Mac Studio M1 Max doesn't recognize Fujifilm X-T4

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Level 1

5 points

Mac Studio M1 Max doesn't recognize Fujifilm X-T4

When I attempt to connect my Fujifilm X-T4 camera to my Mac Studio M1 Max running Ventura 13.3 with a USB cable it fails to be recognized by the computer. The camera does not appear in the USB tree in System Information and so, will not be available to applications. The camera sees the cable connection and draws power to charge the battery but fails to communicate with the computer otherwise.

I am using known data-compatible USB cables to test the connection. These cables provide good visibility to my Hasselblad camera for similar functionality on the Mac Studio, and with other computers as I will show below. The Hasselblad appears in the USB tree in System Information, in the Finder window sidebar, and in appropriate applications. I expect the X-T4 to do likewise. It does not.

I tested the connection on the Mac Studio without success under the following conditions:

Ventura 13.3 normal startup to primary account

Ventura 13.3 normal startup to secondary account

Ventura 13.3 in Safe Mode

Clean install of Ventura 13.3 startup from external drive

Clean install of Monterey 12.6.4 startup from external drive

I confirmed that the problem does not reside directly with the X-T4 camera by successfully acquiring full recognition and functionality by connection under the following conditions:

Mac Mini (late 2012) running Catalina 10.15.7

Macbook Air M1 running Monterey 12.6.4

Macbook Air M1 running Ventura 13.3 from external drive

This suggests to me, having connected successfully to another M1 computer under Ventura, that the operating system is not directly responsible, and that there seems to be some hardware or firmware conflict between the X-T4 and the Mac Studio that I haven't been able to determine.

I am not aware of any published information regarding conflicts or firmware bugs with either the computer or the camera. If anyone here has direct insight into this problem a solution would be much appreciated. I can't help but think that I have just missed something.

Mac Studio (2022)

Posted on Apr 4, 2023 4:26 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

DouHaw Author

Level 1

5 points

Apr 6, 2023 5:25 PM in response to DouHaw

I contacted Fujifilm and there is no known compatibility issue with any Apple computers, so I had another look at the problem. The following is for those with Macs with USB-C ports who own Fujifilm cameras.

I think that I have isolated the problem. I was testing only the front USB ports on the computer because these are the ports most practical for my purposes. So, I tested the X-T4 on the rear ports and found recognition and successful connections on all of these ports. The rear ports are Thunderbolt and USB-A. The front ports are USB-C. Connection failures were only on the USB-C ports, any USB-C ports, including the ports on the back of my Studio Display monitor. I then successfully connected both a Fujifilm X-E2 (micro-USB) and Hasselblad 907X 50C (USB-C) to all ports, USB-C, USB-A and Thunderbolt.

There is also odd behaviour of the X-T4 when attached to a USB-C port.

Plugged in to USB-C, when the camera is OFF, regardless the USB Power Supply Setting (ON or OFF), with the battery below full charge, the rear green light is active, indicating power to the battery.

With a successful connection to USB-A or Thunderbolt, power to the battery only occurs when Power Supply Setting is set to ON, as expected.

Plugged in to USB-C, with the camera turned ON, and Connection Mode set to Card Reader, the camera retains all functions as if disconnected, and the cable symbol appears in the lower right hand corner of the LCD screen.

With a successful connection to USB-A or Thunderbolt and Connection Mode set to Card Reader, the LCD screen is blank with 'USB’ displayed in the upper left hand corner, and the camera is inoperable, as expected.

This suggests to me some incompatibility of the X-T4’s USB-C connector with Apple’s USB-C but doesn’t give me enough information to determine whether fault lies with the camera or the computer.

Hopefully readers here who own Fujifilm cameras, X-T4 or other, can connect their cameras to non-Thunderbolt USB-C ports on their Macs and post your results in this thread. This would establish, at least, whether or not the problem is widespread.

Thanks.

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Answer 2

Mar 14, 2024 9:13 PM in response to DouHaw

I too have have just discovered this problem and I can see why its not wide spread (as yet). Most of us photographers shoot to a laptop (were are talking only mac hardware here of course) which are usb-c & Thunderbolt ports..... therefor no issue for laptop user as I had been until just recently.

We bought a new M2 MacStudio to handle the 100mp files from Fuji GFX. As with the above, no dice when GFX is tethered to CaptureOne on either of the front ports. Plug that same setup into the back ports and we are up and running perfectly!

So....

Front ports are only USB-C only (specifically on a m2 max, NOTE: M2 ultra has TB ports on front instead)

Back Ports are usb 3.1 / Thunderbolt 4

There is definitely as issue here and we need more people to speak up so we can get this fixed.... wether is apple or fuji I have no idea.

As a side note, my Canon R3 has no problems connecting to either front ports or back ports.

That's using the same usb-c Tether tools cable front ports on Mac STudio and capture one

thanks all

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Answer 3

Sep 9, 2023 2:54 AM in response to DouHaw

Hi, how did you get it working on x e2 ? I have a M1 macbook air, I don't have any USB A ports. So is it possible to connect Xe2 to M1 macbook air ? It would be helpful to know if you used any specific cable to connect or used a type c hub. Also, I don't have the original cable that was supplied with camera.

Thank you.

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Answer 4

Apr 17, 2023 4:31 AM in response to DouHaw

Same thing for me. I have two Fujifilm XT5 and a Mac Studio as well as a Studio Display. I was going crazy but reading your post I succeeded in the connection. It only works if connected to Thunderbolt ports. Hope this can be solved from someone... Thanks for your help.

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Answer 5

DouHaw Author

Level 1

5 points

Apr 17, 2023 7:52 AM in response to DarioPhoto

Now that I know that this is not just my hardware, I’ve reported it to Apple Feedback. Next step is to make a service appointment and see if I can replicate the failure on other computers in an Apple store. Thanks, DarioPhoto, for the feedback.

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Answer 6

May 7, 2023 3:48 AM in response to DouHaw

Thank you! I've also got a Mac Studio (M1 Max) and a Fujifilm XT-4. I've been going mad trying to get them to connect, assuming it was an issue with compatibility.

I was doing exactly as you described: plugging in to the front USB-C ports. On your suggestion, I tried plugging in to the Thunerbolt ports in the rear. Problem solved, finally!

Massive inconvenience that the front ports are not working as they should (all my rear ports are spoken for), but at least I can finally get my XT-4 plugged in.

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Answer 7

Sep 9, 2023 10:01 AM in response to premsagar224

premsagar224--

This discussion is in the Mac Studio forum.

This appears to be an issue with the Mac Studio Max computer's front USB-C ports.

You do not have the same Mac hardware as others who have posted on this discussion.

DO THIS:

Please start a NEW discussion with a Title that will attract the Readers who might be able to help, and be sure to place it on the MacBook Pro forums. Include the model-year of your MacBook Pro and what version of MacOS you are running.

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Answer 8

BDAqua

Level 10

245,189 points

Sep 17, 2023 2:43 PM in response to Oxidation.Shed

There are several standards at work here. One is USB Type-C, the new universal USB connector type. As the name suggests, this connector is a USB connector. You can guarantee that any Type-C port will handle USB data transfers. You cannot guarantee anything else, and in fact, it’s perfectly legal for a Type-C port to only offer USB 2.0, though it’s far more common for USB 3.1 to be implemented.

https://www.quora.com/Is-USB-C-capable-of-transmitting-video-from-a-laptop

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Answer 9

Sep 17, 2023 2:48 PM in response to cotyhsu

Dear cotyhsu--

This discussion is in the Mac Studio forum.

This appears to be an issue with the Mac Studio Max computer's front USB-C ports.

You do not have the same Mac hardware as others who have posted on this discussion. your problem deserves the full attention of readers who may be able to help you.

DO THIS:

Please start a NEW discussion with a Title that will attract the Readers who might be able to help, and be sure to place it on the MacBook Pro forums. Include the model-year of your MacBook Pro and what version of MacOS you are running.

Reply

Answer 10

cnimsky

Level 1

8 points

Jun 10, 2023 8:17 PM in response to DarioPhoto

Confirmed. Same issue w/ XT-4 and Mac Studio M1 Max. Does not connect via front USB-C but works on rear thunderbolt. Unfortunate design choices by Apple on a pretty extensive computer.

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