Since the X-T1 is out on the market, and because it’s the hot camera to get these days, the interwebs are sure to go over every detail, pick every nit, and find any manufacturing issues there might be. Sadly, there is one.

Videos and lots of images demonstrate a severe light leak when a flashlight is shone in the microphone jack, and/or the HDMI port. You might think, as I did, “why would anyone do that?”, however, it can be a real problem for those who enjoy long exposures in daylight, as I do. Now that I (finally) have an X-T1 of my very own, I’ve been able to test it out.

Sadly, my X-T1 is affected as seen below.

30 second exposure with the door closed

30 second exposure with the door open and next to a window

30 second exposure with a light shone directly at the problematic port

Only the HDMI port is problematic for me, but the fact that I’m seeing the light leak when the camera isn’t even outside makes the issue a little worse than I thought.

Given there are X-T1’s out there that do not exhibit this problem, there should be a fix. I have it on good authority that there is. Fujifilm are aware of the issue, they understand what has happened (seals around the ports under the door occasionally aren’t seated properly), and they know how to fix it. From what I understand, owners of an X-T1 that have this issue will be taken care of.

Some people are likening this to the D600’s sensor issue. Nonsense. This doesn’t come anywhere close to an issue that affects 100% of a huge percentage of owners’ photographs. While the issue with the X-T1 isn’t quite what I’d call an “edge case,” it is nowhere close to as large an issue as oil splattering on ones sensor, affecting every single exposure. There’s also a simple interim fix involving steady hands, and about 4¢ worth of tape.

It’s a real shame this has happened, but it gives Fujifilm an opportunity to demonstrate why they are a camera company that’s different from Nikon. I hope they are totally forthright about the issue, and own it as attempts to minimize things will only make people take pause when considering a Fujifilm camera. No matter what happens though, I don’t imagine we’ll be entering class-action lawsuit territory as Nikon has.