X100f Manual Focus

I agree with everything you said. But sadly, I think zone focusing is almost a lost art. I got my first camera 60 years ago and spent over 55 years shoot film before I even got my first digital camera, so MF is natural for me.  But now, there are a couple of generations of photographers who grew up with auto-focus. Same thing with lenses; the kit lens was a 50mm and now it's a 24-70mm zoom or equivalent  with APS-C or M43.

I love the small size and portability on my X100T but I also love my X-E2 with my 23mm f1.4 and 14mm f2.8 plus three adapted Minolta MD lenses I can also use. for the first half of last year, all I used was three Rokinon and one Bower lens on my X-E2 and I never missed the AF.

scott2click wrote:

bs1946 wrote:

I agree with everything you said. But sadly, I think zone focusing is almost a lost art.

It's a funny thing to say even if its kind of true. I don't think there's much difference between back button focus and zone focusing really though. In both cases, you're pre-focusing the camera, it's just the method of moving the lens and the time between set and click that differs.

Regardless how you focus though, I think it only makes sense that the lens should stay focused where you left it, until you choose to change it.

One of the problems with today's AF lenses is they are all focus-by-wire with no hard stops at minimum focus and infinity. With every manual lens I have that's 23mm or wider, I carefully focused the lens in on a target 10 feet away and marked that focus point on the focus ring. Using a DOF calculator, I also know what f-stop I have to be at to get a DOF large enough to have everything from five feet to infinity in focus. So, all I have to do is align the mark on the aperture ring and the focus point mark on the lens barrel, stop down to the right aperture or beyond, and my focus is set unless I move the focus ring or I want or need a shallower DOF.

Bill S.
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Les Lammers wrote:

Cliff Fujii wrote:

scott2click wrote:

I apologize for the thread resurrection here, but it would be nice if the camera would at least remember where you had manually focused it to. (If there's a setting for that somewhere that I missed please point it out!) I often zone focus and as soon as the camera sleeps or I shut it off, the focus point resets to about the two meter mark. I assume it's the same on the X-Pro2. A great firmware update would be to enable the camera to remember it's position, and/or to at least reset to hyperfocal distance (as they calculate it) for the given aperture.

I have to admit that I haven't seen this issue as I never zone focus anymore. I find with the X-Trans III cameras, the AF works well enough for me.

How would/could firmware remember a manual position? Just reset the lens.

I have the 14mm f2.8 and 23mm f1.4. Both have the AF/MF clutch and when the clutch is pulled back to MF mode, my X-E2 will be at the same focus point when I turn it off and then turn it on as long as I don't move the focus ring. These lenses are still operating on the same focus by wire that the AF system uses, but now, they have hard stops at minimum focus and infinity just like fully manual lenses do. This provides the firmware with two calibrated end points and a known focus point in between to tell the motors where to keep the lens focused. I had the same system with three of my Olympus lenses and it operated the same way. However, for whatever reason, the lens designers decided to remove the hard stops on AF lens focus rings so you can just spin them forever and there is no accurate way to measure and record the focus point.

My Pro2 does not change the focus if I turn the ring while it is off. Not sure I would want to as the ring could be inadvertently moved while in the bag or while taking it out of the bag.

davearthurs wrote:

Mehran Khalili wrote:

On a related note: I’d love Fuji to make a very cut-down version of the Fuji X100F. Think: only ERF (no large EVF), manual focus only (no AF), RAW-only (no film simulations), and no LCD screen on the back. Think Leica M-D but even more stripped-down. And how about removing all the auto modes too, and the exposure comp dial. Just the three manual controls for exposure on the dials, and you’re done. A totally manual camera. That would take real guts, but Fuji is the only company outside Leica who could pull it off. (And they could do it easily - just using the X100F as a base, and removing features. No need to add anything.)

I think the point of what Fuji is hopefully doing is that both worlds could exist in the same camera - which it could easily do, they just seem pre-occupied with the same old new marketing spins as everyone else of 'even faster' AF and better video etc., that SLR marketing has become every year, rather than actually what photographers might want. I use AF a lot for slow scenes and general use, but for busy street photography MF is the way to go IMHO. They already have MF on there, so why not do it properly.

After four versions of the same camera, by now they certainly should have stepped up the manual functionality : their youtube promo ads are nearly all with street photographers, they have a rangefinder style body, fixed 35 lens, etc., etc., but they are still pretty much in the safe compact digital camera zone in reality.

Some of their lenses have a MF clutch which I think acts the way you want. Implementing that on the X100F would make it a lot bigger in regards to lens depth which would be a bad idea IMO.

darngooddesign wrote:

My Pro2 does not change the focus if I turn the ring while it is off. Not sure I would want to as the ring could be inadvertently moved while in the bag or while taking it out of the bag.

Fuji lenses w/o a clutch are electronic focusing.  It just sends messages to the camera which changes the focus which is controlled by a motor.

I have the camera set to manual focus, focus on a desired distance with an assigned focus-button then leave it like that. When i turn the camera off and on it has the distance saved at the exakt position as the last time. Simple and works flawlessly.

The only issue is if I by mistake move the focus ring on the lens while shooting as the camera is set to manual focusing. I have not found any way to fully disable the focus ring completely.

cabo wrote:

mrkarisma wrote:

I have the camera set to manual focus, focus on a desired distance with an assigned focus-button then leave it like that. When i turn the camera off and on it has the distance saved at the exakt position as the last time. Simple and works flawlessly.

The only issue is if I by mistake move the focus ring on the lens while shooting as the camera is set to manual focusing. I have not found any way to fully disable the focus ring completely.

Exactly the way I work. However, with the first firmware version the camera would reset itself to 2 m every time it was switched off. Fortunately Fuji changed that behavior after I and several others complained.

So a workaround is to turn on AF+MF and deactivate from the shutter release (I think you can do this, you can on other Fujis). That way in AF-S the focus ring will only be active if you half-press the shutter release before turning it.

DarnGoodPhotos wrote:

cabo wrote:

mrkarisma wrote:

I have the camera set to manual focus, focus on a desired distance with an assigned focus-button then leave it like that. When i turn the camera off and on it has the distance saved at the exakt position as the last time. Simple and works flawlessly.

The only issue is if I by mistake move the focus ring on the lens while shooting as the camera is set to manual focusing. I have not found any way to fully disable the focus ring completely.

Exactly the way I work. However, with the first firmware version the camera would reset itself to 2 m every time it was switched off. Fortunately Fuji changed that behavior after I and several others complained.

So a workaround is to turn on AF+MF and deactivate from the shutter release (I think you can do this, you can on other Fujis). That way in AF-S the focus ring will only be active if you half-press the shutter release before turning it.

Thats interesting, on my X100F it works the opposite way, this same setting turns off the focus ring when I half press the shutter.. Weird.. I solved the issue by putting tejp around the focus ring always locking it in place no matter what. It is just sad that you have go to these baroque techniques on a camera this expensive even though it is marketed as a street camera.. Common Fujifilm, FIX THIS PROBLEM!