Do I have a defective 56mm f1.2 R WR (Version II)?

Hi all,

I'm currently trying out the new Fujifilm 56mm f1.2 WR (or Version II) of this lens on a Fujifilm X-H2S.  So far speed and accuracy  on the 23mm, 33mm, and 18mm all have performed very will in AF for photography, with practically no issues.  However I've been testing this new lens, and have been noticing that when I'm in AF-C, sometimes the lens will just lockup, and get stuck.  When I was tracking moving subjects, I noticed, even with the shutter pressed down, the lens would hesitate or lock up at the out of focus position.  If I started nudging the shutter a little bit, it would eventually lock into focus, and then be fine for a little bit.  I noticed this would especially happen, if I was in focus on a far subject, and then moved quickly to a near subject, it would often lockup, and then eventually go into focus.

I noticed this also happening in video.  I would have face eye detection on, and when I would move out of the frame and then back in, I would stay out of focus, and it would not snap back into focus until I started moving around my arms.

Anyone who's tried the new 56mm experience this kind of behavior before?  I'm starting to wonder if I have a defective copy.  Unfortunately, B&H is closed until next week, so I can't do a quick swap.

Let me know what you all think.  Thanks!

Maybe too simple, but is the firmware up to date on both the camera and lens?

I’ve been holding off posting first impressions of this lens on my website for the very reason you note. On my X-T4, there seems to be a focusing algorithm issue. Even with eye AF, it pulses and will lock when the eye is clearly not in focus. In comparison, my F1 lens, which has even slower AF than the new F1.2, does not show this behaviour. I think a firmware update is required, as the lens otherwise works fine in AF-S and MF modes.

It’s important to flag the issues you’re seeing with your local Fujifilm rep and also notify Fujifilm Japan via their contact form. I’ve done both and already got a response from the local Hong Kong representative.

syrcular wrote:

Noticed something interesting today after doing a little bit of experimenting. I turned off Shutter AE, and just used the AE-L button to lock exposure, if I needed to and noticed that the camera performed a lot more stable in AF-C with the 56 lens. I'll have to do some more testing, but I noticed the camera locked on much quicker in burst mode, than when I had the exposure lock triggered by the shutter button.

Bumping this up.

This deserves more exposure, as everyone is raving at the moment on how the af on the new lens is so much better...

Curious to hear also if decoupling AE from shutter is a worthy trick for more keepers in AF-C.

syrcular wrote:

Noticed something interesting today after doing a little bit of experimenting. I turned off Shutter AE, and just used the AE-L button to lock exposure, if I needed to and noticed that the camera performed a lot more stable in AF-C with the 56 lens. I'll have to do some more testing, but I noticed the camera locked on much quicker in burst mode, than when I had the exposure lock triggered by the shutter button.

Exposure remains locked at the first shot in continuous mode with the SHUTTER AE option set to ON for AF-C, not OFF. Tracking should work better locked as the processor will only have to deal with focus.

syrcular wrote:

Erik Baumgartner wrote:

syrcular wrote:

Noticed something interesting today after doing a little bit of experimenting. I turned off Shutter AE, and just used the AE-L button to lock exposure, if I needed to and noticed that the camera performed a lot more stable in AF-C with the 56 lens. I'll have to do some more testing, but I noticed the camera locked on much quicker in burst mode, than when I had the exposure lock triggered by the shutter button.

Exposure remains locked at the first shot in continuous mode with the SHUTTER AE option set to ON for AF-C, not OFF. Tracking should work better locked as the processor will only have to deal with focus.

I know. I’m purposely setting it to off. Exposure is a bit laggy and doesn’t always click to the right exposure upon shutter click with AE in my experience and sometimes requires a few shots before it hits the right exposure. When Shutter AE is on and I’m shooting fast moving subjects if the camera exposed wrong my engaging the shutter during burst locks AE and doesn’t allow to correct itself. By taking it off the shutter I’m giving the camera more time to adjust exposure during the bursts and if I see an exposure I want to lock, I hit the AE-L button instead.
it just works better for me and I see improved performance this way and a lot more keepers.

Hmm, I don't have an X-H2, but the exposure stays put - exactly where I set it for the first shot, If you want the camera to adjust exposure continuously (which is also fine if the situation calls for it), hitting your AE Lock button should similarly prevent that from happening, no?

syrcular wrote:

Erik Baumgartner wrote:

syrcular wrote:

Erik Baumgartner wrote:

syrcular wrote:

Noticed something interesting today after doing a little bit of experimenting. I turned off Shutter AE, and just used the AE-L button to lock exposure, if I needed to and noticed that the camera performed a lot more stable in AF-C with the 56 lens. I'll have to do some more testing, but I noticed the camera locked on much quicker in burst mode, than when I had the exposure lock triggered by the shutter button.

Exposure remains locked at the first shot in continuous mode with the SHUTTER AE option set to ON for AF-C, not OFF. Tracking should work better locked as the processor will only have to deal with focus.

I know. I’m purposely setting it to off. Exposure is a bit laggy and doesn’t always click to the right exposure upon shutter click with AE in my experience and sometimes requires a few shots before it hits the right exposure. When Shutter AE is on and I’m shooting fast moving subjects if the camera exposed wrong my engaging the shutter during burst locks AE and doesn’t allow to correct itself. By taking it off the shutter I’m giving the camera more time to adjust exposure during the bursts and if I see an exposure I want to lock, I hit the AE-L button instead.
it just works better for me and I see improved performance this way and a lot more keepers.

Hmm, I don't have an X-H2, but the exposure stays put - exactly where I set it for the first shot, If you want the camera to adjust exposure continuously (which is also fine if the situation calls for it), hitting your AE Lock button should similarly prevent that from happening, no?

Sorry I think you may be misunderstanding my intended goal. I want the camera to continuously adjust exposure and I don’t want to have the shutter lock exposure. I want to decouple auto exposure lock from the shutter so that I can engage AE independent of burst shots.

So I have turned off AE on shutter and when I want exposure locked I’m using the AE-L button so that I can engage it separate from the shutter. The reason why I do this is because I don’t trust AE to work all the time so I would rather manually lock it when I’m happy with what it lands on but by mapping it to shutter it locks the moment you hit the shutter whether it’s an exposure you like or not. That’s why I map AE-L to the a separate button and not the shutter. I am currently doing this with this setup and it’s working quite well for me.

OK, I think I get it. So you want the camera to continually adjust the exposure before the burst, but not during it. And you want to independently lock in the exposure where you want it before pressing the shutter button? If so, that makes sense, I often do that when the light is very uneven and/or the subject is back-lit etc., otherwise I'm usually fine just framing the shot, adjusting exp.comp to where I want it and pushing the shutter button. If you aren't already aware, once you've locked exposure with the AEL button, you can still fine-tune it continuously with the exposure comp. dial before shooting - very handy if the light is all over the place. The camera will also automatically compensate (when possible) if you want to change any of the individual exposure parameters while AE locked.

fcracer wrote:

I’ve been holding off posting first impressions of this lens on my website for the very reason you note. On my X-T4, there seems to be a focusing algorithm issue. Even with eye AF, it pulses and will lock when the eye is clearly not in focus. In comparison, my F1 lens, which has even slower AF than the new F1.2, does not show this behaviour. I think a firmware update is required, as the lens otherwise works fine in AF-S and MF modes.

I just want to put another data point out there. With my new X-T5, the pulsing behaviour does not exist which indicates this is a firmware issue between the X-T4 and the new 56. The 56 lens works as expected on the X-T5.

syrcular wrote:

Hi all,

I'm currently trying out the new Fujifilm 56mm f1.2 WR (or Version II) of this lens on a Fujifilm X-H2S. So far speed and accuracy on the 23mm, 33mm, and 18mm all have performed very will in AF for photography, with practically no issues. However I've been testing this new lens, and have been noticing that when I'm in AF-C, sometimes the lens will just lockup, and get stuck. When I was tracking moving subjects, I noticed, even with the shutter pressed down, the lens would hesitate or lock up at the out of focus position. If I started nudging the shutter a little bit, it would eventually lock into focus, and then be fine for a little bit. I noticed this would especially happen, if I was in focus on a far subject, and then moved quickly to a near subject, it would often lockup, and then eventually go into focus.

I noticed this also happening in video. I would have face eye detection on, and when I would move out of the frame and then back in, I would stay out of focus, and it would not snap back into focus until I started moving around my arms.

Anyone who's tried the new 56mm experience this kind of behavior before? I'm starting to wonder if I have a defective copy. Unfortunately, B&H is closed until next week, so I can't do a quick swap.

Let me know what you all think. Thanks!

I too am having issues with the 56 and xh2s, only arrived a few days ago but was not impressed from the 1st time I put it on the camera, seems very unsteady in its AF performance in AF-s. When it does lock on and take the shot it then seems to pulse at the same time as shutter release, it even does this when lock the af with the back button and then want to take multiple shots with the shutter release, pulses between shots. I don’t think we should have to find a work-around to make a £1k flagship lens work better, my 18,23 and 33 lens work perfectly so why on earth has Fuji released this 56mm mk2 lens with the older AF motors which imho are a cause of the various issues. 1st time since being back with Fuji that I’m beginning to think have a made an error since the 56 will be a lens I use a hell of a lot and don’t want to have to second guess the lens I use, didn’t have to with Sony or canon so to do so with the Fuji is an annoyance that will get in the way of the job.