New Firmware for the Fuji X-E1 and 35 1.4 Lens increases AF accuracy

January 31, 2013 follow ups, Fuji 49

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New Firmware for the Fuji X-E1 and 35 1.4 Lens!

Seems I was not the only one who admitted there were AF issues with the 35 1.4 lens on the X-E1. Fuji has released new firmware for the X-E1 and 35 1.4 today that does a few things but the one that caught my eye was THIS:

“Accuracy of auto focus performance has been much improved under a various shooting condition.
Shooting with XF35mm lens, Shooting for the target with relatively high frequency, One-push AF by pressing AE-L/AF-L button,

  • <Notice> 
  • To enable more accurate AF performance with XF35mm lens, please update the firmware of your Fujinon XF35mm lens at the same time. Firmware version must be Ver 2.02 or later.”

Exactly what I have been saying..it is the ACCURACY of the AF that was lacking in lower light conditions. Supposedly this firmware update will vastly improve this. I have downloaded it and it does indeed seem to be much more accurate! I would not say it is any faster but that was not my concern with the 35 1.4, it was the accuracy. I will do more testing but some lower light test snaps in my office provided me with all hits and zero misses when just three days ago I had 3 misses out of 5 shots. So this is GOOD.

To update you firmware click HERE for the body and HERE for the Lens. Them just drag those files to a formatted SD card, insert into your X-E1 and power on while holding down the “back” button. The camera will give you instructions from there. 

Some quick and dirty test snaps in my office just now all at 1.4 with the 35mm and the newest firmware.

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49 Comments

  1. My friend updated his 35/1.4 to the latest firmware. It does seem slightly faster, but my a7s and 55/1.8 is still far superior in low light. I have no problem locking on focus in almost near darkness. It’s amazing.

  2. Been looking through the Menu – can’t find where it says what my current Firmware is. I have both X-E1 and 35mm/F1.4.

  3. Hi Steve, which lens you think goes better with the XE1 if I am shooting mostly low light?

    Cheers,

    • Well, I found the 35 1.4 to not be the best low light lens due to the AF but that depends on what you call low light? Indoor low light I would rather use the 18.

      • Thanks Steve. Mainly outdoor low light. Eg night view of Sydney Habour Bridge or view from Tokyo Tree Tower. Sometimes with people in it.

        I am struggling to decide which lens to go for. :p Any advice?

  4. Can anyone tell me how one is to know what firmware is actually currently in use on an X E-1? Unlike the Canon SLR’s which indicate the current firmware version in use in the menu, I’m unable to find this information anywhere in camera. I have only just bought it, (February 2013), so can I safely assume it’s already up-to-date with the latest firmware? Or shall I just go ahead and attempt to install the latest version anyway, – and if so will it then tell me if it’s already up-to-date?

  5. Just buy a DSLR or some micro 4/3 camera if you need speed and get a Fuji if you need highest image quality. Stop whining about the Fuji X series.

    • X100s is much faster from what I have seen in the pre-prod mmodel. The X-E1 AF speed did not improve with last FW, in fact it may have slowed down a teeny tad. It’s accuracy was improved with the 35 1.4, which is what I said all along was needed for it. 🙂 X100s will be quite a bit faster to AF with it’s contrast and phase detect system.

  7. Thanks for the update but do you think you be able to do a more thorough re-review of the X-E1?

  8. “One-push AF by pressing AE-L/AF-L button”

    Can anyone confirm that this is now possible in AF mode not just in Manual focus mode?

  9. does ufraw or rawtherapee support the fuji raw format?

    this is the software i primarily use

  10. The problem with the Fuji X-Pro1 and X E1 and in fact also the X100 has been they were not camera’s designed for people that just know how to find the ‘auto’ button 😉 . These are camera’s that require a solid camera experience, a complete different approach regarding composing as most are used with a DSLR. With the 18mm and 35mm I didn’t run into persistent AF-problems either and and in those cases where I experienced issues, I wouldn’t say it was possible to make a decent picture either, at least not in consistent way. A lot of people also confused the problem with a certain shutter delay. This seemed to be more present in the original firmware or its first revision. The 60mm however, this is a different story: I hope Fujifilm is able to update the firmware in a way AF-behaviour can be improved very significantly, a magnificent lens operated by a motor that belongs in an electric screwdriver.

  11. So let s dream Adobe releases a new version of Camera raw which processes correctly fuji raw files next week and we will touch perfectiion for this camera

  12. AF has remained slow, this is the main drawback of Fuji, I hope that the company will improve the rate at least to the level of cheap DSLRs.

  13. Out of 25 outdoor shots with the Fuji X-Pro 1 (and 35mm f1.4). with the firmware upgrades, 21 were in perfect focus. Two of the four misses looked to be due to motion blur, not focus errors. The other two of the four misses were very small targets (tiny leaves) against a large background where focus locked onto the background and thus more user error than focus error. I would sum up by saying there were virtually no focus errors and the focus speed seemed quite snappy though not as fast as the OM-D or Cannon 5D3. The focus speed definitely did not seem slow as it has in the past. I have not yet tested in low light. I am, however, delighted by these early results. It looks like I’ll start shooting my X-Pro1 again now that it’s not making my life difficult. Love those manual controls and the image quality.

  14. Yes much more reliable, i made some tests in a church too and I am quite satisfied with the result

  20. I see a noticeable difference in auto focus accuracy, which has been my foremost concern as well. I don’t think improved focusing speed was listed as a feature of this latest update, so that’s not a disappointment for me. I do notice a slight increase in the level of noise, both lens and shutter, but I’ll accept that as a trade off for the accuracy improvement any day.

    • If I may, I’d like to revise that comment. No blade noise at all today after almost an hour of shooting. Seems like the update does exactly what it says.

    • likewise, the speed seems the same. Hopefully the improved AF accuracy it will diminish my other frustrations with this camera.

  22. Sometime I think I’m the only one out there that doesn’t have problems with my XPro1/35mm and AF….I certainly respect Steve’s opinion, but my experience has been mostly positive, very few misses even in dim light. With that said, I can’t wait to load up the new FW as improvements are always welcome!

    BTW, I would have rather had changes to the min shutter speed on auto ISO than whatever these changes are to the AF. Hurry up Fuji, this should be an easy change!!!!

    • I’m with you Clint. Very few focus problems w/my XE1 and 35 1.4. Of course, I have low expectations – I used to use a Nex and voigtlander 35 1.2, and had to manual focus all the time. I think as long as you know what the camera will be able to grab focus on and what it won’t be able to find it’s not a problem. Most of my missed shots are when I hand the camera off and the person taking the photo doesn’t place the AF box on the subject!

    • The problem with the Fuji X-Pro1 and X E1, and in fact also the X100 has been they were not camera’s designed for people that

    • Clint, actually they did!
      Minimum speed is now 1/52. Not quite what people were asking for, but better.
      Then again, I basically never use auto iso…

  24. Hi Steve

    Does that change your views on the X-E1 + XF35mm 1.4 combo? I’ve recently ordered this combo with the XF18-55mm zoom and have had reservations on the accuracy of the AF from reading posts like yours.

    My X-E1 tests in camera stores don’t really help so I appreciate insights like yours in real-world use. BTW, I’m used to MF but in certain situations I would hope the AF can handle it.

  25. Spot on Steve.

    It was very frustrating getting so many mis-focussed shots. At least if it failed to focus you knew but other than check after every shot a missed focus was harder to detect and really annoying once home viewing your pics.

    Downloaded my updates this morning and hope all is now well.

    • so if you are not chasing birds, why not trying focusing manually?
      i have more than 90% keepers since i work with manual fokus (sony NEX5n + various lenses)

      greetings michael

      • Good point Michael, but I bought the XE-1 and traded in an M9 partly for the autofocus capability.

  26. your comments are right ON, i have noticed maybe 5% in speed, but it seems to catch focus in very dim light at anything with contrast!

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