REVIEW: Fuji X-T1's New Electronic Shutter

A lot has been written about the V3.0 Firmware update for the X-T1 that was made available for free by Fujifilm on the 18th December, so much so I am not going to do a blow by blow report on each change that Fujifilm introduced for the camera that was launched at the start of 2014.  I will say that the update has introduced some interesting additions and some that are actually useful.

The one change that I was very interested in was the electronic shutter that allows shutter speeds up to 1/32000th second, a lot faster than the existing 1/4000th second using the mechanical shutter.  Because I love using the fast prime lenses (35mm f1.4 and 56mm f1.2) I, like many other Fuji photographers either had to step the aperture down in bright conditions (negating the main reason for owning these lenses) or fit an ND filter, which I do have for both these fast lenses.  Allowing the camera to shoot at 1/32000 means that I don't have to do either of these things in the future.

Shot at f1.2 on the 56mm lens using the electronic shutter at 1/32000s on the X-T1 (no ND filter required!)

The menu has three settings - Mechanical, Electronic or Mechanical + Electronic.  

• Mechanical uses the existing shutter but is limited to a fastest speed of 1/4000s and it makes the normal shutter noise.  
• Electronic only uses the electronic shutter for settings from 1s to 1/32000s - ie it disables the mechanical shutter.  The Electronic shutter is totally silent (as long as you deselect the shutter noise in the camera menu!)
• M+E uses both shutters - Mechanical up to 1/4000 and then Electronic up from 1/4000 to 1/32000.

The advantages of the electronic shutter are - 

• the silence when operating the shutter 
• the ability to be able to shoot at faster shutter speeds when using Fujinon fast lenses wide open in bright conditions.

The disadvantages are -

• Flash is disabled when using the electronic shutter
• Because of the way the shutter works you cannot shoot moving subjects with the electronic shutter
• In certain artificial light (fluorescent for example) the images may have 'banding' due to the frequency of the light source and the aperture used - see sample images below.

Black banding can be seen on the right of the picture when using the 56mm 1.2 wide open under fluorescent lighting with the ES

The same shot using ES but with the lens stopped down to f5.6. The black banding has gone

Using the 56mm 1.2 wide open under fluorescent lighting but with the Mechanical Shutter.

Function Button
I have decided to leave my X-T1 set to 'Mechanical' in the menu but I have set the front 'function' button to select the shutter, so I can flip between Mechanical and Electronic Shutter quickly.

The function button on the front of the camera can be set to allow access to the shutter menu at the press of a button

Conclusion
The Electronic Shutter is a welcome addition to the functionality of the X-T1 but it has its drawbacks.  For the way I use the camera the ability to shoot with the fast Fujinon primes in bright light without reaching for the ND filters is a big plus point.  

Also the ability to shoot in quiet places without making a noise is something I have only experienced with the leaf shutter on the X100 or my old Bronica medium format lenses. This is also a useful addition to the X-T1, as long as the frequency of any artificial lighting doesn't cause 'banding' on the final image, but that is something I am now aware of and, if necessary, I can stop the lens down to compensate.

The firmware update also includes additional functionality for the video modes and the addition of Classic Chrome to the film simulation software. These are two areas I will be reviewing in the next few weeks.

CLICK HERE for a full list of the updates for V3.0

ES can be used in bright sunlight to capture landscapes

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