It’s still not easy to find proper autofocus test regarding the Fujifilm X-M5.

So all we have for now are little tidbits here and there, mainly coming from Asian countries, which are traditionally the main market for the X-M (or perviously the X-A) line.

I will share two videos below.

The first is (I think) a Chinese video. Click the play button below to start the video right at the AF section. Here is what we can notice and what the guy said:

• lens used: Fujinon XF 33mmF1.4
• cat tracking seems to work fine also when the cat moves in a busy space and behind some obstacles
• the guy runs towards the camera and says (if the translation is accurate), that the accuracy is 80-90%, with most of the images out of focus only when the subject was very close to the camera
• it seems that the entire episode is filmed on X-M5

The second video comes from Brazil. I share it because the reviewer covers half of his face with the hand, but the X-M5 does not get distracted and keeps focus on the eye. In fact, you can see the eye box jump to the left eye as soon as the right eye is covered by the hand. So at least this issue seems to be solved.

In a third video below we see the AF tracking in video, which does not look very convincing. Or, as the autor of the video, Matt, said: “Personally think [autofocus] it’s not as bad as some people were worried about, but definitely still not perfect.”

First conclusion: it’s better in tracking cats than humans :)

Of course I am kidding. We really do not have many elements in our hands to make a proper judgement. But the Fujifilm X-M5 should ship in about 10 days (November 21 according to stores), so I guess soon enough we will have a much better understanding of its AF performance.

And maybe we will get the promised autofocus firmware update before that, so that we can judge the new AF on our own 5th generation cameras.

• Fujifilm X-M5
  BHphoto / AmazonUS (silver – black) / Adorama / Moment / Nuzira
• XF 16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR II 
  BHphoto / AmazonUS / Adorama / Moment / Nuzira
• XF 500mmF5.6 R LM OIS WR
  BHphoto / AmazonUS / Adorama / Moment / Nuzira

Earlier this year Brightin Star teased a new 50mmF1.4 autofocus lens coming soon. It’s the first AF lens of Brightin Star.

Well, the new Brightin Star 50mmF1.4 AF is now available and you can read all details at Amazon here.

I’ll also share a few reviews from various YouTube channels. They mainly seem to agree that for the price you might prefer to go for more affordable third party AF lenses offerings, such as the Meike 55mmF1.4 AF or the Viltrox 56mmF1.7 AF.

Written + Video Reviews

• Fujifilm X-M5
  BHphoto / AmazonUS (silver – black) / Adorama / Moment / Nuzira

A couple of weeks have now passed since the announcement of the Fujifilm X-M5.

And so far the big controversy has not yet received a final answer: how good is the autofocus on the Fujifilm X-M5?

Now a new Fujifilm X-M5 hands-on review has been published by PavSZ (see above).

In his video, he says the X-M5 autofocus is much better than the one on the Fujifilm X-S20.

And when asked about it in the comments to his video, he says multiple times that he shoots also Sony cameras, and that the X-M5 is just as good as Sony in terms of autofocus.

The problem?

Pal2Tech shared a follow up video to the original Fujifilm X-M5 autofocus performance. You can see it above.

While we can see the Fujifilm X-M5 being better than the X-T5, I confirm what I wrote in pretty much every other article so far: it’s not at Sony and Canon level. Which is why personally I applaud the improved autofocus, but I’ll call myself impressed only when I see it on par with Sony and Canon.

Also, we have to see how much the improved performance over the X-T5 is to attribute to the AF algorithm on the X-M5 (which is in Beta on Pal2Tech’s camera) or it is simply due to the general faster readout speed of the 26MP sensor.

So far the most convincing autofocus demo I saw is the one of Thomas B Jones, with a 2.5 minutes non-stop live eye tracking during a talking head video, and especially when showcasing product mode the transition  between product and face is smooth without stepping to acquire focus.

Look, even the toughest Fujifilm AF haters out there show video clips on much much better AF tracking works on X-T4 for example (or on early 5th generation firmware). So while Fujifilm is not at Sony or Canon level, they have already shown that they can do much better than what they are currently offering on the 5th generation cameras.

As I always said: Fujifilm, just downgrade the firmware! You did it in the past with the flawed X-T1 firmware, so you can do it also now.

Anyway, in November the new firmware will drop. We will see and judge there.

If everything goes well, these are the last days in which AF haters can make clicks with Fuji AF hate videos.

On the other hand, if nothing is fixed, FujiRumors will be the first to share tons of AF hate videos like we did here and here.

Just expect us the be balanced and fair in reporting, giving you multiple sources and feedback so you can judge yourself.