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I really liked the Fujifilm X-1 Pro when I tried it for a couple of weeks — enough that it made me think seriously about switching from my much-loved DSLR about five years earlier than I thought the technology would be ready for me.

There's some painful UI quirks it might take a bit to get past, and on Linux I think I'd really have to cope with being a JPEG-only shooter, but the dealbreaker was really that autofocus speed was so, so, so bad. It just wasn't possible to get in focus pictures of my kids when they were posing, let alone in intentional action.

But, the v2.0 update of the firmware, promises significant improvement. Fujifilm says

Auto focusing speed has become much faster under a various shooting condition such as dark scenes, bright scenes and so on.

And the very short test video on DPReview sure looks like a good thing.

But I'm interested in real-world reports, here. How does AF with the updated firmware compare to, for example, the Olympus OM-D EM-5 (which I found to be startlingly fast for contrast-detect autofocus)?

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Curious: jpeg only on Linux? \$\endgroup\$
    – Peng Tuck Kwok
    Commented Nov 13, 2012 at 1:52
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    \$\begingroup\$ @PengTuckKwok: Yes. This camera has a new, novel sensor layout, and I don't know of any open source software that handles the special demosaicing. In fact, I've heard chatter that really only the SilkyPix version provided by Fujifilm to go with the camera does the right thing — Lightroom and other programs which support conversion work, but poorly. \$\endgroup\$
    – mattdm
    Commented Nov 13, 2012 at 2:12
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    \$\begingroup\$ Ah good to know. I checked dcraw they had listed the model not sure if it was basic support like lightroom. \$\endgroup\$
    – Peng Tuck Kwok
    Commented Nov 13, 2012 at 2:23
  • \$\begingroup\$ Steve Huff mentions that it's much faster and says: It seems to focus about as fast as my NEX-7 right now but when compared against the very 1st firmware Fuji shipped the camera with it is almost night and day. Although, he doesn't go into much detail. Also, are you happy with the lens range? \$\endgroup\$
    – BBking
    Commented Nov 13, 2012 at 2:46
  • \$\begingroup\$ @BBking: yes indeed. That's one of the selling factors for me, in fact. The 35mm f/1.4 is gorgeous, and combine that with the 18mm pancake and 60mm macro and I'm pretty much set for life. \$\endgroup\$
    – mattdm
    Commented Nov 13, 2012 at 2:51

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I've been using X-Pro 1 for almost a year now. My other camera is a Canon 5D MkII. The sensor and the size of the complete kit were the main reasons to buy for me.

But of course after I bought, I realized, how hard it is to focus compared to 5D (it might be a silly comparison but that's what I'm used to). Basically, it's harder to auto focus, and you generally miss far more shots because of focus speed or just plain missed focus.

As for your question, the whole focusing became better after the firmware update, auto focus is fast enough that I can realize the difference, and maybe more importantly they made the manual focusing much better. Previously it was almost impossible to manually focus because of the amount that you need to turn the focusing ring. They made the whole range tighter, so no need to turn the ring that much anymore.

I can't compare the difference between OM-D and X-Pro 1, but I can definitely say that you still need to accept the fact that X-Pro 1 is not a complete camera. You should be willing to live with the focusing issues, mostly JPEG outputs, etc. If you're willing to accept these, I can tell that focusing issues are easier to swallow after the firmware update.

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