Fujifilm Japan is Aware of Autofocus Issues and is Working on a Fix
Fujifilm Working on Fix?
Fellow Fujifilm X shooter Steven is right now in the Dolomites. Excellent travel choice! The weather might not be the best these days but still OK for a hike. I was just at the Sass the Putia the other day. Just in case you need a hike tip, Steven ;).
But as much as I’d love to talk hikes and mountains, the main reason Steven contacted me is this:
He reached out to Fujifilm and asked them if they do plan to release a firmware fix for the autofocus issues that came up after the latest firmware updates.
Well, here is the reply he got (as I could verify from the screenshots he sent me, thanks!).
Thank you for your message and for taking the time to give us your feedback. We take all comments about our products very seriously. We are aware of several videos and posts on social media regarding AF performance.
Our R&D team in Japan is investigating a solution and we hope to have an update on this very soon.
Here on FujiRumors we did complain about the autofocus issues. And we also highlighted a quick solution: Fujifilm should just offer a “downgrade” to the initial firmware, which was really working well.
I don’t know what kind of solution Fujifilm is working on (a simple downgrade or major AF redesign). But what I know is that Fujifilm can’t mess it up this time.
Fujifilm Thoughts
Luca Petralia is a long time Fujifilm shooter and lover. But as all love stories, it’s not that everything goes well all the time, and sometimes you just have to talk to each other and figure things out.
So, Luca has a message to Fujifilm.
A message that starts with all the things he loves about Fujifilm, but that focuses mostly on things he currently struggles with.
I do invite you to watch his entire video, in which he argues and elaborates much more in depth each point. Here on FujiRumors I will just share quick bullet points.
Lenses
- lack of 16-35mm f/2.8 equivalent lens. The XF10-24 is an f/4 lens
NOTE: in our mega survey of a while back, the XF 14-30mm f/2.0 was your most voted option - long telephoto primes. The XF500mmF5.6 is coming, but if it is just the GF500mmF5.6 lens with X mount, then one of the Pros of having APS-C, the smaller size of lenses, is gone. On the other hand, it will probably perform extremely well on APS-C, as it will use only the center part of the image the lens captures, so the one with the best quality.
- needs XF400mmF2 or XF600mm lenses
- more XC lenses
- XF18mmF2 pancake refresh
- more hybrid lenses for video and stills, like the XF18-120mm, with little focus breathing. Also needs option to click and clickless aperture ring
- “aspirational lenses” like f/2 zooms or 24-105mmF2.8. Or a 22-70mm. Very few people are going to buy. But Fujifilm sitcks only with normal lenses and don’t risk.
Autofocus
- Fujifilm was catching up with other brands in terms of AF and narrowing the gap
- latest firwmare updates broke continuous AF.
- it also broke the trust factor between users and company
- you ruin the reputation of the brand by not fixing the AF
- switching brand is not easy, because you lose money by selling your gear and then you buy the same type of gear of another brand that is bigger, heavier and more expensive
- people are now stuck
- if Fujifilm does not fix their AF soon, the bond with their loyal fanbase will break
X-Pro4
- where is that camera?????
And I will also share the video of Chris and Pete, where Chris makes a good point: most people don’t care about frame.io and stuff like that. It’s Autofocus, autofocus and autofocus. And Chris also says: Fujifilm should at least communicate that they are aware of the issue and working to fix it. But Fujifilm Japan has done absolutely no public statement so far.