Fstoppers Reviews the Godox X1T-F Radio Flash Trigger

Today, I’d like to take a look at the X1T trigger from Godox specifically as it pertains to their Fujifilm version. The unit is also offered with compatibility for Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Olympus cameras. I have experience with the Canon, Nikon, and Fujifilm versions of this and will give my experience with it on Fujifilm cameras today. 

Large brand names have been slow to support the Fujifilm system within their ecosystems, and Godox have offered a solution that fits the budget minded users of the X system, but also works with their complete system for professional use. There currently isn’t anything as all-encompassing on the market for Fujifilm users. The X1T-F supports everything that the Fujifilm flash system currently supports, including TTL, high-speed sync, and rear sync. It is, seemingly, the all-in-one solution. So, let’s take a look at the “flagship” Godox trigger for Fujifilm right now. 

Design

The design of the X1T unit is clearly aimed at DSLR users. It is bulky and protrudes a lot from the camera. Godox has kept this same form-factor for each iteration of this trigger, and on some systems, it works quite well. For the Canon and Nikon users of the world, it fits really well. While I was using it on my D750, I had no problems at all. It was an appropriate size and shape for the camera. However, on Fujifilm’s small bodies, it is rather cumbersome. The large size and length of the device make it really stand out from the rest of the body. I’m not typically one who cares whether or not my peripherals match the basic unit, but when functionality is impaired, it starts to bug me. I find that I’m always struggling to get my fingers to the ISO and shutter dials. A slimmer vertical design would solve this. 

Overall, the unit is reasonably well designed. It feels reasonably solid and buttons are easy to press. The exception here is the jog dial, which is not particularly accurate. Sometimes you turn it and nothing happens, whereas sometimes you intend to move 1/3 of a stop and end up changing a full stop or more. 

One more thing is that multiple functions have been assigned to each button, but are not labeled on the unit. It takes a while to make each of these functions a part of muscle memory, but eventually, it does happen. Before I got myself used to the unit, it would often take me a few tries to get to the function I wanted. Labeling each button appropriately would help this a lot. 

Functionality and Compatibility

Overall, this trigger supports all the functions you could want. TTL and HSS work flawlessly just as they do with the other versions of this trigger. Godox has got a great system worked out for allowing control of every unit they offer through the same triggers. The trigger works well, even at a long distance and with plenty of interference around. There’s nothing to complain about when it comes to its intended functionality. 

Compatibility extends across the entire Fujifilm range and the unit works well with all of Fujifilm’s technologies. I have personally tested the unit on the X-T2, X-T1, X-T20, and the GFX 50s. Both HSS and TTL were flawless on all cameras. Syncing my AD200 at 1/8,000s on the GFX provided for some really unique results. It was a great experience to know that I really didn’t have to battle for exposure. I could simply set what I wanted and know that the flash would fall in line.

Issues

There are a few issues with the trigger that need to be resolved, however. Both of the glitches I have experienced, I feel could be fixed easily enough through firmware updates. One pertains to flash communication and the other to the sleep state of the trigger. 

When the unit is turned on, it does not communicate its current settings to the flashes it will control. For example, I have my AD200 and AD600 turned on and their powers are set. When I turn the trigger on, it does not automatically send the powers it has in memory to the flashes. They continue to fire at the power they currently have in memory locally until I manually change the power on the trigger. This becomes an issue when you switch the trigger off and on again. Flashes maintain the original power they remember and do not receive an update from the trigger. 

I discovered this the hard way when shooting a photo booth a while back. When I turned the flashes on, I had them both at 1/128 power. Using the trigger, I switched them to 1/2 and 1/4 respectively to get the power I needed for the booth. As we had lengthy breaks between booth visits, I switched off the trigger between shots (see my next point). When I switched it back on, the flashes had reverted to 1/128. Of course, the way around this is to set power on the flashes manually (to the same value as the trigger). However, this really shouldn’t need to be the case. A simple ping to each of the flashes in range when the trigger is switched on would solve this. 

The other thing I have come across is that the trigger refuses to wake up from sleep mode. When set to have a timeout, the trigger will go to sleep as promised. However, it will not wake up regardless of which buttons are pressed. The only way to wake it up is to take out the batteries and replace them. As you can imagine, this is extremely irritating on a shoot. Of course, you could switch the trigger off between shots, but then you would experience this issue above. 

As I said, both of these are non-issues if the firmware programmers get their game together, so I hope to see an update in the future.

What I Liked

• Compatible with all Fujifilm technologies.
• Compatible with all Godox flashes.
• Solid construction.
• Uses AA batteries.

What I Didn't Like

• Needs to be redesigned to fit smaller mirrorless bodies.
• Doesn't ping connected flashes with current settings when switched on.
• Confusing buttons at times.
• Sleep mode sometimes won't allow the unit to turn back on.

In Conclusion

Overall, this is a great trigger and gives full control of the Godox system to Fujifilm users. However, there are some glitches to be worked out, and I would like to see a version of the hardware developed specifically for small mirrorless cameras like the Fujifilm and Olympus systems. Godox has done a great job of supporting these and I look forward to furthering developments. If you have a Fujifilm camera, there currently isn’t a more full-featured system than this one. This is your best choice.