Can lockup problem be solved by exchanging camera?

After having a couple of lockups already in the first few days of using an X-T3, I have to wonder: is this a firmware issue affecting all units, or a sample defect that could be cured by exchanging for another copy? Has anyone done that successfully, and used the replacement body the same way without further trouble? (With any camera that's had this problem, including H1 and T2?)

There was a user who said he "updated" the firmware to the same version and it fixed that (at least until he posted the fix).

I remember that with the X-T2 there were users reporting lockups after firmware updates...so that can be the fix, re-upload the same firmware version.

Despite not being a very bad bug, its certainly anoying when it happens. But still better than oil in the sensor problemslike the former Nikon FF DSLR, or the shutter mechanism being stuck, which also has bugged some FF DSLR owners.

Now are these acceptable for €1500 camera bodys? No, at least for me. Part of that should go into superior quality control and usage testing before release. And some of them are not problems due to parts/material low quality that stops working with usage. They are problems that affected new owners....

Rmcp20 said:

There was a user who said he "updated" the firmware to the same version and it fixed that (at least until he posted the fix).

I remember that with the X-T2 there were users reporting lockups after firmware updates...so that can be the fix, re-upload the same firmware version.

Click to expand...

There are numerous reports that firmware updates did not cure the X-T3 lockup problem.

C41 said:

After having a couple of lockups already in the first few days of using an X-T3, I have to wonder: is this a firmware issue affecting all units, or a sample defect that could be cured by exchanging for another copy? Has anyone done that successfully, and used the replacement body the same way without further trouble? (With any camera that's had this problem, including H1 and T2?)

Click to expand...

Before anything else, reset the camera to factory defaults and reapply your settings. When I had a lockup or two on my XE1, this fixed it.

None of that worked for me. My camera still locks up but in a strange way. All the lines and setting disappear from the screen but the image is still life. I have to remove the battery to get it going again.

I posted the re-installing of version 1.0.1 update over itself fix. It worked for me a whole week, unfortunately the problem re-appeared. So, I did it again and hope for the best.

When it fails, the screen shows what the lens sees but no icons or text is shown on the screen and all buttons and switches are dead including the power switch. I even had this happen when just turning the camera on and also after pushing the display mode button among other instances. In other word randomly.

It is not the memory card as some like to guess. I had the camera running fine for a day with a 1 Gig 12 year old unrated SD card from Henry's in Toronto. Normally I use 95 MB/S cards (SDXC I Class 10 U3) that meet the needed specification for taking pictures as per Fujifilm's table.

My dealer contacted Fujifilm and they were going to contact me.

Nand.

It can’t be! According to DPR the camera is “gold”.

That's the same thing I experienced yesterday. First noticed a problem with the focus not working with the 55-200 then froze up with the 16 1.4 and I could not turn it off with the on/off switch and and had to pull the Fuji battery. Called Fuji repair this morning and they recommend backing up settings with app then factory reset and restoring settings. He said he had three others report lock ups as well. Haven't tried that yet

Can you provide more details about circumstances when this appears

Batt grip or not Fuji batts or not, settings in action, etc..

Have you tried full reset

Type of SD cards

These infos anyway willbe asked most probably to justify an exchange

....

It has been reported more than one time that lockup problems can have something to do with a memory card failure, low speed or incompatibility.

If it is possible with the X-T3, I would set the option "shoot without card" and try some use-cases that triggered the problem with all SD cards removed from the camera.

Or just borrow one Sandisk 300MB/s card from a friend and try with that.

Non-original cheap batteries can also be a cause, but only if you shoot bursts at maximum speed in CH mode.

--
http://photography.marcoristuccia.com

mristuccia said:

If it is possible with the X-T3, I would set the option "shoot without card" and try some use-cases that triggered the problem with all SD cards removed from the camera.

Click to expand...

Nice idea, but no specific use has been identified that triggers the problem. Everyone tries to guess something (myself included) but they're all different guesses.

As noted in my previous post here, I run a 12 year old after market 1 Gig non rated memory card without any problems just taking pictures. And the camera had the "S" type Fuji supplied battery. The biggest problem is that it locks up completely randomly and sometimes more often than other times.
For me now, every time I use it, I wonder if it failed or not.

Nand.

nand said:

As noted in my previous post here, I run a 12 year old after market 1 Gig non rated memory card without any problems just taking pictures. And the camera had the "S" type Fuji supplied battery. The biggest problem is that it locks up completely randomly and sometimes more often than other times.
For me now, every time I use it, I wonder if it failed or not.

Nand.

Click to expand...

By using old and cheap aftermarket stuff it's all a matter of luck and accident. You can be lucky or not. Inconsinstency problems happen randomly.

Before condemning a camera or a company let's be sure to use accessories that are on paar in terms of value and performances. In other words, don't put wooden wheels on a Ferrari.

I strongly hope that one day companies will sell their cameras together with a factory memory card, like they do now with the battery.

marco

--
http://photography.marcoristuccia.com

C41 said:

After having a couple of lockups already in the first few days of using an X-T3, I have to wonder: is this a firmware issue affecting all units, or a sample defect that could be cured by exchanging for another copy? Has anyone done that successfully, and used the replacement body the same way without further trouble? (With any camera that's had this problem, including H1 and T2?)

Click to expand...

For me, lock up problems have occurred randomly --- where I had a problem is when the lockup occurred frequently, which for me would be more than once per week or month.

Lock-ups seem to happen more frequently when I'm shooting multiple bursts or lots of single shots closely spaced.

Using newer SD cards from reliable brands and reliable sources (i.e., no fakes) helped significantly.

In high-performance burst mode with the battery grip, using Fujifilm branded NP-W126S batteries helped.

Lastly, firmware updates also reduced the number of lockups.

Assuming you are using good memory cards --- swap them out even if you are convinced they work fine in other cameras (i.e., aside from Fujifilm, there aren't that many UHS-II compatible cameras out there) --- and genuine Fujifilm batteries and have the latest firmware, if you get a lot of lock-ups, it wouldn't hurt to swap camera bodies.

I am not sure if Fujifilm's repair centers have the test equipment to thoroughly test out the memory card interfaces at the highest performance speeds. So just turning in your camera for repairs may not be good enough.

Marcos Villaroman said:

C41 said:

After having a couple of lockups already in the first few days of using an X-T3, I have to wonder: is this a firmware issue affecting all units, or a sample defect that could be cured by exchanging for another copy? Has anyone done that successfully, and used the replacement body the same way without further trouble? (With any camera that's had this problem, including H1 and T2?)

Click to expand...

For me, lock up problems have occurred randomly --- where I had a problem is when the lockup occurred frequently, which for me would be more than once per week or month.

Lock-ups seem to happen more frequently when I'm shooting multiple bursts or lots of single shots closely spaced.

Using newer SD cards from reliable brands and reliable sources (i.e., no fakes) helped significantly.

In high-performance burst mode with the battery grip, using Fujifilm branded NP-W126S batteries helped.

Lastly, firmware updates also reduced the number of lockups.

Assuming you are using good memory cards --- swap them out even if you are convinced they work fine in other cameras (i.e., aside from Fujifilm, there aren't that many UHS-II compatible cameras out there) --- and genuine Fujifilm batteries and have the latest firmware, if you get a lot of lock-ups, it wouldn't hurt to swap camera bodies.

I am not sure if Fujifilm's repair centers have the test equipment to thoroughly test out the memory card interfaces at the highest performance speeds. So just turning in your camera for repairs may not be good enough.

Click to expand...

I always use Sandisk Ultra for raw - highest possible speed. So far no lockups on my Xpro2 (touch wood).

I also use Fuji batteries (exclusively).

Hard to say if either is a factor because I don't often shoot at max frame rate, which is pretty low on the Xpro2.

The only time I had lockups was after the final XE2 update - this required a complete reset of all camera settings, and all was fine. This was of course a special case.

I think poor voltage control (old or non-spec batteries) and card write speed may well be factors. Hard to say.

Rmcp20 said:

There was a user who said he "updated" the firmware to the same version and it fixed that (at least until he posted the fix).

Click to expand...

IMHO that’s a bunch of nonsense. Nice theory but I don’t think that’s what fixes the lock ups.

Rmcp20 said:

I remember that with the X-T2 there were users reporting lockups after firmware updates...so that can be the fix, re-upload the same firmware version.

Despite not being a very bad bug, its certainly anoying when it happens. But still better than oil in the sensor problemslike the former Nikon FF DSLR, or the shutter mechanism being stuck, which also has bugged some FF DSLR owners.

Click to expand...

you think this is not a very bad bug?? I think it is specially if you are using a Fuji camera to shoot something very important for a moment that is only going to last a few seconds such as BIF, a wedding moment or some very special family event. I’m sorry but I think these lock ups is a serious issue.

At this point in time I would rather use the lame old XE1 because at least I’ll get something and I know my XE1 doesn’t have freezing issues.

If one is going to shoot something very important I seriously suggest switching the Fuji to manual focusing or pairing the freezing camera with another one you know won’t freeze on you.

Sounds like you had a D800?

I have never experienced any type of failure with any of my other cameras DSLR or mirrorless. By the way last night I did another paid photoshoot and my XH1 froze on me, again. Same exact way when the camera is trying to focus/hunting but it won’t and I’m pressing the shutter button so the camera doesn’t like and can’t handle that so it freezes. AF -S, Release Priority.

Rmcp20 said:

Now are these acceptable for €1500 camera bodys? No, at least for me. Part of that should go into superior quality control and usage testing before release. And some of them are not problems due to parts/material low quality that stops working with usage. They are problems that affected new owners....

Click to expand...

C41 said:

Rmcp20 said:

There was a user who said he "updated" the firmware to the same version and it fixed that (at least until he posted the fix).

I remember that with the X-T2 there were users reporting lockups after firmware updates...so that can be the fix, re-upload the same firmware version.

Click to expand...

There are numerous reports that firmware updates did not cure the X-T3 lockup problem.

Click to expand...

well fuji did not say that they fixed it in that firmware update