Fujifilm X100F : Remote Control FirstLook/FirstUse
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The Fujifilm X100F camera is the newest addition to the RainyDayPhotography gear collection.
We have been using it for all of our assignments in order to understand both its capabilities and its limitations. After ten months, we now have a fairly good grasp of how the camera behaves, under many conditions.
One of the more unique capabilities of this amazing point-and-shoot camera is the ability to “talk” to the camera via WiFi.
This article is a summary of our experiences with this feature of the Fujifilm X100F, including a few tips as well.
Fujifilm X100F Wireless Remote Control
Like all the other cameras in the X100 series, the X100F can be remotely triggered using a traditional release cable attached to the shutter-release button.
Unlike our Nikon DSLRs, though, there aren’t any 3rd-party wireless remote control gadgets for X100F. However, because the X100F has built-in WiFi, it can be remotely and wirelessly triggered via Fujfilm’s app!
X100F WiFi Remote Control: FirstLook
The X100F camera has built-in Wi-Fi, which means we could “talk” to it via smartphone.
The setup is not complicated, but it is a little finicky: it works when done in a specific sequence, but not when there is a deviation. What follows is the sequence which works for us…YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary).
To connect the Camera to the smartphone:
- On the X100F camera, select Wireless Communications;
- On the smartphone, select the X100F camera as the desired WiFi network to join;
- Launch the app on the smartphone.
The name of the camera’s WiFi is the name of the X100F. Ours is called “FUJIFILM-X100F-RDM.” Selecting that allowed the iPhone to “hear” the signal being broadcast by the X100F.
If the connection is established, the message “Start up FUJIFILM APP…” will appear in the viewfinder of the camera.
NOW start the app, NOT before this.
When we launched the app before establishing the camera-smartphone connection, the app (ver.3.4.0.5) would not connect reliably, even if the camera/smartphone connection was subsequently made.
Once we realized that our steps were out of sequence, we had no more problems pairing the two devices.
We were pleasantly surprised at how well designed the Cam Remote app is: intuitive, lots of camera info/controls, AND relatively stable. Stability is not always the case with apps from camera companies, but in their defense camera makers are hardware people so their first priority is not software. But the stability with the Cam Remote is is very encouraging for the X100 series.
There are a lot of features to the app: we could control the focus point, set various camera functions, and trigger the shutter. However, our favorite is the live view capability. It was ALMOST like looking through the viewfinder of the camera. We say “almost” because occasionally there would be a slight update lag.
Still, it worked well enough for catching the bird feeder action at the office window. All we need now is a remote pan/tilt control for the tripod and our “RC birdcam” would be awesome!
X100F WiFi Remote Control: FirstLook
The app made it possible for us to see what was happening at the window feeder without spooking the birds. Especially nice was the ability to move the focus point just by tapping on the screen on the smartphone. We also noticed very little lag between tapping on the screen and hearing the shutter fire on the camera…so even with fast moving subjects, we were able to “get the shot!”
Below are some of the images we were able to capture using the remote trigger app. Not bad for shooting remotely through a dirty window pane…
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