BobJ

I have the mark 2. The zoom seems perfectly smooth to me, but I don't shoot much video. What I can say is that it is a lovely lens. Much better in every way than the 16-80, albeit a smaller zoom range, in every way.

You could select the continuous autofocus to set 4 for suddenly appearing subject and the subject detection setting to birds. I will be interested to see how you get on.

Modern cameras rely on autofocus or assisted manual focus entirely. There is never a reliable mechanical infinity focus stop. This makes the lenses easier to design and manufacture. Forgive me, but in my opinion, what you are trying to do must be near impossible. You have the equivalent of 750mm full frame. How do you even get an erratically moving target in the viewfinder? Also you will find that the results will depend on how still the air is.

Just a post to let anyone who takes infra-red know that the new 16-55mm II behaves well, unlike the 16-80, which is soft in IR. I have an X-T2 converted to 720nm. There is no hotspot. I am delighted with the lens performance on my X-T5 too. It is sharp, even at f2.8, reaching its best at f5.6. An A3 print from a crop is no problem, which means that I don't miss the greater reach of the 16-80 much. The autofocus is fast and positive and unlike the original the lens is acceptable in size and weight, at least for me. I had trouble gathering the money together but it was worth it. Highly recommended.

I repeat - there is something wrong. I have the same lens and an x-t5 and do not experience any sharpness problems. It may be that there are problems with a 150-600 lens, I don't know, but mjoseph67 is using the 16-55. Make sure the af is set to focus priority and that you do not have af with mf set (if you have you could be accidentally moving the focus ring after autofocus). If that doesn't help get your camera and lens checked out.

I should have added that I agree that a long lens is not what you need for street. Street is not easy. You have to be bold and learn to get close. Not easy I know. The 70mm end of the 70-300 would be usable for portraits but if you want a zoom for that, a lens with 50mm in its range would be a better choice.

I used to have the 16-80. Not the sharpest lens in the toolbox but sharp enough for most things. It's focal range is perfect for a one lens outing, but remember it's a 5 to 1 zoom and you can't expect razor sharp in a zoom with that range. I now have the 16-55 mk2. It's very sharp and a bonus for me when I am using my converted x-t2 is that it works well in infra red. The 16-80 is soft in IR.

I agree. The 70-300 is a very sharp lens.

Having had an x-t5 for several years, I can honestly say that I have absolutely never encountered this problem. The only failures I see are when tracking moving subjects and even then not often. So, in my experience, this is definitely NOT typical for the x-t5. Certainly not for static subjects at least. Nothing to do with sharpness, but did you mean ISO 800? 80 doesn't make much sense with the x-t5. That would be within the extended range where you will get less dynamic range. Either you are doing something wrong or there is something wrong with your camera or lens. Do you have the release/focus priority for af-s set to focus? If not that might be the problem. Also, it is not a good idea to have the face/eye detection on when there is noone in the shot.

I have just read this. All the XT cameras I have owned stop down with a half press of the shutter regardless of whether AF-C or AF-S is selected. This includes my X-T5, which I have just tried with all three shutter types. I haven't experienced your problem. What happens when the button is fully depressed is another matter. I don't have enough knowledge of that. I don't own an X-T50, so I can't say if it is the same.

In a word, no. It will have no effect on your images at all. However, it might affect the resale value.

If weight and size are the main issues, I would say the new XE-5 is the camera for you. I don't entirely agree with the idea that such a camera is too small for long lenses. The assembly is supported with the left hand (assuming you are right handed) under the lens at the point of balance.

Surely, if you export from Lightroom as a tiff and work on the tiff in PS, then you won't get the problem.

All lenses are a compromise where the designer has to decide what is most important to correct. Most modern lenses, particularly zooms, rely on software to reduce some faults. This allows the lens designers more leeway to address other problems. Vignetting is usually on the list. It will be corrected in the camera in the case of jpegs or in the software in the case of raw output. If you use raw check that automatic lens correction is enabled.

I find that I can get it right with a little practice. However, you wil get a superior and more reliable result using stitching