In M the rear dial sets the shutter and the front dial sets the aperture. Use it when the light is constant and you want every frame identical — flash, studio, stage, snow, astro. Bulb lives here too, as a shutter speed rather than a dial position.
timed to 15 min in M/S Bulb to 60 min 30 s max in P/A
Two things to switch on before using M
- Exposure preview. In M it is off unless you enable it: SCREEN SETTING > PREVIEW EXP./WB IN MANUAL MODE. Choose PREVIEW EXP./WB for daylight work so the screen shows your real exposure. Choose PREVIEW WB or OFF when using flash, otherwise the screen goes black.
- The exposure indicator on screen shows how far under or over you are at the current settings. In bright sun, trust the histogram over the screen.
M plus Auto ISO — the rule, verbatim
“When the shooting mode is M, EXPOSURE COMPENSATION only applies if the ISO sensitivity is set to AUTO.” So M with Auto ISO is a genuinely useful hybrid: you fix aperture and shutter, the camera floats ISO, and compensation biases the result. Assign EXPOSURE COMPENSATION to a dial slot to use it.
Long exposures and Bulb
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Longest timed shutter in S and M | 15 minutes |
| Longest timed shutter in P and A | 30 s |
| Bulb, mechanical or EFC shutter | Up to 60 minutes while the shutter is held |
| Bulb with the electronic shutter | Fixed at 1 s — effectively unavailable |
| Fastest shutter | 1/4000 s mechanical, 1/32000 s electronic |
Bulb is not available in drive modes other than single frame or multiple exposure, and not with the electronic shutter selected. A countdown timer appears on screen for exposures slower than one second.
The long-exposure kit list
- A tripod. Fujifilm’s own wording: the picture will go out of focus if the camera is moved during a long time-exposure.
- A way to fire without touching the camera: the 2 s self-timer, the smartphone app over Bluetooth, or a wired remote. Note that a wired release needs a third-party 2.5 mm to 3.5 mm adapter, because the socket is the 3.5 mm one shared with the microphone input.
- IS MODE set to OFF on a tripod — the manual specifically recommends this.
- LONG EXPOSURE NR ON to reduce mottling. It increases save times, and has no effect with the electronic shutter.
Assignment: a night on a tripod
M mode, ISO 160, f/8, mechanical shutter, 2 s self-timer, IS MODE off. Photograph a street with traffic at 1 s, 4 s, 15 s and 30 s, then switch to Bulb and hold for about two minutes. Finally, turn LONG EXPOSURE NR on and repeat the 30 s frame — compare the shadow noise between the two 30 s versions. That comparison tells you whether the extra save time is worth it for your own taste.