How to Set Up a Fujifilm X-T3 for Video

This video is a quick one-stop shop to help those new to the Fujifilm X-T3 set up their camera and make their cinematic masterpiece.

Those of you who have read my previous articles may know (and be sick of hearing about) how much I love my Fuji cameras. While I have literally shot jobs with no fewer than nine completely different camera bodies in the last month due to unique demands of each production, I still find the X-T3 to be the main camera that I “want” to use day in and day out.

The Fujifilm X-T3 is a terrific stills camera. But where it really sets itself apart among others in its price group are the video features. They have simply packed a major wallop into an incredibly small and reasonably priced body. But the features aren’t just good for the price point. They are just good, period.

So good, in fact, that while I shot a recent motion campaign for a large international brand mainly on my Canon C200, I found myself liberally mixing in footage I’d shot with my Fujifilm X-T3 and not often being able to tell the difference. More importantly, my clients didn’t know the difference which is a heck of a statement considering one is about one-tenth of the price of the other.

Which is not a knock on my C200. I love that camera and it brings a whole host of advantages to the game. So many great features that, when I bought it, I found myself devouring as many tutorials as I could find just to get a handle on them. The best of the tutorials were from Canon and hosted by Jem Schofield. Thorough and easy to follow, the tutorials really allowed me to better utilize my camera in a short period of time.

So, when I was flipping through YouTube the other day and landed on theC47 channel, hosted by none other than the aforementioned Jem Schofield, I was in. Even more so when I discovered the topic of the day: setting up the Fujifilm X-T3.

In this video, he starts with the basics: batteries. Fuji users will know that you will need extra batteries. And while the Fuji video looks terrific straight out of camera, he also goes over some of the benefits of adding an external monitor. It ups the vlogging and self-recording capabilities for some. For me, it’s the ability to preview my LUTs, record 10-bit 4:2:2 in ProRes into my Atomos Ninja V for a great image, and an easier edit once you get the files home to your computer.

He goes over his preferred lenses. In his case, he likes the 10-24mm and 18-55mm zooms. Although, I personally prefer the primes. I’ve noticed some weird in-shot exposure changes when using my 18-55mm which seem to go away when using primes. I’ve chalked this up to the variable aperture of the zooms, but I’m guessing some of you out there may have a better explanation. Either way, since I’m not likely to zoom during a shot anyway, I usually slap on a 16mm or 23mm and fire away.

Speaking of exposure, he also goes over how to set your shutter speed to maintain the appropriate match with your frame rate (24 fps at 1/48 s, 30 fps at 1/60 s, etc.). Then he provides an look into how Fuji f-log operates as well as your LUT options for grading your footage.

And he even explains the difference between gamma and gamut for those of us who know the words but have never been able to explain the meaning.

It's well worth watching for any new Fuji user, or an experienced user looking to increase your knowledge.

If you'd like to learn how to make your own videos and don't know where to start, check out our filming and editing tutorial, Introduction to Video. If you purchase it now, you can save a 15% by using "ARTICLE" at checkout. Save even more with the purchase of any other tutorial in our store.