X-H2S vs X-H2 and X-T5 Autofocus

GMacF wrote:

10sj03 wrote:

GMacF wrote:

I’ve found the X-T5 AF very good and it’s definitely a step up from the X-T4.
The X-H2S is a different level altogether. Yes it has its flaws although it’s highly probable these are being caused by the soft squidgy thing using camera i.e. yours truly.

With the cold weather spell here in the UK, my bird table has become quite a hive of activity but since it’s all small birds I do struggle to get consistently good AF - but birding is not my wheelhouse so I wouldn’t say I’m a good judge of the AF in that regard.
For my sports work I’ve found the X-H2S to be almost perfect.
I also use the X-T5 as a second body for sports and I’ve been very impressed with it - I’d have few qualms if it was my only sports body.

Thank you. Any of the camera mentioned is a huge step up on AF compared to my X-T2 Right now, I am mostly using my Fujifilm for kids sports like baseball, tennis and swim. As they grow older, kids will be faster but less erratic in their movement. The only thing that concerns me on those negative review is the camera shows green box focus but the actual photo is blurry. That has happened often for my X-T2.

The issue I have, personally, with this scenario is that people set the camera up, stick on tracking and expect it to magically acquire focus on everything they want. According to reviews, Sony (and possibly others) do this better than Fujifilm and that's fair enough, I'm not here to claim Fuji is the best.

BUT, for moving targets (sports in particular) there is no substitute for Zone (or centre point if that's you preference) and good camera technique. I would never shoot a football match and just expect the camera to track every subject I want it to - it just doesn't happen - plus it's one aspect of control I'd rather keep.

I don't expect the camera to do everything. One specific case I want the camera to do is to track a baseball player running home from third base. With the X-T2 and 3x3 zone or single point AF-C, too often it will lose the player and focus on the batter, the catcher or the coach standing near the third base. With the X-T2 I would just pre-focus on the home plate and get the player stepping or sliding to the base. I am also shooting behind the fence and use F2.8 to throw the fence out of focus. Hence, not much margin for focus errors.