f_a_98 wrote:
Great snap!
From DPR discussions, it was slowly becoming obvious that subject detection should be kept off and it would improve bird AF tracking. Have you tried that?
No, I have not tried that. Without subject detection, it's just too hard to keep a single AF point on the bird's eye, and if the eye is not in sharp focus, the images go straight to the trash. However, that approach may work better for larger birds much farther away from the camera where there is enough depth-of-field to have the eyes sharp when focusing on the body of the bird.
Also, where do you put the XH2S compared to the other cameras you have tried. Would like to hear your perspective too.
Ranking strictly in terms of overall AF performance:
Sony A1 > Olympus OM-1 > Nikon Z9 > Sony A9 II > Sony A7R IV > Sony A9 > Olympus E-M1X > Panasonic G9 > Sony A7R III > Fuji X-H2S
My biggest frustration with the X-H2S is that the camera will draw a small green box around the bird's eye and keep it there throughout a whole sequence of shots, but when you review the images, the majority are way out of focus, even on a fairly stationary subject. I knew the Fuji AF was still not up to the level of any of their competitors (except maybe Pentax?) but I really didn't think it would be this unreliable. When it occasionally does accurately nail the focus, the results are great, so I'm still trying to improve my process, but these sorts of shots are literally point-and-shoot simplicity with the A1 or OM-1.
Thanks for sharing your rankings. Impressive amount of cameras you have used!
I am sure you are aware of Morris BIF settings here of FM, so I will skip those
Quote "I havent used my X-H2s tracking birds with bird detect on. It is good for solitary birds but I wouldn't use for BIF. For tracking birds in flight I turn off all eye detect/subject detect so the processor can concentrate on locking and following focus for what I tell it to track. It will track hummingbirds. I am mostly in the tracking AFC mode setting for everything I do because the AF is tat good for the way I photograph, even people. I will enable face detect for portraits. You can play around the with the custom setting to your taste.
I just would not use bird recognition for BIF.
" End Quote
I tried photographing the hummingbirds without subject detection on, and in about 20 minutes of trying, it never once focused on the hummingbird unless it was sitting motionless on the feeder - and the shooting conditions were essentially the same as yesterday. Based on that, it seems subject detection is a must for hummingbirds (at least under the conditions I'm shooting in).
gregcpb wrote:
Hi Molson, beautiful hummingbird shot here. Did you took it using some perch or bird feeder because I can’t imagine getting a shot like that in the wild with my XT3 ^^.
By the way I love the color contrast between the green background and purple bird, very pleasing. Cheers
We have a feeder and some flowers on our front deck, so it's just a matter of waiting patiently for the birds to approach the feeder or the flowers. They usually hover about 10 inches (25cm) away for about a second, before landing on the feeder, so you have to aim, compose, and attain precise focus in that amount of time.
Wow those are seriously impressive! I am glad you are making progress.
molson wrote:
I'm finding that setting the frame rate to 40 fps, and then switching from Release Priority to Focus Priority drops the actual frame rate to 3 or 4 frames per second, but increases the success rate by about a factor or 10 or 20.
When dpreview tested it they found AF worked better at 30 FPS in continuous. …if you haven’t you may want to give it a shot. These are stunning shots but I can imagine the frustration.
I just got my 100-400 back from repair…they replaced some rollers, tweaked the mount and it went from being completely unreliable at focusing and having the top right and bottom left corners muddy to being sharp as a tack across the frame…and much more confident AF. No hummingbirds in sight yet…
f_a_98 wrote:
Just dawned on me that your should check that AF + MF setting is turned off.
Had come across that on multiple forums.
And try electronic shutter.
Thanks for the suggestions, but this is not an issue with the camera settings.
The A9 and the A9II are probably two of the best deals out there. Simply amazing value. I’m getting along fine with the xt3 but I haven’t been spoiled with other systems in a while. The xt3 is maybe a bit better than my old Canon 5d III. I found the focus on that to be amazing in servo with back button focus.
It seems like Fuji is lacking seriously on the software side and eventually they will sort their crap out. Just recruit some peeps from Sony or Canon and get it done. Till then. I’m waiting. I’ve got too much Fuji glass…the thought of selling it all …ain’t nobody got time for that!
tgrantster wrote:
It seems like Fuji is lacking seriously on the software side and eventually they will sort their crap out. Just recruit some peeps from Sony or Canon and get it done. Till then. I’m waiting. I’ve got too much Fuji glass…the thought of selling it all …ain’t nobody got time for that!
I keep hoping one more firmware update will solve the problem...
I only have one Fuji XF lens, so moving on (or back to Sony) wouldn't be too much of a hardship... but I really like that the control layout is so similar to my GFX, and it uses the same batteries and charger too.
From everything I read on this forum and well as many others, I totally agree with you on the fact that the issue is not the Subject detection or the eye detection but how the AF can’t seem to focus where the algorithm tells it should. We can’t be sure 100% obviously but I would like to see Fuji address this quickly as this is the main complain coming again and again. Hopefully for you you can switch to your trusty A9 to get by but I guess you would also appreciate to get faster/more reliable XH2S so you can sell your Sony gear and be full on Fuji
Cheers
