Awesome!! Glad you found me then, Ian! What Fuji do you use and what do you like to photograph?

Awesome, thank you! I hope you enjoy it!

Randy, thanks of your comment, and great to hear that you're seeing such good results with the X-T5 and the new AF settings. One thing about the newer cameras, is that the faster processors actually increase the performance of the older slower lenses like the XF50-230. The 70-300 should be even faster! What other lenses do you have?

@@DanBaileyPhoto re: other lenses, the Fuji 16-80mm I ordered with the XT5 (and planned to sell but now keeping), along with the Viltrox 13mm and various vintage primes like the Micro-Nikkor 55mm, Nikkor 105, 85 and 20mm (also for film), a radioactive Takumar 55mm (with character for days). Looking forward to replacing my old XC zoom with the 70-300, as well.. although with the weight difference I may end up keeping both!

Randy, that sounds like a nice, diverse lens kit. The 70-300 is a great lens, and it's certainly pretty light, but that 50-230 is a real sleeper. Super light weight, but surprisingly good quality for what it is. I haven't used the 16-80, but I've checked it out, and it looks like a really good lens. I was thinking about getting one for shooting mountain aerials.

Hey Edward, thanks for your comment. Yes, someone should do a series like that! 😀

You’re welcome!! Do you have one of the new 5th gen Fujis?

@@DanBaileyPhoto Yes Dan, the X-H2s and the brand new 150-600 😊. Greetings from Germany!

Awesome!!! What a powerful combination!! Have fun!!!

Thanks, Iain!! Hope you’re doing well!!

@@DanBaileyPhoto Not too shabby, it's getting colder here but maybe not as cold as there.

It's actually been pretty warm here lately... a bit too warm. Rain and freezing rain. Temps are supposed to drop next week, so that will be nice.

Ryan, I would try using PRE-SHOT ES when shooting this kind of subject. In my experience, this setting his highly beneficial when photographing very fast action. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/eJacqaSF0d6UhWw.html Also, as discussed in this lesson, try playing around with the AF-C custom settings. Preset #4 might be a good one for capturing those fast birds that fly into the frame. I don't have a ton of experience with the new Subject Detect AF, but I have used it and found it to be highly impressive. So, just keep practicing, because with fast subjects, it can take a lot of shots to get a few good keepers.

@@DanBaileyPhoto I'll keep experimenting. The only thing I don't like about ES is the bendy wings and distortion that occurs periodically, which doesn't happen with MS. I usually use AF-C 4 or 2. It's early yet, so the jury is still out. :-) I've just found more successful shots - so far - using point or zone focusing with AF-C. But, there are a lot of variables, and in the grand scheme of things, I haven't taken enough images to come to a concrete judgment; just initial impressions after a few outings. Practice, practice, practice!

Indeed… practice, practice, practice!! Regarding the ES, electronic shutter readout speeds have increased dramatically in the past few years. While the X-T2 did have noticeable distortion issues when shooting fast motion with the ES, the X-T3 minimized this in a big way, showing distortion with only things like spinning wheels and propellers. With the new 5th gen processors, it’s really not even a factor anymore, especially on the X-H2S. In theory, the X-T5/X-H2 could have slightly slower read rates, simply because the number of pixels is greater, but in practice, the ES on all three of these models has finally arrived with the kind of performance where we’d see very few limits, if any.

@@DanBaileyPhoto There's a ton of improvement, for sure! I'm seeing some distortion in small bird and hummingbird wings, but those, especially the hummingbirds, are obviously at extreme speeds. 15 fps with the MS is still pretty dang fast to capture some nice stop action. I'll do some more experiments with pre-shot ES, bird detection, and other settings. It will be nice to zero in on what works best for me, but I enjoy the process of figuring it all out.

Hummingbird wings flap about 50-60 times per second, and relative to size, they can fly faster than a fighter jet, at about 90 feet per second. So, that's a pretty good test of any camera shutter and AF system! And yes, experimenting is the best part. That's really what it's all about: playing around with the camera for hours on end and totally losing track of time. 😀

Well, good thing your new X-T5 is weather sealed! 😆 Hope you're able to get out and give it a good test soon! I actually have a large number of Fuji subscribers based in the UK; something like 25% of my readership, so there are a lot of you over there, but maybe you're just all spread out. :)

@@DanBaileyPhoto That's good to hear, Dan! The more the merrier! 👍🏻

Indeed!!! 😀

Robert, thanks for your comment. Certainly appreciate your opinion. As someone who has shot action and fast AF subjects extensively, both with the Fujis and Nikons, I've always been impressed with the AF capabilities of the X Series. The X-T2 was a fantastic camera, and I got exceptional results shooting action with that system, as well as every other X-T camera up through the X-T4. I know the X-T5 will be even faster and more accurate. Remember, that when the X Series was launched, it used a brand new hybrid AF system with both phase detect and contrast detect sensors. Even though Canon and Nikon had a huge head start with AF, there were aspects of the mirrorless AF that were actually more capable than the DSLRs at the time. So much of being a competent photographer is having intimate knowledge with your gear, and it takes years of practice to achieve mastery with shooting fast moving subjects. We are lucky to live in a time when the technology offers us incredible power, speed and accuracy, and we're able to shoot very fast subjects with more precision and success than ever before!

Dan, as I still have and very much like my XT20 and XT2, not to mention the S10, it sounds like I may lack the technical skills to aquire the best AF results from my XT20, XT2 and S10!! Do any chapters of your Ebook, deal with AF in the older X series bodies I own and the S10? Have an Ebook I obtained from you, this would have been when the XT2 was the current kid on the block.

Robert, yes, practice is definitely the key with fast subject matter. I have a couple of autofocus tutorials, one that's Fuji specific: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/nKunq5SlyaneqZ8.html and another that's more a general guide to getting better results with AF: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/hrl5nbSBr63NkYU.html If you have the older edition of my ebook, you should get the latest edition, as it has more X-S10 related info, and info on using AF. Send me an email and I will give you the update link.

Great to hear there is an update available for your book. I sent an email inquiring about this but didn't see a reply. I'll send again.

Paul, I found your original email and send you a reply. 👍

Thanks for your comment, Phil. For people and cycling, I've actually found that the regular Face Detection on the new 5th gen Fuji models works extremely well when photographing bikers. I would think that it would be similar for surfing photography. Give FD a try for this kind of subject and let me know how it works.

My pleasure, Mike!! Hope you had a great Thanksgiving!

Hi Scott, unfortunately, I don’t have an X-T 5 right now, so I can’t confirm. Just to be clear, is this in Single AF Mode, or AF-S mode? On my X-T4, the green box remains visible when shooting in Single AF mode, but the focus points disappear right after focusing when shooting in Zone AF or Wide.

@@DanBaileyPhoto Thank you for responding....yes Single AF Mode.....it's bizarre. The green box doesn't stay on as soon as half depress the shutter. I still can hear the sound indicating that the camera has locked in a focus point, I just can't see the green box to confirm which focus point? It's driving me mad!

@@DanBaileyPhoto I just figured it out! Screen settings - focus frame - it was set to Off. Turned it on and now I have a perfectly functioning camera.....

That's it!!! Good find, Scott!! 👍

Philippe, thanks for your comment. I hope you’re having fun with your new X-H2S. How are you liking the performance? Regarding the new Subject Detect AF - No, you don’t have to stay in Wide/Tracking mode, you can use any of the three AF modes. What have you been shooting so far with the new camera?

@@DanBaileyPhoto Dan, thank you for your quick answer !! my experience with XT4 in shooting action is mainly using AF zone or some times wide tracking depending how the subjet is moving. I presume using single point can only be applied for static subjects?! In action, I'm mainly shooting dogs. I just received my XH2S; therefore my request. the philosophy is the same for both cameras. in AF mode, the tracking is staying in the zone and you have to follow up the subject manually; correct? but how can singel point be applied to shooting action? ... sorry my English is not perfect... I'm watching a lot of videos on the subject but I better understand your explanation in English then a lot of other in French !!. Kind regards. Philippe

Philippe, While Zone AF and Wide are the preferred modes for shooting action, you can use Single AF mode to shoot moving subjects, as long as the subject says in the same relative area in the frame. For example, if something is coming straight towards you or moving away, and not moving from side to side, Single AF will do a good job of tracking the motion. You'd want to use a larger size for the green focus area box. With a very small box, there's a good chance the moving subject will leave that area. However, if your subject is moving across the frame, or even side to side in a significant amount, you'd definitely want to use Zone or Wide, especially for photographing dogs, which often move in a pretty erratic motion.

@@DanBaileyPhoto Thanks a lot Dan for your clear explanation. I will for sure keep you informed about my experience withthe XH2S. Kind regards. Philippe

Cool. I look forward to hearing your thoughts have you've had a chance to shoot with it for awhile.

Simon, thanks for your comment. As I said, in my initial test of the system, I was quite impressed by how well this mode worked on the X-H2, but I have not been able to do a more comprehensive test yet. I haven't seen the DP Review article, though.

Thanks for your comment. I'm glad you found a system that works for you. To each his/her own. I've always had tons of success with the X Series cameras, all the way back to the X-T1, and have always been able to get the shot I've wanted, but for whatever reason, some people prefer and/or find more success with different brands. As long as you're able to get the images you want, then that's all that matters.

Thanks for your comment. I do my best to help people with my review and tutorials, and they're based on my own extensive experience with the X Series cameras. With most of my videos, I say a lot of stuff, but my pictures speak for themselves. Sorry to hear that you're unhappy with the X-T5. In my own test with the X-H2, which has the same AF system as the X-T5, I was highly impressed with the AF performance, and having shot a wide range of action with the X-T12/2/3/4, I've had very good results from all of those cameras. Of course, everyone shoots differently, and so not everyone will have the exact same results when using different cameras and lenses. If I can ask, because I'd like to help diagnose the issue, can you tell me what kinds of subjects you shoot, and what lenses and AF modes you have been using that have given you the "horrible and unusable" results?

At the time I made this video, I did not yet have my X-T5 yet. So, while I had knowledge of the Subject Detection system on the new Fujis, and had demo-ed the technology, I hadn't really shot any cool images with it yet. That's now changed, and you can see many more examples of how this system works in my more recent videos, like this one: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/itCVYJt51rbIlZs.html What Fuji do you use and what do you like to photograph?