Doug Pardee

I generally prefer to avoid the frustration. But here are a few items.
Have only one face in the scene, and make it fairly big. Say, at least the size of the "standard" medium-sized AF point, preferably bigger. Head-and-shoulders portrait is ideal. I'd recommend keeping the face in the phase-detect AF point area on X-Trans III cameras like the X-T2, although that might be mere superstition. Turning Pre-AF on will help keep the face focused enough that the camera can find and track it. If you don't have Pre-AF turned on, tap the AF to get the face in focus first, so the camera can find it. Then let the face detection work. If you don't have Pre-AF turned on, remember that face/eye detection doesn't actually refocus on the face until you activate AF (half-press or AF-ON). If a detected face moves closer or farther before you activate AF, it might get out of focus enough that the camera loses track of it. In that case you'll need to tap the AF again to get it sharp enough that the camera can find it again. When a face is detected, the camera overrides both your focus and autoexposure settings. If you don't like the exposure, Exposure Compensation or manual exposure are your only recourses. Have some spare batteries at hand, because face detection can suck a lot of battery power, and adding Pre-AF makes it even worse.

Press and hold the Menu/OK button until the padlock goes away.
 
You accidentally activated the button lock function, which is useful to keep buttons from accidentally getting pressed.

For an actual "Lock," you need to keep the button pressed down. If you let up, AF simply stops, leaving the lens focused wherever it's focused, but focus is unlocked so you can manually focus if you want.
 
Be aware that if you're using AF-C, "wherever it's focused" is quite possibly not at the distance you want it to be focused, especially if the camera is using contrast-detect AF.
 
My advice for BBF: don't use it -- unless you really need to -- on Fuji (and possibly other mirrorless cameras). Contrast-detect auto-focus causes complications that don't affect DSLRs. Also... on a DSLR, the viewfinder, autofocus, metering, and image capture are four separate subsystems. In a mirrorless, they're all run off of the imaging sensor, and the camera generally prefers that everything be controlled by the shutter release button to make it simpler to control the sensor configuration.

You're confused, which is very very easy to do with the way that Fujifilm has set this up and named it.
 
Whenever you select a Custom Setting (C1-C7), all of the settings defined for it are loaded into your camera. That wipes out the previous in-camera configuration for those settings. The only way to go back is to reset all of them by hand. In-Camera is not an eighth stored JPEG configuration -- it's just what the camera is currently using.
 
"Base" is only meaningful in the Q menu. It means "don't load a new Custom Setting." It's essentially an undo if you select a Custom Setting in the Q menu and change your mind before you exit the Q menu. Base is not an eighth stored JPEG configuration, either.
 
To further complicate things, Base is not necessarily a full reset to the in-camera JPEG configuration back when you opened the Q menu. Any changes you made to individual settings (film simulation, highlight and shadow tone, white balance, etc.) won't be undone. Only changes that were the result of selecting the Custom Setting will be undone.
 
Yes, it's very, very confusing.
 
If you're going to use Custom Settings -- basically, if you're a JPEG or Raw+JPEG photographer -- I strongly recommend that you go all-in with them. Change your JPEG configuration by loading a Custom Setting. Don't set any of the associated settings directly in the camera except as temporary overrides. Remember, as soon as you select a Custom Setting you'll lose any changes you made to the in-camera JPEG settings.
 
If you're a Raw-only photographer, I strongly recommend you leave Custom Settings alone. Better yet, store your preferred JPEG configuration into all 7 Custom Settings so that if you do accidentally activate one, not much damage will be done. For cameras without an ISO knob (X-E series, X-T10/X-T20, etc.) the Custom Settings include the full auto-ISO configuration. If you really need more than three auto-ISO configurations, you can set them up in the Custom Settings, but be sure you understand that selecting any of C1-C7 will wipe out your current auto-ISO configuration and replace it with the auto-ISO configuration from that Custom Setting.

The Auto switch puts the camera into a full-on idiot-proof "point-and-shoot" mode. Many options are disabled or overridden in order to prevent mistakes.
 
The main use for Auto mode is when you hand the camera to someone else, such as to take a picture of you. Instead of having to undo all of your custom configurations, then having to redo them when you get the camera back, you just switch to Auto, hand them the camera, and switch back from Auto when you get the camera back.
 
About the only time a knowledgeable photographer is likely to use Auto mode for themselves is when an unexpected photo opportunity suddenly pops up, and you don't have time to reconfigure your camera. You can switch to Auto in an instant and try to grab the shot. You'll have to deal with the output being just Provia JPEG (no Raw, no other film simulations, etc.), but it does generally do a pretty good job of at least capturing the scene.

Yes that is what happens!

As far as I know, all modern cameras provide ISO 518 standard hotshoes. Sony was the last hold-out, and in late 2012 (starting with the NEX-6), they finally switched to the standard.
 
Note that nothing beyond physical size and simple triggering are standardized. The only standard pin is the "center" one that fires the flash. But that's all that manual flashes need.

I don't know about the X-T2, but in the X-T20 manual there's a documented "Cable channel cover for DC coupler" -- see part #36.
http://fujifilm-dsc.com/en/manual/x-t20/about_this_camera/parts/index.html
 
It's a rectangular section on the right edge of the battery cover.
 
I know on the X-T1, you had to have the battery grip to use the DC coupler. In reading about the X-T2 battery grip, it sounds like you'd simply use that instead of the separate power unit. From what I can tell, if you have the charging cord plugged into the grip and then turn on the X-T2, the camera is powered but the grip isn't charged.

No, I haven't bothered. I managed to hang onto the lens cap for my 27mm for a few weeks before it ran off to join the circus. Now I just leave the lens uncapped.
 
Some people choose to stick a protective filter on the 27mm to replace the lens cap. Me, I'm fine with cleaning the front of the lens rather than cleaning a filter.

I don't know exactly how that camera handles back-button AF-C with AF-M -- the X-T2 has a separate "Shutter AF" option for disengaging AF from the shutter release and my X-T10 doesn't -- so I can't help you there. I'd assume, however, that it's normal -- the camera's just waiting for the lens to finish focusing.
 
I personally don't recommend back-button AF-C for general use. If you really need AF-C, then you need it. But if you've got it set to AF-C just in case someday you want AF-C, be aware that if your shooting aperture is at f/9 or higher, the camera will not use phase-detect AF. If you're controlling the aperture, it's usually easy enough to avoid that issue. But if you're shooting P mode, in daylight the camera might select f/9 or higher, leaving you with unnecessarily slow contrast-detect AF.
 
Fujifilm doesn't publish most of this stuff. That's why there are so many third-party books, such as Rico Pfirstinger's that are advertised on this site. Pfirstinger, for example, recommends skipping AF-C for simple tracking AF when you're only going to take one shot. He recommends using AF-S and "mashing" the shutter button down in one stroke, skipping the half-press. That way, as soon as the lens has focused, the shutter is released. That should give AF results as accurate as AF-C.
 
And yes, in single-point AF, the camera will try CDAF if PDAF fails, regardless of which PDAF point you select. Unless you're in AF-C with CH drive, in which case the camera uses only PDAF at apertures of f/8 or below, and only CDAF at apertures of f/9 or above.

The following will all disable flash:
Sound/Flash Off -- obviously, but a lot of people seem to forget to check this -- might not apply to PC Sync connector Flash Control Mode: OFF -- also obvious but easy to overlook -- might not apply to PC Sync connector ES or MS+ES shutter -- even though MS+ES will use MS at X-Sync speed, you need to select MS Burst drive modes: CH or CL Bracketing drive mode: BKT Panorama drive mode Check the settings in the Sync Terminal screen of Flash Function Setting.
 
Also, I'm not sure if the PC Sync connector will trigger if there's an active flash mounted on the hotshoe.

I'm not at all sure what you're asking. Autofocus and metering are separate functions. The only time they interact is if you have:
Single-point AF Spot metering Face detection OFF Interlock Spot AE & Focus Area ON (manual page 96) If you have all four of those conditions, then the spot being metered will be at the selected AF point. Otherwise, spot metering always looks at the center of the image.

Wide/Tracking in Wide mode (AF-S) is pretty reasonable for scenes like landscapes where pretty much any point could be used for focusing. Also, because Fuji's contrast-detect AF prefers closer subjects, if you take a picture of, say, a person in front of a backdrop, it'll tend to focus on the person, which is usually what you want. Still, it's necessarily sloppy about exactly what it's going to focus on, so you wouldn't want to use it with a narrow depth of field. And, since it's contrast-detect AF, it can take a second or two to focus.
 
Wide/Tracking in Tracking mode (AF-C) is a somewhat different critter, because you specify which AF point to (initially) focus on, so there's little of the uncertainty that Wide mode has. The thing is, because it's contrast-detect (except in CH continuous drive mode), the lens is continually pumping in and out as the camera checks for changes in subject distance. That's ugly and annoying. Worse, because the camera can't release the shutter mid-pump, it can upset the timing of the capture.
 
Tracking mode (AF-C) with CH drive mode limits the tracking area to the PDAF sensors, which on the X-T10 is a much smaller part of the scene. If your aperture is f/8 or wider, it uses PDAF exclusively, which is a whole lot nicer, although the limited tracking zone is a nuisance. But if you stop down to f/9 or beyond, you'll be back to contrast-detect AF and still have the limited tracking zone.

That happens if you set your aperture to Automatic (A) with shutter speed set to Bulb (B ). In order to compute the aperture, the camera has to know the shutter speed (and ISO). So it arbitrarily picks 30 seconds for the shutter speed.
 
See the gray box at the bottom of page 65 of the manual (the page about B mode).

You should be able to do that on the X-T2. And the X-Pro2, X-T20, and X100F.
 
Be careful of blown highlights, though.

You are, unfortunately, correct. Fujifilm AF operates stopped down in AF-C mode, and the PDAF sensors are only rated for f/8. At f/9 or above, CDAF is used exclusively.
 
In AF-S mode, AF is done with the lens wide open, so this isn't a problem.
 
In AF-M mode, the Instant AF feature behaves exactly the same. If it's configured for AF-C, the AF is performed stopped down and PDAF is only available up to f/8. If it's configured for AF-S, the AF is performed with the lens wide open.

I'd add that there's an "Aperture" menu setting that determines whether or not you can dial to the A position. See page 98 of the (English) X-T10 manual.

Check the shooting mode dial. EVF+Eye Sensor only works in S, CL, CH, BKT1, and BKT2 modes. In ADV1, ADV2, Multiple-exposure, and Panorama modes it leaves the EVF on.
 
No, I have no clue why that is.
 
However, normal Eye Sensor mode should switch between EVF and LCD in all shooting modes.

Worth pointing out the obvious. Pretty much every manual focus lens made in the past half-century has an adapter for the X-mount. If you really want manual focus, you have the choice of dozens of lenses, mostly at very reasonable prices. Of course, auto-focus can be disabled at the flick of a switch with our Fujinon lenses. Personally, under the circumstances, I see no reason to disable auto-focus permanently.

That said, auto-focus issues have been the most common complaints in Fujifilm forums. Auto-focus is clearly a priority among the more vocal X camera users.

Canon's Tales by Light series is currently available on Netflix: http://petapixel.com/2016/11/12/canons-tales-light-tv-series-now-netflix/
 
It's not your typical photographer, but there's Gregory Crewdson: Brief Encounters.
 
Of course there's From the Edge with Peter Lik.
 
An historical overview: Photo: A History from Behind the Lens.

"Back-button focus" is a common point of confusion on Fujifilm cameras, and for the same reason that people get confused by the lack of a PASM dial. Fujifilm offers the same functionality but the controls are different.
 
Most DSLRs have an AF-S/AF-C setting and a "back button focus" setting. Fujifilm has a shutter-release AF setting and a back-button AF setting.
 
To get back-button focus, simply flip the front switch to AF-M. That decouples the autofocus from the shutter release. As for which mode the back button works in (AF-S or AF-C) when the front switch is in AF-M, there's a menu setting for that.
 
I've heard that older Fujifilm cameras interrupt back-button AF when the shutter is fired. In AF-C, this forces the camera to reacquire focus for each shot in a burst rather than simply continuing tracking. I've heard that the new models "correctly" ignore the shutter actuation and continue tracking. Exactly which models do what, I don't know, but I think it's a safe guess that the X-T2 and the X-Pro2 (at least with the upcoming AF firmware update) continue tracking.

I doubt that either one is the case. Most likely, Fujifilm needed to put their Thailand production line to work making the X-A3. And they likely already had enough X-T10 units stockpiled in their warehouses to last them a year or more.
 
When they're done producing X-A3 units, then maybe we'll see something else produced in Thailand.

With the Fujifilm cameras you can choose from AF-S on the shutter button, AF-C on the shutter button, AF-S on the back button, or AF-C on the back button.
 
Selecting AF-M disengages AF from the shutter button and turns on back-button focus. There's a menu option to choose whether back-button focus is AF-S or AF-C.