What's the deal with the X-T5 autofocus?

dccberry wrote:

I’m sorry, but to say the AF hasn’t improved from the X-T3 to the X-H2S is a load of BS. I don’t know about the X-T5 or the X-H2 but the AF in the X-H2S is miles ahead of the X-T3 and in my experience not far off Sony and Canon.

People are talking as if the Sony and Canon AF systems are infallible and I can assure you they are not.

I agree with this, and also want to add that it is not reasonable to expect any camera to "just do it all" without user input and attention. The X-H2s and X-T4 require that the user be aware of what the camera is doing, and that is one of the reasons that I like working with them- they are engaging, and also don't necessarily leave much room for user error. Are they perfect for focus tracking? No. Are the professionally able to deliver sellable images? You bet.

Honestly, I don't believe for a second that the AF hasn't improved from the X-T3 and X-T4 to even the X-T5 and X-H2. Even less to the X-H2s.

Unless I remember it wrong, even the most critical reviews about the AF I've found so far state that there has been a marked improvement compared to the previous generations of cameras. Personally, at this stage, I wouldn't even take notice of people who claim otherwise.

Still, it bothers me to see arguments like the ones in bold above. The first one is a straw man because I think no one is expecting nor asking for a perfect performance, just one where the frequency of misfocussed shots isn't too high to be bothersome, nor too divergent from the focus confirmation readings to avoid unpleasant surprises after the fact, when it's too late to do anything about it.

The second argument is a low bar if there ever was one.

I think it would be more helpful for prospective buyers if we could stick to the issue at hand and discuss specifics.