Battle Time: Fujifilm X-T30 vs Sony a6400 Autofocus Test and More!

I got complaints from FR-readers, that they miss a good old Sony vs Fujifilm shootout.

Well, your desires are my orders, so here is one, and more specifically we are going to check out Sony a6400 vs Fujifilm X-T30 comparisons.

Let’s start with Michael de Maven (video above). Down below are his findings:

Good Light Autofocus:

Side to side motion in Good Light:

Forward motion in Good Light:

Back Light Autofocus:

Backlight subject running away test

face/eye detecion in backlight

91% hit rate for X-T30 (but subject has to be more near to the camera than with the Sony, until face detection kicks in)
97% hit rate for Sony a6400

Low Light Autofocus

Fujfilm X-T30 is much faster (about 40% faster) in low light focussing over the Sony A6400

Conclusion:

Fujifilm X-T30 better with single focussing square
Fujifilm X-T30 has no zooming issue, meaning it keeps tracking good also while zooming. With Sony you must fewer FPS to solve the Rack Zoom issue
Sony a6400 has better eye autofocus, but you only notice the advantage if you shoot from very far away
Low Light autofocus X-T30 is the clear winner

Buffer

The Fujifilm X-T30 has a strong processing powers, hence clears the buffer much faster than Sony.

VIDEO

High speed (120 fps) face detection tracking is spectacular on the Fujifilm X-T30
At high ISO, the Fujifilm X-T30 seems to try to overcompensate by crushing the blacks
Sony has more details
For high ISO noise performance Fujifilm X-T30 is better, even though it crushes the blacks
Rolling shutter a bit more in Sony A6400, but close to Fujifilm X-T30
The Fujifilm X-T30 heats up more in longer recording times, which is why Fujfilm limited it to 10 minutes

ISO Test in Stills

Jpegs at very high ISO, the Sony has a slight advantage, since it appears a bit sharper
RAW the noise on Sony looks better than on Fuji

Moire

Dynamic Range

Comparable at Low ISO
ISO1600 the Sony has higher color noise and less dynamic range
All Sony cameras (a6400 included) show artifacts in forms of blocks in compressed RAWs
Fujifilm is the winner

RAW Aritfacts in Sony

Sony a6400 has only compressed RAW with block artifact. In the Sony 6400 the artifacts are black, and in the other Sony cameras (full frame included) they are green. Probably Sony is working on this to solve it or at least hide/mask it
Fujifilm X-T30 offers compressed and uncompressed RAWs

His final Pros and Cons:

Dustin Abbott (video below) says in his Sony a6400 vs Fujifilm X-T30 comparison:

Fuji ISO better until 12,800, after that Sony is better
dynamic range: similar shadow recover capabilities, but Sony better highlight recovery capabilities. But on Fujifilm you can use the high dynamic range mode up to DR400, which helps to improve X-T30 performance
he would base the decision on which cameras to buy by watching at the whole system (hence lenses)

And if you can’t get enough…. :)