Fuji X1 M adapter - focus?

chris00nj

chris00nj

Young Luddite
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Leica rumors is reporting that there would be an M mount adapter for this camera. Anyone have any idea how you would focus an M-mount lens on a camera like this?
 
I don't think the Fuji has a split beam rangefinder or a cam follower to determine how the lens is focused. So when you turn the lens how do you know if you are focusing at the correct distance?
 
Like all the m43 cameras it is going to be zone through the optical finder and really only able to confirm focus through the evf. They don't even have focus confirmation for the x lenses in the ovf, so you'll only have true focus feedback through the evf. It's all about the af in this camera unless you can shoot zone in optical.
 
At this point the word is that the X Pro 1 lacks the focus peaking feature found in Sony NEX and the Ricoh GXR M Mount module, which leaves you only image magnification if you want focus TTL.

The Sony NEX had about the best EVF I've used, miles better than my X100's and in fact better than the GXR, but the GXR's Mode 2 focus assist actually makes focusing easier and in the end that is the camera I chose to run my M lenses on. I use Mode 2, often with magnification, but hardly ever use magnification without Mode 2.

As I basically never used image magnification only on either the NEX or the GXR it is probably a safe bet that I won't buy an X Pro 1 on spec in the hopes that somehow magnification is usable for me on that camera when it hasn't been with others.

A well done focus assist makes focusing both more accurate and quicker. I still use zone focusing but focus assist even helps there in that it'll give you visual confirmation.

Since this is a software feature, it can be added in time and hopefully Fujifilm will by the time they release their own M adapter. Some precedent for this exists - Sony didn't have their focus peaking implemented in the first NEX but later added it, perhaps because they saw the enthusiasm for alt-glass on their platform. Smart move on their part.
 
My own thoughts are that manual focus is going to become an afterthought in any digital camera design eventually, notwithstanding the cries of anguish from "legacy" lens owners. Lens and camera design has moved on, automatic focus can be made to work well - several manufacturers have proven that - and nostalgia won't be much of an influence in future generations of camera design. Except maybe Leica.
So if you value manual focus above all else, keep your older gear well-serviced!
 
So other than the Rd1 and leicas everything is just zone or something slow. Its not that i love manually focusing, i just like the lenses i own. It looks like the Fuji wont be the Rd2, that i was hoping for.
 
If Fuji had put in split beam rangefinder focusing and a cam to register focus distance for leica m mount lenses this camera would have been a much bigger press event then it has already been, so yes I believe it is ok for you to think they didnt add those features in.

That said, glad they didnt, gives Leica a chance to think about future products rather than sticking them 6 feet in the ground.
 
Technically, with the hybrid viewfinder and life sensor, a lot is possible; focus confirmation being the most simple implementation. Let's wait and see ...
 
chris00nj said:
So other than the Rd1 and leicas everything is just zone or something slow. Its not that i love manually focusing, i just like the lenses i own. It looks like the Fuji wont be the Rd2, that i was hoping for.
Click to expand...

with the GXR it is actually pretty fast. As fast as with a classic SLR, basically.
 
Okay, I found an good article which describes "focus peaking" (on the Sony Nex) well.

Even so, the EVF alone may do a decent job focus. Now can I just live with a 1.5x crop factor?
 
I just can't see any MF implementation with Leica glass that will offer anything that other cameras don't. If you rely on focus peaking, then you need to use the EVF function...the OVF will be useless. If you have focus confirmation, then you can use the OVF and maybe set the frameline but parallax correction? And focus confirmation is just autufocus where you do the work of the motor, you're still relying on the contrast detection routines off the sensor...so similar issues to AF in terms of accuracy, spot size of focus point, etc. I'm not sure what other possibilities there are. Might be a fantastic camera, but I just don't see any area to innovate in terms of legacy lens support that will differentiate it from the Nex 7 or Ricoh GXR or Nex 5n with the EVF. Other than looking like a rangefinder camera.
 
dreilly said:
...I just don't see any area to innovate in terms of legacy lens support that will differentiate it from the Nex 7 or Ricoh GXR or Nex 5n with the EVF. Other than looking like a rangefinder camera.
Click to expand...

No I don't think it will be much different, but have never gotten the chance to put a legacy lens on the Nex or even seen the Ricoh, so I didn't know what their systems were either.

I think the only difference with the X-Pro 1 and the NEX is that you can focus with your eye up to the viewfinder
 
chris00nj said:
.... can I just live with a 1.5x crop factor?
Click to expand...

Easily, if the file images are as good as expected. Whether your master images remain as computer file zeros and ones, or your portfolio of beautifully mastered 24 or 30 inch exhibition prints are selected by The Museum of Modern Art for your major retrospective.

The sensor is the size it is for very good system-design reasons.

......... Chris
 
No focus peaking.. so I won't be purchasing unless there is a firmware update with the introduction of the M Mount. I will wait for one of these companies to find a way to get autofocus up to mid-level DSLR standards and then I'll buy another autofocus camera. If focus peaking is available with the M-Mount and the camera plays nice with my Biogons, then that is a different story.
 
good thing there is a Japanese company that builds a digital camera that is designed for M mount lenses in the first place ;)
 
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