image courtesy: bencherryphotos
Ben Cherry (website) tested the AF-tracking of the X-T1 with [shoplink 12892]XF 55-200[/shoplink] and a prototype XF 18-135mm WR vs the action combo [shoplink 13457]Canon 5D Mark III[/shoplink] with the $2,500 Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM Telephoto Zoom Lens.
The subject is a dog running full speed towards the X-T1 or 5dMkIII. The results? Ben says: “So how did the X-T1 and the latest telephoto lenses hold up against the ultimate action combo? Well I have to say I am extremely impressed by the results. So much so I’m not sure whether people can tell the difference.” Consider that Ben did NOT enable the HIGH PERFORMANCE mode, which makes AF faster.
But Ben doesn’t reveal which test series was shot with which lens.
In fact he just launced this contest: “Guess which is which – If you have twitter then tweet your answer with #2fujis1canon. At the end of the week I will reveal the answer. Remember the three options are: 70-200 (canon), 55-200 (fuji) and 18-135 (prototype, fuji). Allocate one lens to option 1, 2 and 3.”
So start tweeting 😉
For those who do not use twitter, here is a poll for you. Check out the 3 AF-tracking series at bencherryphotos and then feel free to come back and vote the poll.
NOTE: To anyone out there, who wants to make such comparisons. It happens that reviewers do not enable the “HIGH PERFORMANCE” mode on their X-series camera. If you do such a test, you must enable it, as it will considerably improve the AF-performance of the camera… btw, every X-shooter should use it. You’ll drain a bit more battery life, but it’s worth the extra performance. It’s one of the many many tips and tricks Rico shared in his brand new X-E2 book here (German Version at dpunkt here).
UDPATE: Here are the resutls: Lens 1 – Fujifilm 18-135mm prototype / Lens 2 – Canon 70-200mm / Lens 3 – Fujifilm 55-200mm: “To conclude – For me the 5D3 is still the daddy, it instantly finds the subjects and tracks accurately. Whereas the X-T1 can sometimes take a while to find the subject but once it has, it will track very well, hitting the subject the vast majority of the time. Once there are greater auto focus zones on the X-T1, like the 5D3, then I think the tracking capabilities will vastly improve. To bring it back to dogs, the 5D3 is like my springer spaniel, it is just happy to be out running around and will respond to any call I give no matter what. While the X-T1 is like my labrador, loyal as anything but if you want it to respond to a call quickly then an obvious treat is required (though the high performance setting would have improved its responsiveness)!”
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32 Responses
My votes are the same as the most 18-135 (1st), 70-200 (2nd) and 55-200 (3rd).
It´s indeed impossible to ignore fiels of view ans bokeh on such comparison :/
And we know that the 55-200 is the last and the slowest to focus, because on the 3rd run, the dog must have been noticeably slower :))
Photographer must have changed WB on X-T1 from 1st to 3rd series. Colors are dull (CanonLike) but DOF, angles of view and miss on 3d series definatly tells that most people are right with lenses guess.
Dis, one of the cameras is a 5D MkIII with the Canon 70-200 f/2.8 L IS. The other two are X-T1
That’s an interesting point. Judging by the colours the first one is canon and the other two are fujis.
How does one enable “High Performance” mode?
Menus, settings 2 (with wrench), power management
Thanks so much, will definitely try it
I’ll have to try this. I’ve tested the tracking on my wife’s X-T1 a few times and it was always pretty awful.
I made a big mistake because before I vote it I did not read his site. But as I took a quick look at all 3 images , it became easy. the one is the Fuji kit zoom, the two is the Canon , the 3 is the Fuji 55-200 kit zoom. I am aware of Canon , Nikon , Sony color , so I could tell the 2 is the Canon. Fuji images are not bad but soft compared to Canon’s.
As much as I enjoy the X system, these comparisons are silly. The X cameras are not able to focus as reliably as a DSLR yet on moving subjects, especially ones with an erratic pattern.
In a year or three they may be the equal. Thankfully they have been improving on focus but they have some way to go.
Now fuji, I hope the E3 and T2 have even better tracking! Better than ever the nikon 1.
AF-C works decently on the X-T1 as long as the subject is in the center, if you move outside the center, performance drops considerably.
I’m sorry, I love my X-T1 and 55-200 combo but it can’t compete with the 5D Mk III. It tracks pretty well once it’s locked on, but getting that initial lock is very difficult at times. Also, the display of the image just taken in the viewfinder as each shot is taken (the mirrorless equivalent of blackout time) makes tracking the subject harder. Yes, even with Image Disp. set to OFF.
Yes, yes … and the 5D MkIII can’t compare with the Nikon D3s and D4, both of which will wipe the floor with the Canon.
It’s all relative to one’s needs.
Who said anything about Nikon? This article is comparing the 5D Mk III to the Fuji X-T1 and I commented on that comparison based on my real-world experience owning both cameras.
It seems weird that you should have to enable High Performance, rather than some kind of power saver/low performance mode
That’s intersting. Actually, for me low/saver mode sounds like something inferior psychologically and I would rather carry a spare battery (as I do anyway) than use some abriged mode. On the other hand, having an HP mode makes me feel completely fine with the default low consumption mode, and I’ll push performance omly when I know I’m gonna need tracknig and high burst rates and responsiveness in general.
Another small thing where fuji whent the other way, comparing to what is “usual”)
Don’t you just love it when fanboys keep comparing a Mini Cooper to Mercedes?…
Haha, in many cases mini is a much better and wise choice, if you can fit in the driver’s seat:)
May be you’ve never driven a mini?
BTW it is really a great comparison, awesome, thanks!
Very true. A lot of the smaller sports cars will wipe the floor of most Audi’s, BMW’s and Merc’s etc…. until you get to the top end of their range. Even then, you have to be well above the speed limit to appreciate the difference, which most people don’t do. You need to get them on a track to shine.
This type of test will always show the Canon 5D mkiii is better but it is interesting to see how the gap has narrowed. I know I left behind FF (5d mkii + L glass) for the compact quality of Fuji. I just don’t want the bulk and weight but I do want high quality.
em, wouldn’t the X-T1 having much deeper DOF { smaller sensor and slower lenses} make a difference ? The fuji Plus 18-135 at the long end has the same DOF wide open as the Canon combo at f8.4
200/5.6 will have the same DOF on any camera. The field of view is different, which you can see in the pictures. 135 has more DOF and you can see that in the pictures, too. Makes the guessing quite easy if the photog didn’t move. 😉
Different sensors (both by physical size and pixel pitch) will have different CoC. And CoC is a crucial consideration in calculating DOF.
In short: different sensors = in most cases, different DOF.
I’d say it depends on your definition of DOF. Do you settle for a fixed number of points in the diagonal of your shot or a fixed size for the CoC, or for the CoC/pixel pitch relation…
But I am very much for the point of view where you look at sensor an lens separately…
That’s the fundamental flaw with DOF, and that’s why I never use it in absolute terms, only in relative.
But in your imaginary experiment, if you somehow set the CoC as a constant across cameras, 200/5.6 indeed will render the same DOF, no matter what size of the sensor.
I can’t tell you how refreshing it this to talk about this online without somebody going berserk. 😉
The continual anxiety to show how “amazing” the AF is on Fuji cameras speaks for itself in spades…
That dog has a mad tongue.
It should be kind of obvious given the different color reproduction that the two sets with the same color would both be the Fuji body. That would make the first set, with different colors, the 70-200mm on the Canon..
The color tone is so different and hard to ignore, if the photographer doesn’t want to trick us… This would just make the comparison so unfair. 😛
For many shooters, this focus tracking doesn’t really matter. But I’m really glad to see it stay on the front burner and look forward to the day when mirrorless cameras outperform DSLRs in every category, not just style and portability. 🙂
Keep iterating Fuji! By most counts, the XT1 is very close to EM1 speed, even with the bigger sensor. That’s impressive.
I hope the XPro2 brings weather sealing and the fastest focus yet.