Fujifilm X-T1 Malaysia Launch Event

I had the pleasure of attending the most highly anticipated camera Fujifilm has to date right here in Kuala Lumpur today. I've been reading so much about it on my favorite rumor site, it was something I couldn't wait to try!

The event was held in the Pullman Hotel in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur with the theme, "Brave the Elements".

The event kickstarted with Kelvin Ooi, the Marketing Manager for Fujifilm Malaysia explaining all the great new feature of the camera. Although I've heard of almost everything I need to know from the internet, Kelvin mentioned of a feature which I never thought would be useful, but exists in the X-T1: White Balance Bracketing. Never thought about it, but after he explained it, it sounds like a creative feature. Of course, the key highlight was the predictive AF, which allows a person to shoot 2 times more frames than the X-E2 can handle continuously!

Another interesting fact is how Fujifilm managed to make refresh rate of the EVF to be 0.005 seconds, when normal EVFs do about 0.05 seconds. In normal EVFs, a frame is transferred from the CMOS sensor after every pixel is filled. In the X-T1, after each line of pixel on the sensor is completed, it is immediately transferred to the EVF which saves tremendous amount of time. Sounds logical to me.

He briefly showed the lens roadmap, and I almost thought I saw the new super telephoto lens focal length as 700mm! Then I realized it was simply the word "TELEPHOTO ZOOM", not "TELEPHOTO 700MM". I blame the small font.

Kelvin with his speech

After his speech, they invited two photographers to share their X-perience with their X-cameras. Those lucky guys had a chance to play with the X-T1 over Chinese New Year. Wow.

The first chap, Dr. Teh, holds a day job as a pediatrician, but has a passion for travel photography. He owns a X-Pro1 and showed us his photos of many portraits of villagers in remote countries like Cambodia. He Photoshops his work quite extensively and has a high saturated look to his photos. Nonetheless, that is how he envisions and loves his photos to look.

Dr. Teh shares his travel stories

The second chap, Kim Boon, is a professional photographer who loves to do his own artistic style of photography of light painting through moving his camera during exposure. He had some interesting projects such as his 12 photos of the life of the Bakuteh seller in Klang, whereby he had to tell a story using only 12 photos. Took him 5 days to finish shooting, requiring him to countless bowls of bak kut teh I assume. He also mentioned how people allow him to shoot using his X-Pro1 when it would have been impossible if he were to use his DSLR.

Kim Boon and his experiences

I realized the recurring theme in both photographers is how they say that the X-Pro1 is targeting a different segment than the X-T1, as some participants asked them whether they would upgrade their X-Pro1 to the X-T1. The X-Pro, being a rangefinder would be more stealthy and for streetwork where autofocus is not the critical factor, while the X-T1 would be more useful for events and other photography work that requires the prowess of a DSLR.

My X-T1 Experience

After the talk, I headed to the exhibition center and had the opportunity to test not just the X-T1, but many other lenses as well.

X-stuff galore!

Here are my first impressions of the X-T1:

• It's really small, not much bigger than my X-M1.
• The buttons are a bit harder to press, due to the weather sealing requirements.
• The EVF is big indeed and worked well in low light inside the hall. I was not blown away however, but that may be perhaps I don't have much experiences with other EVF cameras (only DSLRs)

Shot with a 60mm f2.4 loaned from the event on my X-M1

Autofocus speed of the 60mm f2.4 is appalling. Sorry, just ranting.

The buttons need to be pressed harder than my X-M1, due to weather sealing

Nice and small on my hands

The large EVF as seen through my 18mm f2.0 lens

Here are some sample photos I managed to take with the X-T1 using the 56mm f1.2 open wide, auto white balance (AWB). All photos taken JPEG unedited. The AWB seems a little different compared to my X-M1 though.

Other Lenses I Managed to Try

There were many lenses on display, but unfortunately, no 10-24mm f4! :'( Nonetheless, I got to test the 56mm 1.2, 23mm f1.4, 60mm f2.4 and the 55-200mm f3.5-4.8 lenses. All photos unedited ahead.

23mm f1.4

This lens is indeed sharp wide open! But from my test shots, it does seem like there is some chromatic aberrations. The autofocus speed however is fantastic on my X-M1 (faster than the 35mm f1.4).

55-200mm f3.5-4.8

I tested this lens quite a lot because I really need a telephoto lens and have been contemplating a lot to buy this lens. What better time to try it out? I was surprised that the lens didn't feel too bulky on my X-M1 too!

All wide open at ISO6400 except the studio light shots which were ISO500, f5.6 and 1/100s.

Kim Boon the second speaker. 86mm, f3.9, 1/80s.

I do believe the guy on the left is a Japanese representative from Fujifilm HQ. 82mm, f3.8, 1/50s.

At 200mm, f4.8, 1/50s. OIS working good.

55mm, f3.5, 1/105s

Really sharp photos even at 200mm, f4.8, 1/30s!

82mm, f3.8, 1/80s

Studio light with trigger were provided for testing as well. 

Even though it's obvious the studio lights make a lot of difference, the 55-200mm lens performed very well in low light. Focusing was actually quite decent on my X-M1. 

Pretty cooperative models.

Summary

It was a great launch event in my opinion, and the catering was actually quite nice! :) Got a huge Fujifilm mug as a door gift as well as a very big brochure (biggest I've ever seen for a camera) of the X-T1 to take home.

As for the X-T1 itself, it's a really great camera, just like all the other Fujifilm X series. But is it for me? After testing it, I think not yet. I really like my X-M1 and will probably invest in more lenses. Now, when will the 50-130mm f2.8 lens be coming out so I can grab those pre-loved 55-200mm!

P.S. Since you are here, might I interest you to visit my other articles on my Fujinon 35mm f1.4, 16-50mm f3.5-5.6, 18mm f2.0 and Samyang 8mm f2.8 reviews. :)