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XT-2 - Kids - AF - Blurry pictures - I've found a solution

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Gibono

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Hi Folks,

Since I've bought the XT-2 on 2016 I went through all state of frustrations/happiness...

Sometimes, 3 times on 10, I was amazed by the quality of the photos but most of the time frustrated.... another picture that I've missed, the photo is blurry, with noise, etc etc damn AF on FUJI!

I noticed a real improvement with the AF with the three last firmware and now I'm with the 4.1

I've hesitated severall time to go back to nikon, but I love the XT-2. The controls on the camera, the size, the feeling... but I must admit that until last week I found the XT-2 not reliable.

I've tried to use the AF-C to shoot my kids... but since the begining the pictures wasn't perfect... good but not sharp enough for portraits.

BUT thanks to this post https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/61212171 I finally found the perfect solution.

I've set a button (in front of the camera) for "AF-ON" fonction. I've removed the AF-on on the shutter button only for AF-C. Then I choose a single point (not a zone) and I leave my finger on the af-on button... always... and then I press the shutter.

On 10 photos, I've got 10 perfect photos.

So I finally got a setup that I can count on it.

For my test I've used the 56 1.2 that is not knows for a fast AF... but with this setup, it works like a charm.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
BBF is a well established technique for wildlife shots.

No surprise this equivalent works with kids.

i find the 50mm F2 ideal for small children shots.
 
Last edited:
Which front button for AF-ON? I am using X-Pro2 and I find difficult to follow. The link you posted has over 100 entries and I can pin point the entry with the solution. Please explain further.
 
Gibono said:
Hi Folks,

Since I've bought the XT-2 on 2016 I went through all state of frustrations/happiness...

Sometimes, 3 times on 10, I was amazed by the quality of the photos but most of the time frustrated.... another picture that I've missed, the photo is blurry, with noise, etc etc damn AF on FUJI!

I noticed a real improvement with the AF with the three last firmware and now I'm with the 4.1

I've hesitated severall time to go back to nikon, but I love the XT-2. The controls on the camera, the size, the feeling... but I must admit that until last week I found the XT-2 not reliable.

I've tried to use the AF-C to shoot my kids... but since the begining the pictures wasn't perfect... good but not sharp enough for portraits.

BUT thanks to this post https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/61212171 I finally found the perfect solution.

I've set a button (in front of the camera) for "AF-ON" fonction. I've removed the AF-on on the shutter button only for AF-C. Then I choose a single point (not a zone) and I leave my finger on the af-on button... always... and then I press the shutter.

On 10 photos, I've got 10 perfect photos.

So I finally got a setup that I can count on it.

For my test I've used the 56 1.2 that is not knows for a fast AF... but with this setup, it works like a charm.
Click to expand...
How would this differ from using the shutter button to focus and take pictures in AF-C?
 
FBF on the X-T2
FBF on the X-T2
 
Exit10 said:
Gibono said:
Hi Folks,

Since I've bought the XT-2 on 2016 I went through all state of frustrations/happiness...

Sometimes, 3 times on 10, I was amazed by the quality of the photos but most of the time frustrated.... another picture that I've missed, the photo is blurry, with noise, etc etc damn AF on FUJI!

I noticed a real improvement with the AF with the three last firmware and now I'm with the 4.1

I've hesitated severall time to go back to nikon, but I love the XT-2. The controls on the camera, the size, the feeling... but I must admit that until last week I found the XT-2 not reliable.

I've tried to use the AF-C to shoot my kids... but since the begining the pictures wasn't perfect... good but not sharp enough for portraits.

BUT thanks to this post https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/61212171 I finally found the perfect solution.

I've set a button (in front of the camera) for "AF-ON" fonction. I've removed the AF-on on the shutter button only for AF-C. Then I choose a single point (not a zone) and I leave my finger on the af-on button... always... and then I press the shutter.

On 10 photos, I've got 10 perfect photos.

So I finally got a setup that I can count on it.

For my test I've used the 56 1.2 that is not knows for a fast AF... but with this setup, it works like a charm.
Click to expand...
How would this differ from using the shutter button to focus and take pictures in AF-C?
Click to expand...
this... it seems like you could just always have press the shutter to keep the camera continually auto focusing, unless I'm missing something.
 
Gibono said:
Hi Folks,

Since I've bought the XT-2 on 2016 I went through all state of frustrations/happiness...

Sometimes, 3 times on 10, I was amazed by the quality of the photos but most of the time frustrated.... another picture that I've missed, the photo is blurry, with noise, etc etc damn AF on FUJI!

I noticed a real improvement with the AF with the three last firmware and now I'm with the 4.1

I've hesitated severall time to go back to nikon, but I love the XT-2. The controls on the camera, the size, the feeling... but I must admit that until last week I found the XT-2 not reliable.

I've tried to use the AF-C to shoot my kids... but since the begining the pictures wasn't perfect... good but not sharp enough for portraits.

BUT thanks to this post https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/61212171 I finally found the perfect solution.

I've set a button (in front of the camera) for "AF-ON" fonction. I've removed the AF-on on the shutter button only for AF-C. Then I choose a single point (not a zone) and I leave my finger on the af-on button... always... and then I press the shutter.

On 10 photos, I've got 10 perfect photos.

So I finally got a setup that I can count on it.

For my test I've used the 56 1.2 that is not knows for a fast AF... but with this setup, it works like a charm.
Click to expand...
Good for you. Maybe Fuji could include reliable focussing in the shutter release?
 
Gibono said:
Hi Folks,

Since I've bought the XT-2 on 2016 I went through all state of frustrations/happiness...

Sometimes, 3 times on 10, I was amazed by the quality of the photos but most of the time frustrated.... another picture that I've missed, the photo is blurry, with noise, etc etc damn AF on FUJI!

I noticed a real improvement with the AF with the three last firmware and now I'm with the 4.1

I've hesitated severall time to go back to nikon, but I love the XT-2. The controls on the camera, the size, the feeling... but I must admit that until last week I found the XT-2 not reliable.

I've tried to use the AF-C to shoot my kids... but since the begining the pictures wasn't perfect... good but not sharp enough for portraits.

BUT thanks to this post https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/61212171 I finally found the perfect solution.

I've set a button (in front of the camera) for "AF-ON" fonction. I've removed the AF-on on the shutter button only for AF-C. Then I choose a single point (not a zone) and I leave my finger on the af-on button... always... and then I press the shutter.

On 10 photos, I've got 10 perfect photos.

So I finally got a setup that I can count on it.

For my test I've used the 56 1.2 that is not knows for a fast AF... but with this setup, it works like a charm.
Click to expand...
Using this AF-ON button since my Nikon D70. Never like to half press shutter button since then.
 
Gibono said:
Hi Folks,

Since I've bought the XT-2 on 2016 I went through all state of frustrations/happiness...

Sometimes, 3 times on 10, I was amazed by the quality of the photos but most of the time frustrated.... another picture that I've missed, the photo is blurry, with noise, etc etc damn AF on FUJI!

I noticed a real improvement with the AF with the three last firmware and now I'm with the 4.1

I've hesitated severall time to go back to nikon, but I love the XT-2. The controls on the camera, the size, the feeling... but I must admit that until last week I found the XT-2 not reliable.

I've tried to use the AF-C to shoot my kids... but since the begining the pictures wasn't perfect... good but not sharp enough for portraits.

BUT thanks to this post https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/61212171 I finally found the perfect solution.

I've set a button (in front of the camera) for "AF-ON" fonction. I've removed the AF-on on the shutter button only for AF-C. Then I choose a single point (not a zone) and I leave my finger on the af-on button... always... and then I press the shutter.

On 10 photos, I've got 10 perfect photos.

So I finally got a setup that I can count on it.

For my test I've used the 56 1.2 that is not knows for a fast AF... but with this setup, it works like a charm.
Click to expand...
As with most things today that involve computers, phones and cameras there are several ways to accomplish the same end result. As another member mentioned, BBF (back button focus) has been a standard method of operation for experienced photographers shooting action for years. I'm referring to sport, wildlife, etc. and this method was developed with SLR's I believe in the film era and carried over to DSLR's. I've been using BBF for action shots with my X-T2 as I did with my 7D, 50 and 40D and my EOS 1 film camera and get very consistent results.

That said I'm confused why you assigned a front button to focus instead of the default rear on the X-T2. This seems to me to be more difficult than using BBF.

IMO BBF along with proper camera settings will elevate the X-T2 to tracking focus accuracy and consistency that's very close to the best DSLR's. The best DSLR's still have an advantage but mostly when the lighting is poor due to their larger PDAF sensors.

BBF, AF-C, high performance mode and choosing the proper AF-C strategy all play a part in getting the X-T2 to perform well for tracking AF.

Bob

--
http://www.pbase.com/rwbaron
 
Last edited:
rwbaron said:
That said I'm confused why you assigned a front button to focus instead of the default rear on the X-T2. This seems to me to be more difficult than using BBF.
Click to expand...
I can't speak for Gibono, but the combination of being left-eyed and wearing glasses makes it much more convenient to use a button on the front of the camera for AF-ON. It leaves your thumb free for joystick movements, and the pressure of your AF-ON finger pushes the camera towards your face, rather than away from it.

Regardless of what that button is, the easiest button to use for AF-ON is going to be the one that you're most used to.
 
Optimus Prime Lens said:
James Lotto said:
I just checked ... did not get an option to set it to AF-ON
Click to expand...
You could set one of the rear buttons to do it, hence 'back button focus'. AE-L or AF-L I find works best for my thumb. Try it and let us know!
Click to expand...
I set both AF-L and AE-L to AF-ON because it hard to distinguish these two button on the vertical grip without looking. Also the front button doesn't work for me for there is no front button in the vertical grip.
 
Exact! Just a matter of habits i guess...

For the difference with the half press shutter... i don’t have any explanation. But for me, the results are there... don’t know why. Maybe it’s complicated for the internal processor to do the af+ae+taking the picture... maybe an issue with the firmwares... who knows? But i get much more precise pictures with this method.
 
Gibono said:
Exact! Just a matter of habits i guess...

For the difference with the half press shutter... i don’t have any explanation. But for me, the results are there... don’t know why. Maybe it’s complicated for the internal processor to do the af+ae+taking the picture... maybe an issue with the firmwares... who knows? But i get much more precise pictures with this method.
Click to expand...
This could indeed be the difference. With default settings the half press shutter button will have the CPU track, calculate the exposure and apply the film simulation constantly. With BBF you eliminate the exposure calculation. I have assigned the front Fn button to turn the film sim preview off / on, so I can eliminate that as well. That leaves the CPU only for tracking.
As with all CPUs it can only do one thing at a time so that may help...
 
GreatSouls said:
This could indeed be the difference. With default settings the half press shutter button will have the CPU track, calculate the exposure and apply the film simulation constantly. With BBF you eliminate the exposure calculation. I have assigned the front Fn button to turn the film sim preview off / on, so I can eliminate that as well. That leaves the CPU only for tracking.
As with all CPUs it can only do one thing at a time so that may help...
Click to expand...
Not correct. Fuji uses a dual-core ARM Cortex A7 cpu. Then the different models have different speed depending the age/time period of the introduction of the camera model.

Much of the AF improvements over the last 2 years were from dedicating one core to the AF (and PDAF) when the AF operation is required.

BTW, Olympus uses a quad-core for their M1.2, Canon uses dual-cores for their lower end and 2 or 3 separate CPUs for their higher end (depending on the model) and Nikon uses a quad-core for their 850.
 
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