X-T1 to successfully record the supermoon eclipse.  I used their tethering software to download a sequence of images of a bright star through a focus mask and then controlled it for the lunar exposures.Now the 'wow' part. I was able to read the RAW files directly into PixInsight. It worked out the complex Bayer pattern and correctly generated the image. How cool is that!  It took Adobe the best part of a year to convert the RAW files from the Fuji sensor...

Pixinsight itself does'nt actually workout the RAW files.

If you watch closely when you load a RAW file it envokes Dave Coffin's dcraw.

dcraw has a huge list of cameras it can draw from, see Dave's webpage.

https://www.cybercom.net/~dcoffin/dcraw/

BTW a lot of other programs use it as well, Deep Sky Stacker being one.

[buzz]

The Fuji now also has an electronic shutter - which reduces vibration. I'm using the HS-V5 tethering software. I get it to take a batch of images of a GoldFocus mask and  get GoldFocus to autofocus by reading the files as they come into a PC folder. I then switch to camera control and use one of those eBay programmable intervalometers using the standard 2.5mm jack to take long exposures.

I also bought the battery grip, that allows for an external supply - but made my own DC-DC module, converting 12V down to the battery voltage. It simply plugs into the end of my PMX Losmandy plate.

I'm trying to find a contact in Fuji to whom I can request that the tethering software has a long-exposure intervalometer added.

[dyfiastro]

The Fuji now also has an electronic shutter - which reduces vibration. I'm using the HS-V5 tethering software. I get it to take a batch of images of a GoldFocus mask and  get GoldFocus to autofocus by reading the files as they come into a PC folder. I then switch to camera control and use one of those eBay programmable intervalometers using the standard 2.5mm jack to take long exposures.

I also bought the battery grip, that allows for an external supply - but made my own DC-DC module, converting 12V down to the battery voltage. It simply plugs into the end of my PMX Losmandy plate.

I'm trying to find a contact in Fuji to whom I can request that the tethering software has a long-exposure intervalometer added.

I have not come across GoldFocus before so I will be looking into that, thank you.

I dont mean to hijack a thread but How are you finding the XT1 for astro?

The feature that you are requesting has been requested time and time again by people.

Numerous people including myself have spoken to various people at fuji regarding this ever since the XT1 was released but does not seem to high on their list of things to do.

There is the same problem with their remote app that can be used on android and IOS devices. 

theo georghiades the senior business manager is the main person that seems to be the guy to get in contact with here in the UK.

[buzz]

digitalcyanide -  For the second book I'm going to do go both upmarket and downmarket - I'm writing a few chapters on portable gear and intend to compare the XT1 and the Eos 60Da too in the context of using with something like an astrotrac or similar. I have to find the links to the noise evaluation process so I can not only compare images, red sensitivity but also dynamic range and noise. Thanks for the Fuji link, worth giving it a try.

[buzz]

I sent an email, guessing his email address and, to my amazement, got a reply. He is in Japan and will mention it to the developers. We shall see...

regards

Chris

[The Admiral]

I've used the X-T1 for a while now for conventional photography. One of the reasons I chose it was the lack of noise in time exposures compared to micro-FT. I've now started dabbling with it for basic astrophotography.

The Fuji now also has an electronic shutter

It has, which is a great plus point, although I wished it extended to 30 seconds, like the mechanical shutter, rather than just the 1 second maximum exposure. The X-T1 also has a built-in intervalometer, which is useful, and works with both the mechanical shutter and electronic shutter.

I tried stacking the RAWs in DSS (latest version, 3.3.2), but the software was having none of it. Like Pixinsight it too uses DCRAW for decoding, despite Dave Coffin's site claiming that the X-T1 is suported. I ended up having to convert the RAWs to tiffs before I could stack.

Ian

[happy-kat]

Did you try dss 3.3.4 version?

[The Admiral]

Ah, no I didn't happy-kat. I didn't spot that on the DSS website, will give it a try. Thanks for the heads-up.

Ian

[The Admiral]

Just tried it and although it appears now to create an image from the RAW properly, no stars are visible and even with a threshold of 4% DSS doesn't find any. Originally, I converted the RAWs to tiffs in Capture 1 using a linear response curve, and stars are definitely visible. Anyone else tried Fuji RAWs with DSS? I'm very new to the programme, so I might be doing something silly!

[buzz]

I just stacked a dozen files in Pixinsight and it worked just fine. I noticed it invoked DCRAW.  I'm ordering the Canon tomorrow and I will give them both a good head to head.

[dyfiastro]

Just tried it and although it appears now to create an image from the RAW properly, no stars are visible and even with a threshold of 4% DSS doesn't find any. Originally, I converted the RAWs to tiffs in Capture 1 using a linear response curve, and stars are definitely visible. Anyone else tried Fuji RAWs with DSS? I'm very new to the programme, so I might be doing something silly!

Have to you tried converting the RAF files into Adobe DNG files as this may be a better solution to using TIFF's.

I do not have any deep sky images but do have a fair amount of wide field milky way shots so I may have a look and see if it can pickup stars using the latest version.

I have not tried using DSS yet as I used a combination of Lightroom and PH for all my work, DSS does work as I would hate to have to convert or use TIFFs.

[dyfiastro]

Just a quick update to say that I have just download the latest version and could not get RAF files to load either. However, I can confirm that converting from RAF to DNG does work.

[The Admiral]

Just a quick update to say that I have just download the latest version and could not get RAF files to load either. However, I can confirm that converting from RAF to DNG does work.

I've not tried the DNG conversion route, I'll give it a try and see what happens.

With what I originally took to be the latest version, v3.3.2, the RAFs wouldn't convert properly, in that I'd get a strange rotated rectangle. Using the "Latest DSLR support" version, v3.3.4, the RAFs do load OK and I am presented with what looks like a properly converted image, i.e. a black rectangle. But on closer inspection, the rectangle is wholly black, and no stars are visible. This was not the case with the RAFs converted to tiffs. May be the conversion brightened the image in some way, although I was using a linear response curve which is known to give flat, dark images. I'll see what happens if I use DNGs. It's a shame to have to convert the files first though.

PS. I like your Milky Way shots. To be able to get those sort of captures is one of the reasons I went for the Fuji. All I need now is a dark site!