Fuji X-T3 and X-T4 discussion

[TomTheDP]

2 hours ago, ThomH said:

Hi - can I ask what monitor you’re using!? I can’t find one that isn’t the ninja v that says it will work with the x-t3 or x-t4 while shooting at 1080p 120. Nightmare!

Just an Andycine 5.7 inch A6 

[EphraimP]

On 12/10/2020 at 8:54 AM, Jay60p said:

Here is a diagram I worked out for the X-T3:

This is what I found inside my Vello remote for X-T3.

I attached external wiring to 2 & 3 for remotely firing off frames when digitizing my Arri II 35mm timelapse footage, a frame at a time run by a geared down motor. The X-T3 results are excellent. My major project at the moment.

 

Have you thought about making a video on how you did this? Palle Schultze made video about drilling and milling a wooden side handle to fit a button, but didn't get into the wiring at all. That was a bummer for someone like me who is pretty clueless about wiring but owns a soldering iron and is willing to learn.  

[josdr]

14 hours ago, EphraimP said:

Have you thought about making a video on how you did this? Palle Schultze made video about drilling and milling a wooden side handle to fit a button, but didn't get into the wiring at all. That was a bummer for someone like me who is pretty clueless about wiring but owns a soldering iron and is willing to learn.  

It is a standard switch with three prongs where you need to solder three wires. No point in a video really if you get a switch, a suitable tip and some wire. I have done one without having a diagram, just by trial and error. I suggest that your soldering will give you more trouble , so here are a couple of tips. Apply solder  to both sides of a connection before applying them together. Warm up the joint before applying solder. You will probably get "cold" joints in your first tries but you will get there.

[Jay60p]

18 hours ago, josdr said:

It is a standard switch with three prongs where you need to solder three wires.

Yes, but I only needed two wires to B & C.

I wired up the remote to use my Arri IIB for digitizing it’s own 35mm shots.
For anyone interested, It is a very low-tech DIY setup:

The Vello remote has a switch you can push forward, locking it it in the “full press”
Mode. But I isolated C contact with tape so the X-T3 did not take a shot, leaving the camera
In the “half press” ready mode.

 

I soldered short wires to B and C and attached them to two small screws I set in the case.
I could then attach an external connection running to the contact switch at the
Arri camera.

 

The camera’s inching knob rotates once for each frame of film going thru the gate.
I added an extra offset cam, so the knob hits the contact switch, and the X-T3 takes one shot at each frame.

 

The tricky part was cutting out a square window in the back of camera’s pressure plate (aluminum part) to
shine diffused light through the film from inside the camera. The X-T3 had a 50mm enlarger lens on extension tubes.

I did not know if this was all going to work, I could not find anything like this on youtube.
But It is working well and I am replacing my previous film lab SD scans with 4K transfers.

Coincidentally I watched “Chronos” (1985) last week, and there was a “making of” short. They
had needed to make a 35mm work print for editing from the 70mm IMAX negative.

You guessed it. They shot their own work print by running the 70mm neg through the IMAX camera with a light
Inside and a 35mm camera focused through the IMAX lens opening!

 

[BTM_Pix]

On 1/25/2021 at 8:03 PM, EphraimP said:

That was a bummer for someone like me who is pretty clueless about wiring but owns a soldering iron and is willing to learn.  

My "precision" soldering skills would be more suited to welding pipes but there are kits like this available if you want to get some practice.

So you gain experience of soldering different types of components to boards but as its building towards a finished item you also learn about the circuit.

They are available on Amazon but have a ridiculous margin added to them but if you go to aliexpress then you can buy them for a couple of euros and often less depending on what type of one you get.

Just put "soldering practice" in the search bar at aliexpress to see the different ones on offer.

 

 

[EphraimP]

7 hours ago, BTM_Pix said:

My "precision" soldering skills would be more suited to welding pipes but there are kits like this available if you want to get some practice.

 

 

That's interesting. My issues isn't with soldering itself so much, though I'm sure I could get much better at it. It's with electronics in general. To whit, I can't read a wiring diagram anymore than I could Dostoevsky in Russian. And I'm a very visual learner when it comes to things like that. So watching a video that shows where to solder each wire to the appropriate lead or whatever is much easier for me to get than a diagram and set of instructions. It's all about the Monkey see, Monkey do.

[Jay60p]

OK , here is how I soldered this thing. However this has occured to me:

WARNING: I always have the camera in “half press” activated mode (contacts 1 and 2 closed) before firing shots with another external remote switch (closing contacts 2 and 3).

The camera, and Vello remote, were not designed to close 2 & 3 without simultaneously closing 1 & 2.  For all I know, closing just 2 and 3 alone could damage the camera electronics.

I'm calling the top metal contact 1, the middle is 2, the bottom is 3.

My Soldering:

 

 

[BrunoCH]

Thank you Jay60p for your contributions. I would also like to try to tinker  a shutter release for my XT4 but I would just like to use the Vello remote cable and a momentary button like in the following video at 11mm50. But I have three cables on a side and two slots on the button on the other. And I don't know how to do ?

 

[Jay60p]

That looks like a single pole, single throw, momentary closed switch.

Possibly what he did, in that video, was connect the 1 & 2 contact wires in the

Vello harness to one switch terminal on the push button, and the contact 3 wire to the second switch terminal.

Using the push button in this way would be the equivalent to holding the camera's button down half way

during switching it on, then full press for recording (and back to half press), full press for stop recording (and

back to half press), then turning off the camera (while holding half press). In other words, the camera will

always be in half press mode. I tried this and it works on my X-T3, you should try it on X-T4.

I would investigate this further online, maybe talk to Fuji support.

 

[Jay60p]

The trouble with that wiring is you need intermittant use of half press for AF-S focusing. It also stops focus check (hi magnification) from working in manual focus mode. And probably interferes with a bunch of other things, like no playback!

It may be that he just directly connected 2 and 3 contacts to the switch , but I won't try that unless it's been shown to be safe by a reliable source online.

 

[BrunoCH]

Thanks Jay60p for the answer, but I think the diagram is more like the one I corrected. Just thinking about how the stereo audio is connected. I think I'll try to connect only 1 and 3 on the momentary button and I won't use 2. Just to trigger the rec. but I'll continue to do some internet research first.  

[Jay60p]

Yes, I like that. I hope it works safely that way, that makes things a lot easier.

 

[BrunoCH]

You can read this, on this page

https://www.doc-diy.net/photo/remote_pinout/

Fuji (Fujifilm)

Fuji has currently three types of wired shutter release connectors.

2.5mm Jack Plug

Some of the Fujis have the standard 2.5mm jack socket to connect the microphone. This socket also serves as a shutter release socket. The wiring is compatible with Canon and Pentax (see above) and cheap remotes designed for these brands can be used. 

So the fuji remote control works like the RS60-E3 cannon remote control.

And you can read this on this page

http://www.camerahacker.com/RS60-E3_pin-out/pin-out.php

When the button on the remote control is pushed half way, contact section 1 and 2 are shorted together, causing the camera to focus. When the button on the remote control is pushed all the way, all three contact sections are shorted together, causing the camera shutter to be released. Pin 1 is actually the ground connector. Therefore, it's pin 1 and pin 3 that causes the camera to trigger.

1 - ground

2 - focus

3 - shutter

When you build your own camera interface, you can split the auto-focus and shutter release function by using two switches or use two independent circuits.

 

Now I think I have everything I need. I will try to build my trigger button this weekend. I will use wire 1 and 3 on the momentary button and hide and protect wire 2. 

[dgbarar]

Hi All:

I recently updated the firmware in my X-T3 to version 4.00.   Since making this update I have had issues with the camera in video mode.  Camera becomes un-responsive, LCD froze, and was unable to turn off camera--had to remove the battery.

Anyone else experience this on their X-T3 with an upgrade to firmware version 4.00.

Don Barar

[jpleong]

3 hours ago, dgbarar said:

Hi All:

I recently updated the firmware in my X-T3 to version 4.00.   Since making this update I have had issues with the camera in video mode.  Camera becomes un-responsive, LCD froze, and was unable to turn off camera--had to remove the battery.

Anyone else experience this on their X-T3 with an upgrade to firmware version 4.00.

Don Barar

I have not experienced this.
I recently shot some documentary A cam footage with it and the XF 50mm f/2, manual focus, internal and external recording simultaneously.

JP

[josdr]

On 2/25/2021 at 8:00 PM, dgbarar said:

Hi All:

I recently updated the firmware in my X-T3 to version 4.00.   Since making this update I have had issues with the camera in video mode.  Camera becomes un-responsive, LCD froze, and was unable to turn off camera--had to remove the battery.

Anyone else experience this on their X-T3 with an upgrade to firmware version 4.00.

Don Barar

Nope, I have shot countless hours with mine. Try reinstalling the firmware if it will let you, otherwise just reset all settings from the menu, that should fix it

 

[DanielVranic]

Hello everyone. Recently decided to take the XT3 off the shelf and kit it out for run and gun filmmaking. Few questions on rigging, and I need a second or third opinion.

1. Rigging. I currently have a P4K entirely caged out with V-mount battery, monitor , and shotgun mic (NTG5). I really like that setup, but wouldn't mind if it was much smaller. I have the battery grip for the XT3 but it makes it quite tall, and you also can't charge the internal battery with it, so I need to take 2x chargers everywhere I go just for the body. The Anker has about 5 batteries worth of charge on it, so I would love to use that. 

2. I am 33/33/33 tripod, gimbal and handheld. I have OIS lenses for handheld, and a Ronin RSC2 on the way, so I think we are good there. It mostly relates to ^^. I want to kit out this camera to make it truly usable for mobile filmmaking, but adding large cages and power supplies seem like the opposite direction.

[josdr]

On 3/7/2021 at 4:02 PM, DanielVranic said:

Hello everyone. Recently decided to take the XT3 off the shelf and kit it out for run and gun filmmaking. Few questions on rigging, and I need a second or third opinion.

1. Rigging. I currently have a P4K entirely caged out with V-mount battery, monitor , and shotgun mic (NTG5). I really like that setup, but wouldn't mind if it was much smaller. I have the battery grip for the XT3 but it makes it quite tall, and you also can't charge the internal battery with it, so I need to take 2x chargers everywhere I go just for the body. The Anker has about 5 batteries worth of charge on it, so I would love to use that. 

You need an adapter like this

https://manioscinetools.gr/product/blind-spot-gear-power-junkie-adapter-για-fuji-np-w126s/

 

This is for Sony batteries but I am sure you could fashion something that would go in between allow you to draw power from a v battery. I have certainly seen people making up such stuff.

[EphraimP]

On 3/7/2021 at 6:02 AM, DanielVranic said:

Hello everyone. Recently decided to take the XT3 off the shelf and kit it out for run and gun filmmaking. Few questions on rigging, and I need a second or third opinion.

1. Rigging. I currently have a P4K entirely caged out with V-mount battery, monitor , and shotgun mic (NTG5). I really like that setup, but wouldn't mind if it was much smaller. I have the battery grip for the XT3 but it makes it quite tall, and you also can't charge the internal battery with it, so I need to take 2x chargers everywhere I go just for the body. The Anker has about 5 batteries worth of charge on it, so I would love to use that. 

2. I am 33/33/33 tripod, gimbal and handheld. I have OIS lenses for handheld, and a Ronin RSC2 on the way, so I think we are good there. It mostly relates to ^^. I want to kit out this camera to make it truly usable for mobile filmmaking, but adding large cages and power supplies seem like the opposite direction.

I have my X-T3 rigged out this way, with pre-amp so I can use XLR mics and multiple mics at once. Here are some crappy quick pics.  

 

You don't need to cobble together a dummy battery, Blind Spot and several other manufactures already make one.  I can't remember which one I have for this rig, a GyroVu I think. It's worked fine for more than a year. This is a heavy rig, but for hand held shots I like that the extra weight tames micro jitters and compensates for not having IBIS in the body. I also like being able to power the monitor and follow focus with one battery. 

This rig also goes shoulder mount very quickly. I have a pad that slips onto the Manfrotto tripod plate under the pre-amp. And I can move the wooden grip down with a SmallRig extension arm. To make it balance better on the shoulder, I should probably get longer rails for the battery and move it back a few more inches. A counter weight would also help. 

For a simpler solution, because you are using a monitor, you can always get Power Extra NP-F batteries with USB and DC power ports. I use this setup for my T4, which admittedly I'm using more these days for run and gun b-roll and walk and talk interviews. You can mount the monitor on the top handle, on an arm on the right side, or you can use a magic arm as a side handle if you bend it right. The only issue I see for using a T3 is that it doesn't have IBIS, so the lighter setup is going to give you more micro-jitters from hand holding.

[DanielVranic]

18 hours ago, EphraimP said:

I have my X-T3 rigged out this way, with pre-amp so I can use XLR mics and multiple mics at once. Here are some crappy quick pics.  

 

You don't need to cobble together a dummy battery, Blind Spot and several other manufactures already make one.  I can't remember which one I have for this rig, a GyroVu I think. It's worked fine for more than a year. This is a heavy rig, but for hand held shots I like that the extra weight tames micro jitters and compensates for not having IBIS in the body. I also like being able to power the monitor and follow focus with one battery. 

This rig also goes shoulder mount very quickly. I have a pad that slips onto the Manfrotto tripod plate under the pre-amp. And I can move the wooden grip down with a SmallRig extension arm. To make it balance better on the shoulder, I should probably get longer rails for the battery and move it back a few more inches. A counter weight would also help. 

For a simpler solution, because you are using a monitor, you can always get Power Extra NP-F batteries with USB and DC power ports. I use this setup for my T4, which admittedly I'm using more these days for run and gun b-roll and walk and talk interviews. You can mount the monitor on the top handle, on an arm on the right side, or you can use a magic arm as a side handle if you bend it right. The only issue I see for using a T3 is that it doesn't have IBIS, so the lighter setup is going to give you more micro-jitters from hand holding.

Extremely helpful thank you!

What preamp is that? It is nice and small.