Fujifilm has finally released the long promised autofocus update for the Fujifilm X-H2, X-H2S and GFX100II. Also new features have been added and bugs fixed.
No firmware update for X-T5 & Co yet, but Fujifilm has also promised that one to come within 2024. So do not panic. It’s coming, too according to official Fujifilm statements.
Feel free to let us know in the comments what your impressions are.
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.
Just a few days ago Fujifilm issued a firmware update for the Fujinon XC15-45mmF3.5-5.6. Well, now we have another one. All details below.
Fujinon XC15-45mmF3.5-5.6 ver.1.12 – download here
The firmware update Ver.1.12 from Ver.1.11 incorporates the following issue:
The following software issue is supposed to be fixed with Ver.1.11, but it is observed that the same issue is still occurs in rare cases under some shooting conditions. This is the revised firmware to fix the bug even in the above conditions.
Fujifilm has launched new Fujifilm X deals in Europe. They pretty much match the deals in USA, although there are some differences.
The deals are instant rebates in UK and I think also in France, but they are cashback deals in Germany, which means in Germany, after your purchase, go to this page and claim your money back.
If you buy at Amazon, make sure to buy gear shipped and sold by Amazon to access the Cashback. But attention: Amazon Germany is listed among the official retailers, but not Amazon France. In UK its an instant rebate and that works also on Amazon UK.
I have not yet found the deals listed in Italy and other countries, so make sure to check out the conditions in your country before purchasing. Select the promotion in your country on this page here. And you can always give your local retailer a call, they also know all the details of the deals.
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It’s not the firmware we are all waiting for, but it is an important update for all those who purchased the Fujinon XC15-45mm as a kit with their Fujifilm X-T50 or Fujifilm X-M5.
Fujinon XC15-45mmF3.5-5.6 ver.1.11 – download here
The firmware update Ver.1.11 from Ver.1.10 incorporates the following issue
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:
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.
The Fujifilm Q2 Financial Results (July-September 2024) have just been shared.
It’s yet another great report for Fujifilm’s imaging division.
Imaging:
In the Imaging segment, consolidated revenue amounted to ¥257.2 billion (up 17.4% year-over-year). Consolidated operating income amounted to ¥66.2 billion (up 33.8% year-over-year).
In the consumer imaging business, steady sales of the instax instant photo systems drove revenue higher. In September 2024, we launched the smartphone printer instax mini Link 3, which can print smartphone images on card-sized instax film. We will continue to expand the world of the instax instant photo system that allows people to enjoy on-the-spot photo printing.
In the professional imaging business, strong sales of digital cameras contributed to higher revenue. In June 2024, we launched the latest mirrorless digital camera models, FUJIFILM GFX100S II of the GFX series and FUJIFILM X-T50 of the X series, and two new lenses. We will continue to deliver products that appeal to digital camera users and the film industry with the GFX series, which offers overwhelmingly high image quality in a large format, and the X series, which offers the best balance between image quality and size. In addition, in September 2024 we launched the FUJINON HZK14-100mm, the third lineup in the Duvo lens series and the first wide-zoom lens in the series, which produces cinematic looks with beautiful bokeh and offers broadcast lens operation.
via Fujifilm
Viltrox has launched a sale on its Viltrox Fujifilm X mount lenses with up to 15% savings at Amazon US here.
I did check other stores like BHphoto here, Viltrox here & Co, but so far I can see the rebate only at Amazon USA here.
Tamron X mount lenses are now rebated at BHphoto here, AmazonUS here and at Adorama here.
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The Fujifilm X-M5 owner’s manual is now available. You can access it in html here or PDF here.
The Fujiiflm X-M5 is coming with quite some new stuff never available on any other Fujifilm camera before.
Back in 2018, FujiRumors made a simple request to Fujifilm: give us the option to change the color of the focus frame (the little square you move around on the screen to indicate where the camera should focus).
This request came from a common issue — while the default white box works fine most of the time, there are situations where it blends into the background, making it hard to spot. I sometimes end up moving it randomly around the screen until I can locate it again.
Six years later, that request has yet to be fulfilled.
Over time, we made peace with it and moved on. But with the release of the Fujifilm X-M5, our wish for a focus frame color change has resurfaced.
Why?
The Fujifilm X-M5 offers the usual red frame box when recording video. But when switching to slow motion mode, that red box turns green to avoid confusion — something we reported earlier. This got us thinking: if Fujifilm can adjust the frame color for video modes, surely their talented software engineers could implement a similar option for focus frames.
So, Fujifilm, if you can change video frame colors, why not give us the option to customize the focus frame color? It’s a simple tweak that could improve the user experience.
