Fuji X-T3 released

[puredrifting]

Did you upgrade to v3.00 firmware, Dan? If so I wonder if this had something to do with it? Not likely, but just a thought...

Yes, just did upgrade to it. Hmm...might be a connection? Did a two hour shoot today though with the Sandisk Extreme Pro V30 cards with no issues though, seems weird that much faster cards are having issues and slower cards are working fine?

 

[puredrifting]

"The way I got around this with the XT-3 and SD MixPre3 was to use Tentacle Sync Es, problem solved."
What is your editing software/workflow?

Tentacle Sync software to sync the files and export an XML. Import the XML into FCP X. Works like a charm.

 

[puredrifting]

On a hardware related note:

Shoot today withe XT-3 on tripod, outdoor with the XF 18-55 f/2.8-4.0 OIS lens with an ND3 filter on it. Lens mostly stopped down to an f/6.3 to 7.1 Noticed when reviewing the footage, the image changes exposure, quite noticeably when zooming. I know it's a variable aperuture lens but stopped down quite a bit past it's maximum aperture at 55mm of f/4.0 and it still changes exposure when zooming. Anyone know why? And yes, shutter, ISO and aperture all set to manual.

 

[jcs]

On a hardware related note:

Shoot today withe XT-3 on tripod, outdoor with the XF 18-55 f/2.8-4.0 OIS lens with an ND3 filter on it. Lens mostly stopped down to an f/6.3 to 7.1 Noticed when reviewing the footage, the image changes exposure, quite noticeably when zooming. I know it's a variable aperuture lens but stopped down quite a bit past it's maximum aperture at 55mm of f/4.0 and it still changes exposure when zooming. Anyone know why? And yes, shutter, ISO and aperture all set to manual.

Don't know lens specifics, intuitively as magnification increases, amount of light available decreases. A focal reducer produces a wider angle of view and provides more light, and a teleconverter provides a narrower angle of view with a resulting loss of light. Constant aperture zooms would then have optical elements to linearize effective final light transmission (perhaps a lot 'faster' on the wide end before linearization correction?). Just thought experiments- haven't designed a lens

Another performance note with PP CC and latest NVIDIA CRD drivers on 6950X + GTX 1080 + 64GB box: 20% CPU, 27% GPU with 23.98 Hz playback of 60p X-T3 H.265 (40%). So 24p footage will be a lot less load. A relatively low cost 9900K + GTX 1070 and up should easily be able to handle this footage. Stacking video to perform diffusion simulation (Gaussian blur + blend- this footage is super detailed! (a good thing)), CPU stays around 20%, GPU goes up to 36%.

 

[marvinhello]

On a hardware related note:

Shoot today withe XT-3 on tripod, outdoor with the XF 18-55 f/2.8-4.0 OIS lens with an ND3 filter on it. Lens mostly stopped down to an f/6.3 to 7.1 Noticed when reviewing the footage, the image changes exposure, quite noticeably when zooming. I know it's a variable aperuture lens but stopped down quite a bit past it's maximum aperture at 55mm of f/4.0 and it still changes exposure when zooming. Anyone know why? And yes, shutter, ISO and aperture all set to manual.

This phenomenon was explained by some Fuji engineers. Basically these XF zoom lenses by design don't maintain perfectly fixed aperture during zoom, the aperture shifts by a small amount to facilitate movement of optical elements.

I was told that for 18-55, if you shoot at 2.8 and zoom in, you won't notice erratic exposure jumping (of course it's 2.8 to 4 but it'll be a very smooth transition), I don't own this lens but you could try.

 

[laverdir]

On a hardware related note:

Shoot today withe XT-3 on tripod, outdoor with the XF 18-55 f/2.8-4.0 OIS lens with an ND3 filter on it. Lens mostly stopped down to an f/6.3 to 7.1 Noticed when reviewing the footage, the image changes exposure, quite noticeably when zooming. I know it's a variable aperuture lens but stopped down quite a bit past it's maximum aperture at 55mm of f/4.0 and it still changes exposure when zooming. Anyone know why? And yes, shutter, ISO and aperture all set to manual.

That behaviour was intentional, for novices not to burn highlights when zooming in .

Kidding aside, I doubt that there is per frame metadata from which you can extract focal length, which would allow TD to write expression to automatically adjust exposure in finishing system. It looks like the reserve in budget will be spent on colourist.

I bet that change in exposure isn't equal for each channel, shot a test chart and check RGB parade.

 

[laverdir]

Also, I think that Canon EF 24-105mm 4.0 L IS II has the same inherited behavior.

Interestingly enough, inexpensive Canon EF 18-55 1:3.5-5.6 II and IS II stopped down to 1/6.3 hold the exposure value with focal length change.

 

[scorsesefan]

Yes, just did upgrade to it. Hmm...might be a connection? Did a two hour shoot today though with the Sandisk Extreme Pro V30 cards with no issues though, seems weird that much faster cards are having issues and slower cards are working fine?

Call Fuji support. I've called them before and they're very friendly and helpful...

 

[Guest]

Call Fuji support. I've called them before and they're very friendly and helpful...

Yes, they are pretty responsive. 1800.659.3854 (follow prompts to pro and then x series), and then ask for Dan H.

Dan H., is their video specialist for their pro cameras.

I’ll be talking to him tomorrow if anyone has any requests or firmware update ideas and whatnot, or other questions. Put it down here and i’ll mention them in the call to give an extra voice to whatever your idea may be.

The official fuji hotline for North America is 1800.800.3854 if the number above doesn’t work.

 

[puredrifting]

This phenomenon was explained by some Fuji engineers. Basically these XF zoom lenses by design don't maintain perfectly fixed aperture during zoom, the aperture shifts by a small amount to facilitate movement of optical elements.

I was told that for 18-55, if you shoot at 2.8 and zoom in, you won't notice erratic exposure jumping (of course it's 2.8 to 4 but it'll be a very smooth transition), I don't own this lens but you could try.

Tried this this morning, pointed it at some sheer curtains, you nailed it. Leaving it at 2.8, the ramp to 4.0 as it zoomed was super smooth and almost unnoticeable whereas when I stopped it down to 4.5 and did the same, it looked terrible and had the ratcheting down of the exposure about five times in the zoom from 18mm to 55mm. Sigh, such a drag. Do all of the XF zooms do this, even the constant aperture ones like XF 50-140 f/2.8 OIS WR or the XF 10-24 f/4.0 OIS? I'm not a big fan of using zooms in sequences but it's nice when shooting documentaries to occasionally reframe as a subject is speaking and with this, that's a no go. I think eventually I will be buying the MXK 18-55mm T/2.9 for handheld documentary shooting but such a drag that the little kit lens does this, other than this, I really like the lens, it's great quality, small and light and the right focal length for an APSC imager. So note to others, if shooting documentary or really any other type programming with the kit lens, it's not a zoom lens, it's a variable prime, shoot with it accordingly, don't roll or think you'll get usable footage during zooming unless you are wide open at f/2.8 to 4.0

 

[puredrifting]

Yes, they are pretty responsive. 1800.659.3854 (follow prompts to pro and then x series), and then ask for Dan H.

Dan H., is their video specialist for their pro cameras.

I’ll be talking to him tomorrow if anyone has any requests or firmware update ideas and whatnot, or other questions. Put it down here and i’ll mention them in the call to give an extra voice to whatever your idea may be.

The official fuji hotline for North America is 1800.800.3854 if the nimber above doesn’t woork.

If you can put in a few firmware requests:
1. The format card control would be much more convenient to have a second copy of it in the video menu instead of having to hop out of the video menu and into the wrench menu, then user, then format. When you are in a hurry shooting weddings, documentaries or events and every second counts, the way it is set up is a big slow down and a drag.
2. Please make a way to view a Fuji LUT on the XT-3 screen internally. You should be able to record F-Log to card and or HDMI as it is now but you shouldnt have to use an external monitor just to see a LUT applied.
3. Not firmware but please give him feedback for Japan to NEVER, EVER again put micro HDMI on a Fujifilm camera, it's absolute crap and is loose and basically defective straight from the factory, I've used mine exactly once and it's aready loose and floppy. Full size HDMI at least or better yet, full sized HDMI and micro SDI for any higher end video oriented cameras like the XT-4, XH-2.
4. Please add Waveform to the exposure options, Histogram is terrible for shooting video, it's not calibrated, marked and way too open to interpretation for judging video exposure

 

[Fahnon]

If you can put in a few firmware requests:
1. The format card control would be much more convenient to have a second copy of it in the video menu instead of having to hop out of the video menu and into the wrench menu, then user, then format. When you are in a hurry shooting weddings, documentaries or events and every second counts, the way it is set up is a big slow down and a drag.
2. Please make a way to view a Fuji LUT on the XT-3 screen internally. You should be able to record F-Log to card and or HDMI as it is now but you shouldnt have to use an external monitor just to see a LUT applied.
3. Not firmware but please give him feedback for Japan to NEVER, EVER again put micro HDMI on a Fujifilm camera, it's absolute crap and is loose and basically defective straight from the factory, I've used mine exactly once and it's aready loose and floppy. Full size HDMI at least or better yet, full sized HDMI and micro SDI for any highe end video oriented cameras like the XT-4, XH-2.
4. Please add Waveform to the exposure options, Histogram is terrible for shooting video, it's not calibrated, marked and way too open to interpretation for judging video exposure

Regarding #2 on your list, I do believe that the Natural Live View setting already does this (wrench>screen setup>page 2>Natural Live View). Someone correct me if I'm wrong about that.

I would love the others on the list, too. Waveform via firmware and micro-SDI on the X-T4.

 

[Fahnon]

I shot with shaprness set to 0, and then the same shot with -4, in HD 10bit. -4 is more flattering. 0 is sharpened, but tastefully sharp. It felt like -4 was reducing some detail. I may go with a -3 for general purpose. -4 for interviews. -1 for detailed scenes. But at the end of the day, i’d be happy running with -4 all the time.


Haven’t messed with 4K yet. Only got to play with it twice.

I did more testing and it's going to be -4 for me by default. If I'm shooting architecture or a cityscape and want maximum sharpness, I'll go back up to -0, but -4 looks like what I imagine is the image without any in-camera sharpening applied, and looks great.

 

[jcs]

Tried this this morning, pointed it at some sheer curtains, you nailed it. Leaving it at 2.8, the ramp to 4.0 as it zoomed was super smooth and almost unnoticeable whereas when I stopped it down to 4.5 and did the same, it looked terrible and had the ratcheting down of the exposure about five times in the zoom from 18mm to 55mm. Sigh, such a drag. Do all of the XF zooms do this, even the constant aperture ones like XF 50-140 f/2.8 OIS WR or the XF 10-24 f/4.0 OIS? I'm not a big fan of using zooms in sequences but it's nice when shooting documentaries to occasionally reframe as a subject is speaking and with this, that's a no go. I think eventually I will be buying the MXK 18-55mm T/2.9 for handheld documentary shooting but such a drag that the little kit lens does this, other than this, I really like the lens, it's great quality, small and light and the right focal length for an APSC imager. So note to others, if shooting documentary or really any other type programming with the kit lens, it's not a zoom lens, it's a variable prime, shoot with it accordingly, don't roll or think you'll get usable footage during zooming unless you are wide open at f/2.8 to 4.0

Looks like another form of: good, fast, cheap, pick two. Canon + adaptor = too big, non-usable AF? The only market option now for a ~6K => 4K image with usable AF is the A7x series; limited by 8-bit, low bitrate, high RS, and much larger lenses (though Sony's lenses are amazing for video- silent, no zoom/aperture issues, at a higher price). The Viltrox focal reducer appears to work fine for stills (giving a ~FF FOV), might be usable to manual focus or possibly 'boosted MF' (briefly use AF to set focus, then leave it):

 

[marvinhello]

I did more testing and it's going to be -4 for me by default. If I'm shooting architecture or a cityscape and want maximum sharpness, I'll go back up to -0, but -4 looks like what I imagine is the image without any in-camera sharpening applied, and looks great.

Best to leave at -4 all times and sharpen in post. Fuji's sharpening radius is a bit large, use something like this: https://digitalanarchy.com/Samurai-Sharpen-Video/main.html for a lot more precise control over what and how much to sharpen.

 

[puredrifting]

Regarding #2 on your list, I do believe that the Natural Live View setting already does this (wrench>screen setup>page 2>Natural Live View). Someone correct me if I'm wrong about that.

I would love the others on the list, too. Waveform via firmware and micro-SDI on the X-T4.

Wow, all of the complaints and inquiries I and othera have posted about this and you are the only one who knew this, thanks for the tip. I guess a question is, is that REC709 we are seeing in Natural Live View? Also, I was under the impression that for video shooting, everything we needed save for formatting cards, was located in the video menu?

 

[puredrifting]

Wow, all of the complaints and inquiries I and othera have posted about this and you are the only one who knew this, thanks for the tip. I guess a question is, is that REC709 we are seeing in Natural Live View? Also, I was under the impression that for video shooting, everything we needed save for formatting cards, was located in the video menu?

I spoke too soon. Just did a shoot using the Natural Live View Settings you suggested Fahnon and as the name would lead you to believe, it only displays the REC 709 look in standby, once you hit record, the display switches over to F-Log. Not very useful other than as a brief preview but for shooting moving subjects or when the camera is moving, not very useful. My request to Fuji is to keep this function, repeat it in the video menu and allow the user to decide if they want to view F-Log or Natural View during recording.

 

[Guest]

@puredrifting, those are good! I’ll hopefully have good news tomorrow.

 

[laverdir]

Yes, they are pretty responsive. 1800.659.3854 (follow prompts to pro and then x series), and then ask for Dan H.

Dan H., is their video specialist for their pro cameras.

I’ll be talking to him tomorrow if anyone has any requests or firmware update ideas and whatnot, or other questions. Put it down here and i’ll mention them in the call to give an extra voice to whatever your idea may be.

The official fuji hotline for North America is 1800.800.3854 if the number above doesn’t work.

Could you ask if sun to be released FUJINON XF 16-80 1:4 R OIS WR would exhibit the same behavior as 16-55 when stopped down to lower aperture - darker when zooming?

Protrusion is quite inconvenient for certain type of shooting.

 

[puredrifting]

I'm just guessing but I bet it will. Unless they've done some revisions to their optical design and engineering criteria when they designed it.
I only know for sure that the XF 18-55mm 2.8-4.0 OIS and the XF 10-24mm f/4.0 OIS WR exhibit this behavior.
I can't get any responses from any owners of the XF 16-55mm f/2.8 WR or the XF 50-140mm f/2.8 OIS WR to find out of their lenses exhibit the same behavior.

Hope not, that 16-80mm would be a sweet video lens. My money is on it does do the exposure compensation. But maybe we'll all be surprised?