Fujinon XF500mmF5.6 Review by ePz: “Amazingly Light, Fast and Whisper Quiet Autofocus, Excellent Sharpness, Smooth Bokeh”

ePhotozine has published its Fujinon XF500mmF5.6 R LM OIS WR review.

It’s overall a fantastic lens with the only real negative being its high price. I will share the conclusions below and the full review can be read here.

It’s moderately compact, but amazingly light and easy to handle, reaching out to distant subjects with its 500mm (762mm-equivalent) pulling power. This brings all those small birds and mammals into range, although for some wildlife it may be a little too long for larger mammals and shorter ranges. This is the master of long range photography for Fuji X users, and the results are beautiful. Add one of the Teleconverters and the closest focusing point does not change, so the magnification increases and that long range power pulls even more into our repertoire. There is a price tag, but the results are great and there are few lenses with such a long focal length that can even approach the versatility and ease of use. Highly recommended.

Pros

  • Excellent sharpness
  • Extremely light for its length
  • Low CA
  • Lovely smooth bokeh
  • Weather resistant
  • Fast, accurate and whisper quiet AF
  • Close focusing
  • 5.5 stops OIS
  • Superb flare control

Cons

  • High price

Pre-Orders

[UPDATED] Fujifilm Autofocus Feedback: Mostly Positive and The Curious Case of the X-T3 (or the Root of All Autofocus Issues?)

Time for another autofocus test roundup (see part 1 here).

I will include several videos, including the one of Edvard, who shares interesting findings about the X-T3 which potentially shows where the AF issues with Fujifilm started.

Summing Up All Videos – tl;dr version

  • everybody agrees that now autofocus is workable again, even Edvard
  • some got better results than others, I guess based on use case, testing scenario and settings
  • Adan in “video 7” for example is very impressed and applauds Fujifilm for the improvement and says he is confident to use it now for his professional video work
  • others aknowledge the improvement, say it is something you can rely on for work, but highlight it is not yet at the level of top tier AF of other brands
  • Edvard is the most critical and I will share his findings below (with some interesting findings)
  • UPDATE: Edvard published a second video, which I share below with his main findings
  • there is still room for improvement (and looking at Edvard’s video some of the improvements could be achieved by using parts of the algorithm used on X-T3 firmware 3.00/3.30)
  • and finally… Thierry in Video 1 has simply one of the most beautiful settings and light to record a video (I know it’s unreleated, but I appreciate it when photographers try to give us also a great scenery ;))

My take:

Having a usable and workable autofocus is nice. This takes away stress for those, who rely on autofocus for work.

And that it is workable has been now confirmed by the very same people, who made very harsh videos against Fujfilm in the last few months. So there is no bias there.

My fear:

Most reviewers seem to be overall pleased and happy. But the error the Fujifilm engineers could do now, is to consider the autofocus chapter closed. There is still work to do, and maybe some feedback they get today from these videos can help them to improve further.

Read for it?

Below I will share a couple of videos. I could ignore the postiive feedback, but I think it has just as much reason to exist as negative feedback.

What FujiRumors can do is just to share it all to give you the most comprehensive overview possible.

My personal experience?

Well, none. Because I am still waiting for my X-T5 to get the update, but my X-T5 has so far shot 0 seconds of video in its entire life so I would not be able to compare it to how it was before.

What the April firmware broke, though, was the stills side of it. It did fail on me when shooting still standing people. But the June firmware fixed that, so now I have no issue in taking family pictures.

But don’t ask me for video… my X-T5 does not even know it has this option.

Video 1

** CLICK HERE to Read the Rest of the Article **

F-Log2 C vs F-Log2 Tested and LUT File for F-LOG2 C Available

Fujifilm just launched the new F-LOG2 C, which gives you wider color gamut over F-Log2.

It has been made available to Fujifilm X-H2, X-H2S and GFX100 II via the latest firmware update.

F-Log2 C 3D-LUT file / F-Log2 C IDT file / F-Log2 C Data sheet

Last updated: 11.21.2024
F-Log2 C LUT_E_Ver.1.00.zip [2.33MB]
*Decompress the “F-Log_LUT２_E_Ver.1.07.zip” file and launch “.cube” file from a movie editor.

Last updated: 11.21.2024
F-Log2 C_IDT_Ver.1.00.zip[4.0KB]

Last updated: 11.21.2024
F-Log2 C_DataSheet_E_Ver.1.0.pdf [88KB]

Below I’ll share a two videos comparing F-Log 2 C with F-Log 2.

First video: we can see that F-Log2 C gives a slightly less saturated look and especially in the orange/red tones are more true to life, which results also in more accurate and pleasing skin tones. He calls F-Log2C a “Gamechanger” in his video headline.

Second video: it’s also testing the new firmware (with Fringer adapter)  in addition to comparing F-Log. In the comments somebody said:

Maan finally the annoying focus pulsing is almost gone… I can’t believe that our cameras were broken for so long!
Thank you for this video!
The skin tones look amazing in FLogC imo.

F-Log2 C looks to be a welcome addition for videographers.

F-Log2C Videos (+ Autofocus)

** CLICK HERE to Read the Rest of the Article **

Fujifilm’s Improved Autofocus Tested: “I Fell in Love with the X-H2S again and Will Not Sell it Anymore”

Fujifilm’s Autofocus Firmware

Fujifilm just released the new firmware for the Fujifilm X-H2, X-H2S and GFX100II. You can read all details here (it did bring also completely new features).

So how does it work?

I will share a few videos on FujiRumors.

First impressions: definitely improved. I’d say enough to end months of sh*tstorm, although we know Fujifilm is the most hated brand, so there will always be those, who’ll attack it no matter what.

Also, people who cirtizied Fujifilm (and whose critics I shared on FR), now say it’s way better and one guy even had the X-H2S listed for sale to buy Sony, but now removed his sale offer and will keep the X-H2S as he says he fell in love with the X-H2S again.

Video 1

The video below shot on GFX100II with latest firmware in low light video AF tracking.

The guy walks around in a huge room, turns around, moves freely and the film guy follows him handhelding the GFX100II. Very low light often.

  • the guy filming says: “It’s not missing. It’s literally on you the whole time. It’s dark and it has not missed“

Video 2

** CLICK HERE to Read the Rest of the Article **

Fujifilm X-M5 Review: Autofocus is A Great Surprise – PhotoTrend

One of the most prestigious French photography websites, PhotoTrend, has now published its Fujifilm X-M5 review.

I will only highlight what they said about its autofocus.

And yes, they do talk very good about it.

And yes, there are people who told you the X-M5 autofocus is total garbage.

And yes, they based their judgments on 1.5 seconds of video extrapolated from hours of launch video.

And yes, that’s not really a smart way to judge the autofocus.

Why?

Well, look at the Sony A1II.

There have been lots of A1II launch videos, and when I looked at the one of Tony Northrup, I saw the Sony A1II occasionally focusing on hats and shoulders rather than faces and eyes as you can see in this screenshot and this screenshot – video here.

Now I could extract those few seconds of video and go out and claim the Sony A1II struggles to track eyes. But I won’t do that, because it would not be fair towards the Sony A1 II.

It’s better to wait for full reviews with production cameras. And today we have one, from Phototrend. You can trust them or not.

My personal position is: I am curious about what reviewers say, but I will wait for my X-T5 AF boost firmware to make final judgements.

With that said, here is what Phototrend says about the Fujifilm X-M5 autofocus.

Thanks to the X-Processor 5, the Fujifilm X-M5 benefits from the latest autofocus improvements. And we might as well say it: the latter bluffed us several times.

From a technical point of view, the body has an AI-doped hybrid AF, with 425 AF points (and 117 selectable positions). But above all, it takes advantage of the intelligent detection / tracking modes of the subject, already present on the other boxes in the range.

And in the field, the detection and monitoring of the subject are very effective. Humans or animals: the eye is detected instantly, even when the subject occupies only a small place in the frame. A point that portraitists (and lovers of wildlife photography) should appreciate.

In addition, the box always offers modes dedicated to birds and vehicles (trains, cars, planes, motorcycles). Enough to seduce fans from all walks of life. Especially since the detection is extremely effective.

In plain language: the autofocus of the X-M5 is very efficient. In general, the development is carried out without delay. Pumping phenomena are very rare, even in (very) low light. Caution, however, with certain zooms or fixed focal lengths (especially a little old), whose AF motorization can sometimes be less fast.

Finally, note that the number of “false positives” is particularly low. Fujifilm would therefore have corrected the few small problems suffered by the X-S20.

You can read the full review in original French language at phototrend.