The X-Pro 1 autofocus is surprisingly good at locking onto moving targets – humans, bicycles and cars can all be caught with relative ease. First, set the X-Pro on AF-S (NOT AF-C) and select any autofocus point in the OFV or EVF.
The trick is to depress the shutter in one go – the camera may take 1/4 of a second to sort out the focus, but there seems to be an algorithm that compensates for the movement of the subject + the 1/4 second delay and puts the plane of focus back into the right position.
If you’ve been brought up on DSLRs the overwhelming urge is to half press the shutter to get focus – do this on the X-Pro 1 and the autofocus will fail on fast moving objects. Mash the shutter (gently) in one go and it works really well, even at f.1.4 with taxis.
This technique works an amazingly high % of the time. I was testing this in the rain on cyclists with the 35mm wide open at 1.4.
10 out of 10 were sharp.
Got bored and went home.
Although I don’t have the X100 several people have reported that this technique works with that camera as well.
Thanks for your tip. The only annoying thing is that the image freezes for that 1/4 second on EVF. Hope Fuji fixes that in a firmware update.
Hi Casper
Yes the freezing of the EVF is a nuisance. That’s why I always try and use the optical view finder
The image only freezes in some circumstances – in others, it shows an image of the focus being searched for and acquired. At first I thought this was a function of whether macro / close focusing was being used or not, but I can’t say I have investigated – but it definately has 2 different behaviours (frozen vs EVF tracking of focus acquisition).
Spent an hour testing that, and crazy enough, it does work. I think all of us photographers are used to slowly press the shutter button to achieve focus, then press again to take the shot, so I would never have thought of using it just like you described. Thanks
Do you press and hold or press and let go. I would test but I’m out of town and don’t have the camera in front of me.
Hi Brian
Press the shutter down all the way in one movement and wait for the shutter to fire
ohh this is really a shocking happy news … brilliant, i try it on X100, full press shutter and bam focus is spot on. I think we must spread this finding ..
thx again for your finding
Great tip.
However, I am pretty sure there is no special algorithm. The assumption that one is needed is (IMHO) based on a misconception.
“Traditional” focusing systems (manual RF focusing, active IR focusing, phase detection AF as used by SLRs) work in 2 steps: they take an initial measurement of the distance or, in the case of phase detection AF, the focusing error, then they adjust the optical system so that the subject is in focus. (There might be several iterations in modern SLRs to improve the accuracy, but the basic concept stays the same.) So if the subject moves during the 2nd step, the initial measurement is incorrect by the time focus is achieved and the AF system needs to compensate for that.
Contract detection AF (what the X-Pro and other compact system cameras use), on the other hand, does not take any distance or focussing error measurements. Instead it adjusts the optical system, taking contrast measurements at each step, until the contrast has reached its maximum. As a consequence, the subject will always be precisely in focus when the AF cycle ends, and – assuming the AF system is reasonably fast- it does not matter whether the subject has moved during the cycle or not!
With the shutter fully pressed, the camera will immediately go ahead after the AF cycle and take the picture. If the shutter lag (after focussing) is small enough, the subject will still be well in focus.
Quite interesting – the disadvantage of contrast detection AF, that it is basically trial-and-error and therefore slower than the other methods, becomes an advantage in this scenario.
Would this method be helped by using a soft-release button?
Thanks for the tip!
I’d experiencing the same and had figured it had just been dumb luck (I hadn’t thought to really test it).
I have, however, found that in a couple of situations where I’ve tried the full single press trick on non-moving targets in bright light that the exposure comes out very bad. It’s almost like it takes the shot before it’s fully considered the light. You can see it happen in the EVF where normally in very mixed light it’ll start bright and (very quickly) work back. If you do the single press I’ve had a couple of instances where it didn’t work back, it just took the bright (i.e. seriously blown out) shot.
The AF is wonderful on the xpro1. It reminds me of the Hexar AF. Do you notice that this method works more effectively using “area” or “mulit” AF Mode? I love the square format too. I shoot exclusively in 1:1, since I am so used to my Rolleiflex 6008 MF camera.
Jason
Hi, this trick perfectly work on X100 too!
Few days ago I accidentaly press shutter and all was OK. Next I try to cars, humans and all is OK. Great, if it work on X-Pro1 too.
great. works well on x100. cheers for the tip.
This Fuji is wonderful, the images are the best since I gave my S5 Pro to my father in law. Fuji must have learned something here as Nikon’s A/F has a similar feature in that it tracks the subject, the difference being you need to rattle off at least three shots one or more will be perfectly focused, it anticipates the movement against the shutter delay. There’s even a setting on Nikon’s that allows something to pass in front of your tracked subject. Would be nice if Fuji could bring that little extra control, but not a biggie.
Now in the process of dumping my Nikon gear (a few lenses left to sell) because the X Pro1 has an A/F system that works and is much more compact. The lenses are so nice I’m not even fussed about getting a XP -> Nikon adapter.
Maybe I did not ge the point. This trick seems to me quite a normal procedure if I am using the camera (any autofocus camera) on AF-S, shooting at moving targets. In fact, in this case, what else should I do rather then press the shutter as quickly as possible (or in one go, as suggested in the topic)? If I half-press and wait, I will surely miss the moving subject…. By the way, I am curious to know why the AF-C function is not recommended in this camera for these kind of shots.
Regards,
Franco
What about if you want to focus and recompose i.e. in a concert setting?
Great tip, works well!!
But why not set to AF-C ?
X100 users report getting amazing AF performance (whether for stationary or moving subjects) using AF-C.