I have posts mounting up in my head and no time to write. To much going on I cannot talk about but is exciting times for my business. Watch this Space!
Autofocus issues seems to be the clickbait for Fuji (H) users, particularly since the last 2 firmware updates.
The proverb my dad quoted at me?
A bad workman always blames his tools.
The thing is, as I went on later in this exchange is.. The AF-C system is covered by pages 148-154 in the manual. Thats 6 pages of the manual dedicated to the AF settings.
I asked the original poster ..
“Have you tried all of the different AF-C tracking options? Or then customised them?”, “What is your drive set to? What Focus Area Setting? How many AF points?”, “How well do you understand them and how they relate to each other?”
As I wrote in 2015 (Focus Pokus) “One of the most important aspects of a modern camera to understand is the autofocus system”. It was true then and it is even truer now as we expect more from the system. Back in 2015, the focus on the X-T1 was fairly basic, on the X-H2(s) it is highly sophisticated but (many) expect it to be a simple fix for all the skills many of us took years to learn!
If you want to get the best out of the system, learn how to drive it! You would not get behind the wheel of an autonomous car without first learning how to drive and take control. I know its not the same life or death situation however, treat the camera the same, learn it inside out, back to front, understand the settings, understand it manually and then understand the auto settings. Only by understanding all those settings can you get the best out of them!
I guess that was a little bit of a rant, so to change the subject, last week I was at Hyde Park photographing some live music. (Glastonbury will follow in the next post).
I recently added the Haoge LAR-X52W Lens Filter Adapter Ring for Fujifilm X100VI plus the Urth UV Filter+ to improve the water resistance (normally I hate leaving a filter over the lens). I also added the Urth Stellar Filter set for a bit of fun. To be honest I had got carried away with it recently but hey-ho, shooting everything the same is boring and I don’t have to send it. Photography is a creative (pastime) job and the key to being creative is experimentation.
I have also added the 16mm F2.8 to my arsenal (A colleague was selling one and I could not resist).
Over the past month or two, the X100VI has performed well, the face tracking working well and its size meaning I am back to carrying a high quality camera all of the time. I used it a lot at Glastonbury this year, the subject of the next post.
Until the, let me know how you are getting on with latest AF..
J
Julie Edwards-X 
I’m with you Julie, those posts drive me mad! It’s purely user error most of the time. I hardly ever get an image out of focus to the point that I barely bother to check sometimes and I shoot thousands of images a week in various work challenges. I’ve not updated the firmware for a year on my H2, H2s or T4 though.
LikeLike
Thank you very much.
That’s why I normally stay clear of these groups or just keep watching brief.
They’re mostly amateurs which is not a problem itself; in fact I know more a few amateurs who are way better than a some of the professionals.
However, a lot of them seem to wanna blame the camera before accepting they have to learn how to do it.
LikeLike
Hi Julie and others! I look forward to your thoughts. This conversation always comes with some user error “baggage”. I have the XT5 and XH2. Subjectively, both cameras “feel” like they focus differently with the last two firmware updates, but I don’t see a noticeable change for better or worse in my work. I do not photograph birds in flight or fast moving sports.
Fuji has made some recent changes. The previous Fuji updates for both cameras has this phrase with no details: “AF performance is improved as follows.” And the most recent one says, “The camera focuses on different subject in the face frame even though AF is detecting the pupil.”
Thanks for always sharing your work and your insights!
LikeLike