X100 and Konica Hexar AF

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Nick De Marco

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Fun to see!

Fun to see!

Fun to see. I have thought of doing something similar myself taking out one of my Nikon rangefinders and testing it in parallell with the X100.

/JonR
 
How do the AF systems of each work? I hear the hexar's is legendary. Is it actually better? If it is than why didn't Fuji just copy the IR idea?
 
I'm not sure I have compared them enough to be sure about the AF. But I must say from the roll of film I put in the Hexar I believe only one was out of focus, and that was the lowish light self-portrait in the mirror ( I used the X100 one above). It maybe it was too close to the mirror. Close focus is one thing the X100 excels in. On the other hand there are usually 3 or 4 X100 shots where the AF is just slightly off the subject.

By the way, is it just me or do others find the AF is almost impossible when you use the optical finder in the X100, but far better when you use the EVF?

Nick
 
ChrisP said:
How do the AF systems of each work? I hear the hexar's is legendary. Is it actually better? If it is than why didn't Fuji just copy the IR idea?
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The Hexar AF is awesome in everything that it does. As far as the copying goes: funny thing, copying vs. licensing patents...
 
I think it must be parralax because you select what you are focussing on in the finder and of course it is not what you are actually focussing on. Surely there is a way around this. I would like to use the OVF more, but like to use AF
 
ChrisP said:
How do the AF systems of each work? I hear the hexar's is legendary. Is it actually better? If it is than why didn't Fuji just copy the IR idea?
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I have used both cameras, and while the X100 in many ways quite obviously has been inspired by the Hexar AF, their AF systems are radically different:

The Hexar AF uses an active IR focusing system that requires practically no ambient light to work. The camera emits two IR light beams that are made to intersect at the desired subject distance. This works very well and extremely fast, as long as you don't try to focus on mirrors or through glass panes. The Hexar's VF only displays a cross as AF target, and can be off if you try to focus on very small targets.

The X100 uses a contrast detect AF system that is pretty fast for contrast detect standards, but a little, but not annoyingly slow when compared to an SLR/DSLR phase detect AF system. If you're used to AF SLRs/DSLRs, you will have to adapt to the X100's different AF operating principle: The camera will not focus on edges, but on surface structures found in its AF window.

It is therefore a good idea to make sure that the AF window is filled entirely by your target, and does not contain any background, or else you might get flaky AF performance. The AF window in the X100's optical viewfinder cannot be resized, the window in the camera's electronical viewfinder does offer a resizing option. Thus, if you need to focus on small objects, the EVF is the better option. The OVF's AF window is quite sufficient for measuring on people's faces on short to medium distances, however.

If you adhere to these rules, then the camera delivers good and precise AF performance, even in very low light. Actually, the X100 can focus equally well in low-light situations as a camera that uses phase-detect AF. Under no-light conditions, both AF systems will start to fail at approximately the same luminance levels.

Another inherent consequence of the X100's contrast detect AF system is the fact that the camera cannot focus well on moving objects. Unlike with phase detect AF systems, the X100's AF system cannot tell if it is focusing on a point closer or further away from the actual target's focusing distance, so it cannot work preemptively. If you're shooting moving objects, you'll either have to close down your aperture somewhat to get some "safety DOF" or change to manual focusing mode and use zone focusing. The X100's focus assist function for manual focus, however makes this a very user-friendly option.

Nick De Marco said:
By the way, is it just me or do others find the AF is almost impossible when you use the optical finder in the X100, but far better when you use the EVF?
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I initially had the same impression, until I found out that this is due to parallax effects that are becoming more serious as the focusing target is moving closer to the camera.

Luckily, Fuji has introduced a new feature with the last firmware update: When you use AF in the optical viewfinder, the AF measurement window will be shifted to reflect viewfinder parallax as a function of focus distance. That is, with the shifted AF window, you can do another focus measurement to really nail it in a second run. This has been a huge improvement, and it effectively did away with just about 95% of any AF problems I was experiencing.

I am very impressed with this camera, and I immensely enjoy using it.
 
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Hi Arjay,

Your observation is interesting... I think it's precisely AF what decides -finally- how good, how trustable the X100 is...

When we were talking about that camera six months before it was launched, some people including me said if the X100 came out with a great comfortable manual focus option, or at least with a wonderful AF system as the one in the Hexar AF, then the X100 was going to be a great camera...

Now we know the camera is nice, and we know it can make great images... But (I have never used an X100) does it make great images always, or just when it focuses well...? I mean, does it focus very well?

If you had to photograph an important event, say one of your beloved ones' marriage or baptism, and you need AF because of low light, and want a 35mm lens and don't want to use an SLR, would you trust X100's AF and HexAF AF in the same way?

My major fear about the X100 is that one: more focusing errors than with my HexAF, and that would make the X100 (to me) a great camera for some situations, but not for serious street or event photography...

I guess as you've used both, you can have a balanced opinion...

Cheers,

Juan
 
Juan Valdenebro said:
Now we know the camera is nice, and we know it can make great images... But (I have never used an X100) does it make great images always, or just when it focuses well...? I mean, does it focus very well?

If you had to photograph an important event, say one of your beloved ones' marriage or baptism, and you need AF because of low light, and want a 35mm lens and don't want to use an SLR, would you trust X100's AF and HexAF AF in the same way?
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Yes I would - provided I meticulously follow the rules I described in my last post. It took me four weeks to really learn and understand the camera's AF system in order to avoid the most common AF user errors. I did the same when I started using my D300 DSLR, and the X100's AF system is by design so very different from any other AF system that I had to go all the way through such a learning curve again.

Juan Valdenebro said:
My major fear about the X100 is that one: more focusing errors than with my HexAF, and that would make the X100 (to me) a great camera for some situations, but not for serious street or event photography...
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Actually, I am having less AF errors with the X100 than with the Hexar because I have the benefit of immediate feedback. I'll know immediately if I made a mistake, and I can correct it right away on the spot. That's a great learning situation.

As for street photography, I very often feel that AF isn't fast enough (and I won't be discreet enough using it), so I mostly prefer to use zone focusing. The X100's MF mode with AF assist is very useful for this way of shooting because I can set up the camera rather quickly, and I can check my settings visually using the electronic viewfinder.

Another neat thing with the X100 is the fact that the camera remembers the last AF measurement even when you change focusing modes. So, you can do a focus measurement using the OVF or EVF with their smaller AF measuring windows in AF-S mode, then change to MF, and the camera will jump to the last focus distance! This is often more precise than doing an AF prefocus run directly in MF mode! So you can often eliminate magnifying the focus window in MF mode to check if your prefocusing is pecise.

The only thing that has me thinking every now and then is the very conservative DOF scale that is projected into the viewfinder: It appears to be calculated for 35mm focal length on a full-frame camera. That is, you'll probably have a certain degree more DOF than the camera is indicating. But actually, that's up to your cropping and printing habits ...
 
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Good points...

Your ideas seem close to what Joe and others are talking about: a learning curve on X100 use, and then it's a splendid camera...

Thanks!

Cheers,

Juan
 
Another focusing tip that I've read (that has worked fairly well for me) is that the camera doesn't like to focus on horizontal lines, just vertical ones (its assumed the camera is focused by little elves using horizontal split screens). Anyways if you can't get focus on a horizontal line tilting the camera to portrait orientation seems to help
 
Arjay thanks very much for your helpful replies
The one Hexar shot that was out of focus was the one I took of myself in the mirror, now I understand why.
As to the X100 AF, I shall find that latest software and give it a go when back in the UK
Thanks again
Nick
 
how does one go about trying to achieve zone focusing on these 2 cameras? :) thought I'd asked here instead of twice in their respective forums.. :) thanks in advance!
 
a10101100 said:
how does one go about trying to achieve zone focusing on these 2 cameras? :) thought I'd asked here instead of twice in their respective forums.. :) thanks in advance!
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Write down the hyperfocal distance for each f stop for the hexar af, tape it onto the back of the camera.

Push the "MF" button then input the desired hyperfocal distance.
 
There's an easier way for both cameras:
  • For the X100, set it to manual focus mode. Use the AFL/AEL button to prefocus on an object that is at the same distance than the object you want to shoot. Do a shutter half-press to view the DoF scale (which displays the actual focusing distance and the near and far DoF limits for the currently selected working aperture). Select a suitable aperture for the desired DoF (near and far limits are updated in real time inside the VF).
  • For the Hexar AF (I'm writing this from memory, so I might miss some details), measure distance by doing a shutter half-press. Press the distance lock button while keeping the shutter button depressed (requires some finger gymnastics because the buttons aren't placed very ergonomically). The locked distance will be displayed numerically in the camera's LCD panel on the camera top. There's no DoF scale on the Hexar AF, so you have to refer to tools like the Dofmaster program or a DoF scale that can be made using the downloadable Dofmaster software.
 
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