Yosemite.
Every time I hear, read, glimpse, view, see, feel, or breathe the essence of the word "Yosemite," I come alive.
I guess I should say that I am fortunate to be living within a
relatively short driving distance away from this magical place. So naturally, when the X-T1 came knocking at
my door [well, actually it was dropped off by the guy in brown at a local UPS
store] my first thought to test out this bad boy was a weekend at Yosemite.
So off the three of us went: the X-T1 with its new mate, the SanDisk
Extreme Pro UHS-II SD, and I. It was a
honeymoon of sorts...but not one second during the whole trip did I feel like I was a third wheel. In fact, it was the opposite...I felt quite at home with the two. ;)
There is already quite a bit written about the technical awesomeness
of this new Fujifilm arrival, and frankly, by more technically qualified
reviewers than me. In this post, I will share some of my deeper "first
impressions" of the X-T1 more from a user perspective. So it is more of a
behavioral review rather than that of the specs.
And more of a personal narrative than anything.
The Journey.
The forecast told me that it was going to snow last weekend. So I prepared accordingly, but
the X-T1 remained "naked." After
all, the engineering gods mentioned that this was their first venture into the
freeze-proof, water-proof, shock-proof mirrorless world. And I thought that it was appropriate to take
the X-T1 as is...I, on the other hand, prepared for several layers of
clothing. Consciously, however, I did
realize that my X-T1 would be a bit vulnerable as Fuji has yet to release their
similarly x-proof lenses ("x" being the elements). Nonetheless, I
decided to bring the usual "prime" suspects: the 35mm, 23mm, 14mm, and the "kit"
18-55mm, into the cold, dark, snowy and wet enchantment that is Yosemite National Park.
I managed to capture the aftermath of the short but crazy storm on the way up. The X-T1 performed beautifully in the dark
and focus was fast and crisp, even in the midst of a difficult operation - shooting with one hand while managing a sliding 4-wheel-drive Toyota FJ that I was riding.
The.Way.There.
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| Taken with: Fujifilm X-T1 | Fujinon 23mm 1.4R |
The Morning After.
The snow storm left - it seems - as fast as it had
arrived and was primarily hitting the upper mountain regions. By the time I checked in to the cabin at the
Yosemite Lodge down in the valley, the snow had become rain as temperatures
were several degrees warmer above freezing.
But the rain persists and would continue to do so throughout the night
into the next morning.
I did manage to capture this image of the “cabin” room
close to midnight using the 18-55mm "kit" lens, which performed beautifully even in the rain. Again, in low light
conditions the X-T1’s focusing performance was flawless, especially when the focus points was placed in one of the 16 phase-detect sensors.
The. Cabin.
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| Taken with: Fujifilm X-T1 | Fujinon 18-55mm "Kit" Lens |
The Hike Around
The Valley.
The mountain breeze must have awaken me, because though
tired that I was from the long drive, I ended up being wide awake slightly
before 6 a.m. I thought to myself that I
might as well get up and start walking around the valley floor. I may even get a glimpse of sunrise, but
alas, it was wet and gray outside.
Instead of doing a major hike, I ended up going to the meadows and found
myself in awe of the wondrous early morning fog of Yosemite. It was quite and serene.
One.With.The.Fog.
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| Taken with: Fujifilm X-T1 | Fujinon 14mm 2.8R |
By mid-morning, the Sun has finally broken through the
clouds. The freshly fallen snow started
to melt and make its way to join the rain.
Yosemite Falls was flowing at full speed – a somewhat less than usual
event that would happen in February. So
I decided to head out there with the X-T1 and do a quick hike to the Lower
Yosemite Falls before lunch time. It was
during this hike that I began to really observe the ergonomics of the
X-T1. It was somewhat different with my
X-Pro1 or X-E1 because the X-T1 now has a dedicated ISO button.
This is both a blessing and a curse…well,
maybe not so much of a curse – but it’s certainly different than what I was
previously used to. Previously
on the “rangefinder-styled” X-cousins I would simply use my right index finger
to press the Fn button next to the camera trigger and use my thumb to change
the value when I finally accessed the ISO menu.
I can usually do this while I still my eyes pressed against the
viewfinder – composing the shot. With
the X-T1, however, I have to pull my eyes from the camera and utilize both
hands to change the ISO: the left hand
to hold the camera, and the right hand and it’s thumb and middle finger to turn
the ISO know, while the index finger presses on the lock button to release
it. Not a big deal. But definitely something for me to get used
to and by the end of the trip, frankly, I was.
Here’s an image of the Lower Yosemite Falls.
Where.Heaven.Meets.Earth.
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| Taken with: Fujifilm X-T1 | Fujinon 23mm 1.4R |
Flows.Of.Life.
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| Taken with: Fujifilm X-T1 | Fujinon 23mm 1.4R |
Divine.Reflections.Upon.Mirror.Lake.
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| Taken with: Fujifilm X-T1 | Fujinon 14mm 2.8R |
I also experienced what others already called out in the blogosphere. The "arrow buttons" on the back of the X-T1 seemed less tactile than that of my X-Pro1 or X-E1. It took a bit getting used to, especially when one wears gloves. I suppose Fuji wanted these buttons to be less prone to accidental trigger and may have listened to other photographers that wanted it so. It wasn't a deal breaker, though, and by the end of the hike I was already getting used to being a bit more conscious when pressing the buttons.
During this hike across the Yosemite Valley, I found that the X-T1 to be
too “short” for my medium sized hands.
Let me explain. Both my X-Pro1
and X-E1 are fitted with Gariz’ leather case.
These cases have a sturdy metal bottom that adds about ¼ of an inch to
the bottom of it. As such, when shooting
with them, both my “pinky” and ring fingers would have a comfortable place to
rest on. With the X-T1 shorter height,
however, both of these fingers didn’t have a place to rest upon.
So, one thing is clear for me…I need to get a
grip. ;)
The vertical grip, that is. Hence the title of this blog post. ;)
Until next time, here's one last shot taken later in the afternoon when Lady Sun was kind enough to shine her light upon the valley. Happy Shooting!
The.Cathedral.Of.God.
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| Taken with: Fujifilm X-T1 | Fujinon 23mm 1.4R |
UPDATE I:
I will update on a subsequent post on a couple other features that I like on the X-T1 and also how the continuous shooting on the X-T1 performed...especially with the SanDisk UHS-II card.
UPDATE II: I got the vertical grip preordered from Amazon. Looks like they started shipping last week, so I should be getting mine shortly. :)
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