Fuji X-E1 and new compact coming! Thread II

[vengels]

Hi Fable, try as I might - I just cannot seem to find the "select AF points" option in my "Fn" button menu.
Is it because I am running an older firmware? Can anyone enlighten me on how to check for firmware?

Thank you in advance and apologies for my ignorance!

There is no way to set the Fn button to select AF points..
U can only set it to AF mode.. Then the only way to select point is still the AF button on the bottom left..
Which of course has cause me to poke my nose when using EVF and trying to change the AF points..

 

[Fable]

Hi Fable, try as I might - I just cannot seem to find the "select AF points" option in my "Fn" button menu.
Is it because I am running an older firmware? Can anyone enlighten me on how to check for firmware?

Thank you in advance and apologies for my ignorance!

Hi, sorry my description not clear .
I am trying to say..under shooting menu, fn button set to AF mode.
So that i could change AF to point selection mode using Fn button
Happy shooting.
Thanks Vengels.

 

[Chrissp]

There is no way to set the Fn button to select AF points..
U can only set it to AF mode.. Then the only way to select point is still the AF button on the bottom left..
Which of course has cause me to poke my nose when using EVF and trying to change the AF points..

That is my major gripe with Fuji's X-series cameras design. It is just very, very awkward to activate AF point selection, especially when using VF. This also throws off the balance of the camera when using left hand to reach for the button instead of supporting lens/camera. Really wish Fuji provides a firmware update to allow Fn button to activate AF point selection, or better still, move the button to the right where the Q button is in next gen. cameras.

 

[impresza]

Would using focus lock with AF point in the center, follow by recomposing help? I think this may help as long as you are not using prime lens wide open.

 

[yrh0413]

That is my major gripe with Fuji's X-series cameras design. It is just very, very awkward to activate AF point selection, especially when using VF. This also throws off the balance of the camera when using left hand to reach for the button instead of supporting lens/camera. Really wish Fuji provides a firmware update to allow Fn button to activate AF point selection, or better still, move the button to the right where the Q button is in next gen. cameras.

that's one of the well-documented shortcomings on the X-Pro1 too...

 

[Thoth]

Would using focus lock with AF point in the center, follow by recomposing help? I think this may help as long as you are not using prime lens wide open.

Yes. Using it wide open this way will affect d sharpness on focus object.

 

[Eijnaix]

Yes. Using it wide open this way will affect d sharpness on focus object.

Using af lock will, and but shutter lock shouldn't affect the sharpness despite being wide open, and right?

 

[vengels]

Would using focus lock with AF point in the center, follow by recomposing help? I think this may help as long as you are not using prime lens wide open.

I use this method even wide open..
Does not affect sharpness too much if ur subject is in the same plane as ur initial focus point..

 

[Thoth]

I use this method even wide open..
Does not affect sharpness too much if ur subject is in the same plane as ur initial focus point..

Means yr hands r more steady than mine... :bsmilie:

 

[vengels]

Means yr hands r more steady than mine... :bsmilie:

No lah.. just move slowly and horizontally.. should be okei..

Focus and recompose is faster than selecting AF points. .

 

[robinchee]

Today I attended one of my friends' wedding. So I decided to give the XE1 and 18-55mm a spin. While the first outing at Gardens by the Bay worked well, the first few shots at the wedding were an absolute disaster. Using the standard smallest focus box method which had worked well in the X100, that method turned out horrible with the XE1 and 18-55mm. Just focussing on someone's face directly across the dinner table could not focus at all. I almost wanted to throw the camera down in frustration.

Against conventional logic, I decided to try to enlarge the focussing box instead. And to my surprise, enlarging the focus box a step or two worked wonders. Suddenly focussing was not a problem. So I guess the advice to use the smallest focusing box don't always work for all circumstances. Try out different sizes for different circumstances and it may work better. And actually the default size (which is not the smallest size) may work better than the smallest size (which is what we are normally advised to set to).

Also in the wedding dinner, the light was pretty dim but still have enough light to shot without flash, but with fill flash the colours and sharpness were much better.

 

[shw88]

Just got my XE-1 18-55 finally! Wow, the AF is blazing fast, even in low light, and taking pictures in low light has never been easier. Image quality is fantastic as well and I got the hang of operating the camera easily. The Q menu was really good. I just can't understand why people said the AF was slow. The issue is practically non-existent. The camera does seem to have a little trouble taking very close-up shots though, even in macro mode. For me, the ability to shoot so comfortably in low light is great!

 

[N-user]

Just got my XE-1 18-55 finally! Wow, the AF is blazing fast, even in low light, and taking pictures in low light has never been easier. Image quality is fantastic as well and I got the hang of operating the camera easily. The Q menu was really good. I just can't understand why people said the AF was slow. The issue is practically non-existent. The camera does seem to have a little trouble taking very close-up shots though, even in macro mode. For me, the ability to shoot so comfortably in low light is great!

Congrats on your new toy.... mind pm me how much you pay??

 

[5now5torm]

Just got my XE-1 18-55 finally! Wow, the AF is blazing fast, even in low light, and taking pictures in low light has never been easier. Image quality is fantastic as well and I got the hang of operating the camera easily. The Q menu was really good. I just can't understand why people said the AF was slow. The issue is practically non-existent. The camera does seem to have a little trouble taking very close-up shots though, even in macro mode. For me, the ability to shoot so comfortably in low light is great!

Well since you can't understand why others say the AF is slow, I hope for your sake that you don't have the same experience.

 

[robinchee]

Just got my XE-1 18-55 finally! Wow, the AF is blazing fast, even in low light, and taking pictures in low light has never been easier. Image quality is fantastic as well and I got the hang of operating the camera easily. The Q menu was really good. I just can't understand why people said the AF was slow. The issue is practically non-existent. The camera does seem to have a little trouble taking very close-up shots though, even in macro mode. For me, the ability to shoot so comfortably in low light is great!

I guess its depends on what you were using before .. and what subjects you are shooting. I used to shoot action with a Nikon D7000, now shooting mainly scenery and posed subjects, so I'm also quite ok with the X-E1 speed.

 

[seech]

Just got my X-E1 w/18-55mm yesterday!

Some ISO tests...

ISO1600:

ISO3200:

ISO6400!!!

What can I say? Most impressive!

Sharpness is also awesome even with the 18-55mm kit lens.

The only problem about the X-E1 for me is that it's a lot bigger than my X100. Now just need to get the 35/1.4...

 

[mogwai]

Today I attended one of my friends' wedding. So I decided to give the XE1 and 18-55mm a spin. While the first outing at Gardens by the Bay worked well, the first few shots at the wedding were an absolute disaster. Using the standard smallest focus box method which had worked well in the X100, that method turned out horrible with the XE1 and 18-55mm. Just focussing on someone's face directly across the dinner table could not focus at all. I almost wanted to throw the camera down in frustration.

Against conventional logic, I decided to try to enlarge the focussing box instead. And to my surprise, enlarging the focus box a step or two worked wonders. Suddenly focussing was not a problem. So I guess the advice to use the smallest focusing box don't always work for all circumstances. Try out different sizes for different circumstances and it may work better. And actually the default size (which is not the smallest size) may work better than the smallest size (which is what we are normally advised to set to).

Also in the wedding dinner, the light was pretty dim but still have enough light to shot without flash, but with fill flash the colours and sharpness were much better.

Actually the problem exists with the X10 as well. It seems that the smallest focus box is not useful for isolating objects. But I find very useful for fine-tuning AF for stills - one example i can think off is making sure the focus is on the eye when taking a portrait.

 

[ZoomZ]

You will need to grab a 35mm F1.4 and you will be even more impressed!

Just got my X-E1 w/18-55mm yesterday!

What can I say? Most impressive!

Sharpness is also awesome even with the 18-55mm kit lens.

The only problem about the X-E1 for me is that it's a lot bigger than my X100. Now just need to get the 35/1.4...

 

[shw88]

Haha, I guess every new XE-1 user is very excited about their purchase but yea, I guess we'll have to see how it goes in the long run. I'll probably try out more situations where fast AF is needed. But so far a quick pan to a target and then focusing on it still seems to be very fast and accurate! No cash for the 35mm though Maybe next time.

 

[ivanyc]

Just got my XE-1 18-55 finally! Wow, the AF is blazing fast, even in low light, and taking pictures in low light has never been easier. Image quality is fantastic as well and I got the hang of operating the camera easily. The Q menu was really good. I just can't understand why people said the AF was slow. The issue is practically non-existent. The camera does seem to have a little trouble taking very close-up shots though, even in macro mode. For me, the ability to shoot so comfortably in low light is great!

I would not qualify this camera as blazing fast.....fast is my 5D MKIII with the 70-200. Using the X-E1 is like using the older model canons with a Sigma lens, it hunts quite a bit. But robinchee's advise about enlarging the focus area should be worth trying.