On its Facebook page, Fuji UK today said the free upgrade delivers zone mode and wide/tracking modes for ‘effortless and accurate capture of moving subjects’; plus improved phase detection autofocus designed to make the camera work much better in low light and low contrast situations. Read more HERE
Press release
Fujifilm Corporation has announced that it will release a free firmware update for both the Fujifilm X-T1 and Fujifilm X-T1 Graphite Silver Edition in late June 2015. The firmware introduces a new AF system with upgraded autofocus performance as well as an array of other improvements that reflect feedback from users.
This update follows on from a previous major functionality improvement for the X-T1 introduced on December 18th, 2014 and shows that Fujifilm continues to listen to customer feedback to boost the performance of X-Series cameras, ensuring many years of continued use.
The AF System complements the fast and accurate 49-single-point autofocus system with new Zone and Wide/Tracking modes, which use 77 autofocus points across a wider area to substantially improve the camera’s ability to capture moving subjects.
･The Zone mode allows users to choose a 3×3, 5×3 or 5×5 zone from the 77-point AF area. When combined with the AF-C continuous focusing mode, the camera continues tracking a subject at the centre of the selected zone. The 3×3 and 5×3 zones at the centre, in particular, offer extra-fast focusing with the use of the built-in phase detection pixels.
･In the Wide/Tracking mode, the camera displays the area in focus, identified automatically out of the 77-point AF area (Wide in the AF-S mode) and tracks the focus area’s subject across the entire 77-point AF area (Tracking in the AF-C mode). This makes it possible to maintain focus on a subject that moves vertically, horizontally, and back and forth.
Improvement of AF accuracy
Single-point AF divides the focus area into smaller sections to more accurately determine the distance to the subject for even greater focusing accuracy. The built-in phase detection pixels have the detection range of 0.5EV, an improvement from the previous 2.5EV, delivering phase detection AF performance that enables fast focusing in low-light conditions and on low-contrast subjects.
Eye Detection AF
The firmware update provides Fujifilm’s Eye Detection AF, which automatically detects and focuses on human eyes. The function allows you to easily focus on the eyes even in difficult conditions, e.g. when shooting a portrait wide open to obtain a beautiful bokeh background.
Auto Macro mode
The firmware update introduces the Auto Macro function, which automatically switches the camera into the Macro mode while maintaining the conventional AF speed. You no longer have to press the Macro button to initiate a close-up shot. This update eliminates the Macro function assigned to the Macro Button, allowing you to assign a different function to the button.
AF improvement in the Movie mode
The optimised algorithm delivers a more natural and smooth AF action during movie recording.
Other improvements
Improved Shutter Speed Dial operation
When the Shutter Speed Dial is set to T and the Shutter Type to Mechanical + Electronic, you can use the command dial to set a full range of exposure times from 30-1/32,000sec. Previously, this was limited to 30-2 seconds. This means you can change the shutter speeds across a broader range without having to change camera position. This is particularly useful when shooting in the portrait orientation with the Vertical Battery Grip VG-XT1 attached.
Exposure Compensation control in Manual
You can use the Exposure Compensation dial to make exposure adjustments while shooting in the Manual exposure mode with the ISO Auto setting.
Finer lines on the framing grid enhances visibility
The lines on the framing grid, which you can choose to display in the Screen Set-Up menu, have been made finer making it easier to view the subject.
Name of Silent mode changed to avoid confusion
The Silent Mode has been renamed to “SOUND & FLASH OFF”.
Firmware ver. 3.00 (released in December 2014) brought substantial improvements to the following functions:
(1) High-speed electronic shutter with a maximum speed of 1/32,000sec
(2) Option to mute the shutter sound
(3) Classic Chrome Film Simulation mode for more creativity
(4) Natural Live View function – just like the naked eye
(5) EVF / LCD Color Control
(6) AF+MF function for seamless manual focusing
(7) Direct selection of AF area
(8) Interchangeable AE-L / AF-L buttons
(9) Ability to change the size of the Focus frame in Manual Focus
(10) Direct selection of Macro mode
(11) Customisable Q. Menu
(12) New video frame rates (50P / 25P / 24P)
(13) Manual shooting in Video mode
(14) Phase detection AF support for Instant AF
(15) Interlocking of metering and focus areas
(16) Shutter speed range expanded in Program Shift mode from 1/4sec to a maximum of 4 seconds
(17) Additional settings in Function (Fn) options
(18) Instax Printer print
(19) Software lock function added to avoid accidental button pressing
(20) Custom white balance options expanded from one to three
(21) Greater choice of EVF / LCD display options when shooting in the Manual exposure mode
(22) Support for PC-tethered shooting with HS-V5 software
(23) Ability to change Face Detection functionality in Focus-Frame Selection AF
(24) When pressing AE-L button, exposure is reflected in live view
(25) When AF is locked by pressing AF-L button, the AF lock is maintained during zooming
(26) Icon added to show RAW shooting is not available when an expanded sensitivity range is selected in RAW shooting
[ Firmware update ] www.fujifilm.com/x-t1/ver4/ This firmware is exclusive to the FUJIFILM X-T1 and X-T1 Graphite Silver Edition. Firmware is software that controls the camera body.
-ENDS-
