Tracking My Dog – Shared on the FXF here
Dropbox Download Link Here
TRACKING TIPS
For AF-tracking with CL or CH (focus between each shot), you have to use Mechanical Shutter (MS) only. It doesn’t work with MS+ES (electronic shutter) enabled
+
Turn Off face detection to enable PDAF
+
High Performance Mode ON
_ _ _
A must read in these days is definitely this FXF thread, where people from all over the world, who have installed the “Fujileaks” 4.0 FW, share their findings… which is mostly enthusiastic. Just go through it here and read by yourself.
I have FW 4.0 Beta on my X-T1, and I’m happy with the improved AF-speed (especially on slower lenses like the 35mm). It might be just a Placebo, but I feel like there is less hunting.
And what about AF-Tracking?
Sure, the new Zone AF and Wide Tracking AF are very welcome additions and definitely user-friendly features! But how well do they really work?
I have to say that I’m very happy with my own tracking tests, but personally I’ll set aside my final judgment, for 3 good reasons:
1) I have on my X-T1 some kind of BETA firmware leaked on the web. I don’t know which version it is. The final version might improve it further.
2) I’m not a PRO, and if I try to track ice-skaters, I won’t get the results a skilled photographer can get. Also, AF-Tracking is something I don’t really use normally. For the way I like to shoot, I’m mostly in AF-S or Manual Focus. So I’m not the ideal person, who can test & judge the performance of the Tracking.
3) I would like to see what you can make in different shooting conditions/subjects
That said, I can’t really complaint about the tracking. As you can see from the video I’ve shared here, the Camera has no problems to follow a subject (in this case with Zone Mode). Taking shots in CL (dropbox – my dog running) gave me a high percetage of keepers. As you can see, the AF-system lost my dog on the second shot, but locked on it again in the third shot… tracking it correctly until it run out of the frame.
Also looking at Rico’s FW4 AF Tracking test, there is hardly anything to complaint about it. Another one, who is happy with the new tracking, is FXF member Jean Mareaux (Flickr). He tested it on his dog using the 56mmF1.2 and shared this link to the downloadable images.
Initial Conclusions: 🙂 🙂 🙂 .
As said, for the final judgment, I’ll wait the official firmware (if I can install it) and more feedback from other photographers.
AF-Tracking at Fujit youtube – with X-T10
23 Responses
i dont want to sound like a glinch, and i am eager to test FW4.0, too, but i cant find something exciting in any of the tracking examples and videos. most are very slow and/or constant moving objects, the camera is static, short focal lenghts, slow apertures. sure its an improvement, but even my old EOS 350D from 10 years ago can do that (and basically any current mirrorless camera, too).
i´d love to the same real world examples with ther 56 1.2 or 50-140 2.8, wide open, shooting kids running around. thats something demanding.
I shot my dog at 86mmF4.5… and the dog was running.
Rico shared samples taken at 140mm F2.8.
As I said, I’ll wait for more feedback, testing more lenses in different situation for the final judgment. So you do well in not being to enthuisastic for now.
Next test: testing bikers at F1.4 😉
it requires probably more than one 4.5 air rifle,even if you are as close as 86mm. understands that he managed to escape it .
I share your thoughts : I’m very happy with my X-T1 but using it with the XF56 for fast action (children or my dog) even with continuous AF and Hight speed, i difficult and results are quite poor… So poor that I dare not hope a big improvement. Hope I’m wrong ! We should not wait too long now to know.
In the fuji line, lens with multiple linear motors are much faster in action. Body can be faster In judgement but lens need to be faster to get in position first. Your xf 56 is not in that category. Try xf 1655 and you might be happier.
I also share your concerns. I’m shooting Nikon (D300) currently and about to jump ship, but the only thing holding me back is Fuji’s AF speed (it’s downright awful on my X100S, which is such a shame with an otherwise stellar camera). Although the tests with FW 4.0 beta (and the X-T10) are promising, I am still eager to see some real tests (as you describe: wide open, longer focal lengths, etc.). On the other hand, we shouldn’t overestimate the speed of our average subjects (children, pets, etc.). As long as we do not need critical sharpness tracking top athletes dashing straight towards us, we might be fine.
i installed the leaked FW4.0…well…lets say you are way better of with the trusty D300 😉 i can feel improvements but basically the AF is still extremely inconsistent. sometimes you get an instant lock on (which puts my 5D3 to shame, especially in dim light) and sometimes it hunts like stupid or fails to focus when there is not enough contrast. and backlight is still a no-go.
tracking is definitely improved, but still the same inconsistent story as single AF: sometimes works like a charme, sometimes fails completely.
Thanks for sharing your experience! It seems that Fuji still has a long way to go then… I don’t need D300-level AF speed really, but I surely do need some reliability. Then again, my D300 also hunts and misses focus every now and then. Maybe we are expecting too much from Fuji and need to give them a little break… 😉
Completely agree!
What we see in all the videos are things that even firmware 1.0 should easily nail.
Slow moving subjects towards the camera isn’t difficult to track.
I don’t see any difference other than the real-time focus dots moving around the subject.
If I get a chance, I’ll post some from my recent vacation. Lots of motion from water slides and erratic movements using the 55-200. I work as a sports photojournalist and use Canon equipment primarily. Having said that, my initial impressions with the new FW was that it worked much better than I expected. I still have a big problem with EVF and following action however. 😉
The dog sequence is good, but I prefer Rico’s daughter as a model.
I thought this was slated for official release today – is that still happening?
According to my sources the release should be on the 25th
Thanks for the update Patrick!
Can’t wait to test it on my goldfish..
I have heard they are notoriously hard to track!
:p
Hilarious!
Tracking is not I really need, what about low light focusing improvement? It’s the weakest part of Fuji cams in my view if you shoot people low light, and in any move, more than 50-70% shots go to trash. Really poor AF performance with 0EV sensitivity. All Panasonic, Olympus, Nikon and a few Sony mirrorless focus very good to exellent in low ligh compared to Fuji. I hope X-Pro2 will focus at least down to -2EV.
I have seen others’ comments on forums that low-light focusing has indeed been improved with the 4.0 FW.
With the FW 4.0 update the sensitivity (PDAF) increased by 2 stops, down to +0.5 EV. Must indeed be noticable.
re: “According to my sources the release has been postponed” posted below by Patrick about 3 hours ago. Does this mean that the June 25 release date is no longer certain or is June 25 still likely?
it will come on the 29th: http://www.fujirumors.com/delay-fuji-x-t1-firmware-4-0-coming-june-29-tursted-source/