Need help with slow shutter speed setting: I have a new Fujifilm xt1. I am trying to take night sky photos but cannot get the shutter speed slower than 1 second. The dial to set the...

Maelin

I have a new Fujifilm xt1. I am trying to take night sky photos but cannot get the shutter speed slower than 1 second. The dial to set the shutter speed when it's on T doesn't work, and even bulb mode doesn't work. I have faithfully followed the directions in the manual.

Suggestions?

Or is my camera just broken? Everthing else seems to work fine.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Maelin wrote:

I have a new Fujifilm xt1. I am trying to take night sky photos but cannot get the shutter speed slower than 1 second. The dial to set the shutter speed when it's on T doesn't work, and even bulb mode doesn't work. I have faithfully followed the directions in the manual.

Suggestions?

Or is my camera just broken? Everthing else seems to work fine.

I have had cameras that did not let me set a slower shutter speed without unlocking the dial by pushing a button or lever.

EDIT: On page 47 of an online manual, it says to press the dial lock release button - in the center of the dial.

http://www.fujifilm.com/support/digital_cameras/manuals/pdf/index/x/fujifilm_xt1_manual_en.pdf

Maelin

Thanks, but this camera is supposed to let me do this. I think it must be defective, which is a pity.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Maelin wrote:

Thanks, but this camera is supposed to let me do this. I think it must be defective, which is a pity.

I don't suppose it's under warranty.

Rick Riggins is a member here, and he does camera repair. Many of us have used his services.

http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/user_profile.jsp?usernum=6852
http://www.discountcamerarepair.com/

Maelin

Thank you. I did purchase an extended warranty. Does Rick do warranty work?

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Maelin wrote:

Thank you. I did purchase an extended warranty. Does Rick do warranty work?

You can ask. What company covers the warranty?

Maelin

Will ned to look it up when I'm home. I'm on holiday at the moment, which makes it a double bummer that my camera isn't doing what it should in terms of long exposure times.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Maelin wrote:

Will ned to look it up when I'm home. I'm on holiday at the moment, which makes it a double bummer that my camera isn't doing what it should in terms of long exposure times.

On holiday with a broken camera. You have my sympathies. :cry:

Clemens Loc: Maryland

Check if your camera is on full manual and not program/SP or AP. I don't have this camera but it is my best guess.

Maelin wrote:

I have a new Fujifilm xt1. I am trying to take night sky photos but cannot get the shutter speed slower than 1 second. The dial to set the shutter speed when it's on T doesn't work, and even bulb mode doesn't work. I have faithfully followed the directions in the manual.

Suggestions?

Or is my camera just broken? Everthing else seems to work fine.

pithydoug Loc: Catskill Mountains, NY

Clemens wrote:

Check if your camera is on full manual and not program/SP or AP. I don't have this camera but it is my best guess.

Agree, sounds like you have not set the camera to manual mode. Check you user guide or look online.

Manual Exposure (M)
Exposure can be altered from the value suggested by the camera by
setting both shutter speed and aperture to values other than
A
(if
A
is
currently selected for shutter speed, press the dial lock release while ro-
tating the shutter speed dial).
M
will appear in the display

mudfog Loc: Ontario Canada

Maelin wrote:

I have a new Fujifilm xt1. I am trying to take night sky photos but cannot get the shutter speed slower than 1 second. The dial to set the shutter speed when it's on T doesn't work, and even bulb mode doesn't work. I have faithfully followed the directions in the manual.

Suggestions?

Or is my camera just broken? Everthing else seems to work fine.

Time exposure is described on page 64 of the manual.

This is how it is suppose to work

Time (T) Rotate the shutter speed dial to T then ROTATE the front command dial to choose between 30s and 2s. Press the shutter button and a count-down will be displayed while the exposure is in process.

Bulb (B) Rotate the shutter speed dial to B Press the shutter button all the way down. The shutter will remain open for up to 60 minutes while the shutter button is pressed and the display shows the elapsed time since the exposure started.

The gotcha here (in B mode) is if the aperture is in (A) it fixes the shutter speed at 30s therefore you have to pick a manual aperture (eg F8) if you wish to go beyond the 30s. This caught me the first time I tried this function.

If that doesn't work then you do have a defective camera

Good Luck

Kuzano

Found this on a blog... nothing more....

"The Bad

The Buttons - by far, my biggest complaint about the X-T1 are the buttons, especially those on the 4-way directional pad. They are too recessed and don't provide enough feedback to know when they've been pressed. I understand that changes were probably necessary to accommodate weather sealing, but these are the buttons many people use the most. I now find the task of changing my AF point to be a more difficult and slower process. While this isn't a deal breaker for me because my subjects tend to be stationary, it may be for those that need to change their focus point quickly.

The Threaded Shutter Button - or lack there of, most likely another trade off to accommodate weather sealing. This won't matter to some, but for anyone that wants exposure times exceeding 30 seconds, a $50 remote from Fuji is now required (at least until something cheaper comes along)."

Maelin

Thank you, but I did indeed have the camera in manual mode.

mudfog Loc: Ontario Canada

Kuzano wrote:

Found this on a blog... nothing more.... br br &q... (show quote)

You can use a cheap 3rd party remote shutter release designed for a Canon that has a 2.5mm plug which is what I use also if you have a smartphone there is a free app for android and IOS. I have also used this as it gives a preview on your iPhone or iPad and allows several other adjustments as well as uploads to your device or worse case just hold down the shutter button as you will be on a tripod anyways

Maelin

Thanks. Incidentally, there is a free app you can download on your smart phone that will operate the camera remotely. Unfortunately, it won't work to get my shutter speed down below one sec either.