Eye Autofocus Tested: Fujifilm is Worse vs Sony vs Canon vs Nikon… but…

Eye AF Comparison

Hidema shared a follow up to his this eye AF comparison between the following cameras:

In his original post, we critiqued the fact that he used the slower focusing XF 35mm f/1.4 lens.

So, Hidema listened, and, as spotted by our friends at CanonWatch, they now shared a follow up video, re-testing the eye AF.

But…

Hidema writes he used “all camera default settings, except eye-AF on“.

This would mean that high performance mode (or boost mode) was OFF, hence the slower autofocus.

Today I talked to Hidema, and he was not sure about boost mode. So he contacted the Fujifilm employee, who helped him to perform this test, and apparently he has been told that boost mode was ON.

One more, important, thing:

Fujifilm has just announced they will release two firmware updates in December and January for Fujifilm X-T3.

The new firmware will bring these 3 significant autofocus improvements, and I expect the results to improve significantly.

The Results

Hidema made 6 different tests.

For your convenience, I have extracted practical screenshots of the results fo the 6 different tests as well as the average results and the time the cameras needed to reacquire focus after the subject returned into the frame.

OVERALL RESULTS

  1. Sony – 95.27%
  2. Nikon – 87.66%
  3. Canon – 87.00%
  4. Fujifilm – 70.72%

For the full results one by one, check out the screenshots and the video below.

X-T3 Rumors, News and Community

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Fujifilm X-T2 Marked as Discontinued – Farewell to Fujifilm’s Best Seller!

Fujifilm X-T2

The Fujifilm X-T2 is now marked as discontinued at BHphoto here and also at Adorama.

You can still find it in other stores, for example the silver version is still available at Focuscamera, but the inevitable is happening: as the X-T2 is no longer in production, the stock is now clearing out.

So we have to say goodby, to one of Fujifilm’s most legendary and important digital cameras, the Fujifilm X-T2.

Some of you might remember, how the New York Times reported here that Fujifilm sold only 700,000 cameras in the first 2 years of its existence.

X100, X-Pro1, X-E1, X10 and other cameras could never really go mainstream.

However, things changed starting from January 2014, with the Fujifilm X-T1. It was a big hit, and the Fujifilm X-T2 even topped its sales, becoming Fuji’s most successful X series camera ever.

The X-T line is what keeps the X series alive, and currently the Fujifilm X-T3 is going even better than any of its predecessors.

So, ode to the glorious Fujifilm X-T2. May the success of this line continue for many more years to come.

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Fujifilm to Release Firmware Update for FUJIFILM X-T3

Fujifilm to release firmware update for the FUJIFILM X-T3

Enabling video shooting control from Gimbal / Drone and offering other feature enhancements

November 13, 2019

FUJIFILM Corporation (President: Kenji Sukeno) plans to release a series of firmware updates for the FUJIFILM X-T3 (hereinafter “X-T3”), starting in mid-December 2019. The updates reflect requests of additional features and operability improvement, received from users of the X Series of mirrorless digital cameras.

The upcoming update will enable controls for video recording from Gimbal / Drone via USB communications. You can combine the X-T3 with a Gimbal / Drone that supports this function to significantly broaden your shooting options. FUJIFILM is in communication with SZ DJI Technology Col, Ltd.* and ZHIYUN** (listed in the alphabetical order) about their plan to release compatible products. Fujifilm also plans to deploy this function to the FUJIFILM X-T30 and other models. Further firmware updates in the future will bring autofocus enhancement and other improvements to the X-T3.

Main features:

■ Firmware update for the X-T3, due to be released in December 2019
Firmware version: FUJIFILM X-T3（Ver. 3.10）

Gimbal / Drone support***

This firmware adds the following function to complement the current support for still image shooting via USB communications:

  • Starting and ending video recording
  • Adjusting exposure settings (exposure mode, shutter speed, aperture, ISO sensitivity, exposure compensation) for video recording
  • Making manual focus adjustments

■ Firmware update for the X-T3, due to be released in January 2020
Firmware version: FUJIFILM X-T3（Ver. 3.20）

1. Enhanced autofocus

  • Improving the tracking performance of the eye AF frame, making it easier to attain accurate autofocus on the eyes
  • Improving face-detection performance when there are faces of different sizes within the same frame, making it easier to attain accurate autofocus
  • Improving autofocus capability on a foreground subject even when there is a mixture of foreground and background subjects within a frame, causing the foreground subject to go out of focus, e.g. when shooting flowers against a busy background

2. Capability to save up to 9,999 pictures in each folder

Until now, the number of pictures that can be saved in a folder on an SD card was limited to 999. This update will raise the limit by ten times to 9,999 pictures.

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* SZ DJI Technology Co., Ltd.
** ZHIYUN
*** USB-based communications

Why I Chose the Fujifilm X-T3 over the X-H1 for Wedding Photography

Wedding Photography with Fujifilm

Reggie Ballesteros picked the Fujifilm X-T3 for his wedding photography business, and not the Fujifilm X-H1. Why?

You can see it in the video above. Down below a summary for those, who are in a hurry and can’t watch it right now.

Why X-T3 is better for weddings:

  • Low Light AF: X-T3 has -3EV autofocus, whereas the X-H1 is at about -1EV
  • AF speed: X-T3 has fastest AF in AF-S and AF-C
  • X-T3 has 100% phase detection coverage (X-H1 only center part)
  • Good enough image quality in low light, dynamic range and ISO performance to deliver high quality images to his clients
  • X-T3 is smaller and lighter
  • X-T3 has better video specs and features
  • X-H1 has IBIS, but it stabilizes only camera shake. It does not freeze the motion of people in your picture. That you can only do by raising shutter speeds or flash
  • at weddings he captures lively images of people in motion
  • he usually shoots at 1/250s and in low light he drops down at a minimum of 1/160s. He never goes slower than that, unless he uses flash
  • one of his workhorses is the 56mmf/1.2, and with that lens, IBIS would only be effective at slower speeds than he uses

Raggie then asked other X shooters, why they think the X-H1 is better for wedding photography, and they said:

Why X-H1 is better for weddings:

  • some drop down to 1/10s to do exterior shots. But Raggie takes maybe 2% of exterior shots on a wedding
  • some say they don’t trust that their hands are steady enough
  • a good reason is if you use the 90mm f/2, where IBIS becomes effective at 1/270, which is faster than what he shoots (1/160). But the XF90mm F2 is the least use lens in his lineup
  • X-H1 ergonomics are way better than X-T3
  • X-H1 shutter is very quite and discrete
  • X-H1 has better high ISO performance over X-T3, because X-T3 has more megapixel. It’s not a huge difference, but a little bit there is difference
  • X-H1 smooths out any handheld video. It does not replace a gimbal, but gives you stable handheld look

Conclusion:

  • he could find IBIS useful in less than 5% or 10% of his shots
  • he uses autofocus 95% to 100% of his shots
  • if he must buy a camera based on better autofocus or IBIS, he goes for the one with better AF
  • there is no best camera for everybody, just cameras that suite your style better

BIG X-T3 + X-H1 DEALS

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