Fujifilm X-T2 Field Test Part II

Fuji X-T2 Field Test Part II

Toting 4 high-end zooms into the wild for C-AF exploration

By Dave Pardue | Posted: 11/09/2016

For those of you who've read my first X-T2 Field Test centered around the storm Hurricane Hermine, which made her way along the eastern seaboard just a few months ago, you'll only need to fast-forward a day in time to begin this second part of the X-T2 shooting journey with me. I'd gone to the coast to find wildlife in secluded national sanctuaries, and found a hurricane instead. (Oh well, roll with it!) But the storm was here and gone in a veritable blink, and the wildlife and natural fauna returned to do their thing. So, I shook off several fitful nights of sleep and headed out into the welcome return of the sun.

(Images have been resized to fit this page, and some have been cropped and/or adjusted in post-production, primarily to balance shadows and highlights where needed. Clicking any image will take you to a carrier page with access to the unedited full resolution image, as well as access to EXIF data. RAW files for most images and edited versions are available for download and personal use from our Fuji X-T2 gallery page.)

Nobody buys a flagship, high-performance camera unless they intend to pair it up with high-quality lenses based on their own shooting needs. The Fuji X-T2 is the "DSLR-styled" family member of the higher-end Fuji line, being geared more towards sports and wildlife than its rangefinder-styled X-Pro2 brother, and therefore screams at you to mate it with comparable zoom lenses. Seeking both wildlife and nature across several national wildlife preserves in the Southeastern US, I was grateful to have access to this treasure trove of high-end zooms lenses.

So here I was surrounded by several enormous wildlife reserves all teaming with an abundance of interesting species to photograph, along with capable glass for all manner of situations near and far. And as you may recall from the first Field Test, I was also packing seriously good battery life given the extra two batteries housed in the new portrait battery grip. Add to this that all but the 10-24mm f/4 are weather-sealed, including the booster grip, and I felt really primed and ready for action. And yet, there was one notable exception to that positive feeling...

Since the advent of mirrorless cameras, both end-users and us reviewers alike keep asking the same question over and over again: "When will enthusiast mirrorless cameras really be able to pull off continuous AF like the enthusiast-grade DSLRs?" Popular cameras like the Fuji X-T1, the Olympus E-M1 and the Sony A6300, all of which I've had ample shooting experience with personally, certainly offer good C-AF performance, but we've found that none of them quite reach the C-AF performance heights of competing enthusiast DSLRs like the Canon 7D II and now the newer Nikon D500. They're getting ever closer, yes, but still not quite on par with them in the more demanding fields of sports and wildlife.

Fuji is claiming that's now changed, and that true enthusiast DSLR-quality C-AF performance is now here in a mirrorless body in the form of the X-T2. Did they finally hit that hallowed mark? Read on for all the images and details from my experience thus far, but let me start the summary of my conclusions now and say that for the first time in my mirrorless shooting experience I came away extremely pleased with my keeper ratio. This has to date only happened for me when shooting DSLRs, so it was an eye-opening experience to say the least.

Fuji X-T2 - Advanced parameters and the new custom C-AF presets

So what's changed with this model? Well, plenty! As you've likely seen in our overview for this camera the number of overall AF points has increased a great deal, including 169 points with phase-detect pixels, and also a big increase in zone focusing points, offering 49 with phase-detection to the X-T1's 9 PDAF points. Combined with a new processing engine shared with the X-Pro2, the overall AF system is reported to also be a good deal faster in general.

Equally as interesting to me are the all-new focusing algorithms housed within the X-T2, and a hugely expanded array of presets and customization potential. Using three basic parameters of Tracking Sensitivity (to adjust which subject the camera locks onto); Speed Tracking Sensitivity (to adjust how the camera behaves based on changes in a subject's speed); and Zone area Switching (to select which part of a zone should receive focus priority) you're now afforded a wealth of combinations and permutations to dial-in just how you'd like the C-AF to function on behalf of your current shooting needs.

You can then choose from 5 different presets (Multi-purpose, Ignoring obstacles, Accelerating/decelerating subjects, Subjects that suddenly come into the frame, and Erratically moving subjects) or choose Preset 6 and create your own by tweaking and fine-tuning the three parameters mentioned above. For my shooting needs on this particular day, I focused primarily on the Multi-purpose preset ("A standard setting for moving subjects in general") as it seemed to provide the best settings for flying birds and alligators on-the-move. Once we acquire another X-T2 sample we'll take an expanded look at some of the more specific-use presets on our C-AF test course.

Below are examples pulled from additional bird sequences from this first day of C-AF exploration with the X-T2.

So there's an initial sampling with birds in flight. Time now to change locations and get a bit deeper into the wilds, so let's pack up and hit the road. We'll take the back roads and avoid the interstate... making our way from Pinckney Island over to the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge, a home to some rather prehistoric-looking fellows. A quick stop for some more iced tea, and we'll be ready to roll!

That's an initial sampling from my experience thus far with the X-T2's C-AF capabilities. We no longer have a sample unit of the camera, but intend to get another one at some point for further investigation of the presets and customizable settings in order to bring you more details and compare it more directly to other competing systems in both the mirrorless and DSLR camps. I can wholeheartedly say, in the meantime, that my experiences out in the field were unlike any I've yet experienced with a mirrorless system to date. This left me feeling very encouraged by the potential for mirrorless systems in the tricky fields of sports and wildlife going forward, and I can't wait to get another sample in for further testing and for indoor sports season.

Fuji X-T2 - Image quality out in the field

Shooting moving subjects had proven both enjoyable and relieving with the X-T2 and its majorly improved C-AF system, but I needed a break from all that and went searching for more tranquil shooting situations back at Pinckney Island. It's later in the afternoon, and things are starting to slow down -- a good time to slow my own pace as well.

Fuji X-T2 - It's for the birds

I found several areas where I was able to nestle myself in between bushes or trees and not create too much timidity for the "locals" as it were, and primarily using the XF 100-400mm f/4, I was able to get several shots unlike any I'd yet been able to capture. This was the most peaceful and enjoyable part of my field trip to the coast with this excellent camera and lens system, and I'm grateful to the creatures below for their hospitality and for patiently allowing me into their tranquil worlds.

Fuji X-T2 Field Test - Part II Summary

A high-end camera needs to be weather-sealed, and the X-T2 more than proved its mettle in that regard in our Field Test Part I. It also needs to have high-caliber C-AF chops out in the field, and thus far that's exactly what I've encountered -- excellent results, and noticeably better continuous autofocus performance than any mirrorless camera I've shot with before.

High-end cameras also need terrific image quality, and once again, terrific image quality is what I've consistently found from the X-T2 across a variety of subject matter. And lastly, a high-end camera needs a comparable lens ecosystem, and it's my personal belief that Fuji tops the bill in that regard. Zooms or primes, the Fujinon system is my favorite line of lenses, and the X-T2 is the most versatile X-series camera with which to pair them.

Stay tuned for Part III of this Field Test, where I'll explore more custom settings in the C-AF department, more high ISO images, delve into 4K video and pair the camera with several quality Fujinon primes for portraits.

Fuji X-T2 Field Test Part I • Fuji X-T2 Gallery